The photosystem I (PSI) of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii associates with 10 light-harvesting proteins (LHCI) to form the PSI-LHCI complex. Binding of LHCII to PSI may also occur and is controlled by a process called state transitions. Hereby, two LHCII trimers bind to the PSAL, PSAH and PSAO side of PSI to produce the PSI-LHCI-LHCII complex. In this work, we took advantage of chemical crosslinking of proteins in conjunction with mass spectrometry to identify protein-protein interactions between the light-harvesting proteins of PSI and PSII. We detected binding of LHCBM proteins to the LHCA1-PSAG side of PSI and identified protein-protein interactions of LHCSR3 with LHCA5 and LHCA3. Our data indicate that the binding of LHCII to PSI is more versatile as anticipated and reveal that LHCSR3 likely regulates excitation energy transfer to the PSI core via LHCA5/LHCA3.

The Vu Gia - Thu Bon River Basin (VG-TB) is confronting numerous challenges related to water security (WS), particularly in the face of the impacts of climate change. These challenges manifest in salinity intrusion, altered rainfall patterns, and reduced water supply in downstream areas. To assess the current state of water security in the basin, the study employed statistical analysis methods, Process Analysis Method (PAM), SMART, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to develop a comprehensive Assessment Framework for Water Security (AFWS) in the VG-TB. The AFWS encompasses five key dimensions, 17 indicators, and 28 variables, aligning with the UN-Water definition of water security and addressing the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) criteria for global water sustainability. It also adheres to the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) approach to water security assessment as outlined in the Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) reports. This allows for the computation of a comprehensive Water Security Index (WSI) for specific regions, serving as a foundation for decision-making and policy formulation aimed at enhancing water security in the context of climate change and facilitating sustainable basin development in the future.

A reliable and efficient rail track defect detection system is essential for maintaining rail track integrity and avoiding safety hazards and financial losses. Eddy current (EC) testing is a non-destructive technique that can be employed for this purpose. The trade-off between spatial resolution and lift-off should be carefully considered in practical applications to distinguish closely spaced cracks such as those caused by rolling contact fatigue (RCF). A multi-channel eddy current sensor array has been developed to detect defects on rails. Based on the sensor scanning data, defect reconstruction along the rails is achieved using an inverse algorithm that includes both direct and iterative approaches. In experimental evaluations, the EC system with the developed sensor is used to measure defects on a standard test piece of rail with a probe lift-off of 4-6 mm. The reconstruction results clearly reveal cracks at various depths and spacings on the test piece.

The ceramic sherds from approximately 20 samples of lead-glazed tableware, recovered from diverse archaeological sites, including three repurposed storage pits transformed into dumpsters within the medieval city of Santarém (13th-14th century), underwent a meticulous examination. This investigation utilized techniques such as micro-Raman, ground state diffuse reflectance absorption, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopies, in addition to X-ray diffraction and stereomicroscopy. A parallel study was conducted on contemporaneous European ceramics (glazed sherds) sourced from archaeological sites dating back to the 13th-15th centuries in Saintonge (France), Ardenne, Zomergem, and Bruges (Belgium), as well as Surrey-Hampshire, Kingston, and Cheam (England). The colour of the ceramic bodies is predominantly white or whitish, with a few exhibiting a vivid red hue. Ceramic sherds with a light paste composition were likely crafted using kaolin clays as raw materials. Analyses of fabric, mineralogical, and elemental composition of the sherds suggest that the majority of Santarém's glazed ceramics were locally or regionally produced, potentially derived from a Pliocene kaolin-rich sand formation. However, this conclusion is not supported by the absence of discovered lead glaze kilns or workshops in Santarém for the late Middle Ages. A distinctive feature from the European workshop ceramics lies in the quartz temper content and fabric.

The traditional practice of harvesting and processing raw date palm sap is not only culturally significant but also an essential nutritional source in South Asia. Yet, the potential for bacterial or viral contamination from animals and environmental sources during its collection remains a real and insufficiently studied risk. Implementing improved food safety measures and collection techniques could mitigate the risk of these infections. Additionally, the adoption of advanced food analytical methods has the potential to identify pathogens and uncover the natural bacterial diversity of these products. The advancement of NGS technologies, particularly nanopore sequencing, offers rapid and highly mobile capabilities. In this study, we employed nanopore sequencing for bacterial metabarcoding of a set of raw date palm sap samples collected without protective coverage against animals in Bangladesh in 2021. We identified several bacterial species with importance in the natural fermentation of the product and demonstrated the feasibility of this NGS method in the surveillance of raw palm sap products. We revealed two fermentation directions dominated by either Leuconostoc species or Lactococcus species in these products at the first 6 hours from harvest along with opportunistic human pathogens in the background, represented with low abundance. Plant pathogens, bacteria with the potential for opportunistic human infections and the sequences of the Exiguobacterium genus were also described and their potential role is discussed.

The state detection of power cable is very important to ensure the reliability of power supply. Traditional sensors are mostly based on electric field detection, the operation is complex, and its efficiency needs to be improved. This paper optimizes the design and development of the magnetic field detection sensor for AC power cables. Firstly, through the establishment of the magnetic field sensor model, it is determined that permalloy is the material of the magnetic core, the optimal aspect ratio of the magnetic core is 20, and the ratio of coil length to core length is 0.3. Secondly, the coil simulation model is established, and it is determined that the optimal number of turns of the coil is 11000 turns, the diameter of the enamelled copper wire is 0.08mm, and the equivalent magnetic field noise of the sensor is 0.06pT. Finally, the amplifying circuit based on negative magnetic flux feedback is designed and the sensor is assembled, and the experimental circuit is built for sensitivity test. the results show that the sensitivity of the magnetic field sensor is 327.6mV/μT. The sensor designed in this paper has the advantages of small size, high sensitivity, easy to carry and high reliability.

There is a need to find methods to intensify the anaerobic digestion process. One possibility is the use of pre-treatment techniques. Many laboratory tests confirm their effectiveness, but in most cases, there is no verification work carried out on industrial plants. The aim of the research carried out under laboratory conditions and on a large scale was to determine the technological and energy efficiency of the use of hydrodynamic cavitation in the pre-treatment of a waste mixture from dairy farms. It has been shown that hydrodynamic cavitation significantly increases the concentration of organic compounds in the dissolved phase. In the most effective variants, the increase in the content of these indicators was over 90% for both COD and TOC. The degree of solubilisation achieved was 49±2.6% for COD and almost 52±4.4% for TOC. Under laboratory conditions, the highest effects of anaerobic digestion were achieved after 10 minutes of pre-treatment. The amount of biogas was on average 367±18 mL/gCOD and the amount of methane 233±13 mL/gCOD. Further large-scale optimisation trials showed that after 8 minutes of hydrodynamic cavitation, the biogas yield was 327±8 L/kgCOD with a CH4 content of 62.9±1.9%. With this variant, the net energy yield was 66.4±2.6 kWh/day, a value that was 13.9% higher than the original variant with 10 minutes of disintegration and 3.1% higher than the variant without pre-treatment.

Image stitching is a crucial aspect of image processing. However, factors like perspective and environment often lead to irregular shapes in stitched images. Cropping or completion methods typically result in substantial loss of information. This paper proposes a method for rectifying irregularly images into rectangles using deformable meshes and residual networks. The method utilizes a convolutional neural network to quantify rigid structures of images. Choosing the most suitable mesh structure based on the extraction results, offering options such as triangular, rectangular, and hexagonal. Subsequently, the irregularly image, predefined mesh structure, and predicted mesh structure are input into a wide residual neural network for regression. The loss function comprises local and global, aimed at minimizing the loss of image information within the mesh and global target. This method not only significantly reduces information loss during rectification but also adapting to different images with various rigid structures. Validation on the DIR-D dataset shows this method outperforms state-of-the-art methods in image rectification.

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the job-related and individual features that influence BS and depression levels among dentists working in faculties, oral and dental health centres (ODHC) and private clinics. Materials and Methods: This prospective, cross sectional study was carried out on dentists working in different regions of Turkey. Data were collected using an on-line questionnaire created using Google Forms. The questionnaire consisted of demographic data, Maslach BS Inventory (MBI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) sections. Demographics were age, height, weight, marital status, blood type, gender, monthly income, income satisfaction and having enough free time. The dentists were divided into 3 groups as faculty, private clinic and ODHC according to the institutions in which they worked. Results: Of the total 290 dentists enrolled in the study, there were 172 males and 118 females with a mean age of 36.98±5.6 years. 128 of the dentists worked in faculties, 72 in private clinics and 90 in ODHCs. It was observed that women's EE scores were higher than men's (P<0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between the groups when comparing BS and depression scores according to marital status and blood group (P>0.05). There was no significant relationship between emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP), personal accomplishment (PA) and depression scores according to age, BMI and work experience, age, work experience and BMI (P<0.05). It was found that the EE scores of the dentists working in the faculty and private clinic were lower than those of the dentists working in the ODHC (P<0.05). Monthly income was associated with depression (r = -0.35). Conclusions: This study showed that dentists working in ODHCs had more EE. These findings suggest that there is a need for improvement in the working conditions of dentists, particularly in ODHCs.

In order to improve contrast and restore color for underwater image captured by camera sensors without suffering from insufficient details and color cast, a fusion algorithm for image enhancement in different color spaces based on contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) is proposed in this article. The original color image is first converted from RGB color space to two different special color spaces: YIQ and HSI. The color space conversion from RGB to YIQ is a linear transformation, while the RGB to HSI conversion is nonlinear. Then, the algorithm separately operates CLAHE in YIQ and HSI color spaces to obtain two different enhancement images. The luminance component (Y) in the YIQ color space and the intensity component (I) in the HSI color space are enhanced with CLAHE algorithm. The CLAHE has two key parameters: Block Size and Clip Limit, which mainly control the quality of CLAHE enhancement image. After that, the YIQ and HSI enhancement images are respectively converted backward to RGB color. When the three components of red, green, and blue are not coherent in the YIQ-RGB or HSI-RGB images, the three components will have to be harmonized with the CLAHE algorithm in RGB space. Finally, with 4 direction Sobel edge detector in the bounded general logarithm ratio operation, a self-adaptive weight selection nonlinear image enhancement is carried out to fuse YIQ-RGB and HSI-RGB images together to achieve the final fused image. The enhancement fusion algorithm has two key factors: average of Sobel edge detector and fusion coefficient, and these two factors determine the effects of enhancement fusion algorithm. A series of evaluate metrics such as mean, contrast, entropy, colorfulness metric (CM), mean square error (MSE) and peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) are used to assess the proposed enhancement algorithm. The experiments results showed that the proposed algorithm provides more detail enhancement and higher values of colorfulness restoration as compared to other existing image enhancement algorithms. The proposed algorithm can suppress effectively noise interference, improve the image quality for underwater image availably.

The present grievous situation of the tuberculosis disease can be improved by efficient case management and timely follow-up evaluations. With the advent of digital technology this can be achieved by quick summarization of the patient-centric data. The aim of our study was to assess the effectiveness of the ODK Scan paper-to-digital system during testing period of three months. A sequential, explanatory mixed-method research approach was employed to elucidate technology use. Training, smartphones, application and 3G enabled SIMs were provided to the four field workers. At the beginning, baseline measures of the data management aspects were recorded and compared with endline measures to see the impact of ODK Scan. Additionally, at the end, users’ feedback was collected regarding app usability, user interface design and workflow changes. 122 patients’ records were retrieved from the server and analysed for quality. It was found that ODK Scan recognized 99.2% of multiple choice bubble responses and 79.4% of numerical digit responses correctly. However, the overall quality of the digital data was decreased in comparison to manually entered data. Using ODK Scan, a significant time reduction is observed in data aggregation and data transfer activities, however, data verification and form filling activities took more time. Interviews revealed that field workers saw value in using ODK Scan, however, they were more concerned about the time consuming aspects of the use of ODK Scan. Therefore, it is concluded that minimal disturbance in the existing workflow, continuous feedback and value additions are the important considerations for the implementing organization to ensure technology adoption and workflow improvements.

In a recent paper, we calculate spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for 1425 Fermi blazars, classifications of low synchrotron peak sources (LSPs) if log $\nu_{\rm p} (\rm Hz) \leq $ 14.0, intermediate synchrotron peak sources (ISPs) if $14.0 < \,\log\, \nu_{\rm p} (\rm Hz) \leq 15.3 $, and high synchrotron peak sources (HSPs) if $ \log\, \nu_{\rm p} (\rm Hz) > 15.3$ are made based on 999 logarithms of synchrotron peak frequencies with known redshift, and we obtain an empirical relation to estimate the synchrotron peak frequency, $\nu_{\rm p}^{\rm Eq.}$ from effective spectral indexes $\alpha_{ox}\, {\rm and}\, \alpha_{ro}$ as $\log \nu_{\rm p}^{\rm Eq.} = 16+4.238X $ if $X < 0$, and $\log \nu_{\rm p}^{\rm Eq.} = 16+4.005Y $ if $X > 0$, where $X = 1.0 - 1.262 \alpha_{ro} - 0.623 \alpha_{ox}$, and $Y = 1.0 + 0.034 \alpha_{ro} - 0.978 \alpha_{ox}$ \cite{Fan16}. In the present work, we investigate the correlation between the peak frequency and the radio to X-ray spectral index, that between peak luminosity (integrated luminosity) and $\gamma$-ray/optical luminosity, and that between peak luminosity and integrated luminosity. Some discussions are presented.

