Diet modification may be a potential contributor in the prevention of age-related cognitive decline. The association between dairy product consumption and cognitive function remains unknown in older people. We investigated whether cheese intake is associated with lower cognitive function (LCF) in community-dwelling older adults. This cross-sectional study included 1503 adults aged over 65 years. Analyzed data were obtained from face-to-face interviews and functional ability measurement. Cognitive function was assessed using mini-mental state examination (MMSE), and a score ≤ 23 was defined as LCF. The prevalence of LCF was 4.6% and this group had smaller calf circumference, slower usual walking speed, and more frequent history of anemia than subjects with MMSE scores ≥ 24. After adjusting for confounding factors, logistic regression analysis revealed cheese intake (odds ratio (OR) = 0.404, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.198-0.824), age (OR = 1.170, 95% CI = 1.089-1.256), usual walking speed (OR = 0.171, 95% CI = 0.062-0.472) and calf circumference (OR = 0.823, 95% CI = 0.747-0.908) as significant factors associated with LCF. Although the present study was an analysis of cross-sectional data of Japanese community-dwelling older adults, the results suggest that cheese intake is inversely associated with LCF.

The battle of currents between AC and DC reignited as a result of the development in the field of power electronics. The efficiency of DC distribution systems is highly dependent on the efficiency of distribution converter, which calls for optimized schemes for efficiency enhancement of distribution converters. Modular solid-state transformers play a vital role in DC Distribution Networks and Renewable Energy systems (RES).This paper deals with efficiency-based load distribution for Solid State Transformers (SSTs) in DC distribution networks. Aim is to achieve a set of minimum inputs that are consistent with output while considering constraints and efficiency. As the main feature of modularity is associated with a three-stage structure of SSTs. This modular structure has been optimized using Ant Lion Optimizer (ALO) and validated by applying it EIA (Energy Information Agency) DC Distribution Network which contains SSTs. In the DC distribution grid, modular SSTs provide promising conversion of DC power from medium voltage to lower DC range (400V). The proposed algorithm is simulated in MATLAB and also compared with two other metaheuristic algorithms. The obtained results prove that the proposed method can significantly reduce input requirements for producing the same output while satisfying the specified constraints.

Agriculture has been experiencing a difficult situation because of limiting factors in its production, Natural biostimulants (NBs) have emerged as a novel alternative. This study reviews NBs produced through Solid-State Fermentation (SSF) from organic waste, focusing on the processes and production methods. The aim is to highlight their potential for improving agricultural productivity and promoting sustainable agriculture. Through a literature review, the effects of NBS on crops were examined, as well as the challenges associated with their production and application. The importance of standardizing production processes, optimizing fermentation conditions, and assessing their effects on different crops is emphasized. Furthermore, future research areas are identified, such as enhancing production efficiency and evaluating the effectiveness of SSF-produced NBS in different agricultural systems. In conclusion, SSF-produced NBS offers a promising alternative for sustainable agriculture, but further research and development are needed to maximize its efficacy and enable large-scale implementation.

A high perovskite activity is sought for use in magnetic applications. In this paper, we present the simple synthesis of (2.5 and 5%) Tellurium-impregnated-LaCoO3 (Te-LCO), Te and LaCoO3 (LCO) by using a ball mill, chemical reduction, and hydrothermal synthesis, respectively. We also explored the structure stability along with the magnetic properties of Te-LCO. Te has a rhombohedral crystal structure, whereas Te-LCO has a hexagonal crystal system. The reconstructed Te was imbued with LCO that was produced by hydrothermal synthesis; as the concentration of the imbuing agent grew, the material became magnetically preferred. According to the X-ray photoelectron spectra, the oxidation state of the cobaltite is one that is magnetically advantageous. As a result of the fact that the creation of oxygen-deficient perovskites has been shown to influence the mixed (Te4+/2-) valence state of the incorporated samples, it is abundantly obvious that this process is of utmost significance. The TEM image confirms the inclusion of Te in LCO. The samples start out in a paramagnetic state (LCO), but when Te is added to the mixture, the magnetic state shifts to a weak ferromagnetic one. It is at this point that hysteresis occurs due to the presence of Te. Despite being doped with Mn in our prior study, rhombohedral LCO retains its paramagnetic characteristic at room temperature (RT). As a result, the purpose of this study was to determine the impacts of RT field dependency of magnetization (M-H) for Te-impregnated LCO in order to improve the magnetic properties of RT because it is a low-cost material for advanced multi-functional and energy applications.

This study seeks to interrogate the degree to which lecturers and students of higher institutions in Nigeria perceive the role of lecturers doubling as parents under the term lecturenting, i.e., a coinage used to refer to a person who performs the dual roles of lecturing and parenting students of higher institutions. The study is based on Professor Obiora Ike’s ideology of communication of values, normally applicable to traditionally homes only. The research used a quantitative survey of 266 undergraduates and 109 lecturers, totaling 375 respondents from two purposively selected higher institutions in Nigeria, namely: Edo state University Uzairue and Federal Polytechnic Auchi, both in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo state, Nigeria. A questionnaire with a set of nine semi-structured questions was used to obtain data from the students during the school semesters between July 15 and August 31, 2022. The study was based on the value theory. Findings indicate that lecturers frequently engage in lecturenting which helped improve the academic performance of students but shows that students do not want lecturenting on their behavioral change. The study concludes that the more lecturers engage in Lecturenting, the more positive impact it will have on their students. It is recommended that lecturers should engage in the practice of lecturenting as it helps to improve student academic performance and that students should perceive lecturenting as positive as well as be favorably disposed to it and approach their lecturers for counselling frequently.

The isolation and potential applications of chitosan from the fungal source is an alternative to crustacean chitosan and synthetic polymers. The strains of Basidiomycota (Heterobasidion annosum, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Pleurotus ostreatus, Trametes versicolor, Lentinus lepideus) with different environmental distribution, ecological importance, and industrial application were studied for mycelial biomass production in submerged (SF) and solid state fermentation (SSF). Further, the chitosan from fungal cells was extracted and characterized by elemental analyses (nitrogen) and FTIR spectroscopy. The fruiting bodies of Pleurotus ostreatus, Agaricus bisporus and Ganoderma ap-planatum were chosen as a reference material of chitosan content in basidiocarps. Stationary SF gave the lowest biomass yield in comparison with shaken SF and SSF. The role of aeration and agitation in biomass production was clearly observed in shaken SF with the highest yield achieved by P. chrysosporium. The highest biomass yield in SSF produced P. ostreatus and T. versi-color. The content of chitosan within fungal species varied depending on the method of cultiva-tion. The highest chitosan yield among the cultivated strains was obtained from mycelium of P. chrysosporium and T. versicolor in SF. The highest chitosan yield in fungal fruiting bodies demon-strated commercially cultivated mushroom A. bisporus. The extracted chitosan is proposed as functional biopolymer additive for ecological materials to substitute the synthetic wet and dry strength agents in packaging materials.

The evolution in the post shock nonequilibrium relaxation in a hypersonic plasma flow was investigated during a shock’s reflection off a thermal discontinuity. Within a transitional period, the relaxation zone parameters past both, the reflected and transmitted waves, evolve differently compared to that in the incident wave. In a numerical example for the non-dissociating N₂ gas heated to 5000 K/10,000 K across the interface and M = 3.5, the relaxation time for the transmitted wave is up to 50% shorter and the relaxation depth for both waves is significantly reduced, thus resulting in a weakened wave structure. The results of extension into larger values of heating strength and the shock Mach numbers are discussed. The findings can be useful in the areas of research involving strong shocks interacting with optical discharges or other heated media on the scale where the shock structure becomes important.

Objective: This study examined the impact of Japan’s state of emergency on trends in diabetes care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Design: A descriptive and retrospective study. Setting: Showa University Hospital, Japan. Participants: Patients with diabetes who received medical treatment from 2018 to 2020. Determinants of interest: Number of patients with diabetes visiting the hospital per week. To examine the impact of the Japan’s state of emergency, the number hospital visiting by patients with diabetes was summarized from 28 weeks of data, from calendar week 8 to week 35, for each year. Results: Compared with the mean of 2018 and 2019, no significant difference was found between the three periods (before, during, and after the state of emergency). However, the numbers of patients from both inside and outside Tokyo increased at 7 weeks after the state of emergency was lifted. Conclusions: A significant increase in the numbers of patients with diabetes was seen compared with the same period in 2018 and 2019, suggesting that the state of emergency may have hindered diabetes care. Therefore, patients with diabetes should be followed up continuous of diabetes care while keeping a close eye on measures.

Aim. In the current study, we aimed at identifying resting-state brain networks, which are different in patients with depression compared to healthy individuals. Moreover, we analyzed the potential for clinical use of different network measures that could discriminate the two groups and thus help the diagnostic process. Method and subjects. We recruited 90 subjects: 49 healthy controls (HC) and 41 patients with a major depressive episode (MDE). All subjects underwent clinical evaluation and functional resting-state MRI. The data were processed to investigate functional connectivity network measures across the two groups using Brain Connectivity Toolbox. The statistical inferences were made at the functional networks level, using false discovery rate method. Independent samples t-test was performed on the network measures mean values to reveal differences between HC and MDE groups. Permutation-based statistical testing was used to test the significance of the difference between the distributions of the network measures by nodes for HC and MDE groups. Linear discriminant analysis was used to differentiate between the groups. Results and discussion. Significant differences in FC between depressed patients and healthy controls were found with the most prominent changes encompassing within-region as well as between-region connectivity of occipital lobe areas such as precuneus (PreCu), cuneus (Cu), superior occipital gyrus (SOG), lingual gyrus (LG), fusiform gyrus (FG), cerebellum, along with limbic structures including the hippocampus (Hipp) and cingulate gyrus. Linear discriminant analysis demonstrated that the full connectivity matrices, as well as those with only the significant connections identified in advance, were the most precise in differentiating between depression and health. These measures reached precision levels of 97% and 94%, respectively. Conclusion. Our study delivered further evidence about impairment of functional connectivity networks in MDE that may contribute to differentiate patients with depression from healthy subjects.

Garnet-type Ta-doped Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) ceramic solid electrolytes with Ga2O3 additive were synthesized via a conventional solid-state reaction process. When the amounts of Ga2O3 additive were below 2 mol %, the sintered sample has a dense structure composed of grains with the averaged size of 5 to 10 μm, while 3 mol % or more Ga2O3 addition causes the significant increase in grain size above several 10 to 100 μm, due to the sintering with large amount of liquid Li-Ga-O phase at high temperature. The highest total (bulk + grain-boundary) ionic conductivity of 1.1 mS cm1 at room temperature was obtained in the sample with 5 mol % Ga2O3 addition. However, in galvanostatic testing of the symmetric cell with Li metal electrodes, this sample was shorted by Li dendrite growth into solid electrolyte at current density below 0.2 mA cm2. The tolerance for Li dendrite growth is maximized in sample sintered with 2 mol % Ga2O3 addition, which was shorted at 0.8 mA cm2 in the symmetric cell. Since the interfacial resistance between Li metal and solid electrolyte was nearly identical among the all samples, the difference in tolerance for Li dendrite growth is mainly attributed to the difference in microstructure of sintered samples depending on the amounts of Ga2O3.

Li3FeN2 material was synthesized by two-step solid-state method from Li3N (adiabatic camera) and FeN2 (tube furnace) powders. Phase investigation of Li3N, FeN2 and Li3FeN2 were carried out. Discharge capacity of Li3FeN2 is 343 mAh g-1, that is about 44.7% of theoretic capacity. The molar heat capacity of Li3FeN2 at constant pressure in the temperature range 298-900 K should be calculated as Cp,m = 77,831 + 0,130 × T – 6,289 × T-2, where T is absolute temperature, . Thermodynamic characteristics of Li3FeN2 were determined as next: entropy S0298 = 116.2 J mol-1 K-1, molar enthalpy of dissolution ΔdHLFN = ˗ 206,537 ± 2,8 kJ mol−1, the standard enthalpy of formation ΔfH0 = ˗ 291.331 ± 5.7 kJ mol−1, entropy S0298 = 113.2 J mol-1 K-1 (Neumann-Kopp rule) and 116.2 J mol-1 K-1 (W.Herz rule), the standard Gibbs free energy of formation ∆f G0298 = ˗276,7 kJ mol-1.

