This article develops a duality principle and a related convex dual formulation suitable for a large class of models in physics and engineering. The results are based on standard tools of functional analysis, calculus of variations and duality theory. In particular, we develop applications to a model in non-linear elasticity.

The connection of two phenomena - non-conservative friction forces and dissipation-induced instability can lead to many interesting engineering problems. The paper studies general material-dependent damping influence on dynamical instability of disc brake systems leading to brake squeal. The effect of general damping is demonstrated on a minimal and complex model of a disc brake. A complex system including material-dependent damping is defined in the commercial finite element software. The finite element model validated by experimental data on the brake-disc test bench is used to compute the influence of a pad and a disc damping variations on system stability by complex eigenvalue analysis. Analyzes show a significant sensitivity of the experimentally verified unstable mode of the system to the ratio of the damping between the disc and the friction material components.

Near-fault ground motions can cause severe damage to civil structures, including bridges. Safety assessment of these structures for near fault ground motion is usually performed through Non-Linear Dynamic Analyses, while faster methods are often used. IMPAb (Incremental Modal Pushover Analysis for Bridges) permits to investigate the seismic response of a bridge by considering the effects of higher modes, which are often relevant for bridges. In this work, IMPAb is applied to a bridge case study considering near-fault pulse-like ground motion records. The records were analyzed and selected from the European Strong Motion Database and the pulse parameters were evaluated. In the paper results from standard pushover procedures and IMPAb are compared with nonlinear Response-History Analysis (NRHA), considering also the vertical component of the motion, as benchmark solutions and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). Results from the case study demonstrate that the vertical seismic action has a minor influence on the structural response of the bridge. Therefore IMPAb, which can be applied considering vertical motion, remains very effective conserving the original formulation of the procedure, and can be considered a well performing procedure also for near-fault events.

The problem of normal impact of a rigid sphere onto a Maxwell viscoelastic solid half-space is considered. The first-order asymptotic solution is constructed in the framework of Hunter’s model of viscoelastic impact [Hunter, S. C., 1957. Energy absorbed by elastic waves during impact. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 5(3), 162–171.]. In particular, simple analytical approximations have been derived for the maximum contact force and the time to achieve it. A linear regression method is suggested for evaluating the instantaneous elastic modulus and the mean relaxation time from a set of experimental data collected for different impactors and impact velocities.

The spillover of a virus from an animal reservoir to humans requires both molecular and ecological risk factors to align. While extensive research both before and after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in 2019 implicates horseshoe bats as the significant animal reservoir for the new human coronavirus, it remains unclear why it emerged at this time. One massive disruption to animal-human contacts in 2019 is linked to the on-going African swine fever virus (ASFV) pandemic. Pork is the major meat source in the Chinese diet. We hypothesize that the dramatic shortage of pork following large-scale culling and restrictions of pig movement (resulting in marked price increases) led to alternative sources of meat and unusual animal and meat movements nationwide, e.g., involving wildlife, and thus greatly increased opportunities for human-sarbecovirus contacts. Pork prices were particularly high in southern provinces (Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei), where wildlife is farmed and more frequently consumed. Major wildlife farming provinces are spread from Northern to Southern China, which overlaps with horseshoe bat host ranges, potential hosts of the proximal SARS-CoV-2 ancestor, and wildlife sourcing provinces of Wuhan Huanan market and possibly other markets. Trading of SARS-CoV-2 susceptible wildlife in these markets, such as minks, raccoon dogs, foxes and palm civets in Wuhan markets, could have increased the risk of SARS-CoV-2 from an intermediary host. Moreover, large quantities of animals raised for fur could have entered the human food chain undetected and significantly increased risks of animal-human contact. Performing retrospective testing of stored susceptible animals and their meat sold before December 2019 may be helpful in the next stage of tracing the animal origin of SARS-CoV-2 as spillover events are more likely to have taken place in 2019 when China was experiencing the worst effects of the ASFV pandemic.

This paper gives a new unified formula for the Newtonian fluids valid for all pipe flow regimes from laminar to the fully rough turbulent. It includes laminar, unstable sharp jump from laminar to turbulent, and all types of the turbulent regimes: smooth turbulent regime, partial non-fully developed turbulent and fully developed rough turbulent regime. The formula follows the inflectional form of curves as suggested in Nikuradse’s experiment rather than monotonic shape proposed by Colebrook and White. The composition of the proposed unified formula consists of switching functions and of the interchangeable formulas for laminar, smooth turbulent and fully rough turbulent flow. The proposed switching functions provide a smooth and a computationally cheap transition among hydraulic regimes. Thus, the here presented formulation represents a coherent hydraulic model suitable for engineering use. The model is compared to existing literature models, and shows smooth and computationally cheap transitions among hydraulic regimes.

The Akosombo Nile tilapia is the only approved local strain for aquaculture production in Ghana. In this study, an exotic red tilapia sample suspected to be cultured in a fish farm within the Lower Volta River Basin of the Lake Volta was collected for species identification. A molecular screening using DNA barcoding sequencing was performed on the samples targeting the cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 mitochondrial gene (COX1). We confirmed the identity of the red tilapia fish to be a non-native Oreochromis sp. recently introduced into the country. The data obtained clearly demonstrates a breach of biosecurity that potentially threatens Ghana’s native tilapia genetic resources and aquaculture development.

Non-union is one of the severe complications of traumatic fracture and still no standard therapeutic recommendations currently. A total of eleven patients were treated on the lesions for non-union, after the failure of open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) or total hip replacement, by autologous conditioned serum (ACS) for one to three times monthly and followed up. Seven patients received ACS three times, three patients received it two times, and the only one who underwent total hip replacement received it once. Ten patients achieved union at the last follow-up visit, indicating the effectiveness of ACS on patients who suffered from non-union after ORIF. ACS has the potential as an alternative or adjective treatment for non-union and is worthy to be investigated further for the benefits of patients.

Metabolites present in the hemolymph of honey bees play a crucial role in modulating the metamorphic process within the species. However, the precise alterations in metabolite composition, along with the associated variances and regulatory pathways implicated during the larvae-to-pupae metamorphosis of honey bees, remain incompletely elucidated. In this investigation, we gathered hemolymph samples from honey bee larvae at three distinct physiological stages-feeding, prepupal, and pupae and subjected them to metabolite analysis utilizing the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) technique. Employing principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), we identified significant differential metabolites and conducted a metabolic pathway analysis on those differentially up-regulated during the prepupal and pupae stages. Notably, metabolites up-regulated in the hemolymph of prepupal stage larvae primarily governed glucose metabolism and fat digestion and absorption, while those in pupae stage larvae were involved in regulating chitin and lipopolysaccharide precursor formation, as well as the biosynthesis of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. These findings bear significant implications for advancing our comprehension of the metamorphic processes in honey bees.

Abrasive Water Jet Machining (AWJM) is a non-conventional machining process that, unlike other methods, is deemed superior because of its applicability, versatility, and no heat-affected zones in the target material. The main objective of this paper was to develop a cheap, practical model for a low-pressure water jet cutting machine and provide some empirical test data for cutting delicate materials. Proper design calculations were performed and are included for both the water jet machine and the two-axis numerical control. Finite Element Analysis results validate the structural integrity of beams and columns in AWJM. Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis of the nozzle shows good agreement with the theoretical calculations regarding the pressure and velocity of the water-abrasive mixture exiting the nozzle. Modal analysis in ANSYS was done to mitigate potential failure due to resonance induced by vibrations. Limited testing on various thicknesses of polystyrene foam ranging from 1-5 mm thickness and rubber sheet of 1 mm thickness showed that even low pressure of 25-30 bar was sufficient to produce a kerf without any burr. However, extensive testing to report optimized parameters like nozzle transverse speed, standoff distance, abrasive flow rate, etc for working at low-pressure ranges is still a consideration for future investigation.

Postprandial glucose levels between 4 and 7.9 hours (PPG4–7.9h) correlate with mortality from various diseases including hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. This study aimed to assess if predicted PPG4–7.9h could diagnose diabetes. Two groups of participants were involved: Group 1 (4420 participants) had actual PPG4–7.9h, while Group 2 (8422 participants) lacked this measure but had all the diabetes diagnostic measures. Group 1 underwent multiple linear regression to predict PPG4–7.9h using 30 predictors, achieving accuracy within 11.1 mg/dL in 80% of the participants. Group 2 had PPG4–7.9h predicted using this model. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that predicted PPG4–7.9h could diagnose diabetes with an accuracy of 87.3% in Group 2, with a sensitivity of 75.1% and specificity of 84.1% at the optimal cutoff of 102.5 mg/dL. Simulation on 10,000 random samples from Group 2 revealed that 175 participants may be needed to investigate PPG4–7.9h as a diabetes diagnostic marker with a power of at least 80%. In conclusion, predicted PPG4–7.9h appears to be a promising diagnostic indicator for diabetes. Future studies seeking to ascertain its definitive diagnostic value might require a minimum sample size of 175 participants.

Turbulent dissipation is a central issue in the star and galaxy formation process. Its fundamental property of space-time intermittency, well characterised in incompressible laboratory experiments, remains elusive in cosmic turbulence. Progress requires the combination of state-of-the-art modelling, numerical simulations and observations. The power of such a combination is illustrated here where the statistical method intended to locate extrema of velocity shears in a turbulent field is applied to numerical simulations of compressible magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) turbulence dedicated to dissipation scales and to a nearby turbulent diffuse molecular cloud. We demonstrate that short-spacing increments of observables can detect strongly dissipative structures. In our simulations, we compute structure functions of various synthetic observables and show that they verify Extended Self-Similarity. This allows to compute their intermittency exponents and we show how they could help constraining some properties of the underlying three-dimensional turbulence. In observations of a turbulent cloud close to the Sun in our Galaxy, a remarkable coherent structure of velocity shear extremum is disclosed . At the location of the largest velocity shear, this coherent structure is found to foster 10 × more carbon monoxide molecules than standard diffuse molecular gas, an enrichment supported by models of non-equilibrium warm chemistry triggered by turbulent dissipation. The power of the combination between modelling and observations is also illustrated by observations of the CH+ cation that provide unique quantitative informations on the kinetic energy trail in the massive, multi-phase and turbulent circum-galactic medium of a galaxy group at redshift z = 2.8.

In this paper is presented the design and syntheis of a dynamic output feedback neural network controller for a non-holonomic mobile robot. First the dynamic model of a non-holonomic mobile robot is presented, in which these constraints are considered for the mathematical derivation of a feasable representation for this kind of robot. Then two control strategies are provided based on kinematic control for this kind of robot. The first control strategy is based on driftless control, this means, that considering that the velocity vector of the mobile robot is orthogonal to its restriction a dynamic output feedback and neural network controller is designed in order that the control action would be zero only when the velocity of the mobile robot is zero. The Lyapunov stability theorem is implemented in order to find a suitable control law. Then another control strategy is designed for trajectory tracking purposes, which similar to the driftless controller, a kinematic control scheme is provided but suitable to implement in more sophisticated hardware. In both control strategy a dynamic control law is provided along with a feedforward neural network controller, so in this way, by the Lyapunov theory the stability and convergence to the origin of the mobile robot position coordinates is ensured. Finally, two numerical experiment are presented in order to validate the theoretical results synthetized in this research study. Discussions and conclusions are provided in order to analyze the results found in this research study.

Non-vertebrate species represent about ~95% of known metazoan (animal) diversity. They remain to this day relatively unexplored genetically, but understanding their genome structure and function is pivotal for expanding our current knowledge of evolution, ecology and biodiversity. Following the continuous improvements and decreasing costs of sequencing technologies, many genome assembly tools have been released, leading to a significant amount of genome projects being completed in recent years. In this review, we examine the current state of genome projects of non-vertebrate animal species. We present an overview of available sequencing technologies, assembly approaches, as well as pre and post-processing steps, genome assembly evaluation methods, and their application to non-vertebrate animal genomes.