Biological nanoparticles (NPs), such as extracellular vesicles (EVs), exosome-mimetic nanovesicles (EMNVs) and nanoghosts (NGs), are perspective non-viral delivery vehicles for all types of therapeutic cargo. Biological NPs are renowned for their exceptional biocompatibility and safety, alongside their ease of functionalization, but a significant challenge arises when attempting to load therapeutic payloads, such as nucleic acids (NAs). One effective strategy involves fusing biological NPs with liposomes loaded with NAs, resulting in hybrid carriers that offer the benefits of both biological NPs and the capacity for high cargo loads. Despite their unique parameters, one of the major issues of virtually any nanoformulation is the ability to escape degradation in the compartment of endosomes and lysosomes which determines the overall efficiency of nanotherapeutics. In this study, we fabricated all major types of biological and hybrid NPs and studied their response to acidic environment observed in endolysosomal compartment. In this study, we show that EMNVs display increased protonation and swelling relative to EVs and NGs in an acidic environment. Furthermore, the hybrid NPs exhibit an even greater response compared to EMNVs. Short-term incubation of EMNVs in acidic pH corresponding to late endosomes and lysosomes again induces protonation and swelling, whereas hybrid NPs are ruptured, resulting in the decline of their quantities. Our findings demonstrate that in an acidic environment, there is enhanced rupture and release of vesicular cargo observed in hybrid EMNVs that are fused with liposomes compared to EMNVs alone. This was confirmed through PAGE electrophoresis analysis of mCherry protein loaded into nanoparticles. In vitro analysis of NPs colocalization with lysosomes in HepG2 cells demonstrated that EMNVs mostly avoid endolysosomal compartment whereas hybrid NPs escape it over time. To conclude, (1) hybrid biological NPs fused with liposomes appear more efficient in the endolysosomal escape via the mechanism of proton sponge associated with scavenging of protons by NPs, influx of counterions and water, and rupture of endo/lysosomes, but (2) EMNVs are much more efficient than hybrid NPs in actually avoiding endolysosomal compartment in human cells. These results reveal biochemical differences across four major types of biological and hybrid NPs, and indicate that EMNVs are more efficient in escaping or avoiding endolysosomal compartment.

In patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), the choice of surgical strategy for histopathologic assessment is still controversial, particularly in terms of preoperative corticosteroid (CS) therapy. To provide further evidence for clinical decision-making, we retrospectively analyzed data from 148 consecutive patients who underwent surgery at our institution. Although patients treated with corticosteroids preoperatively were significantly more likely to require a second or third biopsy (p=0.049), it was only necessary in less than 10% of the cases with preoperative corticosteroid treatment. The choice of surgical procedure did not affect diagnostic accuracy (p&gt;0.05). Preoperative CSF sampling did not provide additional information but was associated with delayed surgery (p=0.02). Surprisingly, diagnostic accuracy was significantly lower when patients were treated with anticoagulation or dual antiplatelet therapy (p=0.015). In conclusion, preoperative CS therapy can challenge the histological diagnosis of PCNSL. At the same time, our data suggest that preoperative CS treatment only presents a relative contraindication for an early surgical intervention. The standard surgical approach is stereotactic biopsy, but other approaches can be individually considered. If a definitive diagnosis cannot be made after the first surgical intervention, the timing of a repeat biopsy after discontinuation of CS remains a case-by-case decision.

This study advances the field of infectious disease forecasting by introducing a novel approach to micro-level contact modeling, leveraging human movement patterns to generate realistic temporal dynamic networks. Through the incorporation of human mobility models and parameter tuning, this research presents an innovative method for simulating micro-level encounters that closely mirror infection dynamics within confined spaces. Central to our methodology is the application of Bayesian optimization for parameter selection, which refines our models to emulate both the properties of real-world infection curves and the characteristics of network properties. By focusing on the distinct aspects of infection propagation within confined spaces, our approach significantly improves the realism of temporal-dynamic contact networks, offering a powerful tool for assessing the impact of specific locations on pandemic dynamics. The resulting models shed light on the role of spatial encounters in disease spread and strengthen the capability to forecast and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. This work not only contributes to the scientific understanding of micro-level transmission patterns but also offers practical insights for public health strategies and digital contact tracing efforts, aiming at more effective intervention and containment measures during pandemics.

Recently, due to the decrease in labor force, increase in labor costs, and the desire for improved quality of life, research on robots has been actively conducted to address these issues. However, it is currently difficult to find robots that physically interact with humans. The reason is that the actuators of robots do not have high torque density on their own. To solve this problem, high torque density motors, such as proprioceptive actuators, are being researched. However, the torque density is still insufficient for physical interaction with humans, so we have developed a motor with higher torque density. However, high torque density motors have the disadvantage of lower speed characteristics due to increased Back-EMF. Therefore, to address the deterioration of speed characteristics in the developed motor, we applied the Independent 3-Phase winding structure to improve the speed characteristics. Consequently, through comparison with Y-Connection and Delta-Connection, we propose the most suitable winding structure for high torque density motors intended for physical interaction with humans.

In the follow-up of treated high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (HSIL/CIN) lesions, cer-vical cytology has a high false-negative rate, while high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) DNA testing showed high sensitivity and lower specificity. The detection of messenger RNA of the HR-HPV E6 and E7 oncoproteins (E6/E7 mRNA) seems to be an indicator of viral integration and it allows the identification of severe lesions. Our objective was to assess the clinical utility of E6/E7 mRNA determination in the follow-up of patients treated for HSIL/CIN. A retrospective obser-vational study including 407 patients treated for HSIL/CIN was performed. The recurrence rate and the validity of E6/E7 mRNA testing were evaluated. The recurrence rate of high-grade lesions was 1.7%. The sensitivity of the test was 88% in the first clinical revision and 100% in the second and third revisions. Specificity was 91% in the first revision, 92% in the second revision, and 85% in the third revision. The positive predictive value was 18% in the first medical revision, 10% in the second and 14% in the third. The negative predictive value was 100% in all follow-up visits. In conclusion, the E6/E7 mRNA test seems to be effective in ruling out recurrence after treatment for HSIL/CIN lesions.

Human resources management (HRM) development aims at career sustainability. Work-related flow, as originated and defined by Csikszentmihalyi, is a process experienced by those optimally challenged by their work, considered the optimal work-related experience. Happiness is a judgment-dependent state of a pleased satisfaction with one’s current experience that one hopes will continue. PERMA (Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment) represents five measurable factors of positive psychology that constitute well-being. As the optimal work-related experience, flow determines career sustainability compared with either happiness or PERMA factors. HRM development programs focused on happiness or PERMA factors thus represents risk factors regarding an inability to develop career sustainability. Established from this publisher’s founding ongoing concern with sustainability, articles published in MDPI journals with the keywords “flow, Csikszentmihalyi, work” were searched, excluding those pertaining to education, health, leisure, marketing, non-workers, and spirituality. Of 628 results returned, 28 reports were included for potential assessment. Although current studies on flow represented only three, the results regarding flow position it as the best indicator of career sustainability, contrasted to either happiness or PERMA. Consequently, HRM is advised to concentrate on developing practices for assessing and encouraging employees’ engagement with work-related flow in its aim of career sustainability.

Background: Cutaneous melanoma arises from skin melanocytes and has a high risk of metastatic spread. Despite better prevention, earlier detection, and the development of innovative therapies melanoma incidence and mortality increase annually. Major clinical risk factors for melanoma include fair skin, an increased number of nevi, the presence of dysplastic nevi, and a family history of melanoma. However, several external inducers seem to be associated with melanoma susceptibility such as environmental exposure, primarily unprotected sun experience, alcohol consumption, and heavy metals. In recent years, epidemiological studies have highlighted a potential risk of β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH), the most studied organochlorine pesticide, on cancer induction including melanoma. Methods: We evaluated in vitro the impact of this pollutant on epidermal and dermal cells, attempting to describe mechanisms that could render cutaneous cells more prone to oncogenic transformation. Results: We demonstrated that β-HCH impacts melanocyte biology with a highly cell-type specific signature that involves perturbation of AKT/mTOR and Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and AMPK activation that converges in lowering energy reserve, cell proliferation, and pigment production. Conclusion: In conclusion, long-term exposure to persistent organic pollutants damages melanocyte metabolism in the function of the melanin content with a consequent reduction of melanogenesis indicating a potential augmented skin cancer risk.

Phα1β a spider peptide, purified from the venom of Phoneutria nigriventer inhibits high voltage calcium channels and is antagonist of TRPA1 receptor two important pain transduction path-ways. In the last 15 years, we have showed, in preclinical tests with Phα1β native and recombi-nant in rodent models of pain the potential of Phα1β to become a new analgesic drug. Evaluation of new drug on human ERG channel is requirement of the regulatory agencies. For the hERG channel inhibition assay it was used the commercial kit FLIPR® Potassium Assay. It was tested the effect of Phα1β and as positive control dofetilide, a well characterized hERG block-er. Phα1β 56, 225, 450 and 900 pMol caused at a higher concentration a very weak inhibition of the hERG channel activity of about 13.47 % with channel inhibition at 50%, IC50 > 900 pMol. Dofetilide (0.0001 - 10 µM), a known hERG inhibitor, caused a well-known, concentra-tion-dependent inhibition of the hERG channel with a mean IC50 of 0.1642 µM (0.1189 – 0.2282 µM. For the cytotoxicity assay, Phα1β concentrations of 56, 225, 450 and 900 pMol incubated for 24 h with HEK293-hERG cells did not alter the viability of the HEK293-hERG cells. It is con-cluded that Phα1β even at high concentrations does not interfere with hERG channels.

Along with the economic growth, the companies must contribute to social progress and promote environmental sustainability in equal harmony. Sustainable human resource management (SHRM) strategies make it possible to attain the economic, social and environmental goals of a firm. In this regard, a survey method is discussed using the literature review and online questionnaire to identify the main factors/indicators during the SHRM evaluation of manufacturing firms in India. Uncertainty is commonly occurred in the assessment of SHRM factors. As a generalized version of fuzzy sets, single-valued neutrosophic set (SVNS) has been demonstrated as a valuable tool to illustrate the indeterminate, inconsistent and uncertain data of realistic decision-making problems. Considering the idea of SVNSs, this study develops a hybrid multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) approach for assessing the SHRM of manufacturing firms under uncertainty settings. For this purpose, an SVN-alternative ranking order method accounting for two-step normalization (AROMAN) is proposed based on VIFI-score function-based decision experts’ (DEs’) weighting tool and integrated criteria weight-determining model to solve the MCGDM problems with fully unknown DEs and criteria weights. In this regard, we develop new SVN-distance measure to compute the degree of difference between SVNSs. Some examples are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of developed measure over the existing ones. In addition, new criteria weight-determination model is presented with the integration of objective weights through IVIF-distance measure-based model and subjective weights through ranking comparison (RANCOM) tool on SVNSs. The proposed ranking method is applied to an empirical study of SHRM assessment for manufacturing firms in India, which shows its applicability and feasibility. In this study, the evaluation criteria are characterized into social, environmental and economic aspects with DE’s opinions. Comparative and sensitivity analyses are made to show the strength and steadiness of presented approach. This study provides an innovative MCGDM analysis framework, which makes a significant contribution to the SHRM assessment problem under indeterminate, inconsistent and uncertain setting.

Background: The clinical outcomes of antiretroviral drugs may be modified by drug interactions; thus, it is important to update the drug interactions in people living with HIV. Aim: To update clinically relevant drug interactions in people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy. Methods: A systematic review in Medline/PubMed database from July 2017 to December 2022, using the Mesh terms: Anti-retroviral agents and drug interactions or herb-drug interactions or food-drug interactions. Publications with drug interactions in humans, in English or Spanish, and with full text were retrieved. The clinical relevance of drug interaction was grouped into 5 levels according to gravity and probability of occurrence. Results: 361 articles were identified and 148 were included, which allowed the identification of 894 drug interaction pairs. Among these 894 drug pairs, 355 have not been identified previously; and 89 (25.1%) and 72 (20.2%) were of levels 1 and 2, respectively. In addition, for 197 (55.5%) pairs the mechanism was pharmacokinetic. The non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and the protease inhibitors (PIs) with 91 (25.6%) and 76 (21.4%) pairs, respectively were more frequent. Conclusions: In people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy, we identify 355 new drug interaction pairs, of them 161 (45.3%) are assessed as levels 1 and 2 and thus, clinically relevant; a figure that is lower compared to 2014-2107 update. The pharmacokinetic mechanism is the most frequently identified. The non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) and the protease inhibitors (PIs) are the antiretroviral groups with the highest number of clinically relevant drug interactions.

CC chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6) is a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family that is highly expressed in B lymphocytes, effector and memory T cells, regulatory T cells, and immature dendritic cells. CCR6 has been revealed to have important functions in many pathological conditions, such as cancer, intestinal bowel disease, psoriasis, and autoimmune diseases. The only CCR6 chemokine ligand, CC motif chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20), is also involved in pathogenesis by interacting with CCR6. The CCL20/CCR6 axis is drawing attention as an attractive therapeutic target for various diseases. In this study, we developed novel monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against human CCR6 (hCCR6) using the peptide immunization method, which are applicable to flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. The established anti-hCCR6 mAb, clone C6Mab-19 (mouse IgG1, kappa), reacted with hCCR6-overexpressed Chinese hamster ovary-K1 (CHO/hCCR6), HepG2 (human liver carcinoma), and HuH-7 (human differentiated hepatoma) cells in flow cytometry. The dissociation constant (KD) of C6Mab-19 was determined as 3.0 × 10−10 M for CHO/hCCR6, 6.9 × 10−10 M for HepG2, and 1.8 × 10−10 M for HuH-7. Thus, C6Mab-19 could bind to exogenously and endogenously expressed hCCR6 with extremely high affinity. Furthermore, C6Mab-19 could stain formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lymph node tissues from a patient with non-Hodgkin lymphoma by immunohistochemistry. Therefore, C6Mab-19 is suitable for detecting hCCR6-expressing cells and tissues, and could be useful for pathological analysis and diagnosis.

Dysfunction of the WW domain-containing adaptor with coiled-coil, WAC, gene underlies a rare autosomal dominant disorder, DeSanto-Shinawi syndrome (DESSH). DESSH is associated with facial dysmorphia, hypotonia, and cognitive alterations, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism. How the WAC protein localizes and functions in neural cells is critical to understanding its role during development. To understand the genotype-phenotype role of WAC, we developed a knowledgebase of WAC expression, evolution, human genomics, and structural/motif analysis combined with human protein domain deletions to assess how conserved domains guide cellular distribution. Then assessed in a cell type implicated in DESSH, cortical GABAergic neurons. WAC contains conserved charged amino acids, phosphorylation signals, and enriched nuclear motifs, suggesting a role in cellular signaling and gene transcription. Human DESSH variants are found within these regions. We also discovered and tested a nuclear localaization domain that impacts the cellular distribution of the protein. These data provide new insights into the potential roles of this critical developmental gene, establishing a platform to assess further translational studies, including the screening of missense genetic variants in WAC. Moreover, these studies are essential for understanding the role of human WAC variants in more diverse neurological phenotypes, including autism spectrum disorder.