“Money has always been something of an embarrassment to economic theory. Everyone agrees that it is important; indeed, much of macroeconomic policy discussion makes no sense without reference to money. Yet, for the most part theory fails to provide a good account for it.” (Banerjee and Maskin, 1996, p. 955)The debate about whether or not a growth imperative exists in debt based, interest bearing mone- tary systems has not yet been settled. It is the goal of this paper to introduce a new perspective in this discussion.For that purpose an SFC computational model is constructed which simulates a post Keynesian Endogenous Money system without including economic parameters such as production, wages, consumption and savings. A case is made that isolating the monetary system allows for better analysis of the inherent properties of such a system.Loan demands, which are assumed to happen, are the driving force of the model. Simulations can be run in two modes, each based on a different assumption. Either the growth rate of the money stock is assumed to be constant or the loan rate, expressed as a percentage of the money stock, is assumed to be constant.Simulations with varying parameters are run in order to determine the conditions under which the model converges to stability, which is defined as converging to a bounded debt rate.The analysis shows that stability of the model is dependent on net bank profit ratios, expressed relative to their debt assets, remaining below the growth rate of the money stock. Based on these findings it is argued that the question about the existence of a growth imperative in debt based, interest bearing monetary systems needs to be reframed. The question becomes whether a steady state economy can realistically support such a system without destabilising it. In order to answer this question real world behavior of economic actors must be included in the model.It is concluded that there are indications that it might not be feasible for a steady state economy to support a stable debt based, interest bearing monetary system without strong interventions. However, more research is necessary for a definite answer. Real world observable data should be analysed through the lens of the presented model to bring more clarity.

The change in the value of the breaking energy is discussed here for selected steel grades used in building structures after subjecting the samples made of them to episodes of heating in the steady-state heating regime and then cooling in a simulated fire conditions. These changes were recorded based on the instrumented Charpy impact tests, in relation to the material initial state. The S355J2+N, 1H18N9T steels and also X2CrNiMoN22-5-3 duplex steel were selected for detailed analysis. The fire conditions were modelled experimentally by heating the samples and then keeping them for a specified time at a constant temperature of: 600°C (first series) and 800°C (second series), respectively. Two alternative cooling variants were investigated in the experiment: slow cooling of the samples in the furnace, simulating the natural fire progress, without any external extinguishing action, and cooling them in water mist simulating an extinguishing action by a fire brigade. The temperature of the tested samples was set at the level -20oC and alternatively at the level + 20oC. The conducted analysis is aimed at assessing the risk of sudden, catastrophic fracture of load-bearing structure made of steel degraded as a result of a fire previously occurred with different development scenarios.

In this paper, we present some new models for anisotropic compact stars within the framework of 5-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB) gravity with a linear and nonlinear equation of state considering a metric potential proposed for Thirukkanesh and Ragel (2012) and generalized for Malaver (2014). The new obtained models satisfy all physical requirements of a physically reasonable stellar object. Variables as energy density, radial pressure and the anisotropy are dependent of the values of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant

The general coupling between particle transport and ionization-recombination processes in hot plasma is considered on the key concept of equilibrium charge state (CS) transport. A theoretical interpretation of particle and CS transport is gained in terms of a two-dimensional (2D) Markovian stochastic (random) processes, a discrete 2D Fokker-Plank-Kolmogorov equation (in charge and space variables) and generalized 2D coronal equilibrium between atomic processes and particle transport. The basic tool for analysis of CS equilibrium and transport is the equilibrium cell (EC) (two states on charge and two on space), which presents (i) a unit phase volume, (ii) the characteristic scale of local equilibrium, (iii) a comprehensive solution for the simplest nonlinear relations between transport and atomic processes. The approach opens up new perspectives on transport studies: (i) the direct modelling of equilibrium and transport of impurity using the atomic data base, (ii) recovery of the complete recombination rate profile based on knowledge of density profiles and ionization rate profiles, (iii) the local transport analysis, based on the reduction of the equilibrium set to the single EC (in particular, central or edge), (iv) analysis of the reduced transport coefficients (diffusion and convection) on the density profile measurements.

The coordination polymer [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂ exhibits the rare phenomenon of spin crossover in an attractive temperature range, i.e., somewhat above room temperature. Spin crossover in [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂ is manifest by thermochromism, which is accompanied by a magnetic transition from diamagnetism to paramagnetism. However, [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂ is brittle and difficult to process, which limits its use. In this study, we show that [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂ can be co-processed with ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), which possesses outstanding mechanical properties, particularly when tensile drawn. Therefore, [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂–UHMWPE blends were gel-processed by extrusion, employing a relatively poor solvent, which has recently been shown to offer advantages compared to good solvents. Uniform and flexible films, ribbons and fibers with [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂ fractions as high as 33.3% m/m were obtained that could be readily drawn. Spin crossover in the coordination polymer is retained in these materials, as evident from their thermochromism. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the blends exceed those of typical commodity polymers. Thus, the films, ribbons and fibers constitute a special class of multifunctional materials that combine the flexibility and excellent mechanical properties of drawn UHMWPE with the spin crossover behavior of [Fe(NH₂trz)₃](2ns)₂.

In this paper, a metal cutting machine position control have been designed and simulated using Matlab/Simulink Toolbox successfully. The open loop response of the system analysis shows that the system needs performance improvement. Static output feedback and full state feedback H₂ controllers have been used to increase the performance of the system. Comparison of the metal cutting machine position using static output feedback and full state feedback H₂ controllers have been done to track a set point position using step and sine wave input signals and a promising results have been analyzed.

To embrace the special theory of relativity with classical thermodynamics correct Lorentz transformations of thermodynamic state functions are formulated. All of these Lorentz transformations of state functions equally support the time dilation phenomenon which is experimentally verified fact. Relativistic Boltzmann constant proves entropy to be the Lorentz variant. Twin paradox thought experiments for heat engines prove heat flux to be Lorentz variant. Lorentz transformation of entropy and heat flux proves temperature Lorentz invariant. All thermodynamic state functions are proved to be Lorentz variant which is shown in accord with Lorentz transformation of thermodynamic work.

The Forest Stewardship Council initiated a pilot Forest Certification for Ecosystem Services (ForCES) project from 2011 to 2017 to improve and promote sustainable forest management addressing a range of ecosystem services. Three sites in Indonesia were studied in the pilot. Whilst the development of the certification standard was largely by a partnership between the certification standard organization, civil society and research organisations, implementation and monitoring of the impact of this voluntary sustainability standard will entail interaction with state regulations. This study sought to understand how certification and state regulations concerning ecosystem services in Indonesia interplay, particularly in the agenda setting and negotiation stage. Using the conceptual lenses of transition theory and state and non-state market-based governance, the interrelationships between ecosystem services certification and regulations were found to be both complementary, supporting and antagonistic. The majority were complementary. Antagonism occurred where regulations do not accommodate land use issues and due to different contradictory state regulations. The voluntary instruments were developed largely in the absence of state involvement and without any substitution with regulatory standards. Given the increasing proliferation of voluntary market-driven initiatives at farm, forest concession and landscape level, stakeholders developing and managing voluntary standards need to collaborate with national and local governments to create synergy to enable their acceptance, adoption and effectiveness to positively enhance the conservation of ecosystem services through incentivizing market-based instruments.

Smart cities and smart technologies have been incorporated into several axes to increase the comfort of life. The connected building's concept was introduced for this reason. However, it was utilized in power management for better organizing, greater buildings management, and monetary savings. Cars technologies and the number of vehicles are also involved; Nowadays, each house has at least one car. Technological evolution helped to make those cars intelligent and connected. In the latest versions, the majority of those cars were equipped with several sensors, several communication protocols and a principal electrical control unit (ECU), especially for the electric vehicle model. This type of architecture was an essential element in a smart city, thus, it helps to manage power and decide when a vehicle needs to be charged. Based on the smart city concept and using possible network communication between buildings and vehicles, EVs can share their own information related to the powerful experience on a specific path. This information can be gathered in a gigantic database and used for managing the power inside these vehicles. In this field, we propose in this paper a new approach for power management inside an electric vehicle based on bi-communication between vehicles and buildings. The proposed approach is founded on two essential parts; the first is related to vehicles’ classification and buildings’ recommendation according to different car positions. Two algorithms, related to the SVC and neural network was employed in this work for implementing the final process. Different possibilities and situations were discussed for this approach. The proposed method was tested and validated using Simulink/Matlab application. The state of charge of the used battery was compared at the end of this work, for two specified cases, for showing the contribution of this approach.

Information-theoretically provable unique true random numbers, which cannot be correlated or controlled by an attacker, can be generated based on quantum measurement of vacuum state and universal-hashing randomness extraction. Quantum entropy in the measurements decides the quality and security of the random number generator (RNG). At the same time, it directly determines the extraction ratio of true randomness from the raw data, in other words, it obviously affects quantum random bits generating rate. In this work, we commit to enhancing quantum entropy content in the vacuum noise based quantum RNG. We have taken into account main factors in this proposal to establish the theoretical model of quantum entropy content, including the effects of classical noise, the optimum dynamical analog-digital convertor (ADC) range, the local gain and the electronic gain of the homodyne system. We demonstrate that by amplifying the vacuum quantum noise, abundant quantum entropy is extractable in the step of post-processing even classical noise excursion, which may be deliberately induced by an eavesdropper, is large. Based on the discussion and the fact that the bandwidth of quantum vacuum noise is infinite, we propose large dynamical range and moderate TIA gain to pursue higher local oscillator (LO) amplification of vacuum quadrature and broader detection bandwidth in homodyne system. High true randomness extraction ratio together with high sampling rate is attainable. Experimentally, an extraction ratio of true randomness of 85.3% is achieved by finite enhancement of the laser power of the LO when classical noise excursions of the raw data is obvious.

The issues of metallic scrap management and its utilization in manufacturing plants are nowadays intensely considered to address essential sustainability guidelines. Efficient recycling procedure for shop floor metallic scrap is not yet available because of abundance and contamination of nonmetallic constituents. Other ferrous metallic scrap are melted and purified during secondary steelmaking to get products in the form of blooms and billets are obtained. This study illustrates the potential of powder technology (powder metallurgy (PM) and metal injection molding (MIM)) based process for solid-state recycling and attainment of usable products. Industrially downgraded grinding sludge is pulverized and used as a raw material. Results showed properties of sintered parts are significantly improved due to in-situ reduction and densification during sintering. Recyclability Index (RI) was created to compare the effect of process variables on obtained products. Based on RI, recycled ferrous parts have about 70% comparable properties with equivalent pure iron parts. Complex reduction and sintering behavior in MIM, particularly, diffusion and pore volume kinetics limits applicability of MIM with this recycling approach. However, few industrial parts were developed and manufactured by PM based approach to validate the applicability of this novel recycling-cum-manufacturing process for the production of porous parts.

LASER cladding is a technique which has as main purpose to improve mechanical properties of materials surface with the addition of thin layers of other materials. Cladding/coating/addition material can be transferred to the substrate by powder injection, wire feeding or paste feeding and by the method of pre-placing the powders on the substrate. LASER cladding as a technique has only about 40 years. Is not yet a current technology and more work is needed, namely in the characterization of mechanical properties of new alloys used as base or cladding materials in this process. In this paper will be done initially an historical approach, followed by a description of the principles of the LASER cladding, a description of the applicability of the process and its advantages and limitations and the paper will end with a state of the art about the advances in new metallic alloys. So, this paper presents a review and the state of the art of the technological process and will be a contribution for the divulgation of this recent technique.

This paper presents a state machine based architecture which enhances flexibility and reusability of industrial robots, more concretely dual-arm multisensor robots. The proposed architecture, in addition to allowing absolute control of the execution, eases the programming of new applications by increasing the reusability of the developed modules. Through an easy-to-use graphical user interface, operators are able to create, modify, reuse and maintain industrial processes increasing the flexibility of the cell. Moreover, the proposed approach is applied in a real use case in order to demonstrate its capabilities and feasibility in industrial environments. A comparative analysis is presented for evaluating presented approach versus traditional robot programming techniques.

