Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the performance of the SF-36 health survey (SF-36) in a sample of subjects with physical disabilities. Material and Methods: 305 patients recruited using the convenient sampling method from September 2019 to March 2020 in Kermanshah, Iran. Another similar 300 patients were selected to assess the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: The Cronbach’s α ranged from 0.70 to 0.93, and intra-class correlation coefficients from 0.71 to 0.88; and with the no ceiling and floor effect for two main subscales. Convergent validity was supported by moderate to good correlation between SF-36 subscales and Moorong self-efficacy subscales (r= 0.25- 0.53). The SF-36 divergently validated with HADS total score and subscales (r= -0.24- -0.65), concurrently validated with its subscales (r=0.49- 0.88), and physically discriminated between persons with different level of disability (t-test: p<0.001). Factorial analysis identified seven factors, confirmed with second-order in another 300 samples (chi-square (χ2/df) = 2.61(p < .001); RMSEA = 0.07 (90% CI = 0.07–0.08); AGFI=0.75; GFI = 0.78; CFI= 0.85; and NFI = 0.78). Conclusions: the SF-36 is a reliable and valid tool in physical disables. However, SF-36 shows insufficient eight-factor validity. Future studies should focus on evaluating other psychometric properties, such as sensitivity to change in subjects with physical disabilities.

Background: Good clinical practice (GCP) training is the industry standard for ensuring the quality conduct of registrational clinical trials. However, concerns have been raised about whether the current structure and delivery of GCP training sufficiently prepares clinical investigators and their delegates to conduct clinical trials. Methods: We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with 13 clinical investigators and 10 research sponsors to 1) examine characteristics of the quality conduct of sponsored clinical trials, including critical tasks and concerns perceived as essential for trial quality, 2) identify key knowledge and skills required to perform critical tasks, and 3) identify gaps and redundancies in GCP training and areas of improvement to ensure the quality conduct of clinical trials. We used applied thematic analysis to analyze the data. Results: The top three tasks identified as critical for the quality conduct of clinical trials were obtaining informed consent, ensuring protocol compliance, and protecting participants’ health and safety. Respondents acknowledged that GCP principles address each of these critical tasks; however, they described many challenges and burdens of GCP training, including high training frequency and repetitive content. Respondents suggested moving beyond GCP training as a mere check-box activity by making it more effective, engaging, and interactive. They also emphasized that applying GCP principles in a real-world, skills-based environment would increase the relevance of GCP training to investigators and their delegates. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that although investigators and sponsors recognize that GCP training addresses critical tasks necessary to the quality conduct of clinical trials, they articulated the need for significant improvement in the design, content, and presentation of GCP training.

IoT is a fast growing technology that has Promising potential for shaping our future. In this fast growing world of IoT, IoT systems are released without proper testing which effect its quality and does not guarantee user satisfaction. Different testing methodologies are carried out to ensure Quality assurance of IoT before releasing it to the market. In this paper we have reviewed different testing techniques using AI and different tools to ensure Quality of IoT. In this paper we have also reviewed different IoT challenges related to its quality.

The main moto of this study is to examine and study on behavior of Software Quality Assurance (SQA) issues of project stakeholders in a Scrum environment and their consequences. This inductive case study identifies SQA principles relevant to Meeting User Expectations. The Stakeholders in the Scrum project having lack of Concrete Guidance on Scrum’s SQA approaches, methods, and techniques. The insufficiency of concrete guidelines in Scrum needs a management squad to develop concepts that can include implementing practices from other methodologies and wisely modifying the system structure to incorporate the practices adopted, ensuring improvement in the processes, and creating a shared ownership environment. Through explaining the incompleteness of Agile approaches with special attention to the lack of concrete instructions in Scrum, the study uses techniques to customize literature and advocate for Scrum’s versatility. The study uses strategies to adapt literature and argue for Scrum’s simplicity by illustrating the incompleteness of Agile approaches with special attention to the lack of concrete instructions in Scrum methodology.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a promising new technology that is having a very fast growth from home workshops to high-tech cutting-edge factories. As any manufacturing technique, adequate metrology services are needed to assure the quality of items manufactured by AM. One of the most widely used instruments to measure the characteristics of surfaces manufactured with AM is the confocal microscope. In this paper, authors present a whole calibration procedure for confocal microscopes designed to be implemented preferably in workshops or industrial environments rather than in research and development departments. Because of that, it is as simple as possible. The procedure is designed without forgetting any of the key aspects that need to be taken into account and based on classical reference material standards. These standards can be easily found in industrial dimensional laboratories and easily calibrated in accredited calibration laboratories.

We examined the causality between growth opportunities and earnings quality of the emerging economies. We develop an argument that growth opportunities should lead to high-quality earnings of the developing economies against the prior studies from developed economies which posit that growth opportunities result in a lower quality of earnings. The findings revealed that Growth Opportunities had a positive significant effect on Earnings Quality (EQ). Thus, the study concluded that growth opportunities are useful in determining the earnings quality of firms. The study recommends that managers should take advantage of their firms' growth opportunities to provide quality accounting information which will directly provide expanded opportunities for business growth. Though literature confirms that generally, earnings management might not be necessarily bad in business operational practice, managers are advised to avoid extreme aggressiveness in managing earnings as this may culminate in the negative manipulation of accounting information.

Biostimulants are materials that when applied in small amounts are capable of promoting plant growth. Nanoparticles (NPs) and nanomaterials (NMs) can be considered as biostimulants since, in specific ranges of concentration, generally in small levels, they increase the plant growth. Pristine NPs and NMS have a high density of surface charges capable of unspecific interactions with the surface charges of the cell walls and membranes of plant cells. In the same way, the functionalized NPs and NMS, and the NPs and NMs with a corona formed after the exposition to natural fluids such as water, soil solution, or the interior of organisms, presents a high density of surface charges that interact with specific charged groups in cell surfaces. The magnitude of the interaction will depend on the materials adhered to the corona, but the high-density charges located in a small volume causes an intense interaction capable of disturbing the density of surface charges of cell walls and membranes. The electrostatic disturbance can have an impact on the electrical potentials of the outer and inner surfaces, as well as on the transmembrane electrical potential, modifying the activity of the integral proteins of the membranes. The extension of the cellular response can range from biostimulation to cell death and will depend on the concentration, size, and the characteristics of the corona.

Selenium (Se) is an essential element of the human diet. Therefore, it is necessary to implement Se in agricultural fertilization, although it is not considered as an essential element for plants, Se provides benefits at the level of redox metabolism, increasing the resistance of plants to various stress factors. The increase of the availability of selenium with the use of biopolymer complexes was sought in Great Lakes lettuce grown in substrate pots treated with SeO₂ (5 mg L Se), Cs-PAA + Se (5 mg L Se), and Cs-PAA. The redox metabolism was modified by increasing the enzymatic activity of glutathione peroxidase. The use of Cs-PAA + Se biopolymer complexes increase selenium up to 24 mg/Kg dry weight (DW) in plant tissues.

Abstract: The air pollution dispersion modelling via spatial analyses (Land Use Regression – LUR) is an alternative approach to the air quality assessment to the standard air pollution dispersion modelling techniques. Its advantages are mainly much simpler mathematical apparatus, quicker and simpler calculations and a possibility to incorporate other factors affecting pollutant’s concentration. The goal of the study was to model the PM10 particles dispersion modelling via spatial analyses v in Czech-Polish border area of Upper Silesian industrial agglomeration and compare results with results of the standard Gaussian dispersion model SYMOS’97. Results show that standard Gaussian model with the same data as the LUR model gives better results (determination coefficient 71% for Gaussian model to 48% for LUR model). When factors of the land cover and were included into the LUR model, the LUR model results were significantly improved (65% determination coefficient) to the level comparable with Gaussian model. The hybrid approach combining the Gaussian model with the LUR gives superior quality of results (65% determination coefficient).

Conservation agriculture (CA) could be very effective for agricultural sustainability under Mediterranean environments, where farmers rely on short rotation based on durum wheat. In this work we investigated the effect of different combination of tillage treatments and crop sequence (conventional tillage and wheat monocropping, CT-WW; conventional tillage, and wheat following faba-bean, CT-WF; zero tillage and wheat monocropping, ZT-WW; zero tillage and wheat following faba-bean, ZT-WF) on yield, grain quality traits as well as on diseases incidence and severity in durum wheat (var. Saragolla). The results of a two-years of data of a long-term experiment (7-year experiment; split-plot design) are discussed. The CA approach (ZT+WF), which induced always the highest grain yields (6.1 t ha-1 and 3.3 t ha-1 in 2016 and 2017) thanks to an increased number of spikes m-2 (296 vs 269 and 303 vs 287 spikes m-2 in 2016 and 2017, respectively) as well as to a more pronounced ear length, demonstrated significant positive influences in terms of grain quality. It promoted grain protein accumulation (12.1% for ZT+WF versus 11.4% for ZT+WW and 12.4% for ZT+WF versus 10.6% for ZT+WW in 2016 and 2017), improved gluten quality (in terms of SDS sedimentation test) and colour of the grain. The abundance of crop residues determined a higher incidence and severity of Zymoseptoria tritici leaf symptoms under CA system; nevertheless the late appearance of infection was the main reason of not affecting yield and quality traits. The presence of faba-bean (WF) in the rotation significantly reduced leaf symptoms of Z. tritici.

A hybrid fuzzy MADM method is proposed in this paper for evaluating airline service quality. Fuzzy set theory is used since it helps in measuring the ambiguity of concepts associated with human being’s subjective judgment. After reviewing service quality evaluation models especially in airline industry, SSQAI model was adopted as a construct for evaluating airline service quality in Iran. Fuzzy DEMATEL was applied to determine the degree of influence and impact of criteria on each other and extract cause and effect relations between them that helped in ranking criteria based on degree of relationship. Then, ANP network map was constructed based on the relation map generated from Fuzzy DEMATEL analysis. Fuzzy ANP approach assisted in prioritizing criteria based on the need for improvement and enabled in a more accurate measurement in decision making process taking the advantage of using linguistic variables. Fuzzy DEMATEL results demonstrates that expertise, Problem-solving, and conduct has the most influence on other factors and in opposite Valence, Waiting Time, Comfort are the factors which get the most impact from other factors and according to Fuzzy ANP analysis Valence, Convenience, Problem-solving, and Safety&Security are the factors with most priorities that need improvement.

Traffic congestion is one of the foremost problems confronted by the urban and suburban tenants of today. Traffic congestion increases vehicle emissions and degrades air quality. Urban planners and policy makers have consequently been always investigating choices to alleviate traffic congestion and to enhance air quality. Teleworking is one option that has received significant consideration and has been studied in the recent past. The aim of the study is to explore the relationship between teleworking, air quality and traffic in Switzerland. The analysis relies on panel individual and household level data over the period 2002-2013. We examine five main air pollutants; the sulphur dioxide (SO₂), the ground-level ozone (O₃) the nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), the carbon monoxide (CO) and the particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM₁₀). Based on the fixed effects estimates, teleworking reduces traffic volume by 1.9 per cent. Furthermore, the reduction observed on air pollution is higher for NO₂, CO and PM₁₀ ranging between 3.3-3.7 per cent, followed by O₃ at 2.3 per cent and SO₂ at 2.1 per cent. According to instrumental variable (IV) approach and the two stage least squares (2SLS) method, the effect is higher ranging between 2.6-4.1 per cent. The respective reduction on traffic becomes 2.7 per cent. Overall, the main concluding remark of the study is that teleworking can be a promising tool for urban planning and development, focusing at the traffic volume reduction, and the air quality improvement. Additional policy implications of teleworking and its beneficial effects for the society are further discussed.

Despite Vitamin B12's recognized importance for the nervous system, there's still a lack of research on the association between Vitamin B12 and sleep, especially in primary care settings. We assessed Vitamin B12 levels in adult primary health care users and investigated correlations with sleep quality, insomnia and sleepiness. In this cross-sectional study, 512 consecutive participants were included. Information regarding anthropometrics, socio-demographics, and medical history was obtained. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), and Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used to quantify excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), insomnia symptoms, and sleep quality, respectively. Median Vitamin B12 was 342 (266, 446) pg/mL. After adjustments, Vitamin B12 levels&lt;342 pg/mL showed significant associations with insomnia symptoms [OR (95% CI) 2.434 (1.331–4.452), p=0.004], especially in elderly, non-obese and female participants, with EDS only in obese participants [OR (95% CI) 3.996, (1.006-15.876), p=0.039]. Nonetheless, there was no significant association between B12 levels and poor sleep quality (OR 1.416, 95% CI 0.678-2.958, p=0.354). In conclusion, our results show that lower Vitamin B12 was associated with insomnia symptoms and sleepiness in specific groups of participants. However, further research with objective measurements of sleep is crucial to assess the relationship between sleep and Vitamin B12.

Transportation electrification has been identified as a crucial shift to be made for achieving energy security and emission reduction targets. Electric Vehicles (EVs) play a significant role in achieving these targets; therefore, there is a growing trend to develop new EV technologies and associated infrastructure. Along with these developments, EVs' Quality of Service (QoS) aspects should be enhanced to increase the number of EVs on the road. Various QoS factors are defined to assess the QoS of EVs, and one of the two aims of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of these factors. The other aim is to review recent developments of associated communication technologies which are essential for exchanging information between EVs and charging stations. This paper serves as a comprehensive review and useful reference for researchers working on QoS aspects of EVs and associated communication systems aiming to enhance the QoS.