Recent reports have it that over 85\% of data breaches are still caused by the human element, of which healthcare is one of the suitable organizations mostly targeted by cybercriminals. The work of healthcare staff is often associated with high workloads, high emergency cases, and a broad range of psychological, social, and cultural factors. The significance of these factors could undermine conscious care information security (IS) practice leading to serious violations. This study comprehensively examined the correlation between the psycho-social-cultural factors, work factors with IS and privacy behaviour in a hospital that has fully adopted electronic health records (EHR) management system. The findings are to facilitate the decision-making process towards improving the cyber-security practice in healthcare. A quantitative approach was adopted where we collected responses from 212 healthcare staff through an online questionnaire survey. A broad range of constructs was selected from psychological, social, cultural perception and work factors based on earlier review work. These were therefore related to some security practices, to assess the IS knowledge, attitude and behaviour gaps among healthcare staff in a comprehensive way. From the study, IS self-reported conscious care behaviour (ISCCB) risk was relatively higher as compared to information security knowledge (ISK) risks and information security attitude (ISA) risk. Furthermore, the study revealed that work emergency has a positive correlation with ISCCB (r=1.95, p-value =0.001) risk. Conscientiousness also had positive correlation with ISCCB risk (r=0.157, p-value=0.05) however agreeableness negatively correlated with ISK risk (r=-0.166, p-value =0.05), and ISA risk (r=-0.140, p-value =0.05). Based on these findings, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation methods combined with cutting-edge technologies can be explored to discourage IS risks behaviours while enhancing conscious care security practice.

The cardiac sodium ion channel (NaV1.5) is a protein with four domains (DI-DIV), each with six transmembrane segments. Its opening and subsequent inactivation results in the brief rapid influx of Na+ ions resulting in the depolarization of cardiomyocytes. The neurotoxin veratridine (VTD) inhibits NaV1.5 inactivation resulting in longer channel opening times, and potentially fatal action potential prolongation. VTD is predicted to bind at the channel pore, but alternative binding sites have not been ruled out. To determine the binding site of VTD on NaV1.5, we performed docking calculations and high-throughput electrophysiology experiments. The docking calculations identified two distinct binding regions. The first site was in the pore, close to the binding site of NaV1.4 and NaV1.5 blocking drugs in experimental structures. The second site was at the “mouth” of the pore at the cytosolic side, partly solvent-exposed. Mutations at this site (L409, E417, and I1466) had large effects on VTD binding, while residues deeper in the pore had no effect, consistent with VTD binding at the mouth site. Overall, our results suggest a VTD binding site close to the cytoplasmic mouth of the channel pore. Binding at this alternative site might indicate an allosteric inactivation mechanism for VTD at NaV1.5.

Background: Metastatic cancer is associated with an invariably fatal outcome. However, DeltaRex-G, a tumor- targeted retrovector encoding a CCNG1 inhibitor gene, has induced long term (>10 years) survival of patients with chemo-resistant metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, MPNST, osteosarcoma, B-cell lymphoma, and breast carcinoma. Objective: To evaluate the level of CCNG1 expression in tumors as a potential biomarker for CCNG1 inhibitor therapy. Methods: CCNG1 RNA expression levels were measured in tumors (TCGA, N=9161), adjacent “tissues” (TCGA, N=678) and GTEx normal tissues (N=7187) across 22 organ sites. Differential expression of CCNG1 and Ki-67 in primary (N= 9161) vs metastatic (N= 393) tumors were also compared and particularly in primary (N=103) vs. metastatic (N=367) skin cancer (i.e., melanoma). Results: Enhanced CCNG1 RNA and protein expression were noted in tumors compared to normal analogous counterparts, and CCNG1 expression correlated significantly with that of Ki-67. Further, CCNG1 expression tended to be higher than that of Ki-67 in metastatic vs primary tumors, particularly in skin cancer (melanoma). Conclusions: Taken together, these data indicate that (1) CCNG1 expression is frequently enhanced in tumors when compared to their normal analogous counterparts, (2) CCNG1 and Ki-67 expressions are higher in metastatic vs primary tumors, (3) CCNG1 expression is significantly correlated with that of Ki-67, and (4) CCNG1 may be a stronger marker of metastasis than Ki-67. Phase 2 studies are planned to identify patients who are likely to respond favorably to CCNG1 inhibitor therapy by correlating treatment outcome parameters with CCNG1 expression levels in various cancer types.

Resistance of tumor cells to anticancer drugs is a major obstacle in tumor therapy. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of cordycepin-mediated resensitization to cisplatin inT24R2, a derived T24 cell line. Treatment with cordycepin or cisplatin (2 g/ml) alone could not induce cell death of T24R2, but combination treatment of these drugs significantly induced apoptosis of the cells through mitochondrial pathway including depolarization of mitochondrial membrane, decrease of anti-apoptotic proteins, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Mcl-1, and increase of pro-apoptotic proteins, Bak and Bax. . High expression of MDR1 was the cause of cisplatin resistance in T24R2, and cordycepin significantly reduced MDR1 expression through inhibition of MDR1 promoter activity. MDR1 promoter activity was dependent on a transcription factor, Ets-1, in T24R2 cells. Although there is a correlation between MDR1 and Ets-1 expression in bladder cancer patients, active Ets-1, Thr-38 phosphorylated form (pThr-38), was critical to induce MDR1 expression. Cordycepin decreased pThr-38 Ets-1 level through inhibition of AKT, which reduced MDR1 transcription and induced the resensitization of T24R2 to cisplatin. The results suggest that cordycepin effectively resensitizes cisplatin-resistant bladder cancer cells to cisplatin, thus serving as a potential strategy for treatment of anti-cancer drug resistant patients.

The Reeler mutation was described in mouse more than fifty year ago. Later, its causative gene (reln) was discovered in mouse, and its human orthologue (RELN) was demonstrated to be causative of lissencephaly 2 (LIS2) and about 20% of the cases of autosomal-dominant lateral temporal epilepsy (ADLTE). In both human and mice the gene encodes for a glycoprotein referred to as Reelin (Reln) that plays a primary role in neuronal migration during development and synaptic stabilization in adulthood. Besides LIS2 and ADLTE, RELN and/or other genes coding for the proteins of the Reln intracellular cascade have been associated more or less substantially to other conditions such as spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 and 37, VLDLR-associated cerebellar hypoplasia, PAFAH1B1-associated lissencephaly, autism and schizophrenia. According to their modalities of inheritances and with substantial differences among each other, these neuropsychiatric disorders can be modeled in the homozygous (reln-/-) or heterozygous (reln+/-) mouse. The usefulness of these mice as translational models is discussed, with focus on their construct and face validity. The latter is mainly treated directing the attention to the histological, neurochemical and functional observations in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of Reeler mice and their human counterparts.

Abstract5′,8-Cyclo-2′-deoxyadenosine (cdA), in the 5′R and 5′Sdiastereomeric forms, are typical non strand-break oxidative DNA lesions, induced by hydroxyl radicals, with emerging importance as a molecular marker. These lesions are exclusively repaired by nucleotide excision repair (NER) mechanism with a low efficiency, thus readily accumulating in the genome. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase1 (PARP1) acts as an early responder to DNA damage and plays a key role as a nick sensor in the maintenance of the integrity of the genome by recognizing nicked DNA. So far, it was unknown whether the diastereomeric cdA lesions could induce specific PARP1 binding. Here we provide the first evidence of PARP1 to selectively recognize the diastereomeric lesions 5′S-cdA and 5′R-cdA in vitro as compared to deoxyadenosine in model DNA substrates (23-mers) by using circular dichroism,fluorescence spectroscopy, immunoblotting analysis and gel mobility shift assay. Several features of the recognition of the damaged and undamaged oligonucleotides by PARP1were characterized. Remarkably, PARP1 efficiently binds to both cdA lesions in the double stranded (ds)-oligonucleotides. In particular, PARP1 proved to bind 5′S-cdAwith a higher affinity constant for the 5'S lesion in a model of ds DNA than 5′R-cdA, showing different recognition patterns, also compared with undamaged dA. This new finding highlights the ability of PARP1 to recognize and differentiate the distorted DNA backbone in a biomimetic system caused by different diastereomeric forms of a cdA lesion.

OBJECTIVES: Most of human papilomavirus (HPV) infections are “cleared” by the immune system, however, in cases of immune system suppression infections could lead to development of malignancies. The aim of this study was to find out the frequency of HR-HPV infection in early period after renal transplantation in Latvian recipients receiving immunosuppressive therapy and to follow the progression of the infection up to one year. METHODS: 43 female renal recipients (median age of 48 IQR= 39-58) and 79 practically healthy female individuals (median age of 48 IQR= 42-57) as a control group were enrolled in this investigation. For the detection of HPV infection patients' samples (blood and vaginal swabs) where collected two weeks after transplantation with following collection of six months and one year. Different polymerase chain reactions for HR-HPV genomic sequences detection and commercial ELISA kit for detection of anti-HPV IgG antibodies were used. RESULTS: In this study we show that frequency rate of HR-HPV infection has increased by the one year after transplantation from early stage of immumosuppressive therapy (from 24% to 36%). Also increase of HR-HPV load was detected over the time, showing the highest median viral load at sixth month after transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: From the obtained data follows that it is very important to carefully monitor patients receiving immunosuppression therapy on progression of HR-HPV. In the case of this viral infection presence, immunosuppressive therapy must be attentively adjusted to avoid the HR-HPV infection rapid progression with the subsequent development of CIN or cervical cancer.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has not been thoroughly studied, and the pathogenesis of NPC is unclear. Scientists have neither discovered effective therapies nor achieved a desirable prognosis. Some studies have found that the regulation of intra- and extracellular ion channels hinges directly on cell apoptosis, and treatment with Gambogenic acid (GNA) brings changes to the volume-sensitive outwardly rectifying chloride (VSOR Cl-) current of CNE-2Z cells recorded by the patch clamp method. Nevertheless, rarely have any researchers probed into the relevance between this variation and the anti-tumor mechanism of GNA. This paper is suggested that GNA activates the VSOR Cl- current on the CNE-2Z cell membrane, and the activation of VSOR Cl- currents by GNA in CNE-2Z cells is blocked by the chloride channel blockers DIDS and DCPIB. GNA induces the down-regulation of GRP78 and up-regulation of ATF4 as well as chop proteins, which is evidence for the induction of CNE-2Z cell apoptosis, and this correlates with ER stress. GNA can activate the VSOR Cl- channel and lead to the occurrence of ER stress, thus inducing the apoptosis of CNE-2Z cells and inhibiting the proliferation of CNE-2Z cells.

This paper assesses whether there is intrinsic positive educational value in travelling animal presentations and exhibits, referred to here as Mobile Live Animal Programs (MLAPs). Given that educational claims serve as the basis for allowing MLAPs to operate in many jurisdictions throughout Canada and the United States, it is essential to examine whether these purported claims are valid. This study takes a twofold approach of examining first, what constitutes an MLAP and how such programs are situated within the larger context of animal observation and tourism, and second, what constitutes both positive and negative education, and how such learning can empirically be measured in these settings. This approach provokes the ethical question of whether or not MLAPs should be allowed to operate given the high price paid not only by the individual animals used, but also to our psychological, emotional, and intellectual relationship with other species when we use non-human animals for our own knowledge, pleasure or comfort. The paper concludes that we must consider that the pervasive problem of negative education, that using displaced captive wild animals as learning tools that highlights human control over them, their objectification and their exploitation, is not justified by the purported positive educational claims of MLAPs.

Advanced Finite Element (FE) modeling and simulations were performed on vehicular crashes into a Three-bar Metal Bridge Rail (TMBR). The FE models of a sedan, a pickup truck, and a TMBR section were adopted in the crash simulations subject to Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level 2 (TL-2) and Test Level 3 (TL-3) requirements. The test vehicle models were first validated using full-scale physical crash tests conducted on a two-bar metal bridge using a sedan and a pickup truck with similar overall physical properties and sizes to their respective vehicles used in the simulations. The validated vehicular models were then used to evaluate the crash performance of the TMBR using MASH Evaluation Criteria for structural adequacy, occupant risk, and post-impact trajectory. The TMBR met all MASH TL-2 requirements but failed to meet the MASH TL-3 Criteria H and N requirements when impacted by the sedan. The TMBR was also evaluated under in-service conditions (behind a 1.52-m wide sidewalk) and impacted by the sedan under MASH TL-3 conditions. The simulation results showed that the TMBR behind a sidewalk met all safety requirements except for the occupant impact velocity in the longitudinal direction, which exceeded the MASH limit by 3.93%.

At the end of the dry season in early March to early April each year, extensive agricultural biomass waste burnings occur throughout insular mainland Southeast Asia. During this biomass burnings period, smoke aerosols blanket the whole regions and were transported and dispersed by predominant westerly and south westerly winds to southern China, Taiwan and as far southern Japan and the Philippines. The extensive and intense burnings coincided with some wildfires in the forests due to high temperature making the region one of the global hot spots of biomass fires. In this study, we focus on the effect of pollutants emitted from biomass burnings in March 2019 at the height of the burnings period to the exposed population and their health impact. The Weather Research Forecast- Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model was used to predict the PM2.5 concentration over the simulating domain and health impacts are then assessed on the exposed population in the four countries of Southeast Asia, namely Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Using the health impact based on log-linear concentration response function and Integrated Exposure Response (IER), the results show that at the peak period of the burnings from 13 to 20 March 2019, Thailand experienced the highest impact, with an estimated 2170 premature deaths. Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia followed, with estimated mortalities of 277, 565, and 314 deaths respectively. However, when considering the impact per head of population, Laos exhibited the highest impact, followed by Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The results highlight the significant health impact and associated economic cost of agricultural waste burnings in Southeast Asia at the end of the dry season. And hence policy makers should take these into account to design measures to reduce the negative impact of widespread burnings on exposed population in the region.

Rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella serotypes host-adapted to cattle is of increasing concern to the beef and dairy industry. The bulk of the existing literature focuses on AMR post-slaughter. In comparison, the understanding of AMR in Salmonella among pre-harvest cattle is still limited, particularly in Texas, which ranks top five in beef and dairy exports in the United States; inherently, the health of Texas cattle has nationwide implications for the health of the United States beef and dairy industry. In this study, long-read whole genome sequencing and bioinformatic methods were utilized to analyze antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in 98 isolates from beef and dairy cattle in the Texas Panhandle. Fisher exact tests and elastic net models accounting for population structure were used to infer associations between ARGs and antimicrobial phenotypic profiles and metadata. Gene mapping was also performed to assess the role of mobile genetic elements in harboring ARGs. ARG were found to be statistically different between the type of cattle operation and Salmonella serotypes. Beef operations were statistically significantly associated with more resistance genes compared to dairy operations. Salmonella Heidelberg, followed by Salmonella Dublin isolates, were associated with the most ARGs. Additionally, specific classes of ARGs were only present within mobile genetic elements.

Nitrates can cause severe ecological imbalances in aquatic ecosystems, with considerable consequences for human health. Therefore, monitoring this inorganic form of nitrogen becomes essential for any water quality management structure. This research aimed at developing a novel Nitrate Portable Measurement System (NPMS) for monitoring nitrate concentrations in water samples. NPMS is a reagent-free ultraviolet system developed using low-cost electronic components. Its operation principle is based on Beer-Lambert law for measuring Nitrate concentrations in water samples through light absorption in the spectral range 295-315 nm. The system is equipped with ready to use ultraviolet sensor, Light Emission Diode (LED), op-amp, microcontroller, liquid crystal display, quartz cuvette, temperature sensor, and battery. All the components are assembled in a 3D-printed enclosure box which allows a very compact self-contained equipment, with high portability, enabling field and near real time measurements. The proposed methodology and the developed instrument were used to analyse multiple nitrate standard solutions. The performance was evaluated in comparison with the Nicolet Evolution 300, a classical UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The results demonstrate a strong correlation between the retrieved measurements by both instruments within the investigated spectral band and for concentrations above 5 mg NO3- /l.

In order to explore the yield-increasing mechanism of mechanized potato planting with corn straw mulching, a two-year ( 2021 and 2022 ) field experiment was conducted to study the effects of mechanized no-tillage with straw mulching on potato yield and water use efficiency. This experiment included corn straw mulching potato mechanized no-tillage planting ( JG ), plastic film mulching ( HM ) and open flat planting ( CK ). The results showed that mechanical no-tillage with straw mulching had significant effects on soil water content, yield and water use efficiency in 0-100 cm soil layer (p&lt; 0.05). There was no significant difference in yield between JG and HM, but it was significantly higher than that of CK. The yield of JG was 3.09 %~12.27 % higher than that of CK. The yield increase was mainly achieved by increasing the potato weight per plant ( 0.697 ~ 0.862** ) and the average single potato weight ( 0.048 ~ 0.631 ). The tuber weight per plant was positively correlated with the plant height at seedling stage ( 0.03 ~ 0.92** ), and positively correlated with the dry weight of stems and leaves at tuber expansion stage and starch accumulation stage ( 0.74** ~ 0.95**). It was negatively correlated with the number of branches at tuber formation stage ( -0.33 ~ -0.88** ). Compared with CK, JG could significantly improve the water use efficiency of potato and reduce the water consumption during the whole growth period of crops. In 2021, JG was 6.5 % higher than CK, and HM was 6.88 % lower than CK. In 2022, JG and HM increased water use efficiency by 26.17 % and 14.50 % compared with CK. It can be seen that JG is a green and efficient mechanized potato cultivation technology suitable for dry farming areas.

This work presents the results regarding the synthesis of tungsten nanoparticles (W NPs) by magnetron sputtering combined with gas aggregation (MSGA) when H2 mixed with Ar is used as working gas, the amount of H2 being increased up to 82%. The results show that up to 40% H2 in discharge the synthesis rate increases over 60 times, rapidly decreasing for over 50% H2 in discharge. The W dust is still produced in H2 dominated discharge (82%), the deposition rate being small but not negligible (20 mg/hour). The obtained WNPs are isolated, with the diameter decreasing from 50 nm to 15 nm when the amount of H2 in discharge is smaller than 41%. Over this value, the particles tend to agglomerate, forming structures similar to film-like deposits. Also, the diameter of the deposited spots on substrates is dependent on the H2 content in discharge. This allows the efficient coating of substrates with dimensions up to 26 mm by translating them in front of the MSGA cluster source exit aperture. Supplementary, for 41% H2 in discharge, the influence of synthetic air leaks (0-5%) in discharge was investigated. The deposition rate decreases rapidly (ceasing for around 4% air in discharge) and the obtained nanoparticles tend to agglomerate (at 2% air content, the dust deposit has the aspect of a near continuous film). Chemical composition investigations show a pronounced tendency of oxidation, nitridation and oxynitride formation in the presence of air leaks.

The presented work offers a novel process scheme for valorizing historical Pb-Zn slag, which involves crushing, grinding, and then using separation techniques to concentrate valuable components (nonferrous metals). This methodology could have a significant impact on the global beneficiation of metallurgical slags since, in theory, it is significantly more simple, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective than standard pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical procedures. According to previous physicochemical and mineralogical studies, Pb-Zn slag from "Topilnica" Veles is a valuable secondary raw material. This inhomogeneous technogenic resource contains substantial amounts of nonferrous metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, and Ag). However, laboratory tests have indicated that the Pb-Zn slag contains a very uneven valuable metals amounts, ranging from several g/ton to several tens of g/ton. The main issue is that traditional metallurgical procedures for releasing beneficial elements are not commercially viable since the valuable elements are "trapped" within amorphous aluminosilicates or intergrowths of alloy grains and glassy phases. Gravity concentration (Wilfley 13 shaking table) and magnetic separation (Davis separator and disk separator) were used to obtain the final concentrate following comminution and grindability testing. The gravity concentration proved more effective. This streamlined approach of valorizing Pb-Zn slag can reduce the need for hazardous chemicals used in hydrometallurgical refinement operations, as well as the extremely high temperatures required for pyrometallurgical processing. This is the first investigation into the feasibility of this novel approach, which includes direct investigations of the Pb-Zn slag feed using these alternative technologies. After extracting the valuable metals, the amorphous aluminosilicate part of the Pb-Zn slag can be reapplied as an alternative raw material in the building sector, adding to the circularity of the suggested approach..

Terrestrial orchid tubers are an important source of food in some parts of Africa and are traditionally included in the diets of most rural communities in Malawi. However, there is limited information on the nutritional and phytochemical content of the Malawian orchids to substantiate their traditional use. The present study evaluates the nutritional and phytochemical variation of four orchid species: Disa zombica, Satyrium buchananii, Satyrium carsonii, and Satyrium trinerve, collected from the same ecological zone of Malawi. The proximate content, minerals, phytochemicals, and functional properties were analysed using official procedures. Protein ranged from 2.19% to 4.65%, whereas carbohydrate ranged from 65.24% to 80.22%, with S. carsonii and S. trinerve registering the highest protein and carbohydrate contents, respectively. Iron and potassium were highest in D. zombica, while sodium and calcium were highest in S. buchananii. The total phenolics ranged from 228.56 to 500.00 mg GAE/100 g, with D. zombica registering the highest. The water absorption capacity ranged from 4.10 to 10.88 g/g. Albeit variable levels, the study provides evidence that orchid species contain essential nutrients and phytochemicals important for human nutrition and health. Furthermore, the functional properties can be utilised in the development of food products, such as baked products.

Cytomegalovirus infection contributes to 10-30% congenital hearing loss in children. Vertebrate peripheral auditory organs include the outer, middle and inner ear. Their development is regulated by multiple signaling pathways. However, most ear diseases due to viral infections are due to congenital infections and reactivation, and affect healthy adults to a lesser extent. This may be due to the fact that viral infections affect signaling pathways that are important for the development of peripheral hearing organs. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the relationship between viral infections and the signaling pathways involved in the development of peripheral hearing organs is important for the prevention and treatment of ear diseases. In this review, we summaries the effects of viruses on signaling pathways and signaling molecules in development of peripheral auditory organ, with a focus on Human cytomegalovirus as an example.

Innovation is a crucial issue in healthcare services since it can affect job-related variables such as productivity, satisfaction and burnout. The aim of our study was to examine the impact of innovation support on quiet quitting, innovative behavior and innovation outputs among nurses. We conducted a cross-sectional study in Greece during April 2024. We employed a convenience sample of nurses. We used the following instruments: (a) the Innovation Support Inventory (ISI) to measure innovation support, (b) the Quiet Quitting Scale (QQS) to measure quiet quitting, (c) the Innovative Behavior Inventory (IBI) to measure innovative behavior, and (d) the Innovation Outputs (IO) scale to measure innovation outputs. Our multivariable analysis identified a negative relationship between innovation support and quiet quitting. Moreover, we found that managerial support and cultural support improved several aspects of innovative behavior, such as idea generation, idea search, idea communication, implementation starting activities, involving others, and overcoming obstacles. Additionally, managerial support improved innovation outputs. Our findings suggested the positive impact of innovation support on quiet quitting, innovative behavior and innovation outputs among nurses. Organizations and nurses’ managers should establish an innovative working environment to improve nurses’ passion, motives and productivity.

: Leveraging the sustainability of the power system market, researchers have developed various ML models for forecasting electricity demand. The LSSVM is well suited to handle complex non-linear power load series. However, the less optimal regularization parameter and the Gaussian kernel function in the LSSVM model have contributed to flawed forecasting accuracy and random generalization ability. Thus, these parameters of LSSVM need to be chosen appropriately using intelligent optimization algorithms. This study proposes a hybrid model based on the LSSVM optimized by the IBFOA for forecasting the daily electricity load in Peninsular Malaysia. The IBFOA for parameter optimization of LSSVM is introduced. The IBFOA based on the sine cosine equation is proposed to adjust the constant step size in the BFOA, which creates an imbalance between the exploration and exploitation during optimization. Finally, the load forecasting model based on LSSVM-IBFOA is constructed using MAPE as the objective function. Comparative analysis demonstrates the model, achieving the highest R2 (0.9880) and significantly reducing error metrics (MAPE, MAE, RMSE, MSE, NRMSE) compared to the baseline LSSVM (average reduction of 27.72% to 47.72%). Additionally, IBFOA exhibits faster convergence and higher accuracy compared to BFOA, highlighting the accuracy of LSSVM-IBFOA for short-term load forecasting.

This comprehensive article explores Massive MIMO (M-MIMO) design and its associated concepts, focusing on the seamless integration requirements for Beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G networks. Addressing critical aspects such as RF chain reduction, pilot contamination, Cell-Free MIMO, and security considerations, the article delves into the intricacies of M-MIMO in the evolving landscape of B5G. Moreover, the emerging MIMO concepts in this article include AI-enabled M-MIMO three-dimensional beamforming, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, visible light communication, and THz spectrum utilization. This review highlights challenges and open research issues, including Narrow Aperture Antenna Nodes, Plasmonic Antenna Arrays, Integrated Sensing with M-MIMO, and the application of Federated Learning in M-MIMO systems. By examining these cutting-edge developments, the article aims to contribute to advancing knowledge in the field and inspire future research directions in the exciting realm of B5G and 6G networks.

To enhance the performance of visual SLAM in underwater environments, this paper presents an enhanced front-end method based on visual feature enhancement. The method comprises three modules aimed at optimizing and improving the matching capability of visual features from different perspectives. Firstly, to address issues related to insufficient underwater illumination and uneven distribution of artificial light sources, a brightness consistency recovery method is pro-posed. This method employs an adaptive histogram equalization algorithm to balance the brightness of images. Secondly, a method for denoising underwater suspended particulates is introduced to filter out noise from the images. After image-level processing, a combined underwater acousto-optic feature association method is proposed, which associates acoustic features from sonar with visual features, thereby providing distance information for the visual features. Finally, utilizing the AFRL dataset, the improved system incorporating the proposed enhancement methods is evaluated for performance against the OKVIS framework. The system achieves better trajectory estimation accuracy compared to OKVIS and demonstrates robustness in underwater environments.

In the present study, we aimed to observed hair follicle development and describe Wnt10b/β-catenin signaling pathways related to hair follicle development in different ages of Rex rabbits. Six Rex rabbits (3 male and 3 female) of 15, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 days of age were selected and skin samples were collected for hair follicle development and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway genes expresion detection. The results showed that the the values for body weight, coat length, skin thickness, skin area, and skin weight of Rex rabbits were increased significantly with age (p &lt; 0.05). The total hair follicle density, secondary hair follicle density and the ratio of the secondary hair follicle density to the primary hair follicle density in 120 days of Rex rabbits was higher than that in the other ages (p &lt; 0.05), and the major hair follicles were in the growing period at 15 days and 30 days of age, some of them had already entered the degeneration period at 60 days of age, and most of them entered the degeneration period at 90 days of age, the presence of quiescent hair follicles and the enlargement of primary hair follicles were also observed. At 120 and 150 days of age, the back hair follicles entered the growing period, and the secondary hair follicles had obvious differentiation. Furthermore, the expression of the Wnt10b, CTNNB1, adenomatosis polyposis protein (APC), Disheveled 2 (DVL2), glycogen synthase kinase 3β（GSK-3β）, Lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 (LEF1), dickkopf-1 (DKK1) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ-1) genes in the skin tissue of Rex rabbits at different age was significantly differences (p &lt; 0.05), and the expression of the Wnt10b, CTNNB1, DVL2, GSK-3β, and TGFβ-1 genes at 90 days was higher than that in the other days, the expression of the LEF1 and DKK1 genes at 60 days was higher than that in the other days. As western blotting indicated, the β-catenin protein phosphorylation (P-CTNNB1) levels in the skin tissue of Rex rabbits shows the trend of first increasing, then decreasing and then increasing, 60 days, 120 days and 150 days significantly higher than 15 days, 30 days or 90 days (p &lt; 0.05). With the increasing of ages, the GSK-3β protein phosphorylation (P-GSK-3β) levels in the skin tissue of Rex rabbits were increasing, and maximum at 120 days of age (p &lt; 0.05). These results show that ages could influence on the fur quality and hair follicle traits of Rex rabbits, and Wnt10b/β-catenin signaling pathways is involved in the biological process of periodic hair follicle development in Rex rabbits. Considering the rule of fur growth, the slaughter age of Rex rabbits should not be earlier than 120 days.

