Currently, two-component integrable nonlinear equations from the hierarchies of the vector nonlinear Schrodinger equation and the vector derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation are being actively investigated. Usually, such two-component integrable nonlinear evolutionary equations are considered, the form of which does not depend on the replacement of one component with another. In this paper, we propose for consideration and usage a new hierarchy of two-component integrable nonlinear equations, which have an important difference from the already known equations. Among the hierarchy equations there are analogues of the two-component nonlinear Schrödinger equation (second equation from hierarchy) and the two-component modified Korteweg-de Vries equation (fourth equation from hierarchy). The third equation of the hierarchy is a combination of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation for one component and the modified Korteweg-de Vries equation for the second component. The equations for the individual components are very different from each other, even if they have the same order. Let us note that even hierarchy equations can be reduced to well-known variants of the scalar derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equations, and odd equations can’t be reduced. To construct the hierarchy equations, we use the monodromy matrix method, first proposed by B.A. Dubrovin. Knowledge of the monodromy matrix makes it possible to construct spectral curves of multiphase solutions, as well as to find stationary equations that these solutions satisfy. The last section presents the simplest solutions in the form of solitons and periodic one-phase waves, as well as spectral curves corresponding to these solutions.

Hydrogen gas (H2) has attracted attention as a next-generation clean energy source. Its efficient and safe preparation and utilization are crucial in both industry and organic chemistry. In this study, a Pt/CB-catalyzed MW-mediated continuous-flow hydrogenation reaction was developed using methylcyclohexane (MCH) as the reducing agent (hydrogen carrier). Alkynes, alkenes, nitro groups, benzyl esters, and aromatic chlorides were chemoselectively hydrogenated using Pt/CB under MW-assisted continuous-flow conditions. This methodology represents a safe and energy-efficient hydrogenation process, as it eliminates the need for an external hydrogen gas supply or heating jackets as a heat medium. Further application of MW-mediated continuous-flow hydrogenation reactions is a viable method for the efficient generation and utilization of sustainable energy.

This paper aims to study the surface homogenization and integrity of Ti-6Al-4V alloy by longitudinal-torsional coupled ultrasonic vibration assisted ball-end milling. A method of continuous processing between the flat surface and freeform surface connection is proposed by using ultrasonic vibration assisted ball-end precision milling, during this process, it is not necessary to exchange the cutting tool. The way has been explored for changing the homogenization of surface on Ti-6Al-4V by ultrasonic vibration-assisted milling (UVAM). Cutting experiments employing three parameters, cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut and two types of machining forms using ball-end milling with UVAM and conventional milling (CM) respectively. The high frequency cutting force, finished surface roughness, topography and residual stresses on the surface and tool wear have been measured by advanced instruments. Particularly, adopting the high frequency cutting force measurement system, it is concluded cutting force in ball-end milling decreased significantly using UVAM as against CM. Moreover, the surface roughness by UVAM with ball-end milling is much better than the CM at a high cutting speed. However, an opposite trend is observed at a low cutting speed. Especially, there is a steep decrease from Ra 0.828 μm average value at 4000 rpm to Ra 0.129 μm average value at 5000 rpm. At the same time, the homogenization of surface roughness and residual stresses decrease significantly in UVAM as compared to which in CM when taking the transversal-longitudinal ratio into consideration. Cutting experiments and measuring results are demonstrated the validity and feasibility of UVAM with ball-end milling, and this method enjoys significant advantages compared to CM process.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are critical enzymes involved in a variety of cellular processes. MMPs are well known for their ability to degrade the extracellular matrix (ECM) and their extracellular role in cell migration. Recently, more research has been conducted on investigating novel subcellular localizations of MMPs and their intracellular roles at the respective locations. In this review article, we focus on the subcellular localization and novel intracellular roles of two MMPs closely related: membrane-type-1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). Although MT1-MMP is commonly known to localize on the cell surface, the protease also localizes to the cytoplasm, caveolae, Golgi, cytoskeleton, centrosome, and nucleus. At these subcellular locations, MT1-MMP functions in cell migration, macrophage metabolism, invadopodia development, spindle formation and genes expression, respectively. Similar to MT1-MMP, MMP-2 localizes to the caveolae, mitochondria, cytoskeleton, nucleus and nucleolus, and functions in calcium regulation, contractile dysfunction, genes expression and ribosomal RNA transcription. Our particular interest lies in the role MMP-2 and MT1-MMP serve within the nucleus, as it may provide critical insights into cancer epigenetics and tumor migration and invasion. We suggest that targeting nuclear MT1-MMP or MMP-2 to reduce or halt cell proliferation and migration may lead to the development of new therapies in cancer and other diseases.

This work evaluates the surface water quality in terms of physico-chemical parameters of the Brahmani River, Odisha using statistical analysis involving the calculation of correlation coefficient and regression equation. Besides this, the work also highlights and draws attention towards the “Water Quality Index” in a simplified format which may be used at large and could represent the reliable picture of water quality. Surface water quality data is taken from OSPCB of various location i.e. Panposh D/S, Rourkela D/S, Rengali, Talcher U/S, Kamalanga D/S, Bhuban, Pattamundai and was assessed for summer, monsoon, winter for the years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. Average of values, minimum of values and maximum of values of water quality parameters were obtained seasonally over the above mentioned years. Besides this, the standard deviation for the water quality parameters was also obtained for water quality parameters namely pH, Temperature, DO, TDS, Alkalinity, EC, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, F-, Cl-, NO3-, SO42- and PO42-. Seasonal changes in various physical and chemical parameters were analysed.The values obtained were compared with the guideline values for drinking water by Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS). A systematic correlation and regression study is carried out for three seasons, showed linear relationship among different water quality parameters. This provides an easy and rapid method of monitoring water quality. Highly significant (0.8< r <1.0), moderately significant (0.6< r <0.8) and significant (0.5< r <0.6) correlations between the parameters have been worked out. High correlation coefficient has been observed between TDS,EC-Na+, Ca2+, Cl-, SO42- ; Na+- Cl-. From the collected quantities, certain parameters were selected to derive WQI for the variations in water quality of each designated sampling site. WQI of Brahmani River ranged from 36.7 to 44.1 which falls in the range of good quality of water.Panposh D/S and Rourkela D/S showed poor water quality in summer and winter season. It is shown that WQI may be a useful tool for assessing water quality and predicting trend of variation in water quality at differentlocations in the Brahmani River.

The main purpose of the work was to determine the powder composition and properties of iron-based sinters used as a matrix in metallic diamond tools. The FeCuSnNi sinters obtained from a mixture of commercial powders were used for research. The material was subjected to milling in a ball mill and sinter have been performed with the hot-pressing technique in a graphite mold. The physical and mechanical properties of the sinters were tested. The investigations of obtained sinters concerned density, porosity, hardness, oxygen content, static tensile test and analysis of microstructure. The static tensile test was carried out with the use of a universal testing machine UTS-100. The study of the microstructure of sinters was performed using the JSM-7100F scanning electron microscope. The sinters are characterized by a high coefficient of thermal expansion and good mechanical properties. The FeCuSnNi sinter revealed a complex phase structure. Spot chemical analysis revealed the presence of Fe solution, Cu solution and the presence of iron oxides oxides. Nickel atoms were present throughout the sinter volume. The obtained results indicate that the presented material can be used as a matrix of a diamond-metal composite in diamond tools for the processing of natural stones and building materials.

