Abstract: Background and Clinical Significant: Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a common car-diovascular disorder in extremely low birth weight(ELBW) infants, for which surgical ligation is indicated when pharmacologic closure fails. Sudden increases in afterload combined with immature myocardial contractility can lead to post-ligation cardiac syn-drome, which usually occurs within hours after surgery. However, acute intraoperative hemodynamic collapse during PDA ligation has rarely been described. Case Presenta-tion: A preterm infant born at 24 weeks and 3 days of gestation with a birth weight of 890 g underwent emergency PDA ligation for a hemodynamically significant PDA refractory to pharmacological treatment. Fifteen minutes after skin incision, the infant developed severe hypoxemia, bradycardia, and non-measurable noninvasive blood pressure, which required immediate hemodynamic resuscitation with manual ventilation, fluid admin-istration, and dopamine and dobutamine infusions. Hemodynamics gradually recovered after completion of ductal ligation, whereas hypoxemia persisted. Postoperative chest radiography revealed a left-sided pneumothorax, and oxygen saturation stabilized after pleural air aspiration. The subsequent clinical course was uneventful, and typical post-ligation cardiac syndrome did not develop. Conclusions: This case suggests that intraoperative hemodynamic collapse during PDA ligation may share pathophysiologic features with post-ligation cardiac syndrome, and that concomitant pneumothorax can further aggravate hemodynamic instability by worsening hypoxemia and reducing venous return.

Abstract:

We develop an information-theoretic route from microscopic conserved-charge dynamics to an infrared mass prediction in the minimal Z₂ singlet-scalar Higgs-portal dark-matter model. We define an operational quantum information copy time \( \tau_{\mathrm{copy}}(Q)\ \) for a conserved charge Q and introduce a Liouvillian-squared information susceptibility \( \chi^{(2)} \) based on the Kubo--Mori metric. Empirically, across several decades in \( \chi^{(2)} \) we find the robust scaling \( \tau_{\mathrm{copy}}(Q)\propto (\chi^{(2)}_{Q})^{-1/2}\ \) (Table 1 and Figure 1). Analytically, a general linear-response/Cauchy-Schwarz inequality bounds the growth rate of any receiver-optimised overlap by \( \sqrt{\chi^{(2)}_Q}\ \); for a fixed operational threshold \( \eta\ \) and normalised sender/receiver operators this implies the conditional lower bound \( \tau_{\mathrm{copy}}\gtrsim \eta/\sqrt{\chi^{(2)}_Q}\ \) under mild regularity/monotonicity assumptions (Closure Supplement, Section "Copy-time bound''). We also provide stabiliser-code diffusion benchmarks that illustrate the scaling and help calibrate normalisations in the diffusive universality class. We then argue that spatially varying copy times naturally define an ``optical'' geometry for coarse-grained information propagation: a local information speed \( v_{\mathrm{info}}(x)\propto \tau_{\mathrm{copy}}(x)^{-1}\ \)induces an effective metric, and diffeomorphism invariance in the long-wavelength description implies that the Einstein--Hilbert term is the leading infrared operator, with higher-derivative corrections controlled by gradients of \( \tau_{\mathrm{copy}}\ \). In this perspective, we define the scalar dressing parameter \( \kappa_{\text{eff}} \) intrinsically from microscopic QICT susceptibilities in the electroweak-symmetric regime; asymptotic-safety FRG results, when invoked, serve only as an external cross-check rather than as a foundational assumption. Within a gauge-coded QCA realising a Standard-Model-like generation, anomaly cancellation singles out hypercharge Y Yas the unique non-trivial anomaly-free Abelian factor coupling to both quarks and leptons; we also provide a self-contained anomaly calculation (see the Closure Supplement, "Hypercharge from anomaly constraints'') and emphasise that this selects a one-dimensional anomaly-free direction; it does not exclude embeddings or additional hidden sectors. This is a minimal-factor selection under stated assumptions and does not exclude embeddings, additional hidden sectors, or discrete quotients. Matching to a thermal Standard Model plasma at a reference temperature \( T_\star\ \)in the electroweak-symmetric regime \( T_\star\gtrsim T_{\rm EW} \), and adopting benchmark inputs (with an explicit operational construction of \( T_\star\ \) given in the Closure Supplement (Point~(6)) and an explicit interacting thermal-QCA susceptibility protocol given in the Closure Supplement (Copy-time bound / Point~(6))), \( \frac{\chi_Y}{T_\star^2} = 0.145 \pm 0.010,\qquad \) \( \kappa_{\mathrm{eff}} = 0.1356 \pm 0.0714,\qquad \) \( C_\Lambda = 1.606 \pm 0.044 \), we obtain the Golden Relation \( m_S = C_\Lambda \sqrt{\kappa_{\mathrm{eff}}\,\chi_Y} \) and the prediction \( m_S = 58.5 \pm 15.6~\text{GeV},\qquad \) \( m_S \in [43,74]~\text{GeV}\ \text{(conservative)} \). We provide a minimal, fully analytic phenomenological consistency check of the Higgs-portal model in the vicinity of the Higgs resonance, using closed-form expressions for the Higgs invisible width and the spin-independent nucleon cross section. The mass prediction is conditional on the explicit benchmark intervals and on the stated matching assumptions; the copy--susceptibility exponent is universal in the variational sense above, while the overall normalisation entering the benchmark closure is calibrated using a diffusive benchmark class (a separate step, not used in the unconditional bound).