Portal myofibroblasts (PMF) are known to be critical in bile duct injury, but their role in liver fibrogenesis remains underexplored. Thy-1, an adhesion molecule integral to fibroblasts, relevant in fibrogenesis and detectable in serum as soluble Thy-1 (sThy-1), is expressed by PMF but not hepatic stellate cells in vitro. This study aimed to elucidate the correlation between Thy-1 expression in liver histology and sThy-1 levels in serum with the degree of liver fibrosis in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Liver histology samples were stained for Thy-1 and sThy-1 was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In patients with PBC and MASLD, portal Thy-1 expression significantly correlated with increased fibrosis. The sinusoidal Thy-1 expression also significantly correlated with increased fibrosis in patients with PBC (p

Background In this study we investigated in detail the role of cannabidiol (CBD), Beta-caryophyllene (BC), or their combinations in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DN). The key factors that contribute to DN include mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Methods Briefly, Streptozotocin (STZ) (55 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally to induce DN in Sprague Dawley rats and performed procedures including Randall Sellito Calipers, Von Frey Aesthesiometer, hot plate, and cold plate methods to determine mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia in vivo. The blood flow to the nerves was assessed by using the Laser Doppler device. Schwann cells were exposed to high glucose (HG) at a dose of 30 mM to induce hyperglycemia and DCFDA, JC1 & Mitosox staining were done to determine mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial superoxides in-vitro. The rats were administered i.p with BC (30mg/kg), CBD (15mg/kg), or combination while Schwann cells were treated with 3.65 µM CBD, 75 µM BC, or combination to assess their role in DN amelioration. Results Our results revealed that exposure to BC and CBD diminished HG-induced hyperglycemia in Schwann cells, in part, through reducing mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial superoxides. Further, BC and CBD combination treatment in-vivo could prevent the deterioration of mitochondrial quality control system by promoting autophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis while improving blood flow. CBD and BC treatments also reduced pain hypersensitivity to hyperalgesia and allodynia with increased antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action in diabetic rats. These in vivo effects were attributed to significant upregulation of AMPK, SIRT3, Nrf2, PINK1, PARKIN, LC3B, Beclin1 and TFAM functions while downregulation of NLRP3 inflammasome, NFκB, COX2 and p62 activity was noted as determined by western blotting. Conclusion the present studies demonstrated that STZ & HG induced oxidative and nitrosative stress play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy. We find, for the first time, that CBD and BC combination ameliorate DN via modulating the mitochondrial quality control system.

We construct a Bayesian estimator for the dilution of a wastewater sample. When wastewater is diluted by rainwater an estimate of the level of dilution is required if we are to normalise sample measurements of disease markers such as SARS-CoV-2 RNA. We consider the situation where flow measurements are available, but will regularly be unreliable because of the action of combined sewer outflows (CSOs) and wastewater storage tanks, which divert wastewater away from treatment plants when the flow is excessive. However, we also have proxies for the flow from various chemical markers (e.g.\ phosphate, ammonium, electrical conductivity), whose level per unit of population is fixed. The new flow estimator has multiple advantages compared to existing procedures: credible intervals for the estimates; optimal weighting of the chemical markers; systematic handling of missing and censored values; and model based smoothing without lags.

The p53 tumor suppressor protein shows antiviral activity. The replication of viruses is also antagonized by interferons (IFNs) – cytokines, which control immunity genes by the STAT transcription factors. The best studied interferons belong to type I (e.g. IFNα) and type II (IFNγ) groups. IFNα and IFNγ both induce activating phosphorylation of STAT1 on Tyr701. Previously, we noticed that p53 activates SOCS1, which is a negative regulator of STAT1 phosphorylation. Thus, we hypothesized that p53 by activating SOCS1 expression reduces phosphorylation of STAT1 and attenuates activation of genes stimulated either by IFNα or IFNγ. To test this hypothesis, we exposed p53-proficient and p53-deficient cells to strong p53 activators, and either to IFNα or IFNγ. Subsequently, we estimated the phosphorylation status of STAT1 and the expression of genes regulated by either of these cytokines. Strong activation of p53 reduced the phosphorylation of STAT1 on Tyr701, however surprisingly it did not lead to reduced expression of most tested interferon-stimulated genes. On contrary, p53 and IFNγ synergized in the activation of CASP1, IFIT1 and IFIT3 genes. We conclude that the interactions between p53 and interferon-activated pathways are more complicated than initially expected, but the apparent cooperation between p53 and IFNγ deserves further studies.

The state-of-the-art smart city has been calling for an economic but efficient energy management over large-scale network, especially for the electric power system. It is a critical issue to monitor, analyze and control electric loads of all users in system. In this paper, we employ the popular computer vision techniques of AI to design a non-intrusive load monitoring method for smart electric energy management. First of all, we utilize both signal transforms (including wavelet transform and discrete Fourier transform) and Gramian Angular Field (GAF) methods to map one-dimensional current signals onto two-dimensional color feature images. Second, we propose to recognize all electric loads from color feature images using a deep neural network with multi-scale feature extraction and attention mechanism. Third, we design our method as a cloud-based, non-intrusive monitoring of all users, thereby saving energy cost during electric power system control. Experimental results on both public and our private datasets have demonstrated our method achieves superior performances than its peers, and thus supports efficient energy management over large-scale Internet of Things.

The spectra and global distributions of the X-ray emissions generated by the solar wind charge-exchange (SWCX) process in the terrestrial magnetosheath are investigated based on a global hybrid model and a global geocoronal hydrogen model. The solar wind O6+ ions which are the primary charge state for oxygen ions in solar wind are considered. The line emissivity of the charge-exchange born O5+ ions are calculated by Spectral Analysis System for Astrophysical and Lab oratory (SASAL). It is found that the emission lines from the O5+ ranges from 105.607 to 118.291 eV with the strong line at 107.047 eV. We then simulated the magnetosheath X-ray emission intensity distributions with a virtual camera at two positions of north pole and dusk at six stages during the passing of a perpendicular interplanetary shock combined with a tangential discontinuity structure through the Earth’s magnetosphere. During this process, the X-ray emission intensity increases with time, and the maximum value is 27.11 keV cm-2 s-1 sr-1 on the dayside, which is 4.5 times that before the solar wind structure reaches the Earth. A clear shock structure can be seen in the magnetosheath and moves earthward. The maximum emission intensity seen at dusk is always higher than that seen at north pole.

The Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) is a flexible component of the Incentive Regulation (IBR) that empowers power producers to adjust tariffs in response to variable fuel prices, thereby enhancing the economic resilience of electricity generation. However, the cost of electricity generation is significantly influenced by the volatility of commodity prices, including coal, gas and LNG. In Malaysia, the Energy Commission has conducted biannual reviews of fuel and other generation costs. Any cost savings or increases identified during these reviews will be passed on to customers in the form of rebates or surcharges. Due to that reason, this study proposes ICPT price forecasting for the electricity market in Peninsular Malaysia. The study aims to construct an ICPT-related baseline model for the peninsular generation data by employing three forecasting methods. The forecasting performance is analysed by a Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). In findings, the ARIMA method is one of the most accurate forecasting methods for fuel prices compared to the Moving Average (MA) and LSSVM methods. The observed price differences between the ARIMA and LSSVM models for ICPT are minimal. The ICPT price for July-December 2022 and January-June 2023 is MYR 0.21/ kWh for ARIMA and MYR 0.18/kWh for LSSVM, which are close to the actual TNB’s ICPT tariff. As for the forecasting, the ICPT price is expected to drop for the next announcement. The findings of this study may contribute to a positive impact on the sustainability of the energy sector in Malaysia.

Osteoporosis (OP), a prevalent skeletal disorder characterized by compromised bone strength and increased susceptibility to fractures, poses a significant public health concern. This review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current state of research in the field, focusing on the application of proteomic techniques to elucidate diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for OP. The integration of cutting-edge proteomic technologies has enabled the identification and quantification of proteins associated with bone metabolism, leading to a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying OP. In this review, we systematically examine recent advancements in proteomic studies related to OP, emphasizing the identification of potential biomarkers for OP diagnosis and the discovery of novel therapeutic targets. Additionally, we discuss the challenges and future directions in the field, highlighting the potential impact of proteomic research in transforming the landscape of OP diagnosis and treatment.

The segmentation of abnormal regions is vital in smart manufacturing. However, the existing segmentation system for detecting sauce-packet leakage on intelligent sensors encounters an issue of imaging blurring caused by uneven illumination. This issue adversely affects segmentation performance, thereby impeding the rapid production of industrial assembly lines. To alleviate this issue, we propose the two-stage Illumination-aware Sauce-packet Leakage Segmentation (ISLS) method for intelligent sensors. The ISLS comprises two main stages: Illumination-aware region enhancement and leakage region segmentation. In the first stage, YOLO-Fastestv2 is employed to capture the Region of Interest (ROI), which reduces redundancy computations. Additionally, we propose an image enhancement to relieve the impact of uneven illumination, enhancing the texture details of ROI. In the second stage, we propose a novel feature extraction network. Specifically, we propose the Multi-scale Feature Fusion Module (MFFM) and the Sequential Self-Attention Mechanism (SSAM) to capture discriminative representations of leakage. The multi-level features are fused by MFFM with a small number of parameters, which capture leakage semantics at different scales. The SSAM realizes the enhancement of valid features and the suppression of invalid features by adaptive weighting of spatial and channel dimensions. Furthermore, we generated a self-built dataset of sauce-packets, including 606 images with various leakage areas. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate that our ISLS method shows better results than several state-of-the-art methods, with additional performance analyses deployed on intelligent sensors to affirm the effectiveness of our proposed method. Our code is available at https://github.com/LSJ5106/SauceDetect.

Introduction: Carcinoid heart disease is a rare cause of right-sided valvular dysfunction, an important complication in patients with carcinoid syndrome. Objectives: We aim to present our own experience regarding early myocardial dysfunction in patients with carcinoid syndrome. Methods: 64 patients (35-90 year old, 62,5% female, 37,5% male patients) with carcinoid syndrome were evaluated be-tween October 2017 and June 2021. All patients underwent two-dimensional echocardiography with additional tissue Doppler and speckle-tracking techniques. For all patients there were measured urinary level of 5- hydroxyindolacetic acid, serotonin and NT-proBNP values. Results: The following echocardiographic features: global longitudinal strain of both ventricles, mean systolic velocity of the left ventricle, systolic velocity of the free wall of right ventricle, correlated with high values of specific biomarkers: serotonin, and urinary 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid, and also with the presence of hepatic metastases and poorly differentiated tumors. Discussion: In this study we identified several patients with early myocardial dysfunction due to carcinoid syndrome, representing a predictive model of poor prognosis, requiring further investigations. Conclusion: Echocardiographic assessment based on the measurement of systolic velocities, as well as the global longitudinal strain of both ventricles, together with specific biomarkers may contribute to better recognition of carcinoid heart disease in clinical practice, but this needs validation through further studies enrolling larger number of patients.

German noise action plans aim to reduce negative health outcomes from noise exposure and identify quiet areas free of noise pollution. Quiet area identification in German noise action plans is based primarily on noise mapping and spatial analysis and not empirical or qualitative data about acoustic environments, thus leaving a gap in the understanding of the quality of formally recognized quiet areas in noise action plans. This work presents a comparative empirical case study in Dortmund, Germany, with the aim to describe the diurnal dB(A) and biophonic properties of quiet areas versus noise 'hot spots'. Sound observations were collected (n=282,764) in five different natural or recreational land use patch types larger than four acres within 33 proposed quiet areas in Dortmund (n=70) and 23 noise hot spots between April 27^th, 2022 and March 2^nd, 2023. We find that quiet areas are on average more than 20 dB(A) quieter than noise hot spots almost every hour of the day. Forests, managed tree stands, cemeteries, and agriculture diel patterns are dominated by dawn dusk chorus in spring and summer, whereas sport and recreation as well as noise hot spots are dominated by traffic and human noise. A novel composite biophony mapping procedure is presented that finds distinct temporal distribution of biophony in forested and agriculture peri-urban locations positively associated with patch size, distance away from LDEN > 55, proximity to water, and the number of vegetation layers in the plant community. Anthrophony distribution dominates urban land uses in all hours of the day, but expands during day and evening and contracts at night and in dusk hours. The procedures presented here illustrate how qualitative information regarding quiet areas can be integrated into German noise action planning.

The question of what generates conscious experience has mesmerized thinkers since the dawn of humanity, yet its origins remain a mystery. The topic of consciousness has gained traction in recent years, thanks to the development of large language models that now arguably pass the Turing test, an operational test for intelligence. However, intelligence and consciousness are not related in obvious ways, as anyone who suffers from a bad toothache can attest - pain generates intense feelings and absorbs all our conscious awareness yet nothing particularly intelligent is going on. Still, in the hard sciences, this topic is frequently met with skepticism because to date no protocol to measure the content or intensity of conscious experiences in an observer-independent manner has been agreed upon. Here we present a novel proposal: Conscious experience arises whenever a quantum mechanical superposition forms. Our proposal has several implications: First, it suggests that the structure of the superposition determines the qualia of the experience. Second, quantum entanglement naturally solves the binding problem, ensuring the unity of phenomenal experience. Finally, a moment of agency may coincide with the formation of a superposition state. We outline a research program to experimentally test our conjecture via a sequence of quantum biology experiments. Applying these ideas opens up the possibility of expanding human experience through brain-quantum computer interfaces.