Although Sn has been intensively studied as one of the most promising anode materials to replace commercialized graphite, its cycling performance and rate performance are still unsatisfactory owing to insufficient control of its large volume change during cycling and poor electrochemical kinetics. Herein, we propose a Sn-TiO2-C ternary composite as a promising anode material to overcome these limitations. The hybrid TiO2-C matrix synthesized via two-step high-energy ball milling effectively regulated the irreversible lithiation/delithiation of the active Sn electrode and facilitated Li-ion diffusion. At the appropriate C concentration, Sn-TiO2-C exhibited significantly enhanced cycling performance and rate capability compared to its counterparts (Sn-TiO2 and Sn-C). Sn-TiO2-C delivers good reversible specific capacities (669 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles at 200 mA g-1 and 651 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles at 500 mA g-1) and rate performance (446 mAh g-1 at 3000 mA g-1). The superiority of Sn-TiO2-C over Sn-TiO2 and Sn-C was corroborated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which revealed faster Li-ion diffusion kinetics in the presence of the hybrid TiO2-C matrix than in the presence of TiO2 or C alone. Therefore, Sn-TiO2-C is a potential anode for next-generation Li-ion batteries.

This article presents an estimation of the hypertension risk based on a dataset on 1007 individuals. The application of a Tobit Model shows that “Hypertension” is positively associated to “Age”, “BMI-Body Mass Index”, and “Heart Rate”. The data show that the element that has the greatest impact in determining inflation risk is “BMI-Body Mass Index”. An analysis was then carried out using the fuzzy c-Means algorithm optimized with the use of the Silhouette coefficient. The result shows that the optimal number of clusters is 9. A comparison was then made between eight different machine-learning algorithms for predicting the value of the Hypertension Risk. The best performing algorithm is the Gradient Boosted Trees Regression according to the analyzed dataset. The results show that there are 37 individuals who have a predicted hypertension value greater than 0.75, 35 individuals who have a predicted hypertension value between 0.5 and 0.75, while 227 individuals have a hypertension value between 0.0 and 0.5 units.

Background: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a biological process where epithelial cells lose their adhesive properties and gain invasive, metastatic, and mesenchymal properties. Maintaining the balance between epithelial and mesenchymal stage is essential for tissue homeo-stasis. Many of the genes promoting mesenchymal transformation has been identified; however, our understanding of the genes responsible for maintaining the epithelial phenotype is limited. Our objective was to identify genes responsible for maintaining the epithelial phenotype and in-hibiting EMT. Methods: RNA seq was performed using an vitro model of EMT. CTGF expres-sion was determined by qPCR and Western blot analysis. Knockout of CTGF was done using the CTGF sgRNA CRISPR/CAS9. Tumorigenic potential was determined using NCG mice. Results: Knocked-out of CTGF in epithelial ovarian cancer cells leads to the acquisition of functional characteristics associated with the mesenchymal phenotype such as Anoikis resistance, cytoskel-eton remodeling, increased cell stiffness, and acquisition of invasion and tumorigenic capacity. Conclusions: We identified CTGF is an important regulator of the epithelial phenotype, and its loss is associated with early cellular modifications required for EMT. We describe a novel role for CTGF, regulating cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix interactions necessary for conserva-tion of epithelial structure and function. These findings provide a new window to understand the early stages on mesenchymal transformation

Ulmus species have been widely used in Korean folk medicine because of their anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. We intended to investigate the wound healing effect of the powder of Ulmus parvifolia (UP) root bark in a mouse wound healing model. We also determined the mechanisms of effects of Ulmus parvifolia (UP) in skin and skin wound healing effect using keratinocyte model. in vivo experiments showed that the wound lesions in the mice decreased by U. parvifolia with 200 mesh size of root bark powder and significantly reduced by treatment with UP, compared with those treated with U. macrocarpa (UM). Results from in vitro experiments also revealed that UP extract promoted the migration of human skin keratinocytes. UP powder treatment upregulated the expression of the matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 protein and significantly increased transforming growth factor (TGF)-β levels. We confirmed that topical administration of the bark powder of exerted a significant effect on skin wound healing by upregulating the expression of MMP and transforming growth factor-β. TGF-β In, Our study suggests that U. parvifolia may be a potential candidate for skin wound healing including epidermal skin rejuvernation.

Headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is widely employed for volatile analyses of plants, including mapping populations used in plant breeding research. Studies often employ a single internal surrogate standard, even when multiple analytes are measured, with the assumption that any relative changes in matrix effects among individuals would be similar for all compounds, i.e. matrix effects do not show Compound × Individual interactions. We tested this assumption using individuals from two plant populations, an interspecific grape (Vitis spp.) mapping population (n = 140) and a tomato (Solanum spp.) recombinant inbred line (RIL) population (n = 148). Individual plants from the two populations were spiked with a cocktail of internal standards (n = 6, 9, respectively) prior to HS-SPME-GC-MS. Variation in the relative responses of internal standards indicated that Compound × Individual interactions exist but were different between the two populations. For the grape population, relative responses among pairs of internal standards varied considerably among individuals, with a maximum of 249% relative standard deviation (RSD) for the pair of [U13C]hexanal and [U13C]hexanol. However, in the tomato population, relative responses of internal standard pairs varied much less, with pairwise RSDs ranged from 8% to 56%. The approach described in this paper could be used to evaluate the suitability of using surrogate standards for HS-SPME-GC-MS studies in other plant populations.

Recent digital transformations have significantly impacted the current society, economy, and culture. This includes adoption of rapidly emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), immersive technology (e.g., virtual, augmented, mixed and extended reality (VR/AR/MR/XR)), cloud services, and internet of things, in our day-to-day life. `Metaverse’ has emerged as a technology that incorporates many of these transforming technologies to deliver personalised immersive experience related to specific application areas. A potential major beneficiary of Metaverse is the educational ecosystem, where highly immersive learning experiences can be delivered to students, catering to their personal learning needs and train them on life skills such as empathy, ethical qualities, and communication skills. The present-day Metaverse allows physical engagement, enabling users to utilise limb movements to interact with the presented materials. However, ethical concerns and technical limitations impede the widespread implementation of the Metaverse in the real-world. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of the existing literature covering the architecture, type and components of Metaverse, followed by practical aspects of metaverse implementation. The paper is concluded by discussing on the open challenges and issues along with their mitigation strategies and future research directions after the detailed usecase of Metaverse in Education.

Equine Assisted Activities (EAA) are considered a suitable innovative rehabilitative practice for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While standardized scales have been previously used as a tool to evaluate the effects of EAA on different domains of functioning in ASD children, few studies have considered an ethological approach as a means to describe human-horse interactions in the context of ASD. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the behaviour of 19 children with ASD - in comparison with 19 typically developing children (TD) - during EAA sessions. We developed an ethogram from the video-recordings, to assess spatial relationships, social interactions and communicative behaviours displayed by the child towards the horse, as well as the occurrence of problem behaviours. Results indicate that children’s behaviours during EAA sessions are modulated by sex and age, while previous children’s experience with EAA appeared to improve interpersonal distance and horse handling. Results from this study highlight the importance of exploring children's behavioural response during animal-assisted activities through direct measurements. This may allow linking the quality/strength of the child-horse relationship to the benefits obtained by the child, particularly in the social/communicative domain, a core symptom of ASD.

