Samples of ZrO2 ceramics with different concentrations of impurity titanium ions were synthesized by mixing powders of zirconium and titanium oxides in various mass ratios. The phase composition and surface morphology of the studied ceramics were determined by X-ray phase analysis and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that irradiation of samples with xenon ions (220 MeV) with fluences 1010 and 1012 ion/cm2 leads to a decrease in the intensity of the pulse cathodoluminescence band at 2.5 eV. It is shown that ion irradiation causes the appearance of a new peak of thermoluminescence at 450-650 K of a non-elementary form associated with radiation-induced traps of charge carriers. In contrast to electron irradiation, an increase in the fluence of ions leads to a decrease in the intensity of this peak. In contrast to electron irradiation, an increase in the fluence of ions leads to a decrease in the intensity of this peak. A complex nonmonotonic dependence of the cathode and thermoluminescence intensity on the dopant concentration was found, which may be due to the effects of concentration quenching and aggregation of defective centers.

: The primary use of the potato is direct consumption. The classification of potatoes into consumption type is made on the basis of consumption evaluation of hydrothermally treated tubers. Nutrient deficiency in the soil, including Mg, contributes to the inhibition of potato growth and development and negatively affects the cooking characteristics of the tubers. Magnesium and biostimulants are responsible for plant nitrogen management. Thus, it is necessary to control the content of harmful nitrates and toxic nitrites in tubers. In potato production, it is also important to maintain appropriate conditions during storage. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of mineral fertilization with magnesium and a biostimulant preparation during cultivation of edible potato and long-term storage on the traits determining utility-consumption type and the content of harmful nitrogen compounds in tubers. The study was conducted using the early potato variety Satina. In a three-year (2015-2017) three-factor experiment: evaluation date (immediately after harvest and after six months of storage), soil fertilization with mineral magnesium (0, 30, 60, 90 kg MgO ha-1), application of an amino acid biostimulant (0, 1.5, 3.0 l ha-1), five consumption traits of tubers after cooking determining the utility-consumption type of potato were determined. In addition, the consumer safety of the potato was determined based on the nitrate and nitrite content of the tubers. The tendency to overcook tubers significantly depended on all the factors used during potato cultivation. In contrast, the texture and structure of tuber flesh after cooking depended only on mineral fertilization with magnesium. The flesh of the tubers after cooking was most tender (1.0 pt) and firm (1.4 pt) after the application of 60 and 90 kg MgO ha-1, respectively. The moisture level of the flesh after cooking was significantly influenced by the interaction of magnesium fertilization with the biostimulant preparation. The factors of the experiment did not modify the utility-consumption type (B/A), while there was a change in the type in relation to that specified by the grower - general utility (B). The applied cultivation technology and long-term storage did not deteriorate the consumer safety of tubers (<200 mg kg-1) in terms of NO3 (max. 112.1 mg kg-1) and NO2 (max. 1.08 mg kg-1) contents. Organoleptic traits: mealiness, moisture and flesh structure were significantly positively related to nitrate and nitrite content of tubers immediately after harvesting and to nitrite concentration after long-term storage.

In regions with limited precipitation information like Peru, many studies rely on precipitation data derived from satellite products (SPPs) and reanalysis products. These products provide near-real-time information and offer global spatial coverage, making them attractive for various applications. However, it is essential to consider their uncertainties when conducting hydrological simulations, especially in a key region like the Pacific drainage (Pd), where 56% of Peruvian population resides (including the capital Lima). This study evaluates the performance of three precipitation products: Reanalysis, ERA5-Land (top down approach), and two SPPs: GPM+SM2RAIN and SM2RAIN-ASCAT (bottom-up approaches). Hydrological modeling was conducted on 30 basins distributed across the Pd, which were grouped into five regions (I-V, ordered from south to north). The results showed that SM2RAIN-ASCAT performed well in regions I-III-IV, ERA5-Land in region II, and GPM+SM2RAIN in region V. The hydrological model GR4J was tested, and better efficiency criteria were obtained with SM2RAIN-ASCAT and GPM+SM2RAIN when comparing simulated versus observed streamflows. The hydrological modeling with SM2RAIN-ASCAT and GPM+SM2RAIN demonstrated satisfactory efficiency metrics (KGE > 0.75; NSE > 0.65). Additionally, ten hydrological signatures were quantified to assess the variability of simulated streamflows in each basin, with metrics such as Mean Flow (Q mean), 5th Quantile Flow (Q5), and 95th Quantile Flow (Q95) showing overall better performance. Finally, the results of this study demonstrate the reliability of using bottom-up satellite products in Pd basins.

Aims: This systematic review aims to evaluate the influence of Environmental Enrichment (EE) on oncological factors in experimental studies involving various types of cancer models. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in three databases: PubMed (161 articles), Embase (335 articles), and Scopus (274 articles). Eligibility criteria were applied based on the PICOS strategy to minimize bias. Two independent researchers performed the searches, with a third participant resolving any discrepancies. The selected articles were analyzed, and data regarding sample characteristics and EE protocols were extracted. The outcomes focused solely on cancer and tumor-related parameters, including cancer type, description of the cancer model, angiogenesis, tumor occurrence, volume, weight, mice with tumors, and tumor inhibition rate. Key-findings: A total of 770 articles were identified across the three databases, with 12 studies meeting the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. The findings demonstrated that different EE protocols were effective in significantly reducing various aspects of tumor growth and development, such as angiogenesis, volume, weight, and the number of mice with tumors. Furthermore, EE enhanced the rate of tumor inhibition in mouse cancer models. Findings: This systematic review highlights the significant impact of EE protocols on multiple parameters associated with tumor growth and development, including angiogenesis, occurrence, volume, weight, and tumor incidence. Moreover, EE demonstrated the potential to increase the rate of tumor inhibition. These findings underscore the importance of EE as a valuable tool in the management of cancer.

Trauma in childhood and adolescence has long-term negative consequences in brain development and behavior and increases the risk for psychiatric disorders. Among them, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during adolescence illustrates the connection between trauma and substance misuse, as adolescents may utilize substances to cope with PTSD. Drug misuse may in turn lead to neuroadaptations in learning processes that facilitate the consolidation of traumatic memories that perpetuate PTSD. This reflects, apart from common genetic and epigenetic modifications, overlapping neurocircuitry engagement triggered by stress and drug misuse that includes structural and functional changes in limbic brain regions and the salience, default-mode, and frontoparietal networks. Effective strategies to prevent PTSD are needed to limit the negative consequences associated with the later development of a substance use disorder (SUD). In this review, we will examine the link between PTSD and SUDs, along with the resulting effects on memory, focusing on the connection between the development of a SUD in individuals who struggled with PTSD in adolescence. Neuroimaging has emerged as a powerful tool to provide insight into the brain mechanisms underlying the connection of PTSD in adolescence and the development of SUDs.

Aim of our study was to retrospectively evaluate whether the oral administration of L. crispatus (M247) could increase pregnancy and live birth rates in women undergoing assisted reproductive technology procedures. Enrolled women (N=160) were divided into two groups: treated (N=80) or untreated (N=80) with the probiotic strain. The odds ratio for a treated woman to get a positive pregnancy test (PPT) was 1.56. In women aged 30–40 years, M247 increased the probability of a PPT in correlation with the progressive rise in BMI, reaching 47% (35% in controls) with a BMI of 35 (odds ratio: 2.00). The CAID statistics showed that in a woman of the blastocyst subgroup, below 43 years, with a BMI over 18.6, treatment with M247 increased the chance of a PPT from 28.4% to 44.5% (odds ratio: 2.08; p<0.05). Considering live births, rate of probiotic group was 12.5% versus 7.5% (odds ratio=1.76). Considering only the blastocyst subgroup, the treatment increased the number of live births by 200% (odds ratio: 3.64; p=0.05). As confirmed also by statistical indices like NNT, NNH and LHH, the use of M247 demonstrated a risk-benefit ratio to the full advantage of the benefits.

Taiwan’s Chi Mei Medical Center has a vision of becoming a sustainable organization. They found they violated the sustainable development goal (SDG) 13 (“Climate Action”) since its workflows consume excessive tangible resources and waste much operation time. To fulfill the vision, the Chi Mei Medical Center first introduced electronic invoicing. Implementing this electronic invoicing included adopting cloud E-invoice data and creating a software robot for auditing them. This study presents this software robot and its contributions. The software robot replaces an internal auditor to log into Taiwan’s E-invoice platform, download cloud E-invoice data, and detect the inconsistency between these cloud and on-premise data. Internal auditors of the Chi Mei Medical Center only needed to confirm the detection results. They welcome this software robot since it significantly reduces their work burdens. They approved more software robots for assisting other workflows. Besides, the Chi Mei Medical Center earned profits after eliminating paper invoices. This elimination helped release less carbon. This study concludes that chasing a sustainable organization is unnecessarily equivalent to the requirement of more costs. A software robot represents the last puzzle for constructing a paperless workflow since it can resolve the resistance of existing workers to a new workflow.

A complete model was developed to simulate the behavior of a circular clamped axisymmetric fluid-coupled Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (PMUT). Combining Finite Difference and Boundary Element Matrix (FD-BEM), this model is based on the discretization of the partial differential equation used to translate the mechanical behavior of a PMUT. In the model, both the axial and the transverse displacements are preserved in the equation of motion and used to properly define the neutral line position. To introduce fluid coupling, a Green’s function dedicated to axisymmetric circular radiating sources is employed. The resolution of the behavioral equations is used to establish the equivalent electroacoustic circuit of a PMUT that preserves the average particular velocity, the mechanical power, and the acoustic power. Particular consideration is given to verifying the validity of certain assumptions that are usually made across various steps of previously reported analytical models. In this framework, the advantages of the membrane discretization performed in the FD-BEM model are highlighted through accurate simulations of the first vibration mode and especially the cutoff frequency that many other models do not predict. This high cutoff frequency corresponds to cases where the spatial average velocity of the plate is null and is of great importance for PMUT design because it defines the upper limit above which the device is considered to be mechanically blocked. These modeling results are compared with electrical and dynamic membrane displacement measurements of AlN-based PMUTs in air and fluid. This complete PMUT model using the FD-BEM approach is shown to be very efficient in terms of computation time and accuracy.

Lily database online genomic resource composed of Korean Lily Germplasm Collection, Transcriptome Sequences, molecular markers, transcription factors (TF) and DEGs data. A total of ~0.23 gb of RNA-sequences data were mined for gene identification, marker development and gene expression analysis. As a result, 47,863 SSR, 20,929 SNP and 1213 COS-marker were developed. A total of 1327 TF genes were identified and characterized. This is the first unique, user-friendly, genomic resource database for Lilium species. It is a relational database based on a ‘three-tier architecture’ that catalogs all the information in MySQL table and a user-friendly query interface and data visualization page developed using JavaScript, PHP and HTML code. The search parameters are highly flexible, user can be retrieved data by using either single or multiple search parameters. Data present in this database can be used for germplasm characterization, gene discovery, population structure analysis, QTL mapping and accelerating the lily variety improvements. This database can be accessed through this link: http://www.genomicsres.org/lilidb/.

A major challenge of augmented and mixed reality applications is identifying the context and semantics of the real environment. Studies on object and action recognition were developed based on the improvement of machine learning techniques, allowing them to be annotated and recognized. This study aims to characterize current knowledge on the use of machine learning for recognizing objects and actions in augmented and mixed reality environments, increasing context awareness. Therefore, a systematic literature review of works related to these topics was made, using the Scopus and Web of Science knowledge bases. We searched articles and conference reviews or papers published between 2018 and 2022 and selected fifteen studies to be reviewed. The results indicate that there is a great demand for using machine learning to immersive technologies in factories, engineering, entertainment, education, health, among other application domains. However, these real-time interactive systems still have challenges and limitations to be solved, involving network communication, prediction time and the creation of a model that recognize objects and actions in broad contexts. Furthermore, additional research is needed to investigate how object and action recognition can increase context awareness in augmented reality applications.

On the basis of the golden ratio and the compasseses, every angle was divided into three equal parts. In general, it has been proven that the problem of triangulation of an angle cannot be solved on the basis of the golden ratio and the expanding of the angle. The relationship of golden relativity with Pi number and Euler's number has not been investigated to solve impossible problems. According to the investigation of events in six-dimensional space-time, with the simultaneous movement of two arms of the compasses based on the golden ratio, every angle was divided into three equal parts. The growth rate based on the golden ratio is the key to solving the most intractable mathematical and physical problems.

Increasing the availability of alternative protein from insects is important to solving food shortages. Not only are insects a rich source of protein, the use of insect ingredi-ents can reduce food waste. Insects are thus a potentially valuable ingredient for food industries and even food eaten on deep-space missions. The three-dimensional produc-tion of food on space missions has gained attention owing to its potential to reduce au-tonomous food production and produce sustainable food for long-duration space mis-sions. This study investigated the printability and rheological properties of a high-protein food system derived from mealworms and guar gum used as a stabilizer to im-prove printability. Stability and rheological properties were analyzed for various print-ing parameters. The results indicate that as the guar gum concentration was increased from 0 to 1.75%, the yield stress of the mealworm paste increased from 39 to 1096 Pa. Increasing the guar gum concentration thus resulted in a mealworm paste that was more viscous, exhibited shear thinning behavior, could support itself and was thus more stable. In summary, introducing guar gum resulted in a mealworm paste with rheological properties more suitable for printing in terms of printability and stability.