Soil quality assessment based on crop yields and identification of key indicators of it can be used for better management of agricultural production. In the current research, the weighted additive soil quality index (SQIw), factor analysis (FA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) method are used to assess the soil quality of rainfed winter wheat fields with two soil orders on 53.20 km2 of agricultural land in western Iran. A total of 18 soil quality indicators were determined for 100 soil samples (0-20 cm depth) from two soil orders (Inceptisols and Entisols). The soil properties measured were: pH, soil texture, organic carbon (OC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), electrical conductivity (EC), soil microbial respiration (SMR), carbonate calcium equivalent (CCE), soil porosity (SP), bulk density (BD), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), mean weight diameter (MWD), available potassium (AK), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP), available Fe (AFe), available Zn (AZn), available Mn (AMn), and available Cu (ACu). Mean wheat grain yield for the two years for all of the 100 sampling sites was also gathered. The SQIw was calculated using two weighting methods (FA and MLR) and maps were created using a digital soil mapping framework. The soil indicators taken in the minimum data set (MDS) were AK, clay, CEC, AP, SMR, and sand. The correlation between the MLR weighting technique (SQI-M) and the rainfed wheat yield (r=0.62) was slightly larger than that the correlation of yield with the FA weighted technique (SQI-F) (r=0.58). Results showed that the means of both SQI-M and SQI-F and rainfed wheat yield for Inceptisols were higher than for Entisols although these differences were not statistically significant. Both SQI-M and SQI-F showed that areas with Entisols had lower proportions of good soil quality grades (Grade I and II), and higher proportions of poor soil quality grades (Grade IV and V) compared to Inceptisols. Based on these results, soil type must be considered for soil quality assessment in future studies to maintain and enhance soil quality and sustainable production. The overall soil quality of the study region was of poor and moderate grades. To improve soil quality, it is therefore recommended that effective practices such as the implementation of scientific integrated nutrient management involving the combined use of organic and inorganic fertilizers in rainfed wheat fields be promoted.

One important motivation for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive is the creation of non-market environmental benefits such as improved ecological quality, or greater opportunities for open-access river recreation via microbial pollution remediation. Pollution sources impacting on ecological or recreational water quality can be uncorrelated but non-market benefits arising from riverine improvements are typically conflated within benefit valuation studies. Using stated preference choice experiments, we seek to disaggregate these sources of value for different river users, thereby allowing decision makers to understand the consequences of adopting alternative investment strategies. Our results suggest anglers derive greater value from improvements to the ecological quality of river water, in contrast to swimmers and rowers for whom greater value is gained from improvements to recreational quality. We also find three distinct groups of respondents: a majority preferring ecological over recreational improvements, a substantial minority holding opposing preference orderings and a small proportion expressing relatively low values for either form of river quality enhancement. As such, this research demonstrates that the non-market benefits which may accrue from different types of water quality improvements are nuanced in terms of their potential beneficiaries and, by inference, their overall value and policy implications.

The overuse of chemical fertilisers degrades the soil ecosystem and restricts the natural development of plants. Within the coffee industry, various by-products are produced throughout the process of coffee production and consumption, which are significant in terms of environmental waste. SCG (spent coffee grounds) contain a variety of bioactive compounds that have demonstrated potential applications in various fields. These compounds can enhance soil quality by improving its chemical, physicochemical, physical properties, and biological fertility, ultimately leading to improved plant growth. This study examines the impact of SCG, vermicompost, and chemical fertilisers on the growth of organic red radish (Ravanello Cherry Belle) and soil quality. The experiment, conducted in a greenhouse, tested various concentrations and applications of SCG. Results showed that the SCGT 0.5 gm treatment yielded the highest mean plant length (18.47 cm) and fresh weight (27.54 grammes), while the SCG 10% treatment resulted in the lowest mean plant length (4.54 cm) and fresh weight (0.07 grammes). Vermicompost at 50% concentration produced the highest mean leaf surface area (58.32). These findings suggest the potential of SCG as a sustainable fertiliser alternative, contributing to improved plant growth and soil quality, thus supporting sustainable agricultural practices and a circular economy.

Air pollution is one of the biggest problems of this age, not only it contributes to climate change but also it has a negative effect on public and individual health due to rising morbidity and mortality. There are various contaminants that play a significant role in human disease. Numerous toxins are released into the environment as a result of anthropogenic activities including burning fossil fuels for transportation and electricity generation. In order to assist decision-makers in finding a long-term solution for improving environmental quality and population health status, NO2 pollution monitoring and regulation is an essential task. Based on data acquired from Sentinel-5P, the study presented a comparison of NO2 measurements in Sentinel-5P and ground-based stations over the urban area of Fujairah during 2021 and comparison analysis of the tropospheric NO2 column spatial configuration over urban area of Fujairah during comparable periods of pre, mid and post Covid-19 pandemic era as 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. These findings demonstrate remarkable tropospheric NO2 column number density decreases even of 85% in the busier areas of emirate of Fujairah during the pandemic era. Sentinel-5P measurements draw attention to the significant reduction in NO2 pollution over Fujairah during the COVID-19 lockdown where we had less traffic, which is supported by ground stations-based calculations.

Use of a multi-sensor approach can provide citizens a holistic insight in the air quality in their immediate surroundings and assessment of personal exposure to urban stressors. Our work, as part of the ICARUS H2020 project, which included over 600 participants from 7 European cities, discusses data fusion and harmonization on a diverse set of multi-sensor data streams to provide a comprehensive and understandable report for participants, and offers possible solutions and improvements. Harmonizing the data streams identified issues with the used devices and protocols, such as non-uniform timestamps, data gaps, difficult data retrieval from commercial devices, and coarse activity data logging. Our process of data fusion and harmonization allowed us to automate the process of generating visualizations and reports and consequently provide each participant with a detailed individualized report. Results showed that a key solution was to streamline the code and speed up the process, which necessitated certain compromises in visualizing the data. A thought-out process of data fusion and harmonization on a diverse set of multi-sensor data streams considerably improved the quality and quantity of data that a research participant receives. Though automatization accelerated the production of the reports considerably, manual structured double checks are strongly recommended.

The overrun of transient power quality index caused by the large-capacity electric arc furnace (EAF) has become a prominent problem affecting the safe and stable operation of the power system. (1) In this paper, the relationship between arc furnace volt-age and current is derived based on the different stages of arc combustion, and the random variation of chaotic phenomenon of the arc voltage are simulated. Established an EAF model suitable for the study of transient power quality problems. (2) Take 50t AC EAF as an example to analyze the reactive power impact and the influence on the point of common coupling (PCC) voltage caused by the three-phase short circuit of the electrode. The results show that the experimental results are consistent with the theoretical analysis, verifying the correctness and effectiveness of the model. (3) When the three-phase short-circuit occurs, the reactive power impact is nearly 6 times that of normal operation, the short-circuit current is 2.66 times that of normal operation, and the effective value of the PCC voltage has dropped by 40.37%, which provides a theoretical basis for real-time compensation of impulsive reactive power and improvement of the transient power quality of the EAF.

In this study, the hybrid biological ion exchange (BIEX) resin and gravity-driven membrane (GDM) process was employed for the treatment of coloured and turbid river water. The primary objective was to investigate the impact of both physical and chemical cleaning methods on ceramic and polymeric membranes in terms of stabilised flux, flux recovery after physical/chemical cleaning, and permeate quality. To address these objectives, two types of MF and UF membranes were utilised (M1 = polymeric MF, M2 = polymeric UF, M3 = ceramic UF, and M4 = lab-made ceramic MF).Throughout extended operation, the resin functioned initially in the primary ion exchange (IEX) region (NOM displacement with pre-charged chloride) and progressed to a secondary IEX stage (NOM displacement with bicarbonate and sulphate), while membrane flux remained stable. Subsequently, physical cleaning involved air/water backwash with two different flows and pressures, and chemical cleaning utilised NaOH at concentrations of 20 and 40 mM, as well as NaOCl at concentrations of 250 and 500 mg Cl2/L. These processes were carried out to assess flux recovery and identify fouling reversibility. The results indicated an endpoint of 1,728 bed volumes (BV) for the primary IEX region, while the secondary IEX continued up to 6,528 BV. At the end of the operation, DOC and UVA254 removal in the effluent of the BIEX columns were 68% and 81%, respectively, compared to influent water. This was followed by 30% and 57% DOC and UVA254 removal by M4 (ceramic MF). The stabilised flux remained approximately 3.8 – 5.2 LMH both before and after the cleaning process, suggesting that membrane materials do not play a pivotal role. The mean stabilised flux of polymeric membranes increased after cleaning, whereas that of ceramics decreased. Enhanced air–water backwash flow and pressure resulted in increased removal of hydraulic reversible fouling, which was identified as the dominant fouling type. Ceramic membranes exhibited higher removal of reversible hydraulic fouling than polymeric membranes. Chemical cleaning had a low impact on flux recovery; therefore, we recommend solely employing physical cleaning.

The menopausal transition often accompanies distressing manifestations, including vasomotor symptoms, sleep disruptions, and depressive syndrome. Omega-3 fatty acids have emerged as a potential intervention to alleviate these symptoms. This review aimed to comprehensively assess the impact of omega-3 supplementation on vasomotor symptoms, sleep quality, and depression among postmenopausal women. We conducted a systematic search focusing on randomized control trials across the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and SCOPUS databases from inception to August 2023. Among the initial pool of 163 studies, 9 studies met the inclusion criteria and were incorporated into this review. Four studies suggested potential benefits of omega-3 intake for improving hot flashes and night sweats. Sleep quality outcomes displayed heterogeneity across the studies. Incorporating diverse scales such as the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-21, the Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 for depression outcomes, the review found inconclusive evidence on omega-3's impact on depression. Overall, the combined analysis of these studies did not provide substantial evidence to support the efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids in improving vasomotor symptoms, sleep quality, and depression. Further well-designed RCTs with larger participant groups are crucial to validate and generalize these results.

Significant changes to the new National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) and the implementation of the “Double First-Class” (DFC) initiative in China are coincidentally in the national spotlight and fall within the same policy window. However, few studies have investigated the effects of the new NCEE on the quality of students in DFC universities. By leveraging the 2018-2022 college admission data from Shandong Province, these effects are examined via the interrupted time-series technique. Weighted rankings for liberal arts and science disciplines and the admission ranking coefficient are adopted to ensure comparability before and after the reform. The findings reveal that after the reform, the quality of students in both world-class universities and first-class discipline universities improved, with greater improvements seen in world-class universities. Focusing on urban differences, the quality of students in DFC universities located in second-tier cities is found to have experienced a higher increase as compared with students in the first-tier and new first-tier cities. In addition, the reform has had different impacts on the quality of students in different majors. Furthermore, when selecting postsecondary institutions, high-scoring students prioritize the quality of universities and majors over urban factors. Finally, the implications of the new NCEE in relation to a sustainable development of DFC universities for research, policy, and practice are further discussed.

Limited scientific evidence shows that alpha lipoic acid (ALA) can induce regression rates of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) but the mechanisms of these effects have not been elucidated. To gain a broader insight into its therapeutic potential and mechanisms of action, the effects of 3-month supplementation with 600 mg of ALA on antioxidant- and lipid status param-eters in 100 patients with LSIL were investigated in randomized placebo-controlled study. Obtained results were discussed in terms of patients’ initial metabolic status and diet quality (particularly nutritional intake of antioxidants). Obtained results showed that oxidative status biomarkers were not significantly affected by ALA supplementation. However, serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was positively affected in the subgroup of patients with higher dietary antioxidant intake. Surprisingly, ALA supplementation resulted with small but statistically significant increase of serum low density lipoprotein (LDL) and observed effect was significantly affected by the initial lipid status of participants. Larger studies are necessary to gain additional insights on the clinical significance of ALA as an antioxidant and hypolipemic agent and to optimize its potential application in LSIL treatment.

Weather has significant impact on growth and plants development. It is important to analyze the influence of changing climate conditions on expression of plants agronomical characters. Two flax varieties were grown from 1987 to 2018 in the North-West of Russia. Whether conditions and their influence on flax agronomic characters were analyzed using variance and correlations analyses. Significant influence of year conditions on the manifestation of all evaluated characters was revealed. Starting from June high temperatures accelerate the development of plants at all stages. Prolongation of germination - flowering period is the most important for fiber productivity improvement. Oppositely, for formation of high quality fiber fast ripening in hot weather after flowering is preferable. Such data give possibility to predict the amount and quality of yield. Usage of weather conditions data also permits to compare results obtained in different years. Suggested method of year’s meteorological conditions classification can be used in other genebanks for systematization and analyses of crops field evaluation results. Correlation analyses reviled 3 correlated pleiades: (1) pleiade of productivity, (2) pleiade of fiber quality and yield, (3) pleiade of the growing season phases duration, the sums of active temperatures and precipitation during each period. Great influence of growing conditions on economically valuable traits indicates the necessity of searching for genotypes with stable characters manifestation for breeding new varieties, which will give stable yield and fiber of good quality.