The upper extremities limitation represents one of the essential functional impairments in patients with cervical spinal cord injury. Electromechanics assisted devices and robots are increasingly used in neurorehabilitation to help functional improvement in patients with neurological diseases. This review aimed to systematically report the evidence-based, state-of-art on clinical applications and robotic-assisted arm training (RAT) in motor and functional recovery in subjects affected by cervical spinal cord injury. The present study has been carried out within the framework of the Italian Consensus Conference on "Rehabilitation assisted by robotic and electromechanical devices for persons with disability of neurological origin" (CICERONE). PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) databases were systematically searched from inception to September 2021. The 10-item PEDro scale assessed the study quality for the RCT and the AMSTAR-2 for the systematic review. Two different authors rated the studies included in this review. If consensus was not achieved after discussion, a third reviewer was interrogated. The 5-item Oxford CEBM scale was used to rate the level of evidence. A total of 11 studies were included. The selected studies were: two systematic reviews, two RCTs, one parallel-group controlled trial, one longitudinal intervention study and five case series. One RCT was scored as a high-quality study, while the systematic review was of low quality. RAT was reported as feasible and safe. Initial positive effects of RAT were found for arm function and quality of movement in addition to conventional therapy. The high clinical heterogeneity of treatment programs and the variety of robot devices could severely affect the generalizability of the study results; therefore, future studies are warranted to standardize the type of intervention and evaluate the role of robotic-assisted training in subjects affected by cervical spinal cord injury.

Sweet cherry pomace is a by-product that can be a source of bioactive phenolic compounds. Usually, polyphenols have been extracted using conventional extraction methodologies. However, a significant fraction, called non-extractable polyphenols (NEPs), remains retained in the conventional extraction residues. Therefore, this work is aimed, for the first time, to investigate the release of NEPs from cherry pomace combining pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE) using Promod enzyme. A response surface methodology was employed to study the influence of temperature, time, and pH on the NEPs extraction. The response variables were the total phenolic content (TPC) measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method, total proanthocyanidin (PA) content evaluated by vanillin, DMAC, and butanol/HCl assays, and total antioxidant capacity determined by Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and inhibition of hydroxyl radical assays. The results indicated that PLE-EAE was more suitable and selective to obtain NEPs from sweet cherry pomace than PLE alone. In fact, the extracts obtained by PLE-EAE displayed higher TPC, PA content, and bioactivity than the extracts obtained by PLE under the same extraction conditions, and those obtained by conventional methods. Moreover, size-exclusion chromatography profiles showed that the combination of PLE and EAE enabled the recovery of NEPs with higher molecular weight than PLE without EAE treatment.

Background. Shoulder in CrossFit should have a balance between mobility and stability. Glenohumeral internal rotation deficit and posterior shoulder stiffness are risk factors for overhead shoulder injury. Objective. To determine the effectiveness of instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization and horizontal adduction stretch in CrossFit practitioners’ shoulders. Methods: Twenty-one regular CrossFitters were allocated to experimental (stretching with isometric contraction and instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization) or control group (instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization). Each session lasted 5 minutes, 2 days a week, over a period of 4 weeks. Shoulder internal rotation and horizontal adduction (digital inclinometer), and posterior shoulder stretch perception (Park scale) were evaluated. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to analyze the distribution of the sample. Parametric student's t-test was used to obtain the intragroup differences. The inter- and intra-rater differences were calculated using a repeated measures ANOVA. Results. Changes were found in the experimental group following intervention (p < 0.05), and when comparing baseline and follow-up assessments (p < .05) in all variables. Significant differences were found in the control group following intervention (p < 0.05), in right horizontal adduction and left internal rotation. When comparing perception of internal rotation and horizontal adduction in both groups in the three assessments significant differences were found. Conclusions. Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization can improve shoulder horizontal adduction and internal rotation. An instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization technique yields the same results alone as those achieved in combination with post-isometric stretch with shoulder adduction.

In order to solve the problem of measuring the distance and position between the flanges of two pipelines on the seabed, a measuring device for pulling rope in seawater was designed. Aiming at the sealing problem of the key equipment that is the rotating shaft of the rope winch, this paper used the principle of the magnetic coupling to transfer the driving moment, and adopted the method of converting the dynamic seal into the static seal structure to realize the reliable sealing of the motor. Through the experiment of measuring two pipelines with underwater rope pulling device, it was verified that the measuring accuracy of the device meets the design requirements, and the feasibility of the application of magnetic coupling technology in winch is also verified.

This paper presents a system developed for the assistance with a collaborative robot in hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS). The system includes a sensing glove with piezoresistive sensors which capture continuously the flexion degree of the surgeon's fingers. These data are analyzed using an algorithm that detects and recognize the selected movements. This information is sent as commands to the collaborative robot throughout the surgical operation. The bending patterns, speed and execution times of the movements are modelled in a pre-phase in which it will extract all the necessary information for later detection during the motion execution. The results obtained with 10 different volunteers show a high degree of accuracy and a low false discovery rate.

The Yamuna River in Delhi is a prevalent epitome of the depleted ecosystem that has transformed into a sewage drain due to intense pollution and blooming anthropogenic pressure. As a leading polluter, Delhi contributes to more than 70% of Yamuna's pollution load. Its drains discharge a massive B.O.D. load daily into the river, making it severely polluted, as reflected by the water quality index. The paper uses secondary data to analyze the parameters to determine the water quality of Yamuna at different monitoring sites. It performs correlation analysis to determine the relationship among factors contributing to river water pollution. The results of correlation analysis suggest a highly significant association between parameters COD-BOD, but the association is mild to a minimum among other parameters such as BOD-DO, BOD-pH, COD-DO, COD-pH and DO-pH. Most parameters were observed to be above the hazardous level acceptable for using river water. The analysis of S.T.P.s indicates the need to increase the capacity in terms of treatment, storage, reopening of closed plants and efficient operation to meet the increasing demand for fresh Water. Also, there is a need to create demand for wastewater in different sectors of urban areas like construction, horticulture, industrial coolants, etc.

Given a square matrix $A$, we are able to construct numerous equalities that involve reasonable mixed operations of $A$ and its conjugate transpose $A^{\ast}$, Moore--Penrose inverse $A^{\dag}$, and group inverse $A^{\#}$. Such kind of equalities can be generally represented in the equation form $f(A, \, A^{\ast}, A^{\dag}, A^{\#}) =0$. In this article, the author constructs a series of simple or complicated matrix equalities, as well as matrix rank equalities involving the mixed operations of the four matrices. As applications, we give a sequence of necessary and sufficient conditions for a square matrix to be range-Hermitian.

Bosentan, an endothelin-receptor antagonist (ERA), has potential anti-atherosclerotic properties. We investigated the complementary effects of bosentan and atorvastatin on the progression and composition of the atherosclerotic lesions in diabetic mice. Forty-eight male apoE-/- mice were fed high-fat diet (HFD) for 14 weeks. At week 8, diabetes was induced with streptozotocin and mice were randomized into 4 groups: 1) Control/COG: no intervention. 2) ΒΟG: bosentan 100 mg/kg/day per os. 3) ATG: atorvastatin 20mg/kg/day per os). 4) BO+ATG: Combined administration of bosentan and atorvastatin. The intra-plaque contents of collagen, elastin, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), matrix-metalloproteinases (MMP-2,-3,-9), and TIMP-1 concentrations were determined. The percentage of lumen stenosis significantly decreased across all treated groups: BOG: 19.5±2.2%, ATG: 12.8±4.8%, BO+ATG: 9.1±2.7% compared to controls (24.6±4.8%, p&lt;0.001). Both atorvastatin and bosentan significantly increased collagen content and fibrous cap thickness versus COG (p&lt;0.01). All intervention groups reduced the relative intra-plaque concentrations of MCP-1, MMP-3,-9, and increased TIMP-1 compared to COG (p&lt;0.001). Importantly, bosentan showed modest but additive to atorvastatin effects on the latter parameters compared COG (p&lt;0.05). Bosentan treatment in diabetic, atherosclerotic apoE-/- mice delayed the atherosclerosis progression and enhanced plaques’ stability, showing modest but complementary effects with atorvastatin, which are promising in atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases.