Estrogens play a protective role during early life stages. However, endogenous 17β-estradiol (E2) can accelerate atherosclerosis progression in low-grade inflammatory conditions like established atherosclerosis. Our single-center cohort study assessed sex-specific associations of gonadal hormones with oxidative stress, inflammation, and myocardial injury markers in 111 patients (37% women) diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction (MI) between July 2011 and December 2013. Blood samples were collected within 48 hours of symptom onset, and we measured sex steroids (E2, total testosterone [T]), oxidized low-density lipoproteins, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell counts (WBC), and cardiac enzymes (creatine kinase [CK], the CK Muscle-Brain fraction [CK-MB], and high-sensitive troponin T [hsTnT]). The SYNTAX score gauged coronary disease severity from coronary angiography results. In men with acute MI, peak cardiac enzyme levels were predicted by post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) E2 plasma levels (OR 1.011, p=0.047 - CK; OR 1.018, p=0.013 - CK- MB; OR 1.019, p=0.005 - TnT), peak WBC count (OR 1.487, p=0.015 - CK ; OR 1,709, p=0,005 - CK- MB; OR 1.391, p=0.012 - TnT), and peak CRP plasma levels (OR 1.040, p=0.033 - CK; OR 1.024, p=0.029 - CK-MB; OR 1.063, p=0.006 - TnT). T levels and E2/T ratio were associated with post-PCI CRP in these men (OR 0.980, p = 0.024 - T, OR 1.010, p = 0.076 - CRP). For women, peak WBC was a marker of highest testosterone (OR 1.348, p = 0.062), and only WBC was a significant indicator of myocardial injury extent (OR 1.426, p=0.039 - CK; OR 1.384, p=0.036 - CK-MB; OR 1.299, p=0.048 - TnT). During acute MI, elevated endogenous estradiol levels correlate with myocardial necrosis severity in men, while in women, increased leukocyte levels indicate acute myocardial damage. Elevated plasma T is associated with increased WBC in women. In men, post-PCI plasma CRP specifically indicates endogenous T levels and E2/T ratio during the acute phase.

The metastatic disease is a complex and sequential process that involves the migration of tumor cells from the primary site to distant areas. This metastatic pathway is not always predictable. Therefore, this paper presents three rare cases of unusual metastases, due to their primary site: two metastases of a clear cell renal cell carcinoma, one gingival and one nasal, as well as a mandibular metastasis of a hepatocellular carcinoma. In all cases, an incisional biopsy was performed in order to sign out the diagnosis. After microscopical examination of morphological Hematoxylin and Eosin stained slides, for all cases, immunohistochemical reactions were performed to support the primary tumor site. Two cases had a previous histopathological diagnosis of a primary tumor, while for the third case, the metastatic lesion represented the first manifestation of the neoplastic disease, with an unfavorable prognosis.

COVID-19 pandemic outbreak challenged the global public health in last couple of years. Throughout the pandemic period, numbers of mutant strains of SARS- CoV-2 created challenges for the infected patients with diverse pathophysiology and immune response. Variant of Concern (VOC) alpha (B.1.1.7), delta (B.1.617.2) and omicron (B.1.1.529) grew most notable for causing the epidemiological manifestations, which eventually caused elevated infectivity resulting in significant mortality. This review indicates the comparative analysis of the immune-pathophysiological mechanisms in respect to the aforementioned strains of SARS-CoV-2.

Background: Evidence suggests that there is substantial comorbidity between fibromyalgia and Axis II pathology (i.e., personality disorders - PDs). The aim of the current study was to find out the exact cluster (A, B, C) PDs or traits that are more prominent in FM and may be predictors of FM diagnosis. Methods: Data from 86 subjects (53 with FM and 33 controls without FM) was analyzed in an observational, cross-sectional, comparative study. The assessment of categorical PDs and traits was performed independently with the Structured Clinical Interview for Personality Disorders (SCID-II). Binary logistic regression was used to determine FM predictors among PDs traits. Results. Compared with controls, FM patients had higher rate of PDs diagnoses (56.7 vs 18.2%, P&lt;.001). However, the rate was significantly higher only for borderline PD diagnosis (28.3% vs 6.1% P&lt;.05). The binary logistic regression analysis showed that schizotypal and schizoid (cluster A), borderline (cluster B), and dependent (cluster C) personality traits may be significant predictors of fibromyalgia (Nagelkerke R2 = 0.415). Conclusions: Our results may reflect association of FM with personality traits of all three PD clusters: A (eccentric), B (dramatic), C (anxious). However, the most consistent evidence seems to be for borderline PD.

Background As a major virus outbreak in the 21st century, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented hazards to mental health globally. Health care workers, patients with COVID-19 are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Methods: A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire consisted of four parts: sociodemographic, current and previous health status, measures in a social isolation, and the Arabic version of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results: We had 110 patients who completed the data. 89 (80.9%) of patients recovered from COVID-19. They ranged from 18-84 with a mean of 37.6 years (SD = 9.8 years). We had 33.6% of patients re-ported moderate to extremely severe depression compared to 18.2% with mild reported symptoms. The anxiety severity showed that (35.4%) out of patients had moderate to extremely severe anxiety, compared to (6.4%) who had mild anxiety. While stress severity showed that (22.7%) had moderate to extremely severe stress compared to (13.6%) who had mild stress. Conclusion: COVID-19 has caused a significant increase in the prevalence of mental health illness in the general population. Large systematic reviews are required to set the general overall of impact of this pandemic on mental health.

The fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) of aluminium alloys under the combined influence of temperature and humidity remains a relatively unexplored area, receiving limited attention due to its intricate nature and challenges in predicting the combined impact of these factors. The challenge was to investigate and address the specific mechanisms and interactions between temperature and humidity, as in coastal environment conditions, on the FCGR of aluminium alloy. The present study conducts a comprehensive investigation on the combined influence of temperature and humidity on the FCGR of Al6082 alloy. The fatigue pre-cracked compact tension specimens were corroded for 7 days and then subjected to various temperature and humidity conditions in a thermal chamber for 3 days to simulate coastal environments. The obtained data were analysed to determine the influence of temperature and humidity on the FCGR of Al6082 alloy. An empirical model was also established to predict fatigue life cycle values under these environmental conditions precisely. The correlation between FCGR and fracture toughness models was also examined. The Al6082 alloy exhibits a 34% increase in the Paris constant C, indicating reduced FCGR resistance due to elevated temperature and humidity levels. At the same time, fatigue, corrosion, moisture-assisted crack propagation, and hydrogen embrittlement lead to a 27% decrease in threshold fracture toughness. The developed model exhibited accurate predictions for fatigue life cycles, and the correlation between fracture toughness and FCGR showed less than 10% error, indicating a strong relationship between these parameters.

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by non-progressive central motor impairments. Mild movement disorder features have been observed in DCD. Until now, the etiology of DCD remains unclear. Recent studies suggested a genetic substrate in some patients with DCD, but comprehensive knowledge about associated genes and underlying pathogenetic mechanisms is still lacking. In this study, we first identified genes described in literature in patients with a diagnosis of DCD according to the official diagnostic criteria. Second, we exposed the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms of DCD, by investigating tissue- and temporal gene expression patterns and brain-specific biological mech-anisms. Third, we explored putative shared pathogenetic mechanisms between DCD and frequent movement disorders with a known genetic component, including ataxia, chorea, dystonia, and myoclonus. We identified 12 genes associated with DCD in literature, which are ubiquitously expressed in the central nervous system throughout brain development. These genes are involved in cellular processes, neural signaling and nervous system development. There was a remarkable overlap (62%) in pathogenetic mechanisms between DCD-associated genes and genes linked with movement disorders. Our findings suggest that some patients might have a genetic etiology of DCD, which could be considered part of a pathogenetic movement disorder spectrum.

Persons with stroke-induced aphasia (PWAs) are often impaired in tense/time reference (TR) production. It is not clear, however, whether PWAs’ impaired TR production is due to TR-related encoding or retrieval deficits. This study aims at disentangling TR-related encoding deficits from TR-related retrieval deficits in aphasia. Two sentence completion tasks (SCTs) tapping production of past and future reference were administered to eight Greek-speaking PWAs, eight Russian-speaking PWAs, six Italian-speaking PWAs, seven English-speaking PWAs and four groups of language-, age- and education-matched healthy controls. SCT 1 tapped TR-related encoding processes and TR-related retrieval processes to a similar extent. SCT 2 predominantly tapped TR-related retrieval processes. All four control groups performed at ceiling. Three Greek-speaking PWAs, one Russian-speaking PWA, three Italian-speaking PWAs and two English-speaking PWAs showed between-task dissociations. A double dissociation emerged, as some Greek-, Russian- and English-speaking PWAs performed better on SCT 1 than on SCT 2, whereas other Greek- and Italian-speaking PWAs performed worse on SCT 1 than on SCT 2. It will be shown that the experimental design employed here has the potential to disentangle TR-related encoding deficits from TR-related retrieval deficits, as both PWAs with selective TR-related encoding deficits and PWAs with selective TR-related retrieval deficits were identified.

The Supersymmetry Genetic code (SSyGC) table is based on five physicochemical symmetries: 1) double mirror symmetry on the principle of the horizontal and vertical mirror symmetry axis between all bases (purines [A, G) and pyrimidines (U, C)], and 2) of bases in form of codons 3) direct – complement like codon/anticodon symmetry in the sixteen alternating boxes of the genetic code columns, 4) A+T rich and C+G rich alternate codons in the same row between both columns of the genetic code, 5) the same position between divided and undivided codon boxes in relation to horizontal mirror symmetry axes. The SSyGC table has a unique physicochemical purine – pyrimidine symmetry net which is as the core symmetry common for all, more than thirty different nuclear and mitochondrial genetic codes. This net is present in the SSyGC table of all RNA and DNA living species. None of these symmetries is present in the Standard Genetic Code (SGC) table which is constructed on the alphabetic horizontal and vertical U-C-A-G order of bases. Here we show that the free energy value of each codon incorporated as fundamentally mapping the “energy code” in the SSyGC table is compatible with mirror symmetry. On the other hand, in the SGC table the same free energy values of codons are dispersed and a mirror symmetry between them is not recognizable. At the same time the mirror symmetry of the SSyGC table and the DNA quadruplets together with our classification of codons/trinucleotides are perfectly imbedded in the mirror symmetry energy mapping of codons/trinucleotides and point out in favor of maintaining the integrity of the genetic code and DNA genome. We also argue that physicochemical symmetries of the SSyGC table in the manner of the purine – pyrimidine symmetry net, the quadruplet symmetry of DNA molecule and the free energy of codons have remined unchanged during all of evolution. The unchangeable and universal symmetry properties of the genetic code, DNA molecule and energy code are decreasing disorder between codons/trinucleotides and shed a new light on evolution. Diversity in all living species on Earth is broad, but the symmetries of the Supersymmetry Genetic Code as the code of life and the DNA quadruplets related to the” energy code” are unique, unchangeable and have the power of natural laws.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. In late-stage AMD, geographic atrophy (GA) of dry AMD or choroidal neovascularization (CNV) of neovascular AMD results in macular atrophy (MA), leading to significant visual loss. Despite the development of innovative therapies, there are currently no established effective treatments for MA. As a result, early detection of MA is critical in identifying later central macular involvement throughout time. Accurate and early diagnosis is achieved through a combination of clinical examination and imaging techniques. Our review of the literature depicted advances in retinal imaging to identify biomarkers of progression and risk factors for late AMD. Imaging methods like fundus autofluorescence (FAF), near-infrared reflectance (NIR), widefield imaging, optical coherence tomography (OCT), multicolor confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (cSLO), and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) can be used to detect and monitor the progression of retinal atrophy. Multifocal electroretinogram (ERG) and microperimetry are methods for quantifying visual function to map disease progression. The evolving diverse imaging modalities optimize detection of pathology anatomy and measurement of visual function; they may also contribute to the understanding of the underlying mechanistic pathways, particularly the underlying MA changes in late AMD.

Colletotrichum higginsianum is a major pathogen causing anthracnose in Chinese flowering cabbage (Brassica parachinensis), posing a significant threat to the Chinese flowering cabbage industry. The conidia of C. higginsianum germinate and form melanized infection structures called appressoria, which enable penetration of the host plant's epidermal cells. However, the molecular mechanism underlying melanin biosynthesis in C. higginsianum remains poorly understood. In this study, we identified two enzymes related to DHN-melanin biosynthesis in C. higginsianum: ChPks and ChThr1. Our results demonstrate that the expression levels of genes ChPKS and ChTHR1 were significantly up-regulated during hyphal and appressorial melanization processes. Furthermore, knockout of the gene ChPKS resulted in a blocked DHN-melanin biosynthetic pathway in hyphae and appressoria, leading to increased sensitivity of the ChpksΔ mutant to cell wall interfering agents as well as decreased turgor pressure and pathogenicity. It should be noted that although the Chthr1Δ mutant still exhibited melanin accumulation in colonies and appressoria, its sensitivity to cell wall interfering agents and turgor pressure decreased compared to wild-type strains; however, complete loss of pathogenicity was not observed. In conclusion, our results indicate that DHN-melanin plays an essential role in both pathogenicity and cell wall integrity in C. higginsianum. Specifically, ChPks is crucial for DHN-melanin biosynthesis while deficiency of ChThr1 does not completely blocked melanin production.