Background: Thousands of genetic variants have been associated with hematological traits, though target genes remain unknown at most loci. Also, limited analyses have been conducted in African ancestry and Hispanic/Latino populations; hematological trait associated variants more common in these populations have likely been missed. Methods: To derive gene expression prediction models, we used ancestry-stratified datasets from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA, including N=229 African American and N=381 Hispanic/Latino participants, monocytes) and the Depression Genes and Networks study (DGN, N = 922 European ancestry participants, whole blood). We then performed a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) for platelet count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and white blood cell count in African (N = 27,955) and Hispanic/Latino (N = 28,324) ancestry participants. Results: Our results revealed 24 suggestive signals (p < 1×10^(-4)) that were conditionally distinct from known GWAS identified variants and successfully replicated these signals in European ancestry subjects from UK Biobank. We found modestly improved correlation of predicted and measured gene expression in an independent African American cohort (the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) study (N=802), lymphoblastoid cell lines) using the larger DGN reference panel; however, some genes were well predicted using MESA but not DGN. Conclusions: These analyses demonstrate the importance of performing TWAS and other genetic analyses across diverse populations and of balancing sample size and ancestry background matching when selecting a TWAS reference panel.

The quality and shelf-life of NCS (Non-centrifugal sugar) mainly depend on the moisture content present in it. NCS formed by the current practice of open sun drying contains moisture substantially greater than the acceptable level of 3%. This paper presents the work taken up to design a tunnel dryer to attain require moisture content in granular NCS for various load conditions. Initially, an experimental investigation had been carried out on a laboratory scale dryer to achieve required moisture content (< 3%) for various load conditions. This experimental data was used for validating two drying models and found that one of the models is best suitable for designing an industrial-scale dryer. For various load conditions on each tray and dryer exit temperature, nine different cases were arrived at. The number of trucks, trays, drying time and energy requirements were computed using the suitable theoretical model. Tunnel dryer with a length of 18 m, a height of 1.2 m, a width of 1 m, number of trucks of 18 and 24 number of trays on each truck was found to be the suitable dryer to dry 1 tone of NCS based on the minimum energy requirement of 176.49 MJ, and a minimum drying time of 68 minutes.

Untranslated regions (UTRs) of flaviviruses contain a large number of RNA structural elements involved in mediating the viral life cycle, including cyclisation, replication, and encapsidation. Here we report on a comparative genomics approach to characterize evolutionarily conserved RNAs in the 3'UTR of tick-borne, insect-specific and no-known-vector flaviviruses in silico. Our data support the wide distribution of previously experimentally characterized exoribonuclease resistant RNAs xrRNAs within tick-borne and no-known-vector flaviviruses and provide evidence for the existence of a cascade of duplicated RNA structures within insect-specific flaviviruses. On a broader scale, our findings indicate that viral 3'UTRs represent a flexible scaffold for evolution to come up with novel xrRNAs

The aim of the study was to identify factors associated with non-adherence to tuberculosis (TB) preventive treatment among contacts with latent TB infection of new cases of pulmonary TB cases reported in Catalonia in 2019-2021. All contacts aged 18 years or older with a latent TB infection who received a TB preventive treatment were included in the study. The Chi square test and the odds ratios (OR) were used to assess the association between non-adherence to TB preventive treatment and the study variables, considering a p < 0.05 as statistically significant. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to detect the in-dependent factors associated with TB preventive treatment non-adherence, considering a p < 0.05 as statistically significant. The percentage of non-adherence to TB preventive treatment found in this study was 23.7%. A multivariable logistic regression analysis determined that the following factors were significantly associated with TB preventive treatment non-adherence among adult contacts: “exposure at school or workplace” (aOR = 3.34), “exposure to an index case without laboratory confirmation of TB” (aOR = 2.07), “immigrant contact” (aOR = 1.81), “male gender” (aOR = 1.75) and “exposure duration <6 hours per week or sporadic exposure” (aOR = 1.60). By contrast, the factor “short-term TB preventive treatment regimen” (aOR = 0.38) was significantly associated with a lower treatment non-adherence. Adherence to TB preventive treatment should be improved among adult contacts of TB pulmonary cases with latent TB infection by recommending short-term treatment regimens and by developing health education activities, with a greater focus on contacts with factors associated with treatment non-adherence.

Non-alcoholic beer (NAB) or low alcoholic beer (LAB) are taking over the market with a growing sale. Sus-tainable recycling and valorization of exhausted brewer’s spent grains (BSG) coming from craft beer is a relevant issue in brewing process. In this work, recycled BSG and BSG+GJ (supplemented with 10% grape juice) were used as wort-substrate to inoculate already selected non-conventional yeasts to produce NABLAB craft beer. Results showed that wort composed by only recycled BSG produced appreciate NAB beers (ethanol from 0.12% to 0.54 % v/v) while the addition of 10% of grape juice made LAB beers (ethanol from 0.82 to 1.66 % v/v). As expected, volatile compounds production was highest with the addition of grape juice. Lachancea thermotolerans confirmed the lactic acid production and, as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is characterized by (in both worts) ethyl butyrate and isoamyl acetate, while Torulaspora delbrueckii produced relevant amounts of exanol, phenylethyl acetate and β-phenyl ethanol (wort added with grape juice). Wickeramhomyces anomalus and Pichia kluyvery showed consistent volatile production but only in wort with grape juice addition where a fermentation activity was exhibited. The overall results indicated that reused BSGs, non-conventional yeasts and grape juice is a suitable strategy for specialty NABLAB beer.

With increased vulnerabilities and vast technology landscapes, it is extremely critical to build systems which are highly resistant to cyber-attacks, to break into systems to exploit. It is almost impossible to build 100% secure authentication & authorization mechanisms merely through standard password / PIN (With all combinations of special characters, numbers & upper/lower case alphabets and by using any of the Graphical password mechanisms). The immense computing capacity and several hacking methods used, make almost every authentication method susceptible to cyber-attacks in one or the other way. Only proven / known system which is not vulnerable in spite of highly sophisticated computing power is, human brain. In this paper, we present a new method of authentication using a combination of computer’s computing ability in combination with human intelligence. In fact this human intelligence is personalized making the overall security method more secure. Text based passwords are easy to be cracked ^[6]. There is an increased need for an alternate and more complex authentication and authorization methods. Some of the Methods ^{[7] [8]} in the category of Graphical passwords could be susceptible, when Shoulder surfing/cameras/spy devices are used.

A three-dimensional vector field model is proposed, whose dimensions are the Hansen Solubility Parameters: dispersion parameter (δD), polarity parameter (δP), and hydrogen bonding parameter (δH). The vector space that defines the field has the peculiarity of having the dispersion vector with a magnitude of 2, as its base vector, while polarity and hydrogen bonding vectors have a magnitude of 1. A substance is characterised as a position vector, and the interaction between two substances is determined by calculating the vector difference of both, known as the interaction vector. Interaction among substances may involve solubility, swelling, cracking, surface tension, interface tension, and any physical phenomena where intermolecular energies of dispersion, polarity or hydrogen bonding come into play. This paper studies free surface energy (surface and interfacial tension). It has been found that free surface energy is directly proportional to the square of the magnitude of the interaction vector. The proportionality constant, τ, is expressed in length units, has a value of 0.025 nm, and does not depend on the chemical nature of the substance or state of matter (solid, liquid or gas). Constant value τ appears universal and aligns with the thickness of interfaces, thereby supporting Guggenheim's hypothesis. This hypothesis asserts that interfaces possess actual thickness and are not merely mathematical surfaces, as originally postulated by Gibbs. Moreover, it also has been found that interface thickness, τ, is approximately equal to half of the Bohr radius, a0, which is defined by universal constants. Because the solubility parameters of thousands of substances are known and can be easily determined from molecular structure, a good approximation of the surface and interfacial tension of any given substance can now be calculated. It has also been found that contact angles of sessile droplets in three-phased systems can be calculated from the interaction vectors of the implicated substances.

Previous studies demonstrate the critical importance of non-coding RNAs interfacing with chromatin-modifying machinery resulting in promoter-enhancer-based gene regulation and raise the possibility that many other enhancer-like RNAs may operate via similar mechanisms. Critically, more than 80% of the disease-linked variations identified in genome-wide studies are located in the non-coding regions of genomes, especially non-coding RNA, suggesting non-coding RNAs are relevant to disease. Thus, a critical path forward for understanding non-coding RNAs' role, especially long non-coding RNAs, is to understand the genomic regions' transcriptional regulation, especially non-coding regions. Here, we developed a user-friendly R package called SomaGene for studying and identifying enhancer-like non-coding RNAs with enriched somatic mutations in the cancer genome. SomaGene accepts different genomic variants (whole genome/exome somatic point mutations, structural variations, copy number variations) to identify those RNAs that significantly mutated in diseases (e.g., cancer). It then uses multiple publicly available genomics and epigenetics datasets including ENCODE epigenomics annotations, FANTOM5 tissue-specific expression profiles, disease-associated genome-wide association SNPs, and tissue-specific eQTL pairs to identify those RNAs with potentially enhancer function. SomaGene, as a powerful R package, can provide the opportunity to cancer scientists to study the roles of non-coding RNAs in different cancer genomes.

In this article, the usual factorials and binomial coefficients have been generalized and extended to the negative integers. Basing on this generalization and extension, a new kind of polynomials has been proposed, which led directly to the non-classical hypergeometric orthogonal polynomials and the non-classical second-order hypergeometric linear DEs. The resulting polynomials can be used in non-relativistic and relativistic QM, particularly, in the case of the Schrödinger equation, and Dirac equations for an electron in a Coulomb potential field.

Numerical models widely used for hydrocarbon phase behavior and compositional flow simulations are based on assumption of thermodynamic equilibrium. However, it is not uncommon for oil and gas-condensate reservoirs to exhibit essentially non-equilibrium phase behavior, e.g., in the processes of secondary recovery after pressure depletion below saturation pressure, or during gas injection, or for condensate evaporation at low pressures. In many cases the ability to match field data with equilibrium model depends on simulation scale. The only method to account for non-equilibrium phase behavior adopted by the majority of flow simulators is the option of limited rate of gas dissolution (condensate evaporation) in black oil models. For compositional simulations no practical yet thermodynamically consistent method has been presented so far except for some upscaling techniques in gas injection problems. Previously reported academic non-equilibrium formulations have a common drawback of doubling the number of flow equations and unknowns compared to the equilibrium formulation. In the paper a unified thermodynamically-consistent formulation for compositional flow simulations with non-equilibrium phase behavior model is presented. Same formulation and a special scale-up technique can be used for upscaling of an equilibrium or non-equilibrium model to a coarse-scale non-equilibrium model. A number of test cases for real oil and gas-condensate mixtures are given. Model implementation specifics in a flow simulator are discussed and illustrated with test simulations. A non-equilibrium constant volume depletion algorithm is presented to simulate condensate recovery at low pressures in gas-condensate reservoirs. Results of satisfactory model matching to field data are reported and discussed.

Globally, there is increasing prevalence of non- communicable chronic diseases (NCCD) like obesity, metabolic syndrome, type2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hypertension, allergic asthma and neuro-developmental/psychiatric problems making NCCD a leading cause of disability, morbidity and mortality . Some of these NCCD are presenting at a younger age especially in the socio-economically disadvantaged communities of affluent countries, and in low and middle -income countries undergoing industrialization and socioeconomic transition.to more economic prosperity. NCCD are often attributed to unhealthy personal lifestyles, but there may be more at play. Through a case report-based discussion, I will illustrate how environmental exposures during the critical window of life, including in utero and early infancy, can significantly influence health as an adult . I will discuss how establishment of a rich and diverse symbiotic gut microbiota in the first three years of life promotes health while a loss of diversity and abundance of beneficial symbiotic gut microbes can predispose to aforementioned NCCD , and the best practices to establish a symbiotic gut.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are secreted by almost every cell type and are considered as carriers of active biomolecules, such as nucleic acids, proteins and lipids. Their content can be up-taken and released into the cytoplasm of recipient cells, thereby inducing gene reprogramming and phenotypic changes in the acceptor cells. Whether the effects of EVs on the physiology of recipient cells are mediated by individual biomolecules or it is the collective outcome of the total transferred EV content, is still under debate. The EV RNA content consists of several types of RNA, such as messenger RNA (mRNA), microRNA (miRNA) and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), the latter defined as transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides, that do not code for proteins, but with important established biological functions. This review aims to update our insights on the functional roles of EV and their cargo non-coding RNA during cancer progression, to highlight the utility of EV RNA as novel diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers in cancer, and to tackle the technological advances and limitations for EV RNA identification, integrity assessment and preservation of its functionality.