Aiming at effectively generating safe and reliable motion paths for quadruped robots, a hierar-chical path planning approach driven by dynamic 3D point cloud is proposed in this article. The developed path planning model is essentially constituted of two layers: global path planning layer and local path planning layer. At the global path planning layer, a new method is proposed for calculating terrain potential field based on point cloud height segmentation. Variable step size is employed to improve the path smoothness. At the local path planning layer, a real-time prediction method for potential collision area and a strategy for temporary target point selection is developed. Quadruped robot experiments were carried out in an outdoor complex environment. The experi-mental results verified that, for global path planning, the smoothness of the path is improved and the complexity of the passing ground is reduced. The effective step size is increased by a maxi-mum of 13.4 times, and the number of iterations is decreased by up to 1/6, compared with the traditional fixed step size planning algorithm. For local path planning, the path length is short-ened by 20%, more efficient dynamic obstacle avoidance and more stable velocity planning are achieved by using the improved dynamic window approach (DWA).

Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) is a promising algorithm for indoor positioning. However, the accuracy of PDR degrades due to the accumulated error, especially in multi-floor buildings. This paper introduces a three-dimensional (3D) positioning method based on terrain feature matching to reduce the influence of accumulated error in multi-floor scene. The proposed method involves two steps: motion pattern recognition and position matching calibration. The motion pattern recognition aims to detect different motion states, i.e., taking the stairs or horizontal walking, from the streaming data. Then, stair entrances and corridor corners are matched with transition points of motion states and pedestrian turning points, respectively. After matching, calibration is performed to eliminate the accumulated errors. By carrying out experiments on a two-floor closed-loop path with a walking distance about 145 m, it is shown that this method can effectively reduce the accumulated error of PDR , achieving accurate 3D positioning . The average error is reduced from 6.60 m to 1.83 m.

During public health events, Active Mobility (walking and cycling) plays an important role in securing residents' travel. To enhance the resilience of urban transportation, this article integrates the travel environment elements for walking and cycling and constructs a travel environment for Active Mobility evaluation index system. This article uses survey data from the main urban area of Harbin in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2022, and combines the Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT) and Impact-Asymmetry Analysis (IAA) methods to analyze the satisfaction of the travel environment for Active Mobility. It proposes strategies for optimizing the travel environment for Active Mobility, ensuring residents' travel during public health events, guiding them to adopt Active Mobility, and improving urban transportation resilience. This research shows that Active Mobility can enhance urban transportation resilience. In addition, there are differences in resident demand for walking and cycling environments in the travel environment for Active Mobility. Residents are more concerned about the comfort of the walking environment, while they prioritize the convenience of the cycling environment.

Hazelnuts are one of the most valuable nuts in the world due to their unique organoleptic properties and nutritional characteristics. This work was intended to analyze some physical and chemical properties of various hazelnut cultivars grown in Zakataly (Azerbaijan), namely Ata-baba, Elbari, Topqara, Firovan, Nasimi, Qalib, Mirzebeyli, Tala, Dash findiq, Barli, Azeri and Sachaqli. In general, the results showed statistically significant differences between the studied cultivars. The density of kernels, depending on the hazelnut cultivars, varied from 0.71 g/cm³ (Azeri) up to 1. 03 g/sm³ (Sachaqli). The peeled fruits of Dash findiq were heavier on average (1.64±0.34 g), and the peeled fruits of Nasimi, Qalib, Mirzebeyli and Sachaqli were lighter on average (0.8±0.23 g, 0.8±0.31 g, 0.8±0.20 g and 0.80±0.09 g, respectively. In the unpeeled form, Dash findiq nuts were the heaviest (3.70±0.34 g), and Nasimi and Qalib nuts were the lightest of all cultivars (2.0 ±0.48 g and 2.0 ±0.36 g, respectively). Ata-baba nuts account for 49 masses per kernel. %, in other studied cultivars - 33.3- 45.3 wt. %. Nasimi nuts are rounded (in the equatorial zone); Tala, Ata-baba, Firovan and Azeri - rounded-oblong; Topqara, Barli and Dash findiq – oblong; Elbari, Qalib, Mirzebeyli and Sachaqli - elongated. Firovan, Tala and Topqara have thicker shells. Ata-baba is significantly ahead of other varieties in the yield of kernels (490 kg / 1 ton of nuts), Tala is in second place in this indicator (453 kg / 1 ton of nuts), Topqara is in third (433 kg/ 1 ton of nuts). According to the maximum fat content, the cultivars Mirzebeyli (77.00±2.20 g/100 g of kernels) and Firovan (75.0±3.08 u/100 kernels), protein - Sachaqli (16.02±0.50 u/100 kernels) and Ata-baba (15.92±0.48 g/100 g of kernels) were distinguished. The results of this study help to better understand the differences between some varieties of hazelnuts grown in Azerbaijan, which provides important clues for all players involved in this sector.

Nowadays the relationship between planning land use and actual land use is not so clear in general. A lot of efforts have been put in the failures of regulation for the expansion of construction land. However, it still lacks an integrated approach to study the effectiveness of land use regulation in terms of different land use types. Furthermore, the existing evaluation of land use plan mainly focuses on a general level, a detailed research on the regulation effectiveness of each construction land use type is absent. Therefore, this research tries to evaluate regulation effectiveness of land use plan, which takes Cangwu country, Guangxi Province as an example. The finding by analysis is that the total area of construction land expansion was about 3494.73 ha, nearly 1.1 times of the plan quota. Moreover, the effectiveness differs greatly in various construction land use types. Town, industrial/mining sites can be well regulated through the quota of land use plan. While, the quota regulation system is not as effective for other type of construction land. Thus, we suggest to improve the regulation effectiveness of construction land through different plan instruments.

Decision sciences (DSC) involve studying complex dynamic systems and processes to aid informed choices subject to constraints in uncertain conditions. It integrates multidisciplinary methods, techniques, and strategies to evaluate decision engineering processes, identifying alternatives and providing insights towards enhancing prudent decision-making. This study analyzes the evolutionary trends and innovation in DSC education and research to uncover the transformations over the years. We employ the science mapping method, text analytics, and metadata from bibliographic databases to evaluate thematic and social structures. The results highlight data science methods, including data mining and business/learning analytics as essential components. The evolutionary trends in DSC education and research mirror the development in practice, including technological transformation, computer science advances, and engineering processes. Sustainable education through virtual/online learning also constitutes a significant component of scientific production. The evolutionary trends in DSC education and research highlight innovative pedagogical approaches and strategies, including computer simulation and games ('play and learn'). The current era witnessed generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) adoption (e.g., ChatGPT) in teaching, learning, and scholarly activities amidst challenges (academic integrity, plagiarism, intellectual property violations, and other ethical and legal issues). Future research will implement and integrate AI automatic detection systems to address some GenAI adoption challenges.

The relationship of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Parkinson Disease and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction has led to study of the mitochondrial fission gene Drp1 in Drosophila. Drp1 can interact with mitochondrial proteins including parkin and the Drosophila Bcl-2 proteins. Mutations in Drp1 can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and neuronal loss. Ddc-Gal4 was exploited to direct the expression of Drp1 and the inhibition of Drp1 in neurons. Here, the inhibition of Drp1 seems to compromise locomotor function throughout life but does not alter longevity. The consequences of Drp1 overexpression can be suppressed through overexpression of pro-survival Bcl-2 gene Buffy or by inhibition of the pro-cell death Bcl-2 homologue Debcl. The expression of Buffy suppresses the poor climbing induced by loss of Drp1 function. Interestingly, the loss of parkin function is rescued by the directed inhibition of Drp1. Alteration of the expression of Drp1 acts to phenocopy neurodegenerative disease phenotypes in Drosophila, while overexpression of Buffy can counteract these phenotypes to improve overall health. The pro-survival effect of Buffy can rescue the phenotypic effect due to the Drp1-induced apoptosis. The diminished health due to either overexpression or inhibition of Drp1 has produced a novel model to investigate mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disease.

The relationship between metabolic changes occurring in the developing internodes of sugarcane and the final yield and sugar characteristics is poorly understood. This is due to the lack of integration between phenotypic and metabolic data. To address this issue, a study was conducted where sugarcane metabolism was modelled based on the measurement of cellular components in the top internodes at two stages of crop development. The study also looked at the effects of Trinexapac-ethyl (Moddus®) on growth inhibition. The metabolome was measured using GC-analysis while LC-MS/MS was used to measure proteome changes in the developing internodes. The data was then integrated with the metabolic rates. The study revealed that the duration of internode growth is independent of the growth rate and is probably controlled by the accumulation of heat units (degree days). In contrast, sucrose and lignin accumulation is sensitive to the growth rate. Sucrose accumulation only occurs once the cell wall synthesis slow down. The data suggest that sucrose accumulation is controlled a reduction in sucrose breakdown for metabolic activity and a reduction in demand for carbon for cell wall polysaccharide synthesis. This study also found that nucleotide sugar metabolism appears to be a key regulator in regulating carbon flow during internode development.

Atmospheric pollens were investigated using the Lanzoni VPSS 2000 device for 2 years between 2012 and 2013 in the Sarıkamış district of Kars province, one of the highest regions of Türkiye. A total of 37909 pollen grains were collected; 15,298 pollen grains in 2012 and 22611 pollen grains in 2013. Out of 43 identified taxa, 21 were arboreal and 22 were non arboreal. Pollen from arboreal plants accounted for 36.34% (13778 pollen) of the total, while pollen from non arboreal plants accounted for 63.56% (24095 pollen). The most frequent arboreal plants pollen in the Sarıkamış atmosphere were Pinaceae (29.79%), Cupressaceae/Taxaceae (2.54%), and Morus (1.30%). The main non arboreal plants pollen in the atmosphere of Sarıkamış were Poaceae (44.60%), Artemisia (2.98%), Amaranthaceae (2.79%), Rumex (2.41%), Urticaceae (2.33%), Plantago (2.19%), and Boraginaceae (1.40%). The maximum pollen concentration was observed in June.

Aim: We estimated the correlation between serum bilirubin concentrations and insulin resistance in advanced maternal age without diabetes mellitus. Method: The cross-sectional study involved consecutive 50 women of advanced maternal age without diabetes mellitus, and insulin resistance (IR) was diagnosed according to the homeostatic model assessment insulin resistant (HOMA-IR) formula and the cut-off point was set to more than 2.5. Serum bilirubin and HOMA-IR were compared between the IR (+) and IR (-) groups. Results: We found that serum bilirubin levels in the IR subjects were significantly decreased compared to those without IR (p = 0.0252). Serum bilirubin concentrations were negatively correlated with the weight and the fasting insulin concentrations in all subjects (r=−0.282, p=0.047, r=-0.424, p=0.002). Additionally, serum bilirubin had a negatively correlation with HOMA-IR (r = -0.410, p = 0.003) in all subjects. The multiple linear regression analysis found that serum total bilirubin levels were independently correlated with HOMA-IR (beta = -0.392, p= 0.015) in these subjects. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that serum bilirubin concentrations had negatively correlation with insulin resistance in advanced pregnant women without diabetes mellitus, and decreased serum bilirubin may forebode increased gestational diabetes mellitus risk in our study population.

This study challenges the prevailing belief in the necessity of complex models for accurate forecasting by demonstrating the effectiveness of parsimonious econometric models, namely ARCH(1) and GARCH(1,1), over deep learning robust approaches, such as LSTM and 1D-CNN neural networks, in modeling historical volatility within pre-emerging stock markets, specifically the Moroccan and Bahraini stock markets. The findings suggest reevaluating the balance between model complexity and predictive accuracy. Future research directions include investigating the potential existence of threshold effects in market capitalization for optimal model performance. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of volatility dynamics and enhances forecasting models’ effectiveness in diverse market conditions.

Healthcare personnel must face two problems of growing importance: violence in the workplace and the loss of work ability due to ageing of the workforce. Studying the relationship between these two phenomena can help to prepare effective prevention measures. In a public health company, we asked nurses to self-assess their work ability using the Work Ability Index (WAI) and we analysed the relationship between this indicator and the violence experienced in the previous and following years. 321 out of 344 nurses (99.3%) participated. In a logistic regression model, the WAI score was a significant protective factor for violence experienced in the previous year (OR=0.94 CI95%=0.90; 0.98 p&lt;0.01) and in the following year (OR=0.88 CI95%=0.84; 0.92 p&lt;0.01). In a hierarchical logistic regression model, social support acted as a protective factor (OR = 0.87 CI95% = 0.79; 0.95 for violence experienced in the previous year), while occupational stress was a significant determinant of the risk of aggression (OR=3.65 CI95%=1.90; 7.03 in the previous year, OR=3.54 CI95%=1.801; 6.947 in the following year). The difficulties that nurses encounter in carrying out their growing work demands in an environment that is not promptly adapted to their changing physical and mental conditions can lead to an increased risk of violence. Prevention of workplace violence should include organizational and ergonomic measures that reduce stress and increase staff support and work ability.

Halide perovskite materials gain enormous attention for their semiconducting properties, higher power conversion efficiency and potential applications in a wide range field of studies along with their two key limitations: stability and toxicity. In spite of great progress made on the halide perovskites and many promising research developments, overcoming these limitations is not realized yet. Therefore, coordination engineering of new framework for obtaining alternative new halide perovskite materials and fundamental understanding of the coordination chemistry and electronic interactions forming the structure of these newly engineered halide perovskite materials might be one way in order to overcome the issues related to both stability and toxicity. In this review, the current development of halide perovskite families, both lead halide perovskites and lead free halide perovskites followed by coordination engineering of the new frameworks to engineer new halide perovskite materials will be reviewed comprehensively. Moreover, all the concerns of the fundamental ideas of coordination chemistry and electronic interactions that are keys in forming the halide perovskite structures are discussed in detail and form the main aim of this review. Interestingly, we also discuss recent potential energy applications beyond photovoltaic and this review has completed with an essential and open question: ‘what could happen in the future of halide perovskites?’ in order to excite commercial enterprises and research institutions again as well as to get motivating new predictions on the future continuity of this field.

Presently, Jordan confronts a double substantial challenge of enhancing energy security and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most encouraging avenues to attain the objectives of sustainable development, energy security, and environmental conservation is to enhance the integration of renewable energy into the generation of electricity. In pursuit of this goal, the Jordanian government intends to expand investments in the green energy sector, with solar and wind energy poised to play a key role in satisfying energy demands and cultivating an environmental sustainability. This paper aims to examine the distinctive dynamics, challenges, obstacles, and potential solutions corresponding to the establishment of community solar and wind farms in Jordan suburban areas. It aims to highlight the opportunities and barriers influencing the track of sustainable energy adoption in the country. Through a comprehensive analysis of the Jordanian context, the goal is to extract insights that can guide policies and practices. Additionally, the findings may serve as a valuable benchmark for other regions confronting similar challenges on their pursuit for a sustainable energy future.