Abstract: During routine evaluation of hospitalized patients, discrepancies were frequently observed between the degree of liver steatosis assessed by conventional B-mode ultrasonography and Vibration-Controlled Transient Elastography (VCTE) with Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP). This study aimed to identify the factors contributing to these differences and to determine whether both imaging methods should be expected to produce comparable steatosis classifications. We conducted an observational retrospective cross-sectional study including 130 patients admitted over a two-year period who underwent laboratory testing, abdominal ultrasonography, and transient elastography. Variables analyzed included age, sex, environment, nutritional status, comorbidities, biochemical parameters (ALAT, total cholesterol, triglycerides, GGT), calculated FIB-4 score. Patients were classified in two groups: 61 with concordant steatosis grades across both methods and 69 with discordant results. Concordant results were more common in individuals with serum total cholesterol >200 mg/dL (45.9%), and those with a Fib-4 score between 1.45–3.25 (44.2%). Additionally, a trend toward a stronger correlation was observed in patients with elevated triglycerides. Viral liver disease showed a significantly higher rate of discordant results (26.2%). Total serum cholesterol >200 mg/dL, and a FIB-4 score between 1.45–3.25 can be significantly associated with concordance in steatosis grading, while serum triglyceride levels showed a nonsignificant trend toward concordance. In contrast, viral hepatitis with concomitant steatosis can be associated with discordant findings between the two imaging modalities. Although not statistically significant, a value F ≥ 2 measured by VCTE measured fibrosis and a FIB-4 score >3.25 also showed a trend toward discordance, suggesting they may contribute to variability in steatosis assessment.

