The Lower Mekong Basin has had extensive hydropower dam development, which changes hydrologic conditions and threatens the exceptional aquatic biodiver-sity. This study quantifies the degree of hydrologic change between pre-impact (1965-1968) and post-impact (2018-2021) peak hydropower development in two major tributaries of the Lower Mekong Basin, the Sekong River with the fewest dams and the Sesan River with the most dams. Both rivers historically supported migratory fishes. We use daily pre- and post-impact data and the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration framework to evaluate streamflow changes from dam development. We found signifi-cant changes in low and high magnitude flows in the pre- and post-impact periods of dam development. For the Sekong River, minimum flow had large fluctuations that ranged 290% to 412% more than the pre-impact period, while the Sesan River ranged 120% to 160% more than pre-impact. Dry season flows increased by 200±63% on av-erage in the Sekong River, which is caused by releases from upstream dams. Mean-while, Sesan River dry season flows increased by 100±55% on average. This study in-dicates that seasonal flow changes and extreme flow events occurred more frequently in the two basins following dam construction, which may threaten the ecosystem func-tions.

The physical roots, interpretation, controversies and precise meaning of the Landauer Principle are surveyed. Landauer's principle is a physical principle pertaining to the lower theoretical limit of energy consumption of computation. It states that an irreversible change in information stored in a computer, such as merging two computational paths, dissipates a minimum amount of heat kBTln2 per a bit of information to its surrounding. The Landauer Principle is discussed in the context of fundamental physical limiting principles, such as the Abbe diffraction limit, the Margolus-Levitin limit and the Bekenstein limit. Synthesis of the Landauer bound with the Abbe, Margolus-Levitin limit and Bekenstein limits yields the minimal time of computation, which scales as τmin~hkBT. Decrease in a temperature of a thermal bath will decrease the energy consumption of a single computation, but, in parallel, it will slow the computation. The Landauer principle bridges between John Archibald Wheeler “it from bit” paradigm and thermodynamics. Experimental verifications of the Landauer Principle are surveyed. Interrelation between thermodynamic and logical irreversibility is addressed. Generalization of the Landauer principle to the quantum and non-equilibrium systems is addressed. Landauer Principle represents the powerful heuristic principle bridging the physics, information theory and computer engineering.

This study investigates stress perceptions, somatization, and coping strategies among 271 nursing and dentistry (n=126 and n=145, respectively), undergraduate and postgraduate students. For the study, an e-questionnaire was designed in a two-step process, uploaded in Google Forms and staying open for submissions during February 2024 in the School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. In our sample, predominantly female (68.60%), the majority were undergraduates (80.10%). Females reported higher stress somatization (M=10.22, SD=5.23) compared to males (M=7.94, SD=6.14), with a moderate effect size (Cohen’s d=0.412, p

The structure and physicochemical properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and PVA/glycerol films have been investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA), and advanced scanning probe microscopy (SPM). In the pure PVA films, SPM allowed us to observe ribbon-shaped domains with a different frictional and elastic contrast, which apparently originated from a correlated growth or assembly of PVA crystalline nuclei located within individual PVA clusters. The incorporation of 1.0 wt.% glycerol led to modification in shape of those domains from ribbon-like in pure PVA to rounded in PVA/glycerol 1.0 wt.% films; changes in the relative intensities of the XRD peaks and a decrease of the amorphous halo in the XRD pattern were also detected, while the DTA peak corresponding to the melting point remained at almost the same temperature. For higher glycerol content, FT-IR revealed additional glycerol-characteristic peaks presumably related to the formation of glycerol aggregates, and XRD, FT-IR, and DTA all indicated a reduction in crystallinity. For more than 2.0 wt.% glycerol, the plasticization of the films complicated the acquisition of SPM images without tip-induced surface modification. Our study contributes to the understanding of crystallinity in PVA and how it is altered by a plasticizer such as glycerol.

The surface velocity of the Amery Ice Shelf (AIS) is vital to assessing its stability and mass balance. Previous studies have shown that the AIS basin has a stable multi-year average surface velocity. However, spatiotemporal variations in the surface velocity of the AIS and the underlying physical mechanism remain poorly understood. This study combined offset tracking and DInSAR methods to extract the monthly average surface velocity of the AIS and obtained the inter-annual surface velocity from the ITS_LIVE product. An uneven spatial distribution in inter-annual variation of the surface velocity was observed between 2000–2022, although the magnitude of variation was small at less than 20.5 m/yr. The increase and decrease in surface velocity on the eastern and western-central sides of the AIS, respectively, could be attributed to the change in the thickness of the AIS. There was clear seasonal variation in monthly average surface velocity at the eastern side of the AIS between 2017–2021, which could be attributed to variations in the area and thickness of fast-ice and also to variations in ocean temperature. This study suggested that changes in fast-ice and ocean temperature are the main factors driving spatiotemporal variation in the surface velocity of the AIS.

A novel nano-laminated GdB2C2 material was successfully synthesized using GdH2, B4C, and C via an in-situ solid state reaction approach for the first time. The formation mechanism of GdB2C2 was revealed based on the microstructure and phase evolution investigation. A purity of 96.4 wt. % GdB2C2 was obtained at a low temperature of 1500 ℃, while a near full pure GdB2C2 can be obtained at a temperature over 1700 ℃. The as-obtained GdB2C2 presented excellent thermal stability at high temperature of 2100 ℃ in Ar atmosphere due to the stable frame work formed by the high covalent four-members and eight-members B-C rings in GdB2C2. The minimum reflection loss value (RLmin) of -47.01 dB with an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 1.76 GHz at a thickness of 3.44 mm was obtained for the GdB2C2 synthesized at 1500 ℃. The possible EMWA mechanism could be ascribed to the nano-laminated structure and appropriate electrical conductivity, which facilitated to the good impedance matching, remarkable conduction loss, interfacial polarization as well as multiple interface reflection and scattering. The as-obtained GdB2C2, with excellent EMWA performance as well as remarkable ultra-high temperature thermal stability, could be a promising candidate for the EMWA materials applications in extreme ultra-high temperatures.

Earth observation satellites can capture images of specific areas in Earth's orbit based on user requirements. Despite the high demand for satellite imagery, satellites remain a scarce resource. When there are many observation tasks that are large and dense, they may interfere with each other due to satellite mobility. To address this issue, a multi-satellite scheduling algorithm based on a task merging mechanism has been proposed. This paper proposes a two-stage approach to the problem: task merging phase and merging task scheduling phase. The task merging phase introduces two methods based on Mean Shift and Complete Graph to generate the merging task set. In the merging task scheduling phase, a multi-satellite scheduling algorithm based on merging tasks is employed to solve the problem. Finally, certain measurement experiments suggest the effectiveness of the algorithm.

(S)-Atenolol ((S)-2-(4-(2-Hydroxy-3-(isopropylamino)propoxy)phenyl)acetamide) has been synthesized in >99% ee with use of Candida antarctica lipase B from Syncozymes (Shanghai, China), in a kinetic resolution of the corresponding racemic chlorohydrin. Deprotonation of the starting phenol building block was base catalyzed. The enantiopurity of the chlorohydrin building block remained unchanged upon subsequent amination. All four steps in the synthesis protocol have been optimized compared to previously reported methods, which makes this new protocol more sustainable and in accordance with green chemistry principles compared to previously reported protocols.

The development of computational acoustics allows simulation of sound generation and propagation in complex environment. In particular, meshfree methods are widely used to solve acoustics problems through arbitrarily distributed field points and approximation smoothness flexibility. As a Lagrangian meshfree method, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method reduce the difficulty in solving problems with deformable boundaries, complex topologies, or multiphase medium. The traditional SPH method has been applied in acoustic simulation. This study presents the corrective smoothed particle method (CSPM), which is a combination of SPH kernel estimate and Taylor series expansion. The CSPM is introduced as a Lagrangian approach to improve accuracy in solving acoustic wave equations in the time domain. Moreover, a boundary treatment technique based on the hybrid meshfree and finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is proposed to represent different acoustic boundaries with particles. To model sound propagation in pipes with different boundaries, soft, rigid, and absorbing boundary conditions are built with this technique. Numerical results show that the CSPM algorithm is consistent and demonstrates convergence with exact solutions. Main computational parameters are discussed, and different boundary conditions are validated to be effective for benchmark problems in computational acoustics.

We consider the financial planning problem of a retiree wishing to enter a retirement village at a future uncertain date. The date of entry is determined by the retiree's utility and bequest maximisation problem within the context of uncertain future health states. In addition, the retiree must choose optimal consumption, investment, bequest and purchase of insurance products prior to her full annuitisation on entry to the retirement village. A hyperbolic absolute risk-aversion (HARA) utility function is used to allow necessary consumption for basic living and medical costs. The retirement village will typically require an initial deposit upon entry. This threshold wealth requirement leads to exercising the replication of an American put option at the uncertain stopping time. From our numerical results, active insurance and annuity markets are shown to be a critical aspect in retirement planning.

Previous reviews have investigated machine learning (ML) models used to predict the risk of developing preeclampsia but have not described how the ML models are intended to be deployed throughout pregnancy or feature performance. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the existing ML models and their intended deployment patterns and performance along with identified features of high importance. This review used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines. PubMed, Engineering Village, and the Association for Computing Machinery were searched between January and February 2024. A total of 86 studies were found of which 14 were included. Out of 12 studies, eight showed the intent to use the ML model as a single-use, two intended a dual-use, and two intended multiple-use. A total of seven studies listed the features of the highest importance. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were listed along with mean arterial pressure to be of high importance. Out of four studies intending to use the ML model more than a single-use, three of them were conducted in the years 2023 and 2024, whereas the remaining study is from 2011. No ML model emerged as superior across the subgroups of PE. Utilizing body mass index and either mean arterial pressure or diastolic blood pressure and systolic blood pressure may benefit the performance. The deployment patterns are mainly single use being within the gestation weeks 11+0 to 14+1.

Recently, methods to detect DoS and spoofing attacks that occur on in-vehicle networks using CAN Protocol are being studied through deep learning models such as CNN, RNN, and LSTM. These studies have produced significant results in the field of In-Vehicle Network attack detection using deep learning models. In addition, significant results are being achieved through research on applying time series-based deep learning models such as LSTM to detect DoS attacks and replay attacks occurring in in-drone networks by expanding them to drones using the UAVCAN protocol. In this paper, we conducted an experiment to detect in-drone network attacks through non-time series analysis using machine learning models and deep learning models, and through appropriate learning for each attack type, it can also be analyzed through non-time series analysis. The results showed that it was possible to detect attacks.

The need for solvating and encapsulating hydro-sensitive molecules drives noticeable trends in the applications of cyclodextrins in pharmaceutical industry, food, polymer, materials, and agricultural science. Among them, β-cyclodextrin is one of the most used for the entrapment of phenolic acid compounds to mask the bitterness of wheat bran. In this regard, there is still a need for a good predictive model that assesses β-cyclodextrin bitterness masking capabilities for various phenolic compounds. This study uses a dataset of 20 phenolic acids docked to the β-cyclodextrin cavity to generate three different binding constants. The data from docking study were combined with topological, topographical and quantum-chemical features from the ligands in a machine learning-based structure-activity relationship study. Three different models for each binding constant were computed using a combination of Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) approaches. The developed ML/QSAR models showed a very good performance, with high predictive ability and correlation coefficients of 0.969 and 0.984, for training and test sets, respectively. The models revealed several factors responsible for a binding with cyclodextrin, showing positive contributions toward the binding affinity values, including such features as presence of six-membered rings in the molecule, branching, electronegativity values, and polar surface area.

Objective: Interstitial fibrosis / tubular atrophy (IFTA) is a common, irreversible, and progressive form of chronic kidney allograft injury, and it is considered a critical predictor of kidney allograft outcomes. The extent of IFTA is estimated through a graft biopsy, while a non-invasive test is lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of an MRI radiomic-based machine learning (ML) algorithm in estimating the degree of IFTA in a cohort of transplanted patients. Approach: Patients who underwent MRI and renal biopsy within a 6-month interval from 1/1/2012 to 1/3/2021 were included. Stable MRI sequences were selected, and renal parenchyma, renal cortex and medulla were segmented. After image filtering and pre-processing, we computed radiomic features which were subsequently selected through a LASSO algorithm for their highest correlation with the outcome and lowest intercorrelation. Selected features and relevant patients’ clinical data were used to produce ML-algorithms using 70% of the study cases for feature selection, model training and validation with a 10-fold cross-validation, and 30% for model testing. Performances were evaluated using AUC with 95% confidence interval. Main results: 70 coupled tests (63 patients, 35.4% females, mean age 52.2 years) have been included and subdivided into a wider cohort of 50 for training and a smaller cohort of 20 for testing. For IFTA ≥ 25%, AUCs in test cohort were 0.60, 0.59, and 0.54 for radiomic features only, clinical variables only, and combined radiomic-clinical model, respectively. For IFTA ≥ 50%, AUCs in training cohort were 0.89, 0.84, 0.96, and in test cohort were 0.82, 0.83, and 0.86, for radiomic features only, clinical variables only, and combined radiomic-clinical model, respectively. Significance: An ML-based MRI radiomic algorithm showed promising discrimination capacity for IFTA>50%, especially when combined with clinical variables. These results need to be confirmed in larger cohorts.