Background: Catheter ablation (CA) benefits atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with heart failure (HF). Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), a marker of left-ventricular pressure load, may serve as a potential surrogate for predicting quality of life (QOL) in broader range of patients. Methods: Within the multicenter KiCS-AF registry, 491 AF patients underwent CA without clinical HF (e.g. documented history of HF, left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40%, or BNP levels ≥100 pg/mL). Participants, aged 61±10 years, were categorized by baseline BNP quartiles. Atrial Fibrillation Effect on QualiTy-of-Life (AFEQT) questionnaire assessments were assessed at baseline and 1 year. Results: Lower baseline BNP correlated with reduced AFEQT scores. Post-CA, all groups showed significant AFEQT score improvements. Lower BNP group displayed notable enhancements (18.2±1.2, 15.0±1.1, 12.6±1.2, 13.6±1.2, p<0.005), especially in symptom and treatment concern areas. Even those with normal BNP levels (≤18.4 pg/ml) exhibited significant QOL improvements. Comparing PAF and non-PAF groups, the PAF group, especially with higher BNP levels, showed greater AFEQT score improvements. Conclusion: This study establishes BNP as a predictive marker for QOL enhancement in non-HF patients undergoing CA for AF. BNP levels represent AF stages, with individuals in earlier stages, especially within normal BNP levels, experiencing greater QOL improvement.

Origanum dictamnus L. (Lamiaceae), a local endemic plant of Crete (Greece), creates polysaccharide-containing subcuticular compartments presenting biological activity against phytopathogenic fungi, and, among others, significantly affecting the fungal cell wall polysaccharides. This field study introduces a fertilization scheme for O. dictamnus, which was developed and refined to optimize yield as well as critical herbal quality aspects. Five fertilization schemes were investigated, based on a polysaccharide-based Integrated Nutrient Management (INM), a mixture of chemical fertilizers and two biostimulants (not algae) via foliar and soil application. Plant growth, together with leaf chlorophyll fluorescence and colour (SPAD meter, DA meter, Chroma Meter) were determined. The leaf content of chlorophyll, three critical antioxidant compounds (carotenoids, flavonoids, phenols) and minerals were also assessed. Considering all three antioxidants together, the enhanced efficiency, non-toxic, water-soluble, polysaccharide-based INM by foliar application was the most stimulatory scheme, playing an important role in plant growth and development. The present field study provides for the first time baseline fertilization data improving key herbal quality features in O. dictamnus and unravels the attainment of high antioxidant properties. The latter may be exploited in favor of its further utilization as raw material for tea preparation, medicinal purposes, natural food flavoring and/or food preservative.

This study has two main focuses: the first focus is to explore the design and the behavior of a locally built solar dryer during processing henna leaves. This was performed through the determination of the most important parameters that have effect on the drying process. Appropriately, it was found that the outlet air temperature of the solar collector depends entirely on the solar radiation, Moreover, the inlet temperature of the air to the drying chamber has also an important impact on the moisture content of the product. It was found that most of the studies dealing with solar drying do not take into consideration the quality of the final product. Accordingly, the second objective of this study is to present the effect of drying process on the quality of the drier samples. For this purpose, the bioactivity of the samples, in terms of determination of the total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activities was performed. Three different samples: fresh sample, samples dried with the presented solar dryer and open solar dried samples are tested. It was found that samples dried with the solar dryer presented the best results.

In precision grinding of hard and brittle materials, coarse-grained diamond grinding wheels are increasingly favored for their efficiency and contour accuracy. However, challenges in dressing these grinding wheels have hindered their widespread adoption. In this paper, the effects of dressing parameters on the surface profile and morphological characteristics of electroplated coarse-grained diamond were studied, thereby optimizing the dressing accuracy and dressing efficiency of the coarse-grained diamond grinding wheel. Models for the surface morphology of the large-grained diamond grinding wheel and its grinding surface were established. With a focus on optimizing dressing accuracy, we explored how the grain’s protruding height post-dressing affects the surface morphology of both the diamond grinding wheel and the grinding surface. The model’s accuracy was verified by electroplated coarse-grained diamond grinding wheel grinding experiments with different grain protrusion heights, and the causes of surface morphology formation were analyzed based on morphological characteristic parameters such as surface roughness and surface height difference. The results showed that compared with the undressed grinding wheel, the surface roughness Sa and Sq of the workpiece by the dressing wheel are reduced by 97.75%−99.77% and 97.57%−99.73%, respectively. Precision dressing enables the surface roughness of the electroplated coarse-grained diamond grinding wheel to reach nanometer levels, enhancing its feasibility and application potential.

The present paper deals with research of maintenance strategy and maintenance process improvement procedure to increase the efficiency and quality of the production system. It includes the design of maintenance performance indicators relevant to today's manufacturing systems to track improvements in the sustainable development of the manufacturing system. Describes the basic principles of maintenance strategy with linkages to the manufacturing system and selecting the right strategy for the organization. The paper emphasizes maintenance management auditing and quality implementation in maintenance. Further, there is the process of changing the maintenance strategy described. This process includes reassessing the criticality of machines and equipment and their design units, then resource and capacity planning and input for maintenance management. It is described the impact of changing the maintenance management organization and maintenance capacity in the light of the change of strategy and the evaluation of maintenance choice alternatives, together with an analysis of the optimization procedure. The paper concludes by presenting the achieved impact of maintenance strategy change on the production efficiency and production quality of the selected enterprise.

Additive manufacturing (AM) provides customization of the microstructure and mechanical properties of components. Selective laser melting (SLM) is the commonly used technique for processing high strength Aluminum alloys. Selection of SLM process parameters could control the microstructure of fabricated parts and their mechanical properties. However, process parameter limits and defects inside the as-built parts present obstacles to customized part production. This study is the second part of a comprehensive work that investigates the influence of SLM process parameters on the quality of as-built Al6061 and AlSi10Mg parts. The microstructure of both materials was characterized for different parts processed over a wide range of SLM process parameters. The optimized SLM parameters were investigated to eliminate the internal microstructure defects. Mechanical properties of the parts were illustrated by regression models generated with design of experiment (DOE) analysis. The results reported in this study were compared to previous studies, illustrating how the process parameters and powder characteristics could affect the quality of produced parts.

The study of man-land relationship in urbanization process is the current frontier and focus of international research. How to balance urban development and ecosystem conservation in the Upper Yellow River is a key issue for sustainable development in China. In this study, we evaluated the Lanzhou-Xining urban agglomeration （LXUA）by constructing a multi-dimensional assessment system for urbanization quality and ecosystem services. The efficacy function model, entropy weight method, and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model were used to quantitatively assess the subsystems' state of development. Then, the coupling model (CD) and the coordination degree（CCD）model were used to explore the coupling coordination relationship and spatial-temporal change characteristics of the composite system. The findings indicate that: 1）In 2020, the quality of urbanization in LXUA showed the pattern of "double core". The development of urban centers in each city is insufficient, and the proportion of counties with low-level is too high. 2）Integrated ecosystem services showed an increasing distribution pattern from the northeast to the southwest. Water provision services, soil conservation services and carbon fixation services all showed growth trends. 3）Each county’s composite system was in the run-in stage or highly coupled stage. The subsystems were closely related to each other. 4）The CCD was decreased by 6% between two decades. The number of counties on the verge of disorder was the highest. About 80% of the counties are relatively lagging behind in ecosystem services.

Dust storms originating from Central Australia and western New South Wales frequently cause high particles concentration at many sites across New South Wales, both inland and along the coast. This study focussed on a dust storm event in February 2019 which affect air quality across the state as detected at many ambient monitoring stations in the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) air quality monitoring network. The WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecast Model – Chemistry) model is used to study the formation, dispersion and transport of dust across the state of New South Wales (NSW, Australia). Wildfires also happened in northern NSW at the same time of the dust storm in February 2019, and their emissions are taken into account in WRF-Chem model by using Fire Inventory from NCAR (FINN) as emission input. The model performance is evaluated and is shown to predict fairly accurate the PM2.5 and PM10 concentration as compared to observation. The predicted PM2.5 concentration over New South Wales during 5 days from 11 to 15 February 2019 is then used to estimate the impact of the February 2019 dust storm event on three health endpoints namely mortality, respiratory and cardiac diseases hospitalisation rates. The results show that even though as the daily average of PM2.5 over some parts of the state, especially in western and north western NSW near the centre of the dust storm and wild fires, are very high (over 900 µg/m3), the population exposure is low due to the sparse population. The top five Statistical Area Level 4 regions with the most impact in term of mortality, respiratory diseases hospitalisation and cardiac disease hospitalisation are Far West and Orana, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, New England and North West, Sydney – Inner South West and either Central Coast (mortality) or Sydney – Parramatta (respiratory diseases hospitalisation) or Sydney – Inner West (cardiac diseases hospitalisation). Generally, the health impact is similar in order of magnitude to that caused by biomass burnings events from wildfires or from hazardous reduction burnings (HRBs) near populous centres such as in Sydney in May 2016. One notable difference is the higher respiratory diseases hospitalisation for this dust event (161) compared to fire event (24).

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a potential accumulator of water pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, and its presence in water systems can affect water quality. This study used different field measurements and laboratory tests of Lake Water to determine the impact of water hyacinth phytoremediation capacity. A total of eight sampling stations used for the two lakes; Lake Koka and Lake Ziway. Sampling stations were selected from sites infested with water hyacinth (low, medium and high) and non-water hyacinth aquatic plants during wet and dry seasons to compare the effects of plants on water quality in the two lakes. All the sampled stations had various human interventions. The water samples were tested for the selected physico-chemical properties namely phosphate, nitrate, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), Biological oxygen demand (BOD5), temperature, and heavy metals (Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Zinc (Zn), and Copper (Cu). These water quality variables were compared by means of ANOVA. Despite the COD of Lake Ziway, this study found no significant (p &gt; 0.05) variation in the concentrations of Cu, EC, pH and temperature between wet and dry seasons in either lake. Variations in Zn concentration and other physico-chemical parameters (EC, BOD, COD, nitrate, phosphate) between low, medium and high levels of water hyacinth were significant in both lakes (p&lt;0.05). Water hyacinth has shown significant phytoremediation nature during wet and dry seasons. The lowest average heavy metal, phosphate, and nitrate concentrations; and significant pH and temperature variations were observed in Lakes Koka and Lake Ziway, among water hyacinth and other grass-infested sites.

Material selection for product design is a complex task. Thus, one of the objectives of this work is to analyze, understand and promote the importance of selection of materials to conceive quality products with help of designers' that promote green self-identity in the early stage of the conception of new products. A questionnaire was sent to professional designers and engineers. 38 responses were validated, this being the sample of our study. The aspects that influence the complex selection of materials and the final quality of the products through the design and production process is presented. As a result of the answers carried out with product designers who work in the market, with students who are graduating and with some engineers, a new approach for the selection of materials was developed. Based on a collection of main ideas from traditional and non-traditional methods of material selection, seeking to group the maximum requirements of both methods, inspired by the "Canvas" model on the basic modular methodology, a new model for a project of new product is presented. Our study focuses on the selection of materials, since this aspect is one of the most relevant steps in early stage of the prototyping phase of new products, with a view to reducing CO² from the air in the atmosphere that we all breathe. The classification of materials is complex, due to the diversity of available options. The novelty of this model is that all properties of the newly designed product, such as technical, aesthetic, productive, environmental and other properties, are all grouped in a model, which serves as an innovative support. Thus, the designer has at his disposal a tool that can help him in the selection of the best material for the products he designs. This study intends to make a contribution in the field of material selection, quality and design of new products, promoting a green self-identity for designers in the initial phase of product design. Consequently, all consumers in search of a sustainable planet will profit from it.

The study analyzed Ecuador's presence in the Web of Science (WoS) post-pandemic from a multivariate dynamic, highlighting a significant transformation in scientific communication towards open access (OA). The methodology integrated multivariate statistical techniques, using R and specialized tools, to process 9,085 relevant articles, 52% of the Ecuadorian publications in WoS between 2019 and 2021 were open access. This movement reflects a commitment to quality research and accessibility, showing an increase in publications and citations under OA. The research underscores the importance of establishing robust national OA policies in Ecuador to promote scientific collaboration and an equitable distribution of knowledge. Despite funding challenges and the lack of specific regulations, educational institutions in Ecuador have maintained a constant scientific output, adapting to the global environment and the demand for transparent information. The study concludes that there is an urgent need for a holistic approach to OA in the country, recognizing the progress made despite the difficulties.

This paper presents a groundbreaking approach to real-time image processing in electronic component assembly, enhancing quality control in manufacturing. By capturing images from pick and place machines between component pickup and mounting, defects are identified and addressed in-line, significantly reducing the likelihood of defective products. Leveraging fast network protocols like gRPC and orchestration with Kubernetes, along with C++ programming and TensorFlow, this method achieves an average turnaround time of less than 5 milliseconds. Tested on 20 live production machines, it ensures compliance with IPC-A-610, and IPC-STD-J-001 standards while optimizing production efficiency and reliability.

The Sarcoma Assessment Measure (SAM) was developed as a sarcoma-specific patient-reported outcome measure to be used in clinical practice. We have reported in detail how SAM has been developed in collaboration with patients and healthcare professionals. The aim of this paper is to report the preliminary validation of SAM. The 22-item SAM was administered alongside a validated quality of life questionnaire and measure of activities of daily living. Linear modelling was used to build a measure, which had predictive validity in comparison to more established outcome measures. Of the 762 patients who participated in the study, 44.1% identified as male, and participant age ranged from 13-82 years. Clinically, participants presented with a range of soft tissue (82.2%) and bone (21.8%) sarcomas. Our preliminary analysis indicates that SAM accounts for 35% of the Global quality of life scale and 18% of the TESS so psychometrically it overlaps with quality of life and activities of daily living, but also measures distinct concerns. This demonstrates that this measure picks up issues that are important to patients with sarcoma that are not reflected in other measures. We have established the preliminary validity of SAM and believe it has utility as a patient-reported outcome measure both as a research tool and for assessing the impact of symptoms and dysfunction related to sarcoma as part of clinical care. Further validation using a larger and more clinically diverse sample is now needed.

