(1) Background: Recent studies provide some evidence for the contribution of antibody-mediated autoimmune mechanisms to the nature of fibromyalgia (FM) and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Much attention was paid to the autoantibodies (AAb) targeting G protein-coupled receptors as natural components of the immune system. However, natural AAb network is much more extensive, and has not been previously investigated in these disorders; (2) Methods: The enzyme immunoassays ELI-Viscero-Test and ELI-Neuro-Test were used to determine changes in serum content of a 33 natural AAb to neural, organ-specific and non-tissue-specific autoantigens a) in 11 FM patients with comorbid ME/CFS; b) in 11 ME/CFS patients without FM; c) in 11 healthy controls. Individual autoantibody profiles and their correlation with some clinical symptoms were analyzed. (3) Results: both patients with ME/CFS and ME/CFS+FM were characterized by more frequent and pronounced deviations in the immunoreactivity to GABA-receptors than healthy controls. Although the level of other natural AAb did not differ between study groups, AAb correlation signatures were changing in patients compared to healthy controls. Both in patients and healthy controls the level of natural AAb to various neural and tissue-specific antigens correlated with the severity of fatigue, bodily pain, depression, anxiety, physical and mental-health related quality of life. Notably, that widely different correlation patterns were observed between study groups. (4) Conclusions: Findings from this pilot study provide some evidence that the homeostasis of autoimmune relationships, which are possibly a physiological part of our immune system, may break down in FM and ME/CFS. The correlation of disease-induced perturbations in individual AAb profiles with some clinical symptoms may arise from the immune system's ability to reflect qualitative and quantitative changes in antigenic composition of the body.

Transportation, environmental conditions, quality of human life within smart cities, and system infrastructure have all needed practical and dependable smart solutions as urbanization has accelerated in recent years. In addition, the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) provides access to a plethora of cutting-edge, all-encompassing apps for smart cities, all of which contribute significantly to lowering energy consumption and other negative environmental impacts. For smart cities to meet the challenge of using less energy, the authors of this research article suggest planning and implementing an integrated power and heat architecture that puts renewable energy infrastructure and energy-storage infrastructure at the top of the list. To address these issues, we describe a smart proposed NEOSRD architecture that uses a distributed smart area domain to optimize renewable demand energy in a smart city across a wide area network. The energy requirements of desalination procedures are negligible when compared to the total local energy consumption and transportation, a feat accomplished by the proposed NEOSRD system. Here, the computational model shows how the established system is a valuable response to our problems and a cost-effective strategy for creating smarter structural elements that cut down on overall smart cities' energy costs.

The importance of small urban green areas has increased in the context of rapid urbanization and densification of the urban tissue. The analysis of these areas through remote sensing has been limited due to the low spatial resolution of freely available satellite images. We propose a timeseries analysis on 3 m resolution Planet images, using GEOBIA and vegetation indices, with the aim of extracting and assessing the quality of small urban green areas in two different climatic and biogeographical regions – temperate (Bucharest, Romania) and mediterranean (Athens, Greece). Our results have shown high accuracy (over 91%) regarding the extraction of small urban green areas in both cities, across all analysed images. The timeseries analysis showed consistency in location for around 55% of the identified surfaces throughout the entire period. The vegetation indices registered higher values in the temperate region, due to the vegetation characteristics and the planning of the two cities. For the same reasons, the increase in vegetation density and quality, as a result of the distance from the city centre and the decrease in the density of built-up areas is more obvious in Athens. The proposed method provides valuable insights in the distribution and quality of small urban green areas at city level and can represent the ground basis for many analyses, currently limited by poor spatial resolution.

The evolution and the emergence of new mutations of viruses affect their transmissibility and/or pathogenicity features, depending on different evolutionary scenarios of virus adaptation to the host. A typical trade-off scenario of SARS-CoV-2 evolution has been proposed, which leads to the appearance of an Omicron strain with lowered lethality, yet enhanced transmissibility. This direction of evolution might be partly explained by virus adaptation to therapeutic agents and enhanced escape from vaccine-induced and natural immunity formed by other SARS-CoV-2 strains. Omicron’s high mutation rate in the Spike protein, as well as its previously described high genome mutation rate (Kandeel et al., 2021), revealed a gap between it and other SARS-CoV-2 strains, indicating the absence of a transitional evolutionary form to the Omicron strain. Therefore, Omicron has emerged as a new serotype and divergent from the evolutionary lineage of other SARS-CoV-2 strains. Omicron is a rapidly evolving variant of high concern, whose new subvariants continue to manifest. Its further understanding and the further monitoring of key mutations that provide virus immune escape and/or high affinity towards the receptor could be useful for vaccine and therapeutic development in order to control the evolutionary direction of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by hyperglycemia and insulin resistance. Cocoa may slow T2D development and progression. This study employed male and female BTBR.Cg-Lepob/ob/WiscJ and wild type (WT) controls to assess the potential for cocoa to ameliorate progressive T2D and compare responses between sexes. Mice received diet without (WT, ob/ob) or with cocoa extract (ob/ob + c) for 10 weeks. Glucose and insulin tolerance tests (GTT/ITT) were conducted at weeks 1, 5 and 2, 6, respectively. Cocoa provided mild non-significant protection against weight gain vs. ob/ob control in males but not females. Male ob/ob + c had increasing fasting glucose at weeks 1 and 5 GTTs, with significantly higher levels of fasting glucose than ob/ob control at week 5. This was not seen in females. Cocoa protected against elevated 4-hour fasting glucose in week 2, but not week 6, ITTs. Cocoa partly suppressed hyperinsulinemia in males but significantly amplified it in females and protected against loss of beta cell area in females only. The mechanisms of these sex-specific effects remain to be elucidated. This study informs additional experiments with larger sample sizes and demonstrates that sex differences must be considered when designing dietary interventions for T2D.

This conceptual review aimed to investigate whether "functional training" (FT) programs are different from traditional strength, power, flexibility, and endurance training programs. A search for the twenty most recent papers published involving FT was performed in the PubMed/Medline database. Definition, concepts, benefits, and the exercises employed in FT programs were analyzed. The main results were: 1) there is no agreement about a universal definition for FT; 2) FT programs aim at developing the same benefits already induced by traditional strength, power, flexibility, and endurance training programs; 3) exercises employed are also the same. The inability to define FT makes differentiation difficult. Physical training programs can be easily described and classified as strength, power, flexibility, endurance, and the specific exercises employed (e.g., traditional resistance training, ballistic exercises, plyometrics and Olympic-style weightlifting, continuous and high-intensity interval training). This proper description and classification may improve communication in sports science and improve interdisciplinary integration. Aiming to avoid confusion and misconceptions, and based on the current evidence, we recommend that the terms FT, high-intensity FT, and functional fitness training no longer describe any physical training program.

We tested the hypothesis that obesity influences the pharmacodynamics of volatile general anesthetics (VGAs) by comparing effects of anesthetic exposure on mortality from traumatic brain injury (TBI) in lean and obese Drosophila melanogaster. We induced TBI with a High-Impact Trauma device. Starvation-selection over multiple generations resulted in an obese phenotype (SS flies). Fed flies served as lean controls (FC flies). Adult (1-7 day old) SS and FC flies were exposed to equianesthetic doses of isoflurane or sevoflurane either before or after TBI. The principal outcome was percent mortality 24 hours after injury, expressed as the Mortality Index at 24 hours (MI24). TBI resulted in lower MI24 in FC than in SS flies (21 (2.35) and 57.8 (2.14), respectively n= 12, p=0.0001). Preexposure to isoflurane or sevoflurane preconditioned FC flies to TBI reducing the risk of death to 0.53 [0.25 to 1.13] and 0.82 [0.43 to 1.58], respectively, but had no preconditioning effect in SS flies. Postexposure to isoflurane or sevoflurane increased the risk of death in SS flies. Only postexposure to isoflurane increased the risk in FC flies (1.39 [0.81 to 2.38]). Thus, obesity affects the pharmacodynamics of VGAs, thwarting the preconditioning effect of isoflurane and sevoflurane in TBI.

Pretreatment with non-convulsive dose of methionine sulfoximine (MSO) attenuated lithi-um-pilocarpine-induced (Li-Pilo) seizures in young rats [1]. We hypothesized that the effect of MSO results from a) glutamine synthetase block-mediated inhibition of conversion of Glu/Gln precursors to neurotransmitter Glu, and/or from b) altered synaptic Glu release. Pilo was admin-istered 60 min prior to sacrifice, MSO at 75 mg/kg, i.p., 2.5 h earlier. [1,2-13C]acetate and [U-13C]glucose were i.p.-injected either together with Pilo (onset) or 15 min before sacrifice (final phase). Their conversion to Glu and Gln in hippocampus and entorhinal cortex was followed us-ing [13C] gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Release of in vitro loaded [3H]D-Asp from ex vi-vo brain slices was measured in continuously collected superfusates. Protein and mRNA expres-sion were measured by Western Blot and real-time PCR techniques, respectively. At no time point nor brain region did MSO modify incorporation of [13C] to Glu or Gln in Pilo-treated rats. MSO pretreatment decreased by ~37% high potassium-induced [3H]D-Asp release and reduced by ~50% the synaptic vesicular Glu transporter VGLUT1 protein, but not mRNA content in the hippo-campus. The results indicate that MSO at non-convulsive dose mitigates the initial Pilo-induced seizures by interfering with synaptic Glu-release but not with neurotransmitter Glu recycling.

BODIPY dyes have recently raised attention as potential photosensitizers. In this work, commercial and novel photosensitizers (PSs) based on BODIPY chromophores (haloBODIPYs and orthogonal dimers strategically designed with intense bands in the blue, green or red region of the Visible spectra and high singlet oxygen production) were covalently linked to mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) further functionalized with PEG and folic acid (FA). MSNs of approximately 50 nm in size with different functional groups were synthesized to allow multiple alternatives of PS-PEG-FA decoration of their external surface. Different combinations varying the type of PS (commercial Rose Bengal, Thionine and Chlorine e6 or custom-made BODIPY-based), the linkage design and the length of PEG are detailed. All the nanosystems were physicochemically characterized (morphology, diameter, size distribution and PS loaded amount) and photophysically studied (absorption capacity, fluorescence efficiency, and singlet oxygen production) in suspension. For the most promising PS-PEG-FA silica nanoplatforms, the biocompatibility in dark conditions and the phototoxicity under suitable irradiation wavelengths (blue, green, or red) at regulated light doses (10-15 J/cm2) were compared with PSs free in solution in HeLa cells in vitro.

Globally, an approximate of 380,000 patients succumbed to death due to the pandemic COVID-19 which also infected more than six million people since December 2019. Not sparing anyone, COVID-19 infections are widely reported among healthcare professionals, sanitation workers and researchers too while global leaders and various governments are providing their best in defending their citizens against this airborne and contact spread virus. In order to contain the virus and protect millions of lives from this deadly coronavirus, there is a need to have a combination of advanced engineering technology and medical facilities. Application of applied science, engineering and technology diffuse almost every aspect of contemporary living. Grasping the fundamentals to determine humanity's most imperative and forthcoming challenges is essential. Artificial Intelligence, the technology that learns, adapts and reciprocates the actions according to the situations, finds optimum position in the fight against corona virus and acts as a powerful tool against this pandemic. In this research article, the authors discusses how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to fight the deadly virus. The research paper further discusses the efficient utilization of AI across the globe to help in testing, treating and serving the population in these hard times. This manuscript focuses on the potential impact of the process in which AI can be implemented to prevent, test and treat.

Carbon dioxide has become a global challenge, where the emissions have become more than what could be handled. In this regard, conversion of CO2 to value added chemicals and thus recycling CO2 became a viable option. One of these options is the use of a process in strong development: oxycombustion. However, the gases resulting from this process contain some traces of impurities that can hinder the recovery of CO2 such as NO and CO. This work has therefore focused on the study of the reaction of NO reduction by CO in an oxidizing medium, using catalytic materials based on various supported noble metals. These materials were extensively characterized by a variety of methods including BET surface area measurements, hydrogen chemisorption, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and H2 temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR). The obtained results show that the catalytic behaviour of M/Al2O3 catalysts in CO oxidation and NO reduction with CO in oxidative conditions depends mainly on the nature of the metal. The best result for these both reactions is obtained with Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. The Pt nanoparticles existing in the metallic form (Pt°) showed by TPR could explain the activity.

Immobility during hospitalization is widely recognized as a contributor to deconditioning, functional loss, and increased need for institutional post-acute care. Several studies have demonstrated that inpatient walking programs can mitigate some of these negative outcomes, yet hospital mobility programs are not widely available in U.S. hospitals. STRIDE is a supervised walking program for hospitalized older adults that fills this important gap in clinical care. Herein we describe how STRIDE works and how it is being disseminated to other hospitals using the Replicating Effective Programs (REP) framework. Guided by REP, we define core components of the program and areas where the program can be tailored to better fit the needs and local conditions of its new context (hospital). We describe key adaptations made by 4 hospitals who have implemented the STRIDE program and discuss lessons learned for successful implementation of hospital mobility programs.