The dopamine and uric acid are primary products of purine metabolism and they coexist in serum and the extracellular fluid of the central nervous system. Some diseases of the human body are due to abnormal levels of uric acid and dopamine. Thus, the clinical diagnosis of some diseases needs a sensitive and simultaneous analysis of uric acid and dopamine. In this study, a novel conductive composite film containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWTs) with cooper phthalocyanine attached to acrylate polymer (MWCNTs-CuMAPC-PnBA) was fabricated and dropped on a glassy carbon electrode and used for the simultaneous determination of Uric Acid (UA) and dopamine (DA). The modified glassy carbon electrode showed satisfactory electrocatalytic activity toward dopamine and uric acid. Low detection limits were achieved at 0.174 µM of DA and 6.87 µM of UA and the linear detection ranges of DA and UA are 5-200 µM and 20-250 µM respectively. The proposed sensing system based on the modified GCE offers promising results for rapid, cost-effective and selective simultaneous detection of uric acid and dopamine. Also, the complex modified electrode showed satisfactory results to detecting simultaneously UA and DA in real human samples (human Urine) via the standard addition method.

The perceived risk of being infected at work (PRIW) with COVID-19 represents a potential risk factor for workers during the current COVID-19 pandemic. In line with the job demands-resources (JD-R) model applied to safety at work, in this longitudinal study we propose that PRIW can be conceptualized as a job demand, whereas communication (i.e., the exchange of good-quality information across team members) can be conceived as a job resource. Accordingly, we hypothesized that PRIW at Time 1 (T1) would positively predict psychophysical strain at Time 2 (i.e., four months later). Furthermore, we hypothesized that communication at T1 would negatively predict psychophysical strain at T2. Overall, 297 workers took part in the study. The hypothesized relationships were tested using multiple regression analysis. Results supported our predictions: PRIW positively predicted psychophysical strain over time, whereas communication negatively predicted psychophysical strain over time. Also, results did not change after controlling for age, gender, and type of contract. Overall, this study suggests that PRIW and communication can be considered as a risk and a protective factor for work-related stress, respectively. Hence, to promote more sustainable working conditions, interventions should encourage organizations to optimize the balance between job demands and job resources related to COVID-19.

The aim of the study was to analyze the in ovo injection of chemically and biologically synthesized silver nano-particles (Ag NPs) using Brassica oleracea L. var capitate f. Rubra, (BOL) conjugation with L-Arginine (L-Arg) on the immune, muscle growth, survivability and hatchability of the broiler chickens. L-Arg (100 μg) with 1000 µg (BOL-Ag NPs) and L-Arg (100 μg) with 100 µg (C-Ag NPs) were injected into fertile eggs at 8, 14 and 18 of incubation. Survival and hatched chicks were calculated. Survivability and hatchability were unaffected by the injected dose of L-Arg (100 μg) with 1000 µg (BOL-Ag NPs) and L-Arg (100 μg) with 100 µg (C-Ag NPs) but it significantly improved when the eggs were injected on day 14 of incubation compared with those injected on days 8 or 18. Moreover, the protein expression of muscle development markers such as myogenin and myoD were significantly up-related in 14 d incubation whereas the heat shock proteins (HSPs) such as HSP-60 and HSP-70 were significantly up-regulated in 18 d incubation. In addition, the in ovo injection on 18 d significantly increased the serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT) and serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT) as well the immunoglobulin (IgM) levels were increased in 14-day incubation period in serum at the same concentration. Collectively, these results indicate that injecting L-Arg (100 μg) with 1000 µg of BOL-Ag NPs or L-Arg (100 μg) with 100 µg of C-Ag NPs to eggs at day 14 after incubation could improve their hatchability, survival rate, and muscle growth marker.

I demonstrate that the ionization energy (IE) and the electron affinity (EA) of organic molecular crystals can be predicted from first-principles. Here, I describe the induced electronic polarization and the electrostatic effects upon crystalline IE and EA. I also demonstrate that the electronic polarization mainly originates from the screened coulomb interaction inside the crystalline bulk phase, and that the electrostatic contribution to IE and EA crucially depends on the orientation of the molecule at the surface. The former is well described by the GW approximation, while the latter is reasonably estimated by the difference in frontier orbital energy between the gas phase and the surface at the level of a generalized gradient approximation to the density functional theory. The present methodology enables to demonstrate the impact of the electrostatic effect upon the energy level of the injected charge at a multi-monolayer surface of an organic semiconductor thin film.

Tourmalines are a group of minerals which may concentrate various accessory components, e.g. Cu, Ni, Zn, Bi, Ti, Sn. The paper presents fluor-elbaite and elbaite from a dyke of the Julianna pegmatitic system at Piława Górna, at the NE margin of the Bohemian Massif, SW Poland, containing up to 6.32 and 7.37 wt.% ZnO, respectively. Such high amounts of ZnO are almost two times higher than in the second most Zn-enriched tourmaline known to date. The compositions of the Zn-rich tourmalines from Piława Górna, studied by electron microprobe and Raman spectroscopy, correspond to the formulae: (Na0.73Ca0.01•0.25)Σ1(Al1.03Li0.79Zn0.76Fe2+0.33Mn0.09)Σ3Al6B3Si6O27(OH)3(F0.66OH0.34), and (Na0.78Ca0.01•0.21)Σ1(Al1.06Li0.87Zn0.88Fe2+0.10Mn0.09)Σ3Al6B3Si6O27(OH)3(OH0.84F0.16), respectively, with Zn as one of the main octahedral occupants. A comparison with other tourmalines and associated Zn-rich fluor-elbaite and elbaite from the pegmatite indicates that atypically high Zn-enrichment is not a result of Zn-Fe fractionation, but dissolution and reprecipitation induced by a late (Na,Li,B,F)-bearing fluid within the assemblage of gahnite spinel and primary schorl-type tourmaline. This strongly suggests Na-Li-B-F metasomatism of gahnite-bearing mineral assemblages as that is the only environment that can promote crystallization of a hypothetical Zn-dominant tourmaline. The compositions of the Zn-rich fluor-elbaite and elbaite suggest three possible end-members for such a hypothetical tourmaline species: NaZn3Al6B3Si6O27(OH)3(OH), •(Zn2Al)Al6B3Si6O27(OH)3(OH) and Na(Zn2Al)Al6B3Si6O27(OH)3O.

Background: A new access technique was developed to reduce postoperative adverse events after the extraction of impacted maxillary wisdom teeth. Hence, this study aimed to assess the occurrence of adverse events after extraction of maxillary impacted wisdom teeth using traditional or modified access. Methods: Two different surgical incision designs were used for bilateral wisdom tooth extractions in 30 patients. The traditional incision was performed distal to the second molar in the center of the tuberosity, followed by a buccal releasing incision. After tooth extraction the wound was secured by sutures. The new technique consists of an oblique incision from the distal palatal aspect of the tuberosity towards the buccal aspect of the second molar. After tooth extraction, cyanoacrylate glue was used on the wound. Results: Lower pain was reported by patients at the site treated with the new technique (p<0.01). Edema, postsurgical bleeding, and hematoma were similar in both groups. The surgical time was shorter for the new technique (p<0.01). Conclusions: The new technique applied for the extraction of impacted maxillary wisdom teeth reduced postsurgical pain and the duration of surgery.

Although ovarian cystic teratoma is the most common ovarian tumor, complications are quite rare. However, it is important to be recognized by the radiologist in order to avoid inaccurately diagnosing them as malignant lesions. This case report describes a 61-year-old postmenopausal woman, who presented to the emergency room with abdominal pain following a minor blunt abdominal trauma. In this context, a CT scan was performed, which showed the presence of round, hypodense masses randomly distributed in the peritoneum, with coexisting ascites in moderate amount; ovarian carcinoma with peritoneal carcinomatosis was suspected. The patient was hospitalized and an MRI of the abdomen and pelvis was recommended for a more detailed lesion characterization. Following this examination, the patient was diagnosed with mature cystic ovarian teratoma complicated by rupture. Surgery was performed, and the outcome was favorable. The cases of ruptured cystic teratomas are rare, and to our knowledge, this is the first occurrence described in literature. Special attention must be paid when confronting with such a case in medical practice, since it can easily misdiagnosed as peritoneal carcinomatosis

Salmorejo is a homogenate based on tomato, olive oil and breadcrumbs commercialized as a “fresh-like” cold puree in Spain and other European countries. Salmorejo is thermolabile and requires pasteurising upon High Temperature, Short Time (HTST) conditions to inhibit microbes and enzymes. Due to its penetration, dielectric heating by radiofrequency (RF) might improve pasteurisation results of conventional heating (CH) in viscous products. The objective was to validate the pasteurisation temperature (70-100 °C, at 5 ºC intervals) for salmorejo processed by radiofrequency (operating at 27.12 MHz for 9.08 s) or conventional continuous heating. Salmorejo was prone to thermal damage upon HTST conditions. Main heat-induced changes include: orangeness, flavour homogenisation, loss of freshness, thickening, loss of vitamin C and lipid oxidation. A ‘fresh-like’ good quality salmorejo can be obtained using either conventional or radiofrequency pasteurisers. Both CH and RF equivalent treatments allowed a strong reduction of total and sporulated mesophilic microorganisms, and an adequate inhibition of the pectinmethylesterase, peroxidase and, to a lesser extent, polyphenoloxidase, but did not inhibit the polygalacturonase enzyme. Pasteurisation at 80 °C for 9.8 s (RF) or 10.9 s (CH) provided a good equilibrium in levels of microbiological and enzymatic inhibition and thermal damage to the product. Increasing this temperature does not improve enzyme inactivation levels and salmorejo may become overheated.

Kawasaki disease is a febrile illness characterised by systemic inflammation of small- and medium-sized blood vessels which commonly occurs in young children. Although self-limiting, there is a risk of developing coronary artery lesions as disease progresses with delay in diagnosis and treatment. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of KD continues to remain a clinical dilemma. Thus, this article not only summarises the key research gaps associated to KD, but also evaluates the possibility of using circulating endothelial injury biomarkers such as, circulating endothelial cells, endothelial microparticles and vascular endothelial cell-free DNA, as diagnostic and prognostic tool of KD: a “liquid biopsy” approach. The challenges of translating liquid biopsies to use in KD, and the opportunities for improvement in its diagnosis and management that such translation may provide are discussed. The use of endothelial damage markers, which are easily obtained via blood collection, as diagnostics is promising and we hope this will be translated to clinical applications in the near future.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are a promising form of immunotherapy that has significantly changed the therapeutic landscape for many advanced cancers. They have shown unique clinical benefit against a broad range of tumour types and a strong overall impact on survival in studied patient populations. However, there are still many limitations holding back this immunotherapy from reaching its full potential as a possible curative option for advanced cancer patients. A great deal of research is being undertaken in the hope of driving advancements in this area, building a better understanding of the mechanisms behind immune checkpoint inhibition and ultimately developing more effective, safer, and wider-reaching agents. Taking into account the current literature on this topic, this review aims to explore in depth the basis of the use of ICIs in the treatment of advanced cancers, evaluate its efficacy and safety, consider its current limitations, and finally reflect on what the future holds for this very promising form of cancer immunotherapy.

Under the new pattern of “double carbon” development, good ESG performance is the best way to promote the sustainable development of enterprises, and the ESG investment strategies are directly affected by the strategic vision of managers. Based on the upper echelons theory and stakeholder theory, this paper takes Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2022 as samples to empirically analyze the impact of managerial myopia on corporate ESG performance. The results show that managerial myopia significantly inhibits corporate ESG performance, mainly by inhibiting corporate green investment and green innovation sustainability. Furthermore, for state-owned enterprises (SOE), heavy polluting enterprises (HPE) and non-high-tech enterprises, the inhibitory effect of manager myopia on ESG performance is stronger. When the enterprise is in the growth stage, the above inhibition effect is more severe. For external governance, the greater the analyst attention and public environmental attention are, the more conducive they are to alleviating the restraining effect of managerial myopia on enterprise ESG performance. Therefore, effectively improving the time cognition level of managers and strengthening external supervision have become important measures for comprehensively optimizing the ESG performance.

This paper proposed an optimal tracking control scheme through adaptive dynamic programming(ADP) for a class of partially unknown discrete-time nonlinear systems based on radial basis function neural network(RBF-NN). In order to acquire the unknown system dynamics, we use two RBF-NNs, the one is used to construct the identifier, and the another is used to directly approximate the steady-state control input, where a novel adaptive law is proposed to update neural network weights. While the optimal feedback control and the cost function are derived via feedforward neural networks approximating, it is proposed to regulate the tracking error, the critic network and the actor network are then trained online to obtain the solution of the associated Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equation being built under the ADP framework. Simulations verify the effectiveness of the optimal tracking control technique using the neural networks.