The continuous casting nozzle which guides and protects the flow of liquid steel undergoes a progressive reduction in its internal diameter following the accumulation on the internal wall of non-metallic inclusions. This narrowing of the channel is due to a mechanical attachment (non-metallic inclusions) and this, because of the turbulent regime of the flow of the liquid steel. This phenomenon is very often associated with the casting of low carbon steels deoxidized exclusively with aluminium. Clogging generally leads to a slowing down of the casting speed and, in severe cases, to the total stoppage of the installation and consequently to the appearance in the slab of the defect called "resumption of casting or belt". The aim of this work is to determine the nature of the deposit and the blocking mechanism of the pouring nozzles. For that, a chemical analysis as well as tests concerning the adhesion of the deposit were carried out on samples taken from damaged pouring nozzles. We found that it was at a load of 187.5 kgf that the rupture of the sample took place, during the interfacial indentation tests, which represents a very high level of adhesion. On the other hand, chemical analysis by X-ray fluorescence of the deposits revealed a fairly high level of alumina (Al₂O₃ = 90%) which undoubtedly comes from inclusions resulting from the deoxidation of the metal. It can therefore be said that the clogging phenomenon is produced by a continuous attachment of non-metallic inclusions to the rough walls of the nozzle.

China is a large agricultural country, and the crop economy has an important place in the national economy. The identification of crop diseases and pests, as well as the non-destructive classification of crops, has always been a challenge in agricultural development, hindering the rapid growth of the agricultural economy. Hyperspectral imaging technology combines imaging and spectral techniques, using hyperspectral cameras to acquire raw image data of crops. After correcting and preprocessing the raw image data to obtain the required spectral features, it becomes possible to achieve rapid non-destructive detection of crop diseases and pests, as well as non-destructive classification and identification of agricultural products. This paper first provides an overview of the current applications of hyperspectral imaging tech-nology in crops both domestically and internationally. It then summarizes the methods of hyper-spectral data acquisition and application scenarios. Subsequently, it organizes the processing of hyperspectral data for crop disease and pest detection and classification, deriving relevant pre-processing and analysis methods for hyperspectral data. Finally, it conducts a detailed analysis of classic cases using hyperspectral imaging technology for detecting crop diseases and pests and non-destructive classification, while also analyzing and summarizing the future development trends of hyperspectral imaging technology in agricultural production. The non-destructive rapid detection and classification technology of hyperspectral imaging can effectively select qualified crops and classify crops of different qualities, ensuring the quality of ag-ricultural products. In conclusion, hyperspectral imaging technology can effectively serve the ag-ricultural economy, making agricultural production more intelligent and holding significant im-portance for the development of agriculture in China.

(1) Background: a study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of chronic diseases and health conditions that affect oral health and oral health self-care among independent living older adults in rural areas of Victoria, Australia; (2) Methods: The study analysed data from the Crossroads-II project, with a total of 1407 participants aged 55 years and older. Participants self-completed questionnaires about health conditions, service use, and demographics. 572 attended a 2-hour health screening that included an assessment of prescribed medications; (3) Results: Most participants were female (55.3%), with a mean age of 69.1 (SD=9.2) years. Participants had a high prevalence of medical conditions, the most common were high blood pressure, arthritis, high lipids, hearing loss, and chronic pain. Almost all participants reported taking medications, with an average of 4.3 medications per person. Among those who attended the health screening, 78.1% were taking medications that could cause xerostomia (dry mouth); (4) Conclusions: This study provides initial information on the prevalence of medical conditions, medication usage, with potential impact on oral health of older adults living in rural Victoria. This information would be valuable for healthcare and dental workforce planning, policy development, and improving the overall well-being of this population.

This work aims to initiate a reflection on the awareness of environmental, social, and corporate governance issues, summarized in the acronym ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance), among Italian SMEs. The integration of ESG issues into business models has led to an expansion of the risk taxonomy affecting corporate management. In addition to traditional financial risks, new risks have emerged, primarily climate risk, environmental, and energy risks, which can significantly impact companies' ability to create economic value. This includes planning and designing virtuous initiatives focused on sustainability and the ability to build public-private partnerships with various stakeholders. After this theoretical framework aimed at highlighting the evolution of the concept of corporate sustainability following the introduction of ESG factors, a clustering of non-performing loans of Italian companies is proposed using a k-Means algorithm, comparing the results obtained through two different methods, namely the Elbow method and the Silhouette coefficient. Finally, using data on Italian regions between 2004 and 2023, an empirical analysis is conducted to provide an estimate of the relationship between non-performing loans and some variables related to ESG components.

Micronutrient deficiencies remain a public health burden among non-pregnant women in developing countries, including Nepal. Hence, this study examined micronutrient deficiencies among non-pregnant Nepalese women aged 15-49 using the 2016 Nepal National Micronutrient Status Survey (NNMSS). Data on 2143 non-pregnant women was extracted from the 2016 NNMSS. The study analysed ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), red blood cell (RBC) folate and zinc. Multivariable logistic analysis was carried out to assess factors associated with micronutrient deficiencies. Prevalence of ferritin, sTfR, folate, and zinc were 19%, 13%, 16% and 21%, respectively. Non-pregnant women from the Janajati region were significantly less prone to ferritin [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.45; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.25, 0.80], and those who had body mass index (BMI) of 25 kg/m2 or higher had significantly higher odds of ferritin [AOR: 2.69; 95% CI: 1.01, 7.17]. Non-pregnant women aged 35-49 years were significantly less predisposed to folate deficiency [AOR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.40, 0.83], and the likelihood of zinc deficiency was significantly lower among non-pregnant women from richer households [AOR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.31, 0.76]. The study provides further insight into screening high-risk subgroups and instituting public health interventions to address the prevailing micronutrient deficiencies among non-pregnant Nepalese women.

Within the polyurethanes market, only 0.1% are from renewable sources. With the continuing concern about climate change and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the substitution of monomers and processes derived from petrochemical sources is crucial for the development of biomaterials. Therefore, polyhydroxyurethanes have propose due to their synthesis route with the incorporation of monomers from renewable sources such as vegetable oils and the substitution of isocyanates known for their high toxicity, carcinogenicity and petrochemical origin, and the use of carbon dioxide. There are few reports on the use of soybean oil and the possible application of these materials in wound healing applications. Based on this, polyhydroxyurethanes were obtained from carbonated soybean oil and two diamines, one aliphatic: 1,4-butadiamine (putrescine), and one cycloaliphatic: 1,3-cyclohexanobis(methylamine), and they were physiochemically, mechanically, and thermally characterized. Four polyhydroxyurethanes were obtained, with stability to hydrolytic and oxidative media, thermal stability above 200 °C, tensile strength between 0.9-1.1 MPa, elongation at break between 81 and 222%. And water absorption up 102% and contact angle between 63,70 and 101,39. Achieving new formulations of biobased NIPHUs that represent a more sustainable process which allow to achieve the physicochemical, mechanical, and thermal properties required for the preparation of wound dressings.

As critical biocontrol agents, Trichoderma and Metarhizium have demonstrated vast potential in disease prevention and pest control respectively. Current applications, however, are predominantly confined to singular use or simplistic combinations of the two fungi. This study innovatively utilizes Metarhizium and Trichoderma as experimental subjects, employing non-targeted metabolomics to compare the differences in metabolites between co-culture and separate fermentation. The metabolite distinctions in co-culture are meticulously analyzed using sample correlation, least squares discriminant analysis, cluster analysis, and KEGG enrichment analysis. Metabolome sequencing analysis is then applied to compare the co-culture fermentation filtrate with Trichoderma atroviride and Metarhizium anisopliae. Differential metabolite analysis found that co-culture had significantly up-regulated or down-regulated metabolites compared to singular cultures.However,significant metabolite discrepancies are discovered in singular cultures, notably the up-regulated metabolites such as osthole and spirocyclic amine, which have documented antibacterial functions that may prove effective against Fusarium graminearum. Ultimately, the findings from this research contribute to the exploration of synergistic applications of biocontrol fungi and serve as a valuable reference for future development of bio-pesticides for disease and pest control.

This study aimed to investigate whether non-fasting plasma triglycerides were associated with diabetes mortality. It included 7,312 US adult participants. Diabetes mortality data were obtained via linkage to the National Death Index (NDI) records. Hazard ratios of non-fasting plasma triglycerides for diabetes mortality were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, obesity, poverty-income ratio, education levels, physical activity, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking status, survey period, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes, and family history of diabetes. Among these participants, 1,180 had diabetes. A total of 420 diabetes-caused deaths were recorded during a mean follow-up of 16.8 years. A 1-natural-log-unit increase in non-fasting plasma triglycerides was associated with a 41% higher diabetes mortality risk (hazard ratio, 1.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.19-1.67). Participants with non-fasting plasma triglycerides in the highest quintile, versus those in the lowest quintile, had a 144% higher diabetes mortality risk (hazard ratio, 2.44; 95% confidence interval, 1.49-4.02). The positive association of non-fasting plasma triglycerides with diabetes mortality was independent of diabetes status at the baseline. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that non-fasting plasma triglycerides were positively associated with diabetes mortality, independent of diabetes status at the baseline. Non-fasting triglycerides may be a therapeutic target for diabetes-related complications.

GCTs are developmental tumors and likely to reflect ontogenetic and teratogenetic determinants. The objective was to identify syndromes with or without congenital anomalies and non-syndromic defects as potential risk factors. Patients with extracranial GCTs (eGCTs) registered in MAKEI 96/MAHO 98 between 1996 and 2017 were used. According to Teilum's holistic concept malignant and benign teratomas were registered. We used a case control study design with Orphanet as a reference group for syndromic defects and the Mainz birth registry (EUROCAT) for congenital anomalies at birth. Co-occurring genetic syndromes and/or congenital anomalies were assessed accordingly. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated and p-values for Fisher’s exact test with Bonferroni correction if needed. A strong association was confirmed for Swyer (OR 338.6, 95% CI 43.7-2623.6) and Currarino syndrome (OR 34.2, 95% CI 13.2-88.6). We additionally found 17 isolated cases of eGCT with a wide range of syndromes, however not significantly associated following Bonferroni correction. All these cases pertained to girls. Regarding non-syndromic defects, no association with eGCTs could be identified. In our study we confirmed a strong association for Swyer and Currarino syndromes with additional congenital anomalies.

Despite significant milestones in armed conflict research generally and climate security research specifically, methodologically tight explanation of naturally caused armed conflict still leaves much to be desired. In this article we unpack the black box of the climate-security nexus and advance causal modelling of armed conflict. To infer effects of natural causes on armed conflict outcomes, we apply recent advances in causal methods to conflict outcomes that have been non-experimentally observed across Iraqi municipalities. Retrieval of an entire empirical causal structure of climate-conflict pathways allows us to corroborate the existence of a cause-and-effect relationship between climatological, environmental, and demographic variables and armed conflict. We confirm that soil temperature, population density, and variability of latent energy cause an increase in fatalities, while rice production decreases fatalities. We discuss our findings, their limitations, and future research directions, and reflect on their relevance for policy interventions.

Background: Despite scientific advances, the management of procedural pain in neonates remains suboptimal. Applying adequate therapy to control pain during the neonatal period is a moral and ethical act. In recent decades, ample evidence has accumulated regarding the risks, associated with both untreated pain and the use of more aggressive analgesic therapy. Thus, the emphasis in neonatal clinical practice is on non-aggressive pain management techniques, including homeopathic agents. The efficacy and safety of homeopathic agents for reducing procedural pain in neonates is the subject of the present study. Materials and Methods: Healthy full-term newborn babies with an average age of 72-84 hours were included. They were divided into three study groups: group (A) – not anesthetised, /n= 67/, group (B) – anesthetised with Arnica D30 /n=40/ and group (C)- anesthetised with Sol.Glucose 25% /n=40/. The severity of the pain was assessed using the multimodal - Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) and the unimodal - Neonatal Facial Coding System (NFCS) scale. Assessments were done 30s before, 30 seconds after, and 5 minutes after the painful stimulus caused by the heel prick. Heart rate, transcutaneous oxygen saturation, respiratory rate and blood pressure were examined at the same intervals. The results obtained were processed statistically by descriptive analysis and ANOVA at a significance level of p&lt; 0.05. Results: 5 minutes after heel prick both scales showed a statistically significant lower score in those given Arnica D30, compared to those who received Sol.Glucose 25%. When monitoring the physiological indicators, we found a significant increase in the heart rate 30 seconds after the procedure.5 minutes after the heel prick we recorded significantly respiratory rate and systolic blood pressure in all three groups compared to pre-procedural values. Conclusions: Arnica D30 has better analgesic effects compared to Sol.Glucose 25% for newborn babies after heel prick tests.