The effect of casein savinase hydrolysate (CSH) usage on frozen dough (1%, 1.5% and 2%, g/100 g flour) was investigated in terms of rheological, thermal, structural characteristics of wheat doughs and the textural and color properties of corresponding breads. Rheological measurement showed that CSH addition into dough led to a reduction of Gʹ and Gʹʹ values, but a similar trend wasn’t observed in frozen dough samples. The increase of protein band intensity was observed for control dough (CD) after frozen storage (-30 °C, 28 days) while there was no increases in band intensities of the doughs with CSH. The freezable water content of unfrozen doughs was decreased gradually with addition of CSH depended on concentration level. Frozen storage caused a notable reduction in α-helices structure of CD sample (p&lt;0.05) while no significant variation was observed for the doughs containing CSH (p&gt;0.05). Lowest specific volume reduction and hardness increment were observed for the breads containing 1.5% and 2% CSH. Frozen storage caused a significant reduction on b* value of bread crust (p&lt;0.05) while no significant effect was observed for L* and a* value during frozen storage (p &gt; 0.05). Overall, CSH incorporation into frozen dough can be an alternative that could reduce the quality deteriorations of frozen bread.

This work tackles the problem of image restoration, a crucial task in many fields of applied sciences, focusing on removing degradation caused by blur and noise during the acquisition process. Drawing inspiration from the multi-penalty approach based on the Uniform Penalty principle introduced in [Bortolotti et al. arXiv.math.NA/2309.14163], we develop here a new image restoration model and an iterative algorithm for its effective solution. The model incorporates pixel-wise regularization terms and establishes a rule for parameters selection, aiming to restore images through the solution of a sequence of constrained optimization problems. To achieve this, we present a modified version of the Newton Projection method, adapted to multi-penalty scenarios, and prove its convergence. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficacy of the method in eliminating noise and blur while preserving the image edges.

Total-body PET/CT scanners provide increased sensitivity, enabling the adjustment of imaging parameters by reducing injected activity or shortening acquisition time. This study aimed to evaluate the limitations of reduced [18F]FDG activity doses on image quality, lesion detectabil-ity, and quantification of lesion uptake in the Biograph Vision Quadra, as well as to assess the benefits of the recently introduced ultra-high sensitivity mode in a clinical setting. A number of 26 patients who underwent [18F]FDG-PET/CT (3.0 MBq/kg, 5 min. scan time) were included in this analysis. PET raw data was rebinned for shorter frame durations to simulate 5 min. scans with lower activities in high sensitivity (HS) and ultra-high sensitivity (UHS) modes. Image quality, noise, and lesion detectability (n=82) were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. The co-efficient of variation (CoV), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), tumor-to-background ratio (TBR), and standardized uptake values (SUV) including SUVmean, SUVmax, and SUVpeak were evaluated. Sub-jective image ratings were generally superior in UHS compared to HS mode. At 0.5 MBq/kg, le-sion detectability decreased to 95% (HS) and 98% (UHS). SNR was comparable at 1.0 MBq/kg in HS (5.7±0.6) and 0.5 MBq/kg in UHS (5.5±0.5). With lower doses, there were negligible reductions in SUVmean and SUVpeak, whereas SUVmax increased steadily. Reducing [18F]FDG activity to 1.0 MBq/kg (HS/UHS) in a total-body PET/CT provides diagnostic image quality without statistical-ly significant changes in uptake parameters. UHS mode improves image quality, noise, and le-sion detectability compared to HS mode.

Post-COVID-19 bacterial infections are a significant threat to global health, mainly due to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. The review highlights the importance of using antibiotics judiciously and following appropriate guidelines and recommendations. The article also examines the potential indirect contribution of steroids to antibiotic resistance through immune suppression in severe cases of COVID-19. Anti-microbial resistance (AMR) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide that continues as a silent pandemic caused by the major AMR superbug includes Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), Extended-spectrum Beta Lactamase producing Enterobacterales (ESBL) which is resistant to cephalosporin and Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Ongoing surveillance and monitoring of antibiotic use and resistance helped to minimize the risk of antibiotic resistance and shrink it from pandemic to endemic.

In this paper, we introduce the notion of weighted generalized group inverse in a Banach algebra with proper involution. This is a natural generalization of weighted weak group inverse for a complex matrix and Hilbert space operator. We present several characterizations and representations of this generalized inverse. In addition, a new partial order on elements in a Banach *-algebra is investigated by using the weighted generalized group inverse and some known results are thus generalized.

Virtual reality software might be challenging to utilize for beginners and unskilled professionals who do not have a programming or 3D modeling background. Concurrently, there is a knowledge gap in software project design for intuitive virtual reality authoring tools, which were supposed to be easier to use. These tools are frequently insufficient due to a lack of support and standard operating procedures. Adopting the Design Science Research paradigm, this study aims to evaluate the validity of fourteen design guidelines for the development of intuitive virtual reality authoring tools as an artifact. While a previous study completed the first steps of the Design Science Research, by identifying problems, defining solution objectives, and developing and demonstrating the design guidelines, this work seeks to qualitatively evaluate their application in a practical experiment. A group of engineering students with no prior experience in creating virtual worlds were tasked with examining the design guidelines while using the NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise as an exemplary use case and responding to a questionnaire and a focus group interview about how they perceived these guidelines. A correlation analysis confirmed that most guidelines scores behaved as expected and were ranked according to the use-case functionality. The participants understood the guidelines' definition and could decide if they agreed or disagreed with their presence during the experiment. We conclude that, in accordance with the Design Science Research, the proposed artifact is useful, i.e., the design guidelines for virtual reality authoring tools perform what they are designed to do and are operationally reliable in accomplishing their goals.

Deep learning is emerging in many industrial sectors in hand with big data analytics to streamline production. In the biomanufacturing sector, big data infrastructure is lagging comparatively to other industries. A promising approach is to combine Deep Neural Networks (DNN) with prior knowledge in Hybrid Neural Network (HNN) workflows that are less dependent on the quality and quantity of data. This paper reviews published articles over the past 30 years on the topic of HNN applications to bioprocesses. It revealed that HNNs were applied to various bioprocesses, including microbial cultures, animal cells cultures, mixed microbial cultures, and enzyme biocatalysis. HNNs were mainly applied for process analysis, process monitoring, development of software sensors, open- and closed-loop control, batch-to-batch control, model predictive control, intensified design of experiments, quality-by-design, and recently for the development of digital twins. Most previous HNN studies combined shallow Feedforward Neural Networks (FFNNs) with physical laws, such as macroscopic material balance equations, following the semiparametric design principle. Only recently, deep HNNs based on deep FFNNs, Convolution Neural Networks (CNN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks and Physics Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) have been reported. The biopharma sector is currently a major driver but applications to biologics quality attributes, new modalities, and downstream processing are significant research gaps.

Voice search technology has gained popularity in recent years, transforming the way individuals interact with digital devices. This study aims to explore the sustainable use intention of voice search, focusing on the psychological factors that influence new technology adoption. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and anthropomorphism theory, it provides insights for developers, marketers, and policymakers interested in voice search technology. Through an online survey targeting experienced voice search users in the U.S., the study examines the impact of TAM factors (perceived usefulness, ease of use, quality satisfaction) and anthropomorphism traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism) on sustainable use intention of voice search. Results from hierarchical regression analysis show that perceived usefulness, ease of use, and quality satisfaction positively affect sustainable intention of voice search. Additionally, narcissism and Machiavellianism predict sustainable intention of voice search. By merging TAM and anthropomorphism theory, this study enhances our understanding of voice search behavior and technology adoption.

Excess weight, which is seen as the background cause of most diseases, is gradually becoming the most important problem in the world. The cafeteria diet is robust diet that mimics the western diet and provides rapid weight gain associated with the obesity, diabetes, and cancer. The relationship between obesity and cancer is well known. For this reason, it is of great importance to reveal the first molecular and metabolic alterations that occur before entering the obesity process with any factor to understand the pathology of many diseases and to treat them in the early period. The beneficial effects of probiotics are attributed to their metabolite content with antioxidant properties or the postbiotic metabolites produced by them. In this study, the effects of different dietary practices on the hepatic antioxidant system of rats in developmental period were investigated by real-time PCR, enzyme activity measurements, and quantitative measurements of metabolites. After all, it was observed that CAF caused serious impairments by affecting the hepatic antioxidant system at gene and protein levels, and these impairments were relatively reversed with SCD Probiotics supplementation. In addition, regardless of the CAF diet, the regulatory effect of SCD Probiotics supplementation on the hepatic antioxidant system is remarkable.

We report on ground-based measurements of the atmospheric electric field (Ez= -Potential Gradient (PG)) and current density (Jz) that were conducted at two locations in Israel. One is the Emilio Segre cosmic ray station located on Mt. Hermon (34.45 N, 2020 m AMSL) located in northern Israel near the Syrian-Lebanon border and at the other at the Wise astronomical observatory in the Negev desert highland plateau of southern Israel (31.18 N, 870 m AMSL). We searched for possible effects of strong, short-term solar events on the potential gradient and the vertical current density, as disruption to the Global Electric Circuit are often observed following strong solar events. The first case study (St. Patrick Day, 17 March 2015) was classified as the strongest event of 2015. The second case study (8 Sep 2017) was categorized as the strongest event of 2017 and one of the twenty strongest events on record to date. The results show that the electrical parameters measured at ground level at both stations were not affected during the two massive proton events and the ensuing geomagnetic storms. The magnetospheric shielding in lower latitudes is strong enough to shield against flux of energetic particles from solar events, obscuring any impact that may be noticeable above the local daily variations induced by local meteorological conditions (aerosol concentrations, clouds, high humidity, and wind speed) which were investigated as well.

Potentilla nepalensis belongs to the Rosaceae family, and has numerous therapeutic applications as potent plant-based medicine. Forty phytoconstituents (PCs) from the root and stem through n-hexane (NR and NS) and methanolic (MR and MS) extracts were identified in our earlier studies. However, the PCs affecting human genes and their roles in the body are not disclosed till now. In this study, we employed network pharmacology, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations (MDS), and MMGBSA methodologies. SMILES format of PCs from the PubChem used as input to DIGEP-Pred, 764 identified as the inducing genes. Their enrichment studies have shown inducing genes gene ontology descriptions, involved pathways, associated diseases, and drugs. PPI networks constructed in String DB and network topological analysing parameters done in Cytoscape v3.10 revealed three biomarkers, TP53 from MS, NR, and NS induced genes; HSPCB and Nf-kB1 from MR induced genes. From 40 PCs, two PCs 1b (MR) and 2a (MS), showed better binding scores (kcal/mol) with p53 protein of -8.6, and -8.0; three PCs 3a, (NR) 4a and 4c (NS) with HSP protein of -9.6, -8.7, and -8.2. MDS and MMGBSA revealed these complexes are stable without higher deviations with better free energy values. Biomarkers identified in this study, have a prominent role in numerous cancers. Thus, further investigations such as in-vivo and in-vitro should be done to find the molecular functions and interlaying mechanism of the identified biomarkers on numerous cancer cell lines in considering the PCs of P.nepalensis.

Amaranth has the potential to support Malawi's food and nutrition security, income generation and livelihoods, and climate change resilience efforts. Due to the high genetic variability of Ama-ranth, there is a need to develop stable and high-yielding genotypes for sustainable production. To determine the degree of genetic stability in different environments, five Amaranth accessions were subjected to stability analysis. The experiment was carried out at three sites (Bunda, Bembeke, and Chipoka) for two seasons in 2020-2021 in the central region of Malawi. It was laid out in Ran-domized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replicates. Eberhart and Russell linear regres-sion model was used for stability analysis and Pearson correlation was used to test the relationship between variables. Environmental variance + (genotype x environment) was significant for four of the parameters studied, namely grain yield, plant height, leaf length, and leaf width, indicating the presence of a remarkable interaction between genotypes and environment. The results of a pooled analysis of variance showed significant differences at a 5% significance level among the Amaranth accessions, indicating inherent genetic variability. Using the linear regression model of Eberhart and Russell, accessions PE-LO-BH -01 and LL-BH -04 were identified as the highest yielding stable genotypes for leaf and grain yield, respectively. In addition, Bembeke site was the most favourable environment for all the accessions. Thus, to enhance the production of amaranth in Malawi, LL-BH-04 and PE-LO-BH-01 were put forward for release as varieties for grain and leaf respectively. These results will also guide and support for future breeding programs.

This paper's aim is to extend horizons in symbolic AI. The key to doing so is to establish a scientific basis for knowledge foundations, and specifically for the concept of meaning, and its computation. This led to the creation of the Meaning Computation AI (MCAI). Knowledge structures are at the heart of MCAI. The semantic triple chain, one of such structures, is the subject of this paper. This structure is the core of introducing computational semantic reasoning models across a variety of domains. To efficiently apply knowledge structures to create semantic reasoning applications MCAI contains a development framework consisting of four components. The first component stems from our discovery that knowledge is relational in nature. It can be expressed through implicit relations (which reflect meaning) and semantic relations (which describe how implicit relations act between entities). An algebraical apparatus for relational knowledge, specifically for implicit and semantic relations, represents the first component. Axiomatic models of relational domain ontologies and domain-oriented semantic reasoning models comprise the second and third components. The fourth component contains domain-oriented semantic reasoning engines.

Abstract: — management of the Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) operation has proven to be a difficult undertaking due to the complex and ever-changing nature of its behavior, which is both nonlinear and dynamic, which is further compounded by its instability. Attempts have been made to use Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers for such processes, but the performance is often poor due to the inherent limitations of the controllers. In contrast, heuristic algorithms have been employed to tune the controllers, but these methods can only provide optimal performance for a restricted range of parameter variations. This paper presents a novel approach that involves using a conventional gain scheduling PID controller in combination with a fuzzy gain scheduling (FGS) controller method to calibrate set-point weighted PID controllers for the CSTR process. The paper outlines the design of the controllers and evaluates their performance by subjecting them to varying input signals within the given bandwidth.