In this work α-synuclein amyloid fibrils, formation of which is a biomarker of the Parkinson’s disease, were investigated with the use of fluorescent probe thioflavin T (ThT). Experimental conditions of the protein fibrillogenesis were chosen so that a sufficient number of continuous measurements can be performed to characterize and analyze all stages of this process. The reproducibility of fibrillogenesis and the structure of the obtained aggregates (that is a critical point for their further investigation) were proved using a wide range of physical-chemical methods. For determination of ThT—α-synuclein amyloid fibrils binding parameters sample and reference solutions were prepared with the use of equilibrium microdialysis. By absorption spectroscopy of these solutions ThT—fibrils binding mode with the binding constant about 10⁴ M⁻¹ and stoichiometry of ThT per protein molecule about 1:8 was observed. Fluorescence spectroscopy of the same solutions with the subsequent correction of the recorded fluorescence intensity on the primary inner filter effect allowed to determine another mode of ThT binding to fibrils with the binding constant about 10⁶ M⁻¹ and stoichiometry about 1:2500. Analysis of photophysical characteristics of the dye molecules bound to the sites of different binding modes allowed to assume the possible localization of these sites. Obtained differences in the ThT binding parameters to amyloid fibrils formed from α-synuclein and other amyloidogenic proteins, as well as in the photophysical characteristics of the bound dye, confirmed the hypothesis of amyloid fibrils polymorphism.

This paper investigates the effect of alteration on the physicomechanical properties of igneous rocks from various areas from Greece used as aggregates. The studied lithologies include dunites, harzburgites, lherzolites, gabbros, diabases, dacites and andesites. Quantitative petrographic analysis shows that the tested samples display various percentages of secondary phyllosilicate minerals. Mineral quantification of studied rock samples was performed by using a Rietveld method on X-Ray diffraction patterns of the studied aggregates. The aggregates are also tested to assign moisture content [w (%)], total porosity [nt (%)], uniaxial compressive strength [UCS (MPa)] and Los Angeles abrasion test [LA (%)]. The influence of secondary phyllosilicate minerals on physicomechanical behavior of tested samples determined using regression analysis and their derived equations. Regression analysis shows positive relationship between the percentage of phyllosilicate minerals of rocks and moisture content as well as with the total porosity values. The relationships between phyllosilicate minerals in the ultramafic and mafic samples and their mechanical properties show that the total rates of phyllosilicate mineral products result negatively in their mechanical properties, while the low percentage of phyllosilicate minerals in volcanic rocks are not able to define set of their engineering parameters.

Solar concentrator photovoltaic collectors are able to deliver energy at higher temperatures for the same irradiances, since they are related to smaller areas for which heat losses occur. However, to ensure the system reliability, adequate collector geometry and appropriate choice of the materials used for all their components will be crucial. The present study focuses on the re-design of the C-PV collector reflector currently produced by the Swedish company Solarus AB, together with a comparative analysis based on the annual assessment of the solar irradiance in the collector. An open-source ray tracing code (Soltrace) is used to accomplish the modelling of optical systems in concentrating solar power applications. Symmetric parabolic reflector configurations are seen to improve the PV system performance when compared to the conventional structures currently used by Solarus. The parabolic geometries, using either symmetrically or asymmetrically placed receivers inside the collector, achieve both the performance and cost-effectiveness objectives: for almost the same area or costs, the new proposals for the PV system may be in some cases 70 % more effective as far as energy output is concerned.

The efficiency of cold steel rolling depends mainly on the quality of the metal-working coolant (MWC) and its cost. In this connection, it is actual to search for new compositions of lubricants and emulsions, which provide the lowest values of the friction coefficients in deformation zone and are obtained by waste recycling in other industries. In this study we have developed new compositions of the MWC on basis of mono- and diglycerides and their esters of boric acid synthesized from the wastes of sunflower oil production. The new compositions of MWC were tested in DSEA on laboratory rolling mill 100x100 with a roll diameter of 100 mm. The efficiency of new MWC during cold rolling of brass L63 samples was determined by factor of metal stretch forming λ. We found the new metal-working coolants to show the most efficiency under higher cobbing that provides the highest metal stretch forming. The composition with 30 % of mono- and diglycerides is the most effective because it provides the minimum coefficient of friction that leads to increase of factor of metal stretch forming. Thereby the metal-working coolants on basis of mono- and diglycerides obtained from the wastes of sunflower oil production can be recommended for use in strip rolling of copper-zinc alloys because of a low cost, availability and high efficiency.

Sea anemones are a remarkable source of active principles due to a decentralized venom system. Blood vessel formation or angiogenesis is a very promising target against cancer, but the few available anti-angiogenic compounds have a limited efficacy. In this study, a protein fraction was purified from tentacles of Anemonia viridis able to limit endothelial cells proliferation and vessel network formation or angiogenesis at low concentration (14 nM). The sequences in this protein fraction were determined with Edman degradation and Mass Spectrometry In Source Decay and revealed homologies with BDS sea anemones. The presence of a two turn alpha helix observed with Circular Dichroism and a trypsin activity inhibition suggested that the active principle could be a Kunitz-type inhibitor, which may interact with an integrin due to a RGD motif well exposed to the solvent as revealed by Molecular Modeling. This active principle could improve antiangiogenic therapy from existing antiangiogenic compounds binding on the VEGF.

There is much interest in effective copper chelators to correct copper dyshomeostasis in neurodegenerative and oncological diseases. In this study, a recombinant fusion protein for expression in E. coli cells was constructed from glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and the N-terminal domain (ectodomain) of human high affinity copper transporter CTR1 (hNdCTR1), which has three metal-bound motifs. Several biological properties of the GST-hNdCTR1 fusion protein were assessed. It was demonstrated that in cells, the protein was prone to oligomerization, formed inclusion bodies and displayed no toxicity. Treatment of E. coli cells with copper and silver ions reduced cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Cells expressing GST-hNdCTR1 protein demonstrated resistance to the metal treatments. These cells accumulated silver ions and formed nanoparticles that contained AgCl and Ag0. In this bacterial population, filamentous bacteria with length about 10 μm were often observed. The possibility for the fusion protein carrying extracellular metal binding motifs to integrate into the cell’s copper metabolism and its chelating properties are discussed.

Background: Clean cookstove interventions can theoretically reduce exposure to household air pollution and benefit health, but this requires near-exclusive use of the stoves, with simultaneous disuse of traditional stoves. Previous cookstove trials have reported low adoption of new stoves and/or extensive continued traditional stove use. Methods: The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial randomized 3195 pregnant women in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda either to a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove and fuel intervention (n = 1590) or to control (n = 1605). The intervention consisted of an LPG stove and two initial cylinders of LPG, free fuel refills delivered to the home, and regular behavioral messaging. We assessed intervention fidelity (delivery of the intervention as intended) and adherence (intervention use) through the end of gestation, as relevant to the first primary health outcome of the trial: infant birth weight. Fidelity and adherence were evaluated using stove and fuel delivery records, questionnaires, visual observations, and temperature-logging stove use monitors (SUMs). Results: 1585 women received the intervention, at a median (interquartile range) of 8.0 (5.0–15.0) days post-randomization and gestational age of 17.9 (15.4–20.6) weeks. Over 96% reported cooking exclusively with LPG at two follow-up visits during pregnancy. Less than 4% reported ever running out of LPG. Complete abandonment of traditional stove cooking was observed in over 67% of intervention households. 31.4% removed their traditional stoves upon receipt of the intervention, and among those who retained traditional stoves, the majority did not use them: traditional stove use was detected via SUMs on a median (interquartile range) of 0.0% (0.0%, 1.6%) of follow-up days (median follow-up = 134 days). Conclusions: Fidelity of the HAPIN intervention, as measured by stove installation, timely ongoing fuel deliveries, and behavioral reinforcement as needed, was high. Exclusive use of the intervention during pregnancy was also high.

or the first time, this communication is intended to perform the possible biological role of natural compound Hypericin, in the Crystal Structure of dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation regulated kinase 2 (DYRK2), by Molecular and Dynamic Simulation. From Docking analysis by Autodock Vina and Autodock 4, Hypericin shows a significant ability to binds to DYRK2 protein, an important receptor for cell growth and development. Indeed, from docking studies Hypericin reports a binding energy value of about -13 kcal/mol and Estimated Inhibition Constant (Ki)of ca 1nM . Regarding MD simulation.From our results, this theoretical research it could has excellent future implications in the fight against cancer disease.

The elderly population is particularly susceptible to myocardial damage caused by heat stress (HS). With the continuous increase in global temperatures, this poses an undeniable challenge to human health. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of Shikimic Acid (SA) in treating HS-induced myocardial damage through network pharmacology, molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and in vitro experiments. Network pharmacology analysis revealed that SA alleviates the inflammatory response in the heart muscle associated with HS by targeting 60 disease-related targets, such as TP53, TNF, and IL-6. The tumor proteoglycan, the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and hepatitis B were identified as the primary therapeutic pathways. Molecular docking and MD simulation results confirmed that SA can stably bind to both TNF (-6.642 kcal/mol) and IL-6 (-7.261 kcal/mol), and the complexes of Shikimic Acid-IL-6 and Shikimic Acid-TNF did not undergo significant changes within 100 ns. In addition, the in vitro experiment showed that 250 μM SA significantly increased the survival rate of HL-1 cells exposed to 43°C for 2 h by 71.1% and promoted the proliferation of HL-1 cells by 30.7%. Overall, these findings provide substantial evidence for the therapeutic potential of SA in HS-induced myocardial damage.

An ambitious per capita GDP target has been envisioned by the Chinese government since 2020 to project its sustainable economic growth rate by 2035. Can China fully achieve its goal? This is a question worth investigating. By inserting relevant TABLO modules of the final goods trade, the intermediate goods trade, and factor-strengthening technology spillovers, along with technology absorption thresholds effects of the global value chain, this study builds a global dynamic recursive computational general equilibrium (CGE ) model on basis of GTAP-RD. This approach allows considering the 'dual circulation' system strongly advocated and pointed out as the sole way to realize China’s technological (total factor productivity (TFP)) progress by the Chinese government, which integrates both domestic internal and international external circulations (trade and foreign direct investment (FDI)). We simulate China's technological progress under eight scenarios, and use the latest GTAP Version 11 production and trade data (released in April 2023) for 141 countries and regions and results are aggregated into 10 countries groups with 9 activity sectors and 10 commodities. Main conclusions are as follows: (1) If China maintains its trade opening policy, the 2035 vision goal can be achieved, with external circulation being more important than internal circulation for technological spillovers. (2) The economic growth impacts of external and internal circulation operate relatively independently. However, FDI provides a relatively larger synergistic effect for all forms of external trade circulation than to the internal one. Regarding factor-strengthening effects, spillovers are more favorable to 'capital' than to labor factors. (3) We find that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is the most important strategic partner for China. (4) It appears that FDI is not an effective way to lift the productive services sector's total factor productivity (TFP), and more realistic for China is to open up the productive services market more widely, as its efficiency is a pivotal reflection of China's independent innovation capability. (5) China–US decoupling has an enormous global impact. In all the Scenarios we consider, the United States is always the country that loses the most, and Europe would be the group of countries that benefits when there is a large increase in TFP in the US.

The treatment of critically ill patients remains an evolving and controversial issue. Mechanical circulatory support through a percutaneous approach for the management of cardiogenic shock has taken place in recent years. The combined use of IABP and Impella 2.5 device may have a role to play for this group of patients. A simulation approach may help with a quantitative as-sessment of the achievable degree of assistance. In this paper, we analyse the interaction be-tween Impella 2.5 pump applied as LVAD and IABP using the numerical simulator of the cardi-ovascular system developed in our laboratory. Starting with pathological conditions reproduced using literature data, the simulations were performed setting different rotational speeds for the LVAD and driving the IABP in full mode (1:1) or partial mode (1:2, 1:3 and 1:4). The effects in-duced by drug administration during the assistance were simulated too. The haemodynamic pa-rameters under investigation were: mean aortic pressure, systolic and diastolic aortic pressure, mean pulmonary arterial pressure, mean left and right atrial pressure, cardiac output, cardiac index, left and right ventricular end-systolic volume, left ventricular end-diastolic volume and mean coronary blood flow. The energetic variables considered in the study were: left and right ventricular external work and left and right atrial pressure-volume area. The outcome of our simulations shows that the combined use of IABP and Impella 2.5 achieves adequate support in the acute phase of cardiogenic shock compared to each standalone device. This would allow fur-ther stabilisation and transfer to a transplant centre should escalation of treatment be required.

Abstract: The population issue has been increasingly urgent in China in recent years. Fertility desire is an essential component of fertility research. Studies on fertility desire mainly contain two aspects: socio-economic structure and individual family[1]. The psychological structure of individuals in individual families is the primary factor of fertility desire. Based on the parasocial relationship theory, this study analyzed the changes in real behavioral intention achieved by players through the identification and attachment to avatars while constructing parasocial relationships[2]. The results indicate that character attachment can significantly enhance the variables of game concentration and player self-identity, actively mediates parasocial emotions and parasocial cognition, and ultimately increases fertility desire. As a theoretical contribution, this study provides a comprehensive interpretation of the psychology of Chinese players in a Simulation Game and explores the theoretical connections among role attachment, role identity, and parasocial relationships in virtual game players.

The purpose of this investigation was to prepare a water-soluble complex by encapsulation of propolis extract with the carrier 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) and to examine the influence of in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion (GID) on the content of the main polyphenolic groups when administered as aqueous suspension. The research was conducted on two continental samples of propolis from Croatia and a mixture of selected polyphenol standards. By applying UAE followed by a lyophilization procedure, it was possible to obtain a powder with a high content of polyphenols. The content of total phenols (TPs), total flavonols/flavones (TFFs) and total flavanones/dihydroflavonols (TFDs) in the fractions of oral and gastric phase and small intestinal phase performed with two models: centrifugation and dialysis through a semi-permeable membrane, was determined by three UV/Vis spectrophotometric methods: Folin-Ciocalteu, aluminium complexation and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine method. The obtained results for both propolis complexes showed stability in the polyphenol content and high bioaccessibility during all three phases of digestion. The bioaccessibility of TPs, TFFs and TFDs under in vitro conditions after dialysis through a semipermeable membrane was lower compared to the intestinal phase model with centrifugation.

The foundation for accurately understanding regional land-use structures and pursuing the coordination of human–land relations is the scientific identification and simulation of temporal and spatial evolution patterns of land-use spatial conflict (LUSC). Taking the Yimengshan Geopark (YG) as an example, based on the productional–living–ecological space (PLES) perspective, which constructs a land-use spatial conflict identification and intensity diagnosis model (LUCSII) using the landscape ecology index. We apply geographic information system (GIS) and other methods to achieve the spatial pattern of LUSC over the last 20 years, and we use the GMOP–Markov–PLUS model to simulate the evolution of LUSC in the future under various scenarios. From 2000 to 2020, the LUSC values in the YG were mainly stable and controllable, with mild conflict, while the areas of severe conflict were mainly concentrated in the central urban area of Mengyin County and in low and flat terrain areas such as southern Bailin Town. The LUSC in the YG showed a significant positive spatial correlation, and spatial agglomeration is gradually strengthening. The high–high clusters are found in contiguous areas at the junction of Changlu Town, Gaodu Town, and Mengyin Street, as well as in the southern hilly areas. The low–low clusters were concentrated in Yedian Town, Daigu Town inarea north of the study, and areas surrounding Yunmeng Lake Wetland Park. In the next ten years, the ecological priority scenario (EPD) and sustainable development scenario (ESD) will both be reasonable options for easing and controlling LUSC in YG. Local governments and park management bureaus should determine the three lines and three zones based on the needs of social and economic development, particularly the boundary red line for construction land growth, and plan production and living spaces to alleviate land-use conflicts and stabilize the land-use system. Regional ecological security can be maintained, and future deterioration of the park’s ecological environment avoided, by performing well in terms of ecological isolation.

The present paper deals with the complex study of the CO2 capture from combined heat power plant flue gases using the efficient technological scheme design – membrane cascade type of «Continuous Membrane Column». In contrast to well-known multi-step or multi-stage process designs, the cascade type of separation unit provides several advantages. That apparatus conceptually refers to the distillation columns. Here, the separation process is implemented in it by creating two counter current flows. In one of them is depleted by the high-permeable component in a continuous mode, meanwhile the other one is enriched. Taking into account, that the circulating flows rate overcome the withdrawn ones, there is a multiplicative growth in separation efficiency. A comprehensive study of the CO2 capture using membrane cascade type of «Continuous Membrane Column» includes the determination of optimal membrane material characteristics, the sensitivity study of the process and feasibility evaluation. It was clearly demonstrated that proposed process provides the efficient CO2 capture, which meets the modern requirements in terms of CO2 content (≥ 95 mol.%), recovery rate (≥ 90 %) and residual CO2 concentration (≤ 2 mol.%). Moreover, it was observed, that it is possible to process CO2 with purity up to 99.8 mol.% at the same recovery rate. This allows use of this specific process design in the CO2 pretreatment operations in the production of high-purity carbon dioxide.

As an effective active remote sensing (ARS) technology for shallow underground targets, ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a detection method to obtain the characteristic information of underground targets by transmitting electromagnetic wave from the antenna and analyzing the propagation law of the electromagnetic wave underground. Due to the high frequency(1MHz-3GHz) of GPR, the depth of geological exploration is shallow(0.1m-30m). In order to remote sensing the deep earth, it is necessary to increase the size of the radiation source in order to reduce the radiation frequency. At the same time, for most separated GPRs, a single dipole antenna (SD) is used as the radiation source and another antenna device placed along the electromagnetic wave propagation direction in the far field as a remote sensing sensor (RSS), both of which are horizontally linearly polarized (LP) antennas. In some cases, such a design is apt to cause problems such as multipath effect (ME) and polarization mismatch (PM). When GPR in ARS of deep earth is performed, it often results in increased errors, signal attenuation during data reception and processing. In contrast, at the radiation source, with the use of large aperture multiple-dipole antennas (MD) and multi-channel sequential rotational excitation, the electromagnetic wave can radiate outward in the form of circular polarization at a low frequency. At the RSS, the trouble caused by ME and PM can be reduced even if the LP antennas are used. A novel sequential rotationally excited (SRE) circularly polarized (CP) MD array for separated GPR in ARS of deep earth is proposed in this paper, which uses a large aperture CP MD array instead of a small size LP SD. The analysis and simulation results demonstrate that under the premise of the same transmitting power, comparing circular polarization and linear polarization, by using SRE CP MD antennas array radiation source, a significant enhancement (about 7dB) of the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) will occur by collecting the radiant energy at the RSS. More importantly, by reducing the exploration frequency to 10KHz, the exploration depth will also be greatly increased by about 10 times.

In this work, the thermodynamic data basis and EOS modeling necessary to simulate the fractionation of organic liquid products (OLP), a liquid reaction product obtained by thermal catalytic cracking of palm oil at 450ºC, 1.0 atmosphere, with 10% (wt.) Na2CO3 as catalyst, in multistage countercurrent absorber/stripping columns using SC-CO2 as solvent, with Aspen-Hysys was systematically investigated. The chemical composition of OLP was used to predict the physical (), thermo-physical properties (Tb, Tc, Pc, Vc), and acentric factor () of all the compounds present in OLP by applying the group contribution methods of Marrero-Gani, Han-Peng, Marrero-Pardillo, Constantinou-Gani, Joback and Reid, and Vetere. The RK-Aspen (EOS) used as thermodynamic fluid package, applied to correlate the experimental phase equilibrium data of binary systems organic liquid products compounds (OLP)-i/CO2 available in the literature. The group contribution methods selected based on the lowest relative average deviation by computing Tb, Tc, Pc, Vc, and . For n-alkanes, the method of Marrero-Gani selected for the prediction of Tc, Pc and Vc, and that of Han-Peng for . For alkenes, the method of Marrero-Gani selected for the prediction of Tb and Tc, Marrero-Pardillo for Pc and Vc, and Han-Peng for . For unsubstituted cyclic hydrocarbons, the method of Constantinou-Gani selected for the prediction of Tb, Marrero-Gani for Tc, Joback for Pc and Vc, and the undirected method of Vetere for . For substituted cyclic hydrocarbons, the method of Constantinou-Gani selected for the prediction of Tb and Pc, Marrero-Gani for Tc and Vc, and the undirected method of Vetere for . For aromatic hydrocarbon, the method of Joback selected for the prediction of Tb, Constantinou-Gani for Tc and Vc, Marrero-Gani for Pc, and the undirected method of Vetere for . The regressions show that RK-Aspen EOS was able to describe the experimental phase equilibrium data for all the binary pairs undecane-CO2, tetradecane-CO2, pentadecane-CO2, hexadecane-CO2, octadecane-CO2, palmitic acid-CO2, and oleic acid-CO2, showing average absolute deviation (AADx) between 0.8% and 1.25% for the liquid phase and (AADy) between 0.01% to 0.66% for gaseous phase.

Unevenly distributed rainfall leads to reduced potato water productivity (WP) under rainfed production. Understanding practices that can increase WP is vital. Objectives were to (i) understand seasonal variables that influence WP under rainfed conditions and (ii) the effect of the integration of cultivar, locality, mulch on potato WP. The study was under two agroecological zones Appelsbosch (Mbalenhle locality), and Swayimane (Stezi, and Mbhava locality), under smallholder. A split plot, in a randomized complete block design experiment, consists of mulching (mulch and not mulch), and selected cultivars. Soil water content (SWC), yield, and climatic conditions were collected, water use (ET) and WP were calculated. Rainfall, ET, and SWC had a significant influence on seasonal WP. Cultivar x mulch x locality had an insignificant effect on WP, however, locality x cultivars significantly altered potato WP. Localities that had lower vapor pressure deficit (VPD), low relative humidity, and sandy soil had higher potato WP of 14.53 kg m-3. The findings suggest that localities that have less atmospheric dryness and cultivars that show stability of yield across seasons can be an easy-to-apply practice for increasing potato WP under a resource-limited environment. Mulch is important when the distribution of intra-annual rainfall does not match crop water requirements.

The Kraaipan and Amalia greenstone belts in South Africa occurs in the western part of the Kaapvaal Craton. The two belts stretch discontinuously in an approximately north-south orientation over a distance of about 250 km from southern Botswana in the north to the Vaal River near Christiana in the south and are separated by a distance of about 90 km. Gold mineralization is hosted in banded iron-formation at both the Kalahari Goldridge deposit (Kalgold) in the Kraaipan greenstone belt in the north, and the Amalia deposit in the Amalia greenstone belt in the south, with the mineralization associated with quartz-carbonate veins. The footwall of these deposits is generally composed of mafic volcanic schist and hanging wall consisting of graywackes, schist and shale units. The Kalgold and Amalia gold deposits show some variation in the redox condition of the mineralizing system, mineralization temperatures and fluid chemistry. The ore mineral assemblage is characterized by magnetite-pyrrhotite-pyrite at Kalgold, which is indicative of reducing conditions, and magnetite-hematite-pyrite assemblage at Amalia that suggest a relatively oxidizing environment. Average mineralizing temperatures determined from chlorite geothermometry were relatively higher at the Kalahari Goldridge deposit ranging from 350 to 400oC compared to 335 to 370oC (mean, 352± 18, n = 113) at Amalia. The composition of the fluids derived from fluid inclusions are indicative of low salinity H2O-CH4-CO2-rich fluids at Kalgold against relatively H2O-CO2-rich fluids at Amalia. Evidence from strontium-carbon-oxygen isotopic ratios from carbonates suggests differences in redox conditions in the deposits could be attributed to different flow pathways by the evolving fluid from a common source (with minimum 87Sr/86Sr=0.70354) to the sites of gold deposition; with significant ore fluid interaction with thick sequence of carbonaceous meta-pelitic rock units at the Kalahari Goldridge deposit, that is absent in the Amalia deposit.

We present a novel approach to repurpose the antifungal agent Miconazole as an anticancer therapeutic using olive oil-based nanoemulsion. The nanoemulsion exhibited a mean particle size of 177.76 ± 5.2 nm with a zeta potential of -24 ± 0.94 mV. Remarkably, Miconazole-loaded nanoemulsion displayed an IC50 of 1.4 ± 0.4 µg/ml against MCF-7 cells, while inducing apoptotic cell death by 70.31 ± 2.1%. In HePG2 and HCT 116 cells, IC50 values of 10.7 ± 1.2 and 5.9 ± 0.7 µg/ml were observed, respectively. These results demonstrate the promising anticancer potential of Miconazole-loaded olive oil nanoemulsion, highlighting its potential for repurposing Miconazole agents as effective anticancer therapeutics.

Soil organic matter (SOM) is essential for nutrient cycling and soil carbon (C) accumu-lation, both of which are heavily influenced by the quality and quantity of plant litter. Since SOM dynamics in relation to plant diversity are poorly understood we investigated the effects of willow variety and mixture, and site on the soil C stocks, SOM chemical composition and ther-mal stability. Using pyrolysis-field ionization mass spectrometry we analysed the top 10 cm of soil from two 7-year-old experimental sites in Germany and Sweden, with monocultures and mixtures of two willow varieties (Salix spp.) belonging to different species. Overall, site had the strongest effect on SOM quality. Results showed significant variability across sites for willow identity and mixture effects on C accumulation and SOM chemistry. In the German site (Ros-tock), yearly soil C accumulation was higher (p < 0.05) for variety ‘Loden’ (1.0 Mg C ha-1 year-1) compared to ‘Tora’ (0.5 Mg C ha-1 year-1), whilst in the Swedish site (Uppsala), both varieties ex-hibited similar soil C accumulation rates of around 0.6 Mg C ha-1 year-1. Willow variety identity significantly affected SOM quality at both sites, while mixing had minor effects. Our findings emphasize the significance of site-specific context and variety or species identity in shaping soil C accumulation in willow plantations.

Maize is the staple cereal in Malawi, with a daily per capita consumption of 383g (dry matter basis), primarily consumed as dehulled maize flour used to cook nsima, a thick porridge. However, the extent of mass and nutrient loss during dehulling remains unclear in this food-insecure country, where the household maize harvest typically lasts only 6–7 months. In the current study, a milling experiment to determine yield and micronutrient losses was conducted. Milling batches (30 kg) of four maize grain varieties were dehulled at three abrasive disk dehullers under controlled conditions. Mass losses ranged from 18.8% to 42.7%, with a mean of 28.2±5.7%. Maize variety and dehuller significantly affected mass loss (p&lt;0.05). Initial protein, iron, and zinc concentrations were 8.8 ±1.0 g/100g, 20.5±2.0 µg/g, and 18.2 ±2.6 µg/g, respectively. Post-dehulling nutrient true retention varied for protein (49.7% to 75.6%, mean=64.7±7.0%), iron (18.7% to 71.6%, mean=37.6±12.0 %), and zinc (11.0% to 46.2%, mean=27.9±8.7 %). Maize variety significantly influenced mass and protein loss (p &lt; 0.05), while dehuller influenced mass, iron, and zinc losses. However, no significant difference (p &gt; 0.05) was found in the interaction between dehullers and variety on mass and nutrient losses, respectively. Given Malawi's precarious food insecurity situation, transitioning from dehulled maize flour nsima to whole maize flour or less refined nsima, is imperative. Our study findings can have food and nutritional savings for other southern Africa countries where the dehulling practice is rampant.

The rodents of Saudi Arabia consist of 20 species and 12 genera within four families (Gliridae, Dipodidae, Muridae, and Hystricidae). Details on the past and present distribution of the rodents were included along with available data on their habitat preference and biology. The eastern central part of Saudi Arabia covering Tuwiq mountains plateau, including the vicinity of Riyadh, hosts the highest number of rodent species. Analysis of the rodent fauna of Saudi Arabia revealed that they have four major zoogeographical affinities; Palaearctic-Oriental (one species), Afrotropical- Palaearctic (six species), Palaearctic (four species), endemic to Saudi Arabia and Yemen (three species), Afrotropical-Palaearctic-Oriental (three species) and three cosmopolitan species. According to the National Red List, the Euphrates Jerboa, S. euphratica, is listed as Endangered, Near Threatened for the Indian Crested Porcupine, H. indica, three species as Data Deficient, while the rest are considered as Least Concern.

This study presents a detailed computational investigation aimed at identifying and evaluating potential small organic molecular scaffolds as inhibitors targeting the Pks13 protein, a critical enzyme in tuberculosis (TB) drug discovery. Our approach integrates multiple computational techniques, including quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) modelling, compound library generation, molecular docking, biological activity prediction, re-evaluation of screened compounds, molecular dynamics (MD) analysis, and binding free energy estimation using the MM-GBSA approach. We developed a robust QSAR model using multiple linear regression (MLR) techniques, specifically tailored to predict the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of potential anti-TB agents. This model demonstrated excellent predictive performance, validated through rigorous internal and external validation procedures. Through molecular docking simulations, we identified five promising inhibitors Ethyl (R,Z)-2-(2-((2-chlorobenzyl) oxy)benzylidene)-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-7-methyl-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-5H-thiazolo [3,2-a] pyrimidine-6-carboxylate (PKD1), (7R,9aR)-7-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-3-methyl-7,8,9,9a-tetrahydroisoxazolo[5,4-b]quinolin-5(6H)-one (PKD2), (7-(4-methoxy phenyl)-2-methyl-3-phenylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-5-yl)(4-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl) piperazin-1-yl)methanone (PKD3), (8S,10S)-10-(((2R,4S,5S,6S)-4-amino-5-hydroxy-6-methyl tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)oxy)-6,8,11-trihydroxy-8-(2-hydroxyacetyl)-1-methoxy-7,8,9,10-tetra-hydrotetracene-5,12-dione (PKD4), 3-(3,4-dimethylphenyl)-5-((2-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-oxoethyl) thio)-6-phenyl-2-thioxo-2,3,5,7a-tetrahydrothiazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidin-7(6H)-one (PKD5)with high binding affinities, prioritizing them based on their binding energies. These selected compounds were further assessed for their biological activity predictions, guiding the selection of candidates for experimental validation. Subsequent re-evaluation using absolute binding free energy estimation and MD simulations provided insights into the stability and dynamics of the protein-ligand complexes over time. Our findings highlighted the potential of identified compounds as stable binders within the Pks13-TE domain binding pocket, underscoring their viability as drug candidates. Additionally, binding free energy analysis using MM-GBSA reaffirmed the strong affinity of the proposed compounds towards Pks13. Our integrated computational approach offers a systematic and detailed framework for the identification and characterization of potential Pks13 inhibitors with specific relevance to TB drug discovery.

Addressing the urgent sustainability challenges in the wine industry, this study explores the efficacy of sustainability-oriented innovations (SOIs) and smart farming technologies (SFTs) across wine value chains in Cyprus and Italy. Employing KPIs for a rigorous assessment, the research delves into the environmental, economic, and social impacts of these technologies. In Cyprus (SIP7), the integration of digital labelling and smart farming solutions led to a substantial reduction in pesticide usage by up to 75% and enhanced the perceived quality of wine by an average of 8%. Italy's SIP10 witnessed a 33.4% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, with an additional benefit of a 5.3% improvement in intrinsic product quality. Notably, SIP10 also introduced a carbon credit system, potentially generating an average annual revenue of €4,140 per farm. These findings highlight the transformative potential of SOIs and SFTs in promoting sustainable practices within the wine industry, demonstrating significant advancements in reducing environmental impact, improving product quality, and enhancing economic viability. The study underscores the critical role of innovative technologies in achieving sustainability goals and provides a compelling case for wider adoption within the agricultural sector.

Engineered viral vectors designed to deliver genetic material to specific targets offer significant potential for disease treatment, safer vaccine development, and the creation of novel biochemical research tools. Viral tropism, the specificity of a virus for infecting a particular host, is often modified in recombinant viruses to achieve precise delivery, minimize off-target effects, enhance transduction efficiency, and improve safety. Key factors influencing tropism include surface protein interactions between the virus and host cell, the availability of host cell machinery for viral replication, and the host immune response. This review explores current strategies for modifying the tropism of recombinant viruses by altering their surface proteins. We provide an overview of recent advancements in targeting non-enveloped viruses (Adenovirus and Adeno-associated vi-rus) and enveloped viruses (Retro/Lentivirus, Rabies, Vesicular stomatitis virus, and Herpesvirus) to specific cell types. Additionally, we discuss approaches such as rational design, directed evo-lution, in silico and machine learning-based methods for generating novel AAV variants with desired tropism, and the use of chimeric envelope proteins for pseudotyping enveloped viruses. Finally, we highlight the applications of these advancements, and discuss the challenges and future directions in engineering viral tropism.

Children and adolescents (C&A) with congenital heart defects (CHD) have decreased functional capacity and executive functioning (EF) due to brain abnormalities and decreased oxygen saturation. Exercise may improve EF via increased cognitive demands and cerebral blood supply. The purpose of this review was to identify current evidence describing the impact of physical activity (PA) interventions on EF in C&A with CHD. The following databases were searched from 2014-present: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, CENTRAL, and PsycInfo. Article inclusion criteria consisted of participants from birth to 18 years with CHD, interventions related to PA, and EF as an outcome. Articles were excluded if: adults were included, translation to English was impossible, and full access was unavailable. As a result of the review, 431 studies were screened. Three articles underwent full analyzation and only one met all criteria and this study found that with exercise there were significant improvements on self-reported cognitive functioning and parent-reported social functioning. Despite theoretical benefits, only one published study has investigated the role that PA interventions have on EF in C&A with CHD. Further investigation of the effect PA interventions have on EF in C&A with CHD is needed.

The success of Toxoplasma gondii (intracellular parasite) host cell invasion relies on the apical complex, a specialized microtubule cytoskeleton structure associated with secretory organelles. The genome encodes three isoforms of both α- and β-tubulin which are altered by specific post-translational modifications (PTMs), changing the biochemical/biophysical proprieties of microtubules, and modulating their interaction with associated proteins. Tubulin PTMs are a powerful and evolutionarily conserved mechanism to generate tubulin diversity, forming a biochemical ‘tubulin code’ that can be ‘read’ by microtubule-interacting factors. The T. gondii tubulin PTMs are: α-tubulin acetylation, α-tubulin detyrosination, Δ5α-tubulin, Δ2α-tubulin, α- and β-tubulin polyglutamylation, and α- and α-tubulin methylation. Tubulin glutamylation is a key candidate to assist microtubule remodeling in Toxoplasma, being involved in the regulation of microtubule stability, dynamics, interaction with motor proteins, and severing enzymes. The correct balance of tubulin glutamylation is achieved by the coordinated action of polyglutamylases and deglutamylating enzymes. In this work we will review and discuss the current knowledge on T. gondii tubulin glutamylation. By in silico identification of mammalian protein orthologs we explored and updated the identification of putative proteins related to glutamylation, contributing to a better understanding of the role of tubulin glutamylation in T. gondii.

The extreme environmental issues and the resulting needs to save energy have turned the attention to electrification of energy applications. One of the key components involved in energy efficiency improvements is the appropriate conception and manufacturing of electric machines. This paper overviews the electromagnetic analysis governing the behavior of permanent magnets that enabled substantial efficiency gains in recent electric machine developments. Particular emphasis is given to model the properties and losses developed in permanent magnets in the emerging high speed applications. In addition, the investigation of properties and harmonic losses related to ferromagnetic materials constituting the machine magnetic circuits are equally analyzed and discussed. The experimental validation of the implemented methodologies and developed models with respect to the obtained precision is reported. The introduction of mixed numerical techniques based on the finite element method intended to appropriately represent the different physical phenomena encountered is outlined and discussed. Finally, fast and accurate simulation techniques including aggregated lumped parameter models considering harmonic losses associated with inverter supplies are commented.

Electroluminescence (EL) is an innovative technology in the lighting area. The EL device's main structure consists of a phosphor layer sandwiched by two electrodes. In this work, several alternating current EL devices have been developed by applying a set of sequential layers with combinations of in-house prepared inks and commercially available ink as a phosphor layer. A flexible polyester textile substrate was functionalized with inks by spray coating technique, after knife-coated an interfacial layer directly on the surface. A thorough study was carried out on the phosphor layer composition to optimize the EL device performance, more precisely the illuminance intensity and the illuminance homogeneity. The developed phosphor layer was composed of zinc sulphide doped with copper (between 30.0 to 38.1 wt%) and diluted by using a diluent at different ratios (28.0 to 35.5 wt%). The best peak illuminance intensity of 61 lux was obtained when the phosphor ink presented 35.4% ZnS:Cu and was diluted with 33.0% diluent. The aim of this study to determine the best formulation of the phosphor layer, which can be highly promising for further developments of EL devices, taking in account different applications in market.

Onchocerciasis treatment and control relies mainly on the use of ivermectin which has high activity against the microfilarial stage of Onchocerca volvulus but limited activity against the long lived, tissue dwelling adult nematodes. As this neglected tropical disease has now been targeted for elimination there is an urgent need for new drugs to combat these parasites, ideally with macrofilaricidal activity. In this study we have examined the anti-Onchocerca activity of a range of existing FDA approved drugs with a view to repurposing, which can lead to rapid and relatively inexpensive development. From the Pharmakon-1600 library, 106 drugs were selected and tested against O. gutturosa adult male parasites using a concentration of 1.25 x 10-5 M in an in vitro 5-day standard assay to assess motility and viability (using MTT/formazan colorimetry). The findings revealed that 44 drugs produced marginal/moderate activity (50-99% motility and/or MTT reductions) including cefuroxime sodium, methenamine, primaquine phosphate, rivastigmine tartrate, while 23 drugs produced good activity (100% motility reductions and significant MTT reductions), including atovaquone, isradipine, losartan, rifaximin, cefaclor and pyrantel pamoate. Although this study represents only a first step, some of the identified hits indicate there are potential anti-Onchocerca drug candidates worthy of further investigation.

Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA)/ Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs) polymer nanocomposite films have been prepared, and the relationship between their structural, thermal and nanoscale morphologi-cal properties, and their photoluminescent response, has been investigated. Although according to X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) the incorporation of GQDs does not significantly affect the percentage crystallinity of the PVA matrix, for a range of added GQD concentrations, Atomic Force Micros-copy (AFM) showed the formation of islands with apparent crystalline morphology on the surface of the PVA/GQD films, with GQD presumably acting as a nucleating agent for island growth. The incorporation of GQD also led to the formation of characteristic surface pores with increased stiffness and frictional contrast, according to Ultrasonic Force Microscopy (UFM) and Frictional Force Microscopy (FFM) data. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the films were found to de-pend both on the amount of GQD incorporated and on the film morphology. For GQD loads > 1,2wt%, a GQD-related band was observed at ~ 1650 cm-1 in FT-IR, along with an increase in the PL band at lower energy. For a load of ~2wt% GQD, the surface morphology was characterized by extended cluster aggregates with lower stiffness and friction than the surrounding matrix, and the PL signal decreased.

The kiwiberry is a trendy variety that shows a high demand for consumption but presents commercialization challenges due to its short life. The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of edible alginate coatings in prolonging the shelf life of this fruit. Two different forms were tested (coarse emulsions(C) and nanoemulsions(N)) and the effects of two different coating application techniques (spraying(S) and dipping(D)) were tested. Additionally, the use of Vis-NIR for quality monitorization was assessed as well. Fruits were treated with ten different treatments, using the following base formulations:Alginate(AL) 2%(w/v) enriched with eugenol(Eug) and citral(Cit) at minimum inhibitory concentrations (0.10% and 0.15%) and double MIC. Samples were taken from cold storage (0° C), at 2 and 4 weeks. For fruit quality evaluation, colour analysis, firmness, soluble solids content, dry matter and weight loss were performed. During storage, the colour and SSC parameters increased. Firmness decreased over time.Weight loss was the parameter with higher significant differences, increasing over time and more pronounced in treatments with higher essential oils components. This study suggests that AL-S, AL-D, AL-Cit 0.15+Eug0.1-N-S, AL-Cit0.15+Eug0.1-N-D and AL-Cit0.15+Eug0.1-C-D can preserve kiwiberries quality. Moreover, we verify that the Vis-NIR spectral analysis could be beneficial for performing coatings discrimination.

Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy (FEVR), Norrie disease, and persistent fetal vascular syndrome (PFVS) are extremely rare retinopathies that are clinically distinct but are unified by abnormal retinal endothelial cell function – and subsequent irregular retinal vascular development and/or aberrant inner blood-retinal-barrier (iBRB) function. The early angiogenesis of the retina and its iBRB is a delicate process that is mediated by the canonical Norrin Wnt-signaling pathway in retinal endothelial cells. Pathogenic variants in genes that play key roles within this pathway such as NDP, FZD4, TSPAN12, and LRP5, have been associated with the incidence of these retinal diseases. Recent efforts to further elucidate the etiology of these conditions have not only highlighted their multigenic nature but have also resulted in the discovery of pathological variants in additional genes such as CTNNB1, KIF11, and ZNF408, some of which operate outside of the Norrin Wnt-signaling pathway. Recent discoveries of FEVR-linked variants in two other Catenin genes (CTNND1, CTNNA1) and the Endoplasmic Reticulum Membrane Complex Subunit-1 gene (EMC1) suggest that we will continue to find additional genes that impact the neural retinal vasculature, especially in multi-syndromic conditions. The goals of this review are to briefly highlight the current understanding of the roles of their encoded proteins in retinal endothelial cells to understand the essential functional mechanisms that can be altered to cause these very rare pediatric retinal vascular diseases.

Wastewater (WW) analysis is a critical step in various operations such as control of a WW treatment facility, and speeding-up the analysis of WW quality can significantly improve such operations. This work demonstrates the capability of neural network (NN) regression models to estimate WW characteristic properties such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia (NH3-N), total dissolved substances (TDS), total alkalinity (TA), and total hardness (TH) by training on WW spectral reflectance in the visible to near-infrared spectrum (400nm-2000nm). The dataset contains samples of spectral reflectance intensity, which were the inputs, and the WW parameter levels (BOD, COD, NH3-N, TDS, TA, and TH), which were the outputs. Various NN model configurations were evaluated in terms of regression model fitness. The mean-absolute-error (MAE) was used as the metric for training and testing the NN models, and the coefficient of determination (R2) between the model predictions and true values was also computed to measure how well the NN models predict the true values. With online spectral measurements, the trained neural network model can provide non-contact and real-time estimation of WW quality at minimum estimation error.

In the investment casting process, the pattern made of wax is obtained in a die for further formation of shell mold. This work investigates commercial pattern waxes fluidity with a newly developed injection fluidity test. A good correlation between wax fluidity and its viscosity is observed, which is different from metallic alloys, where the solidification behavior is more critical. The difference in investigated filled waxes fluidity can be associated with the type and amount of filler.

Hoechst 33342 (H33342) is a fluorescent probe that is commonly used to stain DNA of living cells. To do so, it needs to interact with and permeate through cell membranes. The pH of biological media may vary quite significantly and this influences H33342 ionization state, and may change its rate of permeation through biomembranes. In this work, we address the effect of pH in the association of H33342 with lipid bilayers using a combined experimental and computational approach. The partition of H33342 to 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) lipid membranes was experimentally quantified using fluorescence spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) measurements. Quantum chemical calculations were performed to select the most stable isomer of H33342 for the overall charges 0, +1, and +2, expected to predominate across the 5 &lt; pH &lt; 10 range. The interaction of these isomers with POPC bilayers was then studied by both unrestrained and umbrella sampling molecular dynamics simulations. While probe insertion occurs for all ionization states, with similar overall equilibrium location, orientation was found to depend on the probe charge, with the neutral form lying mostly parallel and the doubly charged displaying a significant tilt relative to the membrane plane. Both experimental results and computational free energy profiles indicate that the partition coefficient of H33342 displays a small variation over a wide pH range, not exceeding one order of magnitude. The enthalpy of interaction is negative and is larger at lower pH values. This suggests efficient hydrogen bonding between the probe and the lipid, namely for the protonated +2 form. The relatively high lipophilicity obtained for the charged species contrasts with the decrease in their general hydrophobicity as estimated from water and octanol partition. This highlights the distinction between lipophilicity and hydrophobicity, and the importance of considering association with lipid bilayers when predicting the affinity for biomembranes.

Cognitive function, arthrogryposis, obstetrics palsy, children, motor disorder

The research presents the inter-comparison of atmospheric variables measured by 9 automatic meteorological stations. This set of data was compared with the measurements of other meteorological stations in order to standardize the values that must be adjusted when taken to different areas. The data of a set of a total of 9 GMX500, which measures conventional meteorological variables, and 10 WS100 sensors, which measures precipitation parameters. The automatic stations were set up at the Huancayo Observatory (Geophysical Institute of Peru) for a period of 5 months. The data set of GMX500 were evaluated comparing with the average of the 9 sensors and the WS100 was compared with a optical disdrometer Parsivel2. The temperature, pressure, relative humidity, wind speed, rainfall rate, and drop size distribution was evaluated. A pair of GMX500 sensors presented high data dispersion, it was found found that the errors came from a bad configuration; once this problem was solved, good agreement was archived, with low RMSE and high correlation. I was found that the WS100 sensors overestimate the precipitation with a percent bias close to 100% and the differences increase with the greater intensity of rain. The DSD retrieved by WS100 have unrealistic behavior with higher concentrations in diameters of 1 mm and 5 mm, in addition to a flattened curve.

According to global data, there is a male reproductive potential decrease. Pathogenesis of male infertility often is associated with autoimmunity towards sperm antigens essential for fertilization. Antisperm autoantibodies (ASAs) have immobilizing and cytotoxic properties, impairing spermatogenesis, causing sperm agglutination, altering spermatozoa motility and acrosomal reaction, thus preventing ovum fertilization. Infertility diagnosis requires mandatory check for the ASAs. The concept of blood-testis barrier currently is re-formulated with emphasis of informational paracrine and juxtacrine effects, rather than simple anatomical separation. Aetiology of male infertility includes both autoimmune and non-autoimmune diseases, but equally develops through autoimmune links of pathogenesis. Varicocele commonly leads to infertility due to testicular ischemic damage, venous stasis, local hyperthermia, and hypoandrogenism. However, varicocelectomy can alter blood-testis barrier facilitating ASAs production as well. There are contradictory data on the role of ASAs in pathogenesis of varicocele-related infertility. Infection and inflammation both promote ASAs production due to “danger concept” mechanisms and because of antigen mimicry. Systemic pro-autoimmune influences like hyperprolactinemia, hypoandrogenism and hypothyroidism also facilitate ASAs production. Diagnostic value of various ASAs was not yet clearly attributed, and their cut-levels not agreed neither in sera nor in ejaculate. The assessment of the autoimmunity role in pathogenesis of male infertility is ambiguous.

Introduction: There are unique technical and management challenges associated with living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for Budd-Chiari Syndrome (BCS). The outcomes of LDLT for BCS in comparison to other indications remains unclear and warrants elucidation. Methods: Data of 24 BCS patients who underwent LDLT between January 2012 and June 2019 were analyzed. There were 20 adults and 4 children. The early and long-term outcomes of adult LDLT BCS patients were compared to a control group of LDLT patients for other indications and matched using propensity scoring methodology. Results: Primary BCS was observed in 22(91.7%) patients. Caval replacement was performed in 7(29.1%) patients. Early and late hepatic venous outflow tract (HVOT) complications were seen in 1(5.5%) and 3(16.7%) patients. Preoperative acute kidney injury was identified as a risk factor for mortality in the BCS cohort (p =0.013). On comparison, BCS recipients were younger with fewer comorbidities, more large volume ascites and higher rates of PVT. They also had longer cold ischemia time, increased blood loss and transfusion requirements, increased hospital stay, and higher late outflow complications. The 1-year and 3-year survivals were similar to non-BCS cohort (84.2% vs 94% and 70% vs 91.9%, respectively, log rank test p=0.09). Conclusion: LDLT is remains a good option for symptomatic BCS who have failed non-transplant interventions. The clinical and risk factor profile of BCS recipients is distinct from non-BCS recipients. By following an algorithmic management protocol, we show on propensity-score matched analysis that outcomes of LDLT for BCS are similar to non-BCS indications.

As many as 20-25% of the population experiences harm in outpatient settings, yet these locations are underrepresented in the literature compared to hospitals. We examined results from the Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture designed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The survey administered in 2012 gathered perceptions from 23,679 individuals in 934 unique medical offices. We examined associations of organizational patient safety climate composites on frequency of safety and quality issues, overall quality score, and safety rating. We found organizational patient safety composites are all positively and significantly associated with a higher overall quality score and patient safety rating, and fewer safety and quality issues. Office processes and standardization appeared to have the most consistent influence on perceived quality outcomes. Our results indicate it may be advantageous for medical offices to improve on the factors that contribute to positive safety climate.

This paper proposes a model to evaluate business projects to get into an incubator, allowing to rank them in order of selection priority. The model combines the Momentum method to build prospective scenarios and the Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method TOPSIS-2N to rank the alternatives. Six business projects were evaluated to be incubated. The Momentum method made it possible for us to create an initial core of criteria for the evaluation of incubation projects. The TOPSIS-2N method supported the decision to choose the company to be incubated by ranking the alternatives in order of relevance. Our evaluation model has improved the existing models used by incubators. This model can be used and / or adapted by any incubator to evaluate the business projects to be incubated. The set of criteria for the evaluation of incubation projects is original and the use of prospective scenarios with a MCDM method to evaluate companies to be incubated does not exist in the literature.

Incidence of autoimmune diseases increases. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) testing is a critical tool for their diagnosis. However, ANA prevalence in health increased over last decades, especially among young people. ANA in health occur in low concentrations, with prevalence up to 50% in some populations, which demands a cutoff revision. The review deals with origin and probable physiological or compensatory function of ANA in health, according to the concept of immunological clearance, theory of autoimmune regulation of cell functions and the concept of functional autoantibodies. Considering ANA titers ≤1:320 as a serological marker of autoimmune diseases seems inappropriate. The role of anti-DFS70/LEDGFp75 autoantibodies is highlighted as possible anti-risk biomarker for autoimmune rheumatic disorders. ANA prevalence in health is different in various regions due to several underlying causes discussed in the review, all influencing in additive combinations according to the concept of the mosaic of autoimmunity. Not only titer, but the HEp-2 IFA staining patterns, like AC-2, is also important. Accepting autoantibodies as a kind of bioregulators, not only upper, but also lower borders of their normal range should be determined. Not only their excess, but also lack of them or “autoimmunodeficiency” could be a reason of disorders.

The risk factors associated with COVID-19 related severity, morbidity, and mortality, i.e., obesity (often associated with NAFLD), hyperglycemia, hypertension and dyslipidemia all cluster together as metabolic syndrome (MetS). Instead of studying association of these risk factors with COVID-19, it makes sense studying the association between MetS on one hand and COVID-19 on the other. This study explores a molecular basis underpinning the above association. Severity of COVID-19 patients with MetS could be due to functional alterations of host proteins due to their interactions with viral proteins. We collected data from Enrichr (https://amp.pharm.mssm.edu/Enrichr/), DisGeNET (https://www.disgenet.org/) and others and carried out enrichment analysis using Enrichr. Various biological processes and pathways associated with viral protein interacting partners are known to involve in metabolic diseases. The molecular pathways underlying insulin resistance, insulin signaling and insulin secretion are not only involved in diabetes but also in CVD and obesity (associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NAFLD). Lipid metabolism/lipogenesis, fatty acid oxidation and inflammation are associated with MetS. Viral interacting host proteins are associated and enriched with terms like hyperglycemia, coronary artery disease, hypertensive disease related to CVD and liver diseases in DisGeNET. Association of viral interacting proteins with disease-relevant biological processes, pathways and disease-related terms suggests that altered host protein function following interaction with viral proteins might contribute to frequent occurrence and/or severity of COVID-19 in subjects with MetS. Such analysis not only provides a molecular basis of comorbidity but also incriminates host proteins in viral replication, growth and identifies possible drug targets for intervention.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.2 sets an ambitious target of leaving no one without adequate sanitation by 2030. The key concern is the lack of local human and financial capital to fund the collection of reliable information to monitor progress towards the goal. As a result, national and local records may be telling a different story of the proportion of safely managed sanitation that counts towards achieving the SDGs. This paper unveils such inconsistency in sanitation data generated by urban authorities and proposes a simple approach for collecting reliable and verifiable information on access to safely managed sanitation. The paper is based on a study conducted in Babati Town Council in Tanzania. Using a smartphone-based survey tool, city health officers were trained to map 17,383 housing units in the town. A housing unit may comprise of two or more households. The findings show that 5% practice open defecation, while 82% of the housing units have some forms of sanitation. Despite the extensive coverage, only 31% of the faecal sludge generated is safely contained, while 64% is not. This study demonstrates the possibility of using simple survey tools to collect reliable data for monitoring progress towards safely managed sanitation in the towns of global south.

After decades of research, oncolytic virotherapy has recently advanced to clinical application, and currently a multitude of novel agents and combination treatments are being evaluated for cancer therapy. Oncolytic agents preferentially replicate in tumor cells, inducing tumor cell lysis and complex anti-tumor effects, such as innate and adaptive immune responses and the destruction of tumor vasculature. With the availability of different vector platforms and the potential of both genetic engineering and combination regimens to enhance particular aspects of safety and efficacy, the identification of optimal treatments for patient subpopulations or even individual patients becomes a top priority. Mathematical modeling can provide support in this arena by making use of experimental and clinical data to generate hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying complex biology and, ultimately, predict optimal treatment protocols. Increasingly complex models can be applied to account for therapeutically relevant parameters such as components of the immune system. In this review, we describe current developments in oncolytic virotherapy and mathematical modeling to discuss the benefit of integrating different modeling approaches into biological and clinical experimentation. Conclusively, we propose a mutual combination of these fields of research for more efficient development and effective treatments.

The present study aims at deposition of zinc phosphate coatings with the incorporation of nano Titanium dioxide particles by chemical phosphating method. Zinc phosphate coatings were developed on low carbon steel by using nano TiO2 in the standard phosphating bath. The Coated low carbon steel samples were assessed for corrosion studies using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarisation techniques in 3.5% NaCl solution. Chemical composition of the coatings was analysed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Significant variations in the coating weight, porosity and corrosion resistance were observed with the addition of nano TiO2 in the phosphating bath. Corrosion rate of nano TiO2 incorporated chemical phosphate coated samples was found to be 3.5 mpy which was 4 times less than the bare uncoated low carbon steel (~14 mpy). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies revels in the reduction of porosity in nano TiO2 phosphate coated samples. It was found that nano TiO2 particles in the phosphating solution yielded phosphate coatings of higher coating weight, greater surface coverage and enhanced corrosion resistance than the normal zinc phosphate coatings (developed using normal phosphating bath).

Background: Monitoring the mobility of players during wheelchair sports is essential to support coaches in their understanding of the activity and in their training programming. However, the amount of information available from the monitoring tools, combined with a general approach to processing and a poor presentation of the data to the coaches, is not effective and remains unused. Thus, this study aimed to propose a simple and efficient algorithm for identifying locomotor tasks (static, forward/backward propulsion, pivot/tight/wide rotation) during wheelchair movements based on wheelchair kinematic data. Methods: A total of 36 wheelchair tennis and badminton players participated, completing at least one of three proposed tests: the star test, the figure-of-eight test, and the forward-backward test. Locomotor tasks were identified using a five steps procedure including data reduction, symbolic approximation and pattern logical search. Results: Using this method, 99% of locomotor tasks were properly identified for the star test, 95% for the figure-of-eight test and 100% for the forward-backward test. Conclusion: This method appears to be a valuable tool for a simple and clear identification and representation of locomotor tasks over extended periods of time. Future research should aim at applying this method to multiple wheelchair court sports matches or daily life declination.

A spike-timing-dependent-plasticity (STDP) device with a Ga-Sn-O (GTO) conductance change layer deposited by a mist-CVD method has been developed. First, the memristive characteristic is analyzed. Next, based on it, spike waveforms are determined. Finally, the STDP characteristic is successfully confirmed. This is the first report on the realization of a STDP characteristic using a thin film deposited by the mist-CVD method, which is achieved by the GTO properties and a well-designed clear methodology to realize a STDP characteristic from a memristive characteristic.

Aiming at the problems of high cost of manual pulling, low reliability of existing pulling devices, high breaking rate and high leakage rate in the process of cotton stalk reuse after leaving the field in Xinjiang cotton area, a loosening soil and root-cutting cotton stalk pulling the setting machine has been researched and designed, established the root-cutting force model, calculated and optimized the key parameters of the V-shaped root-cutting knife, and determined the range of slide cutting angle, cutting edge angle and soil entry angle. The shoveling process simulation of V-shaped root-cutting knife and root-soil complex was constructed, and the working mechanism of V-shaped root-cutting knife was clarified. In order to verify the reliability and operation performance of the V-shaped root-cutting knife, the slide cutting angle, cutting edge angle and soil entry angle were used as the test factors, the response surface test of three-factors and three-levels was carried out with root-breaking force and mean value of the cutting resistance as the test index. The test results were analyzed by variance analysis, the significant of influencing factors on the root-breaking force are in a descending order as: slide cutting angle, cutting edge angle, soil entry angle; the degree of influence on the mean value of the cutting resistance are as follows: slide cutting angle, soil entry angle, cutting edge angle. In order to make the V-shaped root-cutting knife achieve the optimal working state, the parameters of the test index were optimized, and the optimal design parameters of the V-shaped root-cutting knife were set as follows: the slide cutting angle was 48.3°, cutting edge angle was 43.4°, and soil entry angle was 26.2°. The field uprooting test showed that the average pass rate of root breakage was 94.8% and the average pull-out rate of the cotton stalk was 93.2%. This study provides theoretical guidance for the development of root breaking mechanism of cotton straw harvester.

Asphaltene-resin-paraffin deposition (ARPD) is a complicated and prevalent issue in oil and gas industry, impacting the efficiency, integrity of petroleum extraction, production, transportation and processing systems. Considering all witnessed ARPD problems in Azerbaijan oil fields, this paper proposed a chemical method and optimized the type and the concentration of chemical inhibitors. And then the effect of selected chemical reagent on inhibiting the ARPD amount and thus en-hancing oil recovery was detected by reservoir simulation during both waterflooding and CO2 flooding production. Three new chemical compounds (namely, Chemical-A, Chemical-B and Chemical-C) were examined in laboratory conditions and their impact on rheological properties of high-paraffin oilfield samples of Azerbaijan (X, Y and Z) were investigated. Experimental results show that Chemical-C with concentration of 600 g/t has the best efficiency for alleviating the problems. After adding Chemical-C to the crude oil, the freezing point of oil is decreased from 12 °C to (-4) °C, ARPD amount is declined from 0.185 to 0.016 g and oil effective viscosity is reduced from 16.2 mPa·s to 3.1 mPa·s. It is determined that for water and CO2 flooding, higher injection pressure resulted in reduced asphaltene precipitation. Adding selected ARPD inhibitor, the oil recovery for waterflooding can increase from 52% to 62%, while it can rise from 55% to 68% for CO2 flooding.

The solar energy can mitigate the power supply shortage in remote regions for portable irrigation systems. The accurate prediction of solar irradiance is crucial for determining the quantity of solar panels and the power capacity of photovoltaic power generation (PVPG) systems for mobile sprinkler machines. In this study, a prediction method is proposed to forecast the solar irradiance of typical irrigation areas. The impact of the meteorological parameters on the solar irradiance is studied, and four different parameter combinations are formed and considered as input to the prediction model. Based on meteorological data provided by ten typical radiation stations uniformly distributed nationwide, an Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model optimized using the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) is developed to predict the solar radiation. The prediction accuracy and stability of the proposed method are then evaluated for different input parameters through training and testing. The differences between the prediction performances of models trained based on single-station data and mixed data from multiple stations are also compared. The obtained results show that the proposed model achieves the highest prediction accuracy when the maximum temperature, minimum temperature, sunshine hours ratio, relative humidity, wind speed, and extraterrestrial radiation are used as the input parameters. The prediction effectiveness is also verified based on measured data. The WOA-XGBoost model has higher prediction accuracy than the XGBoost model, with predicted values falling within acceptable ranges. The model developed using mixed data of multiple stations can be applied for forecasting solar irradiance in different regions. This study provides a foundation for the optimization of the configuration of PVPG systems for mobile sprinkler machines.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) ship target detection has been extensively researched. However, most methods use the same dataset division for both training and validation. In practical applications, it is often necessary to quickly adapt to new loads, new modes, and new data to detect targets effectively. This presents a cross-domain detection problem that requires further study. This paper proposes a method for detecting SAR ships in complex backgrounds using fusion tensor and cross-domain adversarial learning. The method is designed to address the cross-domain detection problem of SAR ships with large differences between the training and test sets. Specifically, it can be used for the cross-domain detection task from the fully-polarised medium-resolution ship dataset (source domain) to the high-resolution single-polarised dataset (target domain). This method proposes a Channel Fusion Module (CFM) based on the YOLOV5s model. The CFM utilises the correlation between polarised channel images during training to enrich the feature information of single-polarised images extracted by the model during inference. The article proposes a module called Cross-Domain Adversarial Learning Module (CALM) to reduce overfitting and achieve adaptation between domains. Additionally, the paper introduces the Anti-Interference Head (AIH) which decouples the detection head to reduce the conflict of classification and localization problems. This improves the anti-interference and generalization ability in complex backgrounds. This paper conducts cross-domain experiments using the constructed medium-resolution SAR full polarization dataset (SFPD) as the source domain and the high-resolution single-polarised ship detection dataset (HRSID) as the target domain. Compared to the best-performing YOLOV8s model among typical mainstream models, this model improves Precision by 4.9%, Recall by 3.3%, AP by 2.4%, and F1 by 3.9%. This verifies the effectiveness of the method and provides a useful reference for improving cross-domain learning and model generalization capability in the field of target detection.

Applied talent is not only a builder of human civilization but also a promoter of economic development. They not only need systematic and solid engineering theoretical knowledge but also rich engineering practical experience. Applied undergraduate colleges are the cradle for cultivating applied talent and shoulder the important mission of cultivating various types of applied talent for society. With the rapid development of higher education, the number of applied undergraduate institutions has sharply increased, but the quality of applied talent cultivated by them has shown a significant decline, which greatly restricts the pace of industrial development in the world. This article proposes a new concept of promoting the "three certificates" (graduation certificate, degree certificate, and skill certificate) education model in applied undergraduate colleges, which is of great significance for the country to cultivate composite talents with the ability of "product design, production management, and product processing" at the same time.

In the sphere of urban renewal in historic districts, preserving and innovatively reinterpreting traditional architectural styles remains a primary research focus. However, the modernization and adaptive reuse of traditional buildings often necessitate changes in their functionality. To cater to the demands of tourism in historic districts, many traditional residential buildings require conversion to commercial use, resulting in a mismatch between their external form and internal function. This study explores an automated approach to transform traditional residences into commercially viable designs, offering an efficient and scalable solution for the modernization of historic architecture. We developed a methodology based on diffusion models, focusing on a dataset of nighttime shopfront facades. By training a Low-Rank adaptation (LoRA) model and integrating the ControlNet model, we enhanced the accuracy and stability of generated images. The methodology’s performance was validated through qualitative and quantitative assessments, optimizing batch size, repetition, and learning rate configurations. These evaluations confirmed the method’s effectiveness. Our findings significantly advance the modern commercial style transformation of historical architectural facades, providing a novel solution that maintains aesthetic and functional integrity, thereby fostering breakthroughs in traditional de-sign thinking and exploring new possibilities for the preservation and commercial adaptation of historical buildings.

Solifenacin (SFC) is a potent muscarinic antagonist that effectively reduces bladder muscle contraction, thereby alleviating symptoms such as frequency of micturition and urgency. Oxidation of SFC leads to the formation of impurities like Impurity K. Effective analysis and control of this impurity is crucial for ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and safeguarding patient health. To address these challenges, we propose a novel one-step synthesis of Impurity K from SFC. Impurity K was synthesized using cerium ammonium (IV) nitrate (CAN) in water/acetonitrile as the solvent. Additionally, we describe a new HPLC-MS method for the detection of Impurity K in solifenacin succinate tablets.

This study represents a significant stride in advancing furan chemistry, presenting the synthesis of high-molecular-weight polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA) resin (Mw = 118,959 g/mol) from furfuryl alcohol (FA) using a co-catalytic system as against the conventional single-catalytic methods. The resulting PFA resin is fully characterised, and we conclude that it exhibits good shelf life and potential in diverse applications, serving as a standalone moulded material or contributing to composites, coatings, adhesives, and nanostructured carbons.