Approximately 300 million non-cardiac surgeries are performed each year. Perioperative mortality after non-cardiac surgery is estimated at 2% in patients over 45 years of age . Half of these deaths are attributable to cardiovascular complications, and most to perioperative myocardial infarction (MINS). Before introduction of cardiac biomarkers the diagnosis of postoperative myocardial infarction was based on symptoms and electrocardiographic changes and its incidence was largely underestimated. The incidence of MINS when standard troponin assay is used ranges between 8 and 19% but increases to 20-30% whit high sensitivity troponin assays. Higher troponin values sugegsting myocardial injury , both with or without definite diagnosis of myocardial infarction, are associated with increased 30 day and 1-year mortality . Diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are reported .

Malnutrition problems are related to diets that lack one or more essential elements, which it is extremely important to food enrichment to improve the content of compounds effective for health. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of the addition of Ca2+, K+ and Mg2+ on the induction of nutraceutical quality in grafted tomatoes grown in the NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) system. In the experiment, two factors were evaluated: plants with and without grafting and the foliar application of 10 ml L−1 Ca2+, 4 ml L−1 K+ and 10 ml L−1 Mg2+ cations separately for each case, in addition to the control. The treatments were evaluated using a completely randomized design, with 5 repetitions per treatment. The interactive effects between grafting and foliar application of Ca2+ induced a greater content lycopene, β-carotene and total flavonoids in fruits of tomato. The interactive effects between the graft and the Mg2+ foliar applications obtained the best results in the phenol content. As regards, capacity DPPH and ABTS, the graft decreased concentration, increasing the content of these through foliar applications of calcium. Regarding the enzymatic variables, graft factor increased activity catalase, glutathione peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonium lyase, obtained the best results graft interaction and foliar application of calcium and magnesium. The results obtained demonstrate the influence of the use of grafts and foliar applications of cal-cium and magnesium as tools that could improve the nutraceutical quality content of tomato crop

Metformin is an oral antidiabetic agent with antimicrobial properties, excreted in an active and unmetabolized form. Like some non-antibiotic drugs, subinhibitory concentrations of metformin may contribute to the expression of microbial resistance in wild-type strains. This work aimed to evaluate the biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa TGC04 exposed to 100 and 200 µg/mL of metformin, varying the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and flow regime. Biofilms were quantified after 2 and 24 hours, observing reductions and increases in biofilm growth around 13 and 64%, respectively. The greatest biofilm growth occurred in cells exposed to 200 µg/mL of metformin. Both the flow regime and COD concentration were important for the development of the biofilm, whose cells were mostly weakly to moderately adhered. The study provides evidence that in polluted aquatic systems with turbulent regimes, the inhibitory concentration of metformin promoted the least disturbances to the biofilm.

In this review, we will cover a general overview of the current panorama on lncRNAs with an actual or potential role as biological markers in cancer. We will discuss examples of multi-omics approaches that integrates information on somatic aberrations, gene expression and epigenomics, with the scope of providing a more comprehensive view of the functional impact of lncRNA profiles and how these paradigm can be exploited for the discovery and selection of lncRNAs with a functional role and their use as variables informing on progression and prognostic and help guiding the selection of therapeutic strategies for cancers. Finally, we propose a perspective for future evolution of the study of lncRNAs and the discovery of their functional and harnessing their potential to assist in clinical management of malignancies.

Small bowel non-Meckelian diverticulosis is a rare condition with only few published cases despite being described over 200 years ago. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, studies suggested that a lot of patients may experience gastrointestinal manifestations. Intestinal symptoms could worsen the inflammation and infection associated with small bowel diverticulitis. Here, we present two cases: one with inflammation and rupture in a COVID-19 patient and the other as an asymptomatic detection. Furthermore, we provide a mini-review of the literature to emphasize the importance of considering this entity in the differential diagnosis of an acute abdomen.

This publication delves into the intricate world of human communication, extending beyond the realm of spoken and written language to explore the profound influence of non-verbal communication. Focusing on body language—comprising gestures, facial expressions, postures, and movements—it reveals the pivotal role it plays in conveying emotions, intentions, and psychological states. The rapidly evolving fields of neuroscience and cognitive science are investigating the neural mechanisms and cognitive processes that underpin the interpretation and utilization of these non-verbal cues. Notably, the amygdala's involvement in processing emotional facial expressions has provided a neurological foundation for our emotional understanding in non-verbal communication. Concurrently, cognitive psychology sheds light on how perception, attention, and memory influence our interpretation of non-verbal cues and communication strategies.In our modern, technologically advancing society characterized by global interconnectivity and cultural diversity, the significance of non-verbal communication, especially in digital and virtual contexts, is paramount. The transformation of non-verbal expression into digital symbols like emoticons and emojis raises questions regarding its ability to maintain authenticity and emotional understanding. This publication endeavors to comprehensively explore the fundamental role of body language and non-verbal communication in contemporary society. By integrating insights from psychology, neuroscience, social sciences, and digital technologies, it aims to elucidate the underlying mechanisms guiding non-verbal communication. Additionally, it delves into the implications of non-verbal communication across diverse domains, including interpersonal communication, the workplace, politics, advertising, and the virtual world.The research presented herein strives to offer a thorough understanding of interpersonal dynamics, relationships, and social behavior, with the goal of promoting the development of more effective, conscious, and ethically guided communication strategies. Ultimately, this analysis aspires to inspire further interdisciplinary research and reflection, addressing emerging challenges and fully leveraging the potential of non-verbal communication in modern society. This, in turn, guides our path towards a communication landscape that is more inclusive, authentic, and empathetic.

Although adult spontaneous (non-diabetic) hypoglycaemia is rare, its recognition is important for the preventative or curative treatment of the underlying cause. Establishing Whipple’s triad; low blood glucose, neuroglycopaenia and resolution of neuroglycopaenia on increasing blood glucose levels to normal or above, is essential to verify hypoglycaemia. Awareness that hypoglycaemia may occur in severely ill patients is important for its prevention. Further investigation in such cases is unnecessary unless another cause of hypoglycaemia is suspected. Patients are often asymptomatic and normoglycaemic at review. History of medication, self-medication, access to hypoglycaemic drugs, alcohol and comorbidity may provide aetiological clues. The investigation involves obtaining blood samples during symptoms for laboratory glucose measurement or provoking fasting or postprandial hypoglycaemia as directed by symptoms. If confirmed, insulin, c-peptide, proinsulin, beta-hydroxybutyrate are analysed in hypoglycaemic samples. These will classify hypoglycaemia due to non-ketotic hyperinsulinaemia, non-ketotic hypoinsulinaemia and ketotic hypoinsulinaemia and direct investigations to identify the underlying cause. There are, however, many pitfalls, which may mislabel healthy individuals as “hypoglycaemic” or misdiagnose treatable or preventable causes of spontaneous hypoglycaemia. Clinical acumen and appropriate investigations will mostly identify hypoglycaemia and its cause.

This paper presents ConF, a novel deep learning model designed for accurate and efficient prediction of non-coding RNA families. NcRNAs are essential functional RNA molecules involved in various cellular processes, including replication, transcription, and gene expression. Identifying ncRNA families is crucial for comprehensive RNA research, as ncRNAs within the same family often exhibit similar functionalities. Traditional experimental methods for identifying ncRNA fam-ilies are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Computational approaches relying on annotated secondary structure data face limitations in handling complex structures like pseudoknots and have restricted applicability, resulting in suboptimal prediction performance. To overcome these chal-lenges, ConF integrates mainstream techniques such as residual networks with dilated convolutions and cross multi-head attention mechanisms. By employing a combination of dual-layer convolu-tional networks and BiLSTM, ConF effectively captures intricate features embedded within RNA sequences. This feature extraction process leads to significantly improved prediction accuracy compared to existing methods. Experimental evaluations conducted on a ten-fold publicly available dataset demonstrate the superiority of ConF in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, and other perfor-mance metrics. Overall, ConF represents a promising solution for accurate and efficient ncRNA family prediction, addressing the limitations of traditional experimental and computational methods.

Background: Chronic, non-cancer pain represents a serious public health and economic issue affecting approximately 20% of the global population. Chronic pain can affect many aspects of patient’s lives, including mental health, employment, and relationships. Current medical management is largely focussed on investigating and managing acute pain. Patients and clinicians are now increasingly aware of the potential benefits of combined treatments or complex interventions in alleviating chronic pain. These approaches include both physical interventions, such as exercise or yoga, as well as psychological support including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and talking therapies. Methods: This study used network meta-analyses to explore the prevalence of complex interventions in pain management, and the effects of these interventions on quality of life, using outcome measures including intensity of chronic pain, assessment of functional disability and participant’s psychological state. Results: Psychological interventions were associated with improvements in pain intensity and depression. Exercise and manipulation technique-based treatments provided a statistically significant reduction in pain intensity. This effect was enhanced when exercise and CBT were combined. Mensendieck somatocognitive therapy (MSCT) plus standard gynaecological treatment (STGT) treatments appeared to have a better effect on chronic pain than multimodal exercise plus CBT treatment. Combined MSCT and STGT treatment, and multimodal exercise plus CBT treatments, reduced pain intensity, whilst MSCT+STGT treatments had a slightly better effect than exercise plus CBT treatment.Conclusions: Complex interventions have become more popular with patients as the risks associated with other interventions including surgery and pharmacological management have become better understood. These interventions can have a significant positive effect both on the physical and psychological health of patients. The analysis presented in this study suggests that further work is warranted in this area and that additional studies are required, both in more geographically diverse locations, and with larger cohorts.

The need to regulate the non-exhaust particulate emissions from vehicles has been discussed worldwide due to the toxicity to the human body as well as the atmosphere. In-depth studies have been conducted on precise analysis of the non-exhaust particulates, in particular, accurate measurement of tire-brake-road wear particles, and their proportion in the atmosphere. In this study, the influence of tire and road wear particles (TRWP) on particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere was investigated through tire and PM samples. PM samples were collected from the atmosphere using a high-volume sampler equipped with a quartz filter. Additionally, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals in tire rubber were analyzed as markers by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), GC/MS, and inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ICP/MS). More vinylcyclohexene was detected than dipentene in the markers measured in the samples of tires equipped with vehicles driving on the road with the high-volume sampler installed, while more dipentene was detected in total suspended particles (TSP) samples. Among the PAHs measured in tire samples, pyrene exhibited the highest concentration. In TSP samples, benzo(b)fluoranthene showed the highest concentration. Among the heavy metals, zinc exhibited the highest concentration in all tire samples and calcium in TSP samples.

With the development of data science, more and more machine learning technologies have been designed to solve complicated and challenging real-world tasks containing a large volume of data. And many significant real-world datasets contain data in the form of networks or graphs. Graph Neural Networks is one of the powerful machine learning tools, which could provide a perfect solution to processing a large amount of non-Euclidean data. And because most bio information data in bioinformatics is in the non-Euclidean domain, Graph Neural Networks could then directly be applied to solve problems in bioinformatics. Much research has been done in the field of GNN, and there are also some surveys related to GNN and its applications. However, there has been little research focusing on GNN in bioinformatics, and we think in the future we could better utilize GNN in the field of biology, so we would like to write a literature review to help take a comprehensive look at GNN and their applications in the field of bioinformatics. In this paper, we would first introduce SOTA models in Graph Neural Networks, and second, introduce their applications in bio information. And then we would provide future directions of Graph Neural Networks in bioinformatics.

In this paper we use the additive thermodynamic formalism to obtain new bounds of the Hausdorff and box-counting dimension of certain non conformal hyperbolic repellers defined by piecewise smooth expanding maps on a $d$-dimensional smooth manifold $M$.

We suggest that the 14^th century scholar Nicholas of Autrecourt can be regarded as a precursor of the paraconsistent logics developed around 1950. We show how the Sorbonne licentiatus in theology provided in his few extant writings a refutation of both the principle of explosion and the law of non-contradiction, in accordance with the tenets of paraconsistent logics. This paves the way to the most advanced theories of truth in natural language and quantum dynamics.

We extend the standard solid-state quantum mechanical Hamiltonian containing only Coulomb interactions between the charged particles by inclusion of the (transverse) current-current diamagnetic interaction starting form the non-relativistic QED restricted to the states without photons and neglecting the retardation in the photon propagator. This derivation is supplemented with a derivation of an analogous result along the non-rigorous old classical Darwin-Landau-Lifshitz argumentation within the physical Coulomb gauge.