The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019 reveals an increasing prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) from 1990 to 2019. This study delves into the role of dietary risk factors across different demographic and socioeconomic groups. Utilizing data from the GBD 2019, it analyzes age-adjusted T2DM metrics—death counts, Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), and Age-Standardized Rates (ASR)—stratified by age, sex, and region. The study employed Estimated Annual Percentage Changes (EAPCs) to track trends over time. Results show that in 2019, 26.07% of T2DM mortality and 27.08% of T2DM DALYs were attributable to poor diets, particularly those low in fruits and high in red and processed meats. Geographic variations in T2DM trends were significant, with regions like Southern Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia experiencing the most substantial increases in Age-Standardized Mortality Rate (ASMR) and Age-Standardized DALY Rate (ASDR). A positive correlation was noted between Socio-Demographic Index (SDI) and T2DM burden due to dietary risk factors. The study concludes that targeted public health initiatives promoting dietary changes could substantially reduce the global T2DM burden.

Bloodstream infection (BSI) after pediatric liver transplantation (PLT) is a common and severe complication that affects patient survival. Children with biliary atresia (BA) are at an increased risk for clinically significant infections. This study evaluated the impact of post-PLT BSI on clinical outcomes in children with BA. A total of 67 patients with BA aged &lt;18 years who underwent PLT between April 2006 and September 2020 were analyzed and divided into two groups according to the occurrence of post-PLT BSI within 1 month (BSI vs. no BSI = 13 [19.4%] vs. 54 [80.6%]). The BSI group was significantly younger at the time of PLT and had a higher frequency of BSI at the time of PLT than the no BSI group. Early vascular complications within 3 months and reoperations were significantly more frequent in the BSI group. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that bacteremia within 1 month of PLT and graft-to-recipient weight ratio &gt;4% were significantly associated with vascular complications. In conclusion, BSI after PLT is associated with increased vascular complications and reoperations. Proper control of bacterial infections and early liver transplantation before uncontrolled BSI may reduce vascular complications and unexpected reoperations in children with BA.

This paper presents new perspectives of photonic technologies for capsule endoscopy. It is firstly presented a review about conventional endoscopy (upper endoscopy and colonoscopy), followed by capsule endoscopy (CE), as well as their techniques, advantages, and drawbacks. The technologies for CEs presented in this paper have the potential of integration on the existing endoscopic systems commercially available. Such technologies include narrow band imaging (NBI), photodynamic therapy (PDT), confocal laser endomicroscopy (CLE), Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and Spectroscopy in order to improve the performance of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract examination. In the context of NBI, two optical filters were designed and fabricated for integration into endoscopic capsules, allowing the visualization of light centered at the 415 nm and 540 nm. These optical filters are based on the principle of Fabry-Perot and were made of thin-films of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silicon dioxide (SiO2). Moreover, strategies and aid solutions for the adaptation of ECs for PDT are also discussed.

Wheat yield plays an important role in the global economy. Changing climate conditions and increased drought negatively affect grain yield. Currently, breeding programs are aimed at improving wheat productivity. To accelerate the selection process of hybrids and parental forms for crosses, it is essential to pay attention to plants' phenotypic and genetic potential. We studied the genes of the "green revolution" group Rht and coarse-grained TaGW and TaGS to increase yields by selecting optimal parameters for wheat. We focused on short-stemmed and coarse-grained characteristics in a dry climate and conducted a correlation analysis between the genetic potential of wheat varieties and hybrids and their phenotypic manifestation in drought conditions. Rht-D1b significantly reduced the height of plants by 51.67% and reduced the coleoptile length by 30.45%. At the same time, TaGW8-B1a increased the grain width by 13.37%. However, in the presence of Rht-D1b and Rht-B1b in the genome, the 1000-kernal weight was 35.06 g (p<0.05), the Rht-B1b gene enhanced it by 9% (p<0.05), while both Rht-D1a and Rht-B1a alleles gave a 1000-kernal weight of 37.96 g (p<0.05). The Rht-D1b and Rht-B1b alleles gave 18.5 seeds per ear, while the Rht-D1a and Rht-B1a alleles gave the value of grains per ear -24.1 pcs. The data obtained indicated the relationship of phenotypic and genetic parameters in wheat between the coarse-grained and short-stemmed genes, which makes it possible to select based on the genetic parameters of varieties and hybrids, thereby speeding up the selection process.

Severe COVID-19 alters the biochemical and morphological characteristics of blood cells in a wide variety of ways. To date, however, the vast majority of research has been devoted to the study of leukocytes, while erythrocyte morphological changes have received significantly less attention. The purpose of this research was to identify erythrocyte types that were unique to COVID-19, compare the number of different poikilocyte types, and measure erythrocyte sizes to provide data on size dispersion. Red blood cells obtained from 6 control donors (800-2200 cells for each donor) and 5 COVID-19 patients (800-1900 cells for each patient) were examined using low voltage scanning electron microscopy. We did not discover any forms of poikilocytes that would be unique to COVID-19. Among COVID-19 patients, we observed an increase in the number of acanthocytes (p=0.01) and a decrease in the number of spherocytes (p=0.03). In addition, our research demonstrates that COVID-19 causes an increase in the median (p=0.004) and interquartile range (p=0.009) when assessing erythrocyte size.

Background: Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a rare autoimmune disease presenting with au-to-antibodies that affect the neuromuscular junction. Aside from symptomatic treatment options, novel therapeutics include monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). IMGT®, the international ImMunoGe-neTics information system® (https://www.imgt.org), extends the characterization of therapeutic antibodies with a systematic description of their mechanisms of action (MOA) and makes them available through its database for mAbs and fusion proteins, IMGT/mAb-DB. Methods: Using the available literature data combined with the amino acid sequence analyses from mAbs managed in IMGT/2Dstructure-DB, the IMGT® protein database, biocuration allowed to define in a standardized way descriptions of MOA of mAbs that target molecules towards MG treatment. Results: New therapeutic targets include FcRn and molecules such as CD38, CD40, CD19, MS4A1 and interleukin-6 receptor. A standardized graphical representation of the MOA of selected mAbs was created and integrated within IMGT/mAb-DB. The main mechanisms involved in these mAbs are either blocking or neutralizing. Therapies directed to B cell depletion and plasma cells have a blocking MOA with an immunosuppressant effect along with Fc-effector function (MS4A1, CD38) or FcγRIIb engager effect (CD19). Monoclonal antibodies targeting the complement also have blocking MOA with a complement inhibitor effect and treatments targeting T cells have a blocking MOA with an immunosuppressant effect (CD40) and Fc-effector function (IL6R). On the other hand, FcRn antagonists present a neutralizing MOA with an FcRn inhibitor effect. Conclusion: The MOA of each new mAb needs to be considered in association with the immuno-pathogenesis of each of the subtypes of MG in order to integrate the new mAbs as a viable and safe option in the therapy decision process. In IMGT/mAb-DB, mAbs for MG are characterized by their sequence, domains, chains and their MOA is described.

The grinding process by friction at the micro-scale in a mill with stones is considered a variable combination of contacts: with two-body (the asperities of lower millstone in direct contact with the asperities of upper millstone) and the three-body (micro-particles of ground seeds trapped between the asperities of lower and the upper stones of the mill). Three elements are described: (1) the mechanic contact of the asperities of the lower and upper millstone, to predict pressures on asperities, by modeling; (2) tests on a millstone sample covered with grinding particles, and (3) tests on a wafer sample formed by the millstones with the grinding particles between them. The paper highlights the combined effects of the micro-scale friction by individual measurements and to sum these effects an analytical model was used, and to validate the model, several experiments were performed. A suitable grind by friction assumes the grain’s movement and the interaction between the seeds and solid surfaces and is highlighted through theoretical and experimental studies. Topography analysis of the surface of the millstones revealed the model of microscopic frictional force. Endpoint measurements (the traces of the surface topography evolution), enable model verification in the grinding process.

Smart grids are seeing an increase in renewable energy and an enormous introduction of advanced power electronics, increasing the number of disturbance sources. This requires improving the accuracy of measurement systems capable of acquiring data for use in power system monitoring applications. Rogowski Coils (RCs) and Merging Units (MUs) are being widely deployed in controlling, metering, and monitoring of digital power systems. Because the performance of digital measurement devices has a direct influence on power measurement accuracy, it is critical to perform a laboratory calibration of these measurement instruments before they are installed in any project. To determine the magnitude and phase displacement errors of the RC+MU under normal and abnormal operating conditions, this article presents a comprehensive laboratory digital calibration system constructed from precise, readily available commercial products such as a fluxgate current transducer and a National Instrument. In addition, the analysis of measurement chain is affected by sources of uncertainty is discussed. The tests yield findings that are consistent with the relevant standards.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common form of presenile dementia; however, its diagnosis has been poorly investigated. Previous attempts to diagnose FTD using quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) have yielded inconsistent results in both spectral and functional connectivity analyses. This study aimed to introduce an accurate qEEG marker that could be used to diagnose FTD and other neurological abnormalities. We used open-access electroencephalography data from OpenNeuro to investigate the power ratio between the frontal and temporal lobes in the resting state of 23 patients with FTD and 29 healthy controls. Spectral data were extracted using a Fast Fourier Transform in the delta (1–4 Hz), theta (4–8 Hz), alpha (8–13 Hz), beta (13–32 Hz), and gamma (32–45 Hz) bands. We found that the spectral power ratio between the frontal and temporal lobes is a promising qEEG marker of FTD. Frontal/temporal (F/T) theta/alpha, alpha/theta, al-pha/gamma, and gamma/alpha showed a consistently high discrimination score for the diagnosis of FTD for different parameters and referencing methods. The study findings can serve as reference for future research focused on diagnosing FTD and other neurological anomalies.

A multitude of factors influence our well-being and health in everyday life. Some of which we are totally aware like a delayed train, car exhausts, or continuous work stress. Other factors influence us on a subconscious level, making them, however, not less important to address. One of these factors is the built environment surrounding us almost every second of our lives. The idea of biophilic design states the importance of natural elements implemented in architectural structures to improve the occupants’ health and well-being. Adding to this field of research, this article targets the impact of biophilic design on positive emotions and productivity by using novel approaches like Facial Emotion Recognition (FER) with Residual Masking Networks, and sentiment detection using Large Language Models. Two separate but related studies were conducted and their results reported here. The first study measured emotions of people when confronted with images of different kinds of architecture, via FER (Facial Emotion Recognition) and also via a user survey. We distinguish between self-stated emotions entered through a survey by study participants, and emotions detected from studying the participants’ faces through AI from our FER (Facial Emotion Recognition) system. We found clear trends for most detected emotions, and significant evidence for self-stated emotions, that architecture implementing biophilic design evokes more positive emotions than one that does not. The second study measures the influence of natural elements on productivity and team-engagement. We found that natural elements do influence productivity and sentiment positively; however, only the change in sentiment was shown to be significant. As our sample size, especially for the second study, was relatively small, future research will apply these ideas in a larger setup to acquire further evidence for the importance of biophilic design for human well-being and health.

Objective: To investigate fundamental movement skills (FMS) and physical activity differences among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White elementary school children. Materials and Methods: This study included 194 children aged between 4 and 11 in kindergarten, 2nd, and 5th grades. For evaluable participants, t-tests were used to test potential differences in fitness or movement skills. The characteristics of Hispanic and non-Hispanic White were compared using the p-value to detect statistical differences in anthropometric, FMS, and fitness characteristics. To identify any noticeable differences, the means and standard deviations of each group were compared. Results: There were significant group differences across the participants in age, height, Body Mass Index (BMI), BMI percentile, arm circumference, and waist circumference. In addition, there were significant differences between Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White in catch, run, dodge, punt, and two-hand strike (all p’s <0.05). Lastly, there were significant differences between Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White in pull-up, push-up, and sit-up (all p’s <0.05). Conclusion: Future studies should focus on decreasing obesity, increasing fitness, and FMS in elementary school children. Particularly, with Hispanic children whose FMS is negatively affected at such a young age, leading to eventual implications for their physical fitness and health in the future.

Fibrosis is the end result of persistent inflammatory responses induced by a variety of stimuli, including chronic infections, autoimmune reactions, and tissue injury. Fibrotic diseases affect all vital organs and are characterized by a high rate of morbidity and mortality in the developed world, although currently there are no approved antifibrotic therapies. In recent years, high levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) have been associated with chronic inflammatory diseases with fibrotic complications, that culminate in organ failure. In this review, we provide an update on the role of IL-17 in fibrotic diseases, with particular attention to the most recent lines of research in the therapeutic field represented by the epigenetic mechanisms that control IL-17 levels in fibrosis. A better knowledge of the IL-17 signalling pathway implications in fibrosis could design new strategies for therapeutic benefits.

Deep learning methods have been widely used in PolSAR image classification. To learn the polarimetric information, many deep learning methods expect to learn high-level semantic features from original PolSAR data. However, only original data cannot learn multiple scattering features and complex structures for extremely heterogeneous terrain objects. In addition, deep learning methods always cause edge confusion due to the high-level features. To overcome these shortages, we propose a double-channel CNN network combined with an edge-preserving MRF model(DCCNN-MRF) for PolSAR image classification. Firstly, to combine complex matrix data and multiple scattering features together, a double-channel convolution network(DCCNN) is developed, which consists of a Wishart-based complex matrix and multi-feature subnetworks. The Wishart-based complex matrix network can learn the statistical characteristics and channel correlation well, and the multi-feature network can learn high-level semantic features well. Then, a unified network framework is designed to fuse two kinds of features to enhance advantageous features and reduce redundant ones. Finally, an edge preserving MRF model is designed to combine with the DCCNN network. In the MRF model, a sketch map-based edge energy function is designed by defining adaptive weighted neighborhood for edge pixels. Experiments are conducted on four real PolSAR data sets with different sensors and bands. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed DCCNN-MRF method.