The increasing activism of moderate Muslim groups in promoting religious moderation and countering radicalism has garnered significant scholarly attention. However, there remains a paucity of comprehensive studies exploring the role of education grounded in local cultural practices, such as humor, in this context. This article aims to analyze the utilization of humor-based platforms on social media by moderate Muslim organizations to advance religious moderation and reinforce the portrayal of a tolerant and peaceful Indonesian Islam in virtual public spaces. It argues that humor functions not merely as a vehicle for entertainment but as an effective educational tool capable of de-escalating tensions and conflicts without inciting violence, by employing humorous language. This study employs Virtual Ethnography to observe the online activism of the "Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Garis Lucu" and "Muhammadiyah Garis Lucu" platforms, particularly in their engagements with similar humor platforms operated by radical Islamic groups. The findings reveal that humor platforms can effectively disseminate discourses on religious moderation while also providing a critique of the religious narratives propagated by radical groups through the use of memes that are both humorous and respectful. Moreover, these platforms have evolved into deliberative public spaces where diverse religious groups can engage in dialogue over various contemporary religious issues. The emergence of these humor platforms has successfully contributed to the representation of Indonesian Islam as witty, inclusive, and fundamentally opposed to radicalism.

This paper focuses on studying the mapping properties of singular integral operators on product spaces. The boundedness of such operators is established on Triebel-Lizorkin spaces whenever their kernel functions belong to Grafakos and Stefanov class. Our results generalize and improve some previously known results.

In this work, to gain a complete understanding of quark color theory in the framework of complex octonionic space, we have derived the relationship between octonions and the SU(3)c color group. With the help of Feynman diagrams, we examined the octonionic interaction of color quarks (such as quark-quark, quark anti-quark, and anti-quarks anti-quarks interactions). For the interactions, we have obtained the octonion algebraic form of the interaction term, propagator, vertex factor, and color factor.

As operations in Cislunar space continue to expand, the sustainability of operations in orbital environments beyond GEO has become a critical concern. The Cislunar region is known to have a higher non-linear chaotic component in the dynamics compared to the low-Earth environment. This research is focused on producing simulations to model debris trajectories and dispersion from spacecraft mishaps across various identified key Cislunar orbits. By varying initial conditions, simulations of explosions at different locations of the orbits are carried out and the debris propagation is analyzed. This research emphasizes the creation of a robust debris propagation scheme and the development of a comprehensive database to address the computational costs associated with debris propagation. The resulting codes and databases documenting the historical evolution of debris are published as open-source resources, aiming to aid in solving the Cislunar space debris and traffic problem and in forecasting future needs and policies.

Terpenes and terpenoids content in cannabis plant was already studied in the past with three used methods. Since these works did not compare the content of these substances under the same conditions, we tried to make this comparison exactly. Three different gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GS/MS) methods - hexane based liquid extraction (Liq), static head-space extraction (HS), and head-space solid phase microextraction (SPME) – were compared to identify volatile compounds in four different cannabis chemotypes - Green fields, Titan chemotype, Black Domina chemotype, and Neptune chemotype. The main compounds focused on were monoterpenes/monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenes/sesquiterpenoids. Extraction with hexane gave comparable results, however the other two methods allowed for the identification of more substances. For the final evaluation of the comparison of the three methods of analysis, extraction with hexane gives comparable results (which is advantageous for quantitative analysis), although the other two methods allowed for the identification of more substances. This means that the same method should be used everywhere for the quantitative evaluation of constituents in cannabis.

In this paper we define families of open sets as sums of idempotent ideals and sums of square-free ideals in a ring. We investigate some topological properties of such topologies. We define the square-free spectrum of a ring as the set of all square-free ideals and examine what topological properties it has for a given monoid.

This paper investigates the relationship between public spaces and quality of life (QoL) for older adults, aiming to identify knowledge gaps within the context of population ageing and urbanization. Recognizing the growing importance of sustainable urban development, the research explores how cities can foster active ageing and improve QoL through accessible and inclusive public spaces. A scoping literature review identifies five key QoL domains for older adults: autonomy, meaningful activities, positive social relationships, leisure opportunities, and health. The review highlights areas requiring further investigation, including the interplay between environmental design and social connections, intergenerational perspectives on public space liveliness, the influence of context on QoL and the built environment, and the value of qualitative research in this field. By contributing to the understanding of QoL in relation to public spaces through the lens of Person-Environment fit theory, this study aims to inform urban design, landscape architecture, and policymaking in the creation of age-friendly communities with inclusive public spaces.

The acoustic environment in learning spaces significantly influences learning effectiveness and occupant well-being. Recent studies have shown that a series of architectural factors within physical learning environments can impact students' educational experiences. This research delves into the relationship between architectural characteristics and the perceived acoustic environment among 467 primary students in 19 learning spaces across 9 schools in Chile. The survey comprises a student questionnaire, a checklist evaluating space characteristics, and acoustic measurements of indoor noise levels during occupied conditions. Examined topics include Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) comfort perception, noise annoyance, hearing ability, and acoustic preference. Architectural characteristics considered encompass flexible and acoustic space design parameters. The results indicated that noise discomfort was a common issue, especially in traditional learning spaces without acoustic treatment. The type of learning space (traditional or flexible settings) has a greater impact on acoustic perception particularly concerning noise discomfort and acoustic preference. However, poorly acoustic spaces lacking absorbing materials or exhibiting lower spatial density (m2 per student) contribute to increased indoor noise levels affecting noise annoyance caused by children's talking inside. The study emphasizes the importance of considering both architectural design and acoustic conditioning for optimizing the acoustic experience in educational spaces.

Quantum physics is intrinsically probabilistic. The entropy of a quantum state quantifies the amount of randomness (or information loss) of such state. The degrees of freedom of a quantum state are position and spin, and upon their specification Born's rule in phase space defines randomness. We focus on the spin degree of freedom and elucidate the spin entropy. Then, we present some of its properties and show how entanglement increases spin entropy. Some speculative predictions on the decay of the $Z^0,W^{+,-}$ gauge bosons conclude the paper.

Solar flares are characterized by sudden bursts of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun’s surface, and caused by the changes in magnetic field states in solar active regions. Earth and its surrounding space environment can suffer from various negative impacts caused by solar flares ranging from electronic communication disruption to radiation exposure-based health risks to the astronauts. In this paper, we address the solar flare prediction problem from magnetic field parameter-based multivariate time series (MVTS) data using multiple state-of-the-art machine learning classifiers that include MINImally RandOm Convolutional KErnel Transform (MINIROCKET), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Canonical Interval Forest (CIF), Multiple Representations SEQuence Learner (Mr-SEQL), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)-based deep learning model. Our experiment is conducted on the on the Space Weather ANalytics for Solar Flares (SWAN-SF) benchmark data set, which is a partitioned collection of MVTS data of active region magnetic field parameters spanning over 9 years of operation of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The MVTS instances of the SWAN-SF dataset are labeled by GOES X-ray flux-based flare class labels, and attributed to extreme class imbalance because of the rarity of the major flaring events (e.g., X and M). As a performance validation metric in this class-imbalanced dataset, we used the true skill statistic (TSS) score. Finally, we demonstrate the advantages of the MVTS learning algorithm MINIROCKET, which outperformed the aforementioned classifiers without the need for essential data preprocessing steps such as normalization, statistical summarization, and class imbalance handling heuristics.

Time and space are fundamental concepts for characterizing and understanding our world. Despite of continuous curiosity and extensive studies, the nature of time and space remains elusive, and the underlying quantum structure is unclear. Here we propose a molecular model based on energy space decomposition to incorporate time and space synthetically in a unified framework. In the proposed model, the multipole expansion of action mapped to energy modules in scalar, vector, and matrix forms, results in the generators of time, space, and a material framework, cloud. And the invariance of time, space and cloud transformation corresponds to the conservation of energy, momentum, and mass, respectively. The classification of energy modules reveals a periodicity of energy elements, which constructs a hierarchical world in a molecular framework with dynamics represented by energy transformations. Here the role of time and space could switch from each other, and motion is attributed to the coupling of particle with intermediate bosons, corresponding to energy transformations among different energy modules. The application on Bohr model demonstrates that this picture provides a consistent classical interpretation to the foundation of quantum mechanics, and suggests an atomic model for gravitation.

Quantum logic is a well-structured theory, which has recently received some attention because of its fundamental relation to quantum computing. However, the complex foundation of quantum logic borrowing concepts from different branches of mathematics as well as its peculiar settings have made it a non-trivial task to device suitable applications. This article aims to propose for the first time an approach to use quantum logic in image processing at hand of a process for shape classification. We show how to make use of the principal component analysis to realize quantum logical propositions. In this way we are able to assign a concrete meaning to the rather abstract quantum logical concepts, and we are able to compute a probability measure from the principal components. For shape classification we consider encrypting given point clouds of different objects by making use of specific distance histograms. This enables to initiate the principal component analysis. At hand of experiments, we explore the possibility to distinguish between different geometrical objects and discuss the results in terms of quantum logical interpretation.

To support pathologists in breast tumor diagnosis, deep learning plays a crucial role in the development of histological whole slide image (WSI) classification methods. However, automatic classification is challenging due to the high-resolution data and the scarcity of representative training data. To tackle these limitations, we propose a deep learning-based breast tumor gigapixel histological image multi-classifier integrated with a high-resolution data augmentation model to process the entire slide by exploring its local and global information and generating its different synthetic versions. The key idea is to perform classification and augmentation in feature latent space, reducing the computational cost while preserving the class label of the input. We adopt a deep learning-based multi-classification method and evaluate the contribution given by a Conditional Generative Adversarial Network-based data augmentation model on the classifier’s performance for three tumor classes in the BRIGHT Challenge dataset. The proposed method has allowed us to achieve an average F1 equal to 69.5, considering only the WSI dataset of the Challenge. The results are comparable to those obtained by the Challenge winning method (71.6), also trained on the annotated tumor region dataset of the Challenge.

A question of physical importance is whether finite-energy spatiotemporally localized (i.e., pulsed) generalizations of monochromatic accelerating Airy beams are feasible. For luminal solutions, this question has been answered affirmatively by Saari, Valdmann, Piksarv, Valta-Lukner and Saari, and Kaganovsky and Heyman within the framework of the paraxial geometry. The time-diffraction technique introduced by Porras recently has been motivated by Besieris and Shaarawi in terms of the Lorentz invariance of the equation governing the narrow angular spectrum and narrowband temporal spectrum paraxial approximation and has been used to derive finite-energy spatiotemporally confined subluminal, luminal, and superluminal Airy wave packets. The goal in this article is to provide exact finite-energy broadband spatiotemporally localized Airy solutions (a) to the scalar wave equation in free space; (b) in a dielectric medium moving at its phase velocity; (c) in a lossless second order temporally dispersive medium.

This article presents the impact analysis of space harmonics (SH) presence on a single-sided three-phase linear induction motor, along with a comprehensive parametric investigation. The presence of SH often reduces the LIM performances. The electromagnetic phenomena are governed by Maxwell's equations associated with equivalent circuit modelling. The chosen mathematical model uses 2D formulation with magnetic vector potential A. The model implementation is performed with finite element method on Gmsh-GetDP free platform. The electromagnetic thrust is calculated in current excitation case by a numerical model (FEM) with and without term generating SH in order to highlight the effect of SH. The adaptation to voltage supply operation is obtained by equivalent electric circuits (EEC), through calculation of the operational impedance. The main objective of the study consists in a comparative exploration of SH presence using two numerical models (single and multi-harmonics), and an assessment of parameters effect on space harmonic presence and various machine characteristics such as thrust, efficiency, and power factor. The motor’s characteristics (ie: thrust, efficiency and power factor) strongly depend on parameters such as the pole pair number and conductivity. Improving the operation and maximizing the performances of such a machine for a given specification requires the use of optimization algorithms.

As an important carrier of urban residents' public life, urban public open space plays an indispensable role in improving the quality of life of urban residents. Accessibility is an important indicator to characterize the publicity and service level of a public open space. This study optimized the GIS-based, Gaussian two-part mobile search method to quantitatively calculate and evaluate the accessibility of public open space within a 5-minute walking distance for residents in Nanshan District, Shenzhen. On this basis, social survey methods, including the questionnaire survey method via a field survey and the interview method, were used to conduct field research on residents' accessibility satisfaction. Comparing the results of the survey on residents' accessibility satisfaction to the GIS quantitative evaluation results of accessibility, the results of the field research show that current residents of Nanshan are more satisfied with the accessibility of public open space. In view of the similarities and differences between the two sets of results, the influencing factors of public open space accessibility were analyzed, corresponding countermeasures were proposed for the construction of public open spaces in the future.