Air pollution, climate change and global warming show direct linkage. Introduction - Background: Research in the field has proposed and demonstrated their link to increased allergenicity in plants, leading to increased allergic diseases. Allergen patterns are changing in response to climate change. Across Europe, up to 12% of the population suffers from allergic diseases (bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis) caused by the pollen grains. The medical costs of these types of allergies are enormous and are increasing with the spread of common ragweed - Ambrosia artemisiifolia* in Europe. In practice, more and more patients are turning to allergists. Methods: Based on these data, the research aims to identify safety measures and specific legislation to control and eradicate common ragweed in the countries most affected by the spread of this plant in Europe, increase in population exposure in countries affected by the presence of common ragweed and the socio-economic impact of allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma at European level.[1][2] Our database search did not reveal any other research that has addressed this topic to date. Results: This research identifies specific legislation to the countries most affected by the spread of this plant pollen grains at European level, changes in allergen patterns and monitoring/safety eradication measures decided by local authorities, and data on the spread of common ragweed over the last two decades, costs per treatment, increased allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma morbidity in the most affected areas. Conclusions: At European level, there are no universally valid models for eradicating this weed. Various methods can be used to limit the spread of common ragweed and its pollen production (e.g. mowing once or twice a year of overgrown land, ploughing, chemical control, public information, etc.). Local and regional cooperation should be considered essential to promote phytosanitary & safety measures and exchange of information on methods to identify and manage the spread of common ragweed. Unified legislation at European level would help all affected countries; reduce morbidity from respiratory allergic diseases and the costs of treating these diseases.

Safe water is a global public health concern amid increasing scarcity and pollution. Bottled water production and consumption contribute to these problems. This study examines tap water consumption in Italy, assessing associated sociodemographic factors and related health outcomes such as obesity and self-perceived health status. Data from the Italian National Statistics Institute's "Aspects of daily life" survey (N=45,597) were analyzed. Covariates included education, age, gender, economic status, region, concerns about waste and climate change, consumption of carbonated drinks excluding water, alcohol consumption, consumption of vegetables, consumption of snacks, body mass index, and self-perceived health status. Bivariate analyses and mixed-effect logistic regression models explored the associations. People who drink tap water were 19,674 with a higher prevalence in people aged 45 to 59 old, people with a graduate/post-graduate degree diploma, with optimal economic resources, and concerned about waste production and climate change, coming from the North-East regions of Italy. Underweight people showed a higher prevalence of TW assumption as well as those who drink less than occasionally carbonated drinks, drink alcohol, consume vegetables more than once a day, and snacks less than once a week with a satisfying level perceived health status. Regressions showed that all age classes are less likely to drink tap water than people younger than 20 years old. The category with “inadequate” economic resources is more likely to consume tap water. Low educational classes show a low likelihood of consuming tap water as well as Islands. A concern about waste production and climate change is associated with an increased likelihood of assuming tap water. Tap water consumption was negatively associate with obesity but not with a satisfactory Self-perceived health status. Insights from this study can inform public health strategies.

This retrospective study aimed to compare risk factors for vascular calcification (VC) between pre-hemodialysis (HD) and prevalent HD adult patients while investigating associations with calcification biomarkers. Baseline data from 30 pre-HD and 85 HD patients were analyzed, in-cluding iPTH, vitamin D, FGF-23, fetuin-A, sclerostin and VC scores (Adragao method). Preva-lence of VC was similar in both groups, but HD patients had more frequent VC scores ≥6. Pre-HD patients were older, with higher prevalence of hypertension and less frequent use of calcium phosphate binders. Both groups showed similar patterns of hyperphosphatemia, low vitamin D, and iPTH. Fetuin-A levels were higher in pre-HD, while FGF-23 was elevated in HD patients. Higher VC risk in pre-HD patients was associated with male gender, older age, lower fetuin-A and higher sclerostin, lower ferritin and no vitamin D treatment, while in HD patients with higher sclerostin, FGF23 and urea, and lower iPTH. Conclusion. Progression of CKD from the pre-HD to the HD stage is accompanied by a decreased effect of the inhibitor and an increase in the promoter VC. However, mineral imbalance, hormonal regulation, treatment options, and patient-specific fac-tors should be considered. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying pathways.

A study of cryogenic drilling in sandwich composites has been carried out. Materials used have been carbon fiber reinforced polymer sandwich sheets with inner foamed polyvinyl chloride core, composites with aerospace, marine, construction and automotive applications, including protec-tion structure of Polar engineering equipment. Experimental tests have been performed in lam-inates with 12 mm and 6 mm of thickness, drilling with liquid nitrogen as refrigerant to reach temperatures below -120ºC under different cutting conditions, in particular, drill rotation speeds between 2000 rpm and 6000 rpm and feed rates between 200 mm/min and 600 mm/min. Variables as thrust forces and circularity error have been measured, due to the importance of its effect on the hole quality, as an operation prior to a possible assembly. A design of experiments has been allowed determining relationships between variables, identifying the influence of cutting condi-tions on the thrust force and the circularity at inlet and outlet holes.

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

Long COVID-19 affects a significant percentage of survivors and is characterized by a wide range of symptoms, including weariness and mental fog as well as emotional symptoms like worry and sadness. COVID-19 is closely linked to the autoimmune disorders that are becoming more prevalent worldwide and are linked to the immune system hyperactivation, neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) development, and molecular mimicry pathways. Long-term COVID-related autoimmune responses include a watchful immune system, altered innate and adaptive immune cells, autoantigens secreted by living or dead neutrophils, and high concentrations of autoantibodies directed against different proteins. The microbiome, which consists of billions of bacteria living in the human body, is essential for controlling immune responses and supporting overall health. The microbiome can affect the course of long-term COVID-associated autoimmunity, including the degree of illness, the rate of recovery, and the onset of autoimmune reactions. Although the precise role of the microbiome in long COVID autoimmunity is still being investigated, new studies indicate that probiotics, prebiotics, and dietary changes—interventions that target the microbiome—may be able to reduce autoimmune reactions and enhance long-term outcomes for COVID-19 survivors. It is clear that more research is required to precisely understand how the microbiome affects COVID-19-related autoimmunity and to create tailored treatment plans.

Scientific studies on the impact of wood species on solid fuel production, performance, and sustainability are grossly inadequate. The knowledge of this is imperative as users of solid fuels are increasing rapidly, especially in Africa. On this note, it becomes necessary to explore measures that will improve its efficiency and sustainability as an energy source. This study investigates some properties of selected wood species used as an energy source in Nigeria and their pelleting potential. Nine (9) samples were characterized and assessed for suitability of pelleting following four wood pellet quality standards. The findings revealed Anogeissus leiocarpus as the species with the best rating score in terms of fuel properties while Vitellaria paradoxa as the lowest. However, in terms of conformity with the four wood pellets standards, Khaya senegalensis, Parkia biglobosa and Anogeissus leiocarpus having presented density, calorific value, sulfur, arsenic, cadmium, and lead within the limits of the wood pellet quality standards were considered the best wood species in terms of fuel suitability and pelleting potential. The findings therefore suggest that not all wood species are suitable as fuel. Thus, for species that do not meet the standard wood pellet requirements, alternatives such as the use of biomass blends, additives, or process adjustments can be employed to adapt the quality to the standards or by using the fuels in improved cookstoves.

A single paragraph of about 200 words maximum. For research articles, abstracts should give a pertinent overview of the work. We strongly encourage authors to use the following style of structured abstracts, but without headings: (1) Background: Place the question addressed in a broad context and highlight the purpose of the study; (2) Methods: briefly describe the main methods or treatments applied; (3) Results: summarize the article’s main findings; (4) Conclusions: indicate the main conclusions or interpretations. The abstract should be an objective representation of the article, and it must not contain results that are not presented and substantiated in the main text and should not exaggerate the main conclusions. Python, a versatile programming language, holds vast potential for Sentiment Analysis (SA). Leveraging the Requests and TextBlob libraries, we have crafted a user-friendly code that enables Industrial Engineers (IE) and managers, particularly those who are new to Python, to extract and analyze sentiment efficiently. We aim to provide IE/managers in service companies requiring SA capabilities with a simple yet effective Python solution. While machine learning resources like PyTorch/TensorFlow are commonly utilized in SA, offering pre-built algorithms and tools for training, and implementing machine learning models, we sought to exploit Python's versatility by integrating additional web-scraping libraries. Thus, by using a lexicon-based approach, we intend to deliver an informative and practical article. The code in this article is twofold; firstly, it can be easily adapted by IE/managers possessing basic Python skills; secondly, we aim to inspire junior IE/managers to develop their own customized coding solutions tailored to specific organizational needs.

The Sanhetun tellurium-gold (Te-Au) deposit, located in the Duobaoshan polymetallic metallogenic belt (DPMB) within the eastern section of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), is a newly discovered small scale gold deposit. The mineralization, with resource of ≥ 4t Au, is mainly hosted in 3 NNE-trending alteration zones between granitic mylonite and volcanogenic-sedimentary formations. It’s the genesis and timing of formation of this deposit are poorly constrained. Here, we report the results of petrographic studies, TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyzer (TIMA), major and trace element concentrations, and in situ S isotope of pyrite and U-Pb ages of calcite. The results show that there are five species of telluride, including native tellurium, tetradymite, tsumoite, hessite and petzite and four types of pyrite, including coarse-grained euhedral Py1, fine-grained quartz-Py2 vein crosscutting Py1 and anhedral aggregated Py3 and Py4. The pre-ore Py1, containing negligible Au, Te and other trace elements, have a relatively narrow range of δ34S values ranging from -1.20 to -0.57‰. The Py2 have slightly high concentrations of Au and Te and distinctly high concentrations of Mo, Sb, Zn and Mn with markedly positive δ34S values of 4.67 to 14.43‰. The main ore stage Py3 contains high Au and Te concentrations and shows narrow δ34S values ranging from -5.69 to 0.19‰. The post-ore stage Py4 contains low Au concentrations with the δ34S values ranging from 2.66 to 3.86‰. Calcite from ore stage yield a U-Pb age of 135 ± 22 Ma, interpreted as the age of Te-Au mineralization. Our geochemical and geochronological data indicate that the Te was derived from partial melting of mantle metasomatized by the Te-rich fluids that originated from oceanic sediments. We correlate the tectonic setting with the subduction of Paleo Pacific plate in Early Cretaceous.

Food waste is a common issue arising from grinding of food by experimental animals, leading to excessive food scraps falling into cages. In the wild, animals grind food by gnawing vegetation and seeds, potentially damaging the ecological environment. However, limited ecology studies have focused on food grinding behavior since the last century, with even fewer on rodent food grinding, particularly recently. Although food grinding function is partially understood, biological purposes remain under-investigated and driving factors unclear. This review aims to explain potential causes of animal food grinding, identify influencing factors, and discuss contexts and limitations. Specifically, we emphasize recent progress on gut microbiota significance for food grinding. Moreover, we show abnormal food grinding is determined by degree of excess normal behavior, emphasizing food grinding is not meaningless. Findings from this review promote comprehensive research on the myriad factors, multifaceted roles, and intricate evolution underlying food grinding behavior, benefiting laboratory animal husbandry and ecological environment protection, and identifying potential physiological benefits yet undiscovered.

Reactions of quinones with compounds containing an amino group can produce a wide variety of addition or substitution products that depend on reactivity of both quinone and amino derivative. 6,7-Dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-diones undergo selective nucleophilic substitution reaction with different benzohydrazides and α-hydroxy-p-quinone imine derivatives stabilized by strong intramolecular hydrogen bond were isolated. Synthesized compounds represent a combination of several structural motifs: benzimidazole core fused with α-hydroxy-p-quinone imine which contains a benzamido fragment. The protonation/deprotonation processes were investigated in a solution using UV-Vis spectroscopy and 1H NMR titration experiment. X-ray crystallography analysis revealed a set of weak non-covalent interactions such as intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking. Additionally, the redox behavior of 6,7-dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-dione and its p-imino derivative was investigated in acidic and neutral environment using cyclic voltammetry measurements. Cathode material based on 6,7-dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-dione could act as potential effective active electrode in aqueous electrolyte batteries, however further optimization is required.

Objective: The aim of this study was to optimize the fermentation process of Radix Ranunculi ternate via microbial fermentation and analyze the changes in the contents of the main components, the antioxidant and hypoglycemic capacities of the extract before and after fermentation. Methods: The solid-state fermentation process was optimized using single-factor tests and the response surface method, with the yield of the alcohol extract of R. ternate as an evaluation index. Results: The best fermentation process was optimized using solid-state endophytic fungus fermentation technology as follows: strain addition ratio of Chaetomium globosum/Fusarium equiseti =1:1, fermentation for 5 d, sieve size of 40 mesh, liquid/material ratio of 0.8:1 mL·g−1, fermentation temperature of 31 °C, and inoculation amount of 7.5%. Under the optimized conditions, the contents of the water-soluble extract and total polysaccharides decreased by 12.71% and 12.95%, respectively, in the fermentation, The contents of ethanol-soluble-extract, flavonoids, saponins, polyphenols, organic acids, and total amino acids of fermented R. ternate increased by 19.77%, 57.14%, 79.67%, 14.29%, 17.63% and 3.82%, respectively, and the scavenging rate for DPPH, ABTS+, ·OH free radicals and inhibitory rate for α-amylase also increased by 19.02%, 14.17%, 7.53% and 34.54%, respectively, compared with unfermented R. ternate. Conclusions: Solid-state fermentation opens new avenues for the development and application of R. ternate as natural antioxidant and hypoglycemic food.