Abstract: We develop an information-theoretic route from microscopic conserved-charge dynamics to an infrared mass prediction in the minimal Z₂ singlet-scalar Higgs-portal dark-matter model. We define an operational quantum information copy time \( \tau_{\mathrm{copy}}(Q)\ \) for a conserved charge Q and introduce a Liouvillian-squared information susceptibility \( \chi^{(2)}_{\mathrm{micro},Q}\ \) based on the Kubo--Mori metric. Under explicit locality, spectral-gap and hydrodynamic assumptions, we formulate a conditional scaling theorem implying \( \tau_{\mathrm{copy}}(Q)\propto \bigl(\chi^{(2)}_{\mathrm{micro},Q}\bigr)^{-1/2}\ \); we provide numerical evidence for this scaling in stabiliser-code diffusion models (Supplemental Material). We then argue that spatially varying copy times naturally define an "optical'' geometry for coarse-grained information propagation: a local information speed \( v_{\mathrm{info}}(x)\propto \tau_{\mathrm{copy}}(x)^{-1}\ \) induces an effective metric, and diffeomorphism invariance in the long-wavelength description implies that the Einstein-Hilbert term is the leading infrared operator, with higher-derivative corrections controlled by gradients of\( \tau_{\mathrm{copy}}\ \). In this perspective, we define the scalar dressing parameter \( \kappa_{\text{eff}} \) intrinsically from microscopic QICT susceptibilities in the electroweak-symmetric regime; asymptotic-safety FRG results, when invoked, serve only as an external cross-check rather than as a foundational assumption. Within a gauge-coded QCA realising a Standard-Model-like generation, anomaly cancellation singles out hypercharge Y as the unique non-trivial anomaly-free Abelian factor coupling to both quarks and leptons. Matching to a thermal Standard Model plasma at a reference temperature T⋆ in the electroweak-symmetric regime (T⋆≳TEW), and adopting benchmark inputs (with an explicit operational construction of T⋆ given in Supplement~S7), \( \frac{\chi_Y}{T_\star^2} = 0.145 \pm 0.010,\qquad \) \( \kappa_{\mathrm{eff}} = 0.136 \pm 0.019,\qquad \) \( C_\Lambda = 1.6 \pm 0.2 \), we obtain the Golden Relation \( m_S = C_\Lambda \sqrt{\kappa_{\mathrm{eff}}\,\chi_Y} \) and the prediction \( m_S = 58.4 \pm 8.6~\text{GeV},\qquad m_S \in [50,67]~\text{GeV}\ \text{(conservative)} \). We provide a minimal, fully analytic phenomenological consistency check of the Higgs-portal model in the vicinity of the Higgs resonance, using the closed-form expressions for the Higgs invisible width and the spin-independent nucleon cross section. We emphasise that the mass prediction is conditional on the input benchmark intervals and on the diffusive QICT universality class assumptions.

Abstract: The increasing prevalence of rooftop photovoltaics on European buildings has sparked interest in using façades and balconies as alternative surfaces for generating solar energy. This study examines the technical and economic performance of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) installations on façades and balconies under real operating conditions. Four case studies from Poland are analysed using a combination of measured energy production data and simulations performed with the PVGIS tool. The analysis focuses on annual and seasonal energy yield, self-consumption potential, system costs, simple payback time and the role of module-level power electronics (MLPE) in mitigating the effects of shading and non-optimal orientations. The results demonstrate that, while façade-mounted PV systems generally have lower annual yields than optimally tilted rooftop installations, balcony and façade BAPV systems with MLPE can achieve high self-consumption rates, short payback periods (3–10 years) and favourable winter performance. These findings demonstrate that BIPV and BAPV systems on façades should be assessed using distinct technical and economic criteria, and highlight their potential to extend prosumer participation to apartment dwellers, thereby supporting a more inclusive urban energy transition.

Abstract: This paper proposes mengolah, a culturally embedded Indonesian term describing informal grassroots lobbying and political brokerage, as a decolonial methodology and medium of political communication for understanding youth political participation in Indonesia. Grounded in the everyday practices of Indonesian political culture, mengolah represents a distinct form of political engagement that operates through personal networks, informal negotiation, and relational trust rather than formal institutional channels. This study explicitly positions mengolah not as an inherently corrupt practice but as a legitimate cultural medium through which citizens engage with democratic processes, functioning analogously to constituent services and political networking in Western democracies while reflecting Indonesian values of kebersamaan (togetherness) and gotong royong (mutual cooperation). Drawing on data from the 2024 Indonesian general elections, where youth voters comprised 56% of the electorate, this study examines how mengolah functions as both a grassroots political methodology and a structured pathway for political mobility. Skilled practitioners of mengolah (pengolah) typically progress from grassroots volunteers to organizational leaders in organisasi masyarakat (mass organizations) and eventually to formal party cadres or elected officials. This trajectory demonstrates that mengolah serves as political apprenticeship, a medium for cultivating democratic capacities and connecting informal community leadership with institutional politics. Through analysis of social media data, electoral brokerage patterns, and youth political behavior, this study contributes to the project of decolonizing political science by centering indigenous Indonesian political practices as legitimate, functional, and epistemologically significant objects of scholarly inquiry.