We consider a real scalar field in de Sitter background and compute its thermal propagators. We propose that in a dS/CFT context, non-trivial thermal effects as seen by an `out' observer can be encoded in the anomalous dimensions of the d=3 Ising model. One of these anomalous dimensions, the critical exponent eta, fixes completely a number of cosmological observables, which we compute.

In this paper, we investigate an exact Universe which is observational viable and filled with binary mixture of perfect fluid and cosmological constant $\Lambda$. Owning the non-uniform expansion of cosmos, we have considered redshift drift $\dot{z} = -(1+z)H_{0}+H(z)$ and performed statistical test to obtain the best fit value of model parameters of derived Universe with its observed values. Here $H_{0}$ and $z$ denote the present value of Hubble constant and redshift respectively. We estimate the best fit values of Hubble constant and density parameters are $H_{0} = 68.58 \pm 0.84$ km/s/Mpc, $(\Omega_{m})_{0} = 0.26 \pm 0.010$ and $(\Omega_{\Lambda})_{0} = 0.71 \pm 0.025$ by bounding the derived model with latest observational Hubble data (OHD) while with joint Pantheon data and OHD, its values are $H_{0} = 71.93 \pm 0.58$ km/s/Mpc, $(\Omega_{m})_{0} = 0.272 \pm 0.06$ and $(\Omega_{\Lambda})_{0} = 0.74 \pm 0.09$. The analysis of deceleration parameter and jerk parameter show that the Universe in derived model is compatible with $\Lambda$CDM model.

Today’s urban spaces face precipitous challenges and complications, which include the COVID-19 pandemic, urbanization, population growth, and climate change. Proximity plays an essential role in influencing the integrity of public spaces and urban environments, while proxemics studies people’s experience, and the benefits, of urban space, and is based on a behavioral system of activities that includes ‘territoriality’. There is a need to study the behavioural patterns of people in given situations with proxemic dimensions in order to sustain both human beings and the quality of urban space. However, people behave spontaneously within environmental settings and reflect each other’s responses, meaning it is important to distinguish between different cultures, which tend to respond in particular ways to the meaning of proximity. This suggests there is no universal indicator for phenomena such as crowding. The aim of this paper is to highlight the interrelationship between urban form and urban life. This study focuses on two patterns of activity - street life and social life - by adopting a descriptive-analytical approach to documentary and desk research. The findings reveal a vital distinction between social and public patterns of proximity, while other proximities, although critical, are not observed within interactions between people.

One of the most popular techniques for determining electrical properties of material is the free-space measurement technique. With the potential for new applications requiring efficient, accurate and broadband material measurement systems using higher millimeter-wave and terahertz frequencies, the free-space measurement method has received renewed interest. This is mainly due to its simplicity, favorable properties as a non-destructive method, and it allows transmission and reflection measurements without any physical contact with the sample. This paper reviews and discusses state- of-the-art free space material measurement systems, starting with the different measurement techniques available for material characterization, their important concepts, post-processing in determining their properties, and progress towards expanding their use at higher frequencies. Also, this paper reviews dielectric material characterization using the free space method focusing on their application extension towards the higher frequencies. Besides, the algorithms for conversion methods and usage of lens in free space material measurement system was discussed in this paper. Finally, a future perspective on the outlook of this free space method is presented prior to the conclusion.

The Gulong shale oil reservoir is formed in freshwater to slightly saline lacustrine basins, mainly consisting of pure shale geological structure, which is quite different from other shale reservoirs around the world. Currently, the development of Gulong shale oil mainly relies on hydraulic fracturing, while the subsequent shut-in period for imbibition has been proven to be an effective method for enhancing shale oil recovery. To clarify the characteristics of fluid occurrence space and the variation of fluid occurrence during saltwater imbibition in Gulong shale, this paper carried out porosity and permeability tests on Gulong shale cores, and analyzed the fluid occurrence space characteristics and imbibition oil recovery based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). In the porosity and permeability tests, the porosity measured by saturation method was calibrated using NMR T2 spectra. Combined with the identification of fractures in shale cores using micro-CT and the analysis of porosity and permeability parameters, it was found that the permeability of shale cores was related to the development of fractures in shale cores. Through the testing and analysis of NMR T1-T2 two-dimensional spectra of the shale cores before and after saturation with oil, it was found that the shale mainly contains heavy oil, light oil, and clay-bound water, and they were distributed in different positions in the T1-T2 spectrum. Finally, the T1-T2 two-dimensional spectra of the shale core at different imbibition stages were analyzed, and it was found that the saltwater mainly entered the minuscule inorganic pores of clay minerals during the imbibition process, and squeezed the larger-sized inorganic pores containing light oil through the hydration expansion effect, thus expelling the light oil from the shale core and achieving the purpose of enhanced oil recovery.

A bijective analysis is confirming, the expansion of universal space has never been directly observed, and this assumption is unproven thus far. The measurement of the gravitational redshift, which was confirmed using the Mossbauer experiment, proves only the gravitational redshift and nothing more because there is no causality between the gravitational redshift and hypothetical expansion. Thus, even if the universal space is assumed to expand, the gravitational redshift cannot be assumed to be proof of the expansion. In addition, the Doppler effect was never observed in an expanding space; thus, the claim that the cosmological redshift is partially caused by the Doppler effect, which is caused by the expansion of space, is an unproven assumption. Furthermore, the discovery of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation simply proves that the radiation is emitted by the entire universal space, but does not prove the existence of a recombination period. In evidence-based cosmology, every element in the model has a corresponding element in physical reality that is observed and measured. The evidence-based cosmology model is related to the real universe by a bijective function of set theory. Supermassive black holes in the centre of galaxies are rejuvenating systems of the universe. They rotate their local superfluid space which is the physical origin of galactic rotation curves.

Stellar NGC 6853, also known as the Dumbbell Nebula, is a remarkable example of an elliptical morphological type 1 multiple shell planetary nebula, which is now in one of its last evolutionary stages. This project focuses on examining the distinct varieties of the nebula temperatures and densities using observation data from the Issac Newton Group of Telescopes and comparing them with the observation data from Observatoire de Haute Provence from 14th to 18th of October 2019, with a primary focus on the data from the Issac Newton Telescope (INT). The densities ranged from diffused regions of 376.63 ± 228.97 atoms per cm³ to dense regions of 6441.11 ± 228.90 atoms per cm³; these values are slightly lower approximately by 2000 than the values from the Observatoire de Haute Provence. The radial velocity and the expansion velocity were also calculated using the spectroscopic data and were found to be 29.50 ± 0.38 km⁻¹ and 37.40 ± 0.38 km⁻¹ respectively. This result is expected from a multi-shell nebula that consists of the main body and surrounding halo

The pandemic is fast moving, accelerating rapid changes that lead to new challenges and making organizations suffer an impact. A big mark has been left on the workplaces - places where we do business, because an ongoing change to remote work challenges the role of the office. It is highly possible that as the change is progressing, it is not only the workplace that will change its design, but also the way in which work will be planned, organized, done and controlled. However, as the restrictions ease up questions appear: What is the potential of office sustainability? How has the perception of flexible office space changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic? This paper used an online survey as a quantitative research method. In this paper, we looked at the employer’s vision of the office. We investigated employers’ perspectives of where and in what settings the work will be done in the post-pandemic time. Specifically, we discussed the changes employers will apply in terms of work environment and office layout. The findings suggest that an increasing mobile workforce and expansion of the new workstyle will not mean an office exodus, but will certainly have an impact on office utilization.

Memristors were proposed in the early ’70s of the XXth century by Leon Chua as a new electrical element linking the charge and the flux. Since that first introduction, these devices have positioned themselves to be considered as possibly fundamental for the new generations of electronic devices. It has to be mentioned that actual memristors have only been recognized to exist as physical elements. In this paper, we apply a modeling framework to generate a model describing experimental measurements performed on a ReRAM. We show how to apply the Dynamic Route Map technique in the general case to obtain an approximation to the differential equation that determines the behaviour of the device.

Physicists have employed various approaches to solve the “paradox” and offered a consistent conclusion that the traveller twin is younger than the homebody twin. However, some authors attribute the cause of differential aging to acceleration, while others believe that acceleration should not be regarded as the source of differential aging, but frame switch is. So far there is no agreement on this issue. Actually, acceleration and frame switch should not be regarded as the source of differential aging. The author will introduce a thought experiment in which two very long spacecraft are moving in opposite directions at a speed close to the speed of light to discuss the real cause of differential aging. The author found that the real cause of differential aging in the twin “paradox” is because of the asymmetry of destination choice. People always choose their destinations in the universe rather than in spacecraft. The destinations are always stationary relative to the homebody twin and moving relative to the traveller twin. Once we choose a destination in a reference frame, the distance is the proper length in this reference frame, but the distance will contract in another moving reference frame, thus the recording time will be shorter.

In humankind’s endeavor to explore beyond our planet and travel further into space, we are now at the threshold of an era in which it is possible to move to and from low Earth orbit (LEO) with increasing ease and reduced cost. Through the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory, investigators from industry, academia, and government can easily access the unique LEO environment on the ISS to conduct research and development (R&D) activities in ways not possible on Earth. A key advantage of the LEO environment for life sciences research is the ability to conduct experiments in sustained microgravity conditions. The ability to conduct long-term research in microgravity enables opportunities for novel, fundamental studies in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, including research on stem cell proliferation and differentiation, biofabrication, and disease modeling using microphysiological systems (MPS) that build on prior research using simulated microgravity conditions (Grimm, D., et al. 2018). Over the last decade, space-based research has demonstrated that microgravity informs our knowledge of fundamental biology and accelerates advancements in health care and medical technologies (International Space Station 2019). The benefits provided by conducting biomedical research in LEO may lead to breakthroughs not achievable on Earth. We are now at a transition point, in which nations are changing their approach to space-based R&D. The focus is shifting from government-funded fundamental science toward the expansion of privately funded R&D with terrestrial application and economic value that will drive a robust marketplace for innovation and manufacturing in LEO. Making this long-term transition requires public-private participation and near-term funding to support critical R&D to leverage the benefits of the LEO environment and de-risk space-based research. Studies conducted on the ISS over the past several years have indicated that one area with potential significant economic value and benefit to life on Earth is space-based biomanufacturing, or the use of biological and nonbiological materials to produce commercially relevant biomolecules and biomaterials for use in preclinical, clinical, and therapeutic applications. We must take advantage of the remaining lifetime of the ISS as a valuable LEO platform to demonstrate this economic value and Earth benefit. By facilitating access to the space station, the ISS National Lab is uniquely positioned to enable the R&D necessary to bridge the gap between the initial discovery phase of space-based biomedical research and the development of a sustainable, investment-worthy biomanufacturing market in LEO supported by future commercial platforms. Through a joint effort, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the ISS National Lab, and the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine brought together thought leaders from around the U.S. for a Biomanufacturing in Space Symposium that consisted of a series of working sessions to review data from past space-based tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research, discuss relevant current space-based R&D in this area, and consider potential future markets to address the questions: What are the most promising opportunities to leverage the ISS to advance space-based biomanufacturing moving forward? What are the current gaps or barriers that, if overcome, could clear pathways toward private investment in LEO as a valued site for research, development, and production activity? And, most importantly: For which opportunities do the most compelling value propositions exist? The goal of the Biomanufacturing in Space Symposium was to help identify the specific areas in which government and industry investment would be most likely to stimulate advancements that overcome barriers. This would lead to a more investment-ready landscape for private interests to enter the market and fuel exponential growth. The symposium was meant to serve as the first step in developing a roadmap to a sustainable market for biomanufacturing in space. The symposium identified and prioritized multiple key R&D opportunities to advance space-based biomanufacturing. These opportunities fall in the areas of disease modeling, stem cells and stem-cell-derived products, and biofabrication. Additionally, symposium participants highlighted the critical need for additional data to help validate and de-risk these opportunities and concluded that approaches such as automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning will be needed to produce and capture the required data. Symposium participants also came to a consensus that public-private partnerships and funding will be needed to advance the opportunities toward a biomanufacturing marketplace in LEO. This paper will summarize the current state of the science and technology on the ISS and in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine; provide an overview of biomanufacturing R&D in space to date; review the goals of the Biomanufacturing in Space Symposium; highlight the key commercial opportunities and gaps identified during the symposium; provide information on potential market sizes; and briefly discuss the next steps in developing a roadmap to biomanufacturing in space.