The objective was to compare the failure loads of glass ceramic, and polymer crowns against yttria-partially stabilized zirconia (Y-PSZ) crowns with varying yttria concentrations. Monolithic crowns of zirconia (Cercon XT, Katana UTML, BruxZir Anterior), glass ceramic (Celtra press, IPS e.max press, Lisi press), and polymeric materials (Trilor, Juvora, Pekkton) were fabricated and cemented to epoxy abutments. The total number of specimens was 135 for crowns and 135 for discs (15 specimens per material type and design). A universal testing machine was used to perform compressive loading of all crowns to failure with a steel hemisphere along the longitudinal axis of the abutments. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was used to identify the concentration (mol% yttria-partially stabilized zirconia) for each zirconia brand. The data were analyzed using a generalized linear model and regression analysis. The results revealed significant differences (P < .05) in mean failure loads for different crown materials: Trilor (6811 ± 960 N) > Juvora (5215 ± 151 N) > Cercon (4260 ± 520 N) = BruxZir (4186 ± 269 N) = e.max (3981 ± 384 N) > Katana (3195 ± 350 N) = Lisi (3173 ± 234 N) = Pekkton (3105 ± 398 N) > Celtra (2696 ± 393 N). EDS showed that the zirconia materials contained yttria at different concentrations (BruxZir = 5Y-PSZ, Cercon = 4Y-PSZ, Katana = 3Y-PSZ). The yttria concentration had a significant effect on the failure load of the Katana (3Y-PSZ) crowns, which revealed lower failure loads than the Cercon (4Y-PSZ) and BruxZir (5Y-PSZ) crowns. New zirconia materials are provided with different yttria concentrations (3Y-, 4Y-, and 5Y-PSZ). Since a higher yttria concentration increases the translucency, clinicians should be aware that 4-5 wt% yttria-partially stabilized zirconia materials provide comparable or higher mechanical properties than e. max glass ceramic for dental application of crowns.

Techniques for the controlled seeding and growth of cracks are urgently required for non-destructive testing technique evaluation, particularly for additive manufactured (AM) samples. This paper describes a method which uses a combination of tensile load and resonance excitation of notched AM samples, with in-situ monitoring of the resonance frequency serving to track crack dimensions. Mechanical low-cycle fatigue cracks, ranging in length from ~0.3 mm to ~5 mm, are successfully created in five AM samples using this technique. The samples are non-destructively characterized using optical microscopy and Nonlinear Resonance (NLR) testing. The exploitation of resonance enables the concentration of a significant number of stress cycles on the samples in much shorter timespans than conventional fatigue testing, enabling high throughput, while utilising compact components. Furthermore, the tracking of resonance frequency shift throughout the process enables non-invasive and non-contact real-time condition monitoring.

The work presented in this paper presents several novel findings from a comprehensive analysis of about 50,000 Tweets about online learning during COVID-19, posted on Twitter between November 9, 2021, and July 13, 2022. First, the results of sentiment analysis from VADER, Afinn, and TextBlob show that a higher percentage of these tweets were positive. The results of gender-specific sentiment analysis indicate that for positive tweets, negative tweets, and neutral tweets, between males and females, males posted a higher percentage of the tweets. Second, the results from subjectivity analysis show that the percentage of least opinionated, neutral opinionated, and highly opinionated tweets were 56.568%, 30.898%, and 12.534%, respectively. The gender-specific results for subjectivity analysis indicate that for each subjectivity class, males posted a higher percentage of tweets as compared to females. Third, toxicity detection was performed on the tweets to detect different categories of toxic content - toxicity, obscene, identity attack, insult, threat, and sexually explicit. The gender-specific analysis of the percentage of tweets posted by each gender in each of these categories revealed several novel insights. For instance, for the sexually explicit category, females posted a higher percentage of tweets as compared to males. Fourth, gender-specific tweeting patterns for each of these categories of toxic content were analyzed to understand the trends of the same. The results unraveled multiple paradigms of tweeting behavior, for instance, the intensity of obscene content in tweets about online learning by males and females has decreased since May 2022. Fifth, the average activity of males and females per month was calculated. The findings indicate that the average activity of females has been higher in all months as compared to males other than March 2022. Finally, country-specific tweeting patterns of males and females were also performed which presented multiple novel insights, for instance, in India a higher percentage of the tweets about online learning during COVID-19 were posted by males as compared to females.

This research explores the intricate relationship between gravitational and cosmic redshift phenomena, unveiling a profound understanding of how light behaves as it traverses the cosmos. The study begins with an examination of gravitational redshift, a well-established concept occurring when photons move away from massive gravitational sources, such as stars within galaxies. Gravitational redshift, expressed as λ/λ₀, manifests within the gravitational influence and extends to the boundary of the observed "zero-gravity sphere" enveloping galaxies. Within this remarkable zero-gravity sphere, gravitational effects persist, while the antigravity influence of dark energy remains negligible. As a result, gravitational redshift dominates, and cosmic redshift is notably absent within the sphere. Photons within this sphere maintain their constant speed 'c' and undergo gravitational redshift exclusively. However, as photons exit the zero-gravity sphere at a distance 'r' equivalent to the source star's radius, they encounter the onset of cosmic redshift, quantified as {(λ_obs - λ_emit)/ λ_emit}. Cosmic redshift blends with gravitational redshift, forming the effective redshift of the photon. Critically, the effective cosmic redshift surpasses gravitational redshift, illuminating a profound revelation: photons traverse a greater "light-traveled distance" than their proper distance from the source. In essence, cosmic redshift signifies that photons move across their intended distances at their intrinsic speed c, while the expanding universe introduces a relative distance expansion, influenced by antigravity. This research delves into the intricate dance between gravitational and cosmic redshift, shedding light on their remarkable implications for our comprehension of the expanding universe.

The manuscript presents a novel approach to designing and fabricating a stretchable patch antenna designed for strain sensing and wireless communication of sensing data at the same time. The challenge lies in combining flexible and stretchable textile materials with different physical mor-phologies, which can hinder adhesion among multiple layers when stacked up, resisting the overall stretchability of the antenna. The proposed antenna design overcomes this challenge by incorpo-rating a lattice hinge pattern in the non-stretchable conductive e-textile, transforming it into a stretchable structure. The innovative design includes the longitudinal cuts inserted in both the patch and the ground plane of the antenna, allowing it to stretch along in the perpendicular direction. Implementing the lattice hinge pattern over the conductive layers of the proposed patch antenna in combination with a 2 mm thick Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate achieves a maximum of 25% stretchability compared to its counterpart antenna without lattice hinge design. The stretchable textile antenna resonates around a frequency of 2.45 GHz and exhibits a linear resonant frequency shift when strained up to 25%. This characteristic makes it suitable for use as a strain sensor. Ad-ditionally, the lattice hinge design enhances the conformability and flexibility of the antenna compared to a solid patch antenna. The realized antenna gains in the E and H-plane were measured as 2.21 dBi and 2.34 dBi, respectively. Overall, the presented design offers a simple and effective solution for fabricating a stretchable textile patch antenna for normal use or as a sensing element, opening up possibilities for applications in communication and sensing fields.

We introduce the lower chaos grade of a real-valued function F defined on the Markov triple (E,μ,Γ), where μ is a probability measure and Γ is the carré du champ operator. As an application of this concept, we obtain the better estimate of the four moments theorem for Markov diffusion generators worked by Bourguin et al (2019). For our purpose, we need to find the largest number except zero in the set of eigenvalues corresponding to its eigenfunction in the case where the square of a random variable F, coming from a Markov triple structure, can be expressed as a sum of eigenfunctions, We give some examples of eigenfunctions of the diffusion generators such as Ornstein-Uhlenbeck, Jacobi and Romanovski-Routh. In particular, two bounds, called the four moments theorem and fourth moment theorem respectively, will be provided for the normal approximation of the case where a random variable F comes from eigenfunctions of a Jacobi generator.

Trust is a cornerstone for fostering positive social interactions and catalyzing a thriving economy. Various demographic and cultural determinants shape the levels of trust among individuals and communities, thereby influencing the overall trust landscape within a population. Nigeria, characterized by its rich tapestry of ethnicities, religious diversity, and ongoing inter-ethnic tensions, offers a unique lens through which to explore the dynamics of generalized trust in a multifaceted social setting.This study delves into the interplay between generalized trust, religious affiliations, and ethnic backgrounds within the Nigerian context. Utilizing data from the most recent wave of the World Values Survey (WVS) conducted in 2012, which encompassed 1,759 participants, we scrutinized the religious and ethnic variables correlated with generalized trust levels, while controlling for other pertinent factors. Our findings reveal that both group membership and cultural traits are significantly linked to levels of generalized trust. By unpacking the variables that shape social trust, this study contributes valuable insights into the complex social fabric of multicultural societies.

The interrelatedness of social-structural aspects and psychological features with the vaccination intention provides the context to explore personal psychological fea-tures related to general decision-making and vaccine-related dispositions, and their contribution to the intention to vaccinate, within post-pandemic circumstances, after the imposed possibility of choosing a vaccine brand. The aim of our study was to map the function (promotive, protective, risk, vulnerability) of a set of psychological aspects in the intention to vaccinate, in people with different social roles regarding the vaccination. We surveyed three samples of people: healthcare providers (HPs), parents, and lay people, within the context of the after-pandemic. Negative vaccine attitudes lower intention to vaccinate in all regression models (all βs ranging from -.128 to -.983, all ps < .01). The main results indicate that, regardless of the sam-ple/social role, there is a shared attitudinal core for positive vaccination intention. This core consists of [high] trust in large corporations, government, and healthcare systems, as well as perceived consensus on vaccine safety/efficacy and experience of freedom (protective factors), and [low] vaccination conspiracy beliefs, trust in social media, and choice overload (risk and vulnerability factors, respectively). There are no common promotive factors of intention to vaccinate; for parents, perceived consensus on vaccines, and trust in corporations and the healthcare system play such roles, for HPs experience of freedom is obtained as a unique promotive factor. In contrast, for laypeople, no unique promotive factors were found. These results and guidelines for the promotion of positive vaccination behavior are further discussed.

Objective: The objective of our study was to explore the potential benefits of combining moderate alcohol consumption with regular vigorous physical activity on HDL-cholesterol levels and its potential positive impact on cardiovascular health. Material and method: The study comprised two groups: group A (102 patients) who consumed 1 gram of alcohol per day, specifically red wine, and increased their exercise levels in addition to their standard medical treatment, and group B (108 patients) who adhered only to their standard medical treatment. The patients were monitored for a year, during which various clinical parameters were observed. Results:Our study showed that moderate alcohol consumption, particularly red wine, along with increased physical activity levels, was associated with enhancements in exercise tolerance and elevated levels of HDL-cholesterol. Our findings suggest the efficacy of the intervention in improving lipid profiles, with the group that consumed alcohol as part of their treatment scheme, generally experiencing more pronounced positive effects. Statistically significant differences between groups in terms of angina evolution, AMI recurrence, or arrhythmias evolution were not found. However, there were important differences in terms of EF improvement and quality of life, with the alcohol consuming group displaying greater improvements in both aspects. Conclusions:In conclusion, our study emphasizes the potential benefits of combining moderate alcohol consumption, specifically red wine, with increased physical activity levels for improving exercise tolerance and enhancing HDL-cholesterol levels. However, further research and clinical trials are essential to fully understand the mechanisms and optimize the integration of these lifestyle elements for improved cardiovascular health outcomes.

In this paper, we thoroughly explore the complex realm of cryptography, examining its historical, cultural, and metaphorical aspects. We delve into the roots of cryptography, tracing back to its Ancient Greek origins where it meant the study of secure and hidden writing. We also reveal the historical significance of cryptography in times of war and conflict, showcasing how it has been a vital tool for encoding messages and maintaining confidentiality. Furthermore, we uncover the surprising connection between cryptography and love, highlighting moments from history, such as the encrypted letters between Marie Antoinette and Axel von Fersen during the French Revolution, which showcase the human desire to communicate and connect even during times of turmoil. This paper delves into the cultural and metaphorical representations of cryptography, with a specific focus on the iconic characters Alice and Bob and how they are reinterpreted in different cultural contexts. The paper draws parallels between the complexities of the intertwining of logical, emotional, technical, and personal narratives in cryptographic discourse, offering insights into the lasting legacy of cryptographic metaphors in explaining complex concepts and emphasising the universal human desire for secure and intimate connections.

Crossostephium chinense is a wild species with strong salt tolerance, which has great potential to improve the salt tolerance of cultivated chrysanthemums. Conversely, the unique salt-tolerant molecular mechanisms of Cr. chinense are still unclear. This study performed a comparative physiological and transcriptome analysis of Cr. chinense, Chrysanthemum lavandulifolium and their hybrids. The physiological results showed that Cr. chinense maintained a higher superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, to alleviate the oxidative damage to membrane. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the plant hormone signaling transduction and the MAPK signaling pathway were mostly enriched in Cr. chinense and hybrids under salt stress. Further weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) of DEGs suggested that the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling transduction may play a significant role in the salt-tolerant mechanisms of Cr. chinense and hybrids. The tissue-specific expression patterns of the candidate genes related to ABA signaling transduction and MAPK signaling pathway indicated that genes related to ABA signaling transduction performed significant expression levels under salt stress. This study provides a theoretical foundation for future research into the molecular mechanism of salt tolerance in chrysanthemums under salt stress.