Abstract: This paper analyzes the phenomenon of output voltage collapse under step load perturbations in dual bridge converters where an extremum seeking control (ESC) optimization algorithm is employed. Although ESC is an effective online duty-cycle optimization method under steady-state power transfer conditions, it can result in severe output voltage degradation during large-signal transients. This degradation is primarily caused by two factors: the reduced power transfer capability associated with the optimized duty-cycles, and the limited dynamic capability of the ESC structure to rapidly adjust the duty-cycles. To overcome this limitation, an enhanced extremum seeking control (EESC) structure is proposed, which enables fast output voltage reference tracking under dynamic operating conditions, while preserving ESC’s capability for online duty-cycle optimization to minimize losses and improve efficiency. The proposed method extends the applicability of ESC from steady-state optimization to large-signal dynamic scenarios. Comparative experimental results on a dual active half-bridge (DAHB) converter reveal the output voltage collapse associated with conventional ESC structure and verify the high efficiency and absence of dynamic voltage collapse achieved by the proposed EESC structure.

Abstract: Wave–particle duality in interferometric systems is commonly formulated through complementarity relations linking fringe visibility and path distinguishability. In realistic experiments, interference suppression arises not only from unitary which-path marking but also from environment-induced decoherence. We derive an angle-dependent pure-dephasing model from a microscopic system–bath Hamiltonian, obtaining a Lindblad master equation with geometric coupling dependence. Moving beyond the Markovian limit, we utilize a second- order time-convolutionless (TCL2) expansion with a structured spectral density to show that geometric scaling persists in non-Markovian regimes, potentially leading to geometry-dependent coherence revivals. Furthermore, we explicitly derive the entropy production rate, demonstrating that the transition toward classicality is quantitatively governed by directional entropy flow. The framework remains fully within standard quantum mechanics, introducing no modifications to the Schr¨odinger equation. Experimental falsifiability criteria, including early-time scaling and coherence revivals, are presented.

Abstract: Background: Preventive health screening is a cornerstone of population health, but many patients fail to return for follow-up care, undermining early disease detection. This issue is highly pertinent in Saudi Arabia’s Qassim region, aligning with the national Vision 2030 healthcare transformation. Machine learning (ML) offers a promising predictive approach to identify patients at risk of "non-return" to enable targeted interventions. Objective: To develop and evaluate an ML-based model for predicting patient non-return after preventive screening in the Qassim region, identify associated risk factors, and align the findings with the Saudi Model of Care reforms. Methods: A retrospective observational analysis of electronic health records from Qassim’s primary care screening program (2019–2024) was conducted. The primary outcome was "non-return" within 6 months of an indicated follow-up. Multiple ML algorithms were evaluated using 10-fold cross-validation. Results: Among 18,752 screened patients, 5,230 (27.9%) did not return for follow-up. Ensemble tree-based methods performed best. The random forest classifier achieved the highest predictive performance (AUROC 0.812, accuracy 78.5%). Key predictors of non-return included extended lead time until the scheduled follow-up, prior appointment no-shows, and a lack of critical clinical findings during the initial screening. Conclusion: The developed ML model successfully predicts patient loss to follow-up with high accuracy. Integrating such predictive analytics into routine primary care enables early, personalized interventions, directly supporting Saudi Arabia’s healthcare efficiency and preventive care goals.