The wave-particle description of quantum mechanics is briefly reviewed to set an analogy between the quantum mechanics of particles and fields and quantum cosmology. It is shown that quantum cosmology can be seen as a quantum field theory developed in the space of three metrics (the metrics of the spatial sections of the spacetime), where the classical evolution of the universe corresponds to a definite trajectory and the quantum mechanics of matter fields emerges as the first order quantum correction. Like in a quantum field theory developed in an isotropic background, the universes are created in universe-antiuniverse pairs, which might provide us with an explanation for the matter-antimatter asymmetry observed in our universe without going beyond the standard model. Moreover, the states of the matter and the antimatter fields of the pair of universes are entangled and that makes that their initial states are in a non-vacuum state (presumably in a thermal state). That might open the possibility of looking for observable imprints of the creation of universes in pairs is the astronomical data.

To sample from complex, high-dimensional distributions, one may choose algorithms based on the Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) method. HMC-based algorithms generate nonlocal moves alleviating diffusive behavior. Here, I build on an already defined HMC framework, Hybrid Monte Carlo on Hilbert spaces [A. Beskos, F.J. Pinski, J.-M. Sanz-Serna and A.M. Stuart, Stoch. Proc. Applic. 121, 2201 - 2230 (2011); doi:10.1016/j.spa.2011.06.003] that provides finite-dimensional approximations of measures π which have density with respect to a Gaussian measure on an infinite-dimensional Hilbert (path) space. In all HMC algorithms, one has some freedom to choose the mass operator. The novel feature of the algorithm described in this article lies in the choice of this operator. This new choice defines a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method which is well defined on the Hilbert space itself. As before, the algorithm described herein uses an enlarged phase space Π having the target π as a marginal, together with a Hamiltonian flow that preserves Π. In the previous method, the phase space π was augmented with Brownian bridges. With the new choice for the mass operator, π is augmented with Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) bridges. The covariance of Brownian bridges grows with its length, which has negative effects on the Metropolis-Hasting acceptance rate. This contrasts with the covariance of OU bridges which is independent of the path length. The ingredients of the new algorithm include the definition of the mass operator, the equations for the Hamiltonian flow, the (approximate) numerical integration of the evolution equations, and finally the Metropolis-Hastings acceptance rule. Taken together, these constitute a robust method for sampling the target distribution in an almost dimension-free manner. The behavior of this novel algorithm is demonstrated by computer experiments for a particle moving in two dimensions, between two free-energy basins separated by an entropic barrier.

Pattern recognition has long been regarded as key role for crime prevention and reduction. Crime analysts and policy makers can formulate effective strategies and allocate resources with reference to spatial and temporal pattern of crime. In order the combat and prevent severe crime in New York City (NYC), this study analyzed Felony Crime data of NYC in previous 5 years (2015 2020) and discovered criminal hotspots pattern and temporal patterns with open criminal complaint data provided by New York Police Department (NYPD). This study adapt a human computer interactive appraoch to draw patterns from crime data, whereas computations and visualization are performed by Python libraries, and human to inform the decision of visualization methods, computational parameters and direction of this exploratary analysis. Density based clustering algorithms, Grid Thematic Mapping and Density Heatmap are displayed to identify hotspots and demonstrates their associations with spatial features. Timeline analysis on moments of crime occurance demonstrates seasonality where crimes are mostly commited, while aoristic analysis showed hours of day when crime is mostly committed considering their timespan. Lastly, 3D visualization improved recognition of the displacement of hotspot over time, and suggested long term hotspots in NYC in 3 D visualization. This inform strategic plans for police deployment.

In this paper the problem of sampling from uniform probability distributions is approached by means of space-filling curves (SFCs), a topological concept that has found a number of important applications in recent years. Departing from the theoretical fact that they are surjective but not necessarilly injective, the investigation focused upon the structure of the distributions obtained when their domain is swept in a uniform and discrete manner, and the corresponding values used to build histograms, that are approximations of their true PDFs. This work concentrates on the real interval [0,1], and the Sierpinski space-filling curve was chosen because of its favorable computational properties. In order to validate the results, the Kullback-Leibler distance is used when comparing the obtained distributions in several levels of granularity with other already established sampling methods. In truth, the generation of uniform random numbers is a deterministic simulation of randomness using numerical operations. In this fashion, sequences resulting from this sort of process are not truly random.

The bay is a space barrier for the development of island-type cities and a high-quality waterfront landscape resource. This study takes Xiamen a typical island city in China as an example. First, It use the method of satellite telemetry technology combined with GIS software and spatial syntax, respectively, from the material space level and social space level, to summarize the rapid urbanization process of this city since 1990-2018, focusing on the construction process of three large-scale waterfront park systems in the transition period of inter-island development in it, and comparing the similarities and differences of their spatial forms. Further, from the choice of the axis model and the integrated analysis results, we discuss the spatial efficiency changes. The construction of the three major bay waterfront park systems in this city reflects a huge change in development pattern from lagging construction, synchronous planning, to advanced layout, providing a continuous and variable spatial form for the development of the bay region and improving space efficiency, which one of the important ways to develop and transform island-type cities. We hope to provide the reference for the development including sustainable development of other island cities around the world

The necessity of the dark energy and dark matter in the present universe could be a consequence of the antimatter elimination assumption in the early universe. Current cosmological models that rely on the dark side have left many unsolved mysteries, remarkably: tension in Hubble parameter measurements, the accelerated expansion, the fast orbital speed of stars, the dark flow observations, cosmic horizon, space flatness, absent of the antimatter, etc. On the other hand, General Relativity (GR) has relied on the spacetime to demonstrate the movement of matter due to a local curvature caused by the presence of matter. Founded on this, I trace the evolution of the spacetime worldlines based on the evolution of the universe spatial scale factor and its evolution time in polar coordinates in order to construct a potential spatial curvature over the temporal dimension or a global spacetime curvature. The mathematical derivations of a positively curved universe governed by only gravity revealed two opposite solutions of the worldline evolution. This possibly implies that the matter and antimatter could be evolving in opposite directions as distinct sides of the universe. By implementing the derived model, we find a decelerated phase of spatial expansion during the first 10 Gyr, that is followed by a second phase of an accelerated expansion; potentially matching the tension in Hubble parameter measurements. In addition, the model predicts a final time-reversal phase of spatial contraction, due to rapid surge in density i.e. reversal entropy, leading to a Big Crunch of a cyclic universe. The predicted density is 1.14. Other predictions are (1) an evolvable curved spacetime at the decelerated phase that is transformed to flatness at the accelerated phase with internal voids which could continuously increase the matter and antimatter densities elsewhere in both sides. (2) the spatial curvature through time dimension along spacetime worldlines was found to increase galaxy orbital speed and (3) a calculable flow rate of the matter side towards the antimatter side at the accelerated phase; conceivably explaining the dark flow observation. These findings may indicate the existence of the antimatter as a distinct side, which influences the evolution of the universe instead of the dark energy or dark matter. These theoretical outcomes and predictions are promising, which can be verified, fine-tuned or disproved using astrometric data in future works.

Huge filaments with scales from several hundred megaparsecs to gigaparsecs are detected in the distribution of galaxies and clusters, quasars, gamma-bursters. The hypothesis on the nature of the huge filaments as regions of space-time deformation is proposed. An anisotropic deformation of the local region is described by the strain tensor, it depends on the velocities of matter. Galaxies get an extra velocity in the region, which leads to the formation of filamentary structures. The class of exact solution of the GR equations is constructed by introducing the special definition of the Christoffel symbols as function of the velocity of matter. With a definition of these symbols, the motion matter equation turns into identity. For the sake of simplicity, an ideal fluid is considered.

The paper describes an algorithm for cognitive representation of triples of related behavioral contexts two of which correspond to mutually exclusive states of some binary situational factor while uncertainty of this factor is the third context. The contexts are mapped to vector states in the two-dimensional quantum Hilbert space describing a dichotomic decision alternative in relation to which the contexts are subjectively recognized. The obtained triad of quantum cognitive representations functions as a minimal carrier of semantic relations between the contexts, which are quantified by phase relations between the corresponding quantum representation states. The described quantum model of subjective semantics supports interpretable vector calculus which is geometrically visualized in the Bloch sphere view of quantum cognitive states.

Due to the advantages such as low power consumption and higher concealment, deceptive jamming against synthetic aperture radar (SAR) receives extensive attention during the past decades. However, the large scene deception jamming is still a challenge because of the huge computing burden. In this paper, we propose a new large scene deceptive jamming algorithm. First, the time-delay and frequency-shift (TDFS) algorithm is introduced to improve the jamming processing speed. The system function of jammer (JSF) for a fake scatter is simplified to the multiplication of the scattering coefficient, a time-delay term in range dimension and a frequency-shift term in azimuth dimension. Then, in order to solve the problem that the effective region of the TDFS algorithm is limited, the scene deceptive jamming template is divided into several blocks according to the SAR parameters and imaging quality control factor. The JSF of each block is calculated by the TDFS algorithm and added together to achieve the large scene jamming. Finally, the correction algorithm in squint mode is derived. The simplification and parallel block processing could improve the calculation efficiency significantly. The simulation results verified the validity of the algorithm.

In the context of the French-German space lidar mission MERLIN dedicated to the determination of the atmospheric methane content, an end-to-end mission simulator is being developed. In order to check whether the instrument design meets the performance requirements, simulations have to count all the sources of noise on the measurements like the optical energy variability induced by speckle. Speckle is due to interference as the lidar beam are quasi monochromatic. Speckle contribution to the error budget has to be estimated but also simulated. In this paper, the speckle theory is revisited and applied to MERLIN double pulsed IPDA lidar and also to the DLR demonstrator CHARM-F. Results show: on the signal path, speckle noise depends mainly on the size of the illuminating area on ground; on the solar flux, speckle is fully negligible both because the pixel size and the optical filter spectral width; on energy monitoring path a decorrelation mechanism is needed to reduce speckle noise on averaged data. Speckle noises for MERLIN and CHARM-F can be simulated by Gaussian noises with only one random draw by shot separately for energy monitoring and signal paths.

After astrochemistry and astrobiology, astrotoxicology is a further subfield of astroscience. Astrotoxicology is an interdisciplinary science that combines physics, biology, chemistry, astronomy, medicine and toxicology. Unlike toxicology on Earth, astrotoxicology in space must take into account the specific features of extreme conditions such as gravity, radiation, temperature or pressure and also consider the distinctions of extreme conditions on other celestial bodies. The field of action of astrotoxicology is, therefore, the influence of lower gravity on the toxicological characteristics of substances in the human body, the special dangers caused by increased radiation in space and on other planets and the special chemical changes caused by the extreme conditions in space on substances and the toxicological consequences associated with them. Despite growing space research, there are so far only a few pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic or toxicological investigations under conditions of microgravity and knowledge of toxicology under the extreme conditions in space in particular. Future studies will be the beginning of astrotoxicology, a previously unknown branch of toxicology.

We review recent progress in high-speed orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexed free-space optical communication systems. The outdoor atmospheric turbulence is emulated by an indoor turbulence emulator, which is based on split-step beam propagation method. Adaptive optics, channel coding, Huffman coding combined with LDPC coding, and spatial offset are used for turbulence mitigation; while OAM multiplexing and wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) are applied to boost aggregate capacity.

A class $\mathfrak{M}$ $$ of coarse spaces is called a variety if $\mathfrak{M}$ $$ is closed under formation of subspaces, coarse images and products. We classify the varieties of coarse spaces and, in particular, show that if a variety $\mathfrak{M}$ $$ contains an unbounded metric space then $\mathfrak{M}$ is the variety of all coarse spaces.

A class $\mathfrak{M}$ $$ of coarse spaces is called a variety if $\mathfrak{M}$ $$ is closed under formation of subspaces, coarse images and products. We classify the varieties of coarse spaces and, in particular, show that if a variety $\mathfrak{M}$ $$ contains an unbounded metric space then $\mathfrak{M}$ is the variety of all coarse spaces.

Edge detection is one of the key issues in the field of computer vision and remote sensing image analysis. Although many different edge-detection methods have been proposed for gray-scale, color, and multispectral images, they still face difficulties when extracting edge features from hyperspectral images (HSIs) that contain a large number of bands with very narrow gap in the spectral domain. Inspired by the clustering characteristic of the gravitation, a novel edge-detection algorithm for HSIs is presented in this paper. In the proposed method, we first construct a joint feature space by combining the spatial and spectral features. Each pixel of HSI is assumed to be a celestial object in the joint feature space, which exerts gravitational force to each of its neighboring pixel. Accordingly, each object travels in the joint feature space until it reaches a stable equilibrium. At the equilibrium, the image is smoothed and the edges are enhanced, where the edge pixels can be easily distinguished by calculating the gravitational potential energy. The proposed edge-detection method is tested on several benchmark HSIs and the obtained results were compared with those of three state-of-the-art approaches. The experimental results confirm the efficacy of the proposed method

Ribosomes are macromolecular complexes important to protein translation, and thus, essential to life. Comprising an ensemble of ribosomal proteins and RNA molecules, ribosomes are conserved in structure and function across all domains of life, but recent structural studies have revealed differentiated structures of ribosomes from bacterial, archaea and eukaryotes. Additionally, unique ribosomal protein mass fingerprints have been found for individual species; thereby, indicating that ribosomes are differentiated in structure amongst different species. Given that structure defines function, differentiated function likely exists amongst ribosomes of different species, which could manifest as differences in translation efficiency that could impact on cell growth rate. But ribosomal proteins also hold phylogenetic significance in informing the evolutionary trajectory of each species. Such ribosomal proteins are thus not highly conserved and offers sufficient sequence space for the evolution of differentiated structure and function in different species. Using ribosomal proteins that hold phylogenetic significance as templates, this study sought to understand the mutational and conformational limits that define functional ribosomes. Specifically, ribosomal proteins in Bacillus subtilis that hold phylogenetic cues would be mutated through error-prone polymerase chain reaction to generate variants that are subsequently transformed into Escherichia coli. To help assess the functional properties of the heterologous ribosomal proteins, endogenous ribosomal protein genes would be inactivated by multiplex CRISPR interference. Since variants in ribosomal proteins would likely impact on ribosome function and translation efficiency, live/dead screening on LB agar would be effective as a preliminary screen for functional mutants. These mutants would subsequently be inoculated into liquid LB medium in 96 well plates to quantify relative growth rates between different strains harbouring different heterologous variants of ribosomal proteins. Plasmids containing different ribosomal protein mutants would be extracted from each functional strain and subjected to Sanger sequencing for determining the specific mutations involved. Collection of such mutations would provide a comprehensive mutational map that define the limits of ribosomal protein sequence space important to ribosome function. Furthermore, biochemical isolation of ribosomal proteins and their structural characterization by X-ray crystallography or cryo-electron microscopy would further illuminate the structural significance of each mutation on ribosome structure and function; thereby, elucidating the structural tolerance space for functional ribosomes. Overall, generating a diverse pool of mutant ribosomal proteins in viability assays followed by sequencing and structural characterization would help define the mutational and conformational limits of a functional and efficient ribosome.

In our previous papers [1,3], using only the concepts of the zero-point energy and quantized space–times, all the fields including gravity were explained. However, the previous papers had the following limitations: First, the concept of the quantized space-time must be experimentally confirmed. Second, we should clarify the meaning of the quantized Einstein’s gravity equation, which is derived in [1]. Moreover, in another paper [2], we succeeded in describing the neutrinos’ self-energy and their oscillations. However, this paper assumes the rest energy of 3-leptons in advance, which is why we needed to uncover the reason why leptons have 3-generations. As mentioned, using the concepts of the zero-point energy and quantized space–times, we derived the quantized Einstein’s gravity equation in our previous paper [1]. The paper provides an analytical solution of this equalized Einstein’s equation, which implies the conservation of angular momentum in terms of quantized space–times. Employing this solution and without the standard big bang model, a unique form of acceleration equation for the acceleration-expansion universe is derived. Moreover, the temperature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) emission is also obtained. Further, this solution results in an analytical (not numerical) derivation of the gravity wave. Moreover, based on the configuration of quantized space–times in terms of both electric and magnetic fields, we analytically attempted to calculate every equation in terms of electromagnetic and gravity fields, using the solution of the quantized Einstein’s gravity equation. As a result of this theory, first the calculated acceleration and temperature of CMB emission agree with the measurements. Furthermore, the analytical solution of the quantized Einstein’s gravity equation resulted in all the laws of electromagnetic and gravity fields in addition to the analytically derived gravity wave, which agrees well with the recent measurements. Moreover, the calculations of the energies in the basic configuration of the quantized space–times resulted in all 3-leptons’ rest energies. Considering this basic configuration is uniformly distributed everywhere in the universe, we can conclude that τ-particles or static magnetic field energy derived from the basic configuration of the quantized space–times is the identity of dark energy, which also distributes uniformly in the universe.

As the smallest member of the fullerene family, C20 is yet to be discovered in planetary nebulae. In this work, we present a quantum chemical study via density functional theory (DFT) on the ionization tolerance of this molecule in the space environment. Considering that the ionization and excitation phenomena play key roles in alerting the lifetime of a molecule, we examined both ground and excited electronic states potential energy surfaces (PES) of C20 and its cations C20q+. Our theoretical results indicate that the C20 cage tolerates a positive charge as high as 13+ via characterizing local minimum geometries on both mentioned electronic states. We also explored theoretically and systematically, scenarios in which the electronic structure of neutral C20 is excited to very high spin multiplicity (beyond triplet state) and local minimum molecular geometries with cage structure are well characterized. We anticipate that such structural resistance to excitation and ionization deliver a prolonged lifetime necessary for the spectroscopic detection of this interesting molecule and its cations in space and potentially in planetary nebulea (PN).

Influenced by the pluralistic and open-minded cultural ideologies of shamanism, the rulers of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty emphasized the implementation of religious government policies with an emphasis on coexistence, adaptability, and pragmatism. The Mongol ruling elite formed alliances with religious factions in various regions and worked closely with local spiritual leaders. During the era of the Great Mongol State, Kublai Khan valued the wealth of the Han Chinese territories. To maintain the order of Mongol Yuan rule in northern China, he used Han Chinese Buddhism and other religious forces to balance and suppress Quanzhen Dao. As a result, Chinese Buddhism became increasingly politically influential in Mongolia. Using their religious identity and talent, Chinese Buddhist monks became active in Mongolia to regulate the political activities of the Han Chinese religious forces. This led to a shift in the religious landscape of northern China during the transition from the Jin to Yuan dynasties.

Grape pomace (GP) is considered a natural source of bioactive compounds. To improve the ex-tractability of bioactive compounds, in this work GP was biologically treated for 15 days with the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor in laboratory jars and a tray bioreactor under solid-state fermentation (SSF) conditions. During SSF, the activity of lignolytic (laccase, manganese peroxi-dase) and hydrolytic (xylanase, cellulase, β-glucosidase and invertase) enzymes was measured, with the activity of laccase (2.66 U/gdb in jars and 0.96 U/gdb in the bioreactor) and xylanase (346.04 U/gdb in jars and 200.65 U/gdb in the bioreactor) being the highest. The effect of the com-plex enzyme system was reflected in the changes in the chemical composition of GP with in-creasing ash, crude protein and free fat content: 28%, 10% and 17% in the laboratory jars and 29%, 11% and 7% in the bioreactor, respectively. In addition, the biological treatment had a positive effect on the extractability of 13 individual phenolic compounds. Therefore, the applied SSF technique represents an effective strategy to improve the profile of phenolic compounds and the nutritional composition of GP, promoting their valorization and opening the door for potential application in the food industry and other sectors.

This study reveals the essential load-bearing characteristics of the steel-concrete composite floor system under fire conditions applying structural stressing state theory. Firstly, the strain data in the entire process of the fire test are modeled as state variables which can present the slab’s stressing state evolution characteristics; Then, the state variables are used to build the stressing state mode and the parameter characterizing the mode. Further, the Mann-Kendall criterion is adopted to detect the leap points in the evolution curves of the characteristic parameters during the entire fire exposure process. Also, the evolution curves of the stressing state modes are investigated to verify the leap profiles around the leap/characteristic points; Finally, the detected leap points are defined as the failure starting points and elastoplastic branching points, which is unseen in the past researches focusing on the failure endpoint defined at the ultimate load-bearing state of the composite floor system. The failure starting point and the elastoplastic branching point are the embodiment of natural law from quantitative change to quality change of a system rather than an empirical and statistical judgment. Hence, both characteristic points avoidably exist in the strain data of the composite floor system undergoing the fire process, which can be revealed through the proper modeling methods and update the existing theories and methods on structural analysis and design in fire.

Frass generated during the production of black soldier fly larvae is taking the interest of scientists and horticultural producers because it is a material from the biotransformation of organic waste, it has several nutrients that can be used by plants, and its recent focus on its biostimulant capacity. The thermal-composting process is a stabilization that improves physical and chemical properties of treated wastes, allowing better performance in plants compared to its fresh state. In this research, thermocomposted frass was evaluated as a germination substrate for kale seeds (Brassica olerasea). To achieve this, it was evaluated the phytotoxicity in different concentrations on the seeds, and seedlings were grown in a germination substrates mixed with 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% of frass. The treatment with 20% frass showed the highest values of seedling height, stem diameter, number of leaves, length, and width of first true leaf and length and width of cotyledons, reduced the content of phenols and tannins antioxidants but the content of flavonoids increased compared to the control and the rest of mixtures.

We consider a constrained optimal control problem and an extension of it, in which the set of strict-sense trajectories is enlarged. Extension is a common procedure in optimal control, used to derive necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for the original problem from the extended one, which usually admits a minimizer and has a more regular structure. However, this procedure fails if the two problems have different infima. It is therefore relevant to identify such situations. Following on from earlier work by Warga but adopting perturbation techniques developed in non-smooth analysis, we investigate the relation between the occurrence of an infimum gap and abnormality of necessary conditions. For a notion of local minimizer based on control distance and an extension including the impulsive one, we prove that (i) a local extended minimizer which is not a local minimizer of the original problem and (ii) a local strict-sense minimizer which is not a local minimizer of the extended problem, both satisfy the extended maximum principle in abnormal form. The main novelty is result (ii), as until now it had only been shown that a strict-sense minimizer which is not an extended minimizer is abnormal for an `averaged version’ of the maximum principle.

Rising demand and urbanization have led to the global increase and intensification of livestock production. Intensive production has harmful effects on the environment, public health (due to the emergence of zoonotic diseases), and animal welfare. In order to better understand how livestock production intensifies as countries develop and incomes rise, we examine the relationship between income per capita and intensification of poultry and cattle, using the states of India as a study region. We also replicate this analysis at the district level to test whether the relationship holds at different spatial scales. We identify outlying states and districts to see if there are policies that can keep agriculture production largely extensive, even as economic growth occurs. The results support the relationship of income being positively correlated with the proportion of livestock in intensive conditions. However, there are notable outlier states which have grown wealthy while still maintaining largely extensive production, indicating that there may be some cases where economic growth can occur without intensification.

Lithium-ion batteries are key elements in the development of electrical energy storage solutions. However, due to cycling, environmental and operating conditions, battery capacity tends to degrade over time. Capacity fade is a common indicator of battery state of health (SOH) because it is an indication of how capacity has been degraded. However, battery capacity cannot be measured directly, so there is an urgent need to develop methods for estimating battery capacity in real time. By analyzing the historical data of a battery in detail, it is possible to predict the future state of the battery and forecast its remaining useful life. This paper develops a real-time, simple and fast method to estimate the cycle capacity of a battery during the charge cycle using only data from a short period of each charge cycle. This proposal is attractive because it does not require data from the entire charge period, since batteries are rarely charged from zero to full. The proposed method allows simultaneous and accurate real-time prediction of the health and remaining useful life of the battery over its lifetime. The accuracy of the proposed method has been tested using experimental data from several lithium-ion batteries with different cathode chemistries under various test conditions.

Abstract: In the past years, lithium-ion solid-state batteries demonstrated significant advancements regarding such properties as safety, long-term endurance, and energy density. The properties of these depend on solid-state electrolytes and especially ionic transport interfacial transport with cathode or anode materials. Solid-state electrolytes based on lithium halides offer new opportunities due to their unique features such as broad electrochemical stability window, high lithium-ion conductivity, and elasticity at close to melting point temperatures that help to improve lithium-ion transport at interfaces. A comparative study of lithium indium halide (Li3InCl6) electrolytes syn-thesized by a mechano-thermal method using different optimization parameters revealed a signif-icant effect of ball-milling time, temperature, and pressure on lithium-ion transport. Based on the Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) data in the temperature range of 25-100 °C, the optimized Li3InCl6 electrolyte phase demonstrates high ionic conductivity reaching 0.98 mS cm−1 at room temperature. However, at 70 °C, phase transformation was observed leading to significant changes in the activation energy for lithium-ion transport. In-situ X-ray diffraction and in-situ/operando X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques confirmed the tempera-ture-dependent behavior of Li3InCl6 synthesized. These observations provide critical information for practical applications of solid-state electrolytes and nanocomposites based on Li3InCl6 within the broad temperature range for lithium-ion solid-state batteries with improved morphology, chemical interactions, and structural integrity.

Extrusion-based additive manufacturing (AM) technologies (i.e., fused filament fabrication, FFF) mostly produce thermoplastic parts. However, producing metallic or ceramic parts by FFF is also a sintered-based AM process. FFF for metallic parts can be divided into five steps: (1) raw materials selection and feedstock mixture (including palletization), (2) filament production (extrusion), (3) production of AM components using the filament extrusion process, (4) debinding, and (5) sintering. These steps are interrelated, where the parameters interact with the other ones and have a key role in the integrity and quality of the final metallic parts. FFF can produce high-accuracy and complex metallic parts, potentially revolutionizing the manufacturing industry and taking AM components to a new level. In the FFF technology for metallic materials, material compatibility, production quality, and cost-effectiveness are the challenges to overcome to make it more competitive compared to other AM technologies, like the laser processes. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent developments in FFF for metallic materials, including the metals and binders used, the challenges faced, potential applications, and the impact of FFF on the manufacturing (prototyping and end parts), design freedom, customization, sustainability, supply chain, among others.

Currently, efficient utilization of low-grade thermal energy is a great challenge. Thermoelectricity is an extremely promising method of generating electrical energy from temperature differences. As a promising energy conversion technology, thermo-electrochemical cells (TECs) have attracted much attention in recent years for their ability to convert thermal energy directly into electricity with high thermal power. Within TECs, anions and cations gain and lose electrons, respectively at the electrodes using the potential difference between the hot and cold terminals of the electrodes by redox couples. Additionally, the anions and cations therein are constantly circulating and mobile via concentration diffusion and thermal diffusion, providing an uninterrupted supply of power to the exterior. This review article focuses mainly on the operation of TECs, recent ad-vances in redox couples, electrolytes, and electrodes. The outlook for optimization strategies re-garding TECs is also presented in this paper.

Recent advancements in the study of the protein complex photosystem II have clarified the sequence of events leading to the formation of oxygen during the S3->S4->S0 tran-sition, wherein the inorganic Mn4Ca(µ-O)6(OHx)4 cluster finishes photo-catalyzing the water splitting reaction (Greife et al, Nature 2023, 617, 623-628; Bhowmick et al, Nature 2023, 617, 629-636) . During this final step a tyrosine radical (TyrZ), stable for a couple of milliseconds, oxidizes a cluster bound oxygen while the hydrogen bonding patterns of nearby waters shift a proton away. A treatment of this redox reaction within the context of accepted transition state theories predicts rate constants that are significantly higher than experimentally recovered values (10^12s^-1 versus 10^3s^-1). In an effort to understand this disparity, temperature dependent experiments have revealed large entropic con-tributions to the rates with only a moderate energy of activation. We suggest that the entropic source may be related to the observed proton rearrangements, and further possible near isoenergetic variations in the nearby extended h-bonding network de-laying the realization of an ‘ideal’ transition state. In the following we explore this re-lation in the context of Eyring’s transition state theory and Marcus’ electron transfer theory, and evaluate their compatibility with the experimental evidence.

In this paper the application of the solid-state cooling based on barocaloric effect in the cold food supply chain is investigated. Barocaloric solid-state technology is applied to the final chain links of the cold food supply chain, regarding the steps of retail and domestic conservation. In this context a barocaloric cooler with regard to food needing to be kept at 5°C (273 K), in order to operate with a promising cooling technology that result energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The categories of food interested in the investigation are meets and fresh food products like soft cheese, yogurt, milk. The energy performances of the barocaloric system have been carried out and compared with a commercial vapor compression refrigerator of a similar size, both operating with R600a under the same working conditions. Basing on the following consideration one can conclude that barocaloric cooling is a favourable technology to be employed in the last link chains of the cold food supply chain if the system operates in ABR cycle at frequencies between 1.25 and 1.50 Hz with a regenerator made of acetoxy silicone rubber as solid-state refrigerant and 50%EG-50%water mixture as heat transfer fluid flowing at the optimal velocity of 0.15 m s-1 that guarantees an appropriate trade-off between the temperature span, the cooling power and the coefficient of performances. Under these conditions the barocaloric system overperforms the domestic vapor compression cooler operating with R600a.

The results of measuring the capacity of a thin-film solid-state lithium-ion battery (SSLIB) Ti|Si@O@Al|LiPON|LiCoO₂|Ti at different charge currents are reported. It is shown that the dependence of the capacity on the current density follows the Peukert's law, which is characterized by a low value of the Peukert’s exponent in the region of low currents and a high value of the exponent in the region of high currents. A capacity model for a SSLIB based on the balance of diffusion and migration currents is proposed and the dependence of the capacity on the charge current is derived. The obtained dependence is well approximated by Peukert's law with an exponent of 1.39, which is intermediate between the exponents for lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolyte and SSLIBs.

Childhood malnutrition is one of the most persistent public health problems throughout developing countries including Nigeria. This study focused on the evaluation of complementary food produced by solid-state fermentation of Fonio and Soybean using Rhizopus oligosporus (2710) and Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) using Lactobacillus planterum, (B-41621). Solid state fermentation (SSF) was carried out by inoculating Fonio and Soybean with spore suspension (1×10⁶spores/ml) of Rhizopus oligosporus (2710) and OFSP with spore suspension (1×10⁶spores/ml) of Lactobacillus planterum (B-41621). The samples were blended in the following ratios: Fonio and Soybean 100: 100 (AS), fonio/soybean and OFSP 50: 50(ASO), and compared with a commercial infant formula which served as the control (CTRL). Quality characteristics of the samples were evaluated. Results showed that moisture, crude protein, fibre, ash content, beta carotene and titratable acidity increased significantly (p<0.05) as fermentation progressed. The iron content ranged from 6.57–8.41mg/100g while the beta carotene content ranged from 15.80 –17.35mg/100g. Viscosity ranged from 8200 –15400cP, while that of swelling capacity ranged from 2.25-3.41(g/g). In sensory scores, there were no significant (p>0.05) difference between the average mean scores of the samples. SSF improved the nutritional content and flavour of the developed complementary food which is needed for infant growth and development.

Hematological and biochemical reference values in sickle cell disease (SCD) are crucial for patient management and evaluation of interventions. This study was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Dar es Salaam, to establish laboratory reference ranges in SCD at steady-state. Patients were grouped into five age groups with respects to their sex. Aggregate functions were used to handle repeated measures within the indi-vidual level in each age group. A nonparametric approach was used to smooth the curves and a parametric approach was used to determine SCD normal ranges. Comparison between males and females and against the general population was documented. Data from 4,422 patients collected from 2004-2015 were analyzed. The majority of the patients (35.41%) were children aged between 5-11 years. There were no significant differences (p≥0.05) in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), lymphocytes, basophils and bilirubin direct observed between males and females. Significant differences (p<0.05) were observed in all selected parameters across age groups except neutrophils and MCHC in adults, as well as platelets and alkaline phosphatase in infants when SCD estimates were compared to the general population. Laboratory reference ranges in SCD at steady-state were different from those of the general population and varied with sex and age. The established reference ranges for SCD at steady-state will be a helpful in the management and monitoring of the progress of SCD.

AbstractIn the evolving modern era of neuromodulation for movement disorders in adults and children, much progress has been made recently characterizing the human motor network (MN) with potentially important treatment implications. Herein is a focused review of relevant resting state fMRI functional and effective connectivity of the human motor network across the lifespan in health and disease. The goal is to examine how the transition from static functional to dynamic effective connectivity may be especially informative of network-targeted movement disorder therapies, with hopeful implications for children.Impact StatementWhile functional connectivity has elucidated much MN properties with relation to age, disease, and behavior, effective connectivity has been shown to be useful in MN-informed therapies in adults. Thus, effective connectivity may have potential to impact childhood movement disorder therapies, given the lower to no patient demand.

Three low band gap copolymers based on isoindigo acceptor units were designed and successfully synthesized by direct arylation polycondensation method. Two of them were benzodithiophene(BDT)-isoindigo copolymers (PBDTI-OD and PBDTI-DT) with 2-octlydodecyl(OD) and 2-decyltetradecyl (DT) substituted isoindigo units, respectively. Thiophene donor and DT-substituted isoindigo acceptor units were copolymerized to synthesize PTI-DT. The copolymers have broad absorption range that extends to over 760 nm with a band gap ~ .5 eV. The photophysical property studies showed the BDT based copolymers have non-polar ground states. Their emission exhibited the population of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state in polar solvents and tightly bound excitonic state in non-polar solvents due to self-aggregation. On the contrary, the emission from the thiophene based copolymers was only from the tightly bound excitonic state. The thermal decomposition temperature of the copolymers was above 380 oC. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the three copolymers showed a halo due pi-pi stacking. A second sharper peak was observed in the BDT-based copolymer with longer side chain on the isoindigo unit (PBDTI-DT) and the thiophene based copolymers with PTI-DT exhibiting a better structural order.

The cyclic lipopeptide produced from Bacillus pumilus strain HY1 was isolated from Korean soybean sauce. The chemical structures of the surfactin isomers were analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). The five potential surfactin isoforms were detected with protonated masses of m/z 994.7, 1,008.7, 1022.7, 1036.7, and 1,050.7 and different structures in combination with Na+, K+, and Ca2+ ions. ESI-MS/MS analysis revealed that the isolated surfactin possessed the precise amino acid sequence LLVDLL and hydroxyl fatty acids with 12 to 16 carbons. The surfactin content during cheonggukjang fermentation increased from 0.3 to 51.2 mg/kg over 60 h of fermentation. The surfactin extraction of cheonggukjang inhibited the growth of two cancer cell lines. The growth of both MCF-7 and Caco-2 cells was strongly inhibited with 100 μg/μL surfactin. These results suggest that surfactins produced from strain HY1 have anticancer properties.

Biophoton emission has been experimented for decades. The photo-genic origin of biophoton has also been attributed to the oxidative stress or free radical production. However, there are considerable gaps in quantitative understanding of biophoton emission. In this work, I propose an analytical hypothesis for interpreting a few patterns of steady-state biophoton emission of human, including the dependency on age, the diurnal variation, and the geometric asymmetry associated with serious asymmetrical pathological conditions. The hypothesis is based on an alternative form of energy state, termed vivo-nergy, which is associated with only metabolically active organisms that are also under neuronal control. The hypothesis projects a decrease of the vivo-nergy in human during growth beyond puberty. The hypothesis also proposes a modification of the vivo-nergy by the phases of systematic or homeostatic physiology. The hypothesis further postulates that the deviation of the physiology-modified vivo-nergy from the pre-puberty level is deteriorated by acquired organ-specific pathological conditions. A temporal differential change of vivo-nergy is hypothesized to proportionally modulate oxidative stress that functions as the physical source of biophoton emission. The resulted steady-state diffusion of the photon emitted from a photo-genic source in a human geometry simplified as a homogeneous spherical domain is modeled by photon diffusion principles incorporating an extrapolated zero-boundary condition. The age and systematic physiology combined determines the intensity of the centered physiological steady-state photo-genic source. An acquired pathology sets both the intensity and the off-center position of the pathological steady-state photo-genic source. When the age-commemorated, physiology-commanded, and pathology-controlled modifications of the steady-state photo-genetic sources are implemented in the photon diffusion model, the photon fluence rate at the surface of the human-representing spherical domain reveals the patterns on age, the temporal variation corresponding to systematic physiology, and the geometric asymmetry associated with significant asymmetric pathological condition as reported for spontaneous biophoton emission. The hypothesis, as it provides conveniences for quantitative estimation of biophoton emission patterns, will be extended in future works towards interpreting the temporal characteristics of biophoton emission under stimulation.

This study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of applying a two-step biological treatment process, solid-state anaerobic digestion (SSAD) and black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) composting, for treating dairy cattle manure. Biogas from SSAD of dairy cattle manure, and the digestate of SSAD was fed to BSFL. In turn, BSFL can be fed to animals as a protein supplement. Adjustment of pH and 30% inoculation ratio (IR₃₀) during SSAD produced the highest theoretical methane yield, 626.1±28.7 L CH₄/kg VS_des, with an ultimate methane yield of 96.81±2.0 L CH₄/kg VS_load. For BSFL composting, the groups with a feeding rate of 75 and 100 mg/day/larvae had the highest body weight change, which was 969.6±28.4 and 984.1±177.6%, respectively. The combination process of SSAD and BSFL composting increases the incentive for dairy cattle manure treatment enabled higher waste removal efficiency, and produced more valuable products.

The penetration of modern supermarkets is believed to be the cause of the declining role of traditional markets and street vendors in Indonesia. But the competition between state-promoted markets and traditional markets is rarely discussed. This investigation focuses on traditional markets as social institutions, which continuously have developed a variety of strategies in order to remain competitive in the midst of intense rivalry. Firstly, we will outline a theoretical understanding of the traditional markets positioning along the concepts of flexibility and market devices. Secondly, we empirically reflect the strategies of four traditional vegetable markets in the District of Malang, East Java Province, as case studies. We show that the traditional markets build flexibility without governmental support by: (1) specifying commodities, (2) segmenting customers, (3) managing the load time, (4) modifying transportation to operate more efficiently, and (5) minimizing transaction costs by leveraging social capital. We argue that traditional vegetable markets institutionally reduce the potential of transaction costs to be competitive and avoid problems of coordination by building social capital through networks. All in all, market institutions supported by market devices are flexibly capable of adapting to the pressures of both selfishness among actors and competition with other markets.

Protein-DNA interactions are critical for the successful functioning of all natural systems. The key role in these interactions is played by processes of protein search for specific sites on DNA. Although it has been studied for many years, only recently microscopic aspects of these processes became more clear. In this work, we present a review on current theoretical understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the protein target search. A comprehensive discrete-state stochastic method to explain the dynamics of the protein search phenomena is introduced and explained. Our theoretical approach utilizes a first-passage analysis and it takes into account the most relevant physical-chemical processes. It is able to describe many fascinating features of the protein search, including unusually high effective association rates, high selectivity and specificity, and the robustness in the presence of crowders and sequence heterogeneity.

Linear state estimation (SE) formulation under a rectangular coordinate system has been proved to be applicable for real-time distribution network management. Micro phasor measurements’ model can be accommodated into this kind of SE easily. However, voltage magnitude, active power and reactive power measurements are transformed to linear measurements with large node voltage error. To cope with this issue, a linear state estimation under a polar coordinate system is adopted at the first stage to obtain accurate enough complex node voltage, and then nonlinear measurements are transformed to be linear with complex node voltage. At the second stage, linear SE under a rectangular coordinate system can be adopted to satisfy more strict network constraints. The proposed two-stage linear SE is validated on balanced 14, 33, 70,84, 119, 135 nodes network and IEEE 13, 34, 37,123 unbalanced test feeders.

State Forest Management Organizations (SFMOs) play a crucial role in the European forest sector, managing almost half the forests in the region. SFMOs are often managed for timber production only whereas, being publicly owned, they should play an important role in providing a vast range of public goods (e.g. soil protection, biodiversity conservation). Their management goals depend on the history and current conditions of the forest sector at a national level, as well as different challenges and the potential for development. Although there is a lack of knowledge about the current performance of SFMOs, there have been recent changes to their management goals and practices in response to the new demands expressed by society (e.g. transparency, social inclusion). The main purpose of this study is to analyse the current situation of SFMOs by clustering them according to indicators that reflect three pillars of the common understanding of sustainable forest management (SFM) concept. With the help of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), we grouped countries according to common characteristics of the forest sector at the national level. Results show three main clusters of SFMOs in Europe. The first cluster has rather small but commercially-oriented forestry unit together with other business activities and a strong focus on public services. The second sees itself as the protector of public interest, rather than commercially-oriented organisations. The third is mainly profit-seeking. The existence of diverse SFMO clusters shows the possibility of different approaches for SFM with a focus on different goals (e.g. profit gaining, public service delivery).

Accelerating, exact, explicit and simple solutions of relativistic hydrodynamics allow for a simple and natural description of highly relativistic p+p collisions. These solutions yield a finite rapidity distribution, thus they lead to an advanced estimate of the initial energy density of high energy collisions. We show that such an advanced estimate yields an initial energy density in $\sqrt{s}=7$ and 8 TeV p+p collisions at LHC around or above the critical energy density from lattice QCD, and a corresponding initial temperature above the critical temperature from QCD and the Hagedorn temperature. This suggests that the collision energy of the LHC corresponds to a large enough initial energy density to create a non-hadronic perfect fluid even in pp collisions. %We also show, that several times the %critical energy density may have been reached in high multiplicity events, hinting at a non-hadronic medium created in %high multiplicity $\sqrt{s}=7$ and 8 TeV p+p collisions.

The Hyper-Torus Universe Model (HTUM) proposes a novel framework to unify quantum mechanics, cosmology, and consciousness. This paper introduces HTUM's core concept: a higher-dimensional hyper-torus encompassing all possible states of existence. HTUM suggests that the universe functions as a quantum system where all outcomes are inherently connected, with consciousness playing a significant role in actualizing reality. The model introduces several key innovations, including the universe's 4-dimensional toroidal structure (4DTS), providing a new geometric interpretation of spacetime. HTUM presents dark matter and dark energy as nonlinear probabilistic phenomena within this toroidal framework, offering a unique perspective on their nature and interactions. The model proposes a mechanism for wave function collapse through universal self-observation, bridging quantum mechanics and gravity. It introduces a Topological Vacuum Energy Modulator (TVEM) function, offering a potential resolution to the cosmological constant problem. Furthermore, HTUM integrates consciousness as a fundamental aspect of the universe, influencing quantum state actualization and potentially resolving the hard problem of consciousness. The model explores the implications of a timeless singularity and the emergence of time as a product of causal relationships within the toroidal structure. This framework addresses critical challenges in modern physics, including the nature of quantum entanglement, the origin and fate of the universe, and the relationship between mind and matter. The paper discusses the mathematical formulation of HTUM, its implications for quantum mechanics and cosmology, and its potential to bridge the gap between science and philosophy. We present detailed predictions for the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum, gravitational wave signatures, and large-scale structure formation, demonstrating how HTUM differs from the standard ΛCDM model. Our analysis reveals distinctive oscillatory patterns in the relative difference between HTUM and ΛCDM predictions, with deviations reaching up to ±20% at certain scales. The paper also explores the unification of fundamental forces within the HTUM framework, proposing novel approaches to particle physics and quantum field theory. It introduces the concept of unified mathematical operations, suggesting a more holistic approach to mathematical thinking that aligns with the model's interconnected view of the universe. Additional testable predictions and proposed experimental approaches are discussed, including advanced space-based tests and laboratory experiments probing quantum gravity effects. These specific, quantifiable predictions offer multiple avenues for empirical validation, highlighting HTUM's potential to be distinguished from ΛCDM and other alternative cosmological models. HTUM represents a significant new perspective in our understanding of the universe, inviting further research and exploration into the nature of reality, consciousness, and the fundamental structure of the cosmos. By providing a comprehensive framework that unifies various aspects of physics, cosmology, and consciousness studies, HTUM offers a promising path toward a more complete understanding of our universe.

The two-thirds power law is a link between angular speed $\omega$ and curvature $\kappa$ observed in voluntary human movements: $\omega$ is proportional to $\kappa^{2/3}$. Squared jerk is known to be a Lagrangian leading to the latter law. However, it leads to unbounded movements and is therefore incompatible with a quasi-periodic dynamics, such as the movement of the tip of a pen drawing ellipses. To solve this drawback, we give a class of higher-derivative Lagrangians that allow for both quasi-periodic and unbounded movements, and at the same time leading to the two-thirds power law. We then perform the Hamiltonian analysis leading to action-angle variables through Ostrogradski's procedure. In this framework, squared jerk is recovered as an action variable, and its minimization may be related to power expenditure minimization during motion. The identified higher-derivative Lagrangians are therefore natural candidates for cost functions, i.e. movement functions that are targeted to be minimal when an individual performs a voluntary movement.

We explore the integration of smart pixel light modulators (SPLMs) into bidirectional optical neural networks (BONNs), highlighting their advantages over traditional spatial light modulators (SLMs). SPLMs enhance BONN performance by enabling faster light modulation in both directions, significantly increasing the refresh rate of neural network weights to hundreds of megahertz, thus facilitating the practical implementation of the backpropagation algorithm and two-mirror-like BONN structures. The architecture of an SPLM-based BONN (SPBONN) features bidirectional modulation, simplifying hardware with electrical fan-in and fan-out. Scalability limitations of the projection system restrict input and output array sizes but achieve high throughput, up to 4.3 × 10¹⁷ MAC/s with 100 layers. Energy assessments showed that the SPLM array, despite its higher power consumption compared to the SLM array, is manageable via effective heat dissipation. Smart pixels with programmable memory in the SPBONN provide a cost-effective solution for expanding network node size and overcoming scalability limitations without the need for additional hardware.

Bermejo Algebras, which consist of Algebra B and Treon Algebra, are non-associative and unital algebraic structures that introduce new complex entities. Recently, a Hausdorff space associated with the space where these algebras act was defined. We constructed a second-countable treon space utilizing a novel metric derived from these algebras. We defined topological spaces and established a metric to prove the second-countable property within Bermejo Algebras. Our findings contribute to the construction of manifolds in treon spaces by defining a countable base using the density of rationals in the real numbers.

In this study, we provide the Lie symmetries and a classification of plane symmetric static space-times. Based on the invariance of the Lagrange equations of plane symmetries static space-time systems under the transformation Lie group, we provide the Lie symmetry determination equation, Lie symmetry theorem, and the conserved quantity of the systems; by utilizing the Lie symmetry method to solute the system, we give complete classification of the plane symmetric static space-times systems. The research results indicate that using the Lie symmetry method to study plane symmetric static spacetime can identify a series of conserved quantities that exist in the system; Discovered 5 basic Lie symmetries in the system; When the metric parameters of the system are appropriately selected, the plane symmetric static spacetime can have 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 17 Lie symmetric symmetries and conserved quantities.

This research analyzes the phenomenon of the reduction of urban green spaces in the post-socialist city. Belgrade was selected as a post-socialist city of the former Yugoslavia. The article analyses the views of urban planners on the reasons for the reduction of urban green areas in the post-socialist city based on semi-structured interviews with representative samples for urban areas. This result research confirms the hypothesis that post-socialist city planning reduces urban green areas due to the lack of new mechanisms in documents for the planning of urban green space. The concept of sustainability should connect and balance the skills of urban planners and focus on how urban planners develop and apply standards and protect them in market-democratic systems. In other words, a new mechanism of post-socialist city planning implies a balance between the private and public sectors. In the planning document, urban planners should find a common denominator between the public interest, citizens, investors, and spheres determined by the sustainable principles of the development. City institutions should provide opportunities for the application of those standards. With the new approach, planning would imply work in the service of citizens in the concepts of a sustainable and green city.