Abstract: The diffusion of competition under the coexistence of multi-generation products has become one of the important challenges faced by enterprises in their daily and sustainable operations. At the same time, the competition between different brands has intensified the difficulty and complexity of decision-making in the process of multi-generation product operation, Therefore, based on the Norton-Bass model diffusion process, this paper introduces two marketing variables, dynamic price and quality level, builds a multi-generation product diffusion model under the dual-brand competition, and analyzes the impact of the company's revenue on the launch time to market, pricing, quality or technical level. By using system dynamics (SD) method, From the perspective of strong brand and weak brand enterprises, the competition diffusion model is built and simulated. The simulation shows that: i) When enterprises have the same brand competitiveness, reducing the pricing level cannot obtain more revenue, but diminish the overall revenue of the industry; Raising the pricing level can get more revenue, but also improve the revenue of competitors. ii) When the competitive strength of enterprises is different, the strong brand tends to maintain a stable pricing on the basis of improving the quality level, or slightly raise the price. Weak brands tend to raise the pricing of new products significantly on the basis of improving the quality level. iii) The launch time to market decision of new product is influenced by the degree of product quality upgrade. Therefore, the frequency of releasing new products should trade-off against the degree of technological upgrading of product quality. This paper provides the theoretical basis and new insights for the new product launch and operation decision of enterprises.

The affected upper limb in children with Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy (US CP) has motor and somatosensory impairments, that contribute negatively to children’s bimanual performance and quality of life. Mirror Therapy (MT) is being studied to become an approachable intensive and home-based therapy, suitable for children with US CP. The aim of this study is to examine the feasibility of a 5-week home-based program of MT for children with US CP. Six children aged 8-12 years old performed the therapy, five days per week, 30 minutes per day. A minimum of an 80% of compliance was required. The evaluations included the feasibility of the therapy (compliance, total dosage, perceived difficulty of the exercises, and losses of follow-ups and evaluations), the bimanual performance, the somatosensory function and the quality of life at baseline, at the end of the intervention, and at 1-month follow-up. All children completed the therapy and were included in the analysis. The total accomplishment was 86.47 ± 7.67. The perceived difficulty of the exercises ranged from 2,37 to 4,51. As a conclusion, a home-based program of Mirror Therapy is suitable and feasible for children with US CP.

Seyfe Lake is an important part of the natural ecosystem of Central Anatolia and lies within a 1487 km² closed basin. Groundwater withdrawal for irrigation and recent climatic change have caused lake area to decrease for decades and to completely disappear briefly in August 2008. Groundwater quality is crucial for sustainable irrigation in the Seyfe Basin. A key finding of this study is the difference in the Hardie-Eugster alkalinity-to-calcium ratio of the lake water and that of most groundwater wells in the basin. This difference in the chemical signature of Seyfe Lake and basin groundwater means the evaporative salinization pathway of most groundwater discharged into the lake cannot account for the composition of Seyfe Lake. The ratio of actual evapotranspiration to precipitation will increase under current climate change projections. A second finding, with implications for soil salinization, is that most groundwater in Seyfe Basin has a Hardie-Eugster alkalinity-tocalcium ratio greater than unity, meaning soil alkalization will accompany soil salinization.

Habitat quality has great significance for regional ecological conservation and human welfare. In this study, we evaluated the spatial and temporal characteristics of land use and habitat quality in the temperate desert sub-region of Ordos Plateau using patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) and integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs (InVEST) models. From 2000 to 2020, the areas of grassland, cropland, and unused land in the study area increased significantly; the areas of water bodies and woodland increased slightly; and the area of wasteland decreased significantly. Moreover, the habitat quality in the temperate desert subzone of the Ordos Plateau showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing from 2000 to 2020. The areas of lower and low habitat quality first decreased and then increased, and the overall area decreased over time. Conversely, the areas of high and higher habitat quality initially increased and then decreased, and the overall area increased over time. The area of medium habitat quality first decreased and then increased, although the overall change was minimal. Based on the PLUS model, the habitat quality of the study area in 2025 predicted under the natural development scenario was compared with that predicted under the ecological conservation scenario, showing higher habitat quality and lower habitat degradation under the ecological conservation development scenario. These results can be used to provide a scientific basis and decision reference for the sustainable use of land resources and high-quality socio-economic development in the temperate desert sub-region of the Ordos Plateau.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based conversational models, such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing, and Google Bard, emerged as valuable sources of health information for the lay individuals. However, the accuracy of information provided by these AI models remains a significant concern. This pilot study aimed to test a new tool referred to as “CLEAR”, designed to assess the quality of health information delivered by AI-based models. Tool development involved a literature review on health information quality, followed by initial establishment of the CLEAR tool comprising five items that aimed to assess the following: completeness of content in response to the prompt, lack of false information, evidence support, appropriateness, and relevance of the generated content. Each item was scored on a 5-point Likert scale from excellent to poor. Content validity was checked by expert review of the initial items. Pilot testing involved 32 healthcare professionals using the CLEAR tool to assess content on eight different health topics deliberately designed with varying qualities. The internal consistency was checked using the Cronbach α. Feedback through the pilot test resulted in language modifications to improve the clarity of the items. The final CLEAR tool was used to assess health information quality generated through four different AI-based models in five different, yet common health topics. The AI models were ChatGPT 3.5, ChatGPT 4, Bing, and Bard, and the content generated was scored by two independent raters with Cohen κ to assess the inter-rater agreement. The final five CLEAR items were: (1) Is the content sufficient? (2) Is the content accurate? (3) Is the content evidence-based? (4) Is the content clear, concise, and easy to understand? and (5) Is the content free from irrelevant information? Pilot testing using the eight different health topics revealed an acceptable internal consistency with a Cronbach α range of 0.669–0.981. The use of the final CLEAR tool yielded the following average scores: Bing (mean=24.4±0.42), ChatGPT-4 (mean=23.6±0.96), Bard (mean=21.2±1.79), and ChatGPT-3.5 (mean=20.6±5.20). The inter-rater agreement revealed the following Cohen κ values: for ChatGPT-3.5 (κ=0.875, P<.001), ChatGPT-4 (κ=0.780, P<.001), Bing (κ=0.348, P=.037), and Bard (κ=.749, P<.001). The CLEAR tool is a brief yet helpful tool that can aid to standardize testing of the quality of health information generated by the AI-based conversational models. Future studies are recommended to validate the utility of the CLEAR tool to assess the quality of the AI-generated health-related content using a larger sample across various complex health topics.

HDPE (high-density polyethene) plastic waste is stronger, harder, and more resistant to high temperatures than other plastics. Using it as an additive in a concrete mixture is one solution to reduce this type of waste. We examined how HDPE-type plastics can be used as an additive material in the manufacture of concrete to improve its hardness, tensile strength and compressive strength. Using 156 samples, we aimed to identify the effect of HDPE plastic fibres on concrete of three qualities; B0, f'c10 MPa (low quality), and f'c25 MPa (medium and high quality). We added four compositions (2.5%, 5%, 10% and 20% by weight of cement) of HDPE plastic fibre to each quality of cement, with HDPE plastic fibre sizes of 1 x 1 cm, 0.5 x 2 cm or 0.25 x 4 cm. We found that the addition of 5% HDPE plastic fibre with a 0.5 x 2 cm cross-sectional shape to the f'c10 MPa concrete gives the best result, with increased tensile and compressive strength of the concrete.

TomoBreast hypothesized that hypofractionated 15 fractions/3 weeks image-guided radiation therapy (H-IGRT) can reduce lung-heart toxicity, as compared with normofractionated 25-33 fractions/5-7 weeks conventional radiation therapy (CRT). 123 women with stage I-II operated breast cancer were randomized to receive CRT (N=64) or H-IGRT (N=59). The primary endpoint used a four-items measure of the time to 10% alteration in any of patient self-reported measure, physician clinical evaluation, echocardiography or lung function tests, analyzed by intention-to-treat without exclusion. Results found comparable survivals, but H-IGRT significantly reduced the toxicity measured by lung diffusion capacity and alveolar volume as compared with CRT, G1 in 53% (31/59) versus 72% (44/61) patients, P=0.006; G2, 29% versus 48%, P=0.020. H-IGRT significantly reduced the risk of composite cardio-pulmonary alteration at 5 years, 10.2% versus 26.7%, P=0.024. In conclusion, TomoBreast is a proof-of-concept that image-guided radiation-therapy can improve the overall balance of lung-heart outcomes in breast cancer adjuvant therapy. Furthermore, the significance of the findings supports the efficacy of a small trial size design, which can be critical when clinical research resources are limited.

Estimating Visual Quality of Street Space (VQoSS) is pivotal for urban design, environmental sustainability, civic engagement, etc. Recent advancements, notably in deep learning, have enabled large-scale analysis. However, traditional deep learning approaches are hampered by extensive data annotation requirements and limited adaptability across diverse VQoSS tasks. Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) have recently demonstrated proficiency in various computer vision tasks, positioning them as promising tools for automated VQoSS assessment. In this paper, we pioneer the application of MLLMs to VQoSS change estimation, with our empirical findings affirming their effectiveness. In addition, we introduce Street Quality GPT (SQ-GPT), a model that distills knowledge from the current most powerful but inaccessible (not free) GPT-4, requiring no human efforts. SQ-GPT approaches GPT-4’s performance and is viable for large-scale VQoSS change estimation. In a case study of Nanjin, we showcase the practicality of SQ-GPT and knowledge distillation pipeline. Our work promises to be a valuable asset for future urban studies research.

The purpose of this work was to achieve non-destructive detection of the internal defects of in-shell walnuts using X-ray radiography technology based on improved Faster R-CNN network model. First, the FPN structure was added to the feature extraction layer to extract richer image information. Then ROI Align was used to instead of ROI Pooling for eliminating the localization bias problem caused by quantization operation. Finally, the Softer-NMS module was introduced to the final regression layer with the predicted bounding box for improving the localization accuracy of the candidate boxes. The results indicated that the internal defects in intact walnuts with shells could be identified effectively using the proposed improved network model in this study. Specifically, the discrimination accuracy of the in-shell sound, shriveled and empty-shell walnuts were 96.14%, 91.72% and 94.80% respectively, and the highest overall accuracy can reach 94.22 %. Contrasted with original Faster R-CNN network model, the mAP and F1-value of the improved Faster R-CNN model increased by 5.86% and 5.65%, respectively. Consequently, the proposed method can be applied for the in-shell walnuts with shriveled and empty-shell defects.

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is one of the most appreciated and consumed food worldwide, especially in Italy, for its high content of nutrients and for its taste. However, these characteristics make this product subject to counterfeiting in different forms. In this study, a novel method based on an electronic nose has been developed in order to investigate the potentiality of this tool to distinguish rind percentage in grated Parmigiano Reggiano packages that should be lower than 18%. Different samples in terms of percentage, seasoning and rind working process were considered to tackle the problem at 360°. In parallel, GC-MS technique was used to give a name to the compounds that characterize Parmigiano and to relate them with sensors responses. Data analysis consisted of two stages: multivariate analysis (PLS) and classification made in a hierarchical way with PLS-DA ad ANNs. Results are promising in terms of correct classification of the samples. The classification rate is higher for ANNs than PLS-DA, reaching also 100% values.

Due to combined climate and biodiversity crisis, the sustainable utilization of phytogenetic resources stands as one-way alternative while nutrient management strategies gain an increasing role in agriculture. Building on previous studies regarding the Endangered local endemic of Crete (Greece) Carlina diae (Asteraceae) with medicinal and ornamental value, this investigation focused on its pilot cultivation and fertilization (foliar or root application). Foliar application included chemical fertilizer (conventional) or integrated nutrient management (INM). Root application consisted of chemical fertilizer, biostimulant, or INM with biostimulant. Above-ground biomass content of nutrients, together with leaf chlorophyll fluorescence and colour parameters (SPAD meter, DA meter, Chroma Meter) were determined. The leaf content of chlorophyll, three key antioxidant compounds and minerals’ titers were also assessed. The fertilization scheme did not influence plant growth and visually perceived quality (leaf color and shape). Notably, foliar INM fertilization increased biomass partitioning to inflorescences (harvestable organ for either medicinal or ornamental purposes), and decreased tissue water content (facilitating processing). Considering all three antioxidants together, INM with biostimulant appeared the optimum scheme, being associated with the highest (carotenoids, phenolics) or the second highest (flavonoid) content. In C. diae, therefore, INM fertilization was optimal for upgrading yield (foliar) and herbal quality in terms of antioxidant profile (INM with biostimulant), which might be embraced as an eco-friendly approach for high quality yields.