Abstract Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated that the amalgamation of populations belonging to the same breed or closely related breeds leads to enhanced accuracies in genomic predictions (GP). Extensive experimentation with diverse Bayesian and Genome-enabled best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) models has been conducted to explore multi-breed genomic selection (GS) in livestock, ultimately establishing they as successful approaches for predicting genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV). This study aimed to examine the efficacy of BayesR and GBLUP model with different weighted genomic relationship matrices (GRM) in making genomic predictions for three distinct beef cattle breeds. Subsequently, we conducted a comparative analysis of the predictive accuracy pertaining to various marker densities and genetic correlations across three distinct beef cattle breeds. This investigation aimed to identify the optimal approach for enhancing the predictive accuracy of multi-breed genomic selection in beef cattle. Results：Genetic relationship matrices revealed moderate similarities between YL and the other breeds, with a striking genetic similarity of 0.87 between WG and HX. In HX cattle, BayesR demonstrated an enhancement in prediction accuracy, achieving 0.52 with HD and 0.46 with WGS, a marked improvement over 0.41 with HD and 0.42 with WGS in GBLUP. In WG and YL breeds, both methods showed comparable accuracies with HD, but BayesR slightly outperformed GBLUP with WGS. Further, multi-breed GS analysis indicated that BayesR consistently surpassed GBLUP in prediction accuracy, particularly with WGS data. For instance, in a combined HX and WG reference population, BayesR achieved a superior accuracy of 0.53 with WGS in HX cattle, a significant enhancement over GBLUP models. The study also underscores the advantage of incorporating multiple breeds in the reference population, which improved prediction accuracy, underscoring the value of broad-based genomic selection strategies. Conclusion: The results show that accuracy of multi-breed genomic predictions was higher with BayesR than with GBLUP, especially for the distantly genetic relationship between reference and validation breeds. Further improvements of multi-breed accuracy of genomic predictions could be achieved by increasing the density of the SNP marker. These findings underscore that BayesR providing a substantial improvement in genomic prediction and the importance of considering genetic relationships in the development of GS strategies for multi-breed cattle populations. Further research is warranted to optimize GRM construction and to explore alternative models for genomic prediction across breeds.

This study aims to theoretically address the design and analysis of an efficient pressure sensor designed by using a polymer-based defective 1D annular photonic crystal (APC). The 1D APC comprises an alternate arrangement of Si and SiO2 in a cylindrical fashion, incorporating a central defect layer. The investigation of the reflectance characteristics of the proposed structure is conducted by separately considering the polystyrene (PS) and the polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer materials as the defect layer. The pressure-sensitive refractive index of the polymers and the constituent materials of the APC plays a vital role in envisaging the pressure-sensing application. The cornerstone of this study is represented by the shift analysis in the wavelength of the defect mode inside the band gap using different applied pressures by employing the modified transfer matrix method (MTMM). Various geometrical parameters like the defect polymer layer’s thickness and the APC period were carefully optimized to achieve higher sensing performance. The proposed design demonstrated a remarkable pressure sensitivity and FoM of 51.29 nm/GPa and 301.7 GPa-1, respectively, which is considerably high in the current research scenario. It is believed that the proposed structure can be an apt candidate as an innovative high-performance pressure sensor, and it can play a key role in photonic integrated circuits.

As one of the most promising ablative fillers, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been used to improve the ablative resistance of Ethylene-Propylene-Diene Monomer (EPDM) insulators by facilitating the carbothermal reduction reaction of silica. However, the contribution of MWCNTs to char layer structure of the insulators was unclear. In this work, the effects of MWCNTs on char layer structure and ablative resistance were investigated in different EPDM-based insulators with and without silica. The results showed that adding only 3 phr MWCNTs can reduce the linear ablation rate of EPDM-based insulators without silica by 31.7%, while 6 phr MWCNTs are required to obtain similar results in EPDM-based insulators with silica. Both the char layer morphology of the two insulators gradually evolved into dense porous structure as MWCNTs content increasing, but their formation mechanisms are different. The XRD and Raman spectrum showed that different physicochemical reactions occurred around MWCNTs under different charring components. The proposed ablation mechanism was further verified by designing alternating multilayer distribution of MWCNTs and silica. This work can guide the construction of desirable char layer structure for increasing ablative resistance of EPDM-based insulators.

Matrix Metaloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) is an extracellular Zn²⁺ protease specific to type I and IV collagens. Its expression is associated with several inflammatory, degenerative, and malignant diseases. Conformational properties, domain movements, and interactions between MMP-2 and its associated metal ions were characterized using a 1.0 µs molecular dynamics simulation. Dihedral principle component analysis revealed 10 families of conformations with the greatest degree of variability occurring in the link region connecting the catalytic and hemopexin domains. Dynamics cross correlation analysis indicated domain movements corresponding to opening and closing of the hemopexin domain in relation to the fibronectin and catalytic domains facilitated by the link region. Interaction energies were calculated using the MMPBSA-interaction entropy analysis method and revealed strong binding energies for the catalytic Zn²⁺ ion 1, Ca²⁺ ion 1, and Ca²⁺ ion 3 with significant conformational stability at the binding sites of Zn²⁺ ion 1 and Ca²⁺ ion 1. Ca²⁺ ion 2 diffuses freely away from its crystallographically defined binding site. Zn²⁺ ion 2 plays a minor role in conformational stability of the catalytic domain while Ca²⁺ ion 3 is strongly attracted to the highly electronegative sidechains of the Asp residues around the central β-sheet core of the hemopexin domain.

Distributed fiber optic strain measurement techniques have become increasingly important in recent years, especially in the field of structural health monitoring of reinforced concrete structures. Numerous publications show the various monitoring possibilities from bridges to special heavy structures. The present study is intended to demonstrate the possibilities, but also the challenges, of distributed fiber optic strain measurement in reinforced concrete structures. For this purpose, concrete beams for 3-point bending tests were equipped with optical fibers on the reinforcement and concrete surface as well as in the concrete matrix in order to record the strains in the compression and tension zone. In parallel, an analytical approach based on the maximum strains in the uncracked and cracked states was performed using the Eurocode~2 interpolation coefficient. In principle, the structural design correlates with the measured values, but the strains are underestimated, especially in the cracked zone. During load increase, structural distortions in the compression zone affected the strain signal, making reliable evaluation in this zone difficult. The information content of distributed fiber optic strain measurement in reinforced concrete structures can offer tremendous opportunities. Future research should consider all aspects of the bond, sensor selection and positioning. In addition, there is a lack of information on the long-term stability of the joint and the fiber coating, as well as the effects of dynamic loading.