The complex interplay between dietary factors, inflammation, and macrophage polarization is pivotal in the pathogenesis and progression of chronic liver diseases (CLDs). Omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) have been attracted attention due to their potential to modulate inflammation and exert protective effects in various pathological conditions. This review explores the emerging role of omega-3 FAs and their specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) in the context of macrophage polarization, with a focus on chronic liver diseases. Omega-3, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have promising effects in mitigating inflammation and enhancing the resolution of inflammatory responses. They influence the M1/M2 macrophage phenotype balance, promoting a shift towards the M2 anti-inflammatory phenotype. SPMs, such as resolvins (Rvs), protectins (PDs), and maresins (MaRs), have emerged as potent regulators of inflammation and macrophage polarization. They show anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving properties. These mediators modulate the expression of cytokines, facilitate the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells, and promote tissue repair. MaR1, in particular, has demonstrated significant hepatoprotective effects by promoting M2 macrophage polarization, reducing oxidative stress, and inhibiting key inflammatory pathways such as NF-κB. In the context of CLD, such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cirrhosis, omega-3 and their SPMs have shown promise in attenuating liver injury, promoting tissue regeneration, and modulating macrophage phenotypes. However, the mechanisms underlying their effects and their interactions with other cell types within the liver microenvironment require further investigation. Understanding the intricate relationship among SPM and macrophage polarization holds unlimited potential for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for chronic liver diseases.

CXCL14 is one of the most evolutionarily conserved members of the chemokine family and is constitutionally expressed in multiple organs, suggesting that it is involved in the homeostasis maintenance of the system. CXCL14 is highly expressed in colon epithelial cells and shows obvious gene silencing in clinical colon cancer samples, suggesting that its silencing is related to the immune escape of cancer cells. In this paper, we analyzed the expression profiles of multiple human clinical colon cancer datasets and mouse colon cancer models to reveal the variation trend of CXCL14 expression during colitis, colon polyps, primary colon cancer, and liver metastases. The relationship between CXCL14 gene silencing and promoter hypermethylation was revealed through the colorectal carcinoma methylation database. The results suggest that CXCL14 is a tumor suppressor gene in colorectal carcinoma, which is activated first and then silenced during the process of tumor occurrence and deterioration. Promoter hypermethylation is the main cause of CXCL14 silencing. The methylation level of CXCL14 is correlated with the anatomic site of tumor occurrence and positively correlated with patient age, and associated with prognosis. Reversing the hypermethylation of CXCL14 may be an epigenetic therapy for colon cancer.

Diverse candidate antibodies are needed to successfully identify therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The variable domain of IgNAR (VNAR), a shark single-domain antibody, has attracted attention owing to its favorable physicochemical properties. The phage display method used to screen for optimal VNARs loses sequence diversity because of the bias caused by the differential ease of protein expression in Escherichia coli. Here, we investigated a VNAR selection method that combined panning with various selection pressures and next-generation sequencing (NGS) analyses to obtain additional candidates. We constructed a VNAR phage library from the spleen of the Japanese topeshark (Hemitriakis japanica). Drawing inspiration from the physiological conditions of sharks and physicochemical properties of VNARs, we examined the effects of NaCl and urea concentrations, low temperature, and preheating at the binding step of panning. NGS analysis was performed to select the specifically enriched clones under each panning condition. The identified VNARs exhibited higher reactivity than those obtained by panning without selection pressure. Additionally, they possess physicochemical properties that reflect their respective selection pressures. These results can greatly enhance our understanding of VNAR properties and offer guidance for the screening of high-quality VNAR clones that are present at low frequencies.

One of the key pathogenetic links of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is the formation of insulin resistance (IR). Besides a wide selection of synthetic antidiabetic drugs, various plant-origin extracts are also available to support the treatment of T2DM. This study aimed to investigate and gain knowledge of the chemical composition and potential IR correction effect of American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton) leaf extracts and formulate novel 3D-printed oral dosage forms for such extracts. The bioactivity and IR of L-arginine-loaded cranberry leaf extracts were studied in vivo in rats. The cranberry leaf extracts consisted of quinic, 3-caffeoylquinic (chlorogenic), p-coumaroylquinic acids, quercetin 3-O-galactoside, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, quercetin-3-xyloside, quercetin-3-O-arabino-pyranoside, quercetin-3-O-arabinofuranoside, quercetin 3-O-rhamnoside and quercetin-O-p-coumaroyl-hexoside-2 identified by HPLC. In-vivo studies with rats showed that the oral administration of the cranberry leaf extracts had a positive effect on insulin sensitivity coefficients under ITT test, and affected HOMA-IR levels and liver lipid content with experimental IR. A novel 3D-printed immediate-release dosage form was developed for the oral administration of cranberry leaf extracts using polyethylene oxide (PEO) as a carrier gel in a semi-solid extrusion (SSE) 3D printing. In conclusion, American cranberry leaf extracts loaded with L-arginine could find uses in preventing health issues associated with IR.

Optic neuritis (ON) is the most common cause of vision loss in young adults. It manifests as acute or subacute vision loss, often accompanied by retrobulbar discomfort or pain on eye movements. Typical ON is associated with Multiple Sclerosis and is generally mild and steroid-responsive, whereas atypical forms are characterized by unusual features, such as optic disc edema, poor treatment response and bilateral involvement, and are often associated with autoantibodies against aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG). However, in rare cases AQP4 and MOG antibodies will come back negative, plunging the clinician in a diagnostic conundrum. Seronegative ON warrants a broad differential diagnosis, including autoantibody-associated, granulomatous, and systemic disorders. These rare forms need to be identified promptly, as their management and prognosis is greatly different. The scope of this review is to describe possible, rarer etiologies of ON when AQP4 and MOG antibodies are negative and discuss their diagnosis and treatment.

The low-altitude quasi-periodic (LQP) E-region echoes observed with the upgraded HCOPAR located in Hainan Island of China (19.5°N, 109.1°E) are presented. With the interferometry technique, the interferometry equations can be developed to investigate the structures of the irregularities. The results show that the plasma structures of the LQP echoes with negative slope mainly drift southwestward almost horizontally, but they also drifted southeastward in some striations. According to the movement of the plasma structures, we find strong wind shear in the region where the LQP echoes are produced. Meanwhile, The periodicity of the LQP echoes may be related to the strength of the wind shear. It is proposed that the plasma structures are most likely produced by the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.

The patient was a 44-year-old woman with suspected Stevens-Johnson syndrome due to Baktar® (sulfamethoxazole trimethoprim) medication received at our outpatient dermatology clinic. Histopathological examination of the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous adipose tissue samples showed numerous necrotic keratinocytes in the epidermis. Apoptotic nuclei were visualized as diaminobenzidine brown deposits with immunoperoxidase staining for cleaved caspase-3. Cleaved-caspase3-positive findings were consistent with eosinophilic material that appeared to be necrotic cells within the epidermis. Therefore, these eosinophilic materials must be apoptotic bodies. Generally speaking, and especially in Japan, these materials are considered necrotic keratinocytes. To our best knowledge, no studies have used apoptotic immunohistochemical markers to examine whether these structures are apoptotic.

The increasing prevalence of periprosthetic femoral fractures, specifically in the vicinity of the hip, has emerged as a significant issue in recent times. Consequently, there is a need for a thorough examination to enhance the effectiveness of management and treatment approaches. The findings emphasized a significant disparity in the occurrence and characteristics of these fractures, as multiple studies have highlighted the efficacy of various treatment strategies, such as open reduction and internal fixation, as well as the utilization of cortical strut allografts. Furthermore, the research has identified potential risk factors that have an impact on the characteristics of fractures, providing valuable insights that could be crucial in the development of preventive strategies. This research provides a thorough examination of periprosthetic femoral fractures, highlighting the importance of a cohesive treatment algorithm to improve the handling of such fractures. Moreover, it promotes the need for a collaborative endeavor in conducting research in this field, cultivating a more profound comprehension that has the potential to drive progress in therapeutic approaches, ultimately enhancing patient results over an extended period of time. It is crucial that forthcoming research endeavors persist in expanding upon these discoveries, striving towards a unified methodology in tackling this substantial clinical obstacle.

Pathogenic microorganisms can cause a range of infectious diseases and are often treated with antimicrobial agents. The rise of antimicrobial resistance caused by inappropriate use of these agents in various settings has become a global health threat. There is, therefore, a need to find new and effective agents to combat infections caused by resistant pathogens. Nanotechnology has seen significant growth and development in recent years and has a wide range of applications in various fields, including health, agriculture, and industry. This novel area offers the potential for the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) with antimicrobial activity, such as iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs). The use of IONPs is a promising way to overcome antimicrobial resistance or pathogenicity because of their ability to interact with several biological molecules and to inhibit microbial growth. This review focuses on the most common green synthesis methods for producing IONPs using bacteria, fungi, plants, and organic waste, as well as the most common methods for the characterization of these IONPs. Finally, it summarizes their application as promising antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, and antiviral agents.

The plant water status is crucial for growth and production, but the current climate change scenario makes it challenging to match the water plant demand. Blueberry is an economically important crop and plays an acknowledged role in human health due to its antioxidant compounds. This research aimed to determine whether exogenous methyl jasmonate application improves the antioxidant defense mechanisms for protecting the photosynthetic performance in blueberry plants under the stress condition of water deficit. A greenhouse experiment was carried out under a 16-h light period; 20ºC; and 60-80% relative humidity for 2 weeks before treatment application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) to blueberry plants (Vaccinium corymbosum, Brigitta cultivar). The following treatments were maintained for 7-days: (i) 80% field capacity (NoWD); (ii) 80% field capacity plus MeJA application (NoWD + MeJA); (iii) 20% field capacity (WD); and (iv) 20% field capacity plus MeJA application (WD + MeJA). The MeJA was sprayed as an aqueous solution of 10 µM MeJA (Sigma-Aldrich) over the plant's foliar system. At the end of the assay; blueberry leaves were analyzed for the relative water content; specific leaf area; lipid peroxidation; total antioxidant activity; total phenols; total anthocyanins; anthocyanidin compounds and photosynthetic performance. Brigitta cultivar showed a significant decrease in the oxidative stress at leaf levels; with an increase in antioxidant activity; phenolic compounds; total anthocyanins; delphinidin; petunidin; antheraxanthin; zeaxanthin; and an improvement in photosynthetic performance parameters. Blueberry Brigitta cultivar was shown to be susceptible to WD decreased mainly photosynthesis. However; the MeJA application on leaves induced metabolic changes; through an increase of antioxidant strategy within the plant to counteract the negative effects of WD; protecting the photosynthetic apparatus; which allows the Brigitta cultivar to withstand the period of WD.

Image classification in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) containing various land-cover classes is essential for efficient and sustainable land-use estimation, and other tasks like object detection, localization and segmentation. Deep Learning (DL) techniques have shown a tremendous potential in the GIS domain. While Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have dominated most of the image analysis domain, a new architecture called transformers have proved to be a unifying solution for several AI-based processing pipelines. Vision Transformers (ViT), a variant of transformers can have comparable and in some cases better accuracy than a CNN. However, they suffer from a significant drawback associated with an excessive use of training parameters. In this research we explore several modifications in the vision transformer architectures, especially MobileViT that can be optimized while boosting accuracy. To verify our proposed approach these new architectures are trained on four land-cover datasets AID, EuroSAT, UC-Merced, and WHU-RS19. Experiments reveal that combination of lightweight convolutional layers including ShuffleNet along with depthwise separable convolutions and average pooling can reduce the trainable parameters by 17.85% and yet achieve higher accuracy than the base MobileViT. It is also observed that utilizing a combination of convolution layers along with multi-headed self attention layers in MobileViT variants provide better performance in capturing local and global features unlike the standalone ViT architecture that utilizes almost 95% more parameters than the proposed MobileViT variant.

The association between obesity and clinical as well as radiological outcomes in patients suffering non-traumatic intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) remains unclear. The obesity paradox suggests a protective effect regarding in-hospital mortality. This study evaluates the impact of body mass index (BMI) on functional long-term outcome and bleeding volume in patients with non-traumatic ICH. A retrospective cohort study including all consecutive patients with spontaneous ICH treated at a tertiary referral centre between December 2017 and June 2021, aged 80 years or younger (n = 218), were included. Patients were dichotomized into overweight (OW, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) and normal weight (NW, BMI < 25 kg/m2). Functional outcomes were assessed by the modified Rankin scale (mRS), extended Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS-E) and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (NIHSS) at 1, 3, 6 and 12-months follow-up. Bleeding volumes were calculated as ABC/2. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to assess clinical predictors of favourable outcome in the long-term. Of 218 patients (66.04 ± 15.18 years) suffering non-traumatic ICH, 115 (52.75%) were OW (29.72 ± 3.82). Female sex (p = 0.1), NIHSS (p = 0.69), cardiovascular risk factors (p = 0.55), ICH volume (p = 0.19), and presence of anticoagulation (p = 0.67) did not significantly differ between the OW and NW cohort. At discharge, functional outcome did not significantly differ between both cohorts (NW, mRS 3.92 ± 2.54 vs. OW, mRS 3.21 ± 2.43, (p = 0.28)). Multivariate analysis revealed that haemorrhage volume (p = 0.01) was the only robust risk factor to predict functional outcome after 1 year. Our data suggests that in ICH patients, neither obesity nor patient’s age are negative predictors for functional outcome in the long-term. Instead, bleeding volume is a robust risk factor predicting poor functional status after ICH. Therefore, prospective randomized trials analysing this coherence are highly warranted.

Social communication skills, especially eye contact and joint attention, are highly impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and predict functional outcomes. Applied Behavior Analysis is one of the best evidence-based treatments for ASD, but it is not accessible to most families in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as it is a costly and intensive and needs to be delivered by highly specialized professionals. Parental training has emerged as an effective alternative. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of a parental intervention group via video modeling to acquire eye contact and joint attention. Four graded measures of eye contact and joint attention (full physical prompt, partial physical prompt, gestural prompt, and independent) were assessed in 34 children with ASD and intellectual disability (ID). There was a progressive reduction in the level of prompt required over time to acquire eye contact and joint attention, and a positive correlation between the time of exposure to the intervention and acquisition of the abilities. This parent training using video modelling to teach eye contact and joint attention skills to children with ASD and ID is a low-cost intervention that can be applied in low- resource settings.

Conical emission is a typical nonlinear phenomenon that occurs when the femtosecond laser pulses interact with transparent media. In this work, the conical emission induced by two kinds of typical vortex beams (i.e., Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) and Bessel-Gaussian (BG) beams) in water is experimentally studied. By recording the light spots of different wavelengths on the screen, the characteristics of the conical emission induced by femtosecond vortex beams are studied. It is found that the spots of the supercontinuum induced by the two kinds of vortex beams differ greatly from each other: The spots of the supercontinuum induced by the BG beam are a set of concentric rings like a rainbow with a white center, while the whit light spot in the case of the LG beam are a circular white disk, which is different from the commonly observed white light spots. By measuring the maximum divergence angle, it is observed that the divergence angle increases with the decrease of the wavelength, while the TC merely affects the divergence angle, which is explained from the formation mechanism of conical emission in terms of self-phase modulation. We hope this work can be helpful to the understanding of interaction between the intense laser pulses and matters.

(1) Background: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a major concern, particularly in Europe and North America. Its prevalence has been so far under researched. In most of the studies the determination of this consumption may be underestimated, as it is based on the information obtained from questionnaires rather than from biomarkers, which will provide a much reliable approach. The main objective in this study was the comparison of prevalence of consumption during pregnancy assessed by a questionnaire and a hair biomarker. (2) Method: Cross-sectional study with a random sample of 425 pregnant women treated in public hospital consultations in Seville (Spain) and in the 20th week of their pregnancy, orally interviewed through a questionnaire elaborated ad hoc which evaluated sociodemographic, obstetric, and alcohol consumption variables. Additionally, the ethyl glucuronide metabolite (EtG) was tested on a hair sample in 252 pregnant women who agreed to facilitate it. Once data obtained through the questionnaire and the hair testing were analyzed, the level of metabolites and the self-reported alcohol consumption were contrasted. (3) Results: The prevalence of self-reported alcohol consumption (questionnaire) was 20.7% and real consumption (metabolite analysis) was 20.2%. In 16.8% of pregnant women who declared not consuming alcohol during their pregnancy a noticeable consumption was detected according to the metabolite testing. No relevant level of variability in estimated alcohol consumption was detected in the biomarker with respect to the studied sociodemographic and obstetric variables.

The investigation on the issue of damage diagnosis based on strain modal parameters is conducted in this paper using simply supported wooden Beams as the study's object. First, ABAQUS is utilized to create finite element models of intact wooden beams as well as wooden beams with varying degrees of damage and perform modal analyses on them. Next, damage identification studies are conducted on the wooden beam structure using various strain modal parameters (strain mode strain modal difference, strain modal curvature difference), the timber beam damage identification test then yields the modal parameters of timber beams under various damage situations, and the test findings are contrasted with those of the numerical simulation. The outcomes demonstrate that the damage identification of the test data using the three types of damage identification indexes is consistent with the results of the numerical simulation; the three types of damage identification indexes can locate the damage to timber beams, but the identification effect of the indexes is different, the best-recognized metric is the strain mode curvature difference; the next best is the strain mode difference, and the worst is the strain modes. The study's findings can serve as a guide for future damage detection on wood beams.

Effective control of domain walls or magnetic textures in antiferromagnets promises to enable robust, fast, and non-volatile memories. The lack of net magnetic moment in antiferromagnets implies the need for creative ways to achieve such a manipulation. Here, we investigate changes in magnetic force microscopy (MFM) imaging and in magnon-related mode in Raman spectroscopy of virgin NiO films under a microwave pump. After the MFM and Raman studies, a combined action of broadband microwave (0.01-20 GHz, power scanned from −20 to 5 dBm) and magnetic field (up to 3 kOe) were applied to virgin epitaxial (111) NiO and (100) NiO films grown on (0001) Al2O3 and (100) MgO substrates, following which the MFM and Raman studies were repeated. We observed a suppression of the magnon-related Raman mode subsequent to the microwave exposure. Based on MFM imaging, this effect appears to be caused by the suppression of large antiferromagnetic domain walls due to the possible excitation of antiferromagnetic spin oscillations localized within the antiferromagnetic domain walls.

Self-driving vehicles demand efficient and reliable depth sensing technologies. Lidar, with its capacity for long-distance, high-precision measurement, is a crucial component in this pursuit. However, conventional mechanical scanning implementations suffer from reliability, cost, and frame rate limitations. Solid-state lidar solutions have emerged as a promising alternative, but the vast amount of photon data processed and stored using conventional direct time-of-flight (dToF) prevents long-distance sensing unless power-intensive partial histogram approaches are used. In this paper, we introduce a groundbreaking ‘guided’ dToF approach, harnessing external guidance from other onboard sensors to narrow down the depth search space for a power and data-efficient solution. This approach centers around a dToF sensor in-which the exposed time widow of independent pixels can be dynamically adjusted. We utilize a 64-by-32 macropixel dToF sensor and a pair of vision cameras to provide the guiding depth estimates. Our demonstrator captures a dynamic outdoor scene at 3 fps with distances up 75 m. Compared to a conventional full histogram approach, on-chip data is reduced by over 25 times, while the total laser cycles in each frame are reduced by at least 6 times compared to any partial histogram approach. The capability of guided dToF to mitigate multipath reflections is also demonstrated. For self-driving vehicles where a wealth of sensor data is already available, guided dToF opens new possibilities for efficient solid-state lidar.

Protein malnutrition is present in developing countries but also in developed ones, due by the actual eating habits with insufficient protein intake, in addition to this it is estimated by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations an increase of world population of 9.1 billion people in less those 30 years, posing the challenge of nourish the mankind. There are different strategies to afford this challenge, one of the most promising ones is to approach novel protein sources like plants, microorganisms, and insects from dry lands.

We discuss a remote sensing system that is used to simultaneously detect range-resolved differential absorption LIDAR (light detection and ranging; DIAL) signals and integrated path DIAL signals (IP-DIAL) from aerosol targets for ranges up to 22 km. The DIAL/IP-DIAL frequency converter consists of an OPO pumped at 1064 nm to produce light at 1.6 μm and operates at 100 Hz pulse repetition frequency. The probe light is free space coupled to a movable platform that contains one transmitter and two receiver telescopes. Hybrid photon counting/current systems increase the dynamic range for detection by two orders of magnitude. Range resolved and column integrated dry-air CO2 and CH4 mixing ratios are obtained from line shape fits of CO2 and CH4 centered at 1602.2 nm and 1645.5 nm, respectively and measured at 10 different frequencies over ≈ 1.5 cm-1 bandwidth. The signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) of the IP-DIAL returns from cloud aerosols approach 1000:1 and the uncertainties in the mixing ratios weighted according to the integrated counts over the cloud segments range from 0.1 % to 1 %. The range averaged DIAL mixing ratios are in good agreement with the IP-DIAL mixing ratios at the 1 % to 2 % level for both CO2 and CH4. These results can serve as a validation method for future active and passive satellite observational systems.

We construct a repeated quantum game with public goods by the quantum entanglement and strong reciprocity. By using the paradigm of quantum game analysis, we obtain that both the quantum entanglement and strong reciprocity are helpful to intensify cooperation and achieving Pareto optimality. In addition, under an example which is greenhouse green viable planting industry, we verify that the quantum entanglement and strong reciprocity have a positive role in cooperation.

The biosynthesis of C27-29 sterols from their C30 precursor squalene involves C24-alkylation and removal of three methyl groups, including two at the C4 position. The two C4 demethylation reactions require a bifunctional enzyme known as 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/C4-decarboxylase (3βHSD/D) that removes an oxidized methyl (carboxylic) group at C4 while simultaneously catalyzing the 3β-hydroxyl3-keto oxidation. Its loss-of-function mutations cause ergosterol-dependent growth in yeast and congenital hemidysplasia with ichthyosiform erythroderma and limb defect (CHILD) syndrome in humans. Although plant 3βHSD/D enzymes were well studied enzymatically, their developmental functions remain unknown. Here we employed a CRISPR/Cas9-based genome-editing approach to generate knockout mutants for two Arabidopsis 3βHSD/D genes, HSD1 and HSD2, and discovered the male gametophytic lethality for the hsd1 hsd2 double mutation. Pollen-specific expression of HSD2 in the heterozygous hsd1 hsd2/+ mutant not only rescued the pollen lethality but also revealed critical roles of the two HSD genes in embryogenesis. Our study thus demonstrated essential functions of the two Arabidopsis 3βHSD/D genes in male gametogenesis and embryogenesis.

(1) Background: The stylohyoid syndrome, known as classical Eagle Syndrome (cES), is characterized by calcificatication of the stylohyoid chain with numerous nonspecific symptoms, mainly pain. This study introduces Minimally Invasive Cervical Styloidectomy (MICS). (2) Methods: MICS was performed on sixty-five patients diagnosed with classical Eagle syndrome. Patients underwent meticulous differential diagnosis. Surgical plans were established based on the findings from neck angioCT. (3) Results: The healing process was uneventful without significant complications. The overall success rate was 97.0%, with a follow-up of a minimum of six months. In one case, the surgery did not yield the desired improvement. In one case, a partial relapse of symptoms was observed. (4) Conclusions: MICS is a straightforward and efficient surgical treatment technique for stylohyoid syndrome.

Thin Cu films with a thickness of ~0.5-2.5 mkm were obtained on the surface of Fe, V, and Ti metals using the Plasma Focus (PF) setup. The Cu film thickness was determined on an Ambios XP-200 profilometer. The distribution profiles of Cu, C, О2, N2 and H2 in initial metal samples: Fe, V, and Ti were studied by layer-by-layer analysis on a GDS 850A atomic emission spectrometer. It is shown that the distribution profile and the depth of occurrence of elements depend on the type of metal. Using the method of Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) of 4He+ ions, it was shown that for Cu atoms the depth of occurrence in Fe, V, and Ti, accordingly, is ~106, ~120, and ~160 nm. The depth of occurrence of C atoms in metals: Fe, V, and Ti is ~150, ~120, and ~200 nm, accordingly. From the data of layer-by-layer analysis on an atomic emission spectrometer in the initial samples of metals: Fe, V and Ti, a transition layer with a thickness of ~0.01, accordingly, was found; 0.5 and 1 mm. The presence of this layer is connected with the mechanical processing of metal samples, and the presence of a large number of admixtures in the thin layer of the metal. Thus, Cu atoms are located in the transition layer under the metal surface, which imparts adhesion and electrophysical properties of Cu films.

New in vitro approaches for the assessment of their toxicity are crucial for creating better risk assessments given the growing use of nanoparticles (NPs) in the production of consumer goods. Humans will be exposed to nanoparticles through the inhalation route from contaminated aerosol. A promising method for evaluating the genotoxicity of NPs in vitro uses human airway epithelial cells. This study aimed to determine whether there were differences in morphology change of human bronchial/tracheal epithelial (HBTEC) cells responded to NPs in 2D and 3D spheroid models and to evaluate genotoxicity in 2D and 3D cultures after 24 hr exposure to TiO2-, Ag- and ZnO-NPs using the comet assay. Our 2D and 3D HBTEC cultures with TiO2-NPs did not show any statistically significant genotoxicity compared to controls for concentration points tested in vitro. HBTEC cells grown as 2D indicated that exposure to ZnO-NPs at low concentrations (10-50 ug/mL) for 24 hr did not cause any genotoxic effect but, at high concentrations, genotoxicity was observed. In contrast, treatment of 2D HBTEC with AgO-NPs led to an elevated in percentage of tail DNA damage from 50 ug/mL to 100 ug/mL, which was concentra-tion-dependent. Using 3D spheroid assays revealed a lower %tail length in ZnO- and AgO-NPs, thus exhibiting in vitro genotoxicity of NPs in this cell model. Spheroids (3D) rather than mono-layer cultures (2D) are believed to more precisely represent in vivo-like cell behavior when evaluating genotoxicity. Together, our findings demonstrate the genotoxic effects of NPs and point to the critical role that cell culture models play in the evaluation of toxicological risk.

Human-caused anthropogenic greenhouse emissions impact climate globally. In this pilot study, we aim to reveal the impact of oil and gas emissions from local oil deposits in the regime of their natural degradation and development and eco-physiological changes of pine forests in Tatarstan Republic, Russia over the past century. We performed stable carbon isotope analysis in pine tree rings (13Cptrw) to reveal the impact of oil and gas emissions from the giant oil field reservoirs located in Leninogorsk region (UVRT) and the natural reserve site in Raifa. Our results show decreasing 13Cptrw at UVRT in 1943 when oil extraction was started, and in 1970, when it reached the maximum production. We found that 13Cptrw from UVRT indicates on developing unfavourable drier conditions and suppressed tree growth caused by both human-induced oil and deposit infrastructure and natural processes compared to undisturbed Raifa. The 13Cptrw from Raifa is more negative compared to UVRT, which can be explained by higher forest sensitivity to human-induced impact. From an ecophysiological point of view decreasing intercellular to ambient CO2 concentration at the leaf level and increasing intrinsic water use efficiency along with decreasing tree-ring width at UVRT (1970-2021) indicate on development of drought conditions.

: This study investigates the workplace experiences of mothers of children with intellectual disabilities. These mothers may face challenges in balancing motherhood, disability, and employment. Therefore, it is important to understand the challenges they are facing and the mechanisms they use to cope with caregiving and work responsibilities in managing the stress that develops throughout this ongoing experience. The purpose of this research was to investigate the workplace experiences of single mothers of children with intellectual disabilities. A review of the literature was conducted. For this research, a qualitative methodology was adopted to gain an in-depth understanding of the mothers’ experiences. A narrative method was used for data collection. Thematic analysis was utilized to obtain a clear understanding. The findings suggest that mothers of children with intellectual disabilities face difficulties in balancing between caregiving for their child with a disability and their job responsibilities, in addition to showing that there is a lack of flexibility in the workplace, less awareness from colleagues and bosses of the challenges these mothers face, and a lack of organizational legislation that supports these mothers. According to our findings, workplaces should provide assistance to mothers of children with intellectual disabilities in order to ensure that they are not disadvantaged in their employment.

Our image recognition system mainly judges whether the left upper limb in the image is the left upper limb or the right upper limb through our deep learning model in the image. The doctor then could give the correct surgical position. From the experimental results, it could be found that the precision rate and recall rate of the intelligent image recognition system proposed in this paper for preventing the upper limb dislocation surgery could reach 98% and 93%, respectively. It proved that our artificial intelligent image recognition system, AIIRS, could indeed assist orthopedic surgeons to prevent the occurrence of left and right dislocation in upper limb surgery. At the same time, this paper also completes the IRB application approval through the prototype experimental results and will conduct the second phase of human trials in the future. It showed that the research results of this paper will be of great benefit and research value to upper limb orthopedic surgery.

Cell sheet (CS) engineering using human MSC is of significant interest for regenerative medicine and this rapidly growing field translates to clinical use in a number of indications. Nevertheless, little is known of factors that define the timing of CS assembly from primary cultures which is important for planning treatments in both – autologous and allogeneic modes of use. We used a comparative in vitro approach with primary donors’ (n=14) adipose-derived MSC and evaluated the impact of healthy subject’s characteristics (age and sex), MSC culture features (population doubling time and lag-phase) and extracellular matrix (ECM) composition along with factors related to connective tissue formations (-SMA and FAP-) on CS assembly duration.

Vasoreactivity is relatively well documented in terrestrial snakes, but has previously been investigated in only one semi-arboreal snake species. Consequently, the extent to which vasoreactivity is common across snake taxa, or varies by habitat is unclear. The Tokara habu (Protobothrops tokarensis) is a semi-arboreal snake endemic to only two small adjacent Japanese islands, and hence a useful species for further investigation of vasoreactivity. We evaluated responses to known vasoactive substances in thoracic aortas isolated from Tokara habu. Under resting tension, noradrenaline and angiotensin II induced concentration-dependent contraction, but acetylcholine, serotonin (5-hydroxytriptamine; 5-HT), and isoproterenol induced relaxation followed by contraction. Histamine and rattlesnake bradykinin had no effect. Experiments with receptor-specific antagonists suggest that M1 and M3 receptors are involved in the acetylcholine-induced response, 5-HT1, 5-HT2 and 5-HT7 receptors in the serotonin-induced response, and β1 and β2 receptors in isoproterenol-induced relaxation. NO may be involved in acetylcholine-induced relaxation, but not the responses to serotonin or isoproterenol. In contrast to the uniform vasoreactivity observed in terrestrial snakes, the vasoreactivity of semi-arboreal snakes may be governed by diverse regulatory mechanisms.

The redox properties of quinones underlie their unique characteristics as organic battery components that outperform the conventional inorganic ones. Furthermore, the redox properties could be precisely shaped by using different substituent groups. Machine learning and statistics, onthe other hand, have proven to be very powerful approaches for efficient in silico design of novel materials. Herein, we demonstrated the machine learning approach for the prediction of the redox activity of quinones that potentially can serve as organic battery components. For the needs of the present study, a database of small quinone-derived molecules was created. A large number of quantum chemical and chemometrics descriptors was generated for each molecule and subsequently different statistical approaches were applied to select the descriptors that most prominently characterize the relationship between structure and redox-potential. Various machine-learning methods for screening of prospective organic battery electrode materials were deployed to select the most trustworthy strategy for machine learning aided design of organic redox materials. It was found that ridge regression models perform better than regression decision tree and decision tree based ensemble algorithms.

Individuals with autism often experience gastrointestinal issues but the cause is unknown. Many gene mutations that modify neuronal synapse function are associated with autism and therefore may impact the enteric nervous system that regulates gastrointestinal function. A missense mutation in the Nlgn3 gene encoding the cell adhesion protein, Neuroligin-3, was identified in two brothers with autism who both experienced severe gastrointestinal dysfunction. Mice expressing this mutation (Nlgn3R451C mice) are a well-studied preclinical model of autism and show autism-relevant characteristics, including impaired social interaction and communication, as well as repetitive behaviour. We previously showed colonic dysmotility in response to GABAergic inhibition and increased myenteric neuronal numbers in the small intestine in Nlgn3R451C mice bred on a mixed genetic background. Here we show that gut dysfunction is a persistent phenotype of the Nlgn3 R451C mutation in mice backcrossed onto a C57BL/6 background. We report that Nlgn3R451C mice show faster gastrointestinal transit in vivo and have longer small intestines compared to wild-types due to a reduction in smooth muscle tone. In Nlgn3R451C mice, we observed a decrease in resting jejunal diameter and neurally-regulated dysmotility as well as shorter durations of contractile complexes in the ileum. In Nlgn3R451C mouse colons, short contractions were inhibited to a greater extent by the GABAA antagonist, gabazine, compared to wild-type mice. Inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis decreased the frequency of contractile complexes in the jejunum, but not the ileum, in both wild-type and Nlgn3R451C mice. These findings demonstrate that changes in enteric nervous system function contribute to gastrointestinal dysmotility in mice expressing the autism-associated R451C missense mutation in the Neuroligin-3 protein.

Diabetes is one of the fatal diseases that play a vital role in the growth of other diseases in the human body. Controlling and curing diabetes in its early stages is the most significant technique to avoid its effects of diabetes. However, lack of awareness and expensive clinical tests are the primary reasons to skip clinical diagnosis and take preventive methods in lower-income countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. From this perspective, the study aims to build an automated machine learning (ML) model, which will predict diabetes at an early stage using socio-demographic characteristics rather than clinical attributes. Because clinical features are not always known to all people from lower-income countries. To find the best fit supervised ML classifier of the model, we applied six classification algorithms and found that RF outperformed with an accuracy of 99.36%. In addition, the most significant risk factors were found based on the SHAP value by all the applied classifiers. The study reveals that polyuria, polydipsia, and delayed healing are the most significant risk factors for growing diabetes. The findings indicate that the proposed model is highly capable of predicting diabetes in the early stages.

Fire outbreaks continue to cause damage despite the improvements in fire-detection tools and algorithms. It is still challenging to implement a well performing and optimized approach, which is sufficiently accurate, and has tractable complexity and low false alarming rate. Small amount of fire and identification of fire from a long distance is also a challenge in previously proposed techniques. In this study, we propose a novel hybrid model based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) to detect and analyze fire intensity. 21 convolutional layers, 24 Rectified Linear Unit (ReLU) layers, 6 pooling layers, 3 fully connected layers, 2 dropout layers, and a softmax layer are included in the proposed 57-layer CNN model. Our proposed model performs instance segmentation in order to distinguish between fire and non-fire events. To reduce the intricacy of the proposed model, we also propose a key-frame extraction algorithm. The proposed model uses Internet of Things (IoT) devices to alert the relevant person by calculating the severity of fire. Our proposed model is tested on a publicly available dataset having fire and normal videos. The achievement of 95.25 % classification accuracy, 0.09% False Positive Rate (FPR), 0.65 percent False Negative Rate (FNR), and a prediction time of 0.08 seconds validates the proposed system.

Machine learning offers advanced tools for efficient management of radio resources in modern wireless networks. In this study, we leverage a multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (DRL) approach, specifically the Parameterized Deep Q-Network (DQN), to address the challenging problem of power allocation and user association in massive multiple-input multiple-output (M-MIMO) communication networks. Our approach tackles a multi-objective optimization problem aiming to maximize network utility while meeting stringent quality of service requirements in M-MIMO networks. To address the non-convex and nonlinear nature of this problem, we introduce a novel multi-agent DQN framework. This framework defines a large action space, state space, and reward functions, enabling us to learn a near-optimal policy. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of our Parameterized Deep DQN (PD-DQN) approach when compared to traditional DQN and RL methods. Specifically, we show that our approach outperforms traditional DQN methods in terms of convergence speed and final performance. Additionally, our approach shows 72.2 % and 108.5 % improvement over DQN methods and RL method respectively in handling large-scale multi-agent problems in M-MIMO networks.

Typhoid fever is an infectious disease that affects humanity worldwide particularly in the lower socio-economic communities where many individuals are exposed to a dirty environment and unclean food. A mathematical model is formulated to analyze the impact of control measures such as vaccination of susceptible humans, treatment of infected humans and sanitation in the different socio-economic communities. The model assumed that the population comprises of two socio-economic classes. The essential dynamical system analysis of our model was appropriately carried out. The impact of the control measures was analyzed, and the optimal control theory was applied on the control model to explore the impact of the different control measures. Numerical simulation of the models and the optimal controls were carried out and results obtained indicates that the overall combination of the control measures eradicates Typhoid fever in the population but the controls are more optimal in the higher socio-economic communities.

In medico-administrative database, certain prognostic factors cannot be taken into account. The main objective was to estimate the performance of two models based on two databases: Epi-thor clinical and medico-administrative databases. For each of the two databases, we randomly sampled a development dataset with 70% of the data and a validation dataset with 30%. Performance of models was assessed by Brier score, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC ROC) curve and the calibration of the model. For Epithor and medico-administrative databases, the development dataset included 10,516 patients (with resp. 227 (2.16%) and 283(2.7%) deaths) and the validation dataset included 4,507 patients (with resp. 93 (2%) and 119 (2.64%) deaths). 15 predictors were selected in the models (including FEV, Body Mass Index, ASA score and TNM stage for Epithor). The Brier score values were similar in the models of the two databases. For validation data, the AUC ROC curve was 0.73 [0.68-0.78] for Epithor and 0.8 [0.76-0.84] for medico-administrative databases. The slope of the calibration plot was less than 1 for the two databases. This work shows the good performances of a model developed from a medico-administrative database, despite the absence of clinical variables used in practice by surgeons, such as FEV1, ASA score or TNM stage.

Salmonella enterica includes enteric pathogens of zoonotic potential, possessing one of the largest pools of temperate phages in their genomes. One such class of phages previously called Podoviridae (Now genera placed directly under class Caudoviricetes temporarily) is the largest group of temperate phages that lysogenize clinically and economically important Salmonella enterica serovars. These phages are capable of generalized transduction and are well known for carrying foreign DNA (mobile genetic elements and resistance genes) to new bacterial species that play a major role in the evolution, pathogenicity, and host adaptability of Salmonella serovars. Here we report a novel species of podo viruses; Salmonella phage BIS08P22 (BIS08) that infects Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain SE-BS17 (Acc. NO: MZ503545). Phage BIS08 was viable only at biological pH and temperature (pH7 and 37 °C) and features 41,574 -base pair (bp) linear ds DNA genome with 47% GC content. It encodes 73 putative Open Reading Frames (ORFs), has a mosaic arrangement, and shares only 16 core genes with its closest homologs. BIS08 genome possesses only 52 % homology (genome-wide Nucleotide homology by VIRIDIC analysis) with members of the genus Lederbergvirus which is not sufficient to place it in the same genus. This phage has a unique terminase enzyme (DNA packaging motor) with no nucleotide and protein homology with any known member of the Lederbergvirus genus. We carried out a detailed phylogenetic and genome analysis of this novel phage and proposed its placement in a new genus. Our study also suggests a revision in the classification of the genus Lederbergvirus. We also performed in silico structural analysis of the BIS08 unique terminase enzyme comparing it to its close homologs.

A Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) and a recording of the respiratory parameters with a noc-turnal home cardiorespiratory polygraphy (PG) are necessary to diagnose OSAS. Few researchers have studied how obesity could influence the respiratory parameters in OSAS children. The aim of the study was to investigate how obesity can influence sleep respiratory parameters in OSAS children. Methods: The study analyzes 56 Caucasian children and adolescents aged 11 ± 2.79 years with a BMI> 5th percentiles and PSQ value of 0.33. Children were divided into the Obesity Group (OG) with a BMI of  95th and the Control Group (CG) with a 5th<BMI> 95th percentile. All selected children underwent PG. Respiratory parameters were extracted to divide into levels of severity OSAS: snoring, mild, moderate, and severe. Results: The comparison analysis of AHI, SaO2, and Nadir between the OG and CG showed a statistical significance only for ODI (p = 0.02). The comparison analysis of PSQ between the OG and CG and of PSQ and respiratory parameters showed no significant result. A statistically significant correlation between BMI and AHI (r2=0.01), SaO2 (r2=0.09), and Nadir O2 (r2=0.00) was found. Conclusion: There was no strong correlation between Obesity and OSAS, but it was found between BMI increasing and AHI severity