Although cancers account for over 16% of all global deaths annually, at present, no reliable therapies exist for most types of the disease. As protein folding facilitators, heat shock proteins (Hsps) play an important role in cancer development. Not surprisingly, Hsps are among leading anticancer drug targets. Generally, Hsp70s are divided into two main subtypes: canonical Hsp70 (E. coli Hsp70/DnaK homologues) and the non-canonical (Hsp110 and Grp170) members. These two main Hsp70 groups are delineated from each other by distinct structural and functional specifications. Non-canonical Hsp70s are considered as holdase chaperones, while canonical Hsp70s are refoldases. This distinct characteristic feature is mirrored by the distinct structural features of these two groups of chaperones. Hsp110/Grp170 members are larger as they possess an extended acidic insertion in their substrate binding domains. While the role of canonical Hsp70s in cancer has received a fair share of attention, the roles of non-canonical Hsp70s in cancer development has received less attention in comparison. In the current review, we discuss the structure-function features of non-canonical Hsp70s members and how these features impact on their role in cancer development. We further mapped out their interactome and discussed the prospects of targeting these proteins in cancer therapy.

On-farm research was conducted at Gouripur sub-district under Mymensingh district of Bangladesh during the boro (mid November-June) season in 2013-14 and 2014-15 to evaluate the performance of non-puddled rice cultivation with and without crop residue retention. The rice var. BRRI dhan28 was transplanted by two tillage practices viz., puddled conventional tillage (CT) and non-puddled strip tillage (ST) and at two levels of mustard residues, i.e., no residue (R₀) and 50% residue (R₅₀). The experiment was designed in a randomized complete block design with four replications. There were no significant yield differences between tillage practices and residue levels in 2013-14. But in the following year, ST yielded 9% more grain compared to CT leading to 22% higher BCR. Retention of 50% residue increased yield by 3% compared to no-residue, which contributed to 10% higher benefit-cost ratio (BCR). The ST combined with 50% residue retention yielded the highest grain yield (5.81 t ha^-1) which contributed to produce the highest BCR (1.06).

The General equilibrium theory tries to show how and why all free markets tend toward equilibrium in the long run. However, what is meant by equilibrium in this paper is more from a thermodynamical point of view. In order to understand the actual situation, it is necessary to study open systems which are complex. In physics, such a behavior in a complex system can be explain by using Non Equilibrium Thermodynamics. A system is able to self-organize and sustain itself away from equilibrium. Economic systems may fluctuate around a particular point. To sustain it far from the equilibrium state, it needs to degrade more energy and materials. In this study, the energy consumption patterns of Sri Lanka and USA are discussed. The pattern concerning Sri Lanka is close to the model proposed here, whereas the energy consumption pattern of USA is more complicated due to external factors.

The goal of this paper is to explore the relationship between the specific non-performing loan ratio (NPL ratio) and the corresponding impact on the bank’s profitability and lending behavior. It also seeks to investigate the macroeconomic impacts of economies with excessively high NPL ratios as well as the efficacy and impact of alleviation measures used by banks and governments around the world to help facilitate a decrease in high NPL ratios. The possible implications and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on NPL ratios is also addressed in this paper. It is found that when excessively high NPL ratios go unaddressed, the economy tends to suffer. On the other hand, this study shows that when measures are taken to reduce or eliminate the high NPL ratios, economic performance improves, and the reduction has a clear positive impact on the economy.

A description of the motion in Non-Inertial Reference Frames by means of the inclusion of high time derivatives is studied. It is noted that incompleteness of the description of physical reality is a problem of any theory: both quantum mechanics and classical physics. The "stability principle" is put forward. We also provide macroscopic examples of Non-Inertial Mechanics and verify the use of high-order derivatives as non-local hidden variables based the equivalence principle when acceleration is equal to the gravitational field. Acceleration in this case is a function of the higher derivatives with respect to time. The definition of Dark Metrics for matter and energy is presented to replace the standard notions of Dark Matter and Dark Energy.

Night-time lights interact with human physiology through different pathways starting at the retinal layers of the eye, from the signals provided by the rods, the S-, L- and M-cones, and the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGC). These individual photic channels combine in complex ways to modulate important physiological processes, among them the daily entrainment of the neural master oscillator that regulates circadian rhythms. Evaluating the relative excitation of each type of photoreceptor generally requires full knowledge of the spectral power distribution of the incoming light, information that is not easily available in many practical applications. One such instance is wide area sensing of public outdoor lighting; present-day radiometers onboard Earth-orbiting platforms with sufficient nighttime sensitivity are generally panchromatic and lack the required spectral discrimination capacity. In this paper we show that RGB imagery acquired with off-the-shelf digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLR) can be a useful tool to evaluate, with reasonable accuracy and high angular resolution, the photoreceptoral inputs associated with a wide range of lamp technologies. The method is based on linear regressions of these inputs against optimum combinations of the associated R, G, and B signals, built for a large set of artificial light sources by means of synthetic photometry. Given the widespread use of RGB imaging devices, this approach is expected to facilitate the monitoring of the physiological effects of light pollution, from ground and space alike, using standard imaging technology.

Facing with errors of a product after machining was a big title in this field. That will affect to product’s quality with unpredictable situation when products is in use for some particular application such as in medical facilities. Improving the precision of machine tools by exploring temperature on multiple points and measuring differential locations of the spindle is going to be executed in this study. A temperature measurement tool and a software running on Windows platform have been developed and combining with Non-bar system in order to support analyzing the temperature rising with the changes of length of the spindle to find the compensation solution based on eccentricity and length distortion. In this study, the whole tests have done on UX300 five – axis CNC machine tools for this investigation and the errors after applying compensation function have reduced 70% at least, with respect to the errors after machining without using compensation function.

We present a new method of estimating fitness of countries and complexity of products by exploiting a non-linear non-homogeneous map applied to the publicly available information on the goods exported by a country. The non homogeneous terms guarantee both convergence and stability. After a suitable rescaling of the relevant quantities, the non homogeneous terms are eventually set to zero so that this new method is parameter free. This new map reproduces the findings of the method proposed by Tacchella et al. [1], and allows for an approximate analytic solution in case of actual binarized matrices based on the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) indicator. This solution is connected with a new quantity describing the neighborhood of nodes in bipartite graphs, representing in this work the relations between countries and exported products. Moreover, we define the new indicator of country net-efficiency quantifying how a country efficiently invests in capabilities able to generate innovative complex high quality products. Eventually, we demonstrate analytically the local convergence of the algorithm.

Anomalous waves and rogue events are closely associated with irregularities and unexpected events occurring at various levels of physics, such as in optics, in oceans and in the atmosphere. Mathematical modeling of rogue waves is a highly actual field of research, which has evolved over the last decades into a specialized part of mathematical physics. The applications of the mathematical models for rogue events is directly relevant to technology development for prediction of rogue ocean waves, and for signal processing in quantum units. In this survey, a comprehensive perspective of the most recent developments in methods for representing rogue waves is given, along with discussion of the devised and forms and solutions. The standard nonlinear Schrödinger equation, the Hirota equation, the MMT equation and further to other models are discussed, and their properties highlighted. This survey shows that the most recent advancement in modeling rogue waves give models which can be used to establish methods for prediction of rogue waves at open seas, which is important for the safety and activity of marine vessels and installations. The study further puts emphasis on the difference between the methods, and how the resulting models form a basis for representing rogue waves in various forms, solitary or with a wave-background. This review has also a pedagogic component directed towards students and interested non-experts, and forms a complete survey of the most conventional and emerging methods published until recently

A specialized microenvironment in the bone marrow, composed of stromal cells including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), support hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) self-renewal and differentiation but also regulates leukemia development and progression. The reciprocal direct interaction between MSCs and CD34+ HSCs under physiological and pathological conditions has not been well characterized yet. Here, we established a direct co-culture model between MSCs and CD34+ HSCs or MSCs and acute myeloid leukemia cells (THP-1, Molm-13, and primary cells from patients) to study cell-cell communication. Following MSCs-CD34+ HSCs co-culture, the expression of adhesion markers N-cadherin and connexin 43 increased in both cell types, forming gap junction channels. Moreover, the clonogenic potential of CD34+ HSCs was increased. However, direct contact of acute myeloid leukemia cells with MSCs reduced the expression levels of connexin 43 and N-cadherin in MSCs. The impairment in gap junction formation could be ascertained to a defect in the acute myeloid leukemia derived MSCs. Interestingly, CD34+ HSCs and acute myeloid leukemia cell lines restrained MSCs from engaging into osteoblastic differentiation upon prolonged direct cell-cell contact. In conclusion, under physiological conditions, connexin 43 and N-cadherin interaction preserves stemness of both CD34+ HSCs and MSCs, a process that is compromised in acute myeloid leukemia, pointing out to the possible role of gap junctions in modulating stemness.

Soccer is the leading cause of all sports-related ocular injuries in Europe and Israel and leads to blindness at a disproportionately high rate, especially among children (Thompson et al., 2019). With soccer being the most popular sport in the world, it is surprising the only solution to ocular injuries are sports glasses which can cause direct damage to the eye and impair peripheral vision by 15%, calling for an alternative (Smith & Jones, 2020). This work, based on an imported facial model, focuses on both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of building a personalized, low-cost (through optimizing material needed), superior apparatus to conventional sports glasses. The quantitative side examines a modified and model-validated (through a SRS of thirty unique extrapolated points) multivariate linear regression equation, based on horizontal and vertical rotation angles (n=60) trained with residual and computer simulation data, that can accurately extrapolate and quantify ocular impact from all horizontal and vertical rotation angles and a modified Hertzian Contact Stress Equation to determine the thickness of the apparatus using the elasticity modulus, impact force, and geometrical facial and soccer-ball features. The qualitative side examines where firstly, ocular impact is most prevalent, and secondly, where most impact is seen from rotating the ball horizontally and vertically through analysis of Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient at the supraorbital, medial canthus, infraorbital, and lateral canthus regions from both regression equations as well as a cost-benefit analysis for comparison with conventional sports glasses. The findings discovered in this work lay the groundwork for future research to build a customized low-cost ocular injury prevention device which can simultaneously ensure complete ocular safety while enhancing athletic performance for over 250,000,000 players (Johnson & Garcia, 2022).

Abstract Introduction:The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) managed the exchange of cross-border contact tracing data between public health authorities (PHA) in Germany and abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aim: We aimed to describe the extent of RKI cross-border contact tracing and the challenges experienced. Methods:We analysed cross-border COVID-19 contact tracing events from 03 February to 05 April 2020 using information exchanged through the European “Early Warning Response System” (EWRS) as well as communication with International Health Regulation (IHR) national focal points. We described events by PHA involved, number of contact persons and exposure context. Results:The RKI processed 467 events, initiating contact to PHA 1,099 times (median 1, IQR [1;2]) and sharing data on 5,099 contact persons. Of 327 (70%) events with known exposure context, most common reported were exposures on aircraft 64 (14%), on cruise ships 24 (5%) and exposures related to non-transport contexts 210 (45%). Cruise ship and aircraft exposures yielded higher median numbers of authorities contacted (10[2;16], 4[2;11]) and contact persons (60 [9;269], 2[1;3]) than non-transport related exposures (1[1;6] and 1[1;2]), respectively. The median time spend on contact tracing activities was the highest for cruise ships: 5 days [IQR 3;9]. Conclusion:In the current COVID-19 pandemic cross-border contact tracing is considered a critical component of the outbreak response. While the majority of international contact tracing activities did not relate to exposure events in transport, they contributed substantially to the workload. The numerous communications highlight the need for fast and efficient global outbreak communication channels between PHA.

Abstract: Epigenetic approaches in direct correlation with assessment of critical genetic mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are currently very intensive, as the epigenetic components in NSCLC development and progression have attained high recognition. In this level of research, established human NSCLC cell lines as well as experimental animals are widely used to detect novel biomarkers and pharmacological targets to treat NSCLC. The epigenetic background of NSCLC is highly complex and requires precise definition as these phenomena are variable between NSCLC subtypes and systems origin. We engaged an in-depth characterization of non-coding (nc)RNAs prevalent in human KRAS-mutant NSCLC cell lines A549 and H460 and mouse KRAS-mutant NSCLC tissue by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and quantitative Real Time PCRs (qPCRs). Also, the effect of transcription factor (TF) LRF, a known epigenetic silencer, was examined on the epigenome modulation. Finally, interacting networks underlying epigenetic variations in NSCLC subtypes were created. Data derived from our study highlights the divergent epigenetic profiles of NSCLC of human and mouse origin, as well as the significant contribution of 12qf1: 109,709,060-109,747,960 mouse chromosomal region to micro-RNA upregulated species. Fur-thermore, the novel epigenetic miR-148b-3p/PVT1/ZBTB7A axis was identified, which differentiates lung adenocarcinoma from large cell lung carcinoma, two characteristic NSCLC subtypes. The detailed recording of epigenetic events in NSCLC and combinational studies including networking between ncRNAs and TFs validate the identification of significant epigenetic features, prevailing in NSCLC subtypes and among experimental models. Our results enrich knowledge in the field and empower research on the epigenetic prognostic biomarkers of the disease and patient-tailored treatments.