It is a classic topic in algebras to construct and verify equalities that are composed of various algebraic operations of elements and their inverses or generalized inverses. In this note, the author constructs a matrix equality $(AB)^{\dag} = B^{\ast}(A^{\ast}ABB^{\ast})^{\#}A^{\ast}$ (called a mixed reverse-order law), where $A$ and $B$ are two matrices of appropriate sizes, $(\cdot)^{\ast}$, $(\cdot)^{\dag}$, and $(\cdot)^{\#}$ denote the conjugate transpose, the Moore--Penrose inverse, and the group inverse of a matrix, respectively, and shows that the mixed reverse-order law always holds. A list of variation forms of this matrix equality are also given, and necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained for them to hold. Especially, we show a remarkable fact that the two reverse-order laws $(AB)^{\dag} = B^{\dag}A^{\dag}$ and $(A^{\ast}ABB^{\ast})^{\#} = (BB^{\ast})^{\#}(A^{\ast}A)^{\#}$ are equivalent.

Geometrical assessments of human skull have been done based on the anatomical landmarks. Automatic detection of the landmarks, if developed, will be a great help not only medically, but also anthropologically. An automated system with multi-phased deep learning networks to predict three-dimensional coordinate values of cranio-facial landmarks, was developed. From a publicly available database, computed tomography images of craniofacial area were obtained. They were digitally reconstructed into three-dimensional models. Sixteen anatomical landmarks were plotted on each of the models and coordinate values of them were recorded. Three-phased regression deep learning networks were trained respectively with 90 training datasets. For evaluation, 30 testing datasets were employed. Three-dimensional error for the first phase, testing 30 data, was 11.60 pixels in average. (1 pixel = 500 / 512 mm) For the second phase, it was significantly improved to 4.66 pixels. For the third phase, it was significantly progressed to 2.88. This was comparable to the gaps between the landmarks, plotted by two experienced practitioners. Our proposing method of multi-phased prediction, coarse detection first and narrowing down the detection area, may be a possible solution, within the physical limitation of memory and computation.

We introduce the Concept-Model-Graph-View Cycle (CMGVC). The CMGVC facilitates coherent architecture analysis, reasoning, insight, and decision-making based on conceptual models that are transformed into a generic, robust graph data structure (GDS). The GDS is then transformed into multiple views of the model, which inform stakeholders in various ways. This GDS-based approach decouples the view from the model and constitutes a powerful enhancement of model-based systems engineering (MBSE). The CMGVC applies the rigorous foundations of Category Theory, a mathematical framework of representations and transformations. We show that modeling languages are categories, drawing an analogy to programming languages. The CMGVC architecture is superior to direct transformations and language-coupled common representations. We demonstrate the CMGVC to transform a conceptual system architecture model built with the Object Process Modeling Language (OPM) into dual graphs and a stakeholder-informing matrix that stimulates system architecture insight.

This work proposes a physics-based identification technique based on genetic algorithms. The main objective is to obtain a parametric matrix A that describes the time-invariant linear model of the longitudinal dynamics of an aircraft. This is achieved by proposing a fitness function based on the properties of the transition matrix and taking advantage of some of the capabilities of the genetic algorithm, mainly those of restricting the search ranges of the unknowns. In this case, such unknowns are related to the type of aircraft and flight conditions that are considered during the identification process. The proposed identification method is validated with a reliable nonlinear model that can be found in the literature, as well as with the calculation of the trim condition and linearization generally used in aircraft dynamics. In summary, this study suggests the genetic algorithm provided with the adequate fitness function, could be an appealing alternative for aircraft model identification, even when only a limited amount of data is available. Furthermore, in some cases, linearization using genetic algorithm can be more efficient than classical methods.

Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) has been shown to be a strong data representation technique, with applications in text mining, pattern recognition, image processing, clustering and other fields. In this paper, we propose a hypergraph regularized Lp smooth nonnegative matrix factorization (HGSNMF), by incorporating hypergraph regularization and Lp smoothing constraint terms into the standard NMF. The hypergraph regularization term can capture the intrinsic geometry structure of the high dimension space data more comprehensively than simple graph, the Lp smoothing constraint may yield a smooth and more accurate solution to the optimization problem. The updating rules are given using multiplicative update techniques, and the convergence of HGSNMF is theoretically investigated. The experimental results on four different data sets show that the proposed method has better clustering effect than the related state-of-the-art methods in the vast majority of cases.

The use of tungsten fiber-reinforced tungsten composites (Wf/W) has been demonstrated to significantly enhance the mechanical properties of tungsten (W) by incorporating W-fibers into the W-matrix. However, prior research has been restricted by the usage of single fiber-based textile fabrics, consisting of 150 µm warp and 50 µm weft filaments, with limited homogeneity, reproducibility, and mechanical properties in bulk structures due to the rigidity of the 150 µm fibers. To overcome this limitation, two novel textile preforms were developed utilizing radial braided yarns with 7 core- and 16 sleeve filaments (R.B. 16+7) as the warp material. In this study, bulk composites of two different fabric types were produced via a layer-by-layer CVD-process, utilizing single 50 µm filaments (type 1) and R.B. 16+7 yarns (type 2) as weft materials. The produced composites were sectioned into KLST-type specimen based on DIN EN ISO 179-1:2000 using electrical discharge machining (EDM), and subjected to three-point bending tests. Both composites demonstrated enhanced mechanical properties with pseudo-ductile behavior at room temperature and endured over 10,000 load cycles between 50-90 % of their respective maximum load without sample fracture. Composites based on fabric type 1 demonstrated superior manufacturing performance and mechanical properties, a high relative average density (>97 %), and high fiber volume fraction (14-17 %). Furthermore, a novel approach to predict the fatigue behavior of the material under cyclic loading was developed based on the high reproducibility of the mechanical properties of type 1, providing a new benchmark for upscaling endeavors.

Fibreglass composite plates are used for applications ranging from aerospace and automotive industries to construction industry. Vibroacoustic properties of the fibreglass plate has been investigated for different boundary conditions. The theory of the plate vibration and sound radiation has been used to determine the deflection of the composite plate at different locations on its surface. 3-Dimentional (3D) deformations and their corresponding contour velocities of plate have been computed for a range of frequencies. It has been shown that clamping the plate at four edges delayed first resonance of the plate by 15 Hz and second resonance of the plate by 30 Hz. Vibroacoustic indicators and the radiation impedance matrix of the plate have also been calculated. The results of this study show that fibreglass plate could be used in building industry to dampen the vibration of machine and structural vibration of buildings, and to sandwich building structures to form panels in order to attenuate airborne sound and to lower noise transmission of structural borne sound

Recently, we have witnessed a booming development of composites and multi-dopant metal oxides to be employed as novel photocatalysts. Yet the practical application of photocatalysis for environmental purposes is still elusive. Concerns about the unknown fate and toxicity of nanoparticles, unsatisfactory performance in real conditions, mass transfer limitations and durability issues have so far discouraged investments in full-scale applications of photocatalysis. Herein, we provide a critical overview of the main challenges that are limiting large-scale application of photocatalysis in air and water/wastewater purification. We then discuss the main approaches reported in the literature to tackle these shortcomings, such as the design of photocatalytic reactors that retain the photocatalyst, the study of degradation of micropollutants in different water matrices, and the development of gas-phase reactors with optimized contact time and irradiation. Furthermore, we provide a critical analysis of research-practice gaps such as treatment of real water and air samples, degradation of pollutants with actual environmental concentrations, photocatalyst deactivation, and cost and environmental life-cycle assessment.

