The Kummer surface was constructed in 1864. It corresponds to the desingularisation of the quotient of a 4-torus by 16 complex double points. Kummer surface is kwown to play a role in some models of quantum gravity. Following our recent model of the DNA genetic code based on the irreducible characters of the finite group G5:=(240,105)≅Z5⋊2O (with 2O the binary octahedral group), we now find that groups G6:=(288,69)≅Z6⋊2O and G7:=(336,118)≅Z7⋊2O can be used as models of the symmetries in hexamer and heptamer proteins playing a vital role for some biological functions. Groups G6 and G7 are found to involve the Kummer surface in the structure of their character table. An analogy between quantum gravity and DNA/RNA packings is suggested.

This paper discusses a possible approach to validate the Goldbach conjucture which states that all even numbers can be expressed as a summation of two prime numbers. For this purpose the paper begins with the concept of successive-addition-of-digits-of-an-integer-number (SADN) and its properties in terms of basic algebraic functions like addition, multiplication and subtraction. This concept of SADN forms the basis for classifying all odd numbers into 3 series- the S1, S3 and S5 series- which comprise of odd numbers of SADN(7,4,1), SADN(3,9,6) and SADN(5,2,8) respectively and follow a cyclical order. The S1 and S5 series are of interest in the analysis since they include both prime and composite numbers while the S3 series exclusively consists of composite numbers. Furthermore, the multiplicative property of SADN shows why composites on the S1 series are derived as products of intra-series elements of the S1 and S5 series while composites on the S5 series are derived as products of inter-series elements of the S1 and S5 series. The role of SADN is also important in determining the relevant series for identifying the combination of primes for a given even number since it shows why such combinations for even numbers of SADN(1,4,7) will be found on the S5 series while those for even numbers of SADN(2,5,8) will lie on the S1 series and both the series have a role to play in identifying the prime number combinations for even numbers with SADN(3,6,9). Thereafter, the analysis moves to calculating the total number of acceptable combinations for a given even number that would include combinations in the nature of two composites (c1+c2), one prime and one composite (p+c) and two primes (p1+p2). A cyclical pattern followed by even numbers is also discussed in this context. Identifying the c1+c2 and p+c combinations and thereafter subtracting them from the total number of combinations will yield the number of p1+p2 combinations. For this purpose the paper discusses a general method to calculate the number of composites on the S1 and S5 series for a given number and provides a detailed method for deriving the number of c1+c2 combinations. The paper presents this analysis as a proof to validate the Goldbach conjecture. Since even numbers can be of SADN 1 to 9 and the relation between nTc (i.e. total number of acceptable combinations) and nc(i.e. number of composites) for all even numbers can either be of nTc > nc or nTc ≤ nc, the paper shows that the Goldbach conjecture is true for both these categories of even numbers. In this manner this analysis is totally inclusive of all even numbers in general terms and since the analysis of every even number is common in methodology but unique in compilation, apart from being totally inclusive, it is also mutually exclusive in nature. This proves that the Goldbach conjecture which states that all even numbers can be expressed as atleast one combination of two prime numbers holds true for all even numbers, across all categories possible. Additionally this approach proves that the identification of p1+p2 combinations which would validate the Goldbach conjecture lies in the identification of c1+c2 combinations.

Metal nanoparticles are used to modify/enhance the properties of a polymer matrix for a broad range of applications in bio-nanotechnology. Here, we study the properties of polymer/gold nanoparticle (NP) nanocomposites through atomistic molecular dynamics, MD, simulations. We probe the structural, conformational and dynamical properties of polymer chains at the vicinity of a gold (Au) NP and a functionalized (core/shell) Au NP, and compare them against the behavior of bulk PE. The bare Au NPs were constructed via a systematic methodology starting from ab-initio calculations and an atomistic Wulff construction algorithm resulting in the crystal shape with the minimum surface energy. For the functionalized NPs the interactions between gold atoms and chemically adsorbed functional groups change their shape. As a model polymer matrix we consider polyethylene of different molecular lengths, from the oligomer to unentangled Rouse like systems. By computing the different properties the concept of the interface, and the interphase as well, in polymer nanocomposites with metal NPs are critically examined. Results concerning polymer density profiles, bond order parameter, segmental and terminal dynamics show clearly that the size of the interface / interphase, depends on the actual property under study. In addition, the anchored polymeric chains change the behavior/properties, and especially the chain density profile and the dynamics, of the polymer chain at the vicinity of the Au NP.

Wire-driven hyper-redundant continuum manipulators are gaining more popularity and finding more applications in industry and in minimally invasive surgery. Unlike traditional rigid link manipulators, continuum robots with a flexible backbone structure are able to work in a highly constrained workspace and in an unstructured environment. However, in spite of a possible wide range of reachability, continuum manipulators have some issues related to payload capacity, accuracy and control. Therefore, in this research, we propose a novel hyper-redundant continuum robot with a passive sliding disc mechanism to improve payload capacity and accuracy. To prove the sliding mechanism concept, we demonstrate a comparison analysis with a conventional non-sliding continuum robot arm in a payload test, a bending test and a reachability test. Moreover, with this novel design, we are proposing robot kinematics and kinetic formulation and simulation results to validate the effectiveness of the sliding disc mechanism.

Manned missions to Mars and other deep space exploration targets are expected to take place in the next 20 years. These missions will involve prolonged crew exposure to the unique space environment, increasing the risk that astronauts will experience additional physical and psychological health conditions beyond those that would be expected through normal aging on Earth. Thus, there is an acute need to develop therapeutic solutions that can withstand the harsh space environment, while maintaining astronaut health and maximizing crew capabilities to foster successful exploration-class missions. This review covers the nuanced and interdisciplinary challenge that is providing safe and effective pharmaceuticals for future deep space missions. First, the limitations of current pharmaceutical solutions are discussed; the impacts of the space environment on human health and chemical compound stability are covered, along with an evaluation of astronaut medication use on similar missions. Second, potential pharmaceutical solutions and concepts are presented for consideration. Future research should prioritize these and other potential innovations to ensure that our space programs are well equipped to maximize crew safety as astronauts explore deep space objectives.

We show that the quaternion quantum mechanics has well-founded mathematical roots and can be derived from the model of elastic continuum by French mathematician Augustin Cauchy, i.e., it can be regarded as representing physical reality of elastic continuum. Starting from the Cauchy theory (classical balance equations for isotropic Cauchy-elastic material) and using the Hamilton quaternion algebra we present a rigorous derivation of the quaternion form of the non- and relativistic wave equations. The family of the wave equations and the Poisson equation are a straightforward consequence of the quaternion representation of the Cauchy model of the elastic continuum. This is the most general kind of quantum mechanics possessing the same kind of calculus of assertions as conventional quantum mechanics. The problem of the Schrödinger equation, where imaginary ‘i’ should emerge, is solved. This interpretation is a serious attempt to describe the ontology of quantum mechanics, and demonstrates that, besides Bohmian mechanics, the complete ontological interpretations of quantum theory exists. The model can be generalized and falsified. To ensure this theory to be true, we specified problems allowing exposing its falsity.

Our earlier work has tentatively shown that the hierarchy of fermion masses and mixing angles follows from the universal behavior of nonlinear dynamics. In this brief sequel we survey a similar scenario in which the Cabibbo angle arises from the nonlinear dynamics of charged-current interactions.

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is one of the worst-hit regions globally by COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, scarce literature exists that examines the research strategy of LAC in facing COVID-19. The present study aims to quantify and assess the production of COVID-19 publications in thirty-two countries in LAC during the first half of 2020. A Scopus/PubMed/LILACS search was performed to retrieve research articles related to COVID-19 published from January 1 to July 31, 2020. Subgroup analysis including only original publications was used to better ascertain the contribution of LAC countries, and standardization measures were applied to comparisons of country-specific contributions. We identified 1291 publications across the region. Overall, most articles in the region were non-original (81.6%), and the most productive countries were Brazil (43.9%), Mexico (9.14%), and Colombia (7.98%). This trend shifted to Chile after the standardization. Among original studies, the most common study design was cross-sectional (25.8%). LAC countries generate articles primarily pertaining to diagnosis and treatment (27.4%). In the subgroup analysis, however, epidemiology and surveillance was the most prevalent research focus (24.1%). LAC countries should perform more research with a higher level of evidence to inform health policy making to ease the burden of COVID-19 in the region.

In this article, we introduce the concept of soft intervals, soft ordering and sequences of soft real numbers and study their properties and some interesting results. Also the notion of soft Lebesgue measure on the soft real numbers has been introduced. A correspondence relationship between the soft Lebesgue measure and the Lebesgue measure has been established.

Deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as aerial base stations (ABSs) has been considered to be a feasible solution to provide network coverage in scenarios where the conventional terrestrial network is overloaded or inaccessible due to an emergency situation. This article studies the problem of optimal placement of the UAVs as ABSs to enable network connectivity to the users in a coverage free zone. The main contributions of this work include two approaches to position the UAVs and to assign user equipment (UE) to each UAV, such that the sum-rate and the coverage probability of the network is maximized. An approach can be selected depending on the prevailing scenario. The first approach uses clustering algorithm to determine the 2D positioning of the UAV and a matching algorithm is used for UE assignment by considering the characteristics of the air-to-ground propagation channels as well as the impact of co-channel interference from ABSs. Then it uses exhaustive search on different altitudes to find the optimal altitude. In the second approach, 2D positioning and UE assignment are done similarly to the first approach. However, the sub-optimal altitude is estimated using particle swarm optimization (PSO). The first approach is suitable for a system which has computational resource constraints or lower probability of line of sight (LoS) links. In contrast, the second approach is suitable for data rate greedy systems or a higher probability of LoS links.

In all forms of folk beliefs, ancestor worship is a universal traditional belief form of the Vietnamese people. As a Vietnamese people, “everyone worships their ancestors, everyone worships their parents and grandparent”. Ancestor worship is a common belief in the whole country. It is a belief that expresses the deeply humanistic spirit of the Vietnamese people and has great values in human life. So, what is the nature of ancestor worship? What is the values of ancestor worship in life? And in the context of globalization, how has this the belief changed? This study focuses on analyzing the above contents, thereby highlighting the value of this belief in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people; to point out the positive and negative changes of this belief in the current period; from that, take the right measures to bring into play the positive and limit the negative side of those changes in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people.

Bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS) is one strategy to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. To assess the potential scale and cost of CO2 sequestration from BECCS in the US, this analysis models carbon efficiencies and costs of biomass production, delivery, power generation, and CO2 capture and sequestration in saline formations. The analysis includes two biomass supply scenarios (near-term and long-term), two biomass logistics scenarios (conventional and pelletized), two generation technologies (pulverized combustion and integrated gasification combined cycle), and three cost accounting scenarios (gross cost, net cost after electricity revenues, and net cost after electricity revenues with avoided emissions from conventional power generation). Results show cost Mg-1 CO2 as a function of CO2 sequestered (simulating capture up to 90% of total CO2 sequestration potential) and associated spatial distribution of resources and generation locations for the array of scenario options. Under a near-term scenario using 222 million Mg yr-1 of biomass, up to 196 million Mg CO2 can be sequestered at scenario-average costs ranging from $60 to $158 Mg 1 CO2; under a long-term scenario using 823 million Mg yr-1 of biomass, up to 727 million Mg CO2 yr 1 can be sequestered at scenario-average costs ranging from $32 to $242 Mg-1 CO2. These costs are largely influenced by cost accounting scenario, and the CO2 sequestration potential may be reduced if future competing demand reduces resource availability. Results suggest there are multiple feedstock-logistics-generation pathways toward CO2 drawdown that could be incrementally trialed and monitored for environmental sustainability effects. Interactive visualization of results is available at [final link to be determined].

Hearing impairment is an immensely diagnosed genetic cause, 5% of the total world population effects with different kind of congenital hearing loss (HL). In third-world countries or countries where consanguineous marriages are more common the frequency rate of genetic disorders are at its zenith. Approximately, the incidence of hearing afflictions is ostensibly 7-8:1000 individuals whereas it is estimated that about 466 million peoples suffer with significant HL, and of theses deaf cases 34 million are children’s up to March, 2020. Several genes and colossal numbers of pathogenic variants cause hearing impairment, which aided in next-generation with recessive, dominant or X-linked inheritance traits. This review highlights on syndromic and non-syndromic HL (SHL and NSHL), and categorized as conductive, sensorineural and mixed HL, which having autosomal dominant and recessive, and X-linked or mitochondrial mode of inheritance. Many hundred genes involved in HL are reported, and their mutation spectrum becomes very wide. Mapping of pathogenic genes in consanguinity family is facilitated to understand the disease history. Review presents the bases of HL and also focused on various genetic factors that cause deafness like the basics of genetic inheritance, and classic and well-characterized inherited factors of it. It also overviews the application of linkage analysis, SNPs genotyping and whole exome sequencing methods, in mapping and identification of new locus, causative genes and their variants in families inherited with HL. Conclusively, this review supports researchers in understanding the location of chromosome, the causative genes and specific locus which causing deafness in humans.