A stable match, an intercuspated maxilla-mandible relation is the universally accepted goal for dental restorative interventions, yet the underlying sensorimotor mechanisms to achieve this goal in the natural jaw closure remains to be elucidated. Dentists have intuitively regarded peripheral sensory innervation from tooth contacts as a significant control element for jaw muscle actions, both in the state of health and in cases of pathological dysfunction. However, therapeutical interventions for reshaping the dental arch anatomy and jaw relations have not always been successful. Repetitive masticatory chewing cycles, swallowing, talking, as well as volitional jaw-opening and -closing involve stereotyped neural commands from the central nervous system that are modulated in reaction to the sensory afferent feedback from the peripheral neurons and their sensor organs. The aim of this article is to describe, on a fraction of a second time-scale, the minuscule tilts and kinematic events of mandible during the making of a stable match with maxilla. Evidence of the importance of tooth contacts as the sensorimotor motivation of each of the successive kinematic steps of the “mandible-meets-maxilla-narrative” are discussed.

Adopting an immune response and tissue-based nomenclature in food allergies brings the field closer to precision and personalized medicine. An updated classification of non-IgE-mediated food hypersensitivity highlights mechanisms through a complex pathophysiological perspective and endotype-driven framework. This approach aligns with the essential goals of discovering new diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers, enhancing the understanding of clinical presentations, and refining immunotherapy and targeted treatments, such as monoclonal antibodies and small molecule drugs, to improve patient management and quality of life. Endotype-focused and molecular-based decision-making also endows translational and clinical research, fostering the ongoing scientific quest for more innovative solutions.

An isolated system always evolves according to unitary evolution and maintain coherence. However the system inevitably interacts with the environment, information about the relative phases between the quantum states leaks into the environment and becomes delocalized, known as environment-induced decoherence. Here we consider the gravitational decoherence of a quantum system near the event horizon of a Schwarzschild black hole. We show that the gravitational decoherence is non-Markovian, which is consistent with information conservation and the Pagecurve-like entanglement dynamics. Moreover, taking the point of view that information on the collapsed matter is stored as the quantum fluctuation of the horizon, the horizon can be regarded as an “uncertain” quantum object instead of random fluctuations of graviton noise. Now the Hawking radiation bath plays the role of the environment, leading to the decoherence of the horizon. Therefore, information about the location of the horizon, or equivalently information about the collapsed matter, is carried away by the Hawking radiation. The memory time of the non-Markovian process and the Page time are estimated.

Background: Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally, predo-minantly affecting older individuals. Despite the increasing use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) like nivolumab in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the efficacy and safety in elderly pa-tients, particularly those aged 65 and above, remain underexplored due to their underrepresenta-tion in clinical trials. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from 60 elderly patients (≥65 years) with metastatic NSCLC who received nivolumab as second-line or later therapy between January 2020 and May 2023. Results: The median age was 67 years, with a predominance of males (78%). Nivolumab was administered for a median of 8 cycles, with 33.3% of patients recei-ving 15 or more cycles. The median OS was 23 months, and the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 93.3%, 54.1%, and 18.6%, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified adenocarcinoma histology, fewer than 15 cycles of nivolumab, and non-response to prior therapies as independent predictors of poor OS. Nivolumab treatment was generally well-tolerated, with 45% of patients experiencing at least grade 1 toxicity. Conclusion: Nivolumab is effective and well-tolerated in elderly patients with metastatic NSCLC, providing survival benefits comparable to those observed in younger populations. The number of treatment cycles and initial response to therapy are key determinants of survival, underscoring the importance of continued treatment in this age group.

The study addressed the following questions: How does continuous lighting (CL) im-pact plant physiology, photosynthetic and stress response? Does the impact of CL de-pend on the source of light and other environmental factors (natural vs artificial)? Do responses to CL differ for native and non-native plant species in the Subarctic and, if differences exist, what physiological reasons might they be associated with? Experi-ments were conducted with three native to Subarctic (Geranium sylvaticum L., Geum rivale L., Potentilla erecta (L.) Raeusch.) and three non-native plant species (Geranium himalayense Klotzsch, Geum coccineum Sibth. & Sm., Potentilla atrosanguinea Loddiges ex D. Don) introduced in Polar-Alpine Botanic Garden (KPABG, 67°38′N). Obtained re-sults have shown that plants lack specific mechanisms of tolerance to CL. Protective responses are non-specific and induced by developing photo-oxidative stress. In cli-mate chambers under constant environmental conditions artificial CL causes leaf inju-ries due to oxidative stress, the main cause of which is circadian asynchrony. In nature plants are not photodamaged during the polar day as endogenous rhythms are main-tained due to daily fluctuations of several environmental factors (light intensity, spec-tral distribution, temperature and air humidity). The obtained data show that among possible non-specific protective mechanisms, plants use flavonoids to neutralize excess ROS generated under CL. In local subarctic plants, their photoprotective role is signif-icantly higher than in non-native introduced plant species.

Introduction After the first use of infliximab in Crohn’s disease in 1995, the wide scale introduction of anti-tumour necrosis factor alfa (anti-TNF alfa) medications revolutionized the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD’s). During the last two decades an increased number of molecules with multiple mechanisms of action were approved for the treatment of IBD with substantial increase of the costs of related to therapy. The increasing costs and access to therapy became a concern of payers and regulators but also for healthcare professionals. Biosimilars are biologic medical products that are highly structurally identical to their reference products and without any clinically meaningful differences in immunogenicity, safety or effectiveness. The introduction of biosimilars was seen as a way to provide a lower-cost alternative to the originator anti-TNF molecules and hence to increase treatment access and availability for patients. Material and methods This an observational, prospective study conducted in two IBD centers in Bucharest. The study included 53 patients, 27 male(M) and 26 female(F), diagnosed with UC or BC according to standard clinical,endoscopic, radiological, histological criteria that were non medically switched to a biosimilar. All patients completed at least the induction treatment with the originator adalimumab and they were clinically stable. After switch they received one of the market available biosimilars of Adalimumab(Hukyndra, Imraldi or Hyrimoz). For each patient, the following data were collected: age, sex, BC or UC diagnosis, previous and current therapy, clinical evolution, endoscopic scores as well as several biological markers. Aim The primary objective was the maintenance of clinical remission at twelve months after switching the original Adalimumab treatment to the biosimilar Adalimumab. The secondary objectives were to evaluate the presence of adverse effects and the treatment persistence at one year. Results In our population, there were 42 patients with Crohn's disease and 11 with ulcerative colitis who switched from the originator adalimumab to a biosimilar Adalimumab. The average age was 44,07 years old for patients with BC and 51,72 years old for patients with UC. No significant differences were found in terms of CF and CRP levels at 6 and 12 months after changing the originator biologic treatment to a biosimilar. Only one patient required changing the biological treatment, following the clinical and biological loss of response. The main adverse effect reported by patients was pain at the injection site. Of the 53 patients, only 2 patients reported pain at the injection site, but this was considered not significant because the patients had a BMI below 20 and they also reported the same symptom when administering the originator. One patient reported experiencing abdominal pain and rectal bleeding immediately after switch, but no recurrence was observed clinically and endoscopically. Conclusion: This observational study is the first carried out in Romania that shows that the after the non-medical switch, biosimilars of Adalimumab were as efficient as the originator Adalimumab in the clinical practice of patients with IBD. These results support that conclusion that the large-scale use of biosimilars does not significantly affect the effectiveness of the therapy and the safety of the patient.

Assessing the quality of corn seeds necessitates evaluating their content of water, fat, protein, and starch. This study integrates hyperspectral imaging technology with chemometric analysis techniques to achieve non-invasive and rapid detection of multiple key components in corn seeds. Hyperspectral images of the embryo surface of maize seeds were collected within the wavelength range of 1100~2498nm. Subsequently, image segmentation techniques were applied to extract the germ structure of the corn seeds as the region of interest. Seven spectral data preprocessing algorithms were employed, and the Detrending Transformation (DT) algorithm was identified as the optimal preprocessing method through comparative analysis using the Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) model. To reduce spectral redundancy and streamline the prediction model, three algorithms were employed for characteristic wavelength extraction: Successive Projections Algorithm (SPA), Competitive Adaptive Reweighted Sampling (CARS), and Uninformative Variable Elimination (UVE). Using both the original spectra and the extracted characteristic wavelengths, four content detection models were constructed: PLSR, Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN), Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN), and Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LSSVM). The experimental results demonstrate that the DT-CARS-LSSVM model exhibits exceptional accuracy and stability in predicting these four key components, with determination coefficients of 0.9877, 0.9344, 0.9827, and 0.9592, respectively. This study not only provides a scientific basis for evaluating the quality of corn seeds but also opens up new avenues for the development of non-invasive detection technology in related fields.

This work presents the study of a reproducible acoustic emission method based on the launching of a metallic sphere and low-cost piezoelectric diaphragm. For this purpose, tests were first conducted on a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer structure, and then on an aluminum structure for comparative analysis. The Pencil Lead Break (PLB) tests were also conducted for comparisons with the proposed method. Different launching heights and elastic deformations of the structures were investigated. The results show higher repeatability for the sphere impact method, as the PLB is more affected by human inaccuracy, and it was also effective in damage detection.

The following article analyses the relationship between Non-Performing Loans and innovation systems at a global level. The analysed data were obtained from the World Bank and the Global Innovation Index for the period 2013-2022 for 149 countries. The analysis was conducted using clustering with the k-Means algorithm, optimized with the Silhouette coefficient and the Elbow method. Subsequently, econometric analysis was carried out using panel data with Random Ef-fects and Fixed Effects. The clustering results show that the optimal number of clusters is three. The econometric analysis highlights the positive relationship between Non-Performing Loans, the exports of cultural and creative services, and the Innovation Input Sub-Index. The results also show the negative relationship between Non-Performing Loans, the H-Index, and the exports and imports of ICT services.

Background: Approximately 10-20% of subjects vaccinated with HBsAg-based hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccines are non-responders. BM32 is a recombinant grass pollen allergy vaccine containing the HBV-derived preS surface antigen as immunological carrier protein. PreS includes the binding site of HBV to its receptor on hepatocytes. We investigated if immunological non-responsiveness to HBV after repeated HBsAg-based vaccinations can be overcome by immunization with VVX001 (i.e., Alum-adsorbed BM325, a component of BM32). Methods: A subject failing to develop protective HBV-specific immunity after HBsAg-based vaccination received five monthly injections of 20 µg VVX001. PreS-specific antibody responses were measured by ELISA and micro-array technology. Serum reactivity to subviral particles of different HBV genotypes was determined by sandwich ELISA. PreS-specific T cell responses were monitored by CFSE staining and subsequent FACS analysis. HBV neutralization was assessed using cultured HBV-infected HepG2 cells. Results: Vaccination with VVX001 induced a strong and sustained preS-specific antibody response composed mainly of the IgG1 subclass. PreS-specific IgG antibodies were primarily directed to the N-terminal part of preS containing the NTCP attachment site. IgG reactivity to sub-viral particles as well as to the N-terminal preS-derived peptides was comparable for HBV genotypes A-H. A pronounced reactivity of CD3+CD4+ lymphocytes specific for preS after the complete injection course remaining up to one year after the last injection was found. Maximal HBV neutralization (98.4%) in vitro was achieved 1 month after the last injection which correlated with the maximal IgG reactivity to the N-terminal part of preS. Conclusion: Our data suggest that VVX001 may be used as a preventive vaccination against HBV even in non-responders to HBsAg-based HBV vaccines.