One of the main challenges for autonomous learning in virtual environments is finding the right material that fits students’ needs and supports their learning process. Personalized recommender systems partially solve this problem by suggesting online educational resources to students based on their preferences. However, in educational environments (which need a proper characterization of both users and educational resources), most existing recommendation algorithms either fail to include all the available information or use hybrid processes that do not exploit possible relationships between users and item features. This article presents a personalized recommender system for educational resources aimed at combining user and item information into a single mathematical model based on matrix factorization. As a result, estimated latent factors can provide insight into possible interactions between users and item features, improving the quality of the information retrieval process. We validated the proposed model on a real dataset that contains the ratings assigned by students from Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Universidade Feevale to educational resources in the Colombian Federation of Learning Object Repositories (FROAC in Spanish). User characterization included learning style and educational level, whereas item characterization (obtained from the objects’ metadata), included interactivity level, aggregation level and type, and resource format. These results, compared to those obtained when not all the available information is included, show that our method can improve the recommendation process.

Magnesium is one of the lightest structural metal used in different industrial sector and many works are present in literature about the study of its reinforcement by fillers addition. Basalt fibres are natural fillers with good mechanical properties, excellent resistance to high temperature and lower cost than carbon fibres. For these aspects, in the last years they are increasingly used in the production of composite materials with polymeric matrices. However, very few information are presents in literature about the use of basalt fibres as reinforcement in metal matrix composite materials. It is well known that the impregnation of fibres reinforcement affects the mechanical behavior of composites materials. The aim of this study is to investigate the impregnation and the behavior of basalt fibres in a magnesium alloy composite material manufactured by a centrifugal casting technique.

Crowd counting is of significant importance for numerous applications, e.g., urban security, intelligent surveillance and crowd management. Existing crowd counting methods typically require specialized hardware deployment and strict operating conditions, thereby hindering their widespread deployment. To acquire a more effective crowd counting approach, a device-free counting method based on Channel Status Information (CSI) is proposed, which could mitigate environment noise through wavelet transform and extract the amplitude or phase covariance matrix as the feature vector. Moreover, both the spatial diversity and frequency diversity are leveraged to improve detection robustness. The accuracy of the proposed CSI-based method is compared with a renowned crowd counting one, i.e., Electronic Frog Eye: Counting Crowd Using WiFi (FCC). The experimental results reveal an accuracy improvement of 30% over FCC.

Computer and Smart Device-assisted Learning (CSDL) has gained increasing attention from educational researchers and practitioners in recent years. However, it remains controversial whether student can benefit from CSDL and what moderator could affect the impact of CSDL. Within the specific context of Korea, where the interest in digital education is steadily increasing, the number of empirical studies exploring the causal effect of CSDL remains relatively scarce. The primary objective of this empirical study was to investigate the impact of CSDL on students' academic achievement in Korea. To achieve this objective, a two-way fixed effect model was employed, utilizing a panel dataset spanning three years derived from the 'Korean Education Longitudinal Study 2013'. The findings revealed a significant positive impact of CSDL on students’ Mathematics achievement. Notably, higher income levels, increased availability of computer resources provided by schools, and the implementation of more individualized education were identified as factors that moderate the effect of CSDL on students' achievement levels in Korean and English subjects. These findings underscore the need for an approach that optimizes the educational benefits of CSDL by considering subject-specific characteristics. Furthermore, this study highlights the importance of allocating educational resources, such as computers and smart devices, and integrating individualized educational activities within the classroom environment.

Nanometer-curved surfaces are abundant in biological systems as well as in nano-sized technologies. Properly functionalized polymer-grafted nanoparticles (PGNs) adhere to surfaces with different geometries and curvatures. This work explores some of the energetic and mechanical characteristics of the adhesion of PGNs to surfaces with positive, negative and zero curvatures using Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics (CGMD) simulations. Our calculated free energies of binding of the PGN to the curved and flat surfaces as a function of separation distance show that curvature of the surfaces critically impacts the adhesion strength. We find that the flat surface is the most adhesive, and the concave surface is the least adhesive surface. This somewhat counterintuitive finding suggests that while a bare nanoparticle is more likely to adhere to a positively curved surface than a flat surface, grafting polymer chains to the nanoparticle surface inverts this behavior. Moreover, we studied the rheological behavior of PGN upon separation from the flat and curved surfaces under external pulling force. The results presented herein can be exploited in drug delivery and self-assembly applications.

Given any sequence a = (an)n1 of positive real numbers and any set E of complex sequences, we write Ea for the set of all sequences y = (yn)n1 such that y=a = (yn=an)n1 2 E. In this paper, we use the spaces w1, w0 and w of strongly bounded, summable to zero and summable sequences, that are the sets of all sequences y such that ? n?1Pn k=1 jykj
n is bounded, tends to zero and such that y ? le 2 w0, for some scalar l, respectively, (cf. [24, 22]). These sets where used in the statistical convergence, (cf. [17, Chapter 4]). Then we deal with the solvability of each of the (SSIE) F
 E + F0x where E is a linear space of sequences, F = c0, c, `1, w0, w, or w1 and F0 = c0, c, or `1. For instance, the solvability of the (SSIE) w
 w0+s(c) x consists in determining the set of all sequences x = (xn)n1 2 U+ that satisfy the following statement. For every sequence y that satisfy the condition limn!1 n?1Pn k=1 jyk ? yk?1 ? lj = 0, there are two sequences u and v, with y = u+v such that limn!1 n?1Pn k=1 jukj = 0 and limn!1 (vn=xn) = L for some scalars l and L. These results extend those stated in [11, 12, 10].

In this review, we focus on a small section of the extensive literature that deals with the materials containing pristine defective CNs and those incorporated in the hybrid materials. We will discuss only those topics that focus on structural defects related to the introduction of perturbation into the surface topology of a nanostructure. We focus mainly on the method using microwave (MW) irradiation, which is a powerful tool for synthesizing and modifying carbon-based solid materials. In addition, the simplicity of the technique, economy, and the possibility of conducting the reaction in solvents and solid phase, in the presence of components of different chemical nature, allows use in various combinations. In this review, we will emphasize the advantages of synthesis using MW-assisted heating and indicate the influence of the structure of the obtained materials on their physical and chemical properties. We will also highlight the role of the occurrence of defects in the carbon material and the implication in designing their properties and applications.

In this study, we designed a new biosensing membrane for the development of an electrochemical glucose biosensor. To proceed, we used a chitosan-based hydrogel that entraps glucose oxidase enzyme (GOx) and we crosslinked the whole matrix using glutaraldehyde, which is known for its quick and reactive crosslinking behavior. Then, the stability of the designed biosensors was investigated over time according to different storage conditions (in PBS solution at temperatures of 4 °C and 37 °C and in the presence or absence of glucose). In some specific conditions, we found that our biosensor is capable to keep its stability for more than six months of storage. We also included catalase to protect the biosensing membranes from the enzymatic reaction by-products (e.g., hydrogen peroxide). This design protects the biocatalytic activity of GOx and enhances the biosensor lifetime.

This review article is aimed at exploring the possibility of developing an integrated approach in the management of the different needs of endometrial cancer (EC) patients seeking to become pregnant. Life preservation of the woman, health preservation of the baby, a precocious and – as much as possible – minimally invasive characterization of the health and fertility parameters of the patient, together with the concerns regarding the obstetric, neonatal, and adult health risks of the children conceived via assisted reproduction techniques (ART) are all essential aspects of the problem to be taken into consideration, yet the possibility to harmonize such needs through a concerted integrated approach is still highly challenging. This article aims to illustrate the main features of EC and how it affects the normal physiology of pre-menopausal women. Then, we focus on the prospect for a miR-based, molecular evaluation of patient health status, including both EC early diagnosis and staging and, similarly, the receptivity of the woman, discussing the possible evaluation of both aspects using a single specific panel of circulating miR in the patient, thus allowing a relatively fast, non-invasive way to perform such testing with a significantly reduced margin of error. Finally, the ethical and legal/regulatory complexities arising from such innovative techniques require not only a risk-benefit analysis; respect for patient autonomy and equitable health care access allocation are fundamental issues as well.