The purpose of this study was to present the challenges faced when implementing a diet and exercise intervention for low-income older Hispanics with type 2 diabetes with an observational study of recruitment, attendance, and characteristics of Hispanic adults with type 2 diabetes in a community congregate meal site pre and post administration of a diet and exercise intervention. This report evaluates retentions and diabetes self-management beliefs Hispanic adults ≥60 years with type 2 diabetes (n=17) at baseline, and completion of the six-month intervention in terms of the Health Belief Model. There was limited interest in controlling diabetes with diet and exercise. Major barriers included lack of perceived vulnerability to diabetes complications and a belief that medication alone is sufficient to stabilize blood glucose. Environmental barriers included lack of transportation, access to exercise groups, access grocery stores, and limited ability to pay for healthy foods. A lesson learned from this intervention was that the diet and exercise intervention given was insufficient as a cue to action for this population interventions to engage low-income, older Hispanics with diabetes in diet and exercise need to consider strategies to overcome barriers such as health beliefs, transportation issues, lack of access to nutritious food and group exercise classes.

A vast majority of the countries is under the economic and health crises due to the current epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The present study analyzes the COVID-19 using time series, which is an essential gizmo for knowing the enlargement of infection and its changing behavior, especially the trending model. We have considered an autoregressive model with a non-linear time trend component that approximately converted into the linear trend using the spline function. The spline function split the COVID-19 series into different piecewise segments between respective knots and fitted the linear time trend. First, we obtain the number of knots with its locations in the COVID-19 series and then the estimation of the best-fitted model parameters are determined under Bayesian setup. The results advocate that the proposed model/methodology is a useful procedure to convert the non-linear time trend into a linear pattern of newly coronavirus case for various countries in the pandemic situation of COVID-19.

We performed a global analysis with data from 149 countries to test whether temperature can explain the spatial variability of the spread rate and mortality of COVID-19 at the global scale. We performed partial correlation analysis and linear mixed effect modelling to evaluate the association of the spread rate and motility of COVID-19 with maximum, minimum, average temperatures and temperature extreme (difference between maximum and minimum temperature) and other environmental and socioeconomic parameters. After controlling the effect of the duration after the first positive case, partial correlation analysis revealed that temperature was not related with the spatial variability of the spread rate of COVID-19. Mortality was negatively related with temperature in the countries with high-income economies. In contrast, temperature extreme was significantly and positively correlated with mortality in the low-and middle-income countries. Taking the country heterogeneity into account, mixed effect modelling revealed that inclusion of temperature as a fixed effect in the model significantly improved model skill predicting mortality in the low-and middle-income countries. Our analysis suggest that warm climate may reduce the mortality rate in high-income economies but in low and middle-income countries temperature extreme may increase the mortality risk.

The report describes organizational and occupational strategies adopted by Lody Public Hospital (the first epicentre of Covid-19 outbreak in Italy) in order to face pandemic. Occupational Safety System (OSH) introduced infection prevention and control strategies (IPC) for the protection of healthcare workers (HCWs, while a reorganization of whole hospital based on the level of intensity of care for COVID-19 patients was estabilished. Screening on HCWs (N= 248) by nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 and comparison between HCWs and local population (N=1123) are shown. These preliminary data, collected from 25^th February till 25^th March 2020, confirms that measures adopted mitigate the effects of virus transmission within the hospital and reduced the HCW component of the transmission of the infection. Additional studies in depth are currently underway.

Construction and demolition waste (CDW) represents 1/3 of the weight of all-waste produced. Increasing their recycling and reutilization with recycled aggregates (RA) means closing the life cycle of construction materials. Research has been carried out on artificial aggregates from the exclusive crushing of structural concrete waste in selective demolitions (CDWRConc). This study analyses the use of recycled concrete as graded aggregate (GARConc) and in cement soil (CSRConc). The material complies with the requirements as a road base, although due to the low values of resistance to fragmentation these materials are adequate for use in sensitive road systems and other places such as urban roads and car parks. The sensitive road systems are infrastructures in places of great natural wealth and low traffic intensity, with an annual average of heavy vehicle traffic (AADTh) below 50 vhp/d. As soluble salt contents have been detected, additional waterproofing or drainage measures must be adopted to prevent water infiltration into the layers made up of CDWRHorm. Finally, the high initial values of UCS allow the temporary passage of light vehicles over CSRConc after 3 days.

A novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that is initially found to trigger human severe respiratory illness in Wuhan City of China, 2019, has been recognized as a public health emergency of international concern. In the past two months, this deadly agent has caused 77,785 cases with 2,666 deaths via rapid person-to-person transmission and reached at least 25 countries. However, its evolutionary origin is poorly understood. Here we show integrative evidence that 2019-nCoV is a possible progenitor for SARS-CoV with bat origin. Our finding underscores the importance of tracing origin in the efficient monitoring, and effectively preventing the interspecies transmission of such emerging/re-emerging coronaviruses.

The Author’s research series has revealed the existence in nature, of gravitational repulsion force, i,e., antigravity, which is proportional to the content of thermal energy of the particle. Such existence is in addition to the gravitational attraction force, accepted for several hundred years as proportional to mass. Notwithstanding such long acceptance, gravitational attraction acting on matter has totally been neglected in thermodynamic calculations in derivation of the ideal gas law. Both the antigravity force and the gravitational force have to be accommodated in an authentic elucidation of ideal gas behavior. Based on microscopic behavior of air molecules under varying temperature, this paper presents: firstly, the derivation of the mathematical model of gravitational repulsive force in matter; secondly, mathematical remodeling of the gravitational attractive force in matter.

Electrical contractors have experienced a rise in occupational fatalities in recent years. In 2017, electrical contractors also had the second highest number of non-fatal injuries among specialty trade contractors. Identifying statistically significant dependencies between these catastrophic outcomes and a handful of well-defined contributing factors in construction accidents offers a first step in mitigating the risks of construction accidents in this trade. Therefore, this study used methodologies of descriptive and quantitative statistics to identify the contributing factors most affecting occupational accident outcomes among electrical contracting enterprises, given an accident occurred. Accident reports were collected from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s fatality and catastrophe database. To ensure the reliability of the data, the team manually codified more than 600 incidents through a comprehensive content analysis using injury-classification standards. Inclusive of both fatal and non-fatal injuries, the results showed that most accidents happened in nonresidential buildings, new construction, and small projects (i.e., $50,000 or less). The main source of injuries manifested in parts and materials (46%), followed by tools, instruments, and equipment (19%), and structure and surfaces (16%). The most frequent types of injuries were fractures (31%), electrocutions (27%), and electrical burns (14%); the main injured body parts were upper extremities (25%), head (23%), and body system (18%). Among non-fatal cases, falls (37%), exposure to electricity (36%), and contact with objects (19%) caused most injuries; among fatal cases, exposure to electricity was the leading cause of death (50%), followed by falls (28%) and contact with objects (19%). The analysis also investigated the impact of several accident factors on the degree of injuries and found significant effects from such factors such as project type, source of injury, cause of injuries, injured part of body, nature of injury, and event type. In other words, the statistical probability of a fatal accident—given an accident occurrence—changes significantly based on the degree of these factors. Beyond these outcomes, the described content-analysis methodology contributes to the accident-analysis body of knowledge by providing a framework for codifying data from accident reports to facilitate future analysis and modeling attempts (e.g., developing logistic regression models) to subsequently mitigate more injuries in other fields.

This work presents significant results obtained by the application of global optimization techniques to the design of finite, normal form games with mixed strategies. To that end, the Fuzzy ASA global optimization method is applied to several design examples of strategic games, demonstrating its effectiveness in obtaining payoff functions whose corresponding games present a previously established Nash equilibrium. In other words, the game designer becomes able to choose a convenient Nash equilibrium for a generic finite state strategic game and the proposed method computes payoff functions that will realize the desired equilibrium, making it possible for the players to reach the favorable conditions represented by the chosen equilibrium. Considering that game theory is a very significant approach for modeling interactions between competing agents, and Nash equilibrium represents a powerful solution concept, portraying situations in which joint strategies are optimal in the sense that players cannot benefit from individually modifying their current strategies provided that other players do not change their strategies as well, it is natural to infer that the proposed method may be very useful for strategists in general. In summary, it is a genuine instance of artificial inference of payoff functions after a process of global machine learning, applied to their numerical components.

A significant part of the literature on innovative practice in medicine relates to seizing opportunities and curbing harms for patients in desperate situations. Unfortunately, the term innovation has multiple meanings and a rich rhetorical flourish that adds confusion and misunderstanding to an already difficult debate. This paper aims to enhance the current definition of innovative practice for medicine. First, we replace the term innovation with the more literal of new non-validated practice. To identify this meaning, we analyse the traditional research ethics’ distinction between research, validated practice, and innovation in the Belmont Report. Second, we propose the following explicit definition of new non-validated practice: the first or recent use of diagnostic, therapeutic or preventive interventions that introduce a significant change, with an insufficient level of evidence of safety or efficacy for regular healthcare, and with the main aim to benefit individual patients. This definition is a promising conceptual tool to inform empirical research, ethicists, and the harmonization of its regulation and legislation (e.g. right-to-try laws).

The military areas in Sardinia are around 234 km2, which constitutes 59.97% of the national surface affected by military easements. This situation is due to its geographic centrality in the Mediterranean. This contribution evaluates the performance of the Local Coastline Plan (LCP) and the Site Management Plan of Community Interest (SCI) in conditions of military constraint. The case study is the Municipality of Villaputzu where an important coastal military easement and the use of the coast for recreational tourism purposes coexist together through specific planning, a consequence of institutional agreements between the Municipal Administration of Villaputzu and the Ministry of Defense. The evaluation of the congruence of the specific objectives of the LCP and the SCI shows how their combined action favors the environmental enhancement of Sardinia, contributing to the formation of ecosystem services, even in particular conditions arising from military easements. These are sites that pass from the status of "anti-commons" to "semi-commons". In fact, the military release process in Sardinia, together with the promiscuous military and civil use, activates unique governance policies of their kind that find a significant field of application in Sardinia to guarantee a sustainable renewal of economic development of the ‘semi-commons’ awaiting to become ‘commons’

A coupled stratospheric chemistry-meteorology model was developed by combining the Canadian operational weather prediction model Global Environmental Multiscale (GEM) with a comprehensive stratospheric photochemistry model from the Belgian Assimilation System for Chemical ObsErvations (BASCOE). The coupled model was called GEM-BACH for GEM-Belgian Atmospheric CHemistry. The coupling was made across a chemical interface that preserves time splitting while being modular, allowing GEM to run with or without chemistry. An evaluation of the coupling was performed by comparing the coupled model, refreshed by meteorological analyses every 6 hours, against the standard offline chemical transport model (CTM) approach. Results show that the dynamical meteorological consistency between meteorological analysis times far outweighs the error created by the jump resulting from the meteorological analysis increments at regular time intervals, irrespective whether a 3D-Var or 4D-Var meteorological analysis is used. GEM-BACH forecast refreshed by meteorological analyses every 6 hours were compared against independent measurements of temperature, long-lived species, ozone and water vapor. The comparison showed a relatively good agreement throughout the stratosphere except for an upper-level warm temperature bias and an ozone deficit of nearly 15%. Arguments in favor of using the same horizontal resolution for chemistry, meteorology, and meteorological analysis increments are also presented. In particular, the coupled model simulation during an ozone hole event gives better ozone concentrations than a 4D-Var chemical assimilation at a lower resolution.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been identified in many cancer types. This study identified and characterized CSCs in head and neck metastatic malignant melanoma (HNmMM) to regional lymph nodes using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) markers. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining performed on 20 HNmMM tissue samples demonstrated expression of iPSC markers OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC in all samples while NANOG was expressed at low levels in two samples. Immunofluorescence (IF) staining demonstrated an OCT4+/SOX2+/KLF4+/c-MYC+ CSC subpopulation within the tumor nests (TNs) and another within the peritumoral stroma (PTS) of HNmMM tissues. IF also showed expression of NANOG by some OCT4+/SOX2+/KLF4+/c-MYC+ cells within the TNs in an HNmMM tissue sample that expressed NANOG on IHC staining. In situ hybridization (n=6) and reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (n=5) on the HNmMM samples confirmed expression of all five iPSC markers. Western blotting of four primary cell lines derived from four of the 20 HNmMM tissue samples showed expression of SOX2, KLF4, and c-MYC but not OCT4 and NANOG, and three of these cell lines formed tumorspheres in vitro. We demonstrate the presence of two putative CSC subpopulations within HNmMM, which may be a novel therapeutic target in the treatment of this aggressive cancer.

The promising antimicrobial activity of essential oils (EOs) led researchers to use them in combination with antimicrobial drugs in order to reduce drug toxicity, side effects, and resistance with single agents. In Pancalieri (Turin, Italy), there is a local production of Mentha x piperita worldwide known as “Mentha of Pancalieri”. The EO from this Mentha is considered as one of the best peppermint EO in the world. In our research, we assessed the antifungal activity of “Mentha of Pancalieri” EO either alone or in combination with azole drugs (fluconazole, itraconazole, ketoconazole) against a wide panel of yeast and dermatophyte clinical isolates. The EO was analyzed by GC-MS and its antifungal properties were evaluated by MIC/MFC parameters, according to the CLSI guidelines, with some modifications. The interaction of peppermint EO with azoles was evaluated through the chequerboard and isobologram methods. Results suggest this EO exerts a fungicidal activity against yeasts, and a fungistatic activity against dermatophytes. Interaction studies with azoles indicate mainly synergistic profiles between itraconazole and peppermint EO vs. Candida spp., Cryptococcus neoformans and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Peppermint of Pancalieri EO may act as a potential antifungal agent and may serve as a natural adjuvant for fungal infection treatment.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the presence of spatial and temporal effects on the calls for noise disturbance service reported to the Local Police of València (Spain) in the time period from 2014 to 2015, and investigate how some socio-demographic and environmental variables affect the noise phenomenon. The analysis is performed at the level of València's boroughs. It has been carried out using a logistic model after dichotomization of the noise incidents variable. The spatial effects consider first and second order neighbours. The temporal effects are included in the model by means of one and two weeks temporal lags. Our model confirms the presence of strong spatio-temporal effects. We also find significant associations between noise incidence and specific age groups, socio-economic status, land uses and recreational activities, among other variables. The results suggest that there is a problem of ``social'' noise in València that is not exclusively a consequence of coexistence between local residents. External factors such as the increasing number of people on the streets during weekend nights or during summer months increase severely the chances of expecting a noise incident.

The objective of this paper was to give an overview of the expressed preference (EP) techniques of environmental valuation. These methods offer estimation of the value of a resource not necessarily willingness to pay (WTP) or willingness to Accept (WTA) compensation rather upper and lower values. The method of measuring individuals’ willingness to pay is usually based on contingent valuation method (CVM). This research focuses on defining, categorizing, and applicability of various environmental valuation techniques that have been and can be applied in attaching value to a given resource using expressed/Revealed preference methods. The study serves as a supplementary synthesis and discussion to the board of knowledge of resource valuation methods. More specifically, selected methods to discussed herein include; contingent valuation method, hedonic pricing model, travel cost method, trade-off game method, the costless-choice method, Delphi method, Replacement Cost Method, Relocation Cost Method, Opportunity cost method, and Cost-benefit Method. In the last part, applicability of the methods is fully illustrated to support future studies on resource valuation.

In the work, the nuclei structure was modeled by a system of shells consisting of combinations of spherical and annular vortices. Having connected the spin and the magnetic moments of the nuclei with the dynamics of the outer shell of the nucleus, we determined its type and carried out a semiempirical calculation of the parameters of its structure for stable and unstable nuclear isotopes in the sequence of the order number Z from 1 to 37. Comparison of the obtained nuclear sizes with the radii of the electron shells of atoms made it possible to reveal a definite correlation. On the basis of it, it was concluded that the periodic law of Mendeleyev can determine the patterns in the change in the structure of the atomic nucleus.

Mediterranean coastal lagoons and their peripheral areas often provide a collection of habitats for many species, and they often face significant threats from anthropogenic activities. Diverse human activities in such areas directly affect the spatio-temporal dynamic of surface water and its ecological characteristics. Monitoring the surface water dynamic, and understanding the impact of human activities are of great significance for coastal lagoon conservation. The Regional Natural Park of Narbonne includes a typical Mediterranean lagoon complex where surface water dynamic and its potential link with local diverse human activities has not yet been studied. In this context, based on all the available Landsat images covering the study area during 2002-2016, this study identified the water and non-water classes for each satellite observation by comparing three widely used water indices (i.e., NDVI, NDWI and MNDWI) and using the Otsu method. The yearly water frequency index was then computed to present the spatio-temporal dynamic of surface water for each year, and three water dynamic scenarios were also identified for each year: permanent water (PW), non-permanent water (NPW) and non-water (NW). The spatial and inter-annual variation in the patterns of the three water scenarios were characterized by computing the landscape metrics at scenario-level quantifying area/edge, shape, aggregation and fragmentation. Finally, the quantitative link between different land use and land cover (LULC) types derived from the LULC maps of 2003, 2012 and 2015 and the surface water dynamic scenarios was established in each of the 300 m x 300 m grid cells covering the study area to determine the potential impact of human activities on the surface water dynamic. In terms of the inter-annual variation during 2002-2016, PW presented an overall stability, and NPW occupied only a small part of the water surface in each year and presented an inter-annual fluctuation. NPW had a smaller patch size, with lower connectivity degree and higher fragmentation degree. In terms of spatial variation during 2002-2016, NPW often occurred around PW, and its configurational features varied from place to place. Moreover, PW mostly corresponded to natural lagoon, and salt marsh (as a part of lagoons), and NPW had a strong link with arable land (agricultural irrigation) and salt marsh (salt production), sand beach/dune, coastal wetlands and lagoon for the LULC maps of 2003, 2012 and 2015. However, more in-depth analysis is required for understanding the impact of sand beach/dune, coastal wetlands and lagoon on surface water dynamics. This study covers the long-term variations of surface water patterns in a Mediterranean lagoon complex having intense and diverse human activities, and the potential link between LULC types and the water dynamic scenarios was investigated on different dates. The results of the study should be useful for environmental management and protection of coastal lagoons.

Although health policy resides mainly with the government, industry can play an important role in building a health ecosystem. From March to May, we administered questionnaires to 1,200 individuals from the general Korean population asking about their perception of health-friendly labels, and if they would purchase such labeled products (foods, pharmaceuticals, etc.) and services (purifying water, preventing air pollution, etc.) at extra cost. The participants placed a high value on the importance of mental, social, spiritual, and physical health factors in terms of company’s products and services with a score of about 8 out of 10 (range, 7.74-8.33). Most respondents (72.4%) said they were interested in adopting health-friendly labels. When a health-friendly label is introduced (such as one by the Business for Social Responsiveness), 65.1% of the respondents said they intended to purchase the product or service, while 6.8% said they did not, and 75.0% said they were willing to pay extra for the health-friendly product or service. Multivariate logistic regression models showed urban residence, high education level, and good social health to be significantly associated with positive attitudes toward health-friendly labels. People with high income, no religion, or normal weight were more likely to say they intend to purchase products and services with health-friendly labels. They also had a more positive attitude toward paying more for such products and services, as did people with good spiritual health. This study provides data that illustrate the importance of health-friendly products and services to the general population and companies.

In this paper, we introduce a new class of Laguerre-based Hermite-Fubini numbers and polynomials and investigate some properties of these polynomials. We establish summation formulas of these polynomials by summation techniques series. Furthermore, we derive symmetric identities of Laguerre-based Hermite-Fubini numbers and polynomials by using generating functions.

Although microgrids facilitate the increased penetration of distributed generations (DGs) and improve the security of power supplies, they have some issues that need to be better understood and addressed before realising the full potential of microgrids. This paper presents a comprehensive list of challenges and opportunities supported by a literature review on the evolution of converter-based microgrids. The discussion in this paper presented with a view to establishing microgrids as distinct from the existing distribution systems. This is accomplished by, firstly, describing the challenges and benefits of using DG units in a distribution network and then those of microgrid ones. Also, the definitions, classifications and characteristics of microgrids are summarised to provide a sound basis for novice researchers to undertake ongoing research on microgrids.

Data creation is often the only way for researchers to produce basic geospatial information for the pursuit of more complex tasks and procedures such as those that lead to the production of new data for studies concerning river basins, slope morphodynamics, applied geomorphology and geology, urban and territorial planning, detailed studies, for example, in architecture and civil engineering, among others. This exercise results from a reflection where specific data processing tasks executed in Google Sketchup (Pro version, 2018) can be used in a context of interoperability with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software. The focus is based on the production of contour lines and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) using an innovative sequence of tasks and procedures in both environments (GS and GIS). It starts in Google Sketchup (GS) graphic interface, with the selection of a satellite image referring to the study area—which can be anywhere on Earth's surface; subsequent processing steps lead to the production of elevation data at the selected scale and equidistance. This new data must be exported to GIS software in vector formats such as Autodesk Design Web format—DWG or Autodesk Drawing Exchange format—DXF. In this essay the option for the use of GIS Open Source Software (gvSIG and QGIS) was made. Correcting the original SHP by removing “data noise” that resulted from DXF file conversion permits the author to create new clean vector data in SHP format and, at a later stage, generate DEM data. This means that new elevation data becomes available, using simple but intuitive and interoperable procedures and techniques which confgures a costless work flow.

In this paper we define a continuous wavelet transform of a Schwartz tempered distribution $f \in S^{'}(\mathbb R^n)$ with wavelet kernel $\psi \in S(\mathbb R^n)$ and derive the corresponding wavelet inversion formula interpreting convergence in the weak topology of $S^{'}(\mathbb R^n)$. It turns out that the wavelet transform of a constant distribution is zero and our wavelet inversion formula is not true for constant distribution, but it is true for a non-constant distribution which is not equal to the sum of a non-constant distribution with a non-zero constant distribution.

The commitment of the EU to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is projected in the EU law about annual reporting by businesses. Since EU member states further develop this framework by their own domestic laws, annual reporting with CSR information is not unified and just partially mandatory in the EU. Do all European businesses report CSR information and what public declaration to society do they provide with it? The main dual purpose of this paper is identifying the parameters of this annual reporting duty and studying the CSR information provided by the ten largest Czech companies in their annual statements for 2013-2017. Based on legislative research and the teleological interpretation, the current EU legislative framework with Czech particularities is presented and, via a case study exploring 50 annual reports, the data about the type, extent and depth of the CSR is dynamically and comparatively assessed. It appears that, at a minimum, large Czech businesses satisfy their legal duty and e-report on CSR in a similar extent, but in dramatically different quality. Employee matters and adherence to international standards are used as a public declaration to society more than the data on environmental protection, while social matters and R&D are played down.

Sustainability in material purchasing is a growing area of research. Goods purchasing decisions strongly affect transportation path flows, vehicle consolidation, inventory levels and related obsolescence costs. Within a global sourcing context, companies experience the need of new decision making approaches capable to consider a large variety of factors, also linked with society and environment. Environmental impact assessment has become a key requirement for materials purchasing and transportation decisions since global warming is a rising concern both in academic and industrial researches. In fact, it is well known that the freight transport industry is responsible for large amounts of carbon emissions contributing to global warming. In this paper, we initially analyse and compare the environmental economic policies established by the International Governments in relation to the carbon trading systems adopted. Then, we develop a multi-objective lot sizing approach useful in practice to define the sustainable quantity to purchase when a Cap and Trade mitigation policy is present. We further analyse the model behaviour according to different carbon price values by demonstrating that carbon prices are still far too low to motivate managers towards sustainable purchasing choices.

Social customer relationship management (SCRM) is a new philosophy influencing the relationship between customer and organization, where the customer gets opportunity to control relationship through social media. The paper aims on (a) identification of current level of SCRM and also on (b) influence of basic organizational characteristics on SCRM level. The data were gathered through the questionnaire distributed in 362 organization headquartered in the Czech Republic. The questionnaire comprised 54 questions focusing on the significance of marketing and CRM practices, establishing a relationship with the customer, online communities, the use of social media in marketing, and acquiring and managing information. The majority of questions were scalable and used typical five-level Likert scale. Results showed that larger firms more often set up their own online communities and manage them strategically, moreover they are able to manage information better. Contrariwise, small sized organizations use social networks as a way to establish communication with the customer more than large sized entities. Use of social media for marketing purposes is significantly higher in organizations oriented on consumer markets than on business markets.

Photoplethysmography (PPG) based pulse oximetry devices normally use red and infrared illuminations to obtain oxygen saturation (SpO2) readings. In addition, the presence of motion artefacts severely restricts the utility of pulse oximetry physiological measurements. In the current study, a combination of green and orange illuminations from a multi-wavelength optoelectronic patch sensor (mOEPS) was investigated in order to improve robustness to subjects’ movements in the extraction of SpO2 measurement. Two experimental protocols with 31 healthy subjects were designed to determine SpO2 measurement. The datasets for the first protocol were collected from 15 subjects at rest, with the subjects free to move their hands. The datasets for the second protocol with 16 subjects were collected during cycling and running exercises. The results showed good agreements with SpO2 measurements (r = 0.98) in the both protocols. The outcomes promise a robust and cost-effective approach of physiological monitoring with the prospect of providing health monitoring that does not restrict user physical movements.

We analyzed the plant-litter-soil continuum to investigate the carbon and nitrogen distribution and ecological stoichiometry of an evergreen broad-leaved forest at Dagangshan Mountain, Jiangxi. The results showed that the average C and N contents and C:N ratios in the leaves and fine roots among 6 different tree species were 401.87g/kg, 21.41g/kg, 19.27 and 348.64g/kg, 15.73g/kg, 23.97, respectively; the average C and N contents and C:N ratios were 323.06 g/kg, 12.76 g/kg, 25.58 respectively in leaf litter, and 16.40 g/kg, 1.09 g/kg, 16.27 respectively for soil. In contrast with the C content, the total N content of the fine roots and litter had a high coefficient of variation and a high spatial heterogeneity. We ranked the six different representative tree species according to total C and N content in leaves and fine roots. The results for each species were generally consistent with each other, showing a positive correlation relationship between total C and N content in the leaves and roots. Among them, S. discolor (Champ. ex Benth.) Muell. plants displayed high carbon and nitrogen storage capacities, and on the other hand, C. fargesii Franch., C. myrsinifolia (Blume) Oersted, A. fortunei (Hemsl.) Makino, and V. fordii (Hemsl.) Airy Shaw showed a high nitrogen transfer rate. Total soil N and C decreased with depth. Soil organic carbon (SOC), soil resistant organic carbon (ROC), total N, alkali nitrogen, NH4+-N and NO3--N contents were all also negative correlated with soil depth, but the contents of the NH4+-N and NO3--N did not change significantly; The spatial distribution of soil NO3--N was significantly heterogeneous. At 0-10 cm soil depth, SOC was positively correlated with alkaline nitrogen, and at 10-20 cm soil depth, SOC was significantly positively correlated with total N. In general, when soil carbon was abundant, nitrogen supply capacity was also high.

We examine the mass balance of the glaciers in the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, located in the Russian High Arctic using time series of time-variable gravity from the NASA/DLR Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, laser altimetry data from the NASA Ice Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) mission, and radar altimetry data from the ESA CryoSat-2 mission. We present a new algorithm for detecting changes in glacier elevation from these satellite altimetry data and evaluate its performance in the case Novaya Zemlya by comparing the results with GRACE. We find that the mass loss of Novaya Zemlya increased from 10±5 Gt/yr over 2003-2009 to 14±4 Gt/yr over 2010-2016, with a brief period of near mass balance between 2009 and 2011. The results are consistent across the gravimetric and altimetric methods. Furthermore, the analysis of elevation change from CryoSat-2 indicates that 60\% of the mass loss occurs at low elevation, where thinning rates are highest. We also find that marine-terminating glaciers in Novaya Zemlya are thinning significantly faster than land-terminating glaciers, which indicates an important role of ice dynamics of marine-terminating glaciers. We posit that the glacier changes have been caused by changes in atmospheric and ocean temperatures. We find that the increase in mass loss after 2010 is associated with a warming in air temperatures, which increased the surface melt rates. There is no enough information on the ocean temperature at the front of the glaciers to conclude on the role of the ocean, but we posit that the temperature of subsurface ocean waters must have increased during the observation period.

In most countries, the incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is no more than 1 per 100,000 for both men and women; however, it is much higher for men and women in Taiwan. The use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of NPC and its treatment-related side effects has been increasing. The National Health Insurance (NHI) covers 99.6% of Taiwan’s residents. In the present population-based cohort study, we aimed to investigate the pattern of utilization of Chinese herbal products (CHPs) for NPC from 2001 through 2011 in Taiwan. We identified a total of 30294 patients with newly diagnosed NPC from the Registry for Catastrophic Illnesses Patient Database (RCIPD). Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis were employed to estimate the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for CHP utilization. From 2001 through 2011, 17816 patients aged ≥20 years were newly diagnosed with NPC. Of these, 4749 patients used TCM outpatient services for NPC treatment. TCM users were more likely to be women, young, residents of Central Taiwan, and white-collar workers. The most commonly prescribed formula CHP was Gan-Lu-Yin, followed by Xin-Yi-Qing Fei-Tang and Shan-Shen-Mai-Men-Dong-Tang. The most commonly prescribed single CHP was Hedyotis diffusa, followed by Radix Scrophulariae and Radix Ophiopogonis. These findings provide information regarding personalized therapies for NPC and can promote further clinical experiments and pharmacological research on CHPs for NPC treatment in Taiwan. Further well-designed randomized controlled studies and basic mechanistic studies should assess the safety and effectiveness of CHPs for NPC treatment.

This paper reports the findings from a pilot study designed to explore the barriers, facilitators and similarities with the delivery and implementation of two distinct models of Advance Care Planning (ACP) documentation for older adults in their last year of life used by health care professionals in their clinical practice. PACe (Proactive Anticipatory Care Plan): a GP led model and PEACE (Proactive Elderly Persons’ Advisory CarE): a nurse led model with community geriatrician oversight were used by participants in their clinical practice. Telephone interviews were conducted with general practitioners (GPs) to explore their views of using the PACe tool. Hospital admission avoidance matrons took part in face to face interviews and care staff employed in private residential care homes took part in individual telephone interviews to explore their views of using the PEACE tool. GPs and admission avoidance matrons were employed by Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and all study participants were recruited from the South East of England where data collection took place in 2015. Nine telephone interviews and two face-to-face interviews (one joint and one individual) were conducted with twelve participants. The data was analysed thematically. Participants highlighted the similarity of both tools in providing focus to ACP discussions to inform individual end-of-life care preferences. The importance of relationships was a pivotal theme-established, trusting inter-professional relationships to enable multidisciplinary teamwork and a prior relationship with the older person (or their proxy in the case of cognitive impairment) to enable conversations of this nature. Using both tools enabled participants to think critically and reflect on their own practice was another theme identified. Notwithstanding participants’ views to improve the layout of both tools, using a paper-based approach to deliver streamlined ACP and end-of-life care was a theme to emerge as a barrier which focused on the problems with access to paper-based documentation, accuracy and care co-ordination in the context of multidisciplinary team working. The value of technology in overcoming this barrier and underpin ACP as a means to help simplify service provision, promote integrated professional practice and provide seamless care was put forward as the solution.

Initial water content significantly affects the efficiency of soil stabilization. In this study, the effects of initial water content on the compressibility, strength, microstructure and composition of a lean clay soil stabilized by compound calcium-based stabilizer were investigated by static compaction test, unconfined compression test, optical microscope observations, environment scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The results indicate that as the initial water content increases in the range studied, both the compaction energy and the maximum compaction force decrease linearly and there are less soil aggregates or agglomerations, and smaller proportion of large pores in the compacted mixture structure. In addition, for specimens cured with or without external water supply and under different compaction degrees, the variation law of the unconfined compressive strength with initial water content is different and the highest strength value is obtained at various initial water contents. With the increase of initial water content, the percentage of oxygen element tends to increase in the reaction products of the calcium-based stabilizer, whereas the crystalline mineral of the soil did not change obviously.

In this paper, we revisit a modified version of the classical Whitehead's theory of gravity in which all possible bilinear forms are considered to define the corresponding metric. Although, this is a linear theory that fails to give accurate results for the most sophisticated predictions of general relativity, such as gravity waves, it can still provide a convenient framework to analyze some new phenomena in the Solar System. In particular, recent development in the accurate tracking of spacecraft and the ephemerides of planetary positions have revealed certain anomalies in relation with our standard paradigm for celestial mechanics. Among them the so-called flyby anomaly and the anomalous increase of the astronomical unit play a prominent role. In the first case the total energy of the spacecraft changes during the flyby and a secular variation of the semi-major axis of the planetary orbits is found in the second anomaly. For this to happen it seems that a net energy and angular momentum transfer is taken place among the orbiting and the central body. We evaluate the total transfer per revolution for a planet orbiting the Sun in order to predict the astronomical unit anomaly in the context of Whitehead's theory. This could lead to a more deeply founded hypothesis for an extended gravity model.

Terpenoids are toxic compounds produced by plants as a defense strategy against insect herbivores. We tested the effect of Origanum vulgare terpenoids on the generalist herbivore Spodoptera littoralis and the response of the plant to herbivory. Terpenoids were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS and quantitative gene expression (qPCR) was evaluated on selected plant genes involved in both terpene biosynthesis. The insect detoxification response to terpenes was evaluated by monitoring antioxidant enzymes activity and expression of insect genes involved in terpene detoxification. O. vulgare terpenoid biosynthesis and gene expression was modulated by S. littoralis feeding. The herbivore-induced increased level of terpenoids (particularly carvacrol and p-cymene) interacted with the herbivore by decreasing larval survival and growth rate. The assimilation by S. littoralis of more than 50% of ingested terpenes correlated with the possible toxic effects of O. vulgare terpenoids. In choice test experiments, carvacrol and γ-terpinene mediated the larval feeding preferences, wherease the prolonged feeding on O. vulgare terpenoids (particularly on γ-terpinene) exerted relevant antinutritional effects on larvae. S. littoralis was found to react to O. vulgare terpenoids by increasing its antioxidant enzymes activities and gene expression, although this was not sufficient to sustain the toxicity of O. vulgare terpenoids.

Delipidation is a method of defatting that is generally associated with the removal of residual lipids or lipid groups from matrices in which they are present in minute quantities. The bio-delipidation of protein-rich poultry slaughterhouse wastewater (PSW) pre-treated with a dissolved air flotation (DAF) system was developed using microbial lipases from bacterial strains isolated from the PSW. The efficacy of the bio-delipidation system was quantitatively characterised by comparing the quality parameters i.e., fats, oil and grease (FOGs), turbidity, total suspended solutes (TSS), total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD) and protein concentration of the DAF pre-treated PSW and bio-lipidized samples. As hypothesised, the bio-delipidation system was able to effectively reduce the levels of these quality parameters when crude lipases of Bacillus cereus AB1 (BF3) and Bacillus cereus CC-1 (B30) strains were used. Strain-dependent quality characteristics were also observed in bio-delipidized samples. The study successfully managed to complement physical reduction techniques (DAF) with biological strategies (bio-delipidation) for improved PSW quality, with potential industrial applications.

Ischemia stroke is one of a clinically common cerebrovascular disease. And Inhibition of brain tissue ischemia and reperfusion-induced damage, especially apoptosis, has an irreplaceable protective effect on ischemic nerves, and has special significance for the treatment of patients after treatment. However, the development of neuroprotective drugs still has certain challenges. Radix scrophulariae as a valuable medicine, has been discovered to has neuroprotective effects. Our researches initially proved that Radix scrophulariae aqueous extract (RSAE) exerting a neuroprotective effects on cerebral ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury in oxygen glucose deprivation and reperfusion (OGD/R)-induced PC12 cells and middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) model mice, were associated with attenuation of infarct volume, brain water content, nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA), inhibiting I/R-induced damage by reducing the levels of LDH release, improving anti-oxidant capacity by upregulating the SOD, GSH-Px and CAT activity, stabilizing mitochondrial membrane potential, reducing neuronal apoptosis, necrosis and neuronal loss by regulating the expression of anti-apoptotic BCL-2and pro-apoptotic protein Bax, and elucidating downregulate the phosphorylation levels of MAPK pathways. Our findings may elaborate the neuroprotective effects and potential mechanisms of RSAE on focal cerebral I/R injury in mice. Since, Radix scrophulariae, as a potential neuroprotective natural plant, has originally been identified to, our results may offer directions and clues for discovering new active compounds or drugs for treatment of ischemic stroke, which allows us to discover many new natural active chemicals by chemical separation and identification, and provide new insights into therapeutic targets in stroke patients.

Limited observational studies have described the relationship between sleep duration and overall diet. The present study investigated the association between sleep duration at weekdays and empirically derived dietary patterns in a nationally representative sample of UK adults, aged 19-64 years old, participating in the 2008-2012 UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme. Survey members completed between three to four days of dietary records. Sleep duration at weekdays was categorised into tertiles to reflect short, normal and long sleep duration. Social jetlag was calculated as the difference between sleep duration at weekends and weekdays. The association between sleep duration/ social jetlag and dietary patterns, derived by principal components analysis, was assessed regressing diet on sleep whilst accounting for the complex survey design and adjusting for relevant confounders. Survey members in the highest tertile of sleep duration had on average 0.45 (95% CI -0.78, -0.12) lower healthy dietary pattern score compared to middle tertile (p =0.007). There was an inverted u-shaped association between social jetlag and a healthy dietary pattern, such that when sleep at weekends exceeded weekday sleep by 1h 45min, scores for indicating a healthy dietary pattern declined (p =0.005). In conclusion, long sleep duration at weekdays and an increased social jetlag are associated with a lower healthy dietary pattern score. Further research is required to address factors influencing dietary patterns in long sleepers.

A potassium bromide KBr material, which has been widely used as the key element in the Fourier spectrometers and as the output window of the IR-lasers, has been studied with good advantage via applying the carbon nanotubes in order to modify the potassium bromide surface. The laser oriented deposition method has been used to place the carbon nanotubes at the matrix material surface in the vertical position at the different electric field varied from 100 to 600 V×cm-1. The main idea of the improvement of the spectral properties of the potassium bromide structure is connected with the fact that the refractive index of the carbon nanotubes is substantially less than the refractive index of the studied material, and the small diameter of the carbon nanotubes allows one to embed these nano-objects in the voids of the lattice of the model matrix systems. Moreover, the mechanical characteristics and wetting features of the potassium bromide structures have been investigated under the condition mentioned above. Analytical and quantum-chemical simulations have supported the experimental results.

In this review, severe plastic deformation (SPD) is considered as a materials processing technology. The deformation mode is the principal characteristic differentiating SPD from common forming operations. For large plastic strains, deformation mode depends on the distribution of strain rates between continuum slip lines and can be varied from pure shear to simple shear. A scalar, invariant and dimensionless coefficient of deformation mode is introduced as a normalized speed of rigid rotation. On this basis, simple shear provides the optimum mode for structure modification and grain refinement whereas pure shear is "ideal" for forming operations. Special experiments and SPD practice confirm this conclusion. Various techniques of SPD are classified and described in accordance with simple shear realization or approximation. It is shown that correct analyses of the processing mechanics and technological parameters are essential for comparison of SPD techniques and the development of effective industrial technologies.

Metal hydrides are one of the types of functional materials that allow safe and compact storage of a large amount of hydrogen, which is increasingly used today as an alternate fuel or energy source. The possibility of obtaining the initial energy necessary for the production of hydrogen by electrolysis process from renewable energy sources, such as solar panels and wind generators, makes hydrogen energetic quite attractive and rapidly developing industry sector. Solid form of hydrogen storage with the possibility of reversible sorption, gives opportunity for creation autonomous energy storage systems. La-Ni based alloys allow hydrogen storing at ambient temperatures and pressure not higher than 15 bar, which makes the application of these alloys quite practical, interesting and prospects for analysis and modifications on the ways of stored hydrogen capacity increasing, alloys price reducing and application for renewable energy storage.

Decision tables have been used for many years in data processing and business applications to simulate complex rule sets. Several computer languages have been developed based on rule systems and they are easily programmed in several current languages. Land management and river-reservoir models simulate complex land management operations and reservoir management in highly regulated river systems. Decision tables are a precise yet compact way to model the rule sets and corresponding actions found in these models. In this study, we discuss the suitability of decision tables to simulate management in the river basin scale Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT+) model. Decision tables are developed to simulate automated irrigation and reservoir releases. A simple auto irrigation application of decision tables was developed using plant water stress as a condition for irrigating corn in Texas. Sensitivity of the water stress trigger and irrigation application amounts were shown on soil moisture and corn yields. In addition, the Grapevine Reservoir near Dallas, Texas was used to illustrate the use of decision tables to simulate reservoir releases. The releases were conditioned on reservoir volumes and flood season. The release rules as implemented by the decision table realistically simulated flood releases as evidenced by a daily NSE (Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency) of 0.52 and a percent bias of -1.1%. Using decision tables to simulate management in land, river and reservoir models was shown to have several advantages over current approaches including: 1) mature technology with considerable literature and applications, 2) ability to accurately represent complex, real world decision making, 3) code that is efficient, modular and easy to maintain, and 4) tables that are easy to maintain, support, and modify.

In this paper we survey some recent results due to the author concerning various inequalities and approximations for the finite Hilbert transform of a function belonging to several classes of functions, such as: Lipschitzian, monotonic, convex or with the derivative of bounded variation or absolutely continuous. More accurate estimates in the case that the higher order derivatives are absolutely continuous, are also provided. Some quadrature rules with error bounds are derived. They can be used in the numerical integration of the finite Hilbert transform and, due to the explicit form of the error bounds, enable the user to predict a priory the accuracy.

Inverse Sumudu transform multiple shifting properties are used to design methodology for solving ordinary differential equations. Then algorithm applied to solve Whittaker and Zettl equations to get their new exact solutions and profiles which shown through Maple complex graphicals. Table of inverse Sumudu transforms for elementary functions given for supporting the differential equations solving using inverse Sumudu transform.

We mainly describe the influence factors of captured power by huge wave energy harvesters, which the vertical motion of buoy can transform ocean’s potential energy into piezoelectric energy power by waves. By means of semi-analytical solutions and theoretical analysis, related environmental coefficients are analyzed firstly and find the most appropriate wave frequency and geometric structure as reference. Secondly, the numerical results also discuss the impact trend of hydrodynamic parameters and geometric volume on motion, voltage and power with qualitative agreement. The simulation data confirm that structure parameters of the modified model could markedly deliver sufficient power to ocean high electrical equipment with long-time stability.

In recent years, remote sensing technology has been widely used to predict forest stand parameters. In order to compare the effects of different features of remote sensing images and topographic information on the prediction of forest stand parameters, multivariate stepwise regression analysis method was used to build estimation models for important forest stand parameters by using textural and spectral features as well as topographic information of SPOT-5 satellite images in northeastern Heilongjiang Province in China as independent variables. The study results show that the optimal window to predict forest stand parameters using textural features of SPOT-5 satellite image is 9×9; the ability of textural features was better than that of spectral features in terms of predicting forest stand parameters; with the inclusion of topographic information, the accuracy of prediction of all models was improved, of which elevation has the most significant effect. The highest accuracy was achieved when predicting the stand volume (SV) (R²_adj=0.820), followed by basal area (BA) (R²_adj =0.778), accuracy of both above models exceeded 75%. The results show that models combined use of textural, spectral features and topographic information of SPOT-5 images have a good application prospect in predicting forest stand parameters.

This study examines the evolution of the two-factor authentication method and its adaptability to the online education system. Two-factor authentication is a security measure used especially in areas where information such as banking is valuable. Parallel to technological developments, it has developed as much as daily. It aims to take security one step forward because it is composed of two phases. Today, banking, IOT devices, public transport tickets and many other areas are used. Two-factor authentication methods against security attacks in the field of information are also being updated. In recent years, new technologies such as biometric (iris pattern, retinal pattern, etc.) or behavioral biometry (location tracking, walking information, touch speed etc.) were studied. Instead of physically studying somewhere like going to a course in modern society, online trainings become more advantageous. Most of these online trainings are given certificates such as participation certificate, success certificate, etc. The main problem here is whether the person who is being certified is true. In the study conducted in line with these details, there is a proposal for the application of the Mimic Control Method with Sound Intensity (MCMSI) method for on-line training by examining the two-factor authentication techniques up to the day.

An on-site, ultra-sensitive, and quantitative sensing method was developed based on quantum dot nanobeads (QDNBs) and test strip for the determination of total aflatoxins (AFTs) in rice and peanut. The monoclonal antibody against AFT (mAbAFT) was home-made and labeled with QDNB. After the pre-coating of the AFT antigen on the test line (T line), the competitive immunoreactions were conducted between AFT and AFT antigen on the T line with QDNBs-mAbAFT. Under optimal conditions, this approach allowed a rapid response towards AFT with a considerable sensitivity of 1.4 pg/mL and 2.9 pg/mL in rice and peanut matrices, respectively. The put-in and put-out duration were within 10 min. The recoveries for AFT in rice and peanut samples matrices were recorded from 86.25–118.0% with the relative deviations (RSD) below 12%. The assay was further validated via the comparison between this QDNB strip and the conventional HPLC method using spiked samples. Thus, the design provided a potential alternative for on-site, ultra-sensitive, and quantitative sensing of AFT that could also be expanded to other chemical contaminants for food safety.

A gold(I) complex with a triphenylphosphine and a monodentate N,N-dimethyldithiocarbamate ligand was synthesized and characterized by Raman spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction. DFT calculations (Gaussian 09, PBE1PBE/Lanl2dz) were undertaken for a single complex in the gas-phase. The DFT-optimized structure is in good agreement with the crystal structure and the DFT-calculated Raman spectrum also is in excellent agreement with the experimental spectrum. Assignments of the Raman peaks are based on these DFT calculations. Frontier molecular orbitals were calculated and their nature is discussed.

Innovation is an essential key factor in the technology development history. Past research on innovation focused more on the innovation behavior of technology, but seldom described knowledge assets which also influence innovation behavior greatly. The effect of knowledge assets attribute and result on disruptive innovation is therefore regarded as the research topic in this study, where disruptive innovation is divided into outbound and inbound to combine combination-embeddednessandmajor business specificityof knowledge assets as the research model. Manufacturing enterprises in China are proceeded the questionnaire survey, and 173 valid copies are collected. The empirical analysis shows that combination-embeddedness of knowledge assets presents significantly positive effects on major business specificity and outbound innovationof an enterprise but reveals remarkably negative effects on inbound innovation. Enterprises are suggested to constantly accumulate knowledge assets with low major business specificity before disruptive innovation in order to reduce ineffective inbound innovation.

The thermal surface properties of graphenes and carbon materials are of crucial importance in chemistry of materials, chemical engineering, and many industrial processes. (1) Background: The determination of these surface properties is carried out using inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution which leads to the retention volume of organic solvents adsorbed on solid surfaces. This experimental and fundamental parameter actually reflects the surface thermodynamic interactions between injected probes and solid substrates. (2) Methods: The London dispersion equation and the Hamieh thermal model were used to quantify the London dispersive and polar surface energy of graphenes and carbon fibers as well their Lewis acid-base constants by introducing the coupling amphoteric constant of materials. (3) Results: The London dispersive and polar acid-base surface energies, the free energy of adsorption, the polar enthalpy and entropy, and the Lewis acid-base constants of graphenes and carbon materials were determined. (4) Conclusions: it was showed that graphene exhibited the highest values of London dispersive surface energy, polar surface energy, and Lewis’s acid-base constants. These highest characteristics of graphene justify its great potentiality and uses in many industrial applications.

Background: Little is known about the decisional background of choosing an appropriate disease model. Therefore, this paper aims, (1) to identify a spectrum of reasons for choosing between animal and non-animal disease models and (2) provides an ethical analysis of these reasons. Methods: 13 researchers from basic and preclinical research were interviewed, the interviews were analyzed qualitatively and the results were categorized. The ethical analysis was based on the principlism approach and a value judgement model. Results: This paper presents 66 reasons why researchers use animal (41 %) or alternative, non-animal disease models (59 %). Most of the reasons were be assigned to the work environment (29 reasons) and scientific standards (22 reasons). Other reasons were assigned to personal attitudes (11 reasons) and animal welfare (4 reasons). Qualitative relevant normative differences are presented in the ethical analysis. Even if few reasons can be rejected outright from an ethical point of view, there are good reasons to give some more weight than others. Conclusions: The spectrum of reasons and its ethical assessment provide a framework for reflection for researchers who may have to choose between animal models and (investing in) alternatives. This can help to reflect on and justify decisions.

Many stable water dispersions of various chemical compositions containing bioactive chemical compounds: copper silicate, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide (and other auxiliary substances) were developed and fabricated - they were used for preparation of thin hybrid coatings having very good antimicrobial properties against gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli), gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and yeast fungus (Candida albicans). Polyester (PES) nonwovens were modified by dip-coating, and PES and cotton fabrics - by dip-coating and coating methods.

The emergence of proteins in the prebiotic world was a watershed event at the origin of life. With their astonishing versatility, the protein enzymes catalyzed crucial biochemical reactions within protocells into more complex biomolecules in diverse metabolic pathways, whereas structural proteins provided strength and permeability in the cell membrane. Five major biochemical innovations followed in succession after availability of various kinds of protein molecules during decoding and translation of mRNAs. These are: (1) the modification of the phospholipid membrane into the plasma membrane; (2) the origin of primitive cytoplasm; (3) primitive gene regulation; (4) the beginnings of the virus world; and (5) the advent of DNA. The creative role of viruses during prebiotic synthesis led to the origin of the DNA world, when DNA replaced mRNA as the major genome of the protocells. With the advent of DNA, replication of information was entirely dissociated from its expression. Because DNA is much more stable than mRNA with more storage capacity, it is a superb archive for information systems in the form of base sequences. DNA progressively took over the replicative storage function of mRNA, leaving the latter for protein synthesis. Genetic information began to flow from DNA to mRNA to protein in a two-step process involving transcription and translation. In the biological stage, DNA replication was central to the binary fission of the first cell, orchestrated by the duplication of genomes and then the division of the parent cell into two identical daughter cells. With the onset of binary fission, the population of primitive cells grew rapidly in the hydrothermal vent environment, undergoing Darwinian evolution and diversification by mutation. The habitat of the earliest fossil record (≥ 3.5 Ga) from the Archean sedimentary rocks of Canada, Greenland, Australia, South Africa, and India offers a new window on the early radiation of microbial life. The development of anoxygenic and then oxygenic photosynthesis from early hyperthermophiles would have allowed life to escape the hydrothermal setting to the mesophilic global ocean.

Health services research is a multidisciplinary discipline that aims to improve population health by studying healthcare services' organization, delivery, and financing. Over time, the field has worked to define its boundaries and establish a set of core research topics and methods addressing population wellbeing, access, quality, and cost. Although the influence of health technology is significant, our literature survey on health services research showed that SCs in general—containing their management, cost, and policy—had received little attention. Importantly, our assessment also showed that the system’s readiness to handle supply policy and supply device deficiencies like those encountered during pandemic was hardly ever mentioned. Reduced open areas and water bodies, deteriorating infrastructure, and changes in the biological morphology all affect cities’ uncontrollable and unplanned growth. Urban amenities, facilities, and healthcare services were unevenly distributed due to this unchecked urban population development. In light of this, this research suggests two reliable models for site selection issues for one of Hong Kong’s main hospitals. Levels of uncertainty, infeasibility tolerance, and reliability are taken into consideration. Then, two categories of uncertainty—symmetric and bound-ed—were examined. As a result, the challenge of scheduling in uncertainty has been considered, and potential solutions have been presented using a specified probability distribution function. The paper concludes by introducing the specific justice and health problems and outlining four typical strategies. In order to ensure that medications and other healthcare supplies are produced, distributed, and given to patients, a vast network of systems, components, and procedures must be effectively managed. This research contributes in this regard. Also, its grantee fairness in health systems and the populations health locally, nationally, and globally. It highlights health inequity, advances the measurement of health inequity, and promotes public dialogues on health inequity.

The European Space Agency (ESA) defines as Earth observation (EO) Level 2 information product a single-date multi-spectral (MS) image corrected for atmospheric, adjacency and topographic effects, stacked with its data-derived scene classification map (SCM), whose thematic map legend includes quality layers cloud and cloud-shadow. ESA EO Level 2 product generation is an inherently ill-posed computer vision (CV) problem never accomplished to date in operating mode by any EO data provider at the ground segment. Herein, it is considered: (I) necessary not sufficient pre-condition for the yet-unaccomplished dependent problems of semantic content-based image retrieval (SCBIR) and semantics-enabled information/knowledge discovery (SEIKD) in multi-source EO big data cubes. (II) Synonym of EO Analysis Ready Data (ARD) format. (III) Equivalent to a horizontal policy for background developments in Space Economy 4.0. In compliance with the GEO-CEOS Quality Assurance Framework for EO Calibration/Validation guidelines, to contribute toward filling an analytic and pragmatic information gap from multi-sensor EO big data to timely, comprehensive and operational EO value-adding information products and services, this work presents an innovative AutoCloud+ CV software toolbox for cloud and cloud-shadow quality layer detection in ESA EO Level 2 product. In vision, spatial information dominates color information. Inspired by this true-fact, the inherently ill-posed AutoCloud+ CV software was conditioned, designed and implemented to be “universal”, meaning fully automated (no human-machine interaction is required), near real-time, robust to changes in input data and scalable to changes in MS imaging sensor’s spatial and spectral resolution specifications.

Background: Land use and land cover change (LULCC) in the Ruhuhu River Sub-Basin (RRSB), a crucial watershed within the Lake Nyasa Basin in Tanzania, poses a significant threat to water resource sustainability and ecological integrity. However, a lack of comprehensive data on long-term LULCC trends has hindered effective conservation efforts. Methods: This study utilized Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI data within Google Earth Engine to quantify LULCC dynamics from 1990 to 2023. Six land cover classes were analyzed: water, forest, barren land, grassland, shrubland, and farmland. Results: Results revealed a substantial decline in forest cover (56.92% to 28.60%), primarily converted to farmland (2.99% to 20.22%). Shrubland expanded initially but then declined, while barren land steadily increased. These changes have profound implications for water resources, biodiversity, and ecosystem services within the RRSB and the broader Lake Nyasa Basin. Conclusions: This research highlights the urgency of implementing sustainable land management practices to mitigate the adverse impacts of LULCC in the RRSB. The high classification accuracies achieved (90.9% to 98.7%) validate the robustness of the methodology. This study provides crucial insights for policymakers, land managers, and conservation practitioners, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to promote sustainable land use and ensure the long-term resilience of the RRSB ecosystem.

Introduction: In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), tongue diagnosis plays an important role. Besides shape, colour and textural attributes of tongue regions have significance due to their association with different organs (viz. heart, lung, kidney-bladder, liver-gallbladder and stomach-spleen) in health and disease. Although numerous quantitative methods have been proposed to reduce inter and intra observer variability in tongue diagnosis, almost all of them considered only global colour/ textural features i.e. from entire body of tongue. In this work, regional colour and texture information of tongue have been analysed for healthy subjects (NOM) and patients suffering from chronic acidity-indigestion (ACD). Methods: Tongue boundaries are marked manually in each image and then tongue bodies are automatically partitioned into five regions linked with said internal organs. Rough assessments of regions’ boundaries are obtained from literature and then they are fine-tuned according to experts’ advice. As boundaries are not well defined, regions near the common boundary of two or more organs, are not assigned to any organ. Several first and second order statistical features based on grey scale intensities and a* values of LAB colour space (indicative of redness) have been extracted from five different regions of tongue images. Intragroup analysis using Wilcoxon signed rank test compared different regions within individual study group. Additionally, intergroup analysis using Wilcoxon rank sum test compared tongues of NOM with ACD for each region separately. Results: Intragroup analysis reveals a* values are statistically different (p<0.01) between stomach-spleen and liver-gallbladder regions for ACD while no significant change of a* are noted between these regions of normal tongue. It was found from intergroup analysis that correlation (one of the second order texture features extracted from grey scale images) of heart region has significantly decreased while correlation of kidney, liver-gallbladder and stomach-spleen regions significantly increased from NOM to ACD. Conclusion: This study sheds light on importance of inclusion of regional textural analysis of tongue in quantitative studies and can be applied to automated tongue diagnosis for other diseases.

Ambiguity exists over treatment and surveillance strategies after endoscopic submucosal dissec-tion (ESD) for esophageal squamous cell neoplasia (ESCN) with unfavorable histologic features. This study investigated the long-term outcomes of ESD in high-risk ESCN patients. We retro-spectively included early ESCN patients treated with ESD at two medical centers in Taiwan be-tween August 2010 and December 2023. Demographic, endoscopic, and pathological data were collected. Among 146 patients (mean age 59.17 years) with 183 lesions, 73 (50%) had a history of head and neck cancer (HNC). En bloc and R0 resection were achieved in 100% and 95.6% of the lesions, respectively. The 5-year overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS) and local recurrence rates were 42.7%, 94.7% and 11%. R0 resection was significantly associated with re-currence in univariate analysis (adjusted OR: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.05-0.99, P=0.05). Alcohol abstinence was independently associated with lower recurrence (adjusted OR: 0.20, 95% CI: 0.08-0.48, P

Vertical wind speed extrapolation is a commonly used method that involves estimating wind speeds at various heights based on measurements taken at a specific height. In this study, we compared the short-and long-term extrapolation methods of wind parameters using data collected on site by anemometers at two different heights. We assessed the accuracy of these methods by calculating the statistical indicators for performance evaluation, and then determined the most appropriate model for the two types of vertical extrapolation. Additionally, we evaluated energy potential characteristics, as well as the statistical analysis of wind speed distribution and wind power density based on the Weibull and Rayleigh distribution. Our results indicated that the power law is the most suitable model for the short-term method, while the modified Mikhail model is the most appropriate for long-term extrapolation. We also found that the wind potential of this area is favorable for wind turbine integration.

The aim of this paper is to apply all the existing pyranometric method, to estimate the sunshine duration from the global solar irradiation, in order to find in their original form the most suitable method for a tropical site. Then, in a second step, one of these methods will be optimized to well fit tropical sites. Five methods in the literature (Step Algorithm, Carpentras Algorithm, Slob & Monna Algorithm, Slob & Monna 2 Algorithm, and Linear Algorithm) were applied with eleven years of global and diffuse solar radiation data. As a result, in their original form, the Step Algorithm is on the first rank. But in the second step, after improving its main coefficients, the Carpentras Algorithm was found to be the best algorithm for tropical site in the southern hemisphere.

This qualitative research investigates the pivotal role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in enhancing supply chain effectiveness. Through semi-structured interviews with 25 professionals across various industries, the study explores how HRM practices influence key aspects of supply chain management (SCM), including talent management, training and development, leadership, organizational culture, and technology integration. Findings highlight the strategic alignment between HRM and SCM as crucial for optimizing supply chain performance and responsiveness. Effective talent management strategies, such as recruitment, development, and succession planning, emerged as critical factors in ensuring operational stability and innovation within supply chains. Training programs were identified as instrumental in equipping employees with the necessary skills to navigate technological advancements and market complexities, fostering collaboration and enhancing decision-making capabilities. Leadership development initiatives were also found to be pivotal in promoting organizational effectiveness and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. The study further underscores the role of HRM in cultivating a collaborative and inclusive organizational culture that enhances communication, trust, and teamwork among supply chain stakeholders. Additionally, the integration of digital technologies and sustainability considerations emerged as transformative trends shaping modern supply chains, with HRM practices playing a crucial role in facilitating technological adoption and promoting environmentally responsible practices. Addressing challenges such as resource constraints, regulatory compliance, economic uncertainties, and global supply chain complexities remains crucial for organizations aiming to optimize HRM practices and achieve sustainable supply chain performance. Overall, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of how HRM can drive innovation, collaboration, and resilience within supply chains, positioning organizations for long-term success and growth.

Working capital management (WCM) is critical because it affects a company's profitability, liquidity, and investment decisions, all of which have an impact on financial performance. As a result, effective and efficient working capital management is an essential component for commercial and service businesses. Given the importance of the commercial and services industries to the Kenyan economy, the goal of this research was to look into the impact of working capital management on the financial performance of these firms, particularly those listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), from 2003 to 2022. Working capital management was measured using the average age of inventory, average collection period, average payment period, and cash conversion cycle, whereas financial performance was measured using return on asset, return on equity, and net operating profit margin. Using panel regression analysis, the results showed that the average inventory age, average collection period, average payment period, and cash conversion cycle were all negatively related to financial performance for NSE-listed commercial and services firms. Based on the findings, it is recommended that Kenyan commercial and services firms adopt prudent optimal working capital management practices in order to improve firm financial performance and maximize shareholder wealth.