The Douro Demarcated Region (DDR) has peculiar edaphoclimatic characteristics that provide a suitable terroir for premium wine production. As climate change effects continue to emerge, ensuring productivity and quality becomes increasingly important for viticulturists, as those directly determine their profits. Cultural approaches, such as the use of biostimulants, are actively being developed to mitigate abiotic stress. The main objective of this work was to assess the effect of foliar sprays of a seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) based extract (ANE) and glycine betaine (GB) on grape berry quality, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant activity. A trial was installed in a commercial vineyard (cv. Touriga Franca) in the Douro Superior (Upper Douro) sub-region of the Douro Demarcated Region. In 2020, a total of three foliar sprayings were performed during the growing season, namely at pea-size, bunch closure, and veraison. There was a positive effect of both biostimulants (ANE and GB) on the physiological and biochemical performance of cv. Touriga Franca exposed to summer stress. In general, the GB 0.2% spraying was the most promising treatment for this grape cultivar, as it increased berry quality, the concentration of bioactive compounds (total phenolics, flavonoids and ortho-diphenols), and the antioxidant activities. These results revealed the efficacy of biostimulants sprayings as sustainable viticultural practice, improving berry quality under summer stress conditions.

Call set up success rate (CSSR) in a mobile network is an important quality parameter, which directly influences overall key performance indicators (KPIs) of the network service providers. Network KPIs especially the CSSR is the fraction of the attempts to make a call that result in a successful connection to the dialled number. Nevertheless, all call attempts do not end with a connection to the dialled number. In this research, six sigma methodology is applied to improve the call quality of a legacy mobile network and subsequently to boost comprehensive CSSR of a telecom service provider. This research elucidates an empirical study of improving overall CSSR by employing DMAIC methodology consisting of five stages, e.g. Define, Measure, Analysis, Improve and Control. In addition, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique is used for determining the vital causes out of all the identified network parameters affecting overall CSSR. Furthermore, the identified vital parameters are being upgraded in order to improve the overall CSSR and finally the system achieved a higher CSSR.

This paper describes a case study of ventilation as well as measured and perceived indoor air quality (IAQ) in a Finnish comprehensive school with a hybrid ventilation system and reported IAQ problems. An operational error was found when investigating the ventilation system that prevented air from coming into classrooms, except for short periods of high carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations. However, results indicated that hybrid ventilation system was able to provide adequate ventilation and sufficient IAQ once properly designed and maintained. After ventilation operation was improved, occupants reported less unpleasant odors and stuffy air. The amount of total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) and some single volatile organic compounds (VOCs) decreased. Indoor mycobiota was observed in settled dust in the classrooms, from which ventilation improvement eliminated the dominant, opportunistic human pathogen species Trichoderma citrinoviride found before improvement.

Water quality assessments are crucial for human health and environmental safeguards. The utilization of a subset of artificial intelligence such as Machine Learning (ML) presents significant impacts to enhance the prediction and classification of water quality. In this research, a set of diverse ML algorithms was evaluated to handle a comprehensive dataset of water quality measurements over an extended period. The aim was to develop a robust approach for accurately forecasting water quality. This approach employed machine learning classifiers such as Logistic Regression (LR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Gaussian Process Classification (GPC), Gaussian Naive Bayes (GNB), Random Forest (RF), Decision Tree (DT), XGBoost, and Multilayer Perceptron (MLP). The water quality parameters assessed for pH, hardness, solids, chloramines, sulfate, conductivity, organic carbon, trihalomethanes and turbidity. The XGBoost model exhibited the highest accuracy of 89.47% among the classifiers and Stacked Ensemble Classifiers (SEC) improved the prediction further to 92.98%. The findings suggest that XGBoost and the SEC hold promise as reliable approaches for water quality assessments in contrast of artificial intelligence.

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that impairs breathing. Management of asthma presents a significant challenge due to its inherent variability; that is, its symptoms can substantially differ among individuals, thereby complicating the prediction and management of exacerbations. Furthermore, individuals with asthma often have unique triggers that precipitate symptoms or attacks. The identification of these triggers can often prove to be a challenging, and at times, an impractical attempt. To address this, our research proposes a practical, personalized alert system, predicated on individual lung function tests conducted under varying environmental conditions classified by air-quality sensors. To validate this concept, we conducted an observational pilot study involving healthy individuals. We recruited twelve healthy participants and monitored their responses across a broad spectrum of environments, characterized by varying air quality, temperature, and humidity conditions. The lung function for each participant, assessed using peak expiratory flow (PEF) values, was recorded in each of these environments. Our results highlighted substantial variability in pulmonary responses to different environments. Utilizing these insights, we proposed a personalized alarm system that provides real-time air-quality monitoring and issues alerts when environmental conditions may potentially become unfavorable. We also explored the feasibility of employing basic machine learning techniques to predict PEF values in the aforementioned environmental conditions. This proposed system has the potential to empower individuals in actively safeguarding their respiratory health and mitigating discomfort caused by environmental conditions, especially in cases of asthma patients. By enabling timely and personalized interventions, the system aims to provide individuals with the necessary tools to minimize exposure to asthma’s possible triggers.

This paper describes the indoor air pollution in urban (Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi and Karachi) Pakistani regions while considering the outdoor air and the health and wellbeing of the occupants present indoors. It also aims to assess previous methodological approaches Such as Air Conditioning Systems, used by developed countries to improve air quality to demonstrate the improvements that can be made in air quality in Pakistani urban areas. This research also investigates the causes, concentration and effects of poor air quality in Pakistani urban areas such as particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon oxides (COx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). The average concentration of these pollutants in Pakistan’s indoor air is, particulate matter (PM): [100 – 250 µg/m3 for PM2.5, 200 – 600 µg/m3 for PM10] 1 – 20 ppm for carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx): [50 – 100 µg/m3 for NO2, 20 – 40 µg/m3 for NO], 20 – 50 µg/m3 for sulfur dioxide (SO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs): 0.1 – 0.5 ppm for formaldehyde, 5 – 10 µg/m3 for benzene and 20 – 30 µg/m3 for toluene. It should be noted that these concentrations can differ depending on the origin of pollution, location, and time of day. The literature review is made up of a combination of descriptive research methods that are used to inform the research background of ambient and indoor air quality, thus the literature review provides a theoretical and methodological background about the air pollution and its improvement in different parts of the world. According to the World Air Quality Index, Pakistan is the third most polluted country in terms of average PM2.5 concentration which is 14.2 times the WHO annual air quality guideline value. As a result, it is suggested that a PM2.5 concentration reduction program be implemented in urban Pakistani regions' indoor air.

Despite a growing concern over sustainability in tourism, research on this domain regarding, specifically, lake destinations, is still scarce. Although perceptions on lake destinations have been studied, no study is known that analyses the impact of visitors’ perceptions on satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Thus, this paper aims to develop and test a model to analyse the effect of lake visitors’ perceptions of destination’s sustainability on both satisfaction and loyalty towards lake destinations. A questionnaire survey was conducted in the Shchuchinsk-Burabay resort area, an important lake destination in northern Kazakhstan. The results support the proposed lake destination loyalty model, tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Sustainability proved to be decisively influential, with water quality being the dimension with the highest impact on satisfaction with the lakes, along with a positive key impact of the absence of congestion. In addition, both water quality and lack of congestion had a significant indirect impact on satisfaction with the lake destination, and on loyalty. Based on the research findings, theoretical conclusions and practical implications are drawn.

Developing a low-cost wireless energy meter with power quality measurement for smart grid applications represents a significant advancement in efficient and accurate electrical energy monitoring.In increasingly complex and interconnected electrical systems, this device is essential in various applications, such as smart grids, enabling real-time energy usage monitoring. In such a context, smart meters expand the possibilities for sustainable and efficient energy use and promote better utilization of energy sources, especially non-renewable ones. According to the 2020 International Energy Agency (IEA) research, non-renewable energy sources represent 65% of the global total. The smart meter developed in this work is built based on the ESP32 microcontroller and easily accessible components, using a user-friendly development platform that offers a cost-effective solution while ensuring reliable performance. The main objective of the smart meter development was to enhance the software and simplify the hardware. Unlike traditional meters that perform electrical parameter calculations using complex hardware circuits, this project performed the calculations directly on the microcontroller. This approach reduced the complexity of the hardware, simplifying the meter’s design. With the high-performance processing capability of the microcontroller, efficient and accurate calculations of electrical parameters were achieved without the need for additional circuits. This software-driven approach with simplified hardware brought benefits such as reduced production costs, lower energy consumption, and increased meter development and updates flexibility. Furthermore, the integrated wireless connectivity in the microcontroller enables the transmission of collected data to remote monitoring systems for later analysis. The developed smart meter offers cost, energy efficiency, and flexibility benefits. It represents an innovative, efficient, and versatile solution for smart grid applications.

Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) are becoming increasingly popular for their nutritional and health benefits, and their economic value is therefore increasing. Loss of quality that can occur due to softening and fungal attack is an important consideration when marketing blueberries. Despite the added value of blueberries, no studies have been carried out on how the fruit arrives at the outlets just before purchase by the consumer in terms of firmness, physico-chemical parameters, phenolic compounds and fungal growth. The aim of this work has been, therefore, to investigate possible differences in quality parameters between blueberries purchased from ten different outlets, regardless of the supplier. The results showed that all samples were of acceptable quality, although they all had a low maturity index at the point of sale. On the other hand, differences in the parameters measured were observed between samples of the same cultivar while we could not find differences between conventionally and organically grown blueberries, suggesting that preharvest and postharvest factors could influence the final quality when they reach the consumer.

Clinical trials are research studies performed on people that are aimed at evaluating a medical, surgical, or behavioural intervention. It is a primary way that researchers find out if a new treatment, like a new drug or diet, or medical device is safe and effective in people. In this paper blockchain technology is embedded in a digital twin aiming to improve the quality of clinical trials through the boost of data integrity among the quality-related activities, and to promote participants' safety. First, a blockchain-embedded quality-enabled digital twin is proposed and the interactions among the enablers and peers are highlighted. Then, a prototype of the proposed system is developed, and the data of a pilot trial is used to justify the applicability of the system. The results showed that the proposed system is efficient, and hence it is feasible to adopt into a clinical trial. With the successful development of the proposed system, it is promising to provide effective data integration and knowledge management for improving participant safety.

Chronic pain is a source of major alterations in quality of life. It represents significant costs for health systems, and reduces the competitiveness of the working population. Vulnerability can drive the incidence of chronic pain, through its influence on modifiable risk factors, and reduced utilization of health care systems. But vulnerability can also be the consequence of a chronic pain: illness can push people into precariousness. We analysed the factors associated with pain intensity among vulnerable persons with a chronic condition, in five European countries (N=1,364). Pain was, among the whole set of variables, the main predictor of sleep problems, fatigue, depression, self-perceived health, physical and mental quality of life. This is in line with other studies showing the major impact of pain on an individual’s health and life. Multivariable analyses, adjusting for the whole set of variables, showed that women had more intense pain, as well as participants with a lower education level. These results confirm the social component in the complex etiology of pain and clearly plaid in favor of integrated care, taking into account individual characteristics and environment.

In the process of image feature extraction, noise in the image will greatly affect the accuracy of edge detection. In this paper, the image is filtered to remove noise before edge detection by using the algorithm of wavelet transformation. Different wavelet functions are used to decompose image. Based on the experimental results, the best denoising wavelet function is selected. Canny algorithm is used to detect the edge of the denoised image, and the result of edge detection is evaluated according to the Pratt quality factor. It is proved that wavelet transform can improve the edge detection results.

COVID-19 is a well-known respiratory disease spreading worldwide since January 2020, causing many deaths and massive pressure on health systems. This pandemic’s appearance compromised the health services’ sustainability and quality as many procedures were postponed or even canceled out, with an expected increase of adverse events like nosocomial infections, in-hospital deaths, and the worsening of the patients’ clinical status. Therefore, assessing whether the healthcare providers’ performance has changed is paramount. In this case, we evaluated the public hospitals in Portugal as the leading secondary health care providers in the country, which in turn has been highly affected by the pandemic. To this end, we developed a network Data Envelopment Analysis model serially relating efficiency and effectiveness. Using 2,795 observations from public hospitals and 18 variables, we observed consistent drops in efficiency when the pandemic started, followed by a recovery to levels above the pre-pandemic ones. Regarding effectiveness, we observed a positive trend during the evaluated period. In short, these results allow us to conclude that, apart from the great resilience of public healthcare providers, the Portuguese State was not prepared for a pandemic like COVID-19, but still the actions taken (including massive vaccination) were beneficial.

Gender parity, is an important standard to be achieved by a society in which men and women are treated equally. The distinctions in the treatment may arise from psychology, biology, or cultural norms constructed by society. Studies show the different experiences of genders across many areas including health, education, personality, life expectancy, sports, interests, political empowerment, and careers. However, we are still far from reaching the objective, because there are conducts such as gender discrimination and expressions such as the purplewashing. In relation to feminism, purplewashing is used to define a diversity of marketing and political strategies intended at promoting people, companies, associations, and other organizations through an appeal to gender equality: they use only some of the feminist values at their convenience and in its actions, they are not really supportive of gender equality. In this opinion we aimed to address some of the reasons for inequality of opportunities based on gender; purplewashing is described as an expression that takes away the visibility of women's struggle. Additionally, we touch on some actions that promote gender equality in the family, educational, and work environments. Global leaders have an unprecedented opportunity to build gender-sensitive societies and economies. The challenges facing women today are essentially the same as they were a long time ago. It is time to break the bias.