Federated learning is an effective approach for preserving data privacy and security, enabling machine learning to occur in a distributed environment and promoting its development. However, an urgent problem that needs to be addressed is how to encourage active client participation in federated learning. The Shapley Value, a classical concept in cooperative game theory, has been utilized for data valuation in machine learning services. Nevertheless, existing numerical evaluation schemes based on the Shapley Value are impractical as they necessitate additional model training, leading to increased communication overhead. Moreover, participants’ data may exhibit Non-IID characteristics, posing a significant challenge to evaluating participant contributions. Non-IID data weakens the marginal effects of participants, which in turn affects model accuracy and leads to underestimated contribution measurements. Current works often overlook the impact of heterogeneity on model aggregation. This paper presents a fair federated learning contribution measurement scheme that addresses the need for additional model computations. By introducing a noval aggregation weight, it enhances the accuracy of contribution measurement. Experiments on the MNIST dataset show that the proposed method can accurately compute the contributions of participants. Compared to existing baseline algorithms, the model accuracy is significantly improved, with a similar time cost.

Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) causes respiratory diseases, abortion, and encephalomyelitis in horses. EHV-1 immediate-early (IE) protein, essential for viral replication, is transactivated by the binding of a multiprotein complex including the open reading frame 12 (ORF12) and some host factors to the IE promoter region. Promoter-associated non-coding RNAs (pancRNAs), which are transcribed from bidirectional promoters, regulate the transcription of neighboring genes in mammals and pathogens. In this study, we identified a novel pancRNA transcribed from across the areas of the 5’-untranslated region and promoter of EHV-1 IE and named it IE pancRNA. IE pancRNA and mRNA were simultaneously expressed in EHV-1-infected RN33B-A68B2M cells. This pancRNA was also transcribed in RK13 and E. Derm cells, which are highly susceptible to EHV-1 infection. Furthermore, IE pancRNA upregulated IE gene expression in the presence of ORF12, and stable expression of IE pancRNA increased the number of EHV-1-infected RN33B-A68B2M cells. These results suggest that IE pancRNAs facilitate EHV-1 proliferation by promoting IE gene expression.

The fractional advection-dispersion equation FADE plays an important role, especially in explaining the process of solute-transport in natural porous media with different degrees of heterogeneity. However, studies of the flow and transport of contaminants in the underground environment are based on the knowledge of many functional parameters of the subsoil. The delay factor caused by nonlinear absorption is one of these parameters inheriting significant ambiguities in its estimation in heterogeneous media. In the study, a fractional advection-dispersion FADE model was developed by the implicit Euler method, based on a Grunwald and Caputo-Liousville approximation to explicitly evaluate and simulate the transport mechanism of contaminants in media with unsaturated porous materials subjected to a nonlinear sorption model. Better solute mass retention was observed for fractional advection-dispersion FADE model. Moreover, the absorption parameter of the retardation coefficient has a better impact on the motion of the solute in a saturated porous medium. In other words, it has a significant effect on the dispersion of pollutants in aquifers. This study highlights the need to characterize the aquifer to predict solute transport in porous media.

Three species of subfamily Cultrinae currently live in Korea, but Erythroculter erythropterus has been introduced into the Nakdonggang River and has taken over the habitat, reducing the habitat of Culter brevicauda. Only the endangered species C. brevicauda still lives in the Yeongsangang River, and it is necessary to be careful not to introduce E. erythropterus in the future. And Hemiculter eigenmanni is also found throughout the country. In order to effectively manage and conserve the species in its various habitats and against invasions, this study was initiated. The ultrastructure of the egg envelopes of three species of Cultrinae— E. erythropterus, C. brevicauda, and H. eigenmanni, inhabiting the Geumgang and Yeongsangang Rivers were observed. It was found that the zona radiata of the egg envelopes of all three species were divided into two layers–an outer and inner layer, with the outer surface having a non-structural form. This form is characteristic of fishes with muddy, stagnant habitats or spawning grounds. The number of pore canals on the surface of the egg envelopes was 83 for E. erythropterus, 75 for C. brevicauda, and 58 for H. eigenmanni per 10 ㎛2, and the thickness was 7.89±0.34 ㎛, 12.27±0.46 ㎛, and 7.42±0.24 ㎛, respectively. The shape of the micropyle demonstrated a funnel shape narrowing toward the inner diameter in all three species, and the size of the inner diameter was 6.62±0.29 (6.09~7.10) ㎛ in E. erythropterus, 4.19±0.39 (3.39~4.58) ㎛in C. brevicauda, and 3.98±0.46 (3.47~4.93) ㎛in H. eigenmanni. The differences between species were identified in the number of pore canals, thickness, and micropyle inner diameter of egg envelopes, which were species-specific. Our study revealed a morphological mechanism in the egg envelope that prevents the formation of interspecific hybrids, and these features can be taxonomic traits that clarify species names. It also provided useful data for the production (breeding) of the second generation in aquaculture.

In the last century, statistical process control has been considered a successful methodology for monitoring the variability and stability of a process over time. The analysis of variability using functional data analysis has become widespread during the early years of the 21st century. The present study proposes the implementation of a hybrid methodology called functional process control based on the functional data analysis methodology and combines its advantages with those of statistical process control, in order to provide a tool for detecting functional deviations. The phases are: (1) stabilization of processes through the identification and elimination of special causes of functional variability; (2) improvement of the process to be controlled by minimizing the common causes of functional variability; and (3) monitoring of the processes to ensure the maintenance or addition of further improvements.

Background: This study explores the impact of a gluten-free diet (GFD) on regional gastrointestinal (GI) transit times in individuals with celiac disease (CD) and non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NGCS). While a GFD is established for managing CD and wheat allergy, its effects on NGCS remain controversial due to inconclusive evidence. Methods: Utilizing a wireless motility and pH capsule (WMC) to assess regional and whole gut transit, newly diagnosed CD (n=12) and NGCS (n=12) patients underwent baseline evaluations, including measurements of gastric, small bowel, and colonic transit times. Results: At baseline conditions, individuals diagnosed with CD exhibited prolonged colonic and intestinal transit times when compared to those with NGCS (p&lt;0.05). Following a 4-week GFD, CD patients experienced significant reductions in both intestinal and colonic transit times, along with enhanced small intestine contractility. NGCS individuals showed improvements in intestinal transit time and contractility with a GFD, although the colon exhibited no discernible effect. The GFD did not significantly impact intragastric, intestinal, or colonic pH. Conclusions: This study, employing WMC for the first time, provides novel insights into the positive effects of a GFD on intestinal and colonic transit, as well as contractility, in CD patients, and to a lesser extent, in those with NGCS.

The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing and 40% of patients are diagnosed at advanced stages. Over the past 5 years, the number of clinical available treatments have dramatically increased for HCC, making patient management particularly complex. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved the overall survival of patients showing a durable treatment benefit over time, and a different response pattern with respect to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Although improved survival in responder cases, a sizeable group of patients are primary progressors or are ineligible for immunotherapy. Indeed, patients with non-viral etiologies, such non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and alterations in specific driver genes might be less responsive to immunotherapy. Therefore, improving the comprehension of mechanisms of drug resistance and identifying biomarkers informative of the best treatment approach are required actions to improve patient survival. Numerous evidence indicated non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) as pivotal players in cancer. Molecular mechanisms through which ncRNAs exert their effects in cancer progression and drug resistance have been widely investigated. Nevertheless, there are no studies summarizing the synergistic effect between ncRNA-based strategies and TKIs or ICIs in the preclinical setting. This review aims to provide up-to-date information regarding the possible use of ncRNAs as therapeutic targets in association with molecular targeted agents and immunotherapies and as predictive tools for the selection of optimized treatment options in advanced HCCs.

The rapid emergence of COVID-19 necessitated policy responses worldwide, focusing on vaccination and mobility restrictions. However, studies on individual non-pharmacological preventive measures are less common. In particular, Chile represents a unique scenario for analyzing the adoption of preventive measures and changes amid aggressive communication and vaccination campaigns. This study aims to provide insights into public adherence to non-pharmacological measures in the face of diseases, using a cohort of 386 participants from 2021 to 2022. This was achieved by employing a questionnaire to measure adherence to self-care practices and by analyzing contact tracing data from health authorities. We performed bivariate analysis and a linear regression model. Mask-wearing in public places was the most commonly used measure (95.9% in 2021 and 89.9% in 2022). The median adherence score increased from 18 to 19 for both measurements, respectively. The regression model shows that women are more likely to adopt preventive behaviors in both waves and being a young adult (30-49 years) predicted the adoption of behavioral precautions in 2022. Adherence to preventive measures increased even with high vaccination coverage, likely due to the epidemiological situation with the Omicron variant circulating in 2022.

A 17th century wall painting representing a Virgin between two Saints in a noble Italian renaissance palace, Palazzo Gallo in Bagnaia (Viterbo, Italy), was restored in 2021 in the context of a wider restoration campaign interesting the main room of the palace built by cardinal Sansoni Riario. Diagnostic analyses done with traditional characterization techniques (optical microscopy on micro-stratigraphic sections, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) provided the identification of both original painting and restoration materials, while imaging investigations as ultraviolet fluorescence photography, false color images and multispectral mapping provided by hypercolorimetric multispectral imaging (HMI) technique enabled the evaluation of the state of conservation, locating restoration interventions and supporting the monitoring of the cleaning procedure. An altered protective Paraloid-based coating dating from early 2000s had to be removed due to the unpleasant glossy finishing given to the painted surface, making the scene barely readable. To pursue a restoration protocol based on environmental sustainability and green chemistry, enzyme-based gels marketed by Nasier-Brenta© and CTS© companies were tested in different protocols for the cleaning of the mash covering the painting. Although some interesting results were observed, the enzymatic cleaning had a scarce effectiveness with timing beyond a reasonable interval. Traditional chemical solvents as Dowanol PM (methoxy-propanol) and benzyl alcohol were necessary to complete the cleaning of the painting surface.

Traditional shipping ships abbreviated as Pelra have a different character from conventional ships. Hypothetically, the application of Safety Management System (SMS) on Pelra is influenced by technical and non-technical factors. These factors are control variables and determinants of action priorities if SMS is applied to the safety of traditional shipping, so that it has implications as a basis for formulating and developing safety policies for traditional shipping transportation in an effort to reduce the risk of accidents. This research uses Structural Equation Modeling by analyzing expert opinions. The results of the analysis show that technical and non-technical factors have a direct and interconnected effect on Pelra safety management. The dominant influences are non-technical factors of authority and responsibility of the company and crew as well as the feasibility of ship construction as technical and environmental factors..

Biofilm-associated proteins (BAPs) are important in the development and resilience of biofilms, which are intricate populations of microbes protected by extracellular matrix. All members of the BAP family are known to possess common characteristics such as high molecular weight and a signal sequence for extracellular secretion. It has been shown that BAPs are directly linked to the pathogenicity of many bacteria. This mini review highlights several potential strategies to target BAPs for drug development.

In this study, we aimed to identify blood lymphocytes as a prognostic factor for survival in patients with locally advanced stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). We conducted a secondary analysis of 196 patients enrolled in the Korean Radiation Oncology Group 0903 phase III clinical trial to evaluate the prognostic significance of circulating blood lymphocyte levels. The median total lymphocyte count (TLC) reduction ratio during CCRT was 0.74 (range: 0.29 – 0.97). In multivariate analysis, patient age (p = 0.014) and gross tumor volume (GTV, p = 0.031) were significant factors associated with overall survival, while TLC reduction (p = 0.018) and pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR; p = 0.010) were associated with progression-free survival (PFS). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, pretreatment NLR, GTV, and heart V20 were significantly associated with TLC reduction. TLC reduction during CCRT is a significant prognostic factor for PFS, and heart V20 is significantly associated with TLC reduction. Thus, constraining the volume of the radiation dose to the whole heart must be prioritized to reduce TLC.

Influenza virus can cause several complications during pregnancy. Therefore, we aimed to inves-tigate the effects of influenza on the development of congenital abnormalities (CAs) by analyzing the database of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities (HCCS-CA). In our multicenter, case-control, population-based study, we processed clinician-reported outcomes and diagnoses collected in the HCCSCA. The case group included newborns with dif-ferent non-chromosomal birth defects, while controls were newborns without CAs. Maternal in-fluenza, as a risk factor for CAs, was analyzed by using a logistic regression model and odds ra-tios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Our results showed that maternal influenza in the first trimester was associated with increased odds of developing non-chromosomal CAs (OR: 1.41, CI: 1.28–1.55). There were increased odds of neural tube defects (OR: 2.22, CI: 1.78–2.76), orofacial clefts (OR: 2.28, CI: 1.87–2.78) and congenital heart defects (OR: 1.28, CI: 1.10–1.49) after influenza infection. In all cases, we found a protective effect of folic acid supplementation in the first tri-mester. The odds of non-chromosomal birth defects are higher after maternal influenza in the first -trimester. Folic acid or pregnancy vitamin supplementation and antipyretic therapy may reduce the effect of maternal influenza during the first trimester.

We study the generalized χ and η cross helicities for non-ideal non-barotropic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). χ and η, the additional label translation symmetry group, have been used to generalize the cross helicity in ideal flows. Both new helicities are additional topological invariants of ideal MHD. To study there behaviour in non-ideal MHD, we derive the time derivative of both helicities using the non-ideal MHD equations taking viscosity, finite resistivity and heat conduction into account. Physical variables are divided into ideal and non-ideal quantities separately during the mathematical analysis for simplification. The analytical results indicate that χ and η cross helicities are not strict constant of motion in the non-ideal MHD and show the rate of dissipation which is compared to the dissipation of other topological constants of motion.

Besides living as a free-ranging primate in the horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the hamadryas baboon has an important place in zoos and can be found in biomedical research centers worldwide. To be valuable as a non-human primate laboratory model for man, its anatomy should be portrayed in detail allowing for the correct interpretation and translation of obtained research results. Reviewing the literature on the use of the baboon in biomedical research revealed that very limited anatomical works on this species are available. Anatomical atlases are incomplete, use archaic nomenclature and fail to provide high definition color photographs. Therefore, the skeletons of two male hamadryas baboons were prepared by manually removing as much soft tissues as possible followed by maceration in warm water to which enzyme-containing washing powder was added. The bones were bleached with hydrogen peroxide and degreased by means of methylene chloride. Photographs of the various bones were taken, and the anatomical structures were identified using the latest version of the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria. As such, the present article shows 31 annotated multipanel figures. The skeleton of the hamadryas baboon generally parallels the human skeleton, but some remarkable differences have been noticed. If these are taken into consideration when evaluating the results of experiments using the hamadryas baboon, justified conclusions can be drawn.

EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are the preferred initial treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harboring EGFR mutations. However, remission is transient, and no further effective treatment options are available for EGFR-TKI-advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLCs. Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) induces sustained cancer remission in a subset of NSCLCs. However, ICI therapy exhibits limited activity in most EGFR-mutant NSCLCs. Mechanistically, the strong oncogenic EGFR signaling in EGFR-mutant NSCLCs contributes to the non-inflamed tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), characterized by a limited number of CD8+ T cell infiltration, a high number of regulatory CD4+ T cells and a high number of inactivated infiltrated T cells. Besides, EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients are generally non-smokers with low levels of PD-L1 expression and tumor mutation burden. However, current understanding only partially explains why a small population of EGFR-mutant NSCLCs durably respond to ICI therapy, resulting in many researchers actively working in this field. This review reviews the hope seen from pre-clinical studies and clinical trials which may be adopted to improve the outcome of ICI therapy in EGFR-mutant NSCLCs. Besides, the underlying mechanisms leading to the inferior clinical outcome of ICI therapy in EGFR-mutant NSCLCs are discussed.

The dissolution of Al2O3 non-metallic inclusions from slag containing FexO was investigated in this study. The slag system used in the experiments was a quaternary system of CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-FexO. The composition of the slag was studied by fixing the basicity (CaO/SiO2 ratio) to 1 and varying the FexO content to 10 and 20wt%. In addition, the experimental temperature was varied as 1550℃, 1575℃, and 1600℃ to study the effect of temperature on the Al2O3 dissolution behavior. The experimental equipment is a single hot thermocouple apparatus. The dissolution rate of Al2O3 particles increased linearly with increasing temperature and FexO content. In addition, the mass transfer activation energy of Al2O3 dissolution in FexO 10wt% and FexO 20wt% was calculated by an Arrhenius type analysis. The obtained mass transfer activation energies were 159 and 189 kJ/mole, respectively.

This paper presents a non-perturbative method for solving eigenproblems. This method applies to almost all potentials and provides non-perturbative approximations for any energy level. The method converts an eigenproblem into a perturbation problem, obtains perturbation solutions through standard perturbation theory, and then analytically continues the perturbative solution into a non-perturbative solution.

The non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have affected the epidemiology of other respiratory viruses. In South Korea, Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) typically occurs from winter to the following spring; however, it was not detected for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic and re-emerged in the fall of 2022, which is a non-epidemic season. To examine the molecular genetic characteristics of HMPV before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, we analyzed 427 HMPV-positive samples collected in the Gwangju area from 2018 to 2022. Among these, 24 samples were subjected to whole-genome sequencing. The results showed a shift in the predominant genotype from A2b2 before the COVID-19 pandemic to A2b1 in 2022. Furthermore, a significant increase in HMPV cases was observed in the 6–10-year age group. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing have reduced the possibility of HMPV exposure and herd immunity due to non-transmission, resulting in the introduction of new HMPV genotypes in different seasons.

Worldwide, the demand for natural and synthetic sweeteners in the food industry as an alternative to refined sugar is increasing. This prompted more research to estimate its safety and effect on health. The gut microbiome is critical in metabolizing selected sweeteners, which might affect overall health. Recently, more studies evaluated the relationship between sweeteners and the gut microbiome. This review summarizes the current knowledge addressing the role played by the gut microbiome in metabolizing selected sweeteners. It also addresses the influence of the five selected sweeteners or their metabolites on GI cancer-related pathways. Overall, the observed positive effect of sweetener consumption on GI cancer pathways, such as apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, requires further investigation to understand the underlying mechanism. Furthermore, more research is needed to address the main challenges of studying the field, thus advancing it further.

The aquaculture sector has become increasingly reliant on soybean meal (SBM) and soy-derived proteins, because of their large abundance, low price and favorable amino acid profile. However, for Atlantic salmon, a major aquaculture species, the inclusion of soybean meal, and soy protein concentrate (SPC) in certain combinations has adverse impacts on its gut health and welfare. This study evaluated two enhanced SBM targeting improved gut health for inclusion in freshwater phase salmon diets, enzyme pre-treatment (ETS) and addition of fructose oligosaccharide (USP), respectively in comparison to untreated soybean meal (US) and fish meal (FM). The impact on growth performance, gut microbiome, and behaviors relevant to welfare was investigated. Both enhancements of SBM were found to support comparable growth performance to FM. Both targeted treatments altered the gut microbiome community. Fish fed SBM showed a tendency for more reactive behavior compared to those fed the FM-based control. All fish had a similarly low response to elicited stress, although ETS fed fish responded more actively than those fed the US diet. SBM fed fish also had lower repeatability of behavior, which may have implications for welfare. Both enhancements provide a promising basis to optimize the application of this widely used protein source.

The production of fuels and other industrial products from renewable sources has intensified the search for new substrates or for the expansion of the use of substrates already in use, as well as the search for microorganisms with different metabolic capacities. In the present work, we isolated and tested a yeast from the soil of sugarcane irrigated with vinasse, that is, with high mineral content and acidic pH. The strain of Meyerozyma caribbica URM 8365 was able to ferment glucose, but the use of xylose occurred when some oxygenation was provided. However, some fermentation of xylose to ethanol in oxygen limitation also occurs if glucose is present. This strain was able to produce ethanol from molasses substrate with 76% efficiency, showing its tolerance to possible inhibitors. High ethanol production efficiencies were also observed in acidic hydrolysates of each bagasse, sorghum, and cactus pear biomass. Mixtures of these substrates were tested and the best composition was found for the use of excess plant biomass in supplementation of primary substrates. It was also possible to verify the production of xylitol from xylose when the acetic acid concentration is reduced. Finally, the proposed metabolic model allowed calculating how much of the xylose carbon can be directed to the production of ethanol and/or xylitol in the presence of glucose. With this, it is possible to design an industrial plant that combines the production of ethanol and/or xylitol using combinations of primary substrates with hydrolysates of their biomass.

Abstract Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder featured with motor and non-motor deficits. Using 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induced dopamine neuron degeneration has been widely used to produce reliable animal models of the PD. However, most of previous preclinical studies focused on the motor dysfunctions, few non-motor symptoms were evaluated. So far there is a lack of comprehensive investigation of the non-motor symptoms in animal models. Objectives: In this study, we aim to use a battery of behavioral methods to evaluate the non-motor symptoms in MPTP-induced non-human primate PD models. Methods: Cognitive functions, sleep and psychiatric behaviors were evaluated in MPTP-treated cynomolgus monkeys. The tests consisted of delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS), physical activity monitor (PAM), apathy feeding task (AFT), human intruder test (HIT), novel fruit test (NFT) and predator confrontation test (PCT). In addition, we tested whether the dopamine receptor agonist pramipexole (PPX) will improve these non-motor symptoms. Results: The present results show that the MPTP-treated monkeys exhibited cognitive deficits, abnormal sleep, and anxiety-like behaviors as compared to the control monkeys. These symptoms were relieved partially by PPX. Conclusions: These results suggest that MPTP-induced PD monkeys displayed non-motor symptoms that were similar to those found in PD patients. PPX treatment showed moderate therapeutic effects on these non-motor symptoms. This battery of behavioral tests may provide a valuable model for future preclinical research.

Background: The prognostic impact of non-cardiac comorbidities can vary in relation to the left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The aim was to analyze prevalence and long-term prognostic impact of non-cardiac co-morbidities in patients with reduced and preserved EF following STEMI. Method: 3115 STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI were divided in two groups: reduced EF <50% and preserved EF≥50%. Follow-up period was 8 years. Results: Preserved EF was present in 1726 (55.4%) patients and reduced EF was present in 1389 (44.5%) patients. Non-cardiac comorbidities were more frequent in patients with reduced EF as compared with patients with preserved EF (38.9% vs 27.4%, respectively, p<0.001). Lethal outcome was registered in 240 (17.2%) patients with reduced EF and in 40 (2.3%) patients with preserved EF, p<0.001. Diabetes and CKD were independent predictors for 8-year mortality in patients with preserved EF while in patients with reduced EF only CKD was independently associated with 8-year mortality. Conclusion: In the present study the prevalence of non-cardiac comorbidities is similar in patients with reduced and preserved EF after STEMI, but only DM and CKD are independently associated with long-term mortality.

In this study, the motion characteristics of soft alginate microrobots were investigated with wireless magnetic fields in complex fluidic environments. Our aim is to explore the various motion modes that arise as a result of shear forces in viscoelastic fluids. Polyacrylamide (PAA), a water-soluble polymer, was characterized to produce a dynamic environment with a non-Newtonian fluid. The robots were fabricated by an extrusion-based microcentrifugal droplet method. We successfully demonstrated the feasibility of both wiggling and tumbling motions using snowman-shaped microbots. It is found that wiggling motion is primarily influenced by the interaction between the viscoelastic fluid environment and the non-uniform magnetization of the microbots. Additionally, it is discovered that modifying the viscoelasticity properties of the fluid can affect the motion behavior of the microbots. Furthermore, we observed that swarms of microbots exhibit non-uniform behavior within complex environments. Our velocity analysis has provided valuable insights into the relationship between applied magnetic fields and motion characteristics, enabling a more realistic understanding of surface locomotion in the context of targeted drug delivery.

Nonequilibrium work switching simulations and Jarzynski’s equation are a reliable method to compute free energy differences, ΔAlow→high, between two levels of theory, such as a pure molecular mechanical (MM) and a quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) description of a system of interest. Despite the inherent parallelism, the computational cost of this approach can quickly get very high. This is particularly true for systems where the core region, the part of the system to be described at different levels of theory, is embedded in an environment, such as explicit solvent water. We find that even for relatively simple solute–water systems, switching lengths of at least 5 ps are necessary to compute ΔAlow→high reliably. In this study, we investigate two approaches towards an affordable protocol, with emphasis on keeping the switching length well below 5 ps. Inserting a hybrid charge intermediate state with modified partial charges which resembles the charge distribution of the desired high level makes it possible to obtain reliable calculations with 2 ps switches. Attempts using step-wise linear switching paths, on the other hand, did not lead to improvement, i.e., faster convergence for all systems. To understand these findings, we analyzed the solutes’ properties as a function of partial charges used, the number of waters in direct contact with the solute, and studied the time needed for water molecules to reorient themselves upon a change in the solute’s charge distribution.