Abstract: Biochar, a carbon-rich material traditionally used to improve soil health and as a feed additive, has recently attracted attention for its potential biological activity. This study investigated the effects of an aqueous biochar extract (BC-AE) on human intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2), specifically examining its impact on cell viability and apoptosis. The metabolic activity of Caco-2 cells exposed to BC-AE was first evaluated using an MTS assay. A concentration of 3 mg/mL, which promoted Caco-2 metabolic activity, was selected for further testing at 24 and 72 hours. The effect of BC-AE on cell viability was assessed by epifluorescence microscopy (morphology) and flow cytometry (apoptosis profiling). The transcriptional response of cell viability-related genes (BAX, BAD, BCL-2, BCL-xL, MCL-1, P21, and P53) and microRNAs (miR-15b, miR-19, miR-21, miR-33a, miR-155, and miR-486) was analyzed by RT-qPCR. In parallel, selected proteins (BAD, BAX, BCL-2, and MCL-1) were examined by Western blotting. BC-AE decreased cell viability after 24 hours via late apoptosis, while 72-hour exposure increased necrosis without further viability loss. Both BAX and MCL-1 protein levels increased in Caco-2 cells after 72 hours of BC-AE treatment, and miR-15b and miR-21 were upregulated, suggesting the involvement of a regulatory mechanism controlling cell survival. The obtained findings highlight the importance of considering both concentration and exposure duration when assessing biochar bioactivity.

Abstract: 9-Mesitylacridinium salts are widely recognized as efficient organic photoredox catalysts owing to their strong excited-state oxidizing power and stability under visible-light ir-radiation. In this study, a new mesityl acridinium derivative bearing a di-tert-butylphenyl substituent on the nitrogen atom was synthesized. The introduction of tert-butyl groups on the N-aryl moiety was primarily aimed at improving solubility and chemical stability of the acridinium salt. The target compound was obtained in high overall yield starting from a 9(10H)-acridinone precursor through a concise synthetic sequence. The synthesis consists of a copper-catalyzed C–N coupling reaction to install the aryl substituent on the nitrogen atom, followed by a Grignard reaction and subsequent acid treatment to afford the corresponding acridinium salt. All transformations proceeded smoothly, providing efficient access to the desired novel acridinium derivative. This work presents a practical example of structural modification of mesitylacridinium derivatives directed toward enhanced solubility and stability, and provides a useful synthetic plat-form for the preparation of structurally diverse acridinium salts.

Abstract: Technological innovation is changing virtually every aspect of business practices and operational procedures. Regardless if we talk about simple automation of paper inputs, or complex multi-step processing of large data sets, we can see that there is one common thing – the pace of innovation increases and so do the efforts and resources needed to stay in line with the latest developments. Introduction of large language models and various types of intelligent processing, commonly referred to as artificial intelligence presents an even bigger change request to cope with. In this paper we analyze the impact of intelligent data modelling on corporate finance practices and suggest an approach to assess its full impact. We develop an estimation technique, based on real option analysis (ROA) in an attempt to quantify various implementation details and build a more robust way for analyzing various effects from using AI-driven solutions in support for corporate finance decisions and analyses.

Abstract: Aging is accompanied by a progressive decline in olfactory function, which affects a large proportion of older adults and has substantial consequences for nutrition, safety, and overall quality of life. Increasing evidence indicates that sex-dependent differences in olfactory processing become more pronounced with advancing age, particularly in late life. However, the cellular basis beyond the peripheral level by which aging and sex interact to influence neuronal and synaptic functions in central structures remains poorly understood. To bridge this gap, we compared behavioral outcomes, intrinsic and synaptic properties of the olfactory bulb (OB) output neurons mitral cells (MCs) that receive direct sensory input from odor receptor neurons and integrate olfactory information to most higher order brain regions, in male and female C57BL/6J mice of three ages spanning the natural lifespan. Consistent with human studies and the key role of mitral cells in transforming input to output in the OB, our behavioral tests showed that both aging and sex significantly influenced odor detection performance, which declined with age, particularly in females while locomotor activity remained preserved. At the cellular level, our whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in OB slices demonstrated that MCs in male mice across the lifespan exhibit a gradual decline in excitability and synaptic strength with age, while female mice maintain stable function until advanced age, when marked alterations emerge. This study provides the first physiological evidence of the joint influence of aging and sex on the functional operation of the OB at the cellular and synaptic levels. Considering olfactory impairment as the earliest and most sensitive indicator of the age-dependent and sex-biased neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, our findings provide functional insights not only into normal aging-induced olfactory deficits but also into the future development of early biomarkers and intervention strategies for these neurodegenerative disorders.

Abstract: Non-invasive assessment of tissue water content is clinically relevant for edema detection, fluid management, and monitoring of local inflammation. In the short-wave infrared (SWIR), water exhibits strong absorption near 1450 nm with a secondary band near 1650 nm, enabling hydration-sensitive reflectance measurements. However, many SWIR systems rely on spectrometers or high-power broadband sources, limiting translation to compact or wearable platforms. We present a compact SWIR diffuse-reflectance probe built from small-form-factor components using four discrete LEDs (1450 nm and 1650 nm) and a single photodetector to acquire spatially resolved measurements at two source–detector separations (4.5 mm and 7 mm). Probe-geometry-matched Monte Carlo simulations were used to generate lookup tables relating reduced scattering to same-wavelength spatial ratios. 11 A diffusion-based forward model was then used to perform a calibration-anchored water-fraction consistency analysis. Eight gelatin–Intralipid phantoms spanning two scattering conditions and formulation-defined water fractions were evaluated. Spatial-ratio signatures were repeatable and monotonic with nominal water fraction, yielding a mean absolute percent error of 1.55% and a maximum absolute percent error of 3.33% under absorption-consistent conditions. These results demonstrate the feasibility of compact SWIR ratio sensing for controlled hydration changes in tissue-mimicking phantoms and provide a modeling framework for future extension to unknown or in vivo samples.

Abstract: Vegetation strongly influences soil formation, yet its effect on Rare Earth Element (REE) distribution and fractionation across treeline ecotones remains insufficiently con-strained. We investigated how contrasting plant communities, Vaccinium myrtillus heathlands and Picea abies forests, affect pedogenetic pathways and REE behavior in sandstone-derived soils of the Northern Apennines (Italy). Six soil profiles were charac-terized for bulk geochemistry, selective Fe–Al extractions, particle-size distribution, and REE concentrations. Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering identified pedogenetic drivers and horizon groupings. Under Vaccinium myrtillus, thick acidic organic horizons promoted organo-metal complexation and incipient podzolization, whereas Picea abies soils showed thinner or-ganic layers and enhanced mineral weathering, leading to Bw development with higher silt–clay contents and elevated Al/N ratios. These pathways were captured by Fe–Al indicators and the SpodicIndex. REE distributions showed vegetation-related differences in surface horizons and Eu–Ce anomalies but did not reproduce Fe–Al pedogenetic clusters, reflecting strong parent-material control. The coexistence of podzolic and cambic pathways at the treeline highlights pro-nounced spatial heterogeneity and vegetation effects. Plant composition may redirect pedogenesis, influencing nutrient cycling and metal mobility. Additionally, our findings emphasize the need to integrate multivariate statistics with established pedogenetic in-dicators when evaluating geochemical properties in mountain soils.