Background: Observational health data has the potential to be a rich resource to inform clinical practice and regulatory decision making. However, the lack of standard data quality processes makes it difficult to know if these data are research ready. The EHDEN COVID-19 Rapid Col-laboration Call presented the opportunity to assess how the newly developed open-source tool Data Quality Dashboard (DQD) informs the quality of data in a federated network. Methods: 15 Data Partners (DPs) from 10 different countries worked with the EHDEN taskforce to map their data to the OMOP CDM. Throughout the process at least two DQD results were collected and compared for each DP. Results: All DPs showed an improvement in their data quality between the first and last run of the DQD. The DQD excelled at helping DPs identify and fix conformance is-sues but showed less of an impact on completeness and plausibility checks. Conclusions: This is the first study to apply the DQD on multiple, disparate databases across a network. While study-specific checks should still be run, we recommend that all data holders converting their data to the OMOP CDM use the DQD as it ensures conformance to the model specifications and that a database meets a baseline level of completeness and plausibility for use in research.

Recently, there has been a trend towards healthy food. Consumers are looking for products that have health-promoting properties in addition to their taste. Actinidia fruit, apart from being tasty, contains valuable nutrients. They are high in vitamin C, polyphenols, and pectins and low in calories. These pro-health properties allow kiwiberry fruit to qualify in the group of so-called superfoods. All tested cultivars belong to two species of Actinidia, well tolerating conditions of moderate climate with negative temperatures in winter. The cultivars differed significantly in mineral content, color, firmness, weight and content of antioxidant substances. Summer pruning (lightening) increased the content of N, P, K, extract, and NO3 and resulted in darker fruit color. However, it slightly decreased the content of polyphenols. 'Sientiabrskaja' can be recommended for consumption as the cultivar richest in polyphenols and with the highest health-promoting values.

Studies have found critical software malfunctions responsible for some of the worst accidents in recent times. These malfunctions are often only minor defects that snowball into large problems; a few lines of code is all it takes. Complexity, safety, quality, and resilience are among the key attributes defining a software’s operational success. There are many leading factors for complexity, such as increases in the product size, the rate of requirement changes, and the number and type of stakeholders, and failure to manage these issues efficiently always has the same consequence, i.e., massive failure and sometimes technological catastrophe. This work analyzes some of the architecture, design, and implementation guidelines used as detection and mitigation techniques. It also discusses the safety considerations, as considering how the steam industry has handled safety issues could offer some guidance for ensuring safety. Complexity in such systems also causes some of the worst side effects from the quality auditor's perspective. While failures in the software are hard to predict, one of the most significant ways of showing preparedness is practicing software resilience. New mitigation areas, such as the fragility spectrum and failure obviation, and their usage for building a safer system are analyzed. Also discussed are various architecture styles in practice and the dramatic effect human factors can have on the success of the software being developed.

An adaptive control technique has been implemented for DSTATCOM for power quality enhancement in three phase four wires(3P4W) distribution system. The reference source currents are extracted from active components of load current for each phase by using this technique. It has also been used for load balancing, harmonic suppression, power factor improvement and reactive power compensation in distribution system. The adaptive control technique has been tested at varying load in steady state and dynamic conditions. This technique is developed using MATLAB/Simulink and source side harmonics are mitigated under different load conditions which are acceptable in accordance with IEEE standard.

In the search for more efficient production systems, many changes have occurred in the strawberry production sector. Planting density is one of the management techniques that most interferes with the quality of fruits and production aspects. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different planting densities on the photosynthetic characteristics, fruit quality, and production of the strawberry cultivar Pircinque. The study was conducted in the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 harvests in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The treatments consisted of plant spacing of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 cm. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with four blocks and plots of 20 plants. Plant spacing interfered with fruit quality, photosynthetic efficiency, production, productivity, and economic return. Due to the fruits of 'Pircinque' with higher quality than other cultivars, the planting spacing between 5 and 15 cm allows meeting the fruit's main production and quality requirements. However, it is up to the producer to adapt the management if opting for higher planting densities, which allow greater economic viability of the business.

Studies on crop response to light quality [red (R) to far-red (FR) light ratio] often recommend early weed removal to reduce the effects of shade avoidance responses on crop yield. However, it is unclear whether crops are able to distinguish reflected light quality of kin from that of non-kin. We evaluated the response of sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) to reflected FR light from sugarbeet, common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), and bare soil (control) under outdoor conditions in 2016 and 2017. Treatments were completely randomized with 10 replications per treatment. The study methods ensured there was no direct resource competition. The reflected R:FR of plant species ranged from 0.06 (common lambsquarters) to 0.24 (sugarbeet) compared to 0.7 for the bare soil. In both 2016 and 2017, there were 2 to 4 more leaves in the sugarbeet surrounded by soil compared to sugarbeet surrounded by neighboring species. There was up to 47, 57, 43, and 23% reduction in sugarbeet leaf area, shoot dry weight, root diameter, and root dry weight, respectively, due to reflected R:FR light from neighboring species. Sugarbeet did not respond differently to reflected light quality of kin compared to non-kin.

Pit lakes can represent significant liabilities at mine closure. However, pit lakes also present opportunities to provide significant regional benefit and address residual closure risks of both their own and overall project closure, and even offset the environmental costs of mining by creating new end uses. Unfortunately, many pit lakes have continued to be abandoned without repurposing for an end use. We reviewed published pit lake repurposing case studies of abandoned mine pit lakes. We found beneficial end use type and outcome varied dependent upon climate and commodity; but equally important social and political dynamics that manifest as mining company commitments or regulatory requirements. Many end uses have been realized: passive and active recreation, nature conservation, fishery and aquaculture, drinking and industrial water storage, greenhouse carbon fixation, flood protection and waterway remediation, disposal of mine and other waste, mine water treatment and containment, and education and research. Common attributes and reasons that led to successful repurposing of abandoned pit lakes as beneficial end uses are discussed. Recommendations are given for all stages of mine closure planning to prevent pit lake abandonment and to achieve successful pit lake closure with beneficial end uses.

Faecal sludge (FS) contains a significant amount of plant nutrients. After drying and composting, FS has been used as soil ameliorant in several countries. Use of FS-based compost on lettuce may meet reservations due to possible microbiological contamination. The objectives of this research are: (l) to determine the fertilizer value of different formulations of sawdust and faecal sludge compost (SDFS) pellets, (2) to compare the effect of these SDFS formulations with poultry manure, commercial compost, mineral fertilizer and non-fertilization on lettuce cultivation. The SDFS products were made by enriching and pelletized with ammonium sulphate, mineral-NPK or ammonium sulphate + muriate of potash + triple super phosphate. Lettuce was cultivated in a greenhouse and in an open field. The result showed that the fresh weight obtained from all SDFS pellets with/without enrichments were higher than those obtained from commercial compost, poultry manure, mineral fertilizer or no fertilizer. Cultivation in the open field gave higher yields than those in the greenhouse. No helminth eggs were detected in composts or lettuces. Some faecal coliforms were detected in lettuces despite fertilization treatments. A properly treated fecal sludge-based fertilizer can be a sustainable solution for lettuce production which helps urban and peri-urban agriculture.

Shenzhen is China’s top ten clean air city and the cleanest air megacity. Even so, epidemiologic studies have shown ambient air pollution had significant adverse impacts on human health in this less polluted city. In this study, the concentrations of six criteria air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO) from 2014 to 2017 were analyzed and compared to thresholds of both national and international air quality standards. The results showed concentrations of all air pollutants were below target values of current national air quality standard, but levels of particulate matter (PM) and O3 were still much higher than the recommended levels by the World Health Organization. Within national air quality standards, the number of over-limit days was rare with few variations between highly polluted and low pollution areas. The air quality improvement was slowing down recently. Our results suggest annual and daily thresholds for PM are too loose for air quality improvement in Shenzhen. Hence, we call for evaluation and establishment of tougher air quality standard.

The sustainability of irrigated agriculture depends on the quality of irrigation water used. The electrolyte concentration (EC) of irrigation water may lead to the accumulation of salts in the root zone layers and affect the physiological functions of the crop by osmotic and ion toxicity effects. Further, the cationic and anionic composition of the water may alter the exchangeable cation composition of the soil and as well as its pH. Because of the dominance of sodium salts in many sources of irrigation water, parameters related to sodium such as exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) of soils and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) of soil solutions have been commonly used to study the effects of sodium in irrigation water on soil structural stability. Quirk and Schofield concept of ‘threshold electrolyte concentration’ (TEC) has shown the importance of electrolytes in preventing the effects of sodium on soil structure. Based on this concept, several models have been proposed to relate ESP or SAR with EC to predict the possible impacts of irrigation water on soil structural stability. However, many research reports indicate that this relationship varies with soils and a given model is not suitable for all types of soils. Further, the effects of potassium and magnesium in the processes leading to clay dispersion are disregarded in these models. This essay analyses all the factors involved in the structural failure of soils with different cationic composition, identify the defects in these TEC models and re-defines TEC on the basis of new insights on dispersive and flocculating charges of soils. This review does not deal with EC effects on crops and also the role of contaminant ions not involved with soil structural stability.

This study investigated the effect of protein bread fortification with 2, 4 and 6% of cumin (Cuminum cyminum) and caraway (Carum carvi) whole seeds and by-products flour, respectively. Fortified protein bread samples were compared to control protein bread and evaluated for their sensory, color, moisture, hardness properties as well as their nutritional values. Total phenolic contents and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity were also analyzed. Results indicated that bread fortification shows significant effects on bread properties depending on fortification level. A higher acceptability was observed specially for bread fortified with by-products flour. Increased tendencies of color darkness, moisture content, bread hardness, nutritional values as well as total phenolic content and radical scavenging activity compared to control bread were observed as the percentage of fortification increased in both cases. The overall results showed that addition of cumin and caraway seeds and by-products flour can improve the antioxidant potential and overall quality of protein bread.

This study explores the interplay between web-based professional development, teachers' self-efficacy, resilience, and work values in the context of the Davao Region. The investigation reveals significant findings in three key areas: web-based professional development, teachers' resilience, and teachers' work values. The survey indicates that web-based professional development significantly impacts teachers' self-efficacy, with interaction self-efficacy registering the highest mean score. Moreover, teachers' resilience is manifested across emotional, motivational, and social dimensions, with emotional resilience scoring the highest mean. Teachers' work values, encompassing physical facilities, social environment, job security, new challenges, professional growth, personal growth, and interpersonal relationships, all demonstrate high descriptive equivalents. The study establishes a significant positive correlation between web-based professional development and teachers' self-efficacy, as well as a significant relationship between teachers' resilience and their work values. Furthermore, both web-based professional development and teachers' resilience exert a significant influence on teachers' work values.The conclusions drawn from the study highlight the prominence of web-based professional development, teachers' resilience, and work values in the educational landscape of the Davao Region. The findings underscore the interconnectedness of these factors and their crucial role in shaping the teaching profession. In light of these results, recommendations are made to inform policy decisions and enhance professional development programs for teachers in the region. The study encourages a holistic understanding of the relationships between web-based professional development, self-efficacy, resilience, and work values, aiming to contribute to the continuous improvement of education quality in the Davao Region. Additionally, future research is suggested to delve deeper into specific aspects of teachers' general self-efficacy, social resilience, and interpersonal relationships for a more comprehensive understanding.

Water is one of the most critical factors affecting environmental health. For this reason, estimating and monitoring the behavior of water in nature and preventing water pollution before it occurs are advantageous to avoid problems that may occur in terms of environmental health. In order to predict the behavior of water, the hydrological cycle needs to be evaluated on a basin basis. At this point, hydrological models can be used to make mathematical representations of hydrologi-cal processes. These models play an essential role in predicting and monitoring problems such as poor water quality, pollution, particle and sediment transport, and proliferation of oil and petro-leum derivatives among frequently encountered issues in environmental health. In this study, a 2D surface water model was created using soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) to simulate the lotic ecosystem and existing water quality in Tatlıçay Basin and to propose solutions for im-proving environmental health in Cankiri provincial center in Türkiye. The accuracy of the input data and the validity of the model were checked with the calibration and validation studies by using the monthly or 3-monthly observation data of the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works’ flow observation & water quality stations from 2016 to 2020. The aim was to provide the opportunity to produce fast, accurate, and practical solutions in the face of negative scenarios with this model. This modelling study obtained successful results in the calibration and valida-tion process with very few observed data. With this study, a significant contribution to the litera-ture on environmental health is made, as there aren't many examples of hydrological modeling from the Middle East.

In order to solve the problem of the poor oil displacement effect of high molecular weight alkali/surfactant/polymer (ASP) solution in low permeability reservoirs, Daqing Oilfield uses a partial quality tool to improve the oil displacement effect in low permeability reservoirs. Without changing the oil displacement capability of high molecular weight ASP solution in high permeability oil layers, the ASP solution is actively sheared in low permeability oil layers by using a partial quality tool to increase the injection capability of the solution and improve the overall oil recovery. In order to study the ability of the partial quality tool to improve the oil displacement effect, firstly, the matching degree of high molecular weight ASP solution to low permeability cores is studied, and the ability of quality control tools to change the molecular weight is studied. Then, experimental research on the pressure and oil displacement effect of high molecular weight ASP solution before and after the actions of the partial quality tool is carried out. The results show that ASP solutions with molecular weights of 1900 × 104 and 2500 × 104 have a poor oil displacement effect in low permeability reservoirs. After the action of the partial quality tool, the injection pressure is reduced by 5.22 MPa, and the oil recovery is increased by 7.79%. The injection pressure of the ASP solution after shearing by the partial quality tool is lower than that of the ASP solution with the same molecular weight and concentration without shearing, but the oil recovery is lower. On the whole, the use of the partial quality tool can obviously improve the oil displacement effect in low permeability reservoirs.

We aimed at analyzing Chlorophyll-a and CDOM dynamics from field measurements and at assessing the potential of multispectral satellite data for retrieving water-quality parameters in three small surface reservoirs in the Brazilian semiarid region. More specifically, this work comprises i) analysis of Chl-a and trophic dynamics; ii) characterization of CDOM; iii) estimation of Chl-a and CDOM from OLI/Landsat-8 and RapidEye imagery. The monitoring lasted 20 months within a multi-year drought, which contributed to water-quality deterioration. Chl-a and trophic state analysis showed a highly eutrophic status for the perennial reservoir during the entire study period, while the non-perennial reservoirs ranged from oligotrophic to eutrophic, with changes associated with the first events of the rainy season. CDOM characterization suggests that the perennial reservoir is mostly influenced by autochthonous sources, while allochthonous sources dominate the non-perennial ones. Spectral-group classification assigned the perennial as CDOM-moderate and highly eutrophic reservoir, whereas the non-perennial ones were assigned as CDOM-rich and oligotrophic-dystrophic reservoirs. The remote sensing initiative was partially successful: the Chl-a was best modelled using RapidEye for the perennial; whereas CDOM performed best with Landsat-8 for non-perennial reservoirs. This investigation showed high potential for retrieving water quality parameters in dry areas with small reservoirs.

The residential built form, including open space, provides the physical environment for social interaction. Understanding urban open space, including semi-public and public domains, through the lens of physical accessibility and visual permeability can potentially facilitate the building of a sense of community contributing to a better quality of life. Using an inner-city suburb in Perth, Western Australia as a case study, this research explores the importance of physical accessibility patterns and visual permeability for socialising in semi-public and public domains, such as the front yard and the residential streets. It argues that maintaining a balance between public and private inter-relationship in inner city residential neighbourhoods is important for creating and maintaining a sense of community.

Climate change will pose a challenge for the winemaking sector worldwide, bringing progressively drier and warmer conditions and increasing the frequency and intensity of weather extremes. The short-term adaptation strategy of applying biostimulants through foliar application serves as a crucial measure in mitigating the detrimental effects of environmental stresses on grapevine yield and berry quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of foliar application of a seaweed based biostimulant (A. nodosum – ANE) and glycine betaine (GB) on berry quality, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and elucidated their action on the secondary metabolism. A trial was installed in a commercial vineyard (cv. ‘Touriga Franca’) in the Cima Corgo (Upper Corgo) sub-region of the Douro Demarcated Region. A total of four foliar sprayings were performed during the growing season: at flowering, pea size, bunch closer, and veraison. There was a positive effect of GB in the berry quality traits. Both ANE and GB increased the synthesis of anthocyanins and other phenolics in berries and influenced the expression of genes related to the synthesis and transport of anthocyanins (CHS, F3H, UFGT, MATE1 and GST). So, they have the potential to act as elicitors of secondary metabolism, leading to improved grape quality, but also sets the foundation for sustainable agricultural practices in the long run.

Additive manufacturing (AM) offers customization of microstructure and mechanical properties of fabricated components according to the material selected, and process parameters applied. Selective laser melting (SLM) is the commonly used technique for processing high strength aluminum alloys. Selection of SLM process parameters could control the microstructure of parts and their mechanical properties. However, the process parameters limit and defects obtained inside the as-built parts present obstacles to customized part production. This study investigates the influence of SLM process parameters on the quality of as-built Al6061 and AlSi10Mg parts according to the mutual connection between the microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties. The microstructure of both materials was characterized for different parts processed over a wide range of SLM process parameters. The optimized SLM parameters were investigated to eliminate the internal microstructure defects. The behaviour of mechanical properties of parts was presented through regression models generated from the design of experiment (DOE) analysis for the results of hardness, ultimate tensile strength, and yield strength. A comparison between the results obtained and that reported in the literature is presented to illustrate the influence of process parameters, build environment, and powder characteristics on the quality of parts produced. The results obtained from this study could help to customize the part’s quality by satisfying their design requirements in addition to reducing the as-built defects which in turn reduce the amount of the post-processing needed.

AISI 1050 steel circular pocket milling under minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) surroundings including nozzle elevation angle, lubricant flow rate, air pressure and cutting speed was studied. The machined surface quality (Ra) was evaluated for Up-milling side and Down-milling side. In this study, to obtain an manifest explanation on the pivotal effective parameters of MQL surroundings and cutting speed on the machined surface quality (Ra) through analyzing Taguchi L9 (34-2) approach and ANOVA calculation to identify those parameters, by utilizing the experimental outcomes to interpret three-dimensional (3D) surface plots and the diagrams of Signal-to-Noise ratios and major impact plots of Mean. The obtained outcomes of optimal operating parameters indicated that the pivotal effective parameters of MQL surroundings are nozzle elevation angle and lubricant flow rate on the machined surface quality. Simultaneously, a quadratic mathematical paradigm generated by using response surface design (RSD) and desirableness function evaluation were utilized to forecast the optimal values of the machined surface quality compared to Taguchi method. The results unveiled that the optimal values of the machined surface quality are adjacent to experimental attained values. The machined surface quality has been significantly improved using MQL surroundings.

Efforts to enhance carbon storage in forest ecosystems through policy and management decisions rely on accurate forest biomass assessments. However, most forest inventories consider tree mortality the only form of aboveground biomass loss, overlooking other important factors, such as wood decay in living trees. In this study, using linear mixed-effects models, we delve into the sustainability of mature and over-mature deciduous forests in Latvia by conducting a comprehensive analysis of stem rot severity, identifying species for which the impact of stem rot on their carbon stock reduction was most significant. The analysis focused on determining the proportion of discolored wood, decomposed wood, and hollow spaces within the stems of 190 living deciduous trees commonly found in hemiboreal forests. The study reveals a greater extent of stem rot and more extensive decay in Populus tremula trees than in Betula spp., Alnus glutinosa, and Alnus incana. It emphasizes the influence of tree species, age, and diameter at breast height on stem rot proportions. The stump rot area significantly predicts the amount of decomposed and discolored wood within the stem. The study provides valuable insights for sustainable forestry practices and highlights challenges in estimating stem rot severity, emphasizing the need for comprehensive diagnostic methods.

To date, only a few studies focused on carbon monoxide (CO) production during waste composting; all targeted on CO inside piles. Here, the CO net emissions from compost piles and the assessment of worker’s occupational risk of exposure to CO at large-scale composting plants are shown for the first time. CO net emissions were measured at two plants processing green waste, sewage sludge, or undersize fraction of municipal solid waste. Effects of the location of piles (hermetised hall vs. open yard) and turning (before vs. after) were studied. Higher CO net emission rates were observed from piles located in a closed hall. The average CO flux before turning was 23.25 and 0.60 mg‧m-2‧h-1 for hermetised and open piles, respectively, while after – 69.38 and 5.11 mg‧m-2‧h-1. The maximum CO net emissions occurred after the compost was turned (1.7x to 13.7x higher than before turning). The top sections of hermetised piles had greater CO emissions compared to sides. Additionally, 5% of measurement points of hermetised piles switched to ‘CO sinks’. The 1-h concentration in hermetised composting hall can reach max. ~50 mg CO∙m-3 before turning, and &gt;115 mg CO∙m-3 after, exceeding the WHO thresholds for a 1-h and 15-min exposures, respectively.

Polluted rivers are a primary problem in Changhua County, Taiwan, due to rapid and massive developments in agriculture and industry. In this study, samples consisted of water influent from the Yangzi-Cuo River, Ci-Tong Jiao, Changhua County. Ecology technology, a combination of gravel contact oxidation and surface flow constructed wetlands, was employed to enhance the water quality. Ecology technology is a useful and ordinary process that focuses on original treatment of pollution through chemical, physical, and biological procedures based on the mediums of soil, plant, water, and microorganisms from pure environments. Moreover, this study aimed to minimize the river pollution index (RPI) of the Yangzi-Cuo River by using combinations of gravel contact oxidation and surface flow constructed wetlands. The inflow volume of the water samples in situ was found to be 1534–2261 cubic meters per day (CMD). The pollution in the water sample mostly involved suspended solid (SS), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH₃–N), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and the values of the above indexes were found to be 10.0–26.7 mg/L, 0.9–14.0 mg/L, 1.2–14.1 mg/L, 11.1–18.2 mg/L, and 0.5–3.6 mg/L, respectively. Efficiencies of pollution elimination in SS, NH₃–N, TP, TN, and BOD were found to be 24.2–93.1%, 58.3–86.2%, 5.2–85.0%, 59.4–77.2%, and 46.3–76.4%, correspondingly, after purification treatment via ecology technology. Thus, ecology technology is a valid means of purification treatment for polluted rivers.

Applying the improved social network analysis method and the idea of rolling window regression, this paper explores the impact of HSR network on the quality of urbanization and its dynamics. Based on a sample of 273 cities in China over 2009–2019, we find that the high-speed railway network has an increasing positive effect on the quality of urbanization, which proves the existence of network effect. The empirical results further show that this effect is closely related to the cov-erage rate of high-speed rail network. In addition, heterogeneity analysis reveals that urban ag-glomeration cities are the main beneficiaries. Academically, our study provides a plausible expla-nation and evidence from network size differences for the two conflicting views of the HSR effect. Practically, we also propose some important policy implications for countries in different high-speed rail network construction stages.

In recent years, underwater exploration for deep-sea resource utilization and development has a considerable interest. In an underwater environment, the obtained images and videos undergo several types of quality degradation resulting from light absorption and scattering, low contrast, color deviation, blurred details, and nonuniform illumination. Therefore, the restoration and enhancement of degraded images and videos are critical. Numerous techniques of image processing, pattern recognition and computer vision have been proposed for image restoration and enhancement, but many challenges remain. This survey presents a comparison of the most prominent approaches in underwater image processing and analysis. It also discusses an overview of the underwater environment with a broad classification into enhancement and restoration techniques and introduces the main underwater image degradation reasons in addition to the underwater image model. The existing underwater image analysis techniques, methods, datasets, and evaluation metrics are presented in detail. Furthermore, the existing limitations are analyzed, which are classified into image-related and environment-related categories. In addition, the performance is validated on images from the UIEB dataset for qualitative, quantitative, and computational time assessment. Areas in which underwater images have recently been applied are briefly discussed. Finally, recommendations for future research are provided and the conclusion is presented.

This work examines the effects of two problematic trends in diesel passenger car emissions – increasing NO2/NOx ratio by conversion of NO into NO2 in catalysts and a disparity between the emission limit and the actual emissions in everyday driving – on ambient air quality in Prague. NO2 concentrations were measured by 104 membrane-closed Palmes passive samplers at 65 locations in Prague in March-April and September-October of 2019. NO2 concentrations measured by city stations during those periods were comparable with the 2016-2019. The average measured NO2 concentrations at the selected locations, after correcting for the 18.5% positive bias of samplers co-located with a monitoring station, were 36 µg/m3 (range 16-69 µg/m3, median 35.3 µg/m3), with the EU annual limit of 40 µg/m3 exceeded at 32% of locations. The NO2 concentrations have correlated well (R2=0.76) with the 2019 average daily vehicle counts, corrected for additional emissions due to uphill travel and intersections. In addition to expected “hot-spots” at busy intersections in the city center, new ones were identified, i.e. along a six-lane road V Holešovičkách. Comparison of data from six monitoring stations during March 15-April 30, 2020 travel restrictions with the same period in 2016-2019 revealed an overall reduction of NO2 and even a larger reduction of NO. The spatial analysis of data from passive samplers and time analysis of data during the travel restrictions both demonstrate a consistent positive correlation between traffic intensity and NO2 concentrations along/near the travel path. The slow pace of NO2 reductions in Prague suggests that stricter vehicle NOx emission limits, introduced in the last decade or two, have so far failed to sufficiently reduce the ambient NO2 concentrations, and there is no clear sign of remedy of Dieselgate NOx excess emissions.

When it comes to air pollution complaints, odours are often the most significant contributor. Sources of odour emissions range from natural to anthropogenic. Mitigation of odour can be challenging, multifaceted, site-specific, and is often confounded by its complexity—defined by existing (or non-existing) environmental laws, public ordinances, and socio-economic considerations. The objective of this paper is to review and summarize odour legislation in selected European countries (France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, United Kingdom, Spain, The Netherlands, Italy, Belgium), North America (USA and Canada), South America (Chile and Colombia), as well as Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) and Asia (Japan, China). Many countries have incorporated odour controls into their legislation. However, odour-related assessment criteria tend to be highly variable between countries, individual states, provinces and even counties and towns. Legislation ranges from (1) no specific mention in environmental legislation that regulates pollutants which are known to have an odour impact to (2) extensive details about odour source testing, odour dispersion modeling, ambient odour monitoring, (3) setback distances, (4) process operations, and (5) odour control technologies and procedures. Agricultural operations are one specific source of odour emissions in rural and suburban areas and a model example of such complexities. Management of agricultural odour emissions is important because of the dense consolidation of animal feeding operations and the advance of housing development into rural areas. Overall, there is a need for continued survey, review, development, and adjustment of odour legislation that considers sustainable development, environmental stewardship, and socio-economic realities, all of which are amenable to a just, site-specific, and sector-specific application.

Today, mobile phones are at the center of many consumers' lives and a part of people's lives. Although this tool was considered a luxury initially, it has gradually become a necessary tool with the reduction of the price and the increase of its functions. Consumers choose specific models of mobile phones according to their needs. Mobile phones have quality features that are expressed in the form of quality dimensions. These dimensions are mostly expressed by word of mouth (WOM). In this research, first; we collected the opinions of 350 students about 4 brands of mobile phones based on Garvin's quality of dimensions, finally; the students’ opinions about mobile phones were evaluated with integrated TOPSIS with interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy numbers technique, and the priority of 4 phone brands was determined based on students' opinions.

This study assesses the dynamic relationship between macroeconomic factors and bank asset quality based on changes in the condition of stock market returns. A Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model is employed, using panel data from 18 universal banks spanning the period 2007 to 2021. The analysis revealed that the real GDP growth rate, the average lending rate, and the real exchange rate represent a set of macroeconomic factors with a marked influence on banks' asset quality. In addition, a high inflation rate was found to exert an adverse effect on asset quality, as it affects borrowers' financial ability to meet loan repayment obligations. Furthermore, the study verified the existence of a positive relationship between market condition and asset quality, which implies that bank performance adapts to changes in market conditions as posited under the Adaptive Market Hypothesis (AMH). Bank managers should consolidate banks' asset bases during conditions of market stability to withstand periodic market fluctuations to boost trading momentum. Policy recommendations are suggested to foster a conducive business environment for bank stability.

With metal oxide semiconductors being a promising candidate for accurate indoor air quality assessments, multiple drawbacks of the gas sensors prevent their widespread use. Examples include poor selectivity, instability over time, and sensor poisoning. Complex calibration methods and advanced operation modes can solve some of those drawbacks. However, this leads to long calibration times, which are unsuitable for mass production. In recent years, multiple attempts to solve calibration transfer have been made with the help of direct standardization, orthogonal signal correction, and many more methods. Besides those, a new promising approach is transfer learning from deep learning. This article will compare different calibration transfer methods, including direct standardization, piecewise direct standardization, transfer learning for deep learning models, and global model building. The machine learning methods to calibrate the initial models for calibration transfer are feature extraction, selection, and regression (established methods) and a custom convolutional neural network TCOCNN. It is shown that transfer learning can outperform the other calibration transfer methods regarding the root mean squared error, especially if the initial model is built with multiple sensors. It was possible to reduce the number of calibration samples by up to 99.3 % (from 10 days to approximately 2 hours) and still achieve an RMSE for acetone of around 18 ppb (15 ppb with extended individual calibration) if six different sensors were used for building the initial model. Furthermore, it was shown that the other calibration transfer methods (direct standardization and piecewise direct standardization) also work reasonably well for both machine learning approaches, primarily when multiple sensors are used for the initial model.

The COVID-19 pandemic measures have negatively impacted education worldwide via travel restrictions, student visas, and physical attendanc,e among many other fac-tors. As one of the first places to impose strict pandemic measures and one of the last places to lift the measures, Mainland China provided a unique venue to investigate the effect of public health pandemic control policies on tertiary education. Considering the large portion of international students in medical schools and the higher susceptibility to the pandemic measures due to the natural synergy with teaching hospitals, medical schools can be an early forefront indicator of the impact of the pandemic on tertiary education. We surveyed 513 participants international medical students from Wen-zhou Medical University’s school of international studies in 2019 and 2022 about their satisfaction and demographic and cultural adaptation parameters. We found that the pandemic restrictions did not generally impact student satisfaction. Further analyzing the associated parameters, we found teaching satisfaction to be independent of age (P=.159), years in China (P=.896) and Chinese Level (P=.577) in the medical university. Teaching satisfaction is associated with the region of origin (P <0.001), acceptance of local social norms (P <0.001), satisfaction with the core values of Chinese culture (P <0.001), acclimatization to life in China (P <0.001), can easily make Chinese friends (P <0.001) among other factors. The findings of this study provide an understanding of the effects of pandemic measures on tertiary education satisfaction and other factors that can aid in international student satisfaction.

Lots of efforts are made to optimize spectrum quality used for indoor farming to maximize artificial light utilization and reduce water loss. For such an improvement, green (G) light supplementation to a red-blue (RB) background was successfully employed in our previous studies to restrict both non-photochemical thermal dissipation (NPQ) and stomatal conductance (gs). At the same time, however, the downregulation of NPQ and gs influences the leaf temperature (Tleaf) in opposite ways. Thus, to elucidate which factor plays a more prominent role in Tleaf regulation and whether such response is temporal or permanent we investigated the correlation between NPQ or gs and the subsequent Tleaf. To this end, we analysed tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Malinowy Ozarowski) grown solely under monochromatic LED lamps (435, 520, or 662 nm; 80 µmol m–2 s–1) or under mixed RGB spectrum (1:1:1; 180 µmol m–2 s–1), and simultaneously measured the gs and Tleaf with an infrared gas analyser and thermocouple or employed infrared thermal camera (FLIR) during thermal imaging analyses. Results documented that growth light quality significantly modified the Tleaf, and such response is not temporal. Furthermore, we found that plants' actual adaxial leaf surface temperature is more closely related to NPQ amplitude, while the temperature of the abaxial surface corresponds to gs.

Fungal infection of grape berries (Vitis vinifera) by Botrytis cinerea frequently coincides with harvest, impacting both the yield and quality of grape and wine products. A rapid and non-destructive method for identifying B. cinerea infection in grapes at an early stage prior to harvest is critical to manage loss. In this study, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) crystal was applied as an absorbent material for volatile extraction from B. cinerea-infected and healthy grapes in a vineyard followed by thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The performance of ZIF-8 to absorb and trap targeted volatiles was evaluated with a standard solution of compounds and with a whole bunch of grapes enclosed in a glass container to maintain standard sampling conditions. Results from sampling methods were then correlated to B. cinerea infection in grapes as measured and determined by Genus specific antigen quantification. Trace levels of targeted compounds reported as markers of grape B. cinerea infection were successfully detected with in-field sampling. Peak area counts for volatiles 3-octanone, 1-octen-3-one, 3-octanol, and 1-octen-3-ol extracted using ZIF-8 were significantly higher than values achieved using Tenax®-TA from field testing and demonstrated good correlation with B. cinerea infection severities determined by B. cinerea antigen detection.

The primary considerations while producing rice (Oryza sativa L.) include improving its nutritional quality and production. To tackle widespread hunger globally, better nutritional, high-yielding rice cultivars need to be developed. The conventional ways are to increase the production of rice and add balanced nutrients in the daily diet to fulfill the need of yield and nutrient quality. This article focuses on nutritional strategies for rice and illustrates the availability of omics technologies. Current advancements providing many methodologies and approaches for exploring genetic resources and for understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in trait formation have been highlighted. Studying the genetic influences of various characteristics has been proven to expedite crop breeding processes. In this perspective, genome-wide association research, genome selection (GS), and QTL mapping are all genetic analysis that helps in increasing the nutritional content of rice. Implementation of several omic techniques are effective approaches to enhance and regulate the nutritional quality of rice cultivars. Advancements in different types of omics including genomics and pangenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, nutrigenomics, and proteomics are also relevant to rice development initiatives. This review article compiles genes, locus, mutants and all omic approaches for rice enhancement. This knowledge will be very useful for now and for the future regarding rice studies.

Long-term storage may reduce the nutritional quality of brown rice, so the present study was aimed to evaluate the nutritive values and application in pig diets. In Exp.1, 18 Landrace × Yorkshire (L × Y) barrows with initial body weight (IBW) of 25.48 ± 3.21 kg were randomly assigned to three treatments, which included corn diet, one-year stored brown rice (BR1) diet and six-year stored brown rice (BR6) diet, to determine the digestible energy (DE) and metabolisable energy (ME) value of stored brown rice. In Exp. 2, 24 barrows (L × Y; IBW: 22.16 ± 2.42 kg) fixed with ileal T-cannula were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments, including corn diet, two stored brown rice diets and nitrogen-free diet, to evaluate the amino acid (AA) digestibility of stored brown rice. In Exp. 3 and 4, 108 crossbred weaned piglets (L × Y; IBW: 9.16 ± 0.89 kg) and 90 crossbred growing pigs (L × Y; IBW: 48.28 ± 3.51 kg) were allotted to 3 treatment diets, including control diet and two stored brown rice diets, respectively, to investigate the application of stored brown rice in weaned piglet and growing-finishing pig diets. Results showed that: 1) The DE and ME of corn and stored brown rice showed no significant differences (P > 0.05), while the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of arginine, histidine, aspartic acid, and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of arginine and histidine were higher in stored brown rice compared to corn (P < 0.05). 2) Compared with the control diet, the stored brown rice diets showed no significant effects on growth performance, nutrient apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) and serum biochemical indices (P > 0.05), but decreased digestive enzymes activities in duodenum, jejunum and ileum of piglets (P < 0.05). 3) Compared with the control diet, the stored brown rice diets showed no significant effects on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, fatty acids profiles in the longissimus dorsi muscle of growing-finishing pigs (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the brown rice stored for 6 years under good conditions has no obvious changes in available energy and nutrient values. Although it may reduce digestive enzyme activity in small intestine of the piglets, the stored brown rice showed no obvious adverse effect on growth performance and meat quality, and can be effectively used in pig diet.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with Olea europaea L. extract on the animal welfare and milk quality of lactating Italian Holstein-Friesian dairy cows at different calving orders. Cows in mid lactation phase received, for 60 days, the natural olive extract Phenofeed Dry® (500 mg/cow/day) with high antioxidant power. Hormonal and metabolic parameters were determined through ELISA assays, the milk fatty acid profile through gas chromatography, chemical-nutritional and hygienic-sanitary parameters through ultrasonic analyses. The milk lysozyme content was measured through a specific ELISA assay. The administration of the enriched feed did not alter the hormonal balance. Primiparous cows were more sensitive to the treatment and showed a better general health status compared to other calving orders. The enriched feed resulted in a reduction of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and an increase of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), ensuring an adequate nutritional content and, above all, a significantly higher content of the antibacterial protein, lysozyme. Overall, our study demonstrate that the inclusion of natural bioactive molecules such as Olea europaea L. polyphenols contributes to improving the welfare status of dairy cows and ensuring high nutritional and functional quality of animal productions.

Globally, weeds interfere with agricultural production activities and have a very serious impact on agriculture and animal husbandry. Identifying a safe and reliable weed control strategy might increase yield, production net income, and improve crop quality. A field experiment was carried out to explore the effects of weeds interference frequency on the yield and quality of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch in an arid and semi-arid area of northwest China. The experiment consisted of seven treatments and were (1) no weeding, marked as WF0; (2)-(7) artificial weeding by hoe once every 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 weeks after emergence, marked as WF1, WF2, WF4, WF6, WF8 and WF10, respectively. We found that the higher weeding frequency had a higher the plant height, photosynthesis, yield and quality. The highest yield was obtained in the WF1 treatment, while the cost of weeding was the highest among all treatments. The concentration of liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid were increased by 53.24% and 36.57%, with the highest nitrogen metabolism enzymatic activities and quality in WF4 treatment. WF4 treatment exhibited the largest increases in the net income among all treatments in both growing seasons, with respective increases up to 71.39 % and 78.81%. These findings suggested that weeding once every 4 weeks would be an effective and sustainable measure to control weeds in an arid and semi-arid area.

In commercial terms, Virgin Olive Oil (VOO) is considered an exceptional food of excellent sensory and nutritional quality, for its taste and genuine odour and, as well as for its bioactive compounds, of a great interest for the health. This quality can be affected by oxidative degradation, chemical as well as enzymatic (activity of oxidative endogenous enzymes from polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase olive fruit type), of essential components during extraction and conservation of VOO. In the bibliography, the reduction of oxygen during the malaxation process and the storage of the oil has been studied in different ways. However, research about the reduction of oxygen in the crushing of olive fruit, malaxation of the paste and/or both at the same time in “real extraction condition” is scarce. The reduction of oxygen has been compared to control conditions (concentration of atmospheric oxygen of 21%). Batches of 200 kg of olive fruit, Picual cultivar, were used and the following treatments were applied: Control (21% O2 Mill - 21% O2 Mixer), “IM-NM”: Inerted milling -Normal malaxation (6.5% O2 Mill-21% O2 Mixer), “NM-IM”: Normal milling-Inerted malaxation (21% O2 Mill-4 % O2 Mixer) and “IM-IM”: Inerted milling-Inerted malaxation (5.5% O2 Mill-10% O2 Mixer). The parameters of commercial quality covered by Regulation: free acidity, peroxide value and absorbency in ultra-violet (k 232 and k270) did not suffer any change in relationship to the control, the oils belong to the comercial category of “Extra virgin olive oil”. The phenolic compounds are involved in the distinctive bitter and purgent taste and, their healthy properties and their oxidative stability, increased with the downsizing amounts of oxygen regarding control and the IM-NM, NM-IM and IM-IM treatments with an average of 4, 10 and 20 %, respectively. By contrast, total volatile compounds decrease between a 10-20 % in all oxygen reduction treatments. The volatile compounds arising from lipoxygenase pathway, which are responsable for the green and fruity notes of VOO, also decreased their concentration with the treatments, between 15-20%. The results show how the reduction of oxygen in the milling and malaxation stages of olive fruit can modulate the content of phenols, volatile compounds, carotenoids and chlorophyll pigments of the VOO avoiding the degradation of compound with sensorial and nutritional interest.