Digital twins are an emerging technology that could be harnessed for the digitalization of the industry. Steel industry systems contain a large number of electro-hydraulic components, as proportional valves. An input-output model for a novel water proportional cartridge valve is derived from physical modelling based on fluid mechanics, dynamics, and electrical principles. The valve is a two-stage valve with two 2/2-way water proportional valves as the pilot stage and a marginally stable poppet-type cartridge valve as the main valve. The orifice equation, which is based on Bernoulli principles, is approximated by a polynomial which makes parameter estimation easier and makes modelling possible without measuring pressure of the varying control volume situated in the pilot stage part of the valve. Data were collected when the valve was operating as a component in a closed-loop system as part of a press-mill machine in a steel manufacturing plant. Parameter estimation was made by convex optimization with physical constraints to overcome problems caused by poor system excitation. For comparison, a simple linear model was derived and the least squares method used for parameter estimation. A thorough estimation of the parameters relative errors is presented. The model contains 5 parameters related to the design parameters of the valve. The modelled position output is in good agreement with experimental data for training and test data. The model can be used for real time monitoring of the valve’s status by the model parameters. One of the model parameters varies linearly with production cycles. Thus, aging of the valve can be monitored.

Predicting human trajectories poses a significant challenge due to the complex interplay of pedestrian behavior, which is influenced by environmental layout and interpersonal dynamics. This complexity is further compounded by variations in scene density. To address this, we introduce a novel dataset from the Festival of Lights in Lyon 2022, characterized by a wide range of densities (0.2-2.2 ped/m2). Our analysis demonstrates that density-based classification of data can significantly enhance the accuracy of predictive algorithms. We propose an innovative two-stage processing approach, surpassing current state-of-the-art methods in performance. Additionally, we utilize a collision-based error metric to better account for collisions in trajectory predictions. Our findings indicate that the effectiveness of this error metric is density-dependent, offering prediction insights. This study not only advances our understanding of human trajectory prediction in dense environments but also presents a methodological framework for integrating density considerations into predictive modeling, thereby improving algorithmic performance and collision avoidance.

Annually, more than 1.5 million preventable new hepatitis B (HBV) infections continue to occur, with an estimated global burden of 296 million individuals living with chronic hepatitis B infection. This substantial health challenge results in over 820,000 annual deaths attributed to complications such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HBV vaccination remains the cornerstone of public health policy to prevent chronic hepatitis B and its related complications. It serves as a crucial element in the global effort to eliminate HBV, as established by the World Health Organization (WHO), with an ambitious 90% vaccination target by 2030. However, reports on global birth dose coverage reveal substantial variability, with an overall coverage rate of only 46%. This comprehensive review thoroughly examines global trends in HBV vaccination coverage, investigating the profound impact of vaccination on HBV prevalence and its consequences across diverse populations, including both high-risk and general demographics. Additionally, the review addresses the formidable challenges and facilitating factors essential for achieving WHO's HBV vaccination coverage objectives and elimination strategies in the coming decade and beyond.

Air pollution has created a lot of problems in the developed and developing countries. To avoid or reduce these problems, constant monitoring of the air should be ensured. The conventional techniques is costly because it requires a lot of money and time consuming. Biomonitoring has been the alternative method. Moss, lichens and plants are biomonitors available to entrap air pollutants. The aim of this paper is to discuss one of the ways of monitoring air pollution – Moss bag technique. To do this, types, choice, preparation, handling of bags after preparation of moss were discussed. From the literatures consulted, it was discovered that there were differences in the techniques used by the researchers. In all, the use of mosses with emphasis on the employment of moss bag have proved to be a powerful tool in airborne particulate and toxic elements. To conclude, developing countries should focus more on this technique because it will reduce cost of air monitoring.

Biochemical compositions of black carpenter ants (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) were analyzed using standard methods. The proximate composition (%) were as follows: crude protein (22.50), crude fibre (1.46), carbohydrate by difference (30.86) and energy (35.4Kcal). The predominant mineral was potassium and nickel was the least. The antinutritional properties (mgkg^-1) ranged as follows: Oxalate (1.35), phytate (62.79), and tannins (0.72). The results suggested that the ant may be a good source of nutrition.

A comprehensive kinetic model of the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is developed in a fixed bed reactor under operating conditions (temperature, 230–235°C, pressure, 20–25 bar, gas hourly space velocity, 4000–5000 cm³(STP)/h/g_catalyst ,H₂/CO feed molar ratio, 2.1) over a Co based catalyst. Reaction rate equations based on Eley-Rideal (ER) type model for initiation step and Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) type model for propagation and termination steps of the FTS reactions have been considered and the readsorption of olefins were taken into account. The model that was reported in the literature was modified in order to explain many significant deviations from the ASF distribution. Optimum parameters have been obtained by Genetic Algorithms (GA). The calculated activation energies to produce n-paraffins and 1-olefins were in the range of 82.24 to 90.68 kJ/mol and 100.66 to 105.24 kJ/mol, respectively. The hydrocarbon distribution in FTS reactions was satisfactorily predicted particularly for paraffins.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) patients experienced multiple chemotoxicity affecting treatment compliance, survival, and quality of life (QOL). Prior research shows clinician-reported chemotoxicity (i.e., grading scales or diagnostic codes) predicts rehospitalization and cancer survival. However, a comprehensive synthesis of clinician-reported chemotoxicity is still lacking. Objectives: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the chemotoxicity's prevalence and risk factors in CRC. Methods: A systematic search from 2009 to 2024 yielded 30 studies for review, with 25 included in the meta-analysis. Results: Pooled prevalences of overall, non-hematological, and hematological moderate-to-severe toxicities were 45.7%, 39.2%, and 25.3%, respectively. The most common clinician-reported chemotoxicities were gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity (22.9%) and neuropathy or neutropenia (17.9%). Significant risk factors at baseline were malnutritional status, frailty, impaired immune or hepato-renal functions, short telomere lengths, low gut lactobacillus levels, age, female sex, aggressive chemotherapy, and low QOL. Age was associated with neutropenia (β: -1.44) and GI toxicity (β:1.85) (Ps 65 y.o.) had higher prevalences of overall (OR: 1.14) and GI (OR: 1.65) toxicities, but a lower prevalence of neutropenia (OR: 0.65) than younger adults (Ps

CoCrFeNiMn high-entropy alloy coatings were prepared on compacted graphite iron（CGI） through plasma cladding to strength the CGI substrate. The effects of heat treatment temperatures and times on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the CoCrFeNiMn coatings were investigated. After heat treatment, a single FCC phase was remained in the coating as compared to the deposited one, with smaller dendrites, larger dendritic spacing and more Cr-rich compounds precipitated between dendrites. The coatings’ microhardness was increased after heat treatment. After heat treated at 660°C for 90 minutes, the coating had the highest microhardness of 563±6.9 HV0.2, the lowest frictional coefficient of 0.71 and the smallest wear mass loss of 1.12 mg, and it had the best wear resistance.

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) monolayers exhibit unique valleytronics properties due to the dependency of the coupled valley and spin state at the hexagonal corner of the first Brillouin zone. Precisely controlling valley spin-polarization via manipulating the electron population enables its application in valley-based memory or quantum technologies. This study uncovered the uncompensated spins of the antiferromagnetic oxide (NiO) serving as the ferromagnetic (FM) order to induce valley spin-polarization in molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) monolayers via the magnetic proximity effect (MPE). A spin-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy (SR-PL) was employed to observe MoS₂, where the spin-polarized trions appear to be responsible for the MPE, leading to a valley magnetism. Results indicate that local FM order from the uncompensated surface of NiO could successfully induce significant valley spin-polarization in MoS₂ with the depolarization temperature approximately at 100 K, which is relatively high compared to related literature. This study reveals new perspectives and potential of AFM materials in the field of exchange-coupled van der Waals heterostructures.

Traditional 3D reconstruction models have consistently encountered a challenge: attaining high recall of object edges while preserving precision. In this paper, we introduce a post-processing method Multi-Head Attention Refiner (MA-R) aimed at tackling this challenge by integrating a multi-head attention mechanism within the U-Net style refiner module. The 3D reconstruction model applying this method demonstrates excellence in parsing intricate image details, resulting in significant enhancement of boundary predictions and increased recall rates. In our experiments, our method significantly enhances the reconstruction performance of Pix2Vox++ when multiple images are utilized as input. Specifically, it achieves an enhanced Intersection Over Union score of approximately 1.1% compared to the original Pix2Vox++ model when 16-view images are employed.

Structural and functional materials are subjected to harsh oxidizing environments that lead to a rapid decline in their surface chemical stability. At high-temperatures, the diffusion of atoms is erratic; thus, the reactive elements (REs) get a chance to migrate to the surface and look for oxygen-reactive sites. Their migration from the lattice sites creates vacancies in the matrix and thus weakens the bond, making the material prone to environmental degrading factors. Subsequently, the inward diffusion of oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, or carbon may occupy these vacancies, resulting in undesired precipitation at the grain boundary, which is usually brittle. The solubility and dissociation of attacking species and corrosion products play the most critical role in corrosion in high-temperature water. To evade such situations, Ti, Al, and Cr are added in Ni/Fe-based alloys, forming a dense oxide layer on the surface that impedes further surface migration of ions. The stability of the alloys is then determined by the capability of these oxide layers to heal or reform during spalling/cracking. This review attempts to understand the migration of REs at the interfaces to prepare structural materials in any unexpected set of oxidizing service conditions. This review will also try to establish the interaction mechanism of REs novel/conventionally added in the alloys with the oxidizing elements in the environments to design better degradation-resistant high-temperature alloys.

Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by progressive depigmentation of the skin caused by the selective destruction of melanocytes. Although its etiopathogenesis remains unclear, multiple factors are believed to be involved, including genetic and metabolic factors linked to cellular oxidative stress, melanocyte adhesion defects, innate and adaptive immunity. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding the role of different cellular mechanisms, including cytokines and chemokines interactions in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. Although there is no definitive cure for vitiligo, excessive progress has been made and several treatments have shown favourable results. A thorough understanding of the basis of the disease, uncover promising drug targets for future research, providing clinical researchers with valuable insights for developing improved treatment options.

In the ongoing shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) primarily utilizing lithium-ion battery technology, a significant population of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) remains operational, reliant on established NiMH battery systems. Over the last twenty years, these HEVs have generated a substantial quantity of NiMH batteries that are either inoperable, experiencing performance degradation, or approaching the end of their service life. This results in a twofold challenge: a growing volume of environmentally hazardous waste due to the difficulty of NiMH battery reclamation, and escalating maintenance costs for HEV owners necessitated by replacement battery purchases. Patent WO2015092107A1, published in 2015, proposed a "Method for regenerating NiMh batteries." This method claims the ability to restore NiMH batteries to their original functionality. However, a comprehensive review of relevant scientific literature fails to identify any empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of the regeneration technique detailed in the patent. Within this context, this paper presents a detailed analysis and evaluation of the feasibility of the aforementioned patented method. To achieve this objective, the authors propose a prototype constructed utilizing NiMH battery cells sourced from a Toyota Prius. The experimental results obtained from this prototype demonstrate the potential for battery regeneration using the proposed method. These findings offer a promising solution for mitigating the challenges associated with NiMH battery disposal and maintenance within the HEV domain.

Neurofibromas, rare benign tumors of the peripheral nerve sheath, present diagnostic challenges, particularly in diabetic patients with toe ulcers. This case involves a 55-year-old female with type 2 diabetes mellitus who developed an enlarging ulcer on her right second toe. The initial evaluation suggested a diabetic ulcer; however, advanced imaging revealed a mass-like lesion. Partial excision and biopsy confirmed a neurofibroma with spindle cells within the myxoid stroma and S100 protein expression. One month later, total excision and Z-plasty reconstruction were performed under general anesthesia. The patient’s postoperative recovery was uneventful, and the patient was discharged without complications. Follow-up revealed successful healing with no recurrence or functional issues. This case highlights the importance of considering neurofibromas in the differential diagnosis of diabetic toe ulcers to avoid misdiagnosis and ensure appropriate management.

Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy (INAD) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder, affecting 1:1,000,000 population. It results from pathogenic variants in the PLA2G6 gene located on chromosome (22q13.1). The onset of symptoms usually occurs between 6 to 18 months, causing developmental regression leading to debilitating symptoms such as muscle weakness, dementia, and loss of basic skills. Eventually, it progresses to life-threatening symptoms including breathing difficulties, which limits the life expectancy to 5-10 years. While potential genetic therapy for treatment is are being developed, they are yet to be approved for use, and management remains essentially supportive. This case report is of a 9-year-old Pakistani girl with INAD. She presented with recurrent chest infections, developmental regression, loss of speech, paralysis, hypertension, and eventually breathing difficulties. Brain magnetic resonance imaging and genetic testing con-firmed the diagnosis. This case posed diagnostic challenges in view of its overlapping clinical presentation. Through this report, we aim to raise awareness about the condition among practitioners, outline the importance of genetic counseling in susceptible couples and suggest potential areas of further research.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, anxiety, hyperactivity, and restricted interest for specific subjects. In addition to the genetic factors, multiple environmental factors have been related to the development of ASD. Animal models can serve as crucial tools for understanding the complexity of ASD and identifying potential therapeutic strategies. In this study, a chemical model of ASD has been developed in zebrafish by exposing embryos to valproic acid (VPA) from 4 to 48 hours post-fertilization. After the exposure, embryos were transferred to fish water and the effects on behavior and neurotransmitters profile were analyzed at both larval and adult stages. Larvae from VPA-treated embryos showed hyperactivity and decreased visual and vibrational escape responses, as well as an altered neurotransmitters profile, with increased glutamate and decreased acetylcholine and norepinephrine levels. Adults from VPA-treated embryos exhibited impaired social behavior characterized by larger shoal sizes and a decreased interest for their conspecifics. Neurotransmitter analysis revealed a significant decrease in dopamine and GABA levels in the brain. These results support the interest of this model in the study of ASD.

This paper investigates five different GARCH models (GARCH, EGARCH, IGARCH, Component GARCH (CGARCH) and GJR-GARCH) along with six distributions (Normal, Student’s t, GED and their skewed forms), which are used to forecast the volatility for the Bulgarian Stock index SOFIX. We use a GARCH model to predict how much time it will take, after the latest crisis, for the SOFIX index to reach its historical peak once again. The empirical data covers the period between the years 2000 and 2024, including the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose is to answer which of the five models is the best at forecasting the volatility of SOFIX and which distribution is most appropriate. The results, based on BIC and AIC information criteria, show that the ARMA(1,1)-CGARCH(1,1) specification with the Student t-distribution is preferred for forecasting. With the help of 5000 simulations, it is estimated that the chances of Index SOFIX reaching its historical peak value of 1976.73 (08.10.2007) are higher than 90% at 13.08.2087.

The development of one technology can be portrayed by common methods like Gartner’s hype cycle or S-curve, however, there is no method to characterize the feature distributions of multiple technologies within a specific domain. This study proposes a big data-based method in terms of four proposed features, namely versatility, significance, commerciality, and disruptiveness, to characterize the technologies within a given domain. The features of technologies are quantitively portrayed using the representative keywords and volumes of returned search results from Google and Google Scholar in two-dimensional analytical spaces of technique and application. We demonstrate the applicability of this method using 452 technologies in the domain of intelligent robotics. The results of our assessment indicate that the versatility values are normally distributed, while the values of significance, commerciality, and disruptiveness follow power-law distributions, in which few technologies possess higher feature values. We also show that significant technologies are more likely to be commercialized or causing potential disruption, as such technologies have higher scores in these features. Further, we validly prove the robustness of our approach via comparing historical trends with literature and characterizing technologies in reduced analytical spaces. Our method can be widely applied in analyzing feature distributions of technologies in different domains, and it can potentially be exploited in decisions like investment, trade, and science policy.

Smartwatches are one of the most relevant fitness trends of the past two decades, and they collect increasing amounts of health and movement data. The accuracy of these data may be questionable and requires further investigation. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to validate smartwatches for use in triathlon training. Ten different smartwatches were tested for accuracy in measuring heart rate, distance (via global navigation satellite systems, GNSS), swim stroke rates and the number of swim laps in a 50 m Olympic-size pool. The optical heart rate measurement function of each smartwatch was compared to that of a chest strap. Thirty participants (15 females, 15 males) ran five 3-minute intervals on a motorised treadmill to evaluate the accuracy of the heart rate measurements. Moreover, for each smartwatch, running und cycling distance tracking was tested over six runs of 4,000 m on a 400 m tartan stadium track, six hilly outdoor runs over 3.4 km, and four repetitions of a 36.8 km road bike course, respectively. Three swimming protocols ranging from 200 m to 400 m were performed in triplicate in a 50 m Olympic-size pool, evaluating tracked distance and detected number of strokes. The mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs) for the average heart rate measurements varied between 3.1% and 8.3%, with the coefficient of determination ranging from 0.22 to 0.79. MAPE results ranged from 0.8% to 12.1% for the 4,000 m run on the 400 m track, from 0.2% to 7.5% for the 3.4 km outdoor run, and from 0.0% to 4.2% for the 36.8 km bike ride. For the swimming tests, in contrast, the deviations from the true distance varied greatly, starting at a 0.0% MAPE for the 400 m freestyle and reaching 91.7% for the 200 m medley with style changes every 25 m. In summary, for some of the smartwatches, the measurement results deviated substantially from the true values. Measurements taken while road cycling over longer distances with only a few curves were in relative terms more accurate than for outdoor runs and even more accurate than for the 400 m track. In the swimming exercises, the accuracy of the measured distances was severely deteriorated by the medley changes among the majority of the smartwatches. Altogether, the results of this study should help in assessing the accuracy and thus suitability of smartwatches for general triathlon training.

Australia’s avian species are unique and diverse. Due to the dramatic changed in distribution, physiology, and behaviour caused by both changing climatic conditions and human activities, Australian bird species becomes highly vulnerable to health-related factors such as impact injury and vehicle trauma, as well as environmental-related stressors such as animal attack and abnormal behaviours. This is reflected in increasing number of avian patients received by wildlife hospitals. The most common outcome of avian species in wildlife hospitals was euthanasia, only few of them were released back into their ecosystem. During the process of bird rescue and rehabilitation, stress can be caused by various stressors such as injury, infection, trauma, shock and stressful environment in wildlife hospitals and rehabilitation centres. Therefore, in order to better understand the causes of the high rates of mortality and improve the management and conservation strategies, it is important to study the species responses to environmental changes. Similar with other species, in birds, the HPA axis plays an essential role in maintaining homeostasis by producing glucocorticoids (corticosterone in birds). In this study, we sampled a total of 30 individuals humanely euthanised at the Adelaide Koala and Wildlife Centre (AKWC), and noted their clinical information. Feather samples were collected from all 30 individuals, and then were processed and analysed for corticosterone levels using enzyme-immunoassay (EIA). The biological relevance of feather CORT assay was evaluated by comparing the absolute levels of CORT between birds. We also analysed the effects of different stressors by grouped the diagnosis into acute and chronic categories. Although results suggest that stress levels were variable between the diagnosis, no statistically significant difference was found between these two categories in this study due to the limited sample size. We also obtained patient records from the 2022-2023 period from AKWC for retrospective analysis. Records were categorized and analysed based on the diagnoses, species and admission dates. Retrospective analysis suggests that in 2022, the Rainbow Lorikeet had the highest admission rate (192/544, 35.29%), followed by Magpie (124/544, 22.79%). Most admissions occurred in Summer. Musculoskeletal injury was the most prevalent diagnosis across all species with Magpies having the highest rates (73.39%) across all diagnoses and Rainbow Lorikeets the second highest (36.46%). Beak and Feather disease (BFD) was another common diagnosis for lorikeets. Data collected at 2023 followed the similar trend. This is the first study that uses non-invasive method to determine stress levels of rescued Australian native avian species, aims at improving and implementing native avian species management and conservation initiatives. This research also provides a basis for future studies which allow for more detailed analyses of wild populations and a broader range of species.

Temperature Cycle Induced Deracemization (TCID) offers a promising approach to obtain enantiopure solids from racemic mixtures. By combining rapid racemization in solution and temperature swings, homochirality is theoretically achieved. Despite theoretical expectations of doubled yields compared to traditional chiral separation methods, such as in Preferential Crystallization, experimental validation remains lacking. We applied TCID to (1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl) pentan-3-one) (Cl-TAK), introducing a post-TCID cooling step to enhance yield and a washing step to augment enantiopurity. This refinement yielded an 89.8% mass yield with 99.1% enantiomeric excess in the crystal phase (c.e.e.) within 24 hours on an 8.75g scale, showcasing improved performance with insignificant process duration extension. Additionally, we explored the stochasticity of deracemization, observing the development from low initial crystal enantiomeric excesses(1-6% c.e.e0) at a 2.5 g scale. Kinetic analysis revealed that a 2% c.e.e0 effectively mitigates chiral flipping risks and induction time in our system. Our study underscores the potential for reduced initial c.e.e. to expedite deracemization and presents a straightforward method to optimize yield and purity, facilitating industrial application.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death, making timely diagnosis and prognosis very important. Utilization of AI (artificial intelligence) enables providers to organize and process patient data in a way that can lead to better overall outcomes. This review paper aims to look at the varying uses of AI for diagnosis and prognosis and clinical utility. PubMed and EBSCO databases were utilized for finding publications from January 1, 2013, to December 22, 2023. Articles were collected using key search terms such as “artificial intelligence” and “machine learning.” Included in the collection were studies of the application of AI in determining cancer diagnosis and prognosis using multi-omics data, radiomics, pathomics, clinical and laboratory data. The resulting 89 studies were categorized into eight sections based on the type of data utilized and then further subdivided into two subsections focusing on cancer diagnosis and prognosis, respectively. 8 studies integrated more than one form of omics, namely genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, and proteomics. Incorporating AI into cancer diagnosis and prognosis alongside omics and clinical data represents a significant advancement. Given the considerable potential of AI in this domain, ongoing prospective studies are essential to enhance algorithm interpretability and to ensure safe clinical integration.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a plyometric training program designed to enhance agility, speed, and social interaction among boys with mild intellectual disability (ID) aged 10-12, within the Special Olympics framework. Participants: Thirty-two boys (mean age = 10.69 ± 0.8 years; mean IQ = 61 ± 7) from three inclusive education centers participated in the study. Methods: The intervention consisted of a 10-week plyometric training program, conducted twice a week. Pre- and post-intervention assessments included the Reaction Time Test, 4-Corner Agility Test, 10-Meter Speed Run, 4x5 Meter Relay Test, and the Friendship Activity Scale (FAS). Results: The study found significant improvements across all measures. Reaction time decreased by 0.83 seconds (t = 7.44, p < 0.001), 4-corner agility improved by 0.77 seconds (t = 11.93, p < 0.001), 4x5 meter speed improved by 0.61 m/s (t = 17.37, p < 0.001), and 10-meter run speed improved by 1.55 m/s (t = -12.76, p < 0.001). Additionally, the FAS score increased by 0.81 points (t = 9.59, p < 0.001), indicating enhanced social interactions. Conclusion: The plyometric training program significantly improved agility, speed, and social interaction in children with mild ID, demonstrating the effectiveness of inclusive, adaptive physical education strategies within the Special Olympics framework.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between postprandial glycemic levels based on flash-monitoring and the production of intestinal hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) gases based on measurement of the amount of these gases in exhaled air. We studied 14 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 10 individuals without diabetes (control) with 3 food-load tests with simultaneous determination of gases in exhaled air and assessment of glucose levels. In 15.4% of patients with T2DM, there was a non-significant increase in exhaled H2. How-ever, all subjects in the control group had significant increase in exhaled H2. Moreover, the level of H2 in exhaled breathafter food load in patients with T2DM was lower than in normoglycemic subjects. Also, in normoglycemic subjects there was an inverse correlation between maximum glucose rise and maximum H2 in exhaled air after food load. At the same time in patients with T2DM the level of CH4 in exhaled air directly correlated with the parameters of postprandial glycemia in the test with lactulose. Confirmation of a causal relationship between decreased H2 production, increased intestinal CH4 production, and more severe postprandial glycemia may identify new therapeutic targets in the correction of postprandial glycemia in patients with T2DM.

Pedestrian trajectories are crucial for self-driving cars to plan their paths effectively. The sensors implanted in these self-driving vehicles, despite being state-of-the-art ones, often face inaccuracies in the perception of surrounding environments due to technical challenges for adverse weather conditions, interference from other vehicles sensors and electronic devices, and signal reception failure, leading to incompleteness in trajectory data. But for real-time decision making for autonomous driving, the trajectory imputation is no less crucial. Previous attempts to address this issue such as statistical inference and machine learning approaches have shown promise. Yet, the landscape of deep learning is rapidly evolving with new and more robust models emerging. In this research, we have proposed an encoder-decoder architecture, Human Trajectory Imputation Model, coined as HTIM, to tackle these challenges. This architecture aims to fill in the missing parts of pedestrian trajectories. The model has been evaluated using the Intersection drone inD dataset, containing trajectory data at suitable altitudes preserving naturalistic pedestrian behavior with varied dataset sizes. To assess the effectiveness of our model, we have utilized L1, MSE, Quantile and ADE loss. Our experiments have demonstrated that HTIM outperforms the majority of the state-of-the-art methods in this field, thus indicating its superior performance in imputing pedestrian trajectories.

A comprehensive modeling framework for the thermoforming of polymer matrix woven laminate composite was developed. Two numerical indicators, the slip path length and traction magnitude, have been identified to be positively correlated to matrix smearing and wrinkling defects. The material model has been calibrated with picture-frame experimental results, and the prediction accuracy for intra-ply shear and thickness distribution were examined with measurements on the physically formed parts. Finally, a parametric study was conducted to determine the relationship between various process parameters and the quality of the formed part. For the trapezoidal part, orienting the laminate at 45-degrees to the mold axis reduces the likelihood of matrix smear and wrinkling defects. Although this laminate orientation yielded a greater spatial variation of part thickness, the thickness deviation is lower than that for the 0-degree orientation case. Higher forming rates were found to result in more defects due to increased slip path lengths and traction magnitudes. Optimal forming speeds should balance rapid shaping within the operating temperature window while avoiding tear. It was discovered that shallower molds benefit from faster ramp rates, while deeper molds require slower rates to manage extensive shearing, stretching, and bending. Faster forming rates lead to smaller thickness increases at high intra-ply shear regions, indicating a shift from intra-ply shear to out-of-plane bending due to the visco-plastic effect of the molten laminate, and can negatively impact part quality. Lastly, it was shown that a well-conceived strategy using darts could improve the part quality by reducing the magnitude of the defect indicators.

Kisspeptin, a key neuropeptide derived from the KISS1 gene, is renowned for its critical role in regulating the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and reproductive hormone secretion. Beyond its primary function in reproductive biology, emerging research has illuminated its influence in various cancers, mediating significant effects through its interaction with the G-protein coupled receptor, Kisspeptin receptor. This interaction has been implicated in modulating cellular pro-cesses such as proliferation and metastasis, making it a potential target for therapeutic interven-tion. Our study initially screened ten kisspeptin-10 analogs through cytotoxic effects of kisspep-tin-10 (KP10) and its analogs in several cancer types, including cervical, prostate, breast, and gastric cancers, with a particular focus on cervical cancer where the most profound effects were observed. Further exploration using kinase array assays revealed that these analogs specifically alter key kinases involved in cancer progression. Migration assays demonstrated a substantial decrease in cell motility, and Bioluminiscence Resonance Energy Transfer assays confirmed these analogs strong interactions with the kisspeptin receptor. Overall, our results indicate that these KP10 analogs not only hinder cervical cancer cell proliferation but also curtail migration through targeted modulation of kinase signaling, suggesting their potential as therapeutic ayfgents in managing cervical cancer progression. This comprehensive approach underscores the therapeutic promise of exploiting kisspeptin signaling in cancer treatment strategies.