Abstract: Neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a common birth complication that can cause death or lifelong disabling conditions like cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism. It is well established that maternal infection and inflammation are significant risk factors for HIE but reasons for this increase in neurological risk to the offspring remain unknown. Inflammation or infection are associated with epigenetic changes and may contribute to the increased risk of neurodevelopmental disability in exposed offspring. Here, we analyzed and compared DNA methylation patterns in brain monocytes isolated from control, maternal immune activation (MIA), and an inflammation sensitized HIE (IS-HIE) mouse model at postnatal day 7. We found that maternal inflammation induced significant methylation differences in neonates relative to control samples in both MIA and IS-HIE samples with no significant differences identified between the MIA and IS-HIE groups. MIA samples showed hypermethylation at loci involving craniofacial development and transcription factors important for regulating neurodevelopment and immune function. MIA samples also demonstrated significant hypermethylation at multiple mitochondrial genome CpGs. These findings suggest that maternal inflammation induces epigenetic alterations in fetal brain immune cells that are detectable in neonates. These changes may contribute to heightened neurodevelopmental risk in offspring following hypoxic injury, highlighting potential molecular pathways for future therapeutic targeting.

Abstract: We show the Born rule P = |ψ|² is the unique probability rule consistent with thermodynamic constraints on record formation, conditional on the regime where Landauer-type bounds apply. The derivation proceeds from five operational postulates: normalization, phase information loss in record formation, interference consistency, tensor product factorization, and continuity. The key physical insight is that creating a classical measurement record requires that phase information is not retained in the record accessible to observers, a not-reversible operation with entropy flow to the bath and Landauer cost k_B T ln 2 per bit. The squared modulus emerges as the unique probability rule that (i) eliminates phase to produce positive probabilities, (ii) preserves interference effects before measurement, and (iii) satisfies standard probability axioms. This thermodynamically motivated derivation complements Gleason's theorem: where Gleason proves the rule is mathematically necessary (dimension ≥ 3), we show it is the unique rule realizable through record formation under these constraints (all dimensions including d=2). The framework provides a concrete answer to "why squared?": the irreversible formation of a classical record, on a Hilbert space whose norm is preserved by unitary evolution, admits no other consistent probability rule.

Abstract: Foodborne diseases and food poisoning caused by bacterial pathogens is a significant global health as well as economic concern. While synthetic compounds are widely used as preservatives to ensure food safety, growing concerns regarding their potential health risks and the rise of antimicrobial resistance have driven the search for natural alternatives. Essential oils (EOs) and their individual bioactive constituents, known as essential oil components (EOCs), have emerged as promising, eco-friendly candidates for food preservation due to their robust broad-spectrum antibacterial properties. This review provides comprehensive mechanistic insights into how individual EOCs exert their antibacterial effects, detailing the disruption of bacterial cell membranes, inhibition of vital metabolic enzymes and ATP synthesis, modulation of virulence gene expression, and the prevention and eradication of biofilms. Furthermore, the review explores the practical applications and limitations of EOCs in food systems, addressing challenges such as chemical instability, toxicity at high doses, and adverse organoleptic effects. It also highlights advanced formulation strategies, such as micro/nano-encapsulation, nano-emulsions, and chemical derivatization, which significantly enhance EOC stability, bioavailability, and overall preservative efficacy. Ultimately, understanding the multifaceted mechanisms of individual EOCs paves the way for their optimized and sustainable use, ensuring global food safety.

Abstract: The paper deals with comparative analysis of machined surfaces by classic electrical discharge machining (EDM) and hybrid ultrasonic EDM of CoCr alloys, using computer vision aimed at emphasizing the advantages of this hybrid technology. The analysis revealed generally the superior stability of EDM+US process against classic EDM explained by better evacuation of debris from the working gap due to ultrasonically induced cavitation. This key phenomenon also contributed to the enhancement of machining rate by removing the material in liquid state and also the in solid state from the microgeometry peaks but also reducing the surface roughness if the power on the ultrasonic chain is optimzed.

Abstract: Latina and Black female students are more likely than their White and Asian counterparts to leave science majors after their first-year of college. Supportive peer mentorship has been shown to positively impact science retention but limited data exists on the peer-mentoring impact to first-year Latinas and Black science students. We present an assessment of a peer mentoring intervention supporting the experience of first-year science female students at an urban public university during the COVID-19 pandemic.