Metabolomics profiling for accurate and reliable quantification of organic acids that carry a carboxylic acid functional group in complex biological samples, remains a major analytical challenge in clinical chemistry research. Several procedural barriers associated with quantification of clinically important carboxylic containing metabolites (CCMs) including spontaneous decarboxylation during ionization, poor chromatographic resolution, and retention on a reverse-phase column, limit the sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility of multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) based LC-MS assay development. We report a targeted metabolomics-based analytical method for the quantification of CCMs using phenylenediamine derivatization. Accurate and sensitive quantification of CCMs is successfully demonstrated in an array of biological matrices. Recovery of metabolites from different matrices (plasma, serum, urine, saliva, tissues, and cell extracts), ranged from 90% to 105%, with all the CVs ≤ 10%. The method showed linearity over a broad dynamic range from 0.1 ng/mL to 10 µg/mL with linear regression coefficients of 0.99 for most of the metabolites tested herein, that covers broad-based applicability with the analysis of biological samples. In most cases the LODs were as low as 0.01 ng/mL. The phenylenediamine-based derivatization of carboxyl acid library consisting of more than 70 endogenous metabolites was constructed for metabolite identification, which spanned more than 40 biological pathways. The library included a wide-variety of structurally variant CCMs such as amino acids/conjugates, short to medium chain organic acids, di/tri-carboxylic acids/conjugates, fatty acids and some ring-containing CCMs. We compared the CCMs profiles of pancreatic cancer cells with normal pancreatic epithelial cells to test and validate the biological utility of this method. The comparative profiling between cancerous and normal cells resulted in the identification of potential biomarkers in pancreatic cancer, and their correlation with several key metabolic pathways such as central carbon energy metabolism, protein metabolism, including TCA cycle, glycolysis, Gln-Glu pathway, and biosynthesis of amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids was established. The method, described herein, for the first time enables the sensitive and highly specific quantification of CCMs on small sample size with high reproducibility in a high throughput manner. Given the biological and functional significance of this class of metabolites, this mass spectrometry based targeted quantitative assay, fills an important gap and is likely to support a wide range of applications for basic, clinical, and translational research.

Input noise causes inescapable bias to the weight vectors of the adaptive filters during the adaptation processes. Moreover, the impulse noise at the output of the unknown systems can prevent bias compensation from converging. This paper presents a robust bias compensation method for a sparse normalized quasi-Newton least-mean (BC-SNQNLM) adaptive filtering algorithm to address this issue. We have mathematically derived the biased-compensation terms in an impulse noisy environment. Inspired by the convex combination of adaptive filters' step sizes, we propose a novel variable-mixing-norm method to accelerate the convergence for our BC-SNQNLM algorithm, which is referred to as BC-SNQNLM-VMN. Simulation results confirm that the proposed method significantly outperforms other comparative works regarding normalized mean-squared deviation (NMSD) in the steady state.

A method of geoengineering/solar radiation management is proposed as global warming countermeasure. The idea is to decrease surface temperature by increasing stratospheric ozone. One-dimensional (vertical) radiative-convective equilibrium temperature calculations show that surface temperature can be lowered by increasing the amount of ozone in the stratosphere. It was the increase in altitude above about 25 km that reduced surface temperatures. The method of increasing the amount of ozone (O3 injection), the rate of decrease of surface temperature after the ozone increase, and the rate of decrease of ozone concentration by photochemical reaction and diffusion/transport after the ozone increase are discussed.

To satisfy the interests of multiple agents and those of comprehensive indicators such as peak-to-valley differences and load fluctuations occurring on the network side, this paper presents a flexible load demand-side response optimization method that considers the benefits of peak-to-valley smoothing. First, load aggregation modelling of air conditioning and electric vehicles was conducted, and the complementarity of the power consumption behaviour of different types of flexible loads was used to improve the responsiveness of the load aggregator. Second, considering demand-side responses and taking into account the interests of both supply and demand, the load fluctuation and peak-to-valley difference on the network side are reduced, and a flexible load double-layer optimization model incorporating the peak-to-valley smoothing benefit is established. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed optimization model is verified by using the KKT condition and the big M method to evaluate this two-layer optimization problem as a single-layer optimization problem. Comparative examples demonstrate that the proposed two-layer optimization method can improve the revenue of the distribution network operators and the load aggregators by using the complementary nature of the load response characteristics of electric vehicles and air conditioners. Moreover, the proposed method can effectively reduce the load peak-to-valley difference and load fluctuation of the distribution network by introducing the peak-to-valley smoothing benefit model.

To solve the problem of a uneven load for a dual-input counter-rotating transmission system, this research is based on Small Displacement Torsor Jacobian-Torsor theory.Considering the influence of the local parallel chain of a gearbox on the calculation accuracy of the backlash,the processing method of a meshing tooth pair parallel chain is proposed. The probability distribution of the tolerance band of gearbox manufacturing and assembly errors is modeled, the three-dimensional tolerance analysis model of a dual-input counter-rotating gearbox is established, and the Monte Carlo method is used to solve the backlash of the output end. The output backlash is solved with the Monte Carlo method, and the theoretical design backlash is combined with the output backlash to derive the gearbox side clearance range. The gearbox shaft system is analyzed statically, the range of the equal load coefficient is calculated, and the equal load performance optimization method based on the matching relationship between the gear backlash and the elastic shaft torsional stiffness is proposed. The correctness of the three-dimensional tolerance analysis combined with the elastic deflection angle used to optimize the equal load performance of the dual-input counter-rotating transmission system is verified by comparison with the relevant test data.

In this paper, a new full-Newton step feasible interior point method for convex quadratic programming is presented and analyzed. The idea behind this method is to replace the complementarity condition with a non-negative variable weight vector and use the algebraic equivalent transformation for the obtained equation. Under the selection of appropriate parameters, the quadratic rate of convergence of the new algorithm is established. In addition, the iteration complexity of the algorithm is obtained. Finally, some numerical results are presented to demonstrate the practical performance of the proposed algorithm.

Most recent studies of doxycycline PEP have assessed doxycycline's effect on antimicrobial resistance by measuring the proportion of colonies of the target species with AMR as the outcome measure. In this study, we show that this method is insufficiently sensitive to detect shifts in MIC distribution.

The increased number of buildings in urban areas limits the creation of vegetated areas, leading to the search for alternatives to create spaces to promote contact with nature. In this context, green roofs have been increasingly studied. These structures have specific microclimatic condi-tions requiring an accurate study of the most appropriate vegetation to use. This study aims to analyze the long-term viability of vegetation installed on an experimental green roof open-air lab. This analysis was done through images obtained from photographic records and later in-serted into the ImageJ program, to identify species and evaluate the area covered by vegetation. Only a few of the species that were planted in the test beds over the years have persisted to the present, while other species have spontaneously appeared. Also, surveys were used to learn about people's preferences for the vegetation on these test beds. These showed that people favor recognizable plants with plenty of vibrantly colored blossoms. It was feasible to choose the best plants for green roofs in the studied conditions as a result of the analysis, taking into account the ground cover percentage by vegetation, its persistence, and the preferences of the respondents.

Fastener holes are among the most common natural stress concentrators in metal structures. The life cycles of various structural elements, such as those in aircraft structures, automobiles, and rail-end bolt joints are limited by fatigue damage around the holes. An effective approach to delay the formation and growth of fatigue macrocracks is to introduce residual hoop compressive stresses around the holes. Two methods have become established in the prestressing of fastener holes in aircraft components: split sleeve and split mandrel, which implement one-sided processes. The common disadvantage of both methods is the complex procedure due to the need for high accuracy of the initial holes. This article presents a new modified split mandrel method providing the same tightness (interference fit) with a wide tolerance of the pre-drilled hole diameters reducing the number of technological cycle steps and production costs. То implement the new method, a functionally connected tool and a device with a hydraulic drive were developed. An extensive experimental study of 2024-T3 AA specimens was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the method under a high scattering of the pre-drilled holes. The new method provided a deep zone of residual hoop compressive stresses on both faces of the specimens after cold working and after hole final reaming. The removal of a plastically deformed layer around the hole of suitable thickness during the final reaming decreased the axial gradient of residual hoop stress distribution. Fatigue tests on a tensile pulsating cycle verified the effectiveness of the modified split mandrel method to significantly increase the fatigue life by 6.6 times based on cycle fatigue strength compared to the conventional case of machining the holes. The obtained S-N curves for three groups of samples with initial hole diameters of 8.0, 8.1, and 8.2 mm which were cold worked with the same tightness of 0.32 mm and final reamed, aligned well indicating that the new method can provide constant fatigue strength for a given stress amplitude.

Within rehabilitation, there is great need for a simple method to monitor wheelchair use, especially whether it is active or passive. For this purpose, an existing measurement technique was extended with a method for detecting self or attendant pushed wheelchair propulsion. The validity was determined by comparison with manual annotation of wheelchair use. Twenty-four amputation and stroke patients completed a semi-structured course of active and passive wheelchair use. Based on a machine learning approach, a method was developed that detected the type of movement. The machine learning method was trained based on the data of a single wheel sensor as well as a setup using an additional sensor on the frame. The method showed high accuracy (F1 = 0.886, frame and wheel sensor) even if only a single wheel sensor was used (F1 = 0.827). The developed and validated measurement method is ideally suited to easily determine wheelchair use and the corresponding activity level of patients in rehabilitation.

Time series ground deformation monitoring and reservoir parameter inversion are crucial for the dynamic assessment of oilfield resources and sustainable exploitation in an oilfield. As one of the regions with the richest oil reserves in China, the oilfield areas in the western Qaidam Basin are selected as a typical study area. Firstly, we used SAR images collected by the Sentinel-1A satellite from January 2021 to December 2022 and applied the Multidimensional Small Baseline Subset (MSBAS) method to obtain vertical and east-west deformation measurements. On this basis, a nonlinear Bayesian inversion method was applied to model the shallow reservoir in a series of complex deformation areas, based on a single-source model and a multi-source model, respectively. As a result, the ground deformation monitoring results obtained by long time series InSAR clearly reflect the uneven ground deformation caused by the oil extraction and water injection operation process. There is slight subsidence in the Huatugou oilfield, while significant uplift deformation occurred in the Ganchaigou oilfield and the Youshashan oilfield, with a maximum uplift rate of 48 mm/year. Further analysis indicates that the introduction of the 2D deformation field helps to improve the robustness of oilfield reservoir parameter inversion. Moreover, the dual-source model is more suitable than the single-source model for inverting complex deformation reservoir parameters. This study not only fills the blank of InSAR deformation monitoring for the oilfields in the western Qaidam Basin but also provides a theoretical reference for model and method selection of reservoir parameter inversion in other oilfields.

We present a modified characteristic finite element method that exhibits second-order spatial accuracy for solving convection-reaction-diffusion equations on surfaces. The temporal direction adopted backward-Euler method, while the spatial direction employed surface finite element method. In contrast to regular domains, it is observed that the point in the characteristic direction traverses the surface only once within a brief time. Thus, the good approximation of the solution in the characteristic direction holds significant importance for the numerical scheme. In this regard, Taylor expansion is employed to reconstruct the solution beyond the surface in the characteristic direction. The stability of our scheme is then proved. A comparison is made with an existing characteristic finite element method based on face mesh. Numerical examples are provided to validate the effectiveness of our proposed method.

The health and stability of trees are essential information for the safety of people and property in urban greenery, parks or along roads. The stability of the trees is linked to root stability but essentially also to trunk decay. Currently used internal tree stem decay assessment methods, such as tomography or penetrometry, are reliable but usually time-consuming and unsuitable for large-scale surveys. Therefore, a new method based on close-range remote sensed data, specifically close-range photogrammetry and iPhone LiDAR, was tested to detect decayed standing tree trunks automatically. The proposed study used the PointNet deep learning algorithm for 3D data classification. It was verified in three different datasets consisting of pure coniferous trees, pure deciduous trees or mixed data to eliminate the influence of the detectable symptoms for each group and species itself. The mean achieved validation accuracies of the models were 65.5 % for Coniferous trees, 58.4 % for Deciduous trees and 57.7 % for Mixed data classification. The accuracies indicate promising data, which can be either used by practitioners for preliminary surveys or for other researchers to acquire more input data and create more robust classification models.

Prosthetic attack is a problem that must be prevented in the current finger vein recognition application. To solve this problem, a finger vein living detection system was established in this article. The system first captures short-term static finger vein video by uniform near-infrared lighting, segments the veins by Gabor filters with current removing, calculates the multi-Scale spatial-Temporal maps(MSTmap) from the selected vein blocks, and trains the MSTmaps in the proposed Light-ViT network for the liveness detection. The MS maps are used to extract the coarse feature and Light-ViT is used to refine the liveness feature and predict the liveness result. Light-ViT, featuring an enhanced L-ViT backbone as its core, is constructed by interleaving multiple MN blocks and L-ViT blocks. This architecture effectively balances the learning of local image features, controls network parameter complexity, and substantially improves the accuracy of liveness detection. The accuracy of the Light-ViT network is verified to be 99.63% on the self-made living / prosthetic finger vein video dataset. This proposed system can also be directly applied to the finger vein recognition terminal after the model lightweighting.

Quantum computing is an emerging field that have given a significant impact on optimization. Among the diverse quantum algorithm, the quantum gradient descent has become a prominent technique for solving unconstrained optimization problems. In this paper, we propose a quantum-spectral Polak-Ribi{\'e}re-Polyak (PRP) conjugate gradient approach. The technique is considered as a generalization of the spectral PRP method which employs a $q$-gradient that approximate the classical gradient with quadratically better dependence on the quantum variable $q$. Additionally, the proposed method reduces to the classical variant as quantum variable $q$ gets closer to $1$. The quantum search direction always satisfies the sufficient descent condition and does not depend on any line search. This approach is globally convergent with the standard Wolfe line search without any convexity assumption. Numerical experiments are conducted and compared with the existing approach to demonstrate the improvement of the proposed strategy.

In this paper, existence and stability results of non-local integro-differential equation with Hilfer derivative of order ω∈(1,2) have been investigated. In this derivative is applied in RLC circuit equation of various fractional order. To proposed problem the existence solutions are derived using Schaefer’s fixed point theorem and the Banach contraction principle is using for uniqueness results. To demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of our theoretical conclusions and two-step Lagrange polynomial interpolation were used to solve four numerical results.

Nickel is widely used in industrial processes and plays a crucial role in many applications. However, most of the nickel resource mainly exists as nickel oxide in laterite nickel ore with complex composition, resulting in difficulty in upgrading the nickel content using physical separation methods. In this study, high-grade ferronickel concentrates were obtained through a carbothermal reduction and magnetic separation using laterite nickel ore and anthracite as raw materials. The effects of different types of additives (CaF2, Na2SO4 and H3BO3), carbon ratio (nc/no in metal oxides) and grinding time on the recoveries and grades of ferronickel concentrates were experimentally investigated, along with the microstructure and chemical composition of the products. CaF2 was proved to be the primary active additive in the aggregation and growth of the ferronickel particles, and the improvement of the grade of the product. Under the optimal conditions of CaF2 addition of 12 wt.%, carbon ratio of 1.4, and grinding time of 240 s, high-grade magnetically separable ferronickel concentrate with nickel grade 8.93 wt.% and iron grade 63.96 wt.% was successfully prepared. This work presents a practical method for the highly efficient recovery and utilization of iron and nickel from low-grade laterite nickel ore, contributing to the development of strategies for the sustainable extraction and utilization of nickel resources.

The paper presents the relationship between the efficiency of the process of skin onion peeling and its effect in the form of waste. The research was carried out on a pilot test stand for onion peeling. The process variables were compressed air with a pressure of (p) and valve controlling opening time of flow (t). The experiment took into account the influence of the onion diameter (d0) and its hardness (H). The obtained results were subjected to statistical analysis. Standard deviations were of the percentage loss of onion mass in the form of the skin removed of onion peeling in the process in relation to obtained aver-age values. Tukey's multiple comparison test was performed in order to identify the importance of individual process variables on the final effect of onion peeling. This was the basis for the development of a predictive model in the form of a nonlinear regression Mp=f(p,t,d0,H), which is a mathematical description of the peeling onion skin process . Finally, the response surface area of relationship between analyzed variables was determined. The results of research showed the peeling efficiency of the onion and waste of skin mass depend on the compressed air pressure. Extending the onion blowing time does not improve the process efficiency, while the hardness and size of the onion are irrelevant to the process.

In this paper, aiming at the safety evaluation of ultimate bearing safety capacity of ultra-high-performance-concrete (UHPC) composite pile bridge foundation, the symmetrical reliability method with forward and inverse analysis considering the randomness of parameters is proposed to evaluate the safety performance of composite pile foundation. The proposed method, consid-ering the randomness of parameters, was used to calculate the safety factor of ultimate bearing capacity of composite pile foundation to meet the prescribed target reliability requirements. An example was used to verify the correctness of the proposed method. The proposed method was applied to an actual engineering example and the sensitivity of the parameters were analyzed, the calculation results show that: ignoring the randomness of the parameters will overestimate the safety of the composite pile foundation; the target reliability index has a great influence on the safety of composite pile foundation; the influence of statistical parameters of random variables on the safety of UHPC composite pile foundation cannot be neglected; the initial iteration value of the safety factor has no effect on the final calculation result. The proposed method has high ac-curacy and applicability, and provides an effective way for the safety factor estimation of ultimate carrying capacity of UHPC composite pile foundation.

Technical sectors are an inseparable and elementary part of a critical infrastructure (CI) complex system. The services they provide are essential to the functioning of all the dependent sectors of CI on whose services society depends, especially in areas with high levels of urbanisation. The starting point for effective CI elements protection of is permanent assessing and strengthening their resilience to the negative effects of internal and external threats. Current perceptions of resilience focus primarily on repressive components responsive to incident (i.e., robustness, recoverability, and adaptability), while little attention is paid to preventative components. Therefore, the benefit of the article is to define resistance which could be seen as the CI element ability or characteristic to prevent the occurrence of incidents. Based on that, the article defines 1) the individual factors (variables and parameters) determining the CI resistance and 2) the methodological procedure for infrastructure elements resistance assessment in order to identify weak points and subsequently strengthen them. The essence of the article is defining the starting points for extending the CIERA method by a component strengthening the critical infrastructure resilience in the prevention phase. A practical example of resistance assessment for a selected critical energy infrastructure element is presented at the end of the article.

The average sizes \ {\bar{L}}_{i\ } and their dispersion W_i along the i-th axis of crystallites in powders are used to determine the X-ray diffraction sizes, D_{i\ XRD}, averaged over crystallite columns within the BWA method. Numerical calculations have been carried out for an orthorhombic lattice of crystallites, such as LiFePO4, NMC, having Lamé's g-type superellipsoid shape. For Lognormal distributions, the analytical expression for the normalized coefficient Kn is found and includes two constants. The first K_{g,0} is a constant at W→0, the second K_g is a constant depending on the g -type shape. The dependences of D_{i\ XRD} are also calculated for Normal distribution. A fairly simple equation can be obtained as a result of analytical transformations in the framework of experimentally validated approximations. However, a simpler way is to carry out numerical computer calculations with subsequent approximation of the calculated curves. Using the obtained analytical expressions to control technologies from nuclear fuel to cathode materials will improve the efficiency of flexible energy network especially storage in autonomous and standby power plants.

When using meta-heuristic optimization approaches for optimization, a large number of samples are required. In particular, when generating subgeneration, the utilization of existing samples is low and the number of individuals is high. Therefore, surrogate-based optimization has been developed, which greatly reduces the number of individuals in the subgeneration and the cost of optimization. In complex air supply scenarios, single-objective optimization results may not be comprehensive; therefore, this paper developed a double-objective air supply optimization method based on the Kriging surrogate model and Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithms-II. And proposed the infill criteria based on clustering to advance the Pareto Frontier. The method was validated by an inverse prediction case, and in particular, the problems when based on 3D steady-state simulations were analyzed. The results showed that the method can quickly achieve an approximate prediction of the boundary conditions (when prediction were made based on experimental data, the number of simulations was 82 and the average error was 6.8%). Finally, the method was used to optimize the air supply parameters of a dual-aisle, single-row cabin. The Pareto set suggested that an airflow organization with dual circulation may be optimal.

In light of the current situation where no testing equipment is available for measuring thermal deformation of objects, this paper proposes a novel method for accurate and precise measurement. The method overcomes the limitations of previous approaches that relied on pitch angle. By utilizing the principle of biplane multiple reflections, a bivariate laser spot displacement analysis algorithm is devised to attain highly precise measurements of bivariate angles. Additionally, a temperature gradient comparison algorithm is introduced to calculate the indicator test results under specific temperature conditions. To validate the effectiveness and reliability of this method, a testing system is constructed and utilized. The results demonstrate that the thermal deformation angle change test achieves an impressive accuracy of 0.015″ and a rate of thermal deformation angle change of 0.3247″/°C. These values are in close agreement with the previously simulated analysis result of 0.359″/°C, with only a relative error of 9.55%. Therefore, the test results confirm the efficacy and reliability of this testing method along with the feasibility of the algorithm processing.

The azimuth wheel-rail of large aperture radio telescope is the key component, it not only sup-ports the whole weight of the antenna, but also directly affects the pointing performance of the antenna with its surface accuracy. The whole weight of the radio telescope is hundreds or even thousands of tons, its azimuth frame rollers have great contact stress with the wheel-rail surface, repeated rolling can cause rolling contact fatigue on the wheel-rail surface, resulting in wear, cracks and other damage to the wheel-rail, and even lead to failure or fracture of the wheel-rail in serious cases, so it is very important to monitor the damage of the antenna wheel-rail. In order to visually detect the use of antenna wheel-rail surface, this paper proposed the method using electromagnetic ultrasonic detection to detect the damage of antenna wheel-rail surface for the first time. Based on the electromagnetic ultrasonic nondestructive testing principle, the simplified wheel-rail model containing wear, corrosion and crack damage is simulated. The results show that this method can effectively detect the surface damage of the antenna wheel-rail surface, and it can provide an important reference for the research of wheel-rail damage detection of large radio telescope.

This study presents a comprehensive investigation of entropy generation during natural convection in a porous medium with Casson fluid. The governing equations, including the momentum, energy, and entropy balance equations, are solved numerically using finite element method. Through the analysis, various parameters affecting entropy generation are investigated, such as the Casson fluid parameter, Radiation, Prandtl number, and Rayleigh number. The results indicate that the Casson fluid parameter significantly influences the flow and heat transfer characteristics, while the Darcy number and Rayleigh number control the intensity of natural convection. Moreover, the Prandtl number determines the relative significance of heat transfer compared to viscous effects.

Decomposed fuzzy sets are the resent extension of intuitionistic fuzzy sets by incorporating functional and dysfunctional points of views to the definition of membership functions. This paper extends the Technique of Order Preference Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method to the Decomposed Fuzzy TOPSIS (DF TOPSIS) method and applies it to a multi-criteria risk-based supplier selection problem under fuzziness. DF TOPSIS involves finding a positive ideal solution and a negative ideal solution and measuring the distance of each alternative to these solutions. The final ranking is obtained based on the proportion of distances to the positive and negative ideal solutions. The developed DF TOPSIS method incorporates the accuracy and consistency of expert judgments, enhancing the decision-making process. A sensitivity analysis is also presented in order to show the robustness of the obtained rankings by DF TOPSIS.

With the proliferation and development of social media platforms, social media data has become an important source for acquiring spatio-temporal information on various urban events. Providing accurate spatio-temporal information for events contributes to enhancing the capabilities of urban management and emergency response. However, existing research on mining spatio-temporal information of events often focuses solely on textual content, neglecting data from other modalities such as images and videos. Therefore, this study proposes an innovative spatio-temporal information extraction method for multi-modal social media data (MIST-SMMD), which extracts the spatio-temporal information of events from multi-modal data on Weibo at coarse and fine-grained hierarchical levels, serving as a beneficial supplement to existing urban event monitoring methods. This paper takes the "July 20th Zhengzhou Heavy Rainfall" incident as an example, to evaluate and analyze the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results indicate that in the coarse-grained spatial information extraction using only textual data, our method achieves a Spatial Precision of 87.54% within a 60m range, and reaches 100% Spatial Precision for ranges beyond 200m. For fine-grained spatial information extraction, the introduction of other modal data such as images and videos results in a significant improvement in Spatial Error. These results demonstrate the ability of the MIST-SMMD method to extract spatio-temporal information from urban events at both coarse and fine levels, and confirms the significant advantages of multi-modal data in enhancing the precision of spatial information extraction.

We present a crack-free optically active SiO2 glass-composite material containing YAG:Ce synthesized by a modified sol-gel technique. A glass-composite material consisting of yttrium aluminum garnet doped with Ce3+ (YAG:Ce) entrapped into a SiO2 xerogel. This composite material has been prepared by sol–gel technique with modified gelation and drying process to obtain crack-free optically active SiO2 glass. The concentration of the YAG:Ce was from 0.5 to 2.0 wt%. All synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques. The luminescence properties of the obtained materials were studied.

Modern computational biology makes widespread use of mathematical models of biological systems, in particular systems of ordinary differential equations, as well as models of dynamic systems described in other formalisms, such as agent-based models. Parameters are numerical values of quantities reflecting certain properties of a modeled system and affecting model solu-tions. At the same time, depending on parameter values, different dynamic regimes - stationary, oscillatory, established as a result of transient modes of various types - can be implemented in the system. Predicting changes in the solution dynamics type depending on changes of model parameters is an important scientific task. Nevertheless, this problem does not have an analytical solution for all formalisms in a general case. The routinely used method of performing a series of computa-tional experiments, i.e. solving a series of direct problems with various sets of parameters fol-lowed by expert analysis of solution plots is labor-intensive with a large number of parameters and a decreasing step of the parametric grid. In this regard, the development of methods allow-ing to obtain and analyze information on a set of computational experiments in an aggregate form is relevant. This work is devoted to developing a method for visualization and classification of various dy-namic regimes of a model using a composition of the dynamic time warping (DTW-algorithm) and principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) methods. This method allows to obtain a qualitative visualisation of the results of the set of solutions of a mathematical model and to carry out the correspondence between the values of the model parameters and the type of dynamic regimes of its solutions. This method has been tested on the Lotka-Volterra model and artificial sets of var-ious dynamics

The article considers an internal boundary value problem of the distribution of an electrostatic field in a lens formed by two identical semi-infinite circular cylinders coaxially located inside an infinite external cylinder. The problem is reduced to solving a system of singular Wiener-Hopf integral equations, which is further solved by the Wiener-Hopf method using factorized Bessel functions. Solutions to the problem for each region inside the infinite outer cylinder are presented as exponentially converging series in terms of eigenfunctions and eigenvalues.