This study addresses the problem of accurately predicting azimuth and elevation angles of signals impinging on an antenna array employing Machine Learning (ML). Using the information obtained at a receiving system when a transmitter’s signal hits it, a Decision Tree (DT) model is trained to estimate azimuth and elevation angles simultaneously. Simulation results demonstrate the robustness of the proposed DT-based method, showcasing its ability to predict the Direction of Arrival (DOA) in diverse conditions beyond the ones present in the training dataset, i.e., the results display the model’s generalization capability. Additionally, the comparative analysis reveals that DT-based DOA estimation outperforms the state-of-the-art MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm, establishing DTs as competitive alternatives for DOA estimation in signal reception systems.

Three-phase to single-phase matrix converter (TSMC) is used as the transmitter for transient electromagnetic method (TEM) instrument, instead of an AC-DC converter and an H-bridge inverter. The transmitter produces excitation current for primary field. The output current has a waveform with a bipolar square of half duty cycle, which is required by TEM. The space vector PWM based on input currents is discussed in detail. The control method of input power factor is proposed for TSMC. The simulation model of TSMC is established and the simulations of different conditions are completed. The simulation results show the controllability of the input power factor is illustrated.

In the paper, by the Faά di Bruno formula, several identities for the Bell polynomials of the second kind, and an inversion theorem, the authors simplify coefficients of two families of nonlinear ordinary differential equations for the generating function of the Catalan numbers and discover inverses of fifteen closely related lower triangular integer matrices.

In this paper, we propose an efficient numerical computation method of reduced-order controller design for linear time-invariant systems. The design problem is described by linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) with a rank constraint on a structured matrix, due to which the problem is NP-hard. Instead of the heuristic method that approximates the matrix rank by the nuclear norm, we propose a numerical projection onto the rank-constrained set based on the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). Then the controller is obtained by alternating projection between the rank-constrained set and the LMI set. We show the effectiveness of the proposed method compared with existing heuristic methods, by using 95 benchmark models from the COMPLeib library.

Background: Animal-assisted therapy has positive effects on cognitive function, depression, performance ability, and social functioning in elderly patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of rearing pet insects on the cognitive function of healthy elderly participants, with fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) being used for this purpose. Methods: Community-dwelling elderly women (≥60 years) with normal cognitive function were enrolled during April 2015. They were randomized at a 1:1 ratio into two groups: insect-rearing and control (n=16) groups, with the insect-rearing group being further classified into two groups for analysis according to the subjects’ scores in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, WCST) at the first fMRI: insect-rearing group I with a relatively high score (n=13), and insect-rearing group II with a relatively low score (n=6). All subjects were educated on a healthy lifestyle for better cognitive function at every visit, and the insect-rearing groups received and reared crickets as pet insects. The fMRI was performed at baseline and after 8 weeks using the WCST as a stimulus. The WCST consisted of two variations, a high level baseline (HLB) and semi-WCST version. Results: There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics among the three groups. There was a significant difference accuracy of the HLB–semi-WCST (p<0.05) in insect-rearing group II after 8 weeks from the baseline test. In the fMRI analysis involving the WCST reaction test, increased activation was observed in the right dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex in insect-rearing group II when the semi-WCST, rather than the HLB, was performed. There were no significant differences in the other groups. Conclusion: The rearing of pet insects as an animal-assisted therapy is cost-effective, easy, and occupies little space. In this study, it showed positive effects on executive functions and performance improvement in elderly women. Further larger studies on the effects of pet insects on cognitive function are warranted.

The microstructure evolution, superplasticity, and room temperature mechanical properties of Ti-4%Al-1%V-3%Mo alloys modified with 0.01-2 wt.% boron were investigated. Increasing the boron content from 0 to 0.1 wt.% effectively refined prior β-grains, reducing a mean grain size from ~700 µm to ~210 µm. Whiskers of the TiB phase with a size in a range of 0.7-2.9 µm were observed after solidification and thermomechanical processing. Alloys with 0.01-0.1 wt.% boron exhibited similar superplastic elongations and strain rate sensitivity coefficient m of 0.4-0.5 at a strain rate of 1×10-3 s-1 and the elongation to failure decreased from 1000% at 875°С to 400-500% at 700°С. Along with this, the minor boron addition effectively decreased flow stress values, especially at 775 °C, that was explained by the acceleration of the recrystallization and globularization of the microstructure at the initial stage of deformation. Recrystallization-induced decrease in yield strength from 770 MPa to 680 MPa was observed with an increase in boron content from 0 to 0.1 wt.%. Heat treatment increased post-forming strength characteristics for the alloys with 0.01-0.1 wt.% boron by 90–140 MPa without ductility reduction. Alloys with 1-2 wt.% B demonstrated the opposite behavior. The grain refinement effect was not revealed, and prior β grain sizes were ~670-750 µm after solidification. Thermomechanical processing promoted the fragmentation of boride whiskers and the formation of near-spherical particles with a size of ~1 μm for the alloy with a eutectic concentration of 2 wt.% B. A high fraction of borides, ~5-11%, in the alloys with 1-2 wt.% B deteriorated the superplastic properties and drastically decreased ductility at room temperature. The alloy with 2 wt.% B demonstrated non-superplastic behavior and a low level of mechanical properties, meanwhile, the alloy with 1% boron exhibited high-temperature superplasticity at 875 °C with elongation of ~500%, and yield strength of 830 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 1020 MPa at a room temperature after 100% of superplastic deformation.

This paper deals with a generic methodology to evaluate the magnetic parameters of contactless power transfer systems. Neumann's integral has been used to create a matrix method that can model the magnetics of single coils (circle, square, rectangle). The principle of superposition has been utilised to extend the theory to multi-coil geometries such as double circular, double rectangle and double rectangle quadrature assuming linearity of magnetics. Numerical and experimental validation has been performed to validate the analytical models developed. A rigorous application of the analysis has been carried out to study misalignment and hence the efficacy of various geometries to misalignment tolerance. Comparison of single-coil and multi-coil shapes considering coupling variation with misalignment, power transferred and maximum efficiency is carried out.

The rapid and accurate detection of viruses and the discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are crucial for disease management and understanding viral evolution. In this study, a pipeline for virus detection, validation, and SNP discovery from next-generation sequencing (NGS) data is presented. By integrating state-of-the-art bioinformatics tools with artificial intelligence, the pipeline processes raw sequencing data to identify viral sequences with high accuracy and sensitivity. Before aligning the reads to the reference genomes, quality control measures and adapter trimming are performed to ensure the integrity of the data. Unmapped reads are subjected to de novo assembly to reveal novel viral sequences and genetic elements. The effectiveness of the pipeline is demonstrated by the identification of virus sequences, illustrating its potential for the detection of known and emerging pathogens. SNP discovery is performed using a custom Python script that compares the entire population of sequenced viral reads to a reference genome. This approach provides a comprehensive overview of viral genetic diversity and identifies dominant variants and a spectrum of genetic variations. The robustness of the pipeline is confirmed by the recovery of complete viral sequences, which improves our understanding of viral genomics. This study highlights the synergy between traditional bioinformatics techniques and modern approaches, providing a robust tool for analyzing viral genomes and contributing to the broader field of viral genomics.