Recently, attention mechanisms have developed into an important tool for performance improvement of deep neural networks. In computer vision, attention mechanisms are generally divided into two main branches: spatial and channel attention. Both attention categories have their own advantages. The fusion of both attentions achieves higher performance, on the cost of the computational load. This paper introduces an innovative and lighter n-shifted sigmoid channel and spatial attention (CSA) module to reduce the computational cost and to improve the 3D scene relevant features selection. To validate the proposed attention module, 3D scene object detection in the deep Hough voting point sets is considered as the testing application. The proposed attention module with its piecewise n-shifted sigmoid activation function improves the network’s learning and generalization capacity which effectively predict bounding box parameters directly from 3D scenes and detect objects more accurately. This advantage is achieved by selectively attending to more relevant features of the input data. When used in the deep Hough voting point sets, the proposed attention module outperforms state-of-the-art 3D detection methods on the sizable SUNRGBD dataset. Experiments conducted showed an increase of 12.02 mean accuracy precision (mAP) when compared to the celebrated VoteNet (without attention). It also got 9.92 mAP higher compared to the MLVCNet, and 10.32 mAP higher than the Point Transformer. The proposed model not only decreases the sigmoid vanishing gradient problem but also brings out valuable features by fusing channel-wise and spatial information while improving accuracy results in 3D object detection.

The Italian herbal products market is the most prosperous in Europe. The proof is represented by the use of these products in several marketing categories, ranging from medicine to nutrition and cosmetics. Market and legislation in Italy are at the same time cause and consequence of this peculiar situation. In fact, the legislation on botanical food supplements in Italy is very permissive and at the same time the market shows an overall satisfaction of users and strong feedback in terms of consumption, which brings a widening use of medicinal plants, formerly the prerogative of pharmaceuticals, to other fields such as nutrition. This review summarizes the market and normative panorama of herbal products in Italy, highlighting the blurred boundaries of health indications, marketing authorizations and quality controls between herbal medicines and non pharmaceutical products, such as food supplements, cosmetics and other herbal-based “parapharmaceuticals”.

Background and Objectives: Infections are the most common and potentially life-threatening complications of the treatment of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The aim of this study was to determine epidemiological, clinical and microbiological characteristics of infections in pediatric patients with ALL. Materials and Methods:  Twenty-three children (16 male and 7 female, mean age 5.9 years [range 1.3 to 12.2 years]) with ALL, treated at the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Clinical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Croatia, from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2020, were included in the study Results: One hundred and four infectious episodes (IEs) were reported (average 4.5 IE per patient). IEs were more frequent in the intensive phases of antileukemic treatment. Neutropenia was present in 48 IEs (46.2%) with a duration greater than 7 days in 28 IEs (58.3%). The respiratory tract was the most common infection site (48.1%). We documented 49 bacterial (47.1%), 4 viral (3.9%), 4 fungal (3.9%) and 10 mixed isolates (9.6%), while in 37 IEs (35.6%) pathogen was not isolated. The most common causes of bacteremia were coagulase-positive staphylococci. The most frequent empirical therapy was third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins, followed by piperacillin/tazobactam. Modification of the first-line antimicrobial therapy was performed in 56.9% of IEs. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor was administered in 53.8% of IEs, and intravenous immunoglobulins in 62.5% of IEs. One patient required admission to the intensive care unit. No infection-related mortality was reported. Conclusions: ALL patients have frequent IEs. Close monitoring, identification of risk factors, rapid empirical use of antibiotics in febrile neutropenia, and timely modification of antimicrobial therapy play a key role in reducing infection-related morbidity and mortality in children with ALL.

The work aims to develop an electromagnetic shielding measurement methodology and design an electromagnetic shielding effectiveness test setup for thin sheet material testing. In brief, multiple shielding effectiveness standards are described and analyzed in the thin sheet material testing framework. Two types of the developed shielding effectiveness test probe in high and low-frequency ranges are validated comprehensively. Extensive descriptions and data of developed testing methodology are also reported.

It has been demonstrated that cancer cells that have survived cancer treatment may be more malignant than the original cancer cells. These cells are considered to be the main cause of metastasis in prognosis. A Nanog-overexpressing colon-26 (Nanog+colon26) was generated and its metastatic potential was confirmed to be enhanced, indicating higher malignancy. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted from the cell line (Nanog+colon26EVs) were administered to mice at 5 μg nine times (three times per week for three weeks) via the tail vein (PBS was used as a control). Subsequently, Nanog+colon26 cells were administered to mice via the spleen, and the quantity of metastatic colonies in the liver was analyzed two weeks later. The results demonstrated that the administration of EVs suppressed metastasis. The enhanced phagocytic activity of macrophages observed in the group treated with Nanog+colon26EVs indicated the involvement of the immune system in the observed metastasis-suppressing effect. Small RNA sequencing was conducted to identify Nanog-dependent miRNAs that exhibited significant changes (Fc>=1.5 or Fc

Rapidly digestible starch can be obtained by gelatinization (cooking), cooking extrusion, use of small granule starch, breaking down starch granules, or by hydrolysis to maltodextrins. Resistant starch includes five groups: the first group is physically encapsulated starch within a food/polymer matrix, the second one is some native starch, the third one is recrystallized starch, the fourth one is chemically modified starch, and the fifth one is starch-lipid complexes. Starch digestion in the human body is also influenced by the degree of chewing, activity of α-amylase in the intestine, and transit time through the stomach and small intestine. Resistant starch or dietary fiber (DF) enriches specific bacterial groups located in the large intes-tine. They produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and gases, causes the lowering of the pH, and inhibits pathogens. SCFAs are considered endogenous signaling molecules, acting through their free fatty-acid receptors 2 and 3 which can trigger the secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 and peptide PYY, being released together following a meal to mediate postprandial satiety. A sufficient intake of DF reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, hyperten-sion, colorectal cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Gluten matrix or phenolic compounds can lead to a low digestion rate of starch.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant brain tumor in adults. Despite advancements in treatment, the prognosis for patients with GBM remains poor due to its aggressive nature and resistance to therapy. CRISPR-based genetic screening has emerged as a powerful tool for identifying genes crucial for tumor progression and treatment resistance, offering promising targets for tumor therapy. In this review, we provide an overview of the recent advancements in CRISPR-based genetic screening approaches and their applications in GBM. We highlight how these approaches have been used to uncover genetic determinants of GBM progression and susceptibility to various therapies. Furthermore, we discuss ongoing challenges and future directions of CRISPR-based screening methods in advancing GBM research.

Astragalus plants belong to the legume family and have obvious rhizosphere effect. The northwestern area of Yunnan China is the main distribution region of Astragalus plants with high application value, but low recognition and resource reserves. The aim of this research is to explore the species diversity of cultivable rhizosphere fungi derived from A. acaulis, A. forrestii, and A. ernestii growing in special high-cold environment of northwest Yunnan, and discover anti-infective components from these fungi. A total of 93 fungal strains belonging to 38 species in 18 genera were isolated and identified. Antibacterial and antimalarial screening yielded 10 target strains. Among them, the ethyl acetate crude extract of the fungus Aspergillus calidoustus AA12 from A. acaulis fermentation substance showed a broad antibacterial spectrum and the best antimalarial activity. Further chemical investigation led to the first discovery of seven compounds from the species of A. calidoustus, including a sesterterpine 6-epi-ophiobolin G (1), two sesquiterpenes penicisochroman A (2), pergillin (3) and 7-methyl-2-(1-methylethylethlidene)-furo[3,2-H]isoquinoline-3-one (4), and three polyketides trypacidin (5), 1,2-seco-trypacidin (6) and questin (7). Compound 1 exhibited moderate to strong antibacterial activity against six Gram-positive pathogens with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 25 to 6.25 μg/mL, and prominent inhibitory effect on the biofilm of Streptococcus agalactiae at MIC value of 3.125 μg/mL. This compound also displayed potent antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum strains 3D7 and chloroquine-resistant Dd2 at the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 3.319 and 4.340 µmol/L at 72 h, respectively. This study contributed to our understanding of the cultivable rhizosphere fungi Astragalus-derived in special high-cold environment and further increased the library of fungi available for natural anti-infectious products screening.

Objective: To determine the effect of sandblasting before and after sintering on the surface roughness of zirconia and the micro-tensile bond strength of a pressable veneering ceramic to zirconia. Methods: Pre-sintered zirconia blocks (IPS e.max ZirCAD, Ivoclar Vivadent) were divided into a control group (CTR, no surface treatment) and four test groups of three specimens each: Pre-S-30, Pre-S-50, Pre-S-110 were sandblasted with 30µm SiO2, 50µm Al2O3 and 110µm Al2O3 particles respectively, before sintering, Post-S-30 was sandblasted with 30µm SiO2 after sintering. For each treatment, the surface roughness was measured (Ra, Perthometer M4P, Mahr Perthen). After sintering the zirconia blocks, a liner and a pressable ceramic (IPS e.max ZirPress, Ivoclar Vivadent) were fired. Sixteen micro-bars were obtained from each block and submitted to the micro-tensile bond strength (µTBS) test. Data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA. Any correlation between Ra and µTBS was evaluated (Sperman test). Results: Sandblasting before sintering with 110µm Al2O3 (Ra=3.44±0.44µm), 50µm Al2O3 (Ra=2.32±0.46µm), and 30µm SiO2 (Ra=1.22±0.22µm) resulted in significantly higher roughness than sandblasting after sintering with 30µm SiO2 (Ra=0.46±0.11µm). The highest µTBS was measured when the sintered zirconia was sandblasted with 30μm SiO2 (26.79±14.80 MPa), which was significantly different from that of specimens that were sandblasted before sintering (Pre-S-30=20.90±11.70; Pre-S-50=21.27±15.19; Pre-S-110=23.99±16.83) or were not treated (CTR=17.44±14.03). Conclusions: Sandblasting zirconia before sintering enhances the surface roughness proportionally to the particle size of the sand used. Sandblasting with 30µm SiO2 after sintering appeared to improve bonding between the veneering ceramic and zirconia. Clinical Significance: Sandblasting with 30µm SiO2 after sintering may improve bonding between veneering ceramics and zirconia, thus reducing ceramic fractures/chippings.

Design process can be divided into stages of analysis and synthesis. This paper presents the application of the object-oriented technique to the synthesis as well as theoretical considerations concerning to design of gear size ranges. The synthesis consists in composition (aggregation) of single details into units – according to the rule: “from details up to general view”. The basics of the object-oriented synthesis were formulated. Furthermore, the consecutive stages of synthesis were formulated. The interactions between these stages were discussed. Some aspects were described in details e.g.: creation of interfaces for performance of the embodiment phase the designed artefact via CAD system drawing with specification (dimensions are still parametrically set). The final step of the procedure is creation of so called substantial (concrete) form of artifacts i.e. final assignment of dimensions which stored in the special data base. The final stage of the design process is issuing of technical documentation (technical drawings) created automatically via CAD system. The considerations are terminated by the list of advantages connected with the object-oriented approach to design (in comparison to the traditional way).

In recent decades, the requirements for implantable medical devices increased, but the risks of implant rejection still exist. These issues are primarily associated with poor osseointegration, leading to biofilm formation on the implant surface. This study focuses on addressing these issues by developing a biomaterial for implant coatings. 45S5 Bioglass has been widely used in tissue engineering due to its ability to form a hydroxyapatite layer, ensuring a strong bond between the hard tissue and the bioglass. In this context, 45S5 bioglasses, modified by the incorporation of different amounts of copper oxide, from 0 to 8 mol%, were synthesized by the melt-quenching technique. The incorporation of Cu ions does not show a significant change in the glass structure. Since the bioglass exhibited the capacity of being polarized, and therefore promoting the osseointegration effectiveness, the electrical properties of the prepared samples were studied using the impedance spectroscopy method, in the frequency range of 102-106 Hz and temperature range of 200-400 K. The effects of CuO on charge transport mobility were investigated. Additionally, the bioactivity of the modified bioglasses was evaluated through immersion tests in simulated body fluid. The results revealed the initiation of a Ca-P-rich layer formation on the surface within 24 h, indicating the potential of the bioglasses to enhance the bone regeneration process.

(1) Agricultural production is one of the most important, fundamental and resilient sectors. The excessive and incorrect use of agricultural pesticides has caused environmental pollution, with final destination in aquatic environments. Once in the aquatic environment, the decontamination process aimed at removing the pesticide is not always a simple task. There are expensive and low-efficiency procedures in the literature. In this sense, it is necessary to develop low-cost, sustainable procedures with high remediation capacity. Among the widely used agricultural pesticides, glyphosate stands out for weed control, which according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is potentially carcinogenic in humans. (2) In this context, a nanocellulose-based biopolymer was developed to recover glyphosate from aquatic environments. Different methodologies have been developed, the most interesting being membrane immersion in aquatic systems. The analytical technique for quantifying glyphosate was molecular spectrophotometry in the ultraviolet – visible range (UV-VIS); (3) Nanocellulose showed a value of 4.7 mg of Glyphosate per g of nanocellulose, and organomodified nanocellulose showed the removal of 6.1 mg of Glyphosate per g of nanocellulose, evaluated in pseudo-first order kinetic models; (4) The biomaterial has a sustainable and renewable origin and has potential for contaminant removal and can be applied to contaminated aquatic systems.

Depression is the commonest mental disorder worldwide. Both antidepressants and psychotherapy are effective in treating depression, but response to these treatments is often incomplete. Yoga-based interventions (YBIs) have emerged as a promising adjunctive treatment for depression. Recent research has attempted to identify the biological mechanisms associated with the antidepressant actions of YBIs. In this scoping review, conducted according to the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, the PubMed and Scopus databases were searched to retrieve research on biomarkers of response to YBIs in patients with depression. Eleven studies were included in the review. Based on these studies, YBIs may improve depression through beneficial effects on systemic inflammation, stress axis regulation, cardiac autonomic functioning, and possibly reductions in oxidative stress-related cellular damage. Increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may represent a final common pathway upon which these processes converge. Though these results are theoretically plausible, they should be interpreted with caution due to certain methodological limitations in the existing research. Replication of these results and improvements in study methodology, and the evaluation of other biomarkers relevant to the pathophysiology of depression, could further elucidate the mechanism of action of YBIs in this disorder, and identify which patients would benefit most from this treatment approach.

Fluoropyrimidines (FPs) are commonly prescribed in many cancer streams. The DPYD*2A (rs3918290), *13 (rs55886062), *HapB3 (rs56038477), alleles, and DPYD rs67376798, had shown the highest level of evidence about their association with FPs response. The EMA and FDA-approved drug labels for FPs, recommend genotyping these variants before treatment starts. We implemented the DPYD genotyping in our daily clinical routine, but we still find patients showing severe adverse drug events (ADEs) to FPs. We studied among these patients the association with the response to FPs of DPYD rs1801265, rs17376848, rs1801159, rs1801160, rs1801158, and rs2297595; as explanatory candidates of the interindividual differences for the FP-related toxicities. We also studied the impact of DPYD*2A, *13, *HapB3, and rs67376798 genotype for FP dose tailoring in our clinical practice and characterized the DPYD gene in our population. We found that FP dose lowering based on DPYD genotype does not affect the treatment efficacy. Also, the DPYD*4 (defined by rs1801158) allele was associated with a higher risk of ADEs (severity grade ≥ 3) in both the univariate (O.R.= 5.66; 95% C.I.= 1.35 – 23.67; p= 0.014) and multivariate analyses (O.R.= 5.73; 95% C.I.= 1.41 – 28.77; p= 0.019). This makes it a candidate variant for implementation in clinical practice.

In recent years, technical processes for the sequestration of CO2 through industrial waste mineral carbonation have been explored and developed. There is a large portfolio of Carbon Capture, Uti-lisation and Storage (CCUS) techniques that have been employed on a laboratory and at pilot scale. These include geological storage, ocean storage and mineralisation by carbonate ores. In view of this, the main purpose of this research was to investigate and explore chemical variables, particularly ammonium salts as lixiviants for calcium mineral extraction from iron making slag. The slag in use was acquired from a Steel Mill in the Vaal Triangle Region in Gauteng, South Af-rica. The experimental test work was conducted using different ammonium lixiviants, namely, NH4NO3, NH4Cl and CH3COONH4 to understand the influence of anion type as well as possible differences in mechanisms of interactions. Lixiviant concentration as well as the reaction time were varied in this research study. The three selected ammonium based lixiviants showed different extents of calcium extraction owing to differences in the anion groups. NH4NO3, NH4Cl and CH3COONH4 were found capable of dissolving 50% to 80% of calcium from the selected slag for different molar concentrations. Anion type and leaching time also had significant influences on the leaching of calcium from the slag. Rapid pH degradation resulted in better calcium extraction ca-pabilities. This work has shown that the selected ammonium salts have a potential as lixiviants for calcium dissolution from iron making blast furnace slags. These lixiviants would therefore be important to consider during calcium mineral carbonation for CO2 sequestration.

Mangrove forests provide a wide range of goods and services that sustain communities around the world. This paper explores utilization patterns of extractable mangrove resources by communities within the proposed Kenya – Tanzania Transboundary Conservation Area (TBCA). Some 152 household surveys and 12 Nominal Group Technique discussions were carried out. At least 16 direct use products were reported to be extracted from the mangroves, with 90% of households found to use mangrove products. Changing patterns of mangrove use in the areas and accessibility point towards unsustainable utilization and promote illegal activities. Overharvesting of mangrove wood products was reported to be the major threat facing the forests. Patterns of mangrove use in the study site reveal a high level of mangrove-dependence by communities for their livelihood. There is a need to address the problems of open access through capacity building and awareness creation, development and implementation of harvest plans as well as introduction of alternative livelihood options to the communities in the area.

Anti-interferon (IFN)-γ autoantibodies are linked to varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection. Given the elevated risks of herpes zoster (HZ) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients treated with Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi), we aimed to examine the relationship between anti-IFN-γ autoantibodies with HZ development in JAKi-treated patients. In twenty-four RA patients with new-onset HZ and forty-two without HZ, serum titers of anti-IFN-γ autoantibodies, plasma levels of IFN-γ, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and IFN-γ inducible protein-10 (IP-10) were measured by ELISA. Significantly lower MCP-1 levels were observed in patients with HZ compared to those without (median, 98.21pg/ml, interquartile range (IQR) 77.63-150.30pg/ml versus 142.3pg/ml, IQR 106.7-175.6pg/ml, p<0.05). There was no significant difference in anti-IFN-γ titers, IFN-γ levels, or IP-10 levels between patients with and without HZ. Three of 24 patients with HZ had severe HZ with multi-dermatomal involvement. Anti-IFN-γ titers were significantly higher in patients with severe HZ than in those with non-severe HZ (median 24.8ng/ml, IQR 21.0-38.2ng/ml versus 10.5ng/ml, IQR 9.9-15.0ng/ml, p<0.005). In conclusion, patients with HZ had significantly lower MCP-1 levels than those without HZ, and patients with severe HZ had significantly higher titers of anti-IFN-γ than those with non-severe HZ. Given small sample size, our results need further validation in future studies.

Exosome-based therapy has emerged as a promising strategy for addressing diverse disorders, indicating the need for further exploration of the potential therapeutic effects of the exosome cargos. This study introduces "enhanced exosomes," a novel type of exosomes developed through a novel cell culture system. These specific exosomes may become potent therapeutic agents for treating ovarian disorders. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of the protein and miRNA cargo compositions of enhanced exosomes and naïve exosomes. Our findings revealed distinct cargo compositions in enhanced exosomes, featuring upregulated proteins such as EFEMP1, HTRA1, PAM, RSU1, and SDF4, suggesting their potential for treating ovarian disorders. MicroRNA profiling revealed that miR-1-3p, miR-103a-3p, miR-122-5p, miR-1271-5p, miR-133a-3p, miR-184, miR-203a-3p, and miR-206 are key players in regulating ovarian cancer and chemosensitivity by affecting cell cycle progression, cell proliferation, and cell development. We examined polycystic ovary syndrome and premature ovarian insufficiency and identified altered expression of various miRNAs, such as miR-106a-5p, miR-130b-5p, and miR-130b-3p, for diagnostic insights. This study highlights the potential of enhanced exosomes as new therapeutic agents for women's reproductive health, offering a detailed understanding of the impact of their cargo on ovarian disorders.

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease characterized by the accumulation of extracellular amyloid-β peptides (Aβ) within the cerebral parenchyma and vasculature, the latter termed cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). This study utilized confocal imaging to investigate heparan sulfate (HS) within the cerebrovasculature and its potential associations with CAA, gender, and ApoE4 genotype. Our investigation revealed elevated levels of HS in the cerebrovasculature of AD patients with severe CAA. Additionally, these patients exhibited higher colocalization of HS with Aβ in the cerebrovasculature, including both endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cell compartments. Intriguingly, a reversal in the polarized expression of HS within the cerebral vasculature was detected in AD patients with severe CAA, suggesting a potential role in CAA development. Furthermore, male patients exhibited lower levels of both parenchymal and cerebrovascular HS. Additionally, ApoE4 carriers displayed heightened cerebrovascular Aβ expression and a tendency of elevated cerebrovascular HS levels in AD patients with severe CAA. Overall, these findings shed light on the intricate interplay between HS, Aβ, ApoE, and vascular pathology in AD, underscoring the potential roles of cerebrovascular HS in CAA development and AD pathology. Further exploring the underlying mechanisms may present novel therapeutic avenues for AD treatment.

Hypertension is a frequent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and the prevalence rate is continuously rising. Multiple pathophysiological mechanisms are responsible for hypertension, necessitating a combination of drugs from different classes for best management. Combination therapy is five times more effective in decreasing blood pressure compared to escalating the dose of a single agent. As per the ACCOMPLISH trial analysis, coupling a renin-angiotensin system inhibitor with a calcium channel blocker is more effective than the combination of a renin-angiotensin system inhibitor with diuretics in reducing major cardiovascular events, cardiovascular-related mortality, and the progression of chronic kidney disease. The renin-angiotensin system can be suppressed by inhibiting the angiotensin-converting enzyme or angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R), resulting, in decreased vascular smooth muscle contraction, heart performance, and reduced aldosterone synthesis. Calcium channel blockers work by inhibiting L-type calcium channels, reducing heart performance via negative inotropic, chronotropic, and bathmotropic effects, along with reducing vascular smooth muscle contraction. Diuretics exert their antihypertensive impact by changing body fluid volume and electrolytes. Initially, hypertension treatment commences with a single medication but often, different classes of two or more antihypertensive medications are necessary for achieving the target blood pressure goal. Sometimes, for Resistant hypertension four different classes of antihypertensive medications are necessary to reach the target blood pressure goal.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a systemic autoinflammatory disorder caused by inherited mutations in the MEFV (Mediterranean FeVer) gene located on chromosome 16 (16p13.3) and coding pyrin protein. Despite the existing data on MEFV mutations, the exact mechanism of their effect on the development of pathological processes leading to autoinflammation observed in FMF, remains unclear. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are considered an important tool for studying the molecular genetic mechanisms of various diseases due to their ability to differentiate into any cell type, including macrophages, which contribute to the development of FMF. In this study, we developed iPSCs of an Armenian patient with FMF having M694V, p.(Met694Val) (c.2080A>G, rs61752717) pathogenic mutation in exon 10 of the MEFV gene. As a result of direct differentiation, macrophages expressing CD14 and CD45 surface markers were obtained. In addition, we found that the morphology of patient macrophages derived from iPSCs with MEFV mutation was significantly different from that of differentiated from iPSCs of a healthy donor carrying wild-type MEFV gene.

Electricity consumption is often the hotspot of life cycle assessment (LCA) of products, industrial activities, or services. The objective of this paper is to provide a consistent, scientific, region-specific electricity-supply-based inventory of electricity generation technology for national and regional power grids. Marginal electricity generation technology is pivotal in assessing impacts related to additional consumption of electricity. China covers a large geographical area with regional supply grids; these are arguably equally or less integrated. Meanwhile, it is also a country with internal imbalances in regional energy supply and demand. Therefore, we suggest an approach to achieve a geographical subdivision of the Chinese electricity grid, corresponding to the interprovincial regional power grids, namely the North, the Northeast, the East, the Central, the Northwest, and the Southwest China Grids, and the China Southern Power Grid. The approach combines information from the Chinese national plans on for capacity changes in both production and distribution grids, and knowledge of resource availability. The results show that nationally, marginal technology is coal-fired electricity generation, which is the same scenario in the North and Northwest China Grid. In the Northeast, East, and Central China Grid, nuclear power gradually replaces coal-fired electricity and becomes the marginal technology. In the Southwest China Grid and the China Southern Power Grid, the marginal electricity is hydropower towards 2030.

Background: In recent years, whole blood parameters and derivatives have been used as prognostic criteria in the course of the disease in various diseases. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI), the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) have been adapted as an indicator of inflammation and have been widely studied to define the severity of inflammation in some diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between parameters such as NLR, SII, PNI, controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score, nutritional risk index (NRI) and with immunonutrition status and disease activity in patients with ischemic stroke of small vessel, large vessel and other etiologies. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the records of 1454 consecutive ischemic stroke patients hospitalized in the emergency department of Gaziosmanpasa Education and Research Hospital from 2019 to 2023. Results: Of the 1350 SVO patients included in the study, 58.8% had small vessel, 29.3% had large vessel and 11.9% had other etiologies. There was a significant difference between the 3 etiology groups for PNI and CONUT. The median PNI was 47.03 (41.33-52.85) in the other etiology group, 35.29 (33.69-37.25) in the small vessel group, and 34.11 (30.23-36.87) in the large vessel group. The CONUT median was 5(5-6) in the small vessel group, 5(4-6) in the large vessel group and 4(4-4) in the other etiology group. In addition, CONUT and PNI were also found to be independent risk factors for death. A negative significant correlation was observed between PNI and NLR (r:-0.692), SII (r:-0.591), CONUT (r:-0.685). Significant correlations were observed between CONUT and NLR (r:0.402), SII (r:0.312). Conclusion: PNI and SII were significantly associated with disease activity. PNI, CONUT and NRI as a more accurate prognostic indicator of nutritional status in patients with ischemic stroke of small vessel, large vessel and other etiologies. NLR and SII may be important predictive markers in the course and prognosis of stroke.

This study aims to characterize the molecular profile of hepatitis B virus (HBV) among socially vulnerable immigrants residing in Brazil to investigate the introduction of uncommon HBV strains into the country. Serum samples from 102 immigrants with positive serology for HBV core antibody (anti-HBc) were tested for the presence of HBV DNA by PCR assays. Among these, 24 were also positive for the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg). The full or partial genome was sequenced to determine genotype by phylogenetic analysis. Participants were from Haiti (79.4%), Guinea Bissau (11.8%), Venezuela (7.8%), and Colombia (1%). Of the 21 HBV DNA-positive samples, subgenotypes A1 (52.4%), A5 (28.6%), E (9.5%), F2 (4.8%), and F3 (4.8%) were identified. Among the 78 HBsAg-negative participants, four were positive for HBV DNA, resulting in an occult HBV infection rate of 5.1%. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that most strains were likely introduced to Brazil by migration. Importantly, 80% of A5 sequences had the A1762T/G1764A double mutation, linked to an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma development. In conclusion, this study is the first report of HBV subgenotype A5 in Brazil, shedding new light on the diversity of HBV strains circulating in the country. Understanding the genetic diversity of HBV in immigrant communities can lead to better prevention and control strategies, benefiting both immigrants and the broader society.

Accurate traffic simulation models play a crucial role in developing intelligent transport systems that offer timely traffic information to users and efficient traffic management. However, calibrating these models to represent real-world traffic conditions accurately poses a significant challenge due to the dynamic nature of traffic flow and the limitations of traditional calibration methods. This article introduces a machine learning-based approach to calibrate macroscopic traffic simulation models using real-time traffic video stream data. By leveraging computer vision technologies to extract key traffic parameters from video streams, the approach demonstrated a notable improvement in aligning the generated data from the calibrated simulation model with car sensor data, achieving an average improvement of over 50% compared to the uncalibrated macroscopic model. Moreover, there was a substantial reduction in data drift for the machine learning model integrated into the virtual transport space using vehicle-to-everything technology, resulting in a more than fourfold decrease in the average absolute error of the model.

Stallion mules have been used as working equids in several countries. Aggressiveness, under the influence of testosterone, resulted in the necessity for surgical castration before work training. The gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine may be an alternative method for immunocastration in mules. The objectives were to evaluate the effect of GnRH vaccine on anti-GnRH antibody production, serum testosterone level, clinical adverse effects, and behavior toward human manipulation. Twenty-five mules were separated into 3 groups: Control-intact, Control-castrated, and Treatment. Treatment was further divided into subgroups according to condition (intact or unilateral cryptorchid) and age. Treatment received 195 µg GnRH vaccine intramuscularly at week 0, 4, and 8. Anti-GnRH antibody increased at week 6 and 10, then gradually decreased to baseline at week 22. Treatment-intact-young had the highest anti-GnRH antibody, resulting in lower serum testosterone levels during week 2-6 and 12-16 compared to Control-intact. Subcutaneous edema adjacent to the injection site was detected only in Treatment-intact after booster vaccination. During week 6-22, the behavioral scores of Treatment significantly changed toward at ease with human contact compared to a score before vaccination. In conclusion, mules responded to GnRH vaccine, which could temporarily suppress testosterone for up to 16 weeks.

Pepper leaf segmentation plays a crucial role in monitoring pepper leaf diseases in various backgrounds and ensuring the healthy growth of peppers. However, existing transformer-based segmentation methods suffer from computational inefficiency, excessive parameterization, and limited utilization of edge information. To tackle these challenges, we propose an adaptive multi-scale MLP framework, named AMS-MLP, which combines the multi-path aggregation module (MPAM) and the multi-scale context relation mask module (MCRD) to refine the object boundaries in pepper leaf segmentation. AMS-MLP consists of an encoder-based network, an adaptive multi-scale MLP (AM-MLP) module, and a decoder network. In the encoder network, the MPAM module effectively fuses five-scale features to generate a single-channel mask, improving the accuracy of pepper leaf boundary extraction. The AM-MLP module divides the input features into two branches: the global multi-scale MLP branch captures long-range dependencies between image information, while the local multi-scale MLP branch focuses on extracting local feature maps. Adaptive attention mechanism is designed to dynamically adjust the weights of global and local features. The decoder network incorporates the MCRD module into the convolutional layer, enhancing the extraction of boundary features. To verify the performance of the proposed method, we conducted extensive experiments on three pepper leaf datasets with different backgrounds. The results demonstrate mIoU scores of 97.39%, 96.91%, and 97.91%, as well as F1 scores of 98.29%, 97.86%, and 98.51%, respectively. Comparative analysis with U-Net and state-of-the-art models reveals that the proposed method dramatically improves the accuracy and efficiency of pepper leaf image segmentation.

The chemotactic cytokine fractalkine (FKN, chemokine CX3CL1) has unique properties resulting from the combination of chemoattractants and adhesion molecules. The soluble form (sFKN) has chemotactic properties and potently attracts T cells and monocytes. The membrane-bound form (mFKN) facilitates diapedesis and is responsible for cell-to-cell adhesion, especially by promoting the strong adhesion of leukocytes (monocytes) to activated endothelial cells with the subsequent formation of an extracellular matrix and angiogenesis. FKN signaling occurs via CX3CR1, which is the only known member of the CX3C chemokine receptor subfamily. Signaling within the FKN-CX3CR1 axis plays an important role in many processes related to inflammation and the immune response, which often occur simultaneously and overlap. FKN is strongly upregulated by hypoxia and/or inflammation-induced inflammatory cytokine secretion, and it may act locally as a key angiogenic factor in the highly hypoxic tumor microenvironment. The importance of the FKN/CX3CR1 signaling pathway in tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis results from its influence on cell adhesion, apoptosis and cell migration. This review presents the role of the FKN signaling pathway in the context of angiogenesis in inflammation and cancer. The mechanisms determining the pro- or anti-tumor effects are presented, which are the cause of the seemingly contradictory results that create confusion regarding the therapeutic goals.

Abstract: Background: Non-invasive acquistion of beat-to-beat pulse transit time (PTT) via piezoelectric/piezocapacitive sensors (PES/PCS) may expand perioperative hemodynamic monitoring. This study evaluated the ability for PTT via PES/PCS to correlate with systolic, diastolic, and mean invasive blood pressure (SBPIBP, DBPIBP, and MAPIBP) and to detect SBPIBP fluctuations. Methods: PES/PCS and IBP measurements were performed in 20 patients undergoing abdominal, urological, and cardiac surgery. A Pearson’s correlation analysis (r) between 1/PTT and IBP was performed. The predictive ability of 1/PTT with changes in SBPIBP was determined by area under the curve (reported as AUC, sensitivity, specificity). Results: Significant correlations between 1/PTT and SBPIBP were found for PES (r=0.64) and PCS (r=0.55) (p<0.01), as well as MAPIBP/DBPIBP for PES (r=0.6/0.55) and PCS (r=0.5/0.45) (p<0.05). A 7% decrease in 1/PTTPES predicted a 30% SBPIBP decrease(0.82, 0.76, 0.76), while a 5.6% increase predicted a 30% SBPIBP increase (0.75, 0.7, 0.68). A 6.6% decrease in 1/PTTPCS detected a 30% SBPIBP decrease (0.81, 0.72, 0.8), while a 4.8% 1/PTTPCS increase detected a 30% SBPIBP increase (0.73, 0.64, 0.68). Conclusions: Non-invasive beat-to-beat PTT via PES/PCS demonstrated significant correlations with IBP and detected significant changes in SBPIBP. Thus PES/PCS as a novel sensor technology may augment intraoperative hemodynamic monitoring during major surgery.

Candida (C.) infections represent a serious health risk for people affected by inflammatory bowel disease. An important fungal virulence factor is the capacity to form biofilms on the colonized surface of the host. This research study aimed to determine the effect of C. tropicalis and C. albicans co-infection on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. Colitis severity was evaluated using histology and colonoscopy. Mice were mono-inoculated with C. albicans, C. tropicalis or co-challenged with both species. Mice were administered 3% DSS to induce acute colitis. Biofilm activity was assessed using (2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-5-[(phenylamino)carbonyl] 2H-tetrazoliumhydroxide (XTT) assay. Abundance of C. albicans in the colon tissues was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Co-challenged mice showed decreased colitis severity compared to mono-inoculated mice. The XTT assay demonstrated a marked decrease of C. albicans biofilm production in a C. albicans culture incubated with C. tropicalis supernatant. Immunohistochemical staining showed that C. albicans was more abundant in the mucosa of C. albicans mono-inoculated mice compared to the co-inoculated group. These data indicate an antagonistic microbial interaction between the two Candida species, where C. tropicalis may produce molecules capable of limiting the ability of C. albicans to adhere to the host intestinal surface leading to a reduction in biofilm formation.

This paper evaluates the open and closed loop DC-DC converter operation within a DC coupling multilevel inverter architecture to obtain an infinite level stepped sinusoidal voltage. Adding a cascade controller to the DC-DC converter should reduce the settling time and increase the number of levels in the output voltage waveform, it could decrease the speed error and phase shift concerning the sinusoidal reference signal. The proposed methodology consists of implementing an experimental multilevel inverter with DC coupling, through a single-phase bridge inverter energized from a BUCK converter, trigger signals for the two converters are obtained from a control circuit based in an ATMEGA644P microcontroller, and a digital controller is also implemented to evaluate the operation of the BUCK converter in open and closed loop and observe its influence in the stepped sinusoidal output voltage. The evaluation is performed to energize a resistive load with common output voltage in multilevel inverters, that is 3, 5, 7, 11, and infinity levels. Results show that during the design stage, fast dynamic elements, like the storage capacitor, can be used to obtain a minimum THD because the settling time is sufficiently fast and the speed error remains small and there isn’t a need for a controller. A digital controller requires processing time and although in theory, it can reduce the settling time to a minimum, the processor introduces latency in the control signals generation, producing the opposite effect. Controller complexity of the digital controller must be considered because it increases processing time and influences the efficiency of the closed-loop operation.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration, dementia severity, age, and ANS regulation. This cross-sectional pilot study included 27 older patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease, hospitalized at a psychiatric center. We measured heart rate variability to assess ANS regulation at night, evaluated dementia severity using the Clinical Dementia Rating scale, and obtained sleep duration data from sleep diaries maintained by psychiatric nurses. The data were analyzed using repeated-measures generalized linear models with age, sex, dementia severity, and medication (antipsychotics) as covariates. A sleep duration of 7–8 h per night was associated with better ANS regulation than other sleep durations, as indicated by sympathovagal balance (p = 0.005). ANS dysregulation was characterized by a 20.7% increase in sympathetic nervous system activity and a 14.8% decrease in parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) activity. We found a significant correlation between dementia severity and PSNS activity (p = 0.04) and observed an inverted U-shaped association between sleep duration and ANS regulation. This pilot study demonstrated that a sleep duration of 7–8 h per night may be critical in maintaining optimal ANS regulation. Bidirectional associations between sleep duration, inadequate sleep duration, aging, and ANS regulation warrant further investigation.

During recent years there is an on-going deployment of 5G base stations for radiofrequency (RF) communication in Sweden as well in many other countries. This is made without investigations on risks to human health and the environment. Since 2016 we have made several measurements of environmental exposure to RF radiation in Stockholm, Sweden, including previous generations and now also 5G. In the current study, performed in October 2023, the broadband meter Narda-550 with the probe EF-1891 was used. It gives results in the root mean square (RMS) mode, thus not peak levels. Both the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) base their guidelines on RMS levels of RF radiation. Measurements were made in similar city areas as in our previous studies. Results show that the RF radiation has increased substantially. High maximum levels were found at e.g. the Central Railway Station (3 637 191 µW/m2), and popular walking streets such as Mäster Samuelsgatan (11 613 976 µW/m2), and Drottninggatan (5 271 555 µW/m2). The peak values would be much higher. These levels are in the same magnitude or even higher than those measured in homes of persons that rapidly developed symptoms of the microwave syndrome after installation of 5G, usually in combination with 4G+, in the neighborhood. They are also substantially higher than levels that have previously been linked to cancer and the microwave syndrome in studies of people living near base stations and masts from previous generations of telecommunications.

Observations of the X-ray binary system Her X-1 by the AstroSat Soft X-ray Telescope 1 (SXT) were carried out in 2020 through 2023 with the goals of measuring X-ray spectrum changes with the 35-day disk rotation phase and measuring eclipses at different 35-day phases. The four multi-day long observations were scheduled during: turn-on to Main High (MH) and MH rise; MH state; Short High (SH) state; and Low State (LS). 35-day phase was determined using monitoring observations with the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT). Nine eclipses were observed at a range of 35-day phases, with at least one eclipse during each observation. Data with dips were separated from data without dips. The variation of X-ray spectral parameters vs. 35-day phase shows the following: eclipse parameters are nearly constant, showing that the scattering corona does not change with 35-day phase; dips show an increase in covering fraction but not column density compared to non-dip data; the 1 keV line normalization indicates an origin in a small region near the continuum emission region, likely the magnetospheric accretion flow from the inner disk onto the neutron star; and the change in blackbody normalization (area) shows that the emission region is much larger than the 1 keV emission region, and consistent with the inner edge of the accretion disk.

Smart agriculture is a new way of farming that uses advanced technology. It makes a significant contribution to improving the efficiency and productivity of farming practices. Systems that use drones to monitor pests and spray pesticides greatly reduce the burden on farmers. In addition, remote sensing technology facilitates the monitoring of crop growth conditions and the early detection of diseases and pests. However, the high cost of equipment to communicate sensor data is preventing farmers from adopting sensing systems. As a result, many studies have been conducted to make the sensing system available at a low cost. Nevertheless, many farmers have not yet adopted them. Therefore, this paper proposes an agricultural sensor network system using drones and optical camera communication (OCC). The proposed system aims to achieve high-density farm sensing at low cost. The proposed system uses OCC as the communication method for sensor data. Low cost light sources such as LED panels can be used as transmitters. In addition, existing agricultural drones equipped with cameras can be used as receivers. We also propose a trajectory control algorithm for the receiving drone to efficiently collect the sensor data. The proposed system is suitable for deploying sensor networks in areas with underdeveloped infrastructure and radio silence. In this paper, we conducted a preliminary experiment at a leaf mustard farm in Kamitonda-cho, Wakayama to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system using a Mavic 2 Pro drone, launched by DJI Co., Ltd.

This study provides an in-depth review of the available literature on metal composite material machining, focusing on traditional machining operations such as turning, milling, shaping, drilling, and grinding. The motivation for the study is that this composite type has emerged as a vital material in applications requiring functionality, resilience, cost-effective operation, low consumption of energy and lightweight. Despite its superior characteristics, the manufacturing complexity and poor machinability of metal matrix composites have been the primary barriers to its adoption. Nevertheless, there is a reduction of exceptional efficiency, increase in surface roughness, tool wear and so on in metal matrix composites throughout machining. As a result, this review gives a comprehensive investigation of metal matrix composite machining and effect on process parameters and procedures. Furthermore, this study distinguishes metal matrix composites towards sustainable manufacturing and the metals employed by the researchers, as well as the gaps discovered for future recommendations in metal-based composites.

The Cohen-Macaulay vertex splittable ideals are characterized. As a consequence, we recover several Cohen-Macaulay classifications of families of monomial ideals known in the literature by new simpler combinatorial proofs.

This paper introduces an innovative approach that enables automated and precise prediction of the steel's chemical composition based on the desired Jominy curve. The microstructure, and in fact the presence of martensite, is decisive for the hardness of the steel, so the study considered the occurrence of this phase at particular distances from the quenched-end of the Jominy sample. Steels for quenching and tempering and case hardening were investigated. With representative collected dataset of hardness values from quenched-end of Jominy specimen, microstructure and chemical composition of steels, the complex regression model was made using supervised artificial neural networks. The balance between cost and required hardenability can be achieved through optimizing the chemical composition of steel. This model of designing steel with required hardenability can be of great benefit in the mechanical engineering and manufacturing industry. The model is verified experimentally.

Multimodal emotion classification (MEC) involves analyzing and identifying human emotions by integrating data from multiple sources, such as audio, video, and text. This approach leverages the complementary strengths of each modality to enhance the accuracy and robustness of emotion recognition systems. However, one significant challenge is effectively integrating these diverse data sources, each with unique characteristics and levels of noise. Additionally, the scarcity of large, annotated multimodal datasets in Bangla limits the training and evaluation of models. In this work, we unveiled a pioneering multimodal Bangla dataset, MAViT-Bangla (Multimodal Audio Video Text Bangla dataset). This dataset, comprising 1002 samples across audio, video, and text modalities, is a unique resource for emotion recognition studies in the Bangla language. It features emotional categories such as anger, fear, joy, and sadness, providing a comprehensive platform for research. Additionally, we developed a framework for emotion recognition that employs a cross-modal attention mechanism among unimodal features. This mechanism fosters the interaction and fusion of features from different modalities, enhancing the model’s ability to capture nuanced emotional cues. The effectiveness of this approach was demonstrated by achieving an F1-score of 0.64, a significant improvement over unimodal methods.

Background: Our study investigates the prevalence and causes of injuries among undergraduate dental students during clinical sessions. Methods: The study was conducted at the Department of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, focusing on injuries reported from 2021 to 2024. Data were collected through self-reported questionnaires and clinical records. The primary variables assessed included the type of injury, the instrument involved, the clinical procedure being performed, and the immediate actions taken post-injury. Serological testing was conducted on both students and patients to assess the risk of bloodborne pathogen transmission. Results: The findings revealed a high prevalence of injuries, with needles being the most common cause, followed by burs and dental probes. The most frequent injury type was piercing, primarily affecting the fingers. Periodontal treatments, restorative procedures, and endodontic treatments were the main activities leading to injuries. Despite normal medical records for most patients treated by injured students, serological testing showed significant positivity rates for HCV and HBV. It is noteworthy that most injured students demonstrated their commitment to safety by adhering to recommended post-exposure protocols, including wound cleaning, disinfecting, and serological testing. Our study highlights the critical need for enhanced biosafety awareness and training among dental students to reduce injury risks. Conclusions: These findings underline the necessity for integrated safety protocols and continuous education to improve clinical practices and ensure student safety.

The goal of this research is to determine the optimal microwave-assisted sol-gel synthesis pa-rameters of TiO2 nanoparticles with the achievement of the crystalline TiO2 nanoparticles with the highest specific surface area and the lowest energy band gap. Titanium isopropoxide was used as a precursor to prepare the sol (colloidal solution) of TiO2, isopropanol as a solvent, acetylacetone for complexation, and nitric acid as a catalyst. Four samples of titanium dioxide were synthesized from the prepared colloidal solution in a microwave reactor at a temperature of 150 °C for 30 minutes and at a temperature of 200 °C for 10, 20, and 30 minutes. The phase composition of the prepared samples was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms were used to determine the spe-cific surface area and pore size distributions by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. The band gap energy values of the TiO2 samples were determined by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). CrystallineTiO2 nanoparticles with the highest specific surface area and the lowest energy band gap were obtained for the TiO2 sample synthesized at 200 °C for 10 minutes.

Injury to the peritoneum during surgery is followed by a healing process that frequently results in the attachment of adjacent organs by a fibrous mass, referred to commonly as adhesions. Because injuries to the peritoneum during surgery are inevitable, one must understand the mechanisms of adhesion formation to prevent its occurrence. This requires a thorough understanding of the molecular sequence that results in the attachment of injured peritoneum and the development of fibrous tissue. Recent data show that fibroblasts from the injured peritoneum may play a critical role in forming adhesion tissues. Therefore, identifying changes in gene expression patterns in the peritoneal fibroblasts during the process may provide clues to the mechanisms by which adhesion develops. This review presents many papers discussing genes implied in peritoneal adhesion.

The article presents several innovative systems developed through student laboratory projects, including two autonomous vehicles, a four-legged walking robot, an active ankle-foot orthosis, a ball on beam balancing mechanism, a ball on plate system, and a manipulator arm—all powered by pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs). Fluidic muscles offer significant potential in various mechatronic systems, robots, and manipulators due to their flexible, lightweight nature and compliance. Their ability to produce smooth and adaptable motions is particularly beneficial in applications requiring natural and human-like movement, such as rehabilitation and assistive devices. Although PAMs powered control systems face challenges with nonlinear phenomena, their biologically inspired design holds promise for future applications across various industries. These may include innovative applicability in industrial, automotive, and aerospace sectors, as well as use in sports, medical aids, entertainment, and animatronics. Incorporating self-made laboratory systems actuated by PAMs into control systems education offers a comprehensive learning opportunity that combines theoretical concepts with hands-on experience. This approach develops the necessary skills of future engineers, expanding their understanding of technical principles and preparing them for future challenges in engineering practice.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequent and aggressive primary brain tumor. GBM is formed by a very heterogeneous astrocyte population, neurons, neovascularization and infiltrating myeloid cells (microglia and monocyte derived macrophages). The IQGAP1 scaffold protein interacts with components of the cytoskeleton, cell adhesion molecules, and several signaling molecules to regulate cell morphology and motility, cell cycle and other cellular functions. IQGAP1 overexpression and delocalization has been observed in several tumors, suggesting a role for this protein in cell proliferation, transformation and invasion. IQGAP1 has been identified as a marker of amplifying cancer cells in GBMs. To determine the involvement of IQGAP1 in the onco-biology of GBM, we performed immunohistochemical confocal microscopic analysis of the IQGAP1 protein in human GBM tissue samples using cell type-specific markers. IQGAP1 immunostaining and subcellular localization was heterogeneous; the protein was located in the plasma membrane and, at variable levels, in nucleus and/or cytosol. Moreover, IQGAP1 positive staining was found in podosome/invadopodia-like structures. IQGAP1⁺ staining was observed in neurons (Map2⁺ cells), in cancer stem cells (CSC; nestin⁺) and in several macrophages (CD31⁺ or Iba1⁺). Our results indicate that the IQGAP1 protein is involved in normal cell physiology as well as oncologic processes.

Advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks are sophisticated and organized attacks commonly motivated by political, financial, and strategic objectives. In order to comprehend their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) and indicators, APT reports are valuable sources. While blue teams typically rely on server logs, firewall rules and user authorizations managed in database tables, attackers have a graph-based mindset. In this work, we propose a framework for discovering and evaluating APTs using graph-based algorithms. Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) was extracted from 40,358 pages of APT reports and transformed into a graph. Centrality, community, and similarity analyses were executed on the graph. As a result, critical and influential APT groups and indicators of compromise (IoC) were discovered. Similar attacks and APT groups were revealed. Analysis results were interpreted to create new strategic CTI that can be utilized in future security operations.

A novel electrospun nanofiber was developed using polyamide-6 (PA) and ε-poly-L-lysine (PL). PA is a popular textile polymer having desirable mechanical and thermal properties, chemical stability, and biocompatibility. However, PA nanofibers are prone to bacterial growth and user discomfort. PL, a natural homopolyamide, is non-toxic, antimicrobial, and hydrophilic but lacks spinnability due to its low molecular weight. Given its similar backbone structure as PA, with an additional amino side chain, PL was integrated with PA to develop multifunctional nanofibers. This study explores a simple, scalable method to obtain PL nanofibers by utilizing the structurally similar PA as the base. The goal was to enhance the functionality of PA by addressing its drawbacks. The study demonstrates spinnability of varying concentrations of PL with base PA while exploring compositions with higher PL concentrations than previously reported. Electrospinning parameters were studied to optimize the nanofiber properties. The effects of PL addition on morphology, hydrophilicity, thermal stability, mechanical performance, and long-term antimicrobial activity of nanofibers were evaluated. The inclusion of PL in PA-based nanofibers resulted in super hydrophilicity, increased tensile strength, and efficient antimicrobial properties with long-term stability. These enhanced characteristics hold promise for the composite nanofiber’s application in medical and protective textiles.

The article presents an innovative method for synthesizing radiation patterns efficiently by 1 combining the Taguchi method and neural networks, while validating the results on a 10-element 2 antenna array. The Taguchi method aims to minimize product and process variability, while neural 3 networks are used to model the relationship between antenna design parameters and radiation 4 pattern characteristics. This approach utilizes Taguchi parameters as inputs for the neural network, 5 which is then trained on a dataset generated by the Taguchi method. After training, the network is 6 validated using a real 10-element antenna array. Analytical results demonstrate that this method 7 enables efficient synthesis of radiation patterns with a significant reduction in computation time 8 compared to traditional approaches. Furthermore, validation on the antenna array confirms the 9 accuracy and robustness of the approach, showing a high correlation between predicted performances 10 by the neural network model and actual measurements on the antenna array.In summary, our article 11 highlights that the combined use of the Taguchi method and neural networks, with validation on a 12 real antenna array, offers a promising approach for efficient synthesis of antenna radiation patterns. 13 This approach combines speed, accuracy, and reliability in antenna system design.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) otherwise known as Hughes syndrome is a systemic autoimmune disease typically linked with characteristic features like thrombosis and pregnancy morbidity with the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs). Although anticoagulation is the current flagship treatment for APS, there are reports indicating a considerable failure following this regimen in a significant number of obstetric APS and thrombotic APS cases. Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) bind anionic phospholipids or protein-phospholipid complexes within the cell membrane. Here, we gave a general overview of the biology of APS and the human gut microbiome, our current understanding of the gut bacteria-immune axis in autoimmunity focus on the potential link to APS, highlighting the implicated microorganisms in this context, and proposing recommendations on future therapeutic development.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a serious public health threat that affects the most vulnerable population. Patients who are LTFU after TB diagnosis still represent one of the biggest challenges to TB control. Method: In this prospective observational study, we aimed to identify and analyse the risk factors associated with LTFU among TB patients who started first-line TB treatment in the Sanatorium Hospital in Luanda. Result: A total of 113 patients with TB were included between August 2018 and September 2019. Seventy-six (67.3%) patients were cured, 27 (23.9%) were LTFU, 5 (4.4%) died, 4 (3.5%) were transferred and 1 (0.9%) presented a treatment failure. After excluding those dead, transferred or who failed to treatment, we observed that severe TB at the time of diagnosis (OR 9.24, 95% CI 2.18-39.04) and food insecurity were significantly associated with LTFU (OR 5.96, 95% CI 1.66-21.41). Conclusion: The findings of our study are of enormous value to understand the reasons for the LTFU of patients with TB and can guide polices and facilitate designing measures to allow better adherence, and therefore, greater treatment success

As a novel post-harvesting strategy, edible films and coatings for fruits and vegetables offer preservation measures to meet the growing needs of hunger and agricultural management. Albeit edible films and coatings would differ in their processing and physio-mechanical characteristics, but functionality is distinctly the same as they are designed to improve shelf-life, barrier, and nutritional properties of the food. With emerging concerns on sustainability, biomacromolecules have been widely considered for preparing edible films and coatings, which are Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) substances. Biopolymers, including polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids are the main sources of preparing edible films and coatings. These biomacromolecules make stable colloidal dispersions that deliver processing convenience with various formulation, blending, casting, coating, and film-forming methods. However, biopolymers based edible films and coating require improvements for their extended performance due to several structural and barrier limitations. Therefore, preparing blends and composites, incorporating target molecules to introduce different functionalities, and designing complex multilayers are among the many recent research approaches developed to overcome those limitations. Thereby ensuring enhanced food preservation and extended shelf-life, essential requirements of food waste management without or with minimal influence on the texture, flavor, and nutritional value of food and vegetables.

The notion of luck clustering has gained traction in recent years due to its potential influence on performance and decision-making across a range of domains. This study concentrates on the application of luck clustering in sports, with an emphasis on its consequences for performance metrics and strategic decision-making. We employ time series analysis to investigate the presence of luck clustering in sports data, such as win-loss records, scoring, and player rankings, while considering the role of the Principle of Luck Conservation in the observed clustering patterns. Our findings provide evidence of luck clustering in sports, implying that periods of high luck tend to be followed by more high luck events, and vice versa for low luck events. These insights carry significant implications for coaches, players, and teams, who can utilize the understanding of luck clustering to develop more effective strategies, manage resources efficiently, and ultimately enhance their performance. By enriching our comprehension of luck's nature and its effects on sports outcomes, this study contributes valuable knowledge for practitioners and researchers in sports analytics and performance management.

Iterated games, in which the same economic interaction is repeatedly played between the same agents, are an important framework for understanding the effectiveness of strategic choices over time. To date very little work has applied information theory to the information sets used by agents in order to decide what action to take next in such strategic situations. This article looks at the mutual information between previous game states and an agent's next action by introducing two new classes of games: ’invertible games’ and ‘cyclical games'. By explicitly expanding out the mutual information between past states and the next action we show under what circumstances these expressions can be simplified. These information measures are then applied to the Traveler's Dilemma game and the Prisoner's Dilemma game, the Prisoner's Dilemma being invertible, to illustrate their use. In the Prisoner's Dilemma a novel connection is made between the computational principles of logic gates and both the structure of games and the agents' decision strategies. This approach is applied to the cyclical game Matching Pennies to analyse the foundations of a behavioural ambiguity between two well studied strategies: ‘Tit-for-Tat' and ’Win-Stay, Lose-Switch'.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental disorder caused by exposure to traumatic stress, affects 5-10% of the world’s population. PTSD is associated with several medical and neurological comorbidities. It has been suggested that these are due to accelerated aging, and that changes in telomere length (TL) and telomerase enzyme activity may serve as biomarkers of this process. Early research in this field suggested that TL was significantly reduced in PTSD. The current review was conducted to provide a critical analysis of recent clinical and translational research on telomere length and telomerase in PTSD. The results of 26 clinical studies suggest that TL in PTSD is highly variable, and may be influenced by methodological, demographic, trauma-related and psychosocial factors. There is no evidence for altered telomerase activity in PTSD, though this was hypothesized by earlier workers in the field. Translational research suggests that exposure to traumatic stress does lead to TL shortening. Overall, it is likely that TL in PTSD depends on several variables that are specific to individuals and groups. Other markers of cellular aging, such as epigenetic changes, may be more specific indices of accelerated aging in patients with PTSD.

The Kampar Peninsula, a significant peatland region in Riau, Indonesia, is vital for its carbon re-serves and biodiversity, including the Sumatran tiger. Covering approximately 735,091 hectares, it comprises critical peat domes essential for hydrological balance. This research investigates land use changes from 1990-2020 using the Normalized Difference Fraction Index (NDFI) to map disturb-ances and land cover changes. Additionally, interviews and regulatory analysis were conducted to examine the historical drivers of land use change in the Kampar Peninsula. In 2020, natural forests covered 433,395.20 hectares (59.9% of the total area), industrial pulpwood plantations (primarily acacia) covered 27.3%, oil palm plantations accounted for 10.4%, infrastructure occupied 2.4%, and water bodies made up 0.9%. Key drivers of land use change include the construction of access roads by oil companies since 1975 and government policies during the New Order period (1980s-1998) promoting forest exploitation and transmigration programs. These activities have significantly transformed the Kampar Peninsula's land cover, highlighting the need for sustainable management and conservation efforts.

Developing a dependable gas and condensate value chain is vital for the ongoing prosperity of the oil and gas industries. To achieve this, NNPC is enhancing its production facilities by employing process modeling and simulation with the assistance of Symmetry iCON®. As a part of this initiative, a simulation model was created using the Symmetry iCON® pipe plexus solver to simulate the dynamic environment of the gas and condensate pipeline network in the Nigerian Southern region. To validate the model, data from a single month, specifically December 2022, was utilized. Furthermore, the algorithm was utilized to generate projections for the month of January 2023, providing valuable insights into its effectiveness. The study also highlighted the significance of accurately estimating the characteristics and properties of a pseudo component of C6+ in relation to thermodynamics and material properties, which was a particularly insightful finding. he assessment of this property has transitioned from being relatively unimportant to becoming critically important, primarily due to the lack of condensate data monitoring at specific terminals. However, it's worth noting that the model currently has an error margin of 4-6% when predicting the data. As more information becomes available in the future, the model can be easily fine-tuned to better align with the actual conditions, allowing for more accurate predictions.

Conventional traceability systems in Cambodian agriculture, such as Rubber Supply Chain Management (RSCM), often struggle to provide timely data and fair market prices, leading to mistrust among stakeholders, exploitation by intermediaries, and hindering progress towards ethical sourcing and sustainable practices. This research aims to showcase the potential of integrating blockchain technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), and Differential Privacy (DP) methods to empower Cambodian rubber farmers. By enhancing transparency, facilitating fair pricing, and promoting sustainable methods in the rubber industry, this integrated approach leverages Hyperledger Fabric (HLF) to create a decentralized and secure system for tracking rubber from its source to the end consumer. Integration with IPFS ensures secure and easily accessible data storage, further enhancing the system’s reliability. Additionally, the implementation of differential privacy techniques safeguards confidential data during information sharing among farmers and supply chain stakeholders, minimizing potential privacy concerns. This comprehensive system encourages consumers to make ethical and sustainable alternative options by providing accessible information on harvesting methods, processing procedures, labor conditions, and environmental impacts. The potential benefits extend beyond Cambodia, serving as a model for other developing countries aiming to modernize and enhance the agricultural distribution networks. Our results show that transaction send rates (TPS) and throughput in systems with and without differential privacy grow with increased transaction volumes. However, the system without differential privacy achieves greater scalability and efficiency above a certain threshold. However, it offers a slightly reduced latency, reflecting a trade-off between privacy and performance efficiency in blockchain-based agricultural traceability systems.

Memory decline is considered a normal part of aging, while the relationship between melatonin deficiency and cognitive function is complex and not fully understood. The present study investigated the role of melatonin deficiency functioning as a hormone at different ages on working and short-term recognition and spatial memory in rats. An age-related decline in memory function was tested in the Y-maze, the object recognition test, and the radial arm maze. Aging was associated with reduced expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) throughout the hippocampus, whereas pinealectomy exacerbated this process specifically in the CA3 region of 3- and 14-month-old rats. The region-specific reduced expression of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and pERK1/2 was observed in young adult rats with pinealectomy. However, in middle-aged rats, the expression of these signaling molecules was either downregulated or upregulated in different hippocampal regions. The reduced ratio of pCREB/CREB in the frontal cortex and hippocampus was associated with memory impairment in young adult and middle-aged melatonin-deficient rats, whereas old rats were unaffected. Our study provides insights into the molecular pathways involved in age-related memory changes associated with melatonin deficiency, highlighting the importance of the BDNF / ERK1/2 / CREB pathway in the hippocampus and suggesting a critical period for intervention.

Predicting type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using phenotypic data with machine learning (ML) techniques has received significant attention in recent years. PyCaret, an ML tool that enables the simultaneous application of 16 different algorithms, was used to predict T2DM using phenotypic variables from the “Nurses’ Health Study” and “Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study” datasets. Ridge classifier, Linear Discriminant Analysis, and Logistic Regression (LR) were the best-performing models for the male-only data subset. For the female-only data subset, LR, Gra-dient Boosting Classifier, and CatBoost Classifier were the strongest models. The AUC, accuracy, and precision were 0.77, 0.70, and 0.70 for males and 0.79, 0.70, and 0.71 for females, respective-ly. The feature importance plot showed that familial history of diabetes (famdb), never having smoked, and high blood pressure (hbp) were the most influential features in females, while famdb, hbp, and current smoking were the major variables in males. In conclusion, PyCaret was used successfully for speed analysis for the prediction of T2DM by simplifying complex ML tasks. Gen-der differences are an important consideration for T2DM prediction. Despite this comprehensive ML tool, phenotypic variables alone may not be sufficient for early T2DM prediction; genotypic variables could also be used in combination for future studies.

Research into lightweight structural concrete using volcanic tuff is of great importance to the construction industry. These materials have excellent thermal insulation properties, which helps improve the energy efficiency of buildings. A three-factor experimental design was used to build the statistical model. The test methods used were methods for determining the crushability of volcanic tuff, determining the average density, compressive strength and thermal conductivity of lightweight structural concrete. The influence of basalt fiber on the properties of lightweight structural concrete has been determined. The optimal compositions of lightweight structural concrete using tuff have been selected. The compressive strength of lightweight structural concrete reached 32.0 MPa. The average density range is 1754.6-2114.0 kg/m³. Good thermal conductivity values ​​were obtained in the range of 0.653-0.818 W/m·K. The article obtained the optimal compositions of lightweight structural concrete using volcanic tuff as a filler.

The task of weakly supervised point cloud semantic segmentation has received widespread attention and also has been widely used in autonomous driving, robotics, and modern industries. Due to the high dimensionality and large volume of point cloud data, many technical difficulties appeal to weakly supervised semantic processing, especially segmentation. However, weakly-supervised schemes usually provide only partial labelling information of the underlying point cloud data and thus need to effectively extract local features, geometric information, and contextual relationships only using these limited labelled data for supervised learning. To improve weakly-supervised semantic segmentation, we propose a novel segmentation network through the boundary-based feature aggregation based on a K-NN algorithm with down-sampling operation, and also introduce the smoothness loss and Siamese loss for effective segmentation. The experiments on public datasets demonstrate that our presented segmentation method exceeds most of the existing fully supervised and weakly-supervised methods in terms of mIoU. Specifically, our network has high segmentation accuracy on the labels of objects with similar geometrical structures, such as ceiling, wall, floor, chair and table, reaching 91.2%, 98.8%, 83.3%, 75.3% and 80.2%, respectively. Extensive experiments also illustrate its robustness, effectiveness, and generalization of the proposed weakly supervised segmentation network.

Newborn screening using biochemical tests is a widespread practice. However, the recent availability of genetic sequencing has enabled the rapid screening of many monogenic disorders. The purpose of our study was to assess the outcomes of whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS) as the primary newborn screening test. This cohort study enrolled 26 symptomatic neonates and infants exhibiting a spectrum of neurological symptoms and issues. Genome sequencing (GS) identified relevant diagnostic variants in 9 patients (point mutations, CNVs and one case of aneuploidy), suggesting that using GS as the primary newborn screening test in a general newborn population enhances traditional screening's detection capabilities. This evidence-based finding may support considering GS as a critical method for first-tier screening.

Offshore electricity production, mainly by wind turbines, and eventually floating PV in the future, will contribute to increase renewable energy production, as well as their dispatchability. The need for that energy evacuation and the implementation of the hydrogen economy are challenges that arise the evaluation of such energy facilities for the direct production of hydrogen. The analysis of the alternatives for the evacuation of offshore renewable electricity for the production of hydrogen is presented. The analysis includes discussion about the current state of the art of hydrogen pipelines and subsea cables, as well as the storage and bunkering system that is needed on shore. The main options for energy evacuation will be via an electric subsea cable to produce hydrogen onshore, or by pipeline, depending on the capacity of the offshore plant. For low capacity, an electric subsea cable is the best option. For high capacity renewable offshore plants, pipelines start to be competitive for distances above aprox. 450 miles.