Heterotopic ossification (HO) is most dramatically manifested in the rare and severely debilitating disease, fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), in which heterotopic bone progressively accumulates in skeletal muscles and associated soft tissues. The great majority of FOP cases are caused by a single amino acid substitution in the type 1 bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) receptor ACVR1, a mutation that imparts responsiveness to activin A. Although it is well-established that biological sex is a critical variable in a range of physiological and disease processes, the impact of sex on HO in animal models of FOP has not been explored. We show that female FOP mice exhibit both significantly greater and more variable HO responses after muscle injury. Additionally, the incidence of spontaneous HO was significantly greater in female mice. This sex dimorphism is not dependent on gonadally-derived sex hormones, and reciprocal cell transplantations indicate that apparent differences in osteogenic activity are intrinsic to the sex of the transplanted cells. By circumventing the absolute requirement for activin A using an agonist of mutant ACVR1, we show that the female-specific response to muscle injury or BMP2 implantation is dependent on activin A. These data identify sex as a critical variable in basic and preclinical studies of FOP.

Diatomite (DME) consists of natural ordered porous structures that are excellent candidates as microcontainers. However, to the best of our knowledge, the application of DME loaded with corrosion inhibitors in anti-corrosion coatings has not hitherto been reported. In this study, DME has been used as a source of microcontainers to load benzotriazole (BTA) inhibitor by an immersion method. In order to prevent unwanted early release of the small molecule BTA inhibitor from the DME microcontainers, inspired by the adhesion characteristics of catechol and amine in mussel adhesion protein, polydopamine (PDA) was coated on their surfaces to generate BTA@DME/PDA microcapsules. Because of the depolymerization characteristics of PDA at low pH, the synthesize microcapsules showed a controllable release function. The SEM morphology, chemical structure, and loading capacity of the synthesized BTA@DME/PDA microcapsules were characterized. The corrosion resistances of epoxy coatings with different contents of BTA@DME/PDA microcapsules were compared by saline immersion and electrochemical impedance tests. A scratched coating with 5wt.% BTA@DME/PDA microcapsules showed the best anti-corrosion effect.

The effect of climate change plays a significant role on groundwater level variations and crop yield. The change in climate leading to increased temperatures, decreased rainfalls and extreme drought conditions ultimately cause low groundwater level and crop yield. Judicious groundwater management technology viz., water recharge options, need based irrigation, crop selection, must be adapted for further increasing the water table level in soil ecosystem. Additionally, climate change impacts combined with changes in agricultural water use can affect groundwater dynamics. Increased irrigation demand and decreased summer precipitation can lower groundwater levels, impacting crop production. Overall, climate change affects both groundwater resources and crop yield highlighting the need for sustainable water management practices and consideration of soil properties in agricultural modelling. The authors carefully selected relevant research articles addressing the impact of climate change on ground water level in Asian countries. The review highlights the use of machine learning method to ground water level and crop yield modelling. According to the study, machine learning techniques have made significant contributions to predicting groundwater level changes and crop yield with higher accuracies, high performance and less running time.

Addressing the increasing nursing demand in the face of a limited nursing workforce, understanding job satisfaction and retention becomes critical. Our cross-sectional study, conducted among 2,572 nurses in Bavaria, Germany, uncovers a dichotomy where nurses have strong empathy for their profession yet yearn for significant improvements. The top areas identified for enhancement include (i) ensuring sufficient time for patient care, (ii) providing a reliable service organization with minimal unplanned shift changes, and (iii) streamlining nursing documentation. Moreover, the largest disparity between expectations and job satisfaction was measured in patient care time. Multivariable regression analysis further investigates factors influencing intentions to stay in the profession, including (i) demographic aspects (age, living conditions), (ii) working area, (iii) working hours, (iv) career choice satisfaction, (v) career opportunities, (vi) payment, (vii) working and rest times, and (viii) satisfaction derived from aiding individuals in challenging life situations. The findings uncover a need to change nursing conditions, and measures for younger nurses and elderly care nursing. Although there are limitations, and a potential bias due to convenience sampling, our study provides key insights into nursing conditions. Future research should broaden its scope to investigate nurse job satisfaction and retention, emphasizing potential relief tools such as digitization.

Prosthetic infections are associated with high morbidity, mortality, and relapse rates making them still a serious problem for implantology. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common bacterial pathogens causing prosthetic infections. In response to the increasing rate of bacterial resistance to commonly used antibiotics, the work proposed a method of combating pathogenic microorganisms by modifying the surface of synthetic polymeric biomaterials using proteolytic enzyme inhibitors (serine protease inhibitors - 4-(2-aminoethyl)benzenesulfonyl fluoride hydrochloride and puromycin). While using techniques based on immobilization of biologically active molecules, it is important to monitor changes occurring on the surface of the modified biomaterial, where spectroscopic techniques (e.g. FTIR) are ideal. The ATR-FTIR measurements demonstrated that the immobilization of both inhibitors caused large structural changes on the surface of the tested vascular prostheses (polyester or polytetrafluoroethylene) and showed that they were covalently bonded to the surface of the biomaterials. Next, the bactericidal and antibiofilm activities of the tested serine protease inhibitors were determined using the CLSM microscopic technique with fluorescent staining. During LIVE/DEAD analyses, a significant decrease in the formation of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm after exposure to selected concentrations of native inhibitors (0.02-0.06 mg/mL for puromycin and 0.2-1 mg/mL for 4-(2-aminoethyl)benzenesulfonyl fluoride hydrochloride was demonstrated.

Irrational belief is a product of complex personality traits and Machiavellianism Intelligence. The present study is conducted to trace the significance of predictive nature of personality characteristics and Machiavellianism Intelligence (Mach Intelligence) on irrational beliefs among chronically ill older people. The research method is cross-sectional with correlational design, purposive sampling with a total of 200 chronically ill older people aged between 40–60 years with disease type such as Systemic lupus erythematosus, Complicated Diabetes, Glomerulonephritis and Chronic Heart Failure. The analysis revealed that personality characteristics and irrational belief subscales such as worrying, rigidity, problem avoidance and Mach Intelligence are significantly positively correlated; however, Emotional irresponsibility has significant negative correlation with personality characteristics and Mach Intelligence. Gender differences revealed that males are high on all the subscales of personality characteristics, irrational beliefs (except emotional irresponsibility) and Mach Intelligence as com-pared to female chronically ill older people. Predictive analysis also revealed that overall personality characteristics explained a total of 67% variance in irrational beliefs. Moreover, Mach Intelligence predicts irrational beliefs. Future health related recommendations should be planned accordingly.

Nutrition is one of the most influential environmental factor in both taxonomical shifts in gut microbiota as well as development of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Emerging evidence has shown that the effects of nutrition on both these parameters is not mutually exclusive and that changes in gut microbiota and related metabolites such as short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and branched chain amino acids (BCAA) may influence systemic inflammation and signaling pathways that contribute to pathophysiological processes associated with T2DM. With this background, our review highlights the effects of macronutrients, carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, as well as micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals, on T2DM, specifically through their alterations in gut microbiota and the metabolites they produce. Additionally, we describe the influences of common food groups, which incorporate varying combinations of these macronutrients and micronutrients, on both microbiota and metabolic parameters in the context of diabetes mellitus. Overall, nutrition is one of the first line modifiable therapies in the management of T2DM and better understanding of the mechanisms by which gut microbiota influence its pathophysiology provides opportunities for optimizing dietary interventions.

The work presented in this paper makes multiple scientific contributions with a specific focus on the analysis of misinformation about COVID-19 on YouTube. First, the results of topic modeling performed on the video descriptions of YouTube videos containing misinformation about COVID-19 revealed four distinct themes or focus areas - Promotion and Outreach Efforts, Treatment for COVID-19, Conspiracy Theories regarding COVID-19, and COVID-19 and Politics. Second, the results of topic-specific sentiment analysis revealed the sentiment associated with each of these themes. For the videos belonging to the theme of Promotion and Outreach Efforts, 45.8% were neutral, 39.8% were positive, and 14.4% were negative, for the videos belonging to the theme of Treatment for COVID-19, 38.113% were positive, 31.343% were neutral, and 30.544% were negative, for the videos belonging to the theme of Conspiracy Theories regarding COVID-19, 46.9% were positive, 31.0% were neutral, and 22.1% were negative, and for the videos belonging to the theme of COVID-19 and Politics, 35.70% were positive, 32.86% were negative, and 31.44% were negative. Third, topic-specific language analysis was performed to detect the various languages in which the video descriptions per topic were published on YouTube. This analysis revealed multiple novel insights. For instance, for all the themes, English and Spanish were the most widely used and second-most widely used languages, respectively. Fourth, the patterns of sharing these videos on other social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter were also investigated. The results revealed that videos containing video descriptions in English were shared the highest number of times on Facebook and Twitter. Finally, correlation analysis was performed by taking into account multiple characteristics of these videos. The results revealed that the correlation between the length of the video title and the number of Tweets as well as the correlation between the length of the video title and the number of Facebook posts was statistically significant.

Two novel sizable multicharged cationic complexes, of the formulae [(η6-[12]CPP)[Ru(η5-Cp)]12]Χ12 and [(η6-[11]CPP)[Ru(η5-Cp)]11]Χ11, CPP= cycloparaphenylene, Cp = cyclopentadienyl, X = [PF6]-, (1), (3) and [Cl]-, (2), (4), were synthesized and characterized using NMR techniques, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and elemental analyses. The complexes, (1) and (3) were stable in acetone and acetonitrile solutions over 48 h. In contrast, the water-soluble, (2) and (4), begins to decompose in aqueous media after 1h, due to the [Cl]- tendency for nucleophilic attack on ruthenium of the {Ru(η5-Cp)} units. Fluorescence quenching experiments conducted during the stability window of (2) with the d(5′-CGCGAATTCGCG-3′)2-EtBr adducts, revealed remarkably high values for Ksv = 1.185 × 104 ± 0.025 M-1 and Kb = 3.162 × 105 ± 0.001 M-1. Furthermore, the cytotoxic activity of (2) against A2780, A2780res, and MCF-7 cancer cell lines shows that it is highly cytotoxic with IC50 values in the range of 4.76 ± 1.85 to 16 ± 0.81 μΜ.

Abstract: This study estimates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainability turfgrass attributes such as low-input and stress-tolerance attributes, while considering potential trade-off relationships between aesthetic attributes and sustainability attributes. To address our objectives, our study conducts a choice experiment and estimates two mixed logit models. The first model includes low-input, winter kill, and shade-tolerance attributes as predictor variables, and the second model extends the first model by adding interaction terms between aesthetic and sustainability attributes. Another choice experiment is conducted under water policies with various water rate increase and watering restriction scenarios. Results from the mixed logit models show that overall, higher low-input cost reduction, less winter-damaged, and more shade-tolerance grasses are preferred, the direct effect of aesthetic attributes on consumers’ preference is strong, but the indirect effect represented by the interaction terms are generally statistically insignificant. Our results indicate that consumers like to have a pretty lawn, but no strong consideration is given to the aesthetics of their lawn when selecting low-input and stress-tolerance turfgrasses. Our choice experiment under water policy scenarios suggests that water pricing is more effective than watering restriction in increasing consumer demand for water-conserving turfgrasses.

The Spearman rank correlation coefficient is a non-parametric (distribution-free) rank statistic proposed by Charles Spearman as a measure of the strength of the relationship between two variables. It is a measure of a monotonic relationship that is used when the distribution of the data makes Pearson's correlation coefficient undesirable or misleading. The Spearman coefficient is not a measure of the linear relationship between two variables. It assesses how well an arbitrary monotonic function can describe the relationship between two variables, without making any assumptions about the frequency distribution of the variables. Unlike Pearson's product-moment (linear) correlation coefficient, it does not require the assumption that the relationship between variables is linear, nor does it require that the variables be measured on interval scales; it can be applied to variables measured at the ordinal level. The purpose of this study is to compare the values of Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient (treating the data in a quantitative way) and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (treating the same data in a somewhat "qualitative" way) and their statistical significance for six Pinus sylvestris L. traits (original – for Pearson's coefficient and ranked – for Spearman's coefficient) estimated from all observations, object means (for trees) and medians. The results show that the linear and rank correlation coefficients are consistent (as to direction and strength). In cases of divergence in the direction of correlation, the correlation coefficients were not statistically significant, which does not imply consistency in decision-making. Estimation of correlation coefficients based on medians is robust to outlier observations and factors that linear correlation is then very similar to rank correlation.

Abstract：To investigate the effects of feeding the Lincomycin and faecal bacterial on weaning stress in Tibetan piglets, we divided the weaned Tibetan piglets at 30 days of age into four groups. We measured growth performance, blood physiological indexes, and metabolomics. The results showed that the Ant, Tib, and Fec groups significantly reduced the ratio of diarrhoea to feed/weight (F/G) and increased the average daily gain (ADG) compared to the Nor group (p < 0.01). The Nor group had significantly lower leukocyte counts, hemoglobin levels, and erythrocyte counts compared to the other three groups on 21d (p < 0.05). These physiological indexes tended to stabilize on 42d. We found that there were beneficial metabolites and metabolic pathways for gastrointestinal function. Specifically, the porphyrin metabolic pathway was elevated in the Ant group, and the tryptophan metabolic pathway was significantly elevated in the Tib and Fec groups compared to the Nor group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, adding faecal bacterial supernatant and fifteen-flavour black pills of Tibetan medicine to the feed reduced the rate of diarrhoea and improved the growth performance of piglets. Moreover, it had an effect on microorganisms and their metabolites and pathways in the gastrointestinal tract of the animals, which might be the main reason for influencing the diarrhoea rate of weaned Tibetan piglets and the growth and development of the piglets. This study provides a new approach for anti-stress applications in weaned Tibetan piglets and the development of substitute anti-products.

Currently the bimatoprost implant (DURYSTA) is approved for a single administration secondary to concern for progressive corneal endothelial cell (CEC) loss with intracameral administration. In order to better understand the cause of CEC loss and other adverse events (AEs) with intracameral administration, multimodal imaging of the implant utilizing optical coherence topography (OCT), robotic ultrasound and bio microscopy video recording was utilized. Inherently the anterior chamber is a non-confined space. In certain examples the implant assumed a round and spotted structure as it picked up iris pigment as it migrated around the anterior chamber. Accordingly, we explored delivery of the implant in the middle segment behind the iris and in front of the pseudophakic lens. We then evaluated the suitability of various imaging modalities to assess the implant in this location. For middle segment administration, the ArcScan Insight 100 robotic ultrasound provided resolution and repeatability sufficient to monitor the implant behind the iris. This preliminary study hypothesizes that DURYSTA migration in the anterior chamber is the main source of AEs. Through use of a confined location, the middle segment, the implant is unlikely to migrate and cause CEC loss while also delivering drug closer to its site of action, the ciliary body. Further efforts are underway to understand the suitability of the middle segment for serial DURYSTA administration to maximize intraocular pressure lowering while minimizing AEs.

Machine learning models facilitate the search for non-linear relationships when modeling hydrological processes, but they are equally effective for automation at the data preparation stage. The tasks whose automation was analyzed consisted in estimating changes in the roughness of a mountain streambed and the extent of floods from images. The Segment Anything Model (SAM) developed this year by Meta was used for this purpose. Images from many years from the Wielka Puszcza mountain stream located in the Polish Carpathians were used as the only input data. The model was not additionally trained for the described tasks. The model can be run in several modes, but the two most appropriate were used in this study. The first one is available in the form of a web application, while the second one is available in the form of a Jupyter notebook run in the Google Colab environment. Both methods do not require specialized knowledge and can be used by virtually any hydrologist. In the roughness estimation task, the average Intersection over Union (IoU) ranges from 0.55 for grass to 0.82 for shrubs/trees. Ultimately, it was possible to estimate the roughness coefficient of the mountain streambed between 0.027 and 0.059 based solely on image data. In the task of estimation of the flood extent, when selecting appropriate images, one can expect IoU at the level of at least 0.94, which seems to be an excellent result considering that SAM is a general-purpose segmentation model. It can therefore be concluded that SAM model can be a useful tool for a hydrologist.

This work studies the discontinuities features of sedimentary flysch materials in a 100 km2 area belonging to the Basque Arc. Such materials are common in this Spanish Alpine region located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. A total of 33 outcrops are investigated by an intensive geotechnical investigation including geomechanical stations, boreholes and mechanical laboratory tests. Two flysch units are characterized: the Upper Aguinaga Formation or siliciclastic flysch, and the Lower Itziar Formation or calcareous flysch. Differences between both flysch formation are found. Joints in the siliciclastic flysch formation present an undulated roughness, with a spacing narrower and a persistence lower than in the calcareous flysch formation, which exhibits higher friction angles, although roughness is essentially planar. In addition, the potential of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, particularly Artificial Neural Networks and Support Vector Machine, to estimate the Geological Strength Index (GSI) from the Rock Quality Design (RQD) and some discontinuities features (spacing, persistence, aperture and roughness) is investigated. AI techniques are found to be satisfactory, being the Support Vector Machine with a linear kernel the technique which achieves the best performance.

The pandemic SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve to give rise to variants of concern that can escape vaccine-induced immunity. As such, more effective vaccines are urgently needed. In this study, we evaluated virus-like particle (VLP) as a vaccine platform for SAS-CoV-2. The spike, envelope, and membrane proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan strain were expressed by a single recombinant baculovirus BacMam and assembled into VLPs in cell culture. The morphology and size of the SARS-CoV-2 VLP as shown by transmission electron microscopy was found to be similar to the authentic SARS-CoV-2 virus particle. In a mouse trial, two intramuscular immunizations of the VLP BacMam with no adjuvant elicited spike-specific binding antibodies in both sera and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids. Importantly, BacMam VLP -vaccinated mouse sera showed neutralization activity against SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped lentivirus. Our results indicated that the SARS-CoV-2 VLP BacMam stimulated spike-specific immune responses with neutralization activity.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by uncontrolled cellular proliferation driven by aberrant signal transduction. Cells respond to potential carcinogenic signals by inducing cellular senescence (CS) as a defense mechanism. However, assessing CS levels in various tumors is challenging due to heterogeneity and the lack of universal CS markers. This study integrates single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and bulk RNA-seq data from HCC samples to analyze gene expression profiles. HCC-specific senescence-related pathways are identified, and genes from these pathways distinguish molecular subtypes associated with senescence in HCC. These subtypes exhibit significant variations in biological and clinical attributes. A specific CS risk model is developed, revealing associations between CS scores and prognosis, clinical staging, immune infiltration, immunotherapy response, and drug sensitivity. The key gene G6PD is identified as a potential senescence-related target in liver cancer. Molecular experiments confirm the effective suppression of HepG2 cell proliferation, invasion, and migration upon G6PD knockdown. In summary, this analysis enhances our understanding of HCC-specific senescence molecular features and introduces a novel senescence-related biomarker, offering promising implications for future research.

The maritime sector, grapples with environmental challenges, but the adoption of "cold ironing" emerges as a promising solution, signifying a shift toward sustainability by providing energy to ships at port, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and significantly lowering emissions, contributing to global climate change efforts. This transition towards renewable energy is especially crucial for islands like Lesvos, addressing challenges of high energy costs and environmental degradation resulting from reliance on imported fossil fuels, highlighting the potential for positive economic and environmental impacts. The existing literature highlights a research gap in the development of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to support cold ironing operations, specifically due to the absence of specific data for the power demand needed in such operations and the lack of monitoring data for accurate calculations. This study's primary objective is to utilize real monitoring data from the port of Lesvos to evaluate the power demand for a potential cold ironing application. Additionally, the study aims to analyze the implementation of a wind power park to meet the energy needs of an electric port and evaluate the potential reduction in CO2 emissions. The database of Marine Traffic S.A. was utilized, while the determination of the energy used in-port per ship depended on factors such as the number of arrivals, the duration of hoteling, and the type of engine used by the ships. In addition, the software RETSCREEN was used for the energy analysis of a simulated 20 MW wind park that can support the in-port operations. The combined monthly energy demand for both main and auxiliary engines of shipping vessels at Mytilini port was assessed to be 6118 MWh and averaging a power demand equaled to 8.2 MW. The simulation analysis indicates that the annual electricity delivered to the port can be72080 MWh, with a significant portion remaining unused and exported to the grid, amounting to 14956 MWh annually. Due to demand fluctuations, in-port activities require an additional 924 MWh from the main electrical grid, which highlights the importance of additional measures like energy storage and demand-response practices for the gradual transition to 100% Renewable Energy Sources (RES) operations.

This review centers on the pivotal role of the oncoprotein FOSL1, within the dimeric AP-1 transcription factor consisting of FOS-related elements. FOSL1 emerges as a key regulator governing invasion and metastatic dissemination, therefore making it a promising target for therapeutic intervention in cancer patients. The review provides a comprehensive survey of the regulatory mechanisms that exert influence over FOSL1. These encompass a spectrum of transcriptional and post-translational modifications. Notably, we unveiled the intricate involvement of diverse non-coding RNAs, specifically microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), in the modulation of FOSL1 expression through targeted interactions with its mRNA transcripts. Furthermore, an exploration into the functional dimensions of FOSL1 unfolds, encompassing apoptosis, proliferation, and migration. This investigation is accompanied by a thorough examination of the elaborate signaling pathways that underpin these multifaced roles. Additionally, emphasis is placed on the role of FOSL1 in orchestrating the stimulation of various cytokines, including TGF-beta, and the initiation of IL-6 and VEGF production in tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) that transverse into the tumor microenvironment. A distinct focus is dedicated to appraising the prognostic implications associated with FOSL1. Finally, insights emerge into the evolving roles of FOSL1 in the context of mechanisms governing resistance and dependency on targeted therapeutic modalities.

Real and complex analytic functions are largely studied in the field of complex analysis and are seen as very useful tools in solving problems in mathematics, physics and engineering. Real and complex numbers are a subset of semi-structured complex numbers (a new number set created to algebraically solve division by zero). Nevertheless, the properties of analytic functions made up of semi-structured complex variables (called semi-structured complex analytic functions) is yet to be explored. This limits the range of possible problems that can be resolved using analytic functions). In this regard, the aim of this paper was to expound upon the properties of semi-structured complex analytic functions and show their application in solving engineering problems. The results of this paper included (1) developing a full set of Cauchy–Riemann Equations for the semi-structured complex -space; (2) define sufficient and necessary conditions for a semi-structured complex function to be analytic; (3) determine the relationship between semi-structured complex analytic functions, Laplace’s Equations and Poisson’s Equations; and (5) provide an example of the use of these functions.

This study conducted an extensive analysis of campylobacteriosis surveillance in Portugal from 2009 to 2021, aiming to investigate demographic shifts, seasonal variations, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within Campylobacter isolates. Surveillance network and sentinel laboratory-based system data revealed a substantial under-notification of campylobacteriosis cases, suggesting an underestimated disease burden. A paradigm shift was observed in notification rates, with a notable prevalence among the pediatric population, particularly in children aged 1-4 years, diverging from European reports. However, the study also highlighted an emerging trend of Campylobacter infections in younger adults (15-44 years). The study unveiled a unique seasonal distribution of cases, defying typical summer peaks seen elsewhere. AMR analysis revealed extremely to very high-level resistance to ciprofloxacin and tetracycline, both in C. jejuni (93.7% and 79.2%, respectively) and in C. coli (96.5% and 93.2%, respectively), stable throughout the studied period (2013-2021). C. coli also exhibited significantly higher resistance to erythromycin, gentamicin, ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (decreased resistance), and ertapenem compared to C. jejuni (P&lt;0.001). In conclusion, the study highlights the need for enhanced surveillance efforts and emphasizes worrying AMR levels. The implementation of WGS-based surveillance is recommended to attain a more profound comprehension of disease patterns and the evolving landscape of AMR.

The aim of the research presented here is to assess the impact of depressive disorders on the potential of the labour markets in the countries of the European Union, with particular reference to the disparities between the 'old' and 'new' EU countries. The initial hypothesis of persistent inequalities in the system under study was verified by analysing the process of convergence in the burden of depressive disorders among people aged 20-54 that occurred in the EU-27 group of countries between 1990 and 2019. The study used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 (IHME, 2020), which examined the number of years lived with disability (YLD) due to depression in the working age population. The analysis showed that the high burden of the consequences of depressive disorders is particularly true for the highly developed economies of the EU-14. The results of the convergence assessment did not confirm the real effect of catching up over time with economies in a more favourable situation, and the inequalities observed at the beginning of the analysis period deepened..

Background: Genetic factors are considered important risk factors for the occurrence of osteoarthritis (OA), which has received extensive attention. This study examined the research on the relationship between genetic factors and the pathogenesis of OA from a bibliometric perspective. Methods: We searched Web of Science Core Collection for original and review articles on genetic factors and OA. We used R package “bibliometrix” to perform statistical and visualization analysis of countries, institutions, authors, journals, and keywords. Results: A total of 1,127 articles met the inclusion criteria, with an average citation of 20.41 per article. From 2012 to 2022, the average annual growth rate of research in this field was 7.83%. The corresponding authors of the published articles were mainly from China, the USA, and the UK. Boston University emerged as the most active and important institution, while the Osteoarthritis and Cartilage published the most articles in this field. The keywords “polymorphism”, “genetic” and “mendelian randomization” indicate the future research directions. Conclusion: This bibliometric study provides an overview of the key topics and trends in genetic factors and OA pathogenesis research. The high-frequency keywords suggest the current and potential future focus of this field, involving methods, mechanisms, and populations.

The relationship between culture and the individual is a central focus of social scientific research. This paper examines motivations that mediate between shared culture norms and individual actions. Inspired by the works of Leon Festinger and Melford Spiro, we posit that social network conformation (the perceived adherence of one’s social network with norms) and internalization of cultural norms (incorporation of cultural models with the self-schema) will differentially shape behavior (cultural consonance) depending on the domain and individual characteristics. For the domain of gender roles among Brazilian men, religious affiliation results in different configurations of the individual and culture. Our findings suggest that due to changing and competing cultural models, religious men are compelled to reflexively “think” about what masculinity means to them, rather than subconsciously conform to social (hegemonic) expectations. This study demonstrates the importance of considering the impetus of culturally informed behaviors, and in doing so, provides a methodological means for measuring and interpreting such motivations, an important factor in the relationship between culture and the individual.

In this study, tree selection/plantation DSS (Decision Support Systems) were reviewed and assessed based on essential objectives in the available literature. We reviewed existing DSS using multiple data sources and available online resources such as web interfaces. We compared the existing DSS, focusing primarily on five primary objectives in this study, which DSS may address when it comes to the tree selection, including a) Climate resilience, b) Infrastructure/Space Optimization, c) Agroforestry, d) Ecosystem services, e) Urban sustainability. Climate resilience of tree species and urban sustainability is addressed relatively less in existing systems, which can be holistically internalized in future DSS tools Based on this review, DNN (Deep Neural Networks) is recommended to address achieving trade-offs between complex objectives such as maximizing ecosystem services, climate resilience of tree species, maintaining Agroforestry, and other benefits.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) can be used as carrier materials for the controlled release of pesticides while reducing their negative environmental impact. In this study, we screened an active ingredient, p-cymene (PC), with an excellent inhibitory effect on rice bacterial blight. Subsequently, the PC was successfully loaded onto MSNs via physisorption(PC@MSNs). PC@MSNs, characterized by a regular spherical shape, smooth surface, and an MSN average size of 262.9 nm, achieved an 8.6 % drug loading capacity. The release kinetics of the PC from the PC@MSNs demonstrated a sustained release (288 h) pattern influenced by drug diffusion. The efficacy of the PC@MSNs against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzae paralleled those of PC. Acute toxicity assays re-vealed that the PC@MSNs were less toxic to aquatic life (LC50=257.867 mg/L) and that the formu-lation showed no adverse effects on rice seedling growth. In summary, these results suggest that PC@MSNs can broaden PC's application scope in managing rice diseases.

Dirac's Large Number Hypothesis (LNH), proposed in 1937, has captivated the scientific community with its exploration of profound correlations between cosmic and atomic scales. This hypothesis delves into the intricate interplay between the infinitesimally small and the vastly large, offering potential insights into the fundamental nature of the universe. As we continue to uncover the mysteries of the cosmos, the LNH oscillates on the precipice of scientific acceptance—neither fully validated nor entirely dismissed. In this review paper, we embark on a comprehensive journey through Dirac's LNH, shedding light on its theoretical underpinnings, its implications for universe models, and its resonance with the Anthropic Principle. We delve into the possibilities of variable gravitational constants and continuous mass creation, inviting further exploration into the intricacies of our cosmic symphony. By embracing the ongoing quest for understanding, we endeavor to unravel the profound harmonies that connect the infinitesimal with the infinite, contributing to the symphony of knowledge in theoretical physics and cosmology.

Plant cells are omnipotent and breeding of new varieties can be achieved by protoplast fusion. Such fusions can be achieved by treatment with poly(ethylene glycol) or by applying an electric field. Microfluidic devices allow for controlled conditions and targeted manipulation of small batches of cells down to single cell analysis. To provide controlled conditions for protoplast fusions and achieve high reproducibility, we developed and characterized a microfluidic device to reliably trap few of Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts and induced a cell fusion by controlled addition of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, with a molecular weight of 6000). Experiments were conducted to determine the survival rate of isolated protoplasts in our microfluidic system. Afterwards, PEG induced fusion was studied. Our results indicate that the following fusion parameters had significant impact on the fusion efficiency and duration: PEG concentration, osmolarity of solution, and flow velocity. PEG concentration below 10% led to only partial fusion. Osmolarity of the PEG fusion solution was found to strongly impact the fusion process; complete fusion of two source cells sufficiently took part in slightly hyper osmotic solutions, whereas iso-osmotic solutions led to only partial fusion at 20% PEG concentration. We observed accelerated fusion for higher fluid velocities. Up to this study, it was common sense that fusion is one directional, i.e. once two cells were fused into one cell they stay fused. Here, we present for the first time reversible fusion of protoplasts. Our microfluidic device paves the way to a deeper understanding on the kinetics and processes of cell fusion.

The consequences of climate change and anthropogenic stressors, such as habitat loss and overexploitation, are threatening the subsistence of species and communities across the planet. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze the impact of environmental perturbations on the diversity, structure and function of ecosystems. In this work, in silico simulations of biodiversity loss were carried out on the marine food web of Caleta Potter (25 de Mayo Island, Antarctica) where global warming has caused critical changes in the abundance and distribution of benthic and pelagic communities during the last 30 years. We performed species removal considering their degree and trophic level and including four different thresholds on the occurrence of secondary extinctions. We examined the impact of extinctions on connectance, modularity and stability of the food web. We found different responses of these properties depending on the extinction criteria used, e.g., large increase in modularity and rapid decrease in stability when most-connected and relatively high-trophic level species were removed. Additionally, we studied the complexity-stability relationship of the food web founding two regimes: 1) high sensitivity to small perturbations suggesting that Potter Cove would be locally unstable, and 2) high persistence to long-range perturbations suggesting global stability of this ecosystem.

In obesity, white adipose tissue expresses inflammatory cytokines leading to insulin resistance. Non-physiological meta-tyrosine and ortho-tyrosine (meta-Tyr and ortho-Tyr), produced from phenylalanine by free radicals, may contribute to the development of insulin resistance. The resulting insulin resistance may have a significant impact on macrophage function. In this study we aim to investigate microscopically the effect of meta- and ortho-Tyr on insulin sensitivity and M1/M2 polarization of macrophages using Akt phosphorylation and the arginase 1/iNOS ratio. Macrophage cell lines were cultured in media containing para-, meta- or ortho-Tyr, 5 mmol/L or 25 mmol/L glucose (para25-Tyr group) and treated with insulin. Para25, meta- and ortho-Tyr increased pAkt levels and decreased the arginase 1/iNOS ratio in macrophages in the absence of insulin. In the case of physiological para-tyrosine treatment, insulin increased the amount of pAkt and decreased the arginase 1/iNOS ratio. Both meta- and ortho-Tyr treatment were able to abolish or reverse the insulin’s increasing effect on pAkt and the decreasing effect on arginase 1/iNOS ratio. Our results suggest that non-physiological tyrosine isomers may affect the insulin signaling of macrophages and influence their M1/M2 polarization.

(1) Background: Brassinosteroids (BRs) are an important hormone that participates in almost all stages of plant growth and development, and sterol dehydrogenase is a key enzyme that is involved in the biosynthesis of BRs. However, the steroid dehydrogenase gene family in Populus yunnanensis Dode (P. yunnanensis) has not been studied; (2) Methods: The PyDET2 gene family was identified and bioinformatics analyzed. Three genes were screened based on the RNA-seq of stem tip, the PyDET2e was further investigated by RT-qPCR (real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction) and subcellular localization; (3) Results: We identified 14 DET2 family genes in P. yunnanensis that were classified into 4 groups according to sequence similarity and phylogenetic relationship, and 10 conserved protein motifs had been identified. The gene structure, chromosome distribution, collinearity, and codon preference of all PyDET2 genes identified in the genome of P. yunnanensis were analyzed. The codon of this family is biased to the end of A/U, and natural selection has a great influence on it. The expression level of PyDET2e in September was higher than in July, and it was significantly expressed in stems, stem tips, and leaves. The PyDET2e protein was localized in chloroplasts; (4) Conclusions: The PyDET2e is involved in the development of P. yunnanensis in the rapid growth stage. The systematic analysis provided a basis for the genome-wide identification of genes related to brassinolide biosynthesis processes in P. yunnanensis, and laid a foundation for the study on the mechanism of rapid growth of P. yunnanensis.

Recent years have experienced an increase in construction and demolition waste (C&amp;DW), which is the most significant solid waste stream. C&amp;DW is contributing to exceeding all planetary boundaries and presents a range of other issues. In order to better understand the existing research on C&amp;DW, a global bibliographic analysis was undertaken through seven groups of keyword searches and the results visualised using VOCviewer. The results show that C&amp;DW receives only a modest research attention compared to other areas of waste, and this is despite an exponential increase in C&amp;DW research since 2016. The analyses also show that concrete is the most researched material in terms of C&amp;DW, and that reuse, recycling, and circular economy are so far attracting only proportionally modest research attention. This signals a need for further acceleration of the C&amp;DW research, and specifically for more research on reuse, recycling, and circular economy for materials other than concrete.

Vit-106 is a promising zirconium-based alloy with high glass-forming ability and belongs to the so-called bulk metallic glasses (BMG). Workpieces with a size of around one centimeter in all three dimensions can be obtained from a BMG alloy by casting. However, further increasing the cast size decreases the cooling rate and thus induces crystallization. Selective laser melting (SLM) is a well-known technique to overcome the size limitations for BMGs because a workpiece is built by the addition of multiple melt portions where the cooling rate is kept above the critical one. Currently, BMG parts obtained by SLM suffer from partial crystallization. The present work studies the influence of SLM process parameters on partial crystallization of Vit-106 by metallography and the influence of the microstructure on mechanical properties by microhardness and wear resistance testing. Submicron crystalline inclusions are observed in an amorphous matrix of Vit-106 alloy obtained by SLM. The size and the concentration of the inclusions can be controlled by varying the laser scanning speed. It is shown that submicron crystalline inclusions formed in the amorphous matrix during SLM can favorably affect microhardness and wear resistance.

The populations of clearwing moth borers in Korea have recently exploited and severe damage on pin oaks (Quercus palustris Munchh.). We conducted the field monitoring and the molecular analyses to identify them in an integrated manner. Morphological examination and molecular analyses on COI-gene based intra-and inter-specific genetic divergences (GD) were revealed that the borers were recognized as two invasive species, Sphecodoptera sheni and Paranthrenella pinoakula sp. nov.. The maximum intraspecific GD was found to be 1.9%, whereas the minimum interspecific GD was confirmed as 8.1%, with a distinct barcoding gap. Both MJ network and NJ tree were also showed that 18 haplotypes (HAPs) were detected from the 52 COI sequences. The borers were revealed total 17 HAPs: i) H1-H7 were detected from all seven regions with S. sheni; ii) Wonju and Goyang populations of S. sheni were revealed as more than three HAPs; iii) H7 was closely connected with H8 of Chinese population of S. sheni; iv) H9-H10 were detected as the other samples from Wonju population with P. pinoakula sp. n., and closely located with congeneric species. Maximum likelihood tree also revealed that P. pinoacula sp. n. nested within the congeneric species by genetically separating from the S. sheni.

Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are essential to most electronic devices. Digitalization and upgradation of gadget generates lots of PCB-containing electronic waste. Conserving resources and protecting the environment requires recycling such e-waste. The present paper is focused on the recovery of metals from PCBs by physical pretreatment and hydrometallurgical processes. Initially, the waste PCBs were pre-treated to separate metallic and non-metallic fractions. The metallic concentrate was leached using nitric acid (strong oxidative agent) for dissolution of metals. The system was fully jacketed with scrubber and condenser so that no emission of toxic gases to the environment. The process parameters viz. effect of acid concentration, pulp density, temperature, time, etc. were optimized and the obtained data were scientifically validated. Kinetics leaching fitted well with the Shrinking core model, XB = kc.t for Cu, (1-(1-XB)1/2) for Ni and 1-3(1-XB)2/3 + 2(1-XB) for Pb. The optimized conditions derived from these studies will be useful for recovery of metals from waste PCBs, and tin left in the residue could be further treated for the purpose of safe disposal or the utilization in an environmentally friendly manner. The developed process provides environmental benefits and has potential to be commercialized after scale-up studies.

In this study, the extraction of rare earth elements (REEs) from chloride solutions containing mixtures of these metals with solutions of the mixtures of P507 and Cyanex 272 (1:1) of various concentrations was experimentally studied. It was shown that the distribution coefficients of all REEs decrease with increasing concentration of these metals in the initial solution, which is associated with the loading of the organic phase. The most significant improvement in the extraction is observed for heavy group of rare earth elements. The extractability of REEs enhances with increasing atomic number of the element, as is typical for the extraction of these metals with acidic organophosphorus extractants. The data obtained show that separation factors of adjacent rare earth elements mainly decrease with increasing concentration of metals in the initial aqueous solution. Increasing the concentration of the extractant mixture does not have a significant effect on the values of the adjacent REE separation factors. Analysis of the experimental results shows that two commercial products can be obtained from a concentrate of the medium-heavy group. In the first cascade, yttrium can be separated, in the second, a concentrate of dysprosium and terbium can be obtained.

Microplastics have been detected as widespread in an aquatic environment at the microscale, also known as plastic debris. They have continuously increased due to the increase in population, production of synthetic plastics and poor waste management. They are ubiquitous and slowly degrade in soil and water. They are emerging contaminants that have received attention from research communities and public audiences over the last few years. They have high stability and can absorb several other pollutants like heavy metals, pesticides, etc. After entering the environment, they can accumulate and persist for a long time. They can create a serious threat to freshwater ecosystems and human health. These particles can cause physical damage to freshwater organisms. Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, visual identification, density separation, microscopic method, chemical method, thermos-analytical method and hyperspectral imaging method are the commonly known approaches for identification and quantification of microplastics. The noticed concentration of microplastics depends on the analysis method, sampling location and technique. The authors reviewed the sources, health impact, transport and treatment of microplastics in freshwater environments in detail. This study will provide the baseline data for the researchers to do more research on microplastic pollution in the future.

In an era driven by technology and connectivity, where the sphere of learning goes beyond conventional classrooms, e-Service-Learning (e-SL) merges the possibilities of technology with the principles of experiential education in a powerful blend [1]. Service-learning (SL) is an educational proposal that has been cited by UNESCO [2] as an innovative educational tool through which to address the complex challenges of our society. The Sustainable Development Goals [3] provide a framework around which to structure the SL projects and thus develop the skills needed to act on the full range of goals. Embedding digital means open a debate on the intricate relationship between technology, education, and societal impact [4]. By analyzing two focus groups involving faculty, students and community partners, this contribution aims to explore the potential of combining SL and digital empowerment (DE). The focus group participants discussed the opportunities for innovation, the expected impact on them and the society at large, their needs and the pre-conditions needed to make SL and DE successful, and limitations. The results are presented according to the six principles of sustainability education in the university environment, highlighting the transformative potential of combining these principles within SL and DE.

Terahertz tomography is a promising method among non-destructive inspection techniques to detect faults and defects in dielectric samples. Image quality recently significantly improved through the incorporation of a priori information and off-axis data. However, this improvement has come at the cost of increased measurement time. To aim toward industrial applications, it is therefore necessary to speed up the measurement by parallelizing the data acquisition employing multi-channel setups. In this work, we present two tomographic frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) systems working at a bandwidth of 230-320 GHz, equipped with an eight-channel detector array, and compare their imaging results with a single-pixel setup. While in the first system, the additional channels are used exclusively to detect radiation refracted by the sample, the second system features an f-θ lens, focusing the beam at different positions on its flat focal plane, and thus utilizing the whole detector array directly. The usage of the f-θ lens in combination with a scanning mirror eliminates the necessity of the formerly used slow translation of a single-pixel transmitter. This opens up the potential for a significant increase in acquisition speed, in our case by a factor of four to five, respectively.

Penrose’s singularity from 1965 predicted that in the center of the black hole space-time curvature is infinite and consequently gravity force there is infinite. In 2014 NASA measured universal space has Euclidean shape. This means that stellar objects cannot curve universal space and that the space-time singularity model has no physical existence. In the center of black holes energy density of superfluid space is so low that the electromagnetic properties of space are changed. This causes electromagnetic forces between the nucleus and orbiting electrons to become unstable. In the center of a black hole, atoms are falling apart into elementary particles. Black holes are rejuvenating systems of the universe, they transform old matter into fresh energy in the form of elementary particles. Astrophysical jets are the outcome of this process.

The temporo-spatial theory of consciousness postulates that the brain implements its own inner time and space for conscious processing of outside world. In line with this hypothesis, I present a mechanistic model of mutually connected processes that encode the inner space and time. The model is used to elaborate the binding mechanism between two sets of processes representing the inner space and time, respectively. Further, a stochastic version of the model is developed to investigate the interplay between the binding strength and noise. The spectral entropy is used to characterize the noise effects on the systems of processes when the binding strength is varied. The stochastic modeling results reveal that the spectral entropy values for strongly bound systems have similar entropy values for weakly bound or even decoupled systems. Thus, the analysis performed in this study allows to conclude that the binding mechanism is noise-resilient.

In recent years, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has received attention in the Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) field due to its ability to acquire images both day and night, combined with the superior resolution offered by the latest sensors. However, despite advances, there remains a deficiency in dataset quality and quantity. This has necessitated the use of simulated data to overcome challenges associated with obtaining large quantities of high-quality images of targets and their subsequent labeling. In this study, we trained a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) using a simulated dataset, subsequently employing it to classify real images from the MSTAR dataset. Traditional training methodologies often struggle with generalization when confronted with domain disparities between simulated and real data. To mitigate this, we exploited Margin Disparity Discrepancy (MDD), a domain adaptation technique not previously explored in SAR context. Findings from this study showcased a 13% increase in classification accuracy and improved generalization using MDD. Through Explainable AI (XAI) techniques such as t-SNE and other metrics like Kullback Leibler Divergence (KLD), we revealed a more distinct alignment of feature spaces between the two domains after domain adaptation, emphasizing MDD’s role in enhancing model accuracy and generalization.

In any forest stand, the theoretically modelled output of sawlogs (the most valuable roundwood assortments) will differ from what is actually obtained. The aim of this study was to assess whether it is possible to characterize this difference by site properties or inventory parameters of forest element for birch, black alder and as-pen. The differences in yield of sawlogs varied among soil types, and was increasing with age and average diameter of the forest element. The theoretical model for assortment grading predicted a lower yield of saw-logs compared to actually obtained yield at a lower age and at a lower average diameter, but overestimated output of sawlogs as age and diameter increase. The results highlight necessity to consider decreasing wood quality with increasing age to account for damage, such as stem rot, in assortment tables.

Post-training quantization is pivotal in deploying convolutional neural networks for mobile applications. Block-wise reconstruction with adaptive rounding, as employed in prior works like BrecQ and Qdrop, facilitates acceptable 4-bit quantization accuracy. However, adaptive rounding is time-intensive, and its constraint on weight optimization space curtails the potential for quantization performance. The optimality of block-wise reconstruction hinges on the quantization status of subsequent network blocks. In this investigation, we delve into the theoretical underpinnings of the limitations inherent in adaptive rounding and block-wise reconstruction. Our exploration leads to the development of a post-training quantization methodology, designated as AE-Qdrop. This algorithm operates in two distinct phases: block-wise reconstruction and global fine-tuning. The block-wise reconstruction phase introduces a progressive optimization strategy, superseding adaptive rounding, which not only augments quantization precision but also significantly improves quantization efficiency. To mitigate the risk of overfitting, we introduce a random weighted quantized activation mechanism. During the global fine-tuning phase, we account for interdependencies among quantized network blocks. The weight of each network block will be corrected with logit matching and feature matching. Extensive experiments validate that AE-Qdrop achieves high-precision and efficient quantization. For instance, in the case of 2-bit MobileNetV2, AE-Qdrop outperforms Qdrop by achieving a 6.26% enhancement in quantization accuracy and quintupling the quantization efficiency.

There is a need to develop enriched milk drinks with healthy and natural additives. A consumer test was conducted to compare milk (cow and camel) flavored with date syrup (Khlass and Sukkary varieties) at different percentage. The objective of the present work was to study consumers liking patterns for flavored milk drinks from dates syrup (from Khlass and Sukkary dates), at different percentages, added to milk (cow and camel) utilizing preference mapping analysis. A total of sixteen trained panelists took part in the test. The obtained data were used to develop an internal preference map for these samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) algorithms were used to construct the preference map. The first component signifies overall acceptance of taste and color, while the second focuses on texture and flavor. Consumers were grouped into five clusters based on preferences. Cluster two favored both components positively, while cluster four leaned negatively on both. A factorial ANOVA was performed and the results showed a significant effect of the main factors as well as the interactions. Panelists preferred cow's milk over Camel’s milk in all aspects. For taste, cow’s milk with 20% Khlass syrup or 10% Sukkary syrup was favored, while in flavor, it was cow’s milk with 5% Khlass syrup and Camel’s milk with 10% Sukkary syrup. Texture-wise, Camel’s milk with 5% Khlass syrup and 15% Sukkary syrup, along with cow’s milk with 10% Khlass syrup, received top marks. In color evaluation, cow’s milk with 15% Sukkary syrup was the preferred choice. Finally, for overall color score, cow’s milk with 10% Sukkary syrup led, followed by cow’s milk with 5% Sukkary syrup. This research suggests that dairy companies may have more impact if they use date syrup as a natural and healthy flavor. The preference map includes two main dimensions; the first represents overall acceptance, taste, and color while the second is related to flavor and texture attributes. The preference map can be used in product optimization and development.

Natural Fibre Composites (NFC) are eco-friendly, sustainable alternatives to synthetic polymers. However, some intrinsic natural fillers´ properties hinder their widespread implementation as re-inforcement in polymeric matrices and require further investigation. In the scope of this study, the thermal, rheologic, mechanical (tension and flexural modes), morphological properties, water ab-sorption and dimensional stability of the NF polypropylene (PP) based injection moulded compo-sites with the rice husk (rh) and olive pits (op) of 20 wt% and 30% wt%, were investigated. The results suggest that the higher content of the rice husk and olive pits led to a similar reduction of the Melt Flow Index (MFI), independent of the additive type compared to virgin polypropylene (PPv). The melting and crystallization temperatures of the PPrh and PPop composites did not change with statistical significance. The composites are stiffer than the PP matrix by up to 49% and possess higher mechanical strength in what concerns the tension mode at the expense of de-creased ductility. PPrh and PPop have superior flexural modulus in the bending mode, while the flexural strength improvement was accomplished for the PP30%rh. The dimensional stability of the composites was improved as the linear shrinkage in the flow direction was decreased by 49% for PPrh and 30% for PPop, positively correlating with an increase in the filler content and stiff-ness. PPop was less susceptible to water sorption than PPrh due to fibres' composition and larger surface-to-area volume ratios.

Disease detection and prediction have been one of the most frequent uses of machine learning models in the last decade, and Parkinson's disease is no exception. It is common for people in their old age to have one form of disease or another depending on the circumstances in which they find themselves. This study analyzed and evaluated various supervised machine learning models to detect the presence of Parkinson's disease in elderly individuals. An extreme gradient boosting model, along with other models, such as naïve Bayes, random forest, K-nearest neighbor, and support vector machine (SVM), was implemented to determine the best outcome. The extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) model is a powerful boosting machine learning technique, particularly in terms of speed and accuracy. The results showed that the XGBoost model, which is an optimized version of the other boosting models, is capable of projecting the presence of Parkinson's disease with very high accuracy compared to other algorithms. The implemented classification algorithm extreme gradient boosting method achieved approximately 98 % accuracy, 97.5 % precision, 100.0 % recall, and 98.7% f1-score which are high compared with the results found in the existing literature.

This work is the result of a two-year research leave (French CNRS delegation) with field research in France, India and England, based on a total of 36 interviews in the three countries. The aim of this publication is to discuss how the laws of different countries deal with gender and what representations the laws reveal about gender roles in the societies they regulate through discourses. For example, France, England and India have laws that are more or less specific about gender roles in society: the language used to express the laws also fulfils gender roles while affecting people’s everyday lives. The whole issue of gender and rights is about the presumed and desired equality of rights for women and men, and the way in which this corresponds to the reality of women’s and men’s lives. Indeed, laws are necessary to regulate human relations in society. For example, anti-discrimination laws exist to protect and regulate these relationships in a common space, to regulate and combat abuse. The emphasis on gender – including gender roles – and LGBTQ+ people shows that this phenomenon is understood and experienced differently in global practice. Our examples in this publication focus on France and India.

Numerous types of oligonucleotide modifications have been developed since automated synthesis of DNA/RNA became a common instrument in the creation of synthetic oligonucleotides. Despite the growing number of types of oligonucleotide modifications under development, only a few of them, and moreover, their combinations have been studied wide enough in terms of their in-fluence on the properties of corresponding NA constructions. In the present study, a number of oligonucleotides with combinations of 3′ end lipophilic (single cholesteryl or pair of dodecyl residues) and phosphate backbone modifications were synthesized. The influence of the combi-nation of used lipophilic groups with phosphate modifications of various nature and different position on the efficiency of cell penetration was evaluated. Obtained results indicate that even a couple of phosphate modifications are able to affect a set of oligonucleotide properties in a complex manner and can remarkably change cellular uptake. These data clearly show that the strategy of using different patterns of modification combinations has great potential for the ra-tional design of oligonucleotide structures with desired predefined properties.

Triphenylphosphonium (TPP) derivatives of a decapeptide related to sequences of bactenecin 7 (Bac7) and oncocin (Onc112) were synthesized and studied as potential antimicrobial compounds using various biochemical and microbiological assays. It was shown that while the reduction of the Bac7 length to 10 a.a. residues dramatically decreases the affinity to bacterial ribosomes, the modification of peptide with alkyl-TPP moieties leads to an increase in the affinity. New analogs which structure combines a decapeptide related to Bac7 and Onc112 — Bac(1-10, R/Y) — and TPP, attached to the C-terminal amino acid residue through alkylamide linkers, inhibit translation in vitro and are found to be more selective inhibitors of bacterial translation as compared with eukaryotic translation, than Onc112 and Bac7. Triphenylphosphonium analogs of a decapeptide related to Bac7 and Onc112 suppress the growth of both gram-negative bacteria, similar to Onc112 and Bac7, and gram-positive ones as alkyl-TPP derivatives, and also act against some resistant laboratory strains. Bac(1-10, R/Y)-C2-TPP, containing a short alkylamide linker between the decapeptide and TPP, is transferred into the E. coli cells via the SbmA transporter protein. TPP derivatives of the decapeptide Bac(1-10, R/Y) containing either decylamide or ethylamide linker cause B. subtilis membrane depolarization, similar to alkyl-TPP. The Bac(1-10, R/Y)-C2-TPP analog is proved to be non-toxic for mammalian cells by MTT-test.

Thirty-six healthy 21-day-old weaned ternary piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire) were randomly divided into 2 treatments with 18 replicates per treatment and 1 pig per replicate. The control group was fed with basal diet and the test group was fed with diets supplemented with 1 kg/t tea residue. The test period was 28 days. The results are as follows: The addition of tea residue in the diet has no significant effect on the growth performance of weaned piglets (P > 0.05), but it could significantly reduce the diarrhea rate of piglets from 1 to 7 days and 1 to 28 days (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the dietary supplementation of tea residue had no significant effect on nutrient apparent digestibility, plasma biochemical indexes and plasma immune indexes (P > 0.05), but increased the content of glutathione in plasma (P < 0.05). Tea residue had no significant effect on the morphology of jejunum and ileum of piglets (P > 0.05), but it could significantly reduce the content of chloride ion in feces (P < 0.05). Compared with the basal diet group, there was no significant difference in the relative expression of TMEM16A and CFTR mRNA in the colon of weaned piglets (P > 0.05). The whole-cell patch clamp recording showed that the TMEM16A and CFTR ion channels could be activated by ionomycin and forskolin, respectively. However, when the HT-29 cells transfected with TMEM16A and CFTR channels were treated with tea residue extract, it could significantly inhibit the chloride current of the TMEM16A and CFTR ion channels (P < 0.05).

Anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, poses a significant and widespread threat to the common bean crop. The use of plant genetic resistance has proven to be the most effective strategy for managing anthracnose disease. The Amendoim Cavalo (AC) Andean cultivar has resistance against multiple races of C. lindemuthianum, which is conferred by the Co-AC gene. Fine mapping of this resistance gene to common bean chromosome Pv01 enabled the identification of Phvul.001G244300, Phvul.001G244400, and Phvul.001G244500 candidate genes for further validation. In this study, we assessed the relative expression of Co-AC candidate genes, as well as other putative genes in vicinity of this locus and known resistance genes, in the AC cultivar following inoculation with the race 73 of C. lindemuthianum. Gene expression analysis revealed significantly higher expression levels of Phvul.001G244500. Notably, Phvul.001G244500 encodes a putative Basic Helix-Loop-Helix transcription factor, suggesting its involvement in the regulation of defense responses. Furthermore, we observed a significant modulation of the expression of defense related genes PR1a, PR1b, and PR2, in a time-course experiment. These findings contribute to the development of improved strategies for breeding anthracnose-resistant common bean cultivars, thereby mitigating the impact of this pathogen on crop yields and ensuring sustainable bean production.

Background: While outcomes of chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) patients aged over 65 years have been extensively evaluated in real-life experiences, limited data exist for the very elderly population (i.e., aged ≥ 75 years), especially for next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). In this retrospective study, we sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TKIs in this particular setting of patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of a multicenter cohort of 123 newly diagnosed CP-CML very elderly patients. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 80 years (range: 75-96). In the first-line, 86.1% of patients received imatinib, 7.1% dasatinib, 5.6% nilotinib, and 0.81% received bosutinib. A total of 31 patients (25.2%) switched to second-line therapy, nine patients to a third-line and one patient to a fourth line of therapy. Resistance to treatment was the primary reason for switching therapy in both the first (64.5%) and second lines (77.7%). At diagnosis, reduced doses were administered in 36.5% of patients, in 61.2% in the second line, and in all patients in subsequent lines of therapy. In first-line setting, 71.9% of patients achieved an early molecular response (EMR, i.e. 3-month BCR::ABL1 IS <10%); at 6, 12, and 24 months, MR3 was reached by 35.7%, 55.7%, and 75.0% of patients, with 16.6%, 35.7%, and 51.7% achieving DMR at the same timepoints. Treatment-free remission (TFR) was successfully attempted in 11 patients. During the follow-up period, adverse events (AEs) were observed in 78.8% of patients, including 22 cases of cardiovascular AEs. Toxicity grade ≥ 3 was more commonly observed in patients treated with standard doses of TKIs compared to reduced doses (p=0.033). Overall, median follow-up was 46.62 months (range: 1.8-206.2), and 43 patients died due to non CML related causes. Three patients died due to disease progression to advanced (n=1) and blastic (n=2) phases. The 5-year overall survival (OS) for the entire cohort was 71.9% (95% CI: 0.63-0.81), with no significant difference between patients treated with standard doses of TKI compared to those treated with reduced doses (p=0.35). Conclusions: TKIs appear to be safe and effective even in very elderly CML patients, and dose optimization strategies yield satisfactory molecular responses for adequate disease control with an improved safety profile.

Hungary's first national park was created in 1973 in the Hortobágy area to protect Europe's largest contiguous steppe area with its flora and fauna. The Hortobágy National Park - the Puszta was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a cultural landscape in 1999. The park's outstanding importance is due to the predominantly non-arboreal steppe vegetation, home to a unique bird fauna, and the alkaline and chernozem soils with a complex, mosaic-like spatial structure. In addition, the landscape of the Hortobágy has a pastoral history stretching back thousands of years. Several hypotheses have been put forward, which suggest that the alkaline soils and the habitats that cover them were formed as a result of human activities related to river regulation that began in the second half of the 19th century. However, palaeoecological and palaeobiological studies over the last 30-40 years have pointed to the natural origin of the alkaline steppes, dating back to the end of the Ice Age. For thousands of years human activities, in particular grazing by domestic animals, hardly influenced the natural evolution of the area. Drainage of marshy and flooded areas began in the 19th century, and the introduction of more and more intensive agriculture, had a significant impact on the landscape. This paper aims to describe the past natural development of this special alkaline steppe ecosystem, with particular reference to the impacts of past and present human activities, including conservation measures.

Container crane has been widely used for port operation. However, the structure of port container crane is large, which always lead to crane damage under the vibration and strong wind. Therefore, a method for vibration reduction of container crane structure based on particle damping technology is proposed. In this investigation, the scale 1:80 crane model is built, the equivalent mechanical model is also established to preliminary verify the effect of vibration suppression. Furthermore, the dependence of vibration suppression effect on the key parameters of the damper, i.e., filling material, filling rate, particle size, and installation position of dampers are analyzed through experiments. The results indicate that the vibration peak of the crane structure displayed in Simulink oscilloscope is weakened and lags behind, the installation of the damper brings the effect of vibration suppression for the crane, the vibration suppression effect reaches 25%; the crane mode obtains the best vibration suppression effect under the condition that the material filled in the damper has a large density and elastic modulus, sufficient collision space and high collision frequency, and the dampers are installed far away from the crane center of gravity. The optimum parameters of the damper obtained from experiments, 12 mm lead beads, filling rate of 60%, installed in the distal ends within the strength range of the forearm of the crane. It is thus concluded that the particle damping technology has provided an effective way in wind and vibration reduction for container crane.

As the lifespan of porous asphalt pavement extends, it invariably experiences performance degradation and an increase in tire/pavement noise compared with the original surface when it is newly built. To understand the medium-term performance of porous asphalt pavement during service and reveal the influence of different pavement performance indicators on tire/pavement noise generation, a seven-year continuous observation and data analysis study was conducted. Porous asphalt with different designed material parameters was taken into account, including thin-layer porous asphalt overlay with a maximum nominal aggregate size of 10mm (PUC-10), porous asphalt with a maximum nominal aggregate size of 13mm (PAC-13), and a two-layer porous asphalt incorporating both PUC-10 and PAC-13 (PUC-10+PAC-13). Using automated pavement technology testing equipment, key performance indexes, including damage rate (DR), rut depth (RD), international roughness index (IRI), and sideway force coefficient (SFC), were measured and calculated. The on-board sound intensity (OBSI) method was used to test noise levels in three types of porous asphalt pavement structures and on a dense graded easy compact asphalt concrete (ECA) for comparison. The progressions of the medium-term performances were analyzed according to the measured results. The correlations between tire/pavement noise levels and testing speed, testing lane, pavement structure, and road condition indicators were investigated by regression. The research results revealed that the DR and SFC of the three types of porous asphalt pavement displayed more significant attenuation in the service period, while the IRI and RD showed small changes. Among them, the SFC demonstrated significant attenuation over the first 4 years, decreasing between 13.8% and 17.0%. From the 3-7 years of operation, the transverse crack disease in porous asphalt pavement progressed rapidly. The three porous asphalt pavement structures tested exhibited commendable noise reduction capabilities. Compared to ECA, the OBSI noise levels of these structures were lower by 2.09 dB, 1.53 dB, and 2.88 dB, respectively. Compared to other pavement condition indicators, RD had a more significant impact on the OBSI value of the PUC-10 porous asphalt pavement. For the PUC-10+PAC-13 porous asphalt pavement, there was a significant linear relationship between the OBSI value and SFC, mainly due to polishing of the coarse aggregate surface. It leads to a decrease of the micro-texture, which lies in increasing tire/pavement noise at high-frequency ranges and decreasing SFC. This study will have guiding significance for the research of the attenuated law and durability improvement of porous asphalt tire/pavement noise.

Fluorescent labels, especially FRET probes, are promising tools for studying a number of bio-chemical processes. In this paper, we promoted 2 important applications of FRET probes (MUTMAC-R6G and FITC-R6G): i) the formation of micelles from surfactants of various natures and polymers (chitosan – fatty acid), as well as ii) monitoring of enzymatic activity with improved parameters (increased analytical signal and improved selectivity due to shift to the long-wavelength region). The formation of micelles is accompanied by the convergence of fluorophores in the hydrophobic micelle core by a distance closer than in the buffer solution, thus r/R0 (where R0 – Foerster radius) is chosen as an analytical signal of micelle formation, including critical micelle concentration (CMC) and critical pre-micelle concentration (CPMC). The CMC values calculated using FRET probes are in a good agreement with literature data. At the same time, the r/R0 function provides valuable information about the nature and mechanism of micelle formation. With the second analytical application of FRET probes, we considered the optimization of techniques for studying enzymatic activity. The enzyme catalyses the reaction with the release of a fluorescent product, the signal from which may not be enough for detection, or it may be quenched, for example, in the reverse micelles (AOT-octane). Here we have proposed a solution – a FRET probe containing a rhodamine 6G (R6G) acceptor, which allows us to monitor the enzymatic reaction selectively (in the red region, 550-600 nm), and obtain a significantly higher fluorescence yield (potentially from 10 to 250 times). Thus, we have demonstrated a high potential for the FRET probes application as indicators of micelle formation as well as for the study of the enzyme catalytic activity. In the future, the method developed has prospects for application in the visualization of the enzyme functioning in cells due to the shift of the fluorescence signal to the long-wavelength region with an increase in the signal selectivity to suppress autofluorescence.

A cell-surface ectonucleotidase CD39 mediates the conversion of extracellular ATP into immunosuppressive adenosine with another ectonucleotidase CD73. The elevated adenosine in the tumor microenvironment (TME) attenuates antitumor immunity, which promotes tumor cell immunologic escape and progression. Anti-CD39 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which suppress the enzymatic activity, can be applied to antitumor therapy. Therefore, an understanding of the relationship between the inhibitory activity and epitope of mAbs is important. We previously established an anti-mouse CD39 (mCD39) mAb, C₃₉Mab-1 using the Cell-Based Immunization and Screening (CBIS) method. In this study, we determined the critical epitope of C₃₉Mab-1 using flow cytometry. We performed the PA tag (12 amino acids)-substituted analysis (named PA scanning) and RIEDL tag (5 amino acids)-substituted analysis (named RIEDL scanning) to determine the critical epitope of C₃₉Mab-1 using flow cytometry. By the combination of PA scanning and RIEDL scanning, we identified the conformational epitope, spanning three segments of 275^th to 279^th, 282^nd to 291^st, and 306^th to 323^rd amino acids of mCD39. These analyses would contribute to the identification of the conformational epitope of membrane proteins.

How crucial is big data in contemporary molecular design? In this publication we elucidate fundamental concepts and terminology in this field, critically addressing overlooked issues. We thoroughly examine the size, accessibility, quality, and structural aspects of big data alongside the primary methodologies employed for their analysis. Within chemical compounds, properties and descriptors represent two distinct data types, forming the basis for categorizing molecular big data. The primary objective of chemistry is property production, which means we are searching for novel drugs or materials rather than chemical compounds, and big data is the central issue of this philosophy. The increasing availability of data in computer-aided technology propels advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL). Accordingly, a broad chemical audience must comprehend these methods to understand data-centered chemistry. Thus, we aim to systemize big data issues through a simple illustrative framework with fundamental descriptor categories: coding, computer-generated descriptors, and property correlates. Although we employ computer-generated descriptors as big data for predictions, the measured data are irreplaceable for achieving high-quality and reliable outcomes and controlling molecular effects. The scarcity of property data remains a significant hurdle limiting comprehensive studies on the structure-property relationships within big data. Accordingly, guided by pragmatics not-so-big data is an option for drug design. We presented also a brief review of the recent big data literature.

A sensitive and robust electrochemical cholinesterase-based sensor was developed to detect the quaternary ammonium (QAs) biocides most frequently found in agri-food industry wash waters: benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and didecyldimethylamonium chloride (DDAC). To reach the maximum residue limit of 2.8 10-8 M imposed by the European Union (EU), two types of cholinesterases were tested, acetylcholinesterase (AChE, from Drosophila melanogaster) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE, from horse serum). The sensors were designed by entrapping AChE or BChE on cobalt-phthalocyanine-modified screen-printed carbon electrodes. The limits of detection (LOD) of the resulting biosensors were 3.8 10-8 M for DDAC and 3.2 10-7 M for BAC, using respectively AChE and BChE. A simple solid phase extraction step was used to concentrate the samples before biosensor analysis, allowing the accurate determination of DDAC and BAC in tap water with limits of quantification (LOQ) as low as 1.3 10-9 M and 5.3 10-9 M, respectively. The biosensor was shown to be stable during 3-months storage at 4°C.

Coral reefs are one of the most productive yet vulnerable ecosystems on Earth. An important step in understanding the functioning of coral communities is studying the environmental impact on the state of reefs. The present study aimed to assess the impacts of the water temperature, precipitation, wave action and population density on the seasonal bleaching, partial and complete mortality of shallow-water branching corals of Pocillopora verrucosa species complex. The present study was conducted at the Dam Bay research station (Nha Trang Bay) from 26 April 2020 to 2 April 2021. Throughout the study the percentage of bleached coral colonies varied from 1 to 41.5% with two peaks, in autumn (October) and spring (April). Rates of the development of partial mortality varied from 0 to 10%, with a pronounced peak in December. At the end of the experiment, the percentage of coral colonies suffering from partial mortality reached 47%. Only 4,5% of experimental colonies died by the end of the study. Analysis revealed that water temperature and partial mortality are the drivers of bleaching, while wave action, temperature and bleaching are the factors with a significant impact on partial mortality. In the present study, the main cause of coral death was the development of algal fouling at the sites of colony lesions, which gradually spread over the entire surface of the colony. We showed also that the impact of individual stress on mortality prevailed over the impact of seasonal bleaching and partial mortality events.

Abstract: The present work evaluates the feasibility of using volcanic fly ash (VFA), generated by the eruption of the Tajogaite volcano on the island of La Palma (Spain) in 2021, as a precursor in the preparation of cementitious materials with different Portland cement (PC) replacement levels (0%, 30%, 70% and 100%), in the absence (Blended Cement, BC) and presence of an alkaline ac-tivator (Hybrid Alkaline Cement, HAC, and Alkaline Cements, AC). Hydration kinetics (isother-mal conduction calorimetry), paste mechanical strengths and reaction products were character-ised by XRD, FTIR, TG/DTG and BSEM/EDX. The results obtained indicate that the strengths de-veloped by the hybrid alkaline cements (HAC) are higher than those of the blended cements (BC), especially at the age of 2 days, where 25 MPa was obtained with the replacement of 70% PC by VFA. Alkaline cements (AC, 100% VFA) prepared with 8M NaOH solution as activator reached 40 MPa after 2 days. It was observed that in all the binders, depending on the initial composition of the binder mixture and the percentage of replacement and/or activator, VFA reacts to form cementitious gels, C-A-S-H and N-A-S-H type, which supports its use as a mineral addition to blended cement or as a precursor in the preparation of alkaline and hybrid alkaline cements.

Besides common skin pathogens, acute focal lymphadenitis in humans can be caused by a zoonotic pathogen in rare cases. Furthermore, it can develop in absence of any direct or indirect contact with infected animal in cases when the microorganism is transmitted by vector. This clinical entity is rare, and therefore not easily recognized in most regions, yet many zoonotic illnesses are considered emerging or re-emerging nowadays. Focal zoonotic vector-borne lymphadenitis and its numerous causative agents with their variegated clinical manifestations have been described in some case reports and small case series. Therefore, we tried to summarize those data in this narrative overview, with the aim to rise clinical awareness, which could improve clinical outcomes. This overview briefly covers reported pathogens, their vectors and geographic distribution, as well as their main clinical manifestations, diagnostic possibilities and recommended therapy. Vector-borne tularemia, plague, bartonellosis, rickettsioses, borreliosis and Malayan filariasis are mentioned. According to the existing data, when acute focal bacterial vector-borne zoonotic lymphadenitis is suspected, in severe or complicated cases it seems prudent to apply combined aminoglycoside (or quinolone) plus doxycycline as an empirical therapy, pending definite diagnostic results. In this field the „one health approach” and further epidemiological and clinical studies are needed.

Detailed description of carbonate minerals different in magnesium content of Triassic dolomites were presented in this article. The tests were carried out to determine geochemical and miner-alogical features in the terms of their geoengineering properties. The following carbonate phas-es were identified: a low-Mg calcite, a high-Mg calcite, a proto-dolomite, an ordered dolomite and a huntite. The following research methods were used: microscopic analysis, X-Ray Diffrac-tion, X-Ray Fluorescence and Electron probe microanalysis. The samples were collected from the Tarnowice formation which is the lower part the profile of the Upper Muschelkalk. On the basis of the results the chemical formulas of carbonate phases were calculated. The ranges of Mg and Ca content were presented in formulas. The results indicate of Mg in low-Mg calcite ranges from 0.6 to 1.2%, in high-Mg calcite from 7.47 to 10.41%. In proto-dolomite it ranges from 10.96 to 11.78%. In ordered dolomite Mg content is stoichiometric value for dolomite – 13.18%. Due to the reduced Mg content in identified huntite (the value ranges from 13.62% to 17.76), this carbonate phase was named as de-huntite.

Sustained water management requires quantitative information and the knowledge of spatiotemporal dynamics of hydrological system within the basin. This can be achieved through the research. Several studies have investigated both surface water and groundwater in Beterou catchment. However, there are few published papers on the application of the SWAT modeling in Beterou catchment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of SWAT to simulate the water balance within the watershed. The inputs data consist of digital elevation model, land use maps, soil map, climatic data and discharge records. The model was calibrated and validated using the Sequential Uncertainty Fitting (SUFI2) approach. The calibrated started from 1989 to 2006 with four years warming up period (1985-1988); and validation was from 2007 to 2020. The goodness of the model was assessed using five indices, i.e., Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), the ratio of the root means square error to the standard deviation of measured data (RSR), percent bias (PBIAS), the coefficient of determination (R²), and Kling Gupta efficiency (KGE). Results showed that SWAT model successfully simulated river flow in Beterou catchment with NSE = 0.79, R2 = 0.80 and KGE= 0.83 for the calibration process against validation process that provides NSE = 0.78, R2 = 0.78 and KGE= 0.85 using site-based streamflow data. The relative error (PBIAS) ranges from -12.2% to 3.1%. The parameters runoff curve number (CN2), Moist Bulk Density (SOL_BD), Base Flow Alpha Factor (ALPHA_BF), and the available water capacity of the soil layer (SOL_AWC) were the most sensitive parameter. The study provides further research with uncertainty analysis and recommendations for model improvement and provision of an efficient means to improve rainfall and discharges measurement data.

Reactions of N‚N'-bis(3-methylpyridyl)oxalamide (L1), N,N’-bis(3-methylpyridyl)adipoamide (L2) and N,N’-bis(3-methylpyridyl)sebacoamide (L3) with tricarboxylic acids and Cu(II) salts afforded {[Cu(L1)(1,3,5-HBTC)]·H2O}n (1,3,5-H3BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid), 1, {[Cu1.5(L2)1.5(1,3,5-BTC)(H2O)2]·6.5H2O}n, 2, [Cu(L2)0.5(1,3,5-HBTB)]n (1,3,5-H3BTB = 1,3,5-tri(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene), 3, [Cu4(L3)(OH)2(1,3,5-BTC)2]n, 4, {[Cu3(L3)2(1,3,5-BTB)2]·2.5MeOH·2H2O}n, 5, and {[Cu3(L3)2(1,3,5-BTB)2 ]·DMF·2H2O}n, 6, which have been structurally characterized by using single crystal X-ray crystallography. Complexes 1 – 4 form a 2D layer with the {44.62}-sql topology, a 2D layer with the (4.62)2(42.62.82)-bex topology, a 3-fold interpenetrated 3D net with the (412.63)-pcu topology and a 3D framework with the (410.632.83)(42.6)2(43.63) topology, respectively, whereas 5 and 6 are 3D frameworks with the (63)2(64.82)(68.85.102) topology. Complex 5 shows a better iodine-adsorption factor of 290.0 mg g-1 at 60 oC for 360 minutes than the other ones, revealing that the flexibility of the spacer ligand governs the structural diversity and the adsorption capacity.

Cathode materials play a key role in the development and application of lithium-ion batteries, but the unfavorable factors such as structural phase transformation and low conductivity in the cycling process restrict the further improvement of battery performance, so the development and modification of high-performance cathode materials is a current research hotspot. LiNixCoyMn1-x-yO2(x≥0.6), a high-nickel cathode material, has the advantages of high platform potential, high energy density and low cost, and is an ideal material to achieve the goal of 300 Wh kg-1 and above for batteries. However, its poor thermal stability, poor interface stability, safety and life cannot meet the requirements of current power batteries. In this paper, the research status of high-nickel cathode materials is introduced, including bulk doping and surface coating, and the modification method of doping and coating integration is also introduced. Finally, we put forward the prospect of the future development trend of high-nickel cathode materials.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that individuals with prediabetes are significantly less likely to develop type 2 diabetes if they participate in a lifestyle change program that results in at least 5% weight loss and 150 minutes of physical activity per week. The CDC recognizes distance learning as an effective delivery mode for lifestyle change programs to prevent type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this study was to assess enrollment, engagement, and effectiveness of a type 2 diabetes prevention program (DPP) using synchronous distance technology. Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes (ESMMPD) is an intensive 12-month DPP delivered using synchronous distance technology. Throughout 26 lessons, participants focused on healthy eating, physical activity, and mindfulness behaviors. Study findings showed a significant decrease in A1C (-0.24 p<.0001). Weight loss averaged 5.66% for those who completed the program. Based on the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, participants demonstrated statistically significant changes in self-reported confidence in their ability to perform all 18 health-promoting behaviors assessed (p<.0001). Participation in the program also resulted in the adoption of health promoting behaviors. A DPP using synchronous distance technology is an effective delivery mode to help participants adopt healthy behaviors, increase physical activity, and achieve the weight loss necessary to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Agricultural productivity is expected to decrease under changing climate conditions that correspond to the stability of West African food systems. Although numerous studies evaluated food production gaps or impacts of climate variability on crop yields, many uncertainties are associated with climate extremes, but also rapid population growth and the corresponding dietary lifestyle determine farming activities. Here, we present a food supply and demand analysis based on the relationship between climate change, crop production, as well as population growth in three experimental sites from southwestern Burkina Faso to southwestern Ghana. The method consists of a tiered approach that encompassed a statistical analysis of historical climate as well as agricultural time series using boxplots and a trend test by Mann-Kendall. Food balance sheets were calculated by estimating the demand using a population growth model linked to food supply with local consumption patterns. Results of the boxplot analysis revealed for the majority of climate time series light to strong right-skewed distributions with either a few heavy rainfall or hot temperature events. We found almost insignificant rainfall and temperature trends for both sites in the Sudano-Guinean savannah. The rainfall regime of southwestern Ghana indicated an insignificant upward or downward trend while the temperature significantly increased over time. Crop yield boxplots demonstrated mainly right-skewed distributions for cereals, legumes and tubers as well as cash crops such as cotton. Backed by the Mann-Kendall test, maize and sorghum significantly enhanced in both study areas of the Sudano-Guinean savannah. Southwestern Ghana depicted a different crop pattern where cassava and plantain showed a strong upward trend at a confidence level of 1%. The grouped food balances sheets across the regions illustrated a surplus for the Sudano-Guinean savannah ranging from 221.2 megatons (Mt) to 4,846.77 Mt while southwestern Ghana exhibited a deficit between -193.33 Mt and -16,188.82 Mt. Despite a growing yield of various crops, food demand outpaces the regional production. Hence, it is recommended to focus on a larger array of commodities, imports and marketing of farm products.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a progressive blinding disease that affects vision and quality of life of patients and severely impacts society. This complication, caused by abnormal glucose metabolism, leads to structural, functional, molecular, and biochemical abnormalities in the retina. Oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation also play pivotal roles in the pathogenic process of DR, leading to mitochondrial damage and decrease in the mitochondrial function. DR causes retinal degeneration in glial and neural cells, while the disappearance of pericytes in retinal blood vessels leads to modifications in vascular regulation and stability. Clinical changes include dilatation and blood flow alterations in response to the reduce in retinal perfusion in retinal blood vessels, leading to vascular leakage, neovascularization and neurodegeneration. Thus, DR is a highly complex disease with various biological factors that contribute to its pathogenesis. The interplay between biochemical pathways and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) is essential for understanding the development and progression of DR. Abnormal expression of ncRNAs has been confirmed to promote the development of DR, suggesting that ncRNAs such as miRNAs, lnc-RNAs and circ-RNAs have potential as diagnostic biomarkers and theranostic targets in DR. This review provides an overview of interactions between abnormal biochemical pathways and dysregulated expression of ncRNAs under the influence of hyperglycemic environment in DR.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is diffused worldwide, and it is responsible for potentially severe chronic liver disease and primary liver cancer. Chronic infection remains for life if not spontaneously eliminated and viral persistence profoundly impairs the efficiency of host’s immunity. Attempts have been made to develop an effective vaccine, but efficacy trials have met with failure. The availability of highly efficacious direct acting antivirals (DAA) has shed hopes for progressive elimination of chronic HCV infection; however, this approach requires a global monumental effort. Moreover, DAA treatment does not completely restore the normal immunologic homeostasis. Here we discuss the main immunological features of immune responses to HCV and the epigenetic scars that chronic viral persistence leaves behind.

Hepatic Encephalopaty (HE) is a common complications of advanced liver disease and acute liver failure. It is a condition that features both neurological and psychiatric symptoms, that affects mortality, morbidity and quality of patients and caregivers’ life. HE diagnosis is generally an exclusion diagnosis. Once the patient is admitted to hospital, clinical examination, blood tests and eventually neuroimaging should be performed in order to rule out other causes of acute brain dysfunction. Moreover, HE recognizes various precipitants that can potentially promote its onset, alone or in combination, that must be identified. Once the diagnostic process is complete, a correct treatment should be started. The anti-HE treatment is based on a combination of correction of precipitants and non-absorbable disaccharides and non-absorbable antibiotic, such as rifaximin. Once the patient is discharged from the hospital, specific anti-HE therapy should be maintained in order to prevent other HE episodes.

Plastics have recently become an indispensable part of everyone's daily life due to their versatility, durability, light weight and low production costs. The increasing production and use of plastics poses a great danger due to the very long period of degradation, but also the negative impact on living organisms. Decomposing plastics lead to the formation of microplastics, which accumulate in the environment and living organisms becoming part of the food chain. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) contamination of soil and water seriously threatens ecosystems around the world. The durability and low weight make microplastic particles easily transported with water or air and end up in the soil. Thus, the problem of microplastic pollution affects the entire ecosystem. Since microplastics are commonly found in both drinking and bottled water, humans are also exposed to the harmful effects of microplastics. Because of the existing risks associated with PVC microplastic contamination of the ecosystem, intensive research is underway to develop methods to clean and eliminate it from the environment. Pollution of the environment with plastic, especially microplastic, results in the reduction of both water and soil resources used for agricultural and utility purposes. This review provides an overview of PVC's environmental impact and disposal options.

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains a predominant cause of mortality, especially in low- and middle-income nations. Recently antimicrobial peptides were discovered that at low concentrations could stimulate the growth of M. tuberculosis (hormetic response). In this study, such a peptide was used to investigate the effects on the time to positivity (TTP). A systematic substitution analysis of peptide 14D was synthesized using Spot synthesis technology, resulting in 171 novel peptides. Our findings revealed a spectrum of interactions, with some peptides accelerating M. tuberculosis growth, potentially aiding in faster diagnostics, while others exhibited inhibitory effects. Notably, peptide NH2-wkivfiwrr-CONH2 significantly reduced the TTP by 25 hours compared to the wild-type peptide 14D, highlighting its potential in improving TB diagnostics by culture. Several peptides demonstrated potent antimycobacterial activity, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 20 µg/mL against H37Rv and a multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis strain. Additionally, a reduction in the formation of cord-like structures was observed, which is indicative of reduced virulence and transmission potential. This study underscores the multifaceted roles of antimicrobial peptides in TB management, from enhancing diagnostic efficiency to offering therapeutic avenues against M. tuberculosis.

Gullele Botanic Garden was established to preserve and safeguard indigenous, rare, endemic and endangered plant species that have economic significance. A study was conducted to identify and map non-native plant species that exist in various land use types, including natural vegetation, plantation, roadside, and garden edges. The research involved placing plots at different distances in each land use type and collecting vegetation data with geo-location information for exotic and invasive species. The data was analyzed using Sorensen's similarity index to measure the similarity between plant communities. Invasive species were identified using ArcGIS, and descriptive statistical methods were employed to analyze the remaining data. The recorded a total of 80 plant species belonging to 70 genera in 44 families in the garden, with Fabaceae and Asteraceae having the most species. Acacia decurrens, Acacia melanoxylon, Cuscuta campestris, Galinsoga parviflora, Nerium oleander, and Cyathula uncinulata are the most prevalent invasive or potentially invasive species among the species that have been documented. These species are spreading quickly and may displace native plant species if not properly managed. The study found that roadside and garden edge land use types had the most diverse exotic plants, with Acacia decurrens, Nerium oleander, Acacia melanoxylon, Agave species, Cyathula uncinulata, and Eucalyptus species being the most dominant exotic species in the garden. The total density of exotic species was 2.36 plants/m2. The study provides valuable information for managing and conserving both native and exotic plant species in the garden.

The effects of four cycles of recurrent selection on simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker allele frequencies and population structure were examined in the Maksimir 3 Synthetic (M3S) maize population (Zea mays L.). Genotyping of 32 plants from each cycle of selection at 38 SSR loci revealed that the mean number of alleles per locus and the mean expected heterozygosity were preserved over cycles of selection, indicating maintenance of sufficient genetic variability in the population needed for future genetic gain. Waples test of selective neutrality revealed that genetic drift was the main force in changing allele frequencies in the population. The proportion of selectively nonneutral loci in single cycles of selection varied between 16% and 37%. Some nonneutral loci shared the same genomic locations with previously published QTLs controlling important agronomic traits. Between 5% and 29% of loci were found to be in significant Hardy-Weinberg (HW) disequilibrium with the majority showing an excess of homozygosity. Excess of homozygosity at several loci was highly consistent across cycle populations suggesting positive assortative mating as the possible cause of the observed HW disequilibrium. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) tests revealed that the M3S population was essentially in linkage equilibrium. The proportion of pairs of loci in significant LD varied across cycles of selection between 0.1% and 1.8% probably due to the effects of genetic drift and epistatic selection.

Minerals are the chief constituents of rocks and they have varied properties such as surface area, surface charge, site densities etc. Hence, numerous interactions are bound to occur in the reservoir during rock-fluids (i.e., rock, crude oil and brine) interactions. This study seeks to assess the role of mineralogical composition on the wettability of Sandstone Rocks (SR) and Mineral Mixture (MM) using both Surface Complexation Modelling (SCM) and flotation test. From the considered sandstone rocks, both the experimental results and its simulated counterpart revealed that, the SR were preferentially hydrophilic. For the MM, when the mass fraction of the hydrophobic mineral was increased, the affinity of the MM became slightly hydrophobic and vice-versa. For the dominant sandstone reservoir rock minerals with predominantly negatively charged surfaces, negligible oil adsorption took place due the interfacial repulsive forces at the oil-brine and mineral-brine interfaces. For the MM with low calcite content, the wetting preference was influenced by the mineral with prominent surface area. Our developed model portrayed that the main mechanism for oil adhesion onto sandstone minerals was divalent cations bridging. Nonetheless, adhesion of carboxylate (&gt;COO-) onto the illite, montmorillonite and calcite sites also took place with the latter being more pronounced.

Natural fibers have attracted increasing interest as an alternative to produce environmentally friendly and sustainable materials. Particularly, hemp fibers have revealed to be widely used in various industrial applications due to their extremely unique properties. However, hemp can generate a large amount of agro-waste, and results in an attractive source of biopolymers for the development of low-cost materials in alternative to the raw materials and conventional petroleum-based plastics. In addition, deep eutectic solvents (DESs), a new type of truly green solvents, have been tested to remove gums, lignin, and other non-cellulosic components from hemp fibers. Reusing these components dissolved into the DESs to fabricate new materials directly by electrospinning is a very attractive but still unexplored endeavor. Thus, this innovative research to venture new upcycling pathways is focused on the fabrication of composite nanofibers by electrospinning of a gel-based blend of Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and hemp agro-waste (HW) dissolved into choline chloride (ChCl) : Glycerol (1:2) and ChCl : Urea (1:2) DES mixtures. The results obtained revealed that the produced nanofibers displayed uniform appearance with diameters ranging from 257.72 ± 65.63 nm to 380.78 ± 133.98 nm. In addition, the mechanical properties of the electro-spun composite nanofibers produced from the gel-based blends of HW dissolved in DESs and PVA (HW-DESs_PVA) were found to be superior, resulting in an enhanced tensile strength and Young’s modulus. Furthermore, the incorporation of HW into the nanofibers was able to provide bioactive antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Overall, this study demonstrated a promising, more sustainable, and eco-friendly way to produce electrospun composite nanofibers using HW in a circular economy perspective.

The Power Theory of Exchange and Money (PTEM) refines the economic neoclassical two-equation model of exchange. PTEM replaces the statistical average condition of exchange, which represents the equality of supply and demand for all transactions in the market, with a more specific equation of the equality of the generalized power of the parties in relation to their objects of exchange. The purpose of the article is to show the application of PTEM for the study of various social phenomena. Along with a brief summary of the main statements of this theory, its integration into the existing corpus of theories and ideas in economics and sociology is considered. The conclusions of power theory are then applied to consider the following topics: the objective motivation of exchange by the desire to increase power, the power nature of market equilibrium, the power nature of money, the accumulation of power through profit, the creation of money as a power act, the role of the state in the creation of money, the measure of power as a possible tool for social and political research.

Crop digital twin is redefining traditional farming practices, offering unprecedented opportunities for real-time monitoring, predictive and simulation analysis, and optimization. This research embarks on an exploration of the synergy between precision agriculture, crop modeling, and regression algorithms to create a digital twin for augmenting farmers the concentration and composition prediction-based crop nutrient recovery. This captures the holistic representation of crop characteristics, considering the intricate relationships between environmental factors, nutrient concentrations, and crop compositions. However, the complexity arising from diverse soil and environmental conditions makes nutrient content analysis expensive and time-consuming. This paper presents the result of a predictive digital twin case study that employs six regression algorithms namely Elastic Net, Polynomial, Stepwise, Ridge, Lasso, and Linear Regression to predict rice nutrient content efficiently, particularly considering the coexistence and composition of multiple nutrients. Our research findings highlight the superiority of the Polynomial Regression model in predicting nutrient content, with a specific focus on accurate nitrogen percentage prediction. This insight can be used for nutrient recovery intervention by knowing the precise amount of nutrient to be added into the crop medium. The adoption of the Polynomial Regression model offers a valuable tool for nutrient management practices in the crop digital twin, potentially resulting in higher-quality rice production and a reduced environmental impact. The proposed method can be replicable in other low-resourced crop digital twin system.

Recently considered modifications to public policy and trends in technology transfer practices have underscored the need for validated instruments to assess the maturity of technologies. This paper details a study that aimed to develop and present a generalized technology readiness level (GTRL) scale that a variety of professionals and researchers could use to assess the maturity of technologies in a range of contexts. Of particular interest is developing and validating an instrument that technology transfer professionals in federal laboratories, universities, and the private sector in the United States of America can use to assess the maturity of technologies to facilitate their technology transfer efforts. The primary goal of the research study was to highlight the need for validated measurement instruments for assessing the maturity of technologies in these contexts, test methods for validating the GTRL scale and other readiness level scales, and fill the knowledge gap regarding methods for properly validating such instruments. This included producing insights to inform future efforts to validate the GTRL scale as well as efforts to develop and validate other instruments to measure technology maturity. The study provides specific recommendations relevant to determining the face validity, content validity, inter-rater reliability, and intra-rater reliability of the GTRL scale and other such instruments for assessing technology maturity.

The contamination of aquatic environments by pharmaceutical products consistently takes the attention of researchers due to the compounds' toxicity even at low concentrations. In response, we have developed an ecologically sustainable biosurfactant derived from a microorganism and incorporated into the bacterial cellulose. This bioproduct, along with the bacterial cellulose itself, was employed as a sorbent for pharmaceuticals (hormones and paracetamol) present in water. Bacterial cellulose membranes were generated through the cultivation of Gluconacetobacter xylinus ATCC 53582. The biosurfactant was produced by pre-inoculating Bacillus subtilis in a synthetic medium, followed by immersing the bacterial cellulose membranes in the biosurfactant solution, for incorporation. Tests were conducted using water experimentally contaminated with parace-tamol and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), evaluating the biosurfactant's effect on bacterial cellulose sorption. Paracetamol levels were analyzed using spectrophotometry, and EE2 levels were as-sessed using high-performance liquid chromatography. In summary, bacterial cellulose exhibited superior adsorption for EE2 compared to paracetamol. The incorporation of biosurfactant onto bacterial cellulose reduced hormone adsorption but enhanced paracetamol sorption. Our findings indicated that adsorption is more effective with bacterial cellulose in its original and freeze-dried forms, without the incorporation of biosurfactant. Notably, we achieved more promising results in remediating the hormone EE2 compared to the paracetamol.

The COVID-19 outbreak demonstrated the viability of various remote working solutions, telepresence robots (TPRs) being one of them. High-quality video transmission is one of the cornerstones of using such solutions, as most of the information about the environment is acquired through vision. This study aims to compare the camera capabilities of four models of popular telepresence robots using compact reduced LogMAR and Snellen optometry charts as well as text displayed on the projector screen. The symbols from the images are extracted using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software and the results of the recognition are compared with the symbols on the charts. Double 3 TPR provides the best quality images of optometric charts, but the OCR results of measurements of the image on the projector do not show the clear advantage of one single model over the others. The results demonstrated by Temi 2 and Double 3 TPRs are generally better than the others, suggesting that these TPRs are more feasible to be used in teaching and learning scenarios.

Understanding aspects of maritime/underwater cultural heritage (MUCH) and the associated cultural values and integrating them into maritime spatial planning (MSP) endeavors, is a new global challenge, alongside the rapid increase of human activities at sea and climate change impacts on the seas and the oceans. The article highlights the significance of cultural values in shaping human interactions with the marine environments, and how MSP can address the cultural dimensions of marine resources management. To this end, a systematic literature review was carried out to address the research question on how maritime/underwater cultural heritage is incorporated into MSP and map relevant academic literature. Following, a methodology that entailed an academic database search and the application of exclusion criteria, 346 articles resulted from Scopus. These articles were classified using science mapping techniques (i.e the VOSviewer Software ) and several categories (clusters) were created. The research showed a diversity of literature addressing the relationship between MUCH and MSP with a strong focus on sustainability, the significance of cultural ecosystem services (CES) and cultural values, the role of indigenous and local communities, but also of local stakeholders, the transfer of traditional knowledge to MSP and the participatory approaches and tools. The article concludes that for MSPlans to be innovative and acceptable by local communities, the “missing layer”of socio-cultural values and data is indispensable. In the MSP process, MUCH should be understood within this broader framework of socio-cultural considerations and values.

The lack of a generalizable machine learning model for predicting the safety of food for 1 human consumption is a significant challenge for policymakers and responsible authorities. This 2 study provides a step-by-step guide to predict the results of seafood product import inspections, 3 focusing on identifying and understanding the critical factors that influence these results. By compar- 4 ing the performances of an ensemble of machine learning models, this study combines the strengths 5 of multiple algorithms to improve the predictive accuracy and gain insights into the key factors 6 impacting them. The ensemble model based on the soft voting technique achieves superior perfor- 7 mance to that based on the hard voting technique in terms of the recall and area under the curve 8 (AUC) scores. The study discovered that various characteristics, such as the exporting country ratio, 9 major product category, overseas manufacturer ratio, importer ratio, and seasonal variation, had a 10 substantial influence on the models’ decisions. This research guide for predicting seafood product 11 import inspection results could pave the path for other items to follow.

We describe real-world use of mavacamten in 50 patients with oHCM. Consistent with EXPLORER-HCM and VALOR-HCM, we report significant improvement in wall thickness, mitral regurgitation, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and NYHA class. Moreover, in our center’s experience, neither arrhythmia burden, nor contractility have worsened in the vast majority of patients: We note a clinically insignificant mean decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), with only two patients requiring temporary mavacamten discontinuance for LVEF < 50%. Adverse events were rare, unrelated to mavacamten itself, and seen solely in patients with disease too advanced to have been represented in clinical trials. Our multidisciplinary pathway enabled us to provide a large number of patients with a novel closely-monitored therapeutic within just a few months of commercial availability. These data lead us to conclude that mavacamten, as a first-in-class cardiac myosin inhibitor, is safe and efficacious in real-world settings.

In this paper, we obtain the existence and uniqueness theorem for solutions of Caputo type fractional stochastic delay differential systems (FSDDSs) with Poisson jumps by utilizing delayed perturbation of Mittag-Leffler function. Moreover, by using Burkholder-Davis-Gundy's inequality, Doob's martingale inequality and Holder inequality, we prove that the solution of the averaged FSDDSs converges to that of the standard FSDDSs in the sense of Lp. Some known results in the literature are extended.

Goji berries, long valued in Chinese medicine and cuisine for their wide range of medicinal benefits, are considered a 'superfruit' and functional food. Out of the nearly 100 Lycium species known for their genetic diversity, L. barbarum and L. chinense currently dominate the market. Due to increasing market demand and concerns about food safety and sustainability, Europe and the Americas are expanding the local goji berry production, using as starting material plants originated from China. European breeding programs are focusing on Lycium to develop varieties adapted to local conditions, especially in response to climate change. By 2023, Romania registered seven goji berry varieties, both from L. barbarum and L. chinense species, without incorporating local germplasm. Advanced genomic studies, including NGS sequencing of five cultivated and three wild goji berry plant genomes, have been conducted to analyse their genetic variation, with a particular focus on the BODYGUARD 3 and 4 genes. This research uncovered significant differences between cultivated and wild genotypes, both in the entire genome and specifically in the BODYGUARD genes, providing crucial insights for goji berry breeders to support the development of goji berry cultivation in Romania.

(1) Background: This study aimed to outline the antitumoral, antioxidant, and cytotoxic proprie-ties of various types of Perilla frutescens extracts obtained from the leaves of the species; (2) Methods: We determined total polyphenols, flavonoids and anthocyanins contents, as well as the in vitro antioxidant, antitumoral, and cytotoxic actions in 3 types of ethanolic extracts (E1, E2, E3) and in 3 types of ethanol: acetone extracts (A1, A2, A3) of Perilla frutescens according to standardized procedures; (3) Results: We found that Perilla frutescens ethanolic extracts had higher total phenol concentrations (p= 0.002). Flavonoids and anthocyanins concentrations were not statistically different between the two extracts. The iron chelating capacity, hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity, superoxide anion radical scavenging capacity, and lipoxygenase inhibition capacity showed a significant increase with higher concentrations of Perilla frutescens extracts, particularly the ethanolic extracts. Perillyl alcohol had greater cytotoxic capacity on MG-63 cell line and E1 extract showed similar significant cytotoxic effects on A431 cell line; (4) Conclusions: Both ethanolic and ethanol: acetone extracts from Perilla frutescens exhibited important antioxi-dant and antitumoral actions in vitro, which proportionally increased with concentration. The cytotoxic threshold determined in this study for various types of extracts could help determine the best dosage with the maximum antioxidant and antitumoral potential.

For the parentage testing in canine microsatellite length polymorphism markers were used to check the efficacy of the markers. In the current study 5’ fluorescently labeled 12 SSR markers were used to check the use of the markers in popular owned-dog breeds (Labrador, German Shepherd, Pug, Mudhol Hound, Tibetan Mastiff, Gaddi dog, Beagle, Belgian Malinois, Pointer, and Cane Corso) maintained of India (not necessarily indigenous breeds). The number of alleles, heterozygosity, polymorphism information content, and probability of exclusion were determined for all the markers to check the effectiveness of the markers. The mean number of alleles per locus ranged from 5 to 29 and the effective number of alleles ranged from 3.6 to 15.2. The expected heterozygosity was greater than 0.73. The population inbreeding coefficient (FIS) demonstrated that there was no inbreeding in the breeds studied, as the samples were collected from owners and dog breeders belonging to various states, including Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka. The polymorphism information content and the probability of the exclusion values were greater than 0.65. the combined probability of exclusion for all the breeds was (2.82E-12) 0.99999995. The results indicated that the selected 12 markers are effective enough to determine the parentage of the dogs.

In exploring the intricacies of financial analysis, this study delves into the efficacy of traditional financial ratios versus cash flow ratios in foreseeing a company's fiscal well-being. By harnessing the PRISMA 2020 framework, an exhaustive and systematic dissection of diverse scholarly articles was embarked upon. The quest was to unearth the more reliable predictor of financial stability among these two sets of ratios. With a methodical examination of academic writings, this inquiry juxtaposed various models, scrutinizing their foresight capabilities. The revelations were telling; cash flow ratios emerged as more potent forecasters compared to their traditional counterparts. Intriguingly, models that blend both ratio types showed a marked improvement in predictive accuracy, hinting at a synergistic effect. This underscores the insight that while traditional ratios are informative, their amalgamation with cash flow ratios yields a richer, more rounded grasp of a company’s fiscal state. Conclusively, for stakeholders, especially investors, adopting this dual-ratio approach is pivotal for enlightened decision-making. This research enriches the financial analysis domain by spotlighting the salience of cash flow ratios, advocating for their integration with conventional methods for a sharper financial health appraisal.

An enormous interest in the development of efficient protocols for cellulose extraction has been demonstrated in the last years, however, they were usually based on non-sustainable chemical and thermal approaches. In this work we describe a new and more sustainable method for cellulose extraction from eucalyptus and pine tree wood waste products exclusively performed using microwave-assisted radiation. The methodology includes 3 main steps: i) alkaline treatment; ii) bleaching I, using H2O2; and iii) bleaching II, an acidic treatment. Samples obtained in each step were characterized by Fourier-transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results were compared with those of starting materials, with the commercially available microcrystalline cellulose and with an industrial paper pulp. Results confirmed that for both type of wood wastes, cellulose was retained during the extractions procedures and that the removal of hemicellulose was achieved at the last step as seen by the FTIR spectra and TGA curves. The developed protocol is innovative since it constitutes an easy and quick approach to extract cellulose, from eucalyptus and pine tree wood waste using mild chemical and thermal conditions, microwave irradiation, and environmentally friendly purification steps. This approach offers the possibility of a future scale-up study to potentially apply the develop protocol to the extraction of cellulose in an industrial scale.

Microplastics (MPs) pollution has become a persisting problem over the last decades and a critical issue for environmental protection and human health. In this context any scientific data able to reveal the MPs presence and to improve the characterization and identification in different systems is valuable. The aim of this paper was to assess available techniques for determining MPs in real freshwater samples and subsequently to highlight the occurrence and type of MPs in the study case area (Somesul Mic River). The specific objectives of the study were: i) MPs separation and visual characterization; ii) microscopic analyses and morphological characterization of MPs; iii) Raman and FT-IR spectroscopic identification of MPs. MPs sampling was performed from the fresh water and sediment using planktonic nets and sieves with different mesh sizes (20 to 500µm). After digestion with hydrogen peroxide, the MPs characterization was performed using both classical microscopic techniques as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM). For the MPs identification, Raman and FT-IR spectrometry techniques were used. Large (1-5 mm) and small (1 µm to 1 mm) MPs were observed in the shape of fibers, fragments, foam, foils and spheres in various colors (red, green, blue, purple, pink, white, black, transparent, opaque). Polymers were identified related to scientific literature and reference spectra. The presence of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) was registered for all sampling point. The MPs laboratory investigations have raised some issues regarding the identification of MPs particles with the size smaller than 500µm, being characterized especially under microscope. Small MPs particle dispersed on cellulose filter were identified using micro-Raman spectroscopy highlighting the same type of polymers. The results showed that both spectrometric methods Raman or FT-IR confirm the identification of the same type of polymers. No differences were registered between the sampling points due to the widespread presence of MPs. The sediments samples presented a greater abundance compared to the water samples. Overall, it is necessary to continue the optimization of the MPs separation protocol and identification according to the complexity of samples, mainly due to the limitation and lack of spectral databases.

Cissus populnea Guill. & Perr. (Vitaceae) is used in traditional medicine to treat microbial infec-tions, venereal diseases, and infertility, among others. The aim of the research is to isolate and characterize the antimicrobial constituent(s) from the stem of C. populnea. The n-butanol fraction of C. populnea being most active was subjected to silica gel column chromatography which led to the isolation of a white solid and white crystalline substances coded compounds C1 and C4C5, respectively. Spectral analysis (1D & 2D-NMR) of the isolated compounds and comparison with literature data indicated C1 to be Bis-(2-ethyloctyl)-phthalate and C4C5 to be a mixture of stig-masterol and β-sitosterol; C4C5 exhibited zone of inhibition ranging from 24 – 29 mm against the test organisms with Candida albicans being the most sensitive organism while Trichophyton rubrum was the least sensitive organism. The standard drugs, Ciprofloxacin had 27 – 37 mm while Flu-conazole and Fulcin exhibited zone of inhibition ranging from 34 mm and 29 – 32 mm, respec-tively. The MIC and MBC/MFC values for C4C5 ranges from 12.5 – 25.0 µg/cm3 and 25.0 – 50.0 µg/cm3 against MRSA, S. aureus, E. coli, C. albicans, T. rubrum, and T. mentagrophyte, respectively. In conclusion, three bioactive compounds were identified for the first time from the stem of C. populnea

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), instigated by the zoonotic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), rapidly transformed from an outbreak in Wuhan, China, into a widespread global pandemic. A significant post-infection condition, known as ‘long- COVID’, emerges in a substantial subset of patients, manifesting with a constellation of over 200 reported symptoms that span multiple organ systems. This condition, also known as 'post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection' (PASC), presents a perplexing clinical picture with far-reaching implications, often persisting long after the acute phase. While initial research focused on the immediate pulmonary impact of the virus, the recognition of COVID-19 as a multiorgan disruptor has unveiled a gamut of protracted and severe health issues. This review provides a summary of the primary effects of long COVID on the cardiovascular, nervous, and respiratory systems. It also delves into the mechanisms underlying these impacts and underscores the critical need for a comprehensive understanding of long COVID's pathogenesis.

The paper presents the observational, remote sensing and model simulation to analyze Southern Brazil Antarctic Ozone Hole influence (SBAOHI) events occurred between 2005 and 2014. To an-alyze it we use Total Ozone Column (TOC) data provide by Brewer Spectrophotometer (BS) and OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) instrument satellite, besides the AURA/MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder) instrument satellite ozone profiles was utilized with DYBAL (Dynamical Barrier Localization) code in MIMOSA (Modélisation Isentrope du transport Mésoéchelle de l’Ozone Stratosphérique par Advection) model Potential Vorticity (PV) fields. TOC has 7.0 ± 2.9 DU re-ductions average in 62 events. October have more events (30.7%). Polar Tongue events are 19.3% of total, being in October more frequently observed (50% of cases), with medium intensity (58.2%) and in stratosphere medium levels (55.0%). Already Polar Filament events (80.7%) are more frequent in September (32.0%), medium intensity (42.0%) and in stratosphere medium lev-els (40.7%). ENSO index positive phase influenced 61.3% of events, having dominance in all in-tensity categories (minor 57.9%, medium 51.6%, major 58.3%), while the equilibrium dominate the QBO influence with 50% of total cases in positive phase and 50 % in negative phase.

In our previous work, we demonstrated the potential of the amphiphilic cyclic peptide [W4R4] as a promising antimicrobial agent. The extensive data accumulated on the antimicrobial activity of this peptide and its homologs presented an opportunity to unravel the molecular mechanisms governing their action and establish crucial structure-activity relationships (SAR). To achieve this, we employed a comprehensive approach involving peptide synthesis, in vitro biological testing, and molecular modeling to systematically analyze the SAR of a series of cyclic peptides derived from the [W4R4] scaffold. Minimal modifications were introduced to the original peptide by incorporating either one aromatic hydrophobic residue (W) or one polar positively charged residue (R) while maintaining the sequential W/R arrangement. Additionally, we introduced an "intermediate" substitution by incorporating 2,5-diketopiperazine (DKP), possessing both aromatic and polar properties, into the macrocycle [W4R4] between the W and R residues. Notably, this study marked the first synthesis and evaluation of the [W4R4(DKP)] peptide. Structural, dynamic, hydrophobic, and membrane-binding properties of four cyclic peptides ([W4R4], [W5R4], [W4R5], [W4R4(DKP)]) were explored using molecular dynamics simulations within a DOPC/DOPG lipid bilayer that mimics the bacterial membrane. The results obtained revealed distinct SAR profiles for all peptides, enabling the establishment of correlations between their antimicrobial activity and structural/dynamic parameters. These parameters included the degree of conformational plasticity, the depth of immersion into the bi-layer, and the population of the membrane binding mode characterized by the embedding of the hydrophobic peptide pattern into the acyl chain region of lipids. In particular, the peptide [W4R5] exhibited an optimal "activity/binding to the bacterial membrane" pattern. This work highlights the significance of our multidisciplinary approach in efficiently deciphering finely regulated SAR profiles for a series of homologous peptides with diverse activities. Furthermore, this research provides a solid foundation for the rational design of novel antimicrobial peptides.

The structural evolution and phase composition of multi-block thermoplastic polyurethanes, with different nature of the soft segments based on poly(butylene adipate) (PBA), were analyzed during in-situ thermal treatments. A combination of synchrotron small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and FTIR spectroscopy was used to determine the influence of macrodiol nature and crystallization conditions on the polymorphic behavior of PBA. Using a new synthesis scheme, a relatively high degree of crystallinity for urethane blocks was achieved, which depends on the diisocyanate type in the structure of the soft segment. The hard segment domains impose geometrical constraints on PBA, thereby altering its crystallization process compared to the neat oligomer. Thus, crystallization after annealing at a low temperature (80 °C) is fast, predominantly yielding a metastable β-phase. When heated to 180 °C, which is higher than the hard-segment melting temperature, a phase-separated structure is observed. Subsequent crystallization is slower, favoring the formation of the stable α-PBA modification. The phase separation can be observed even after the hard block melting. A notably slow crystallization from an isotropic melt was documented after the disruption of phase separation at 230 °C.

This study determined the temporal variation of PM2.5 in ambient air in Thohoyandou and further assessed the associated health risks. The levels of PM2.5 were quantified for a period of 1 year (April 2017-April 2018) using the gravimetric method. There was no significant difference (P-value = 0.18) in concentrations of both PM2.5 samples collected during weekdays (11.29 µg.m-3) and weekends (9.86 µg.m-3). However, higher concentrations of PM2.5 were measured in spring and the lowest was measured in summer. The cancer risk obtained for PM2.5 (2.21 × 10−5, 3 × 10-4, and 5 × 10-4 for infants, children, and adults respectively) in the outdoor air of Thohoyandou has exceeded the limit values by the USEPA and WHO, implying a significant risk for the whole population. For non-carcinogenic risks, the HQ values were 2.60, 4.81, and 2.60 for infants, children, and adults respectively. The HQ value &gt;1 indicates a non-carcinogenic risk to the residents in Thohoyandou and a higher risk to children. Moreover, PM2.5 in Thohoyandou is responsible for 0.15% and 0.13% of deaths resulting from cardiovascular disease and lung cancer respectively for adults above 30 years. PM2.5 is causing adverse health effects in Thohoyandou as deduced from the health risk assessment. Therefore, it is recommended that further epidemiological studies be conducted in Thohoyandou to estimate the burden of disease due to exposure to particulate matter and suitable controlling policies be arranged to reduce particulate matter.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a cardiac arrhythmia caused by electrophysiological anomalies in the atrial tissue, tissue degradation, structural abnormalities, and comorbidities. A direct relation exists between AF and altered mitochondrial activity resulting from membrane potential loss, contractile dysfunction, or decreased ATP levels. This review aimed to elucidate the role of mitochondrial oxidative mechanisms in AF pathophysiology, the impact of mitochondrial oxidative stress on AF initiation and perpetuation, and current therapies. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Extension for Scoping Reviews. PubMed, Excerpta Medica Database, and Scopus were explored until June 2023 using "MESH terms." Bibliographic references from relevant papers were also included. Oxidative stress is an imbalance that causes cellular damage from excessive oxidation, resulting in conditions such as AF. An imbalance in reactive oxygen species production and elimination can cause mitochondrial damage, cellular apoptosis, and cardiovascular diseases. Oxidative stress and inflammation are intrinsically linked, and inflammatory pathways are highly correlated with the occurrence of AF. AF is an intricate cardiac condition that requires innovative therapeutic approaches. The involvement of mitochondrial oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of AF introduces novel strategies for clinical treatment.