Objective: To investigate whether the relationships between acute care occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) utilization and community discharge are moderated by functional or physical performance at discharge among individuals hospitalized with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Setting: 14 acute care hospitals in the state of Colorado. Participants: We studied 5,599 adults hospitalized with TBI between June 2018 and April 2021. Design: In a secondary analysis of de-identified electronic health record (EHR) data, multivariable moderation logistic regression models were performed to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for the likelihood of community discharge among patients who utilized OT/PT services. Main Measures: Functional (activities of daily living [ADL]) and physical (mobility) performance at discharge, OT and PT utilization, and community discharge status. Results: Overall, 67% of patients discharged to the community. The mean age of the sample was 55 years (SD = 20 years). Most participants were male (64%) and non-Hispanic white (72%). Mean hospital length of stay was 6 days (SD = 6 days). Both OT and PT utilization (OT: OR= 1.21, 95% CI [1.11, 1.33]; PT: OR= 1.22, 95% CI [1.14, 1.30]) and discharge ADL and mobility scores (ADL: OR= 1.34, 95% CI [1.30, 1.39]; mobility: OR= 1.38, 95% CI [1.33, 1.42]) were significantly and positively associated with community discharge. The OT and PT utilization-by-discharge ADL and mobility interaction terms yielded slightly negative, but statistically significant moderation effects in both models (ORs= 0.99, 95% CIs [0.98, 1.00]); indicating the magnitude of the OT and PT utilization effect diminished as ADL and mobility scores increased. Several sociodemographic characteristics and clinical factors were also independently associated with community discharge in both models (p-values

Beneficial microbes are crucial for improving crop adaptation and growth under vari-ous stresses. They enhance nutrient uptake, improve plant immune responses, and help plants tolerate stresses like drought, salinity, and heat. The yield potential of any crop is significantly influenced by its associated microbiomes and their potential to im-prove growth under different stressful environments. Therefore, it’s crucial and excit-ing to understand the mechanisms of plant-microbe interactions. Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the primary staple foods worldwide, in addition to wheat and rice. Maize is also an industrial crop globally, contributing 83% of its production for use in feed, starch, and biofuel industries. Maize requires significant nitrogen fertilization to achieve opti-mal growth and yield. Maize plants are highly susceptible to heat, salinity, and drought stresses and require innovative methods to mitigate the harmful effects of environmental stresses and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers. This review summarizes our current understanding of the beneficial interactions between maize plants and specific microbes. These beneficial microbes improve plant resilience to stress and in-crease productivity. For example, they regulate electron transport, downregulate cata-ase, and upregulate antioxidants. We also review the roles of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) enhancing stress tolerance in maize. Additionally, we explore the application of these microbes in maize production and identify major knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to utilize the potential of beneficial microbes fully.

In this research work the study of Buongiorno Model Darcy Forchheimer flow of Hybrid nanofluid flow on isothermal permeable stretch/shrink sheet with homogeneous and heterogeneous reaction is investigated. The effects of MHD, thermal radiation, viscous dissipation, Joule heating, and heat generation/absorption are taken into account. Hybrid nanofluids can act as a medium for heterogeneous-homogeneous reactions. The nanoparticles dispersed in the fluid can influence reaction kinetics and species transport, potentially, altering reaction rates and pathways. The applications of HNF in reactions, both homogeneous and heterogeneous, lie in leveraging their enhanced thermal properties, catalytic potential, and improved mixing capabilities to optimize reaction efficiency and control reaction conditions. Similarity transformation is used to convert a set of PDEs into a set of ODEs. HAM is used for the solution of the obtained ODEs system. In a heterogeneous reaction, the concentration gradient is amplified; in a homogeneous reaction, the impact is opposite. Moreover, at higher compositions of HNPs, the concentration and velocity rise while the temperature falls. Furthermore, as the values of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions increase, the concentration falls. It is reliable with the idea that a greater reaction rate lowers the diffusion rate. Nevertheless, these parameters do not affect temperature or velocity.

Nutrition therapy is the best solution to human chronic diseases, especially beer and barley which play an important role in human health and civilization. We demonstrated the actional mechanism of functional ingredients in beer and barley to combat chronic diseases, based on PubMed, google, CNKI, and ISI Web of Science databases from 1997 to 2024. Beer is rich in functional ingredients that is a complex of barley malt and hops; the health effect of beer against 26 chronic diseases is highly similar to that of barley, due to molecular mechanism of polyphenols (phenolic acids, flavonoids), melatonin, minerals, bitter acids, vitamins, and peptides. The ancient German Beer Purity Law provides much scientific basis today, especially indirectly supporting the human one cell disease theory. Low purine beer can be produced by enzymatic and biological degradation and adsorption of purines as well as dandelion addition. Functional beer with low purine and high active ingredients made from Beer Purity and barley malt as well as functional foods addition will be the key and important development direction, such as ginger beer and ginseng beer, especially coix-lily beer at the ancestors ca. 9000 years ago. This review paper not only reveals the actional mechanism of beer overcoming human chronic diseases, but also provides scientific basis for the development of functional beer for the prevention and treatment of human chronic diseases.

Both soybean variety and processing affect product characteristics. This study’s objective was to characterize the effect of four extraction methods (variations of soaking and grinding) combined with cooking on the content and composition of phenolic substances, antioxidant and anti-DU145 prostate cancer cell proliferative properties of soymilk prepared from a yellow soybean of the ProSoy variety, which is a high protein variety. Results showed soymilk processing yield was the greatest by Method 4, but Method 2 gave the highest solids and protein yields by about 14 and 12%, respectively. Method 4, a two-step grinding also increased yields (8 and 7%, for solids and protein, respectively), and in all but one instance produced higher total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), condensed tannin content (CTC) and total isoflavone content in both raw and cooked soymilk as compared to Method 1. Cooking soymilk reduced 14-17% of total phenolic substances. Cooking reduced anticancer capacity of Method-4-prepared soymilk phenolic extract by increasing IC50 value from about 4.9 mg/mL to 6.8 mg/mL. The increases in phenolic compounds and antioxidants produced in Prosoy soymilk by Methods 2 and 4 with simultaneous increases in product solids yield are significant to benefit the soymilk industry and consumer health. Keywords: ProSoy yellow soybean, soymilk processing, phenolics, isoflavones, antioxidant capacity, anti-DU145 prostate cancer proliferation

There is a growing body of research exploring Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for the overall population; however, few studies have examined the effectiveness and applications of CAM practices in the paediatric population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), parent's prevalence using CAM in their dependents is estimated to be as high as 80%. This literature review identified broad, heterogeneous, and inconclusive evidence regarding CAM applications and effectiveness caused mainly by variances in sociodemographic factors and national healthcare systems differences. Additionally, a lack of consensus and polarised positions among mainstream professionals regarding the CAM mechanism of action, applications, and effectiveness were identified. This narrative review shows debatable results for most CAM therapies and their applications. However, some evidence suggests that acupuncture, Yoga, Tai Chi, and massage might benefit users' physical and mental health. Additionally, meditation's available evidence indicates that it might be only helpful in the enhancement of mental health, whereas Reiki only displays an effect on patients' perceptions of comfort. Lastly, herbal medicine was observed to have non-specific evidence to support its claim, given the diverse nature and complexity of herbal compounds and procedures. This comprehensive narrative review might offer health professionals a reference to guide their health practices towards a personalised approach, taking into account the patient's values and beliefs, both important aspects of integrated, evidence-based practice, aiming to improve the quality of the offered health services and patients' satisfaction.

This study aimed to identify whether gyrate atrophy of the choroid and retina (GACR) heterozygous individuals have possible clinical manifestations and to explore the potential pathogenic mechanism. In this retrospective study, we surveyed a two-generation pedigree of an individual diagnosed with GACR. Two family members underwent ophthalmological, hematologic, and genetic tests. An arginine-restricted diet with vitamin B6 supplementation was implemented; clinical assessments were repeated every 3 months during follow-up. Relative OAT mRNA expression was determined using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The 19-year-old compound heterozygous daughter (OAT: c.1186C>T; c.748C>T), had bilateral high myopia, posterior staphyloma, chorioretinal atrophy, macular abnormalities, and elevated hematologic ornithine. The 54-year-old heterozygous mother (OAT: c.1186C>T), presented with bilateral severe myopia, asymmetric posterior staphyloma, retina and choroidal capillary layer atrophy, retinal pigment epithelium abnormalities, and mildly elevated hematologic ornithine. Compared to normal individuals, the daughter and mother had 29% and 46% relative OAT mRNA expression, respectively (P<0.001). We believe that this is the first report of a carrier of one OAT variant allele with mild phenotypes, suggesting that family members should be aware of the possible involvement of autosomal recessive conditions. Additional data suggests nonsense mediated decay-initiated mRNA degradation may cause GACR.

Aims: This study aimed at examining coach-athlete violence based on the retrospective reports of adults who had been athletes as children and adolescents; predict variables that contribute to the existence of such violence; describe difficulties that the participants encountered as young athletes following such violence; and reveal the outcomes of such violence on their emotions and behaviors, in the past and present. Methodology: The applied mixed-methods comprised quantitative self-reporting questionnaires and qualitative interviews. The former included 440 participants (mean age 27.6) who had trained for at least one year in a sports union youth department; the latter included 14 participants (aged 23-37). These competitive athletes came from eight branches of sports. The interviews were analyzed based on the Narrative Approach. Results: According to the quantitative study, all participants had experienced coach violence at least once during their career, mainly psychological violence and neglect, followed by physical violence. Sexual violence was least reported. The age of their retirement from sports and the number of coaches that they had had were significant predictors of violence. Thematic analysis of the qualitative interviews resulted in six types of coach-athlete violence: (1) psychological violence; (2) verbal violence; (3) starvation and food fattening; (4) non-proportional punishing; (5) physical violence; and (6) sexual violence. Conclusions: It is vital that coach-athlete violence is addressed in public discourse, that the topic of of young athletes’ safety is introduced into coaching education, and that a position holder is nominated to be in charge of such safety in all sports organizations.

The effectiveness of simple weirs and the ability of rural farmers to construct durable weirs are still areas of concern in rural areas in Zambia. The objective of this study is to investigate the factors contributing to the varying levels of durability of the simple weir structures used for the diversion of river flows. This study was conducted in 5 districts where 33 SWs located in similar geographical zones were analyzed for their longevity. The research delved into catchment and climatic variables, and the social and psychological perception of simple weirs. The study conducted interviews with key informants who were familiar with the use of SWs in 5 districts in Muchinga provinces between 26 December 2023 and 15 January 2024 using semi-structured questions. The findings of this study indicated that simple weirs constructed on relatively square-shaped catchments and narrow-shaped catchment areas were less vulnerable to damage and easy to operate and maintain. The study also found that climatic factors such as storm rainfall events had little impact on the operation and maintenance of these weirs in Muchinga province, as most sites are in the rainfall shadow while farmers` views about the structures varied from site to site. Overly, planning is necessary for implementing small or large irrigation structures.

Indigenous traditional land uses, including hunting, fishing, sacred activies and land-based education at Red Sucker Lake First Nation (RSLFN) in Manitoba, Canada are impacted by mining. Traditional land use maps and interviews were undertaken with 21 Indigenous people from RSLFN, showing many traditional land uses are concentrated on greenstone belts. The interviews revealed that mining exploration has resulted in large petroleum spills, noise distress, personal property destruction, wildlife die-offs and animal population declines, which negatively impact RSLFN’s traditional land use practices, ecosystem integrity, and community health. Red Sucker Lake First Nation (RSLFN) people want their territories’ land and water protected for traditional uses, culture and ecological integrity. Towards this goal, their Island Lake Tribal Council sought support for an Indigenous-protected and conserved area (IPCA) in their territory outside of existing mining claims, but without success. Governments need to partner with Indigenous nations to reach their biodiversity targets, particularly considering northern Canada’s peatlands, including those in Island Lake, surpassing the Amazon forests for carbon storage. Critical minerals and gold’s role in renewable energy and geopolitics have colonial governments undermining Indigenous rights, climate stabilization and biodiversity. With extractivism prioritized, the environmental impacts of mining extend to not only the mines but also the extensive development required to facilitate extraction including roads, hydro and ports to ship the minerals with proposals for a national Northern Corridor to run nearby.

This article studies the morphological parameters of vegetative and generative organs of different age groups of Crataegus ambigua from four populations in Western Karatau (Mangistau region, Kazakhstan). The study examined four populations Pop 1 Sultan Epe, Pop 2 Karakozaiym, Pop 3 Emdikorgan, and Pop 4 Samal located in various gorges of western Karatau. Some phylogenetic inference methods were applied using six genetic markers atpF-atpH, ITS, matK, psbK-psbI, rbcL, and trnH-psbA. We also used a statistical analysis of the vegetative and generative organs of plants for three age groups of plants (virgin, young generative, and adult generative). According to the age structure, Samal populations have a high concentration of young generative plants - 42.3% and adult generative plants - 30.9%. Morphological analysis showed the significance of the parameters of the generative organs and separated the Samal population into a separate group according to the main PCoA coordinates. The results of the floristic analysis showed that the populations in the Samal have a high concentration of species diversity. The comparative dendrogram of UPGMA shows the informativeness of the use of genetic markers and the psbK-psbI region can be used to judge the difference between the fourth Samal population and the other three.

Timely and accurate information on tree species is crucial for the sustainable management of natural resources, forest inventory, biodiversity detection, and carbon stock calculation. The advancement of remote sensing technology and artificial intelligence has facilitated the acquisition and analysis of remote sensing data, resulting in more precise and effective classification of tree species. Multimodal remote sensing data and deep learning seem to be the current tree species classification research mainstream, whether or not. The current review on the remote sensing data and deep learning tree species classification methods perspectives to analyze the unimodal and multimodal remote sensing data and classification methods in this realm is missing. To bridge the gap, we search for major trends in the remote sensing data and tree species classification methods, provide a detailed overview of classic deep learning-based methods for tree species classification, and discuss the limitations.

Shafts with a stepped shoulder are particularly well known in the field of drive technology. In combination with a form-fit shaft–hub connection, the shaft shoulder fixes the hub on the shaft as well as the absorption of the axial forces. With profiled shafts, there is a notch overlay in the shaft shoulder, involving the shaft shoulder and profile. If the hub is also connected with the profiled shaft, the hub edge acts as an additional notch in the shaft shoulder area. The multiple resulting notches have not previously been part of research activities in the field of innovative trochoidal profile connections. Compared to conventional positive-locking connections, such as the keyway connection or the involute splined shaft profile, the favourable features of trochoidal profiles have only been based on connections with smooth shafts without a shoulder in previous studies. Accordingly, this article addresses the numerical and experimental investigations of trochoidal profile connections with offset shafts for pure torsional loading. Focusing on a hybrid trochoid with four eccentricities and six drivers, a well-founded numerical and experimental investigation was carried out with numerous fatigue tests. In addition, the influence of a shaft shoulder was also demonstrated on simple epi- and hypotrochoidal profiles.

The gastrointestinal tract is colonized by trillions of different microorganisms, named the gut microbiota, which is key to degrade undigested food such as dietary fibers. The fermentation of these food components leads to the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which exploit several beneficial roles for the host’s health. Their production and absorption happen in different ways in the human intestine and depend on the type of dietary fiber reaching the gut and the microorganisms involved in the fermentation. The supplementation of SCFAs, mostly butyrate, in treating gastrointestinal, metabolic, cardiovascular, and gut-brain-related diseases has been reported in the medical literature. This review aims to give an overview of the production and absorption dynamics of acetate, propionate, and butyrate in the human gut, with a final focus on the role played by these SCFAs on gastrointestinal and metabolic health and the present therapeutic implications.

Non-exhaust road transport emissions in cities contribute to poor air quality and create health impacts. This paper presents a new study of the emitted particles due to the tyres-road wear ‘TRWP’ in real driving and gives their emission factors EF. The most frequently observed particles were <1 µm; followed by particles size between [1µm, 4µm] for urban, suburban and highway areas. These particle sizes are well-known to have a higher degree of toxicity. An overall analysis of all the measured pollutants gave EF equal to 30 10+12 #/km and 35 10+12 #/km, respectively for urban and sub-urban areas; and 5 10+12 #/km on highway. The analysis of the 19 most emitted pollutants, taken individually, showed that their EFs ranged from 0.003 to 18.142 10+12#/km. The obtained EF are above the value of the Euro standard for vehicles, but are below the values for vehicles unequipped with a particle filter. Significant test analysis confirmed that inertia of chemical pollutants is homogeneous. EF assessment of the PM10 and PM2.5 emitted is equal to 1.45 mg/km and 0.35 mg/km respectively. These results should contribute to the emergence of future regulations of non-exhaust emissions and should help to analyse the exposure-impact relationship to TRWP.

Investigation of oomycete diversity in rice paddies of Fars Province in Iran led to the identification of two new Pythium sensu lato (s.l.) species as Globisporangium izadpanahii sp. nov. and Pythium banihashemianum sp. nov. The identification was based on morphological and physiological features as well as the phylogenetic analysis of nuclear (ITS and βtub) and mitochondrial (cox1 and cox2) loci using Bayesian inference and Maximum Likelihood. A major characteristic of G. izadpanahii was the production of globose hyphal swellings; this species did not produce vesicles and zoospores. The present paper describes formally these two new species and defines their phylogenetic relationships with other congeneric species. According to multiple gene genealogy analysis, G. izadpanahii grouped with other species of Globisporangium in the former clade G of Pythium s.l. and was closely related to both G. nagaii and the recently described G. coniferarum. The second species, designated P. banihashemianum, grouped with other species of Pythium sensu stricto in the former clade B of Pythium s.l. and according to the phylogenetic analysis shared an ancestor with P. plurisporium. In pathogenicity tests on rice seedlings, P. banihashemianum isolates were highly pathogenic causing severe root and crown rot, while G. izadpanahii isolates were not pathogenic.

Dynamic virtual testing by Hardware in the Loop (HIL) real time simulation systems is common to minimize physical tests to validate and verify control algorithms, logics and software, under normal and emergency conditions. The accurate but costly HIL models setup activities could have an extended use to simulate faulty conditions that are seldom observable in the real system, yet they must be detected in advance and recognized. Data driven diagnostic methods have reached a mature development, in various sectors, proving effective in early detecting slowly varying deviations from nominal patterns of signals, even without a priori knowledge of their nature and behavior. These methods rely on vast amount of data logged from real systems that are ever and ever richer of monitoring telemetries that are worth being exploited. However, due to the usually reliable and safe systems being managed, it is often difficult to collect enough data on anomalous situations to validate fault detection and isolation and limit false positives. HIL model-based simulations allow generating and observing operational domains or transients rarely observed in real operations. This allows identifying the signals that are most correlated to faults and that could be selected to setup data-based diagnostic models of parts or subsystems, which are more suitable than the whole HIL model for online diagnostics, as well as to identify the features and trends that are most symptomatic of anomalous conditions.

The existence of low-cost and accurate tools that can equip the First Responders (FRs) to detect trapped victims and provide insights about their health condition in the aftermath of a disaster, is imperative. To address the problem of detecting trapped victims behind walls or debris, we have developed a tool that exploits an Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) radar sensor for data collection and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms for data analysis. To evaluate the efficacy of our approach, we collected data from nine humans, both in standing and lying down positions. Next, we applied various ML algorithms to the collected dataset for two discrete sub-tasks that are of interest from an FR’s perspective. The first task is the detection of the victim’s presence, where the algorithms attained more than 95% accuracy and F1-Score. The second task is the estimation of the distance between the radar sensor and the victim, where the tool showed an average error of less than 40 cm.

This article examines the diagnosis of the Agricultural Innovation System (SIA) in the department of Tolima, Colombia, as part of a project led by the Colombian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Technological University of Pereira (TUP), which also evaluated the National Agricultural Innovation System (NAIS) in regions such as Chocó, Bolívar, and Meta. A methodology was used that involved a survey with 58 questions on a Likert scale to 300 participants, evaluated with congruence and relevance indexes, identifying key variables in the operation of the Agricultural Innovation System (AIS). A survey was also applied to actors of the National Innovation System for Higher Education in Agriculture, A survey was also applied to map the participating actors in the regional agricultural innovation systems of Tolima to identify gaps in extension, innovation, development, sustainability, ICT, education and training. Among the conclusions, it stands out that the associativity subsystem presents the lowest lag and is close to a score of two on the scale of gaps, evaluation carried out among the five subsystems including extension, ICT, environmental aspects, and pub-lic policy. The department of Tolima shows low performance in innovation and ICT, while the extension is less lagging. In Chaparral there is a general lag, with innovation being the worst evaluated subsystem. Rovira obtains high scores in most subsystems, although innovation and ICT have lower scores. At the national and regional levels, innovation is low, and articulation among NARS actors is insufficient, which highlights the need to promote good practices, strategies, and projects.

The insufficient flexibility of the hybrid renewable integrated energy system (HRIES) makes it difficult to accommodate renewable energy with a high proportion. It is thus necessary to excavate its potential flexibility to improve its operational performance and consume renewable energy. This paper unlocks the adjustment potential of flexible buildings and builds a flexible thermal load regulation model according to the dynamic thermal characteristics and thermal comfort elastic interval of the buildings and a regulation model of the flexible electrical load based on its transferability, resectability, and rigidity. An operation optimization model, which incorporates multiple flexible load regulations and the variable load of devices, is then developed. A case study is presented to analyze the regulation and synergy mechanism in different types of flexible loads. Its results show a saturation effect between the flexible thermal and electrical loads in increasing renewable energy consumption and a synergy effect in decreasing the total cost. This synergy can reduce the total cost by 0.73%. Besides, the total cost can be reduced by 15.13%, and the renewable energy curtailment rate can decrease by 12.08% if the flexible electric and thermal loads are integrated into the operation optimization of HRIES.

The review scrutinizes the currently performed research on the new methods for enhancing bituminous binder performance through radiation and radical grafting of polymer modifers of bitumen. It investigates innovative methods, including using waste polymers as modifiers, and applying radiation for polymer grafting, to overcome challenges like high costs, low aging resistance and storage stability issues, of which separation of phases polymer/bitumen is the most significant obstacle. These advanced modification techniques promise sustainability through the decrease of the carbon footprint of transportation systems by improving the properties and durability of binders. Additionally, the review discusses the parameters and mechanistic aspects from a scientific perspective, shedding light on the underlying processes that contribute to the improved performance of modified bituminous binders.

Handedness reflects functional body and hemispheric lateralization, proving relevant to contextualize cognitive and behavioral profiles. This study aimed to determine the lateralization of the hands, feet and eyes in patients with various neurological disorders and to test the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI), a widely used handedness measure. The study design included a literature overview and a clinical study. The overview spanned the literature of the past 50 years since the EHI was developed. Three hundred seventy-four patients with immune-mediated (IM) or noIM neurological diseases and healthy subjects underwent personal and family history of handedness, stressful events and IM diseases, and EHI. The literature overview showed that handedness, which develops under the influence of genetic and acquired factors, is an indirect indicator of hemispheric lateralization; hemispheric lateralization is bidirectionally related to the immune system. In the clinical study, the EHI showed appropriate reliability and structural validity; its scores related to chronological age, onset age, and disease duration and helped distinguish patients with IM disease from other patients and healthy subjects. Therefore, handedness may change over the course of life under the influence of pathology and could predict IM neurological diseases. The EHI is an appropriate measure of handedness.

Over-capacity flight scheduling by commercial airlines due to the surging demand in recent years creates congestion and significant delays at major airports. This maximizing throughput attitude calls for tactical flight rescheduling to comply with airports’ capacity limitations and distribute the peak hour demand over the course of a day. Such displacements of flights may cause significant problems and costs for airlines and some cancellations or missed connections for the passengers. This paper presents an optimization model for flight rescheduling at a schedule-coordinated airport to minimize congestion and flight delays. The optimization model is used to make better scheduling intervention decisions considering the airport resource constraints and safety of operation. We have also developed a simulation method to replicate arrival and departure processes in such an airport. The simulation adheres to a first come first served (FCFS) discipline and enforces runway capacity constraints and minimum turnaround times. We compare the delays caused by an ad hoc FCFS operation with those obtained by the optimization model. Computational results from a case study demonstrate that a reduction of 40.7% and 61.6% in total delay times for the arrival and departure flights can be achieved by the optimization model. It also facilitates implementing a collaborative decision-making system for better coordination with commercial airlines.

This article describes the POTENTIALS project, which aimed to develop business models for the reuse of former industrial and mining sites in different regions. The project focused on the creation of eco-industrial parks as a result to enable sustainable energy production and reduce waste and pollution. A key aspect was the Territorial Impact Assessment (TIA), a new and complex policy assessment tool. Therefore, the TEQUILA (Territorial Efficiency Quality and Identity Layer Assessment) approach is used to describe the TIA and emphasizes its application in assessing the impact of EU policies and projects on territorial cohesion. It underlines the need for a differentiated understanding of the regional characteristics and potential impacts of policies; and stresses the importance of regionalized impact models for the assessment. Furthermore, the process and results of applying the TEQUILA methodology to assess the territorial impact of different scenarios of business models within the POTENTIALS project is given.

In February 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was the first to approve the combination of cisplatin (CDDP) and pemetrexed (PEM) as standard first-line chemotherapy for untreated, unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). However, after that approval, no progress was made in the standard first-line treatment of MPM for almost 15 years. Positive results from a phase 3 study (Mesothelioma Avastin Cisplatin Pemetrexed Study: MAPS) verifying the effect of bevacizumab, an anti-angiogenesis agent added to CDDP/PEM for unresectable MPM, were published in The Lancet in December 2015; however, this did not lead to approval by national drug regulatory agencies. Furthermore, no second-line treatment was established for cases refractory to CDDP/PEM. In August 2018, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency of Japan was the first in the world to approve monotherapy with nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), for previously unresectable, advanced, or recurrent MPM. Following Japan, in October 2020, the FDA approved the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab for the treatment of previously untreated, unresectable MPM. In this article, we review the transition of drug treatment for MPM, in light of the historical background, focusing on the benefits of ICIs.