Background: Primary lymphedema is a chronic condition caused by a developmental abnormality of the lymphatic system and its malfunction. Different surgical options such as physiologic and excisional procedures have been proposed. The aim of this study was to present a complete algorithm for the treatment of primary lower extremity lymphedema: Primary LYmphedema Multidisciplinary Approach (P-LYMA). Methods: Nineteen patients were treated according to the P-LYMA. Patients underwent pre- and post-operative complex decongestive therapy (CDT). Different physiologic and excisional procedures were performed independently or in combination. The primary outcome was the circumferential reduction rate (CRR). The Lymphedema Quality of Life Score (LeQOLiS), reduction in the number of episodes of cellulitis, length of stay, and complications were recorded. Results: The mean CRR calculated was 72.8±19.6% after twelve months. The episodes of cellulitis per year decreased from a mean of 1.9±0.8 preoperative to 0.4± 0.6 throughtout follow-up. Two patients experienced minor complications. Mean hospitalization time was 5 days. Patients’ quality of life (LeQOLi score) drastically improved from 70.4±11.6 to 24.2 ±13.9 at twelve months post-op. Conclusion: The P-LYMA algorithm allows to maximize surgical results and improve the quality-of life in patients who suffer from primary lymphedema. CDT is mandatory to optimize results.

The standard treatment for early-stage lung cancer is complete tumor excision by limited resection of the lung. Pre-operative localization is used before video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) to improve the accuracy of pulmonary nodule excision. However, lung atelectasis and hypoxia resulting from controlling apnea during the localization procedure may affect the localization accuracy. Pre-procedural pulmonary recruitment may improve respiratory mechanics and oxygenation during localization. In this study, we investigated the potential benefits of pre-localization pulmonary recruitment prior to pulmonary ground-glass nodule localization in a hybrid operating room. We hypothesized that pre-localization pulmonary recruitment would increase localization accuracy, improve oxygenation, and prevent the need for re-inflation during the localization procedure. We retrospectively enrolled patients with multiple pulmonary nodule localizations before surgical intervention in our hybrid operating room. We compared localization accuracies between patients who had undergone pre-procedure pulmonary recruitment and patients who had not. Saturation, re-inflation rate, apnea time, procedure-related pneumothorax, and procedure time were also recorded as secondary outcomes. Patients who had undergone pre-procedure recruitment had better saturation, shorter procedure time, and higher localization accuracy. The pre-procedure pulmonary recruitment maneuver was effective in increasing regional lung ventilation, leading to improved oxygenation and localization accuracy.

This paper questions the potential shift of reproduction towards assisted reproductive technologies due to benefits provided by genetic manipulation of embryos. In order to examine the viability of such a shift and its implications from a regulatory perspective, we relied on two panels of experts from Israel and Spain, using the Delphi method and a series of in-depth interviews. We anticipate, at a first stage, a continuous-steady growth in the use of IVF, supplemented by preimplantation genetic diagnosis and the introduction of CRISPR/Cas. At a second stage, attracting a growing share of fertile people would require developments in genomics. While it is unclear whether these developments will fully materialize, they could be replaced by technoscientific imaginaries generating perceived benefits. We conclude that the regulation of reproductive genetics is becoming more critical and complex. The aim should be to ensure good practices and equity, while providing more information to the public. A broad and inclusive societal debate may overcome the difficulty of drawing a clear line between medical uses and non-medical uses of genetic selection and engineering and may contribute to finding the right balance between allowing autonomous decisions of patients and protecting the public interest.

Based on the demographic shift and the related challenges resulting from the growing number of elderly and persons with chronic diseases, the idea of smart home that supports its inhabitants in the daily life, gains importance. The purpose of this paper was to examine in a prototypic Ambient Assisted Living environment if users after interaction with different health-supporting applications intend to use such in the future. Two experimental studies exemplary show possible applications of home-integrated technology that can support, assist and accompany the target group in different contexts, and examine to what extent participants are willing to future use such sophisticated technology at home. The results show that people in general, but especially the old and chronically ill ones are quite fascinated of health-supporting ambient technology and the majority intends to use such ambient assistance in the future (study I). Moreover, serious games for healthcare are shown as a hedonic use of technology in smart homes that have a great potential to retain or improve the physical health, mobility and the overall well-being of the inhabitants (study II). The article provides two examples of ambient technology to leverage the demographic change and presents important user factors for facilitating high user acceptance.

The current study characterizes the transient M/M/1 queue manifold info-geometrically, through devising Fisher Information matrix(FIM) and its inverse(IFIM). Additionally, the impact of stability on the existence of IFIM and explore the geodesic equations of motion has been revealed. More potentially, the paper discusses the relationship between stability and the Gaussian curvature, as well as the connections between queueing theory, information geometry, , Riemannian geometry, and the Theory of Relativity.

Background: Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has become the recommended approach for treatment of resectable lung cancer. However, no large randomized clinical trial has been conducted formally comparing surgical resections completed by VATS to those done by open thoracotomy (OT) in low volume centers. The current study sought to assess differences in recurrence-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), positive margins and postoperative length of stay (LOS) between VATS and OT lobectomies in our center. Method: A single institution retrospective chart review from May 2005 through May 2015 was conducted. All patients diagnosed with stage I through III lung cancer who underwent surgical resection were selected. Patient and tumor characteristics recorded included age at diagnosis, sex, tobacco use, tumor location (side and lobe), stage, size and receipt of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Chis-square and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare demographics, tumor characteristics and LOS. Multiple logistic and Cox regression analyses were used to compute relative risk (RR) for positive margins and mortality hazard ratios along with 95 percent confidence intervals (95%CI), respectively. Results: Of the 235 patients, 101 subjects had VATS while OT was performed in 134 patients. Age at diagnosis, sex, tobacco use, tumor location, and size were comparable for VATS and OT. No significant difference was observed in the relative risk of positive margins for VATS versus OT, RR = 0.56 (95%CI = 0.26, 1.05). However, VATS had shorter median LOS compared to OT (4 vs. 6 days, respectively), p = 0.002. A comparison of VATS versus OT showed no significant difference in the risk of recurrence, HR = 1.21 (95%CI = 0.74, 2.00), or death, HR = 1.34 (95%CI = 0.88, 2.06), in the intent-to-treat population. Similarly, no significant differences in recurrence or mortality risk were observed between VATS versus OT for analyses conducted separately for each cancer stage group or those limited to patients with negative margins. Conclusion: Our study indicates that compared to OT, VATS leads to shorter LOS while achieving comparable margins status, recurrence-free and overall survival regardless of tumor stage at diagnosis.

Irrigation and fertilizer are two essential factors affecting rice root traits and yield. In this respect, a pot experiment was performed at the boro (dry season irrigated) season of 2021-22 in the Department of Agronomy of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The variety Binadhan-10 was planted at two irrigation conditions i.e. saturation (S) and continuous flooding (CF); two potassium (K) dose e.g. 65 kg ha-1 (K65) and 98 kg ha-1 (K98) and two nitrogen (N) dose i.e. 140 kg ha-1 (N140) and 210 kg ha-1 (N210). The experiment was laid in split plot design and replicated thrice. The findings confirmed the effectiveness of irrigation, K and N on root number (RN), root length (RL), root volume (RV), leaf area index (LAI), total dry matter (TDM), yield attributes and yield. Considering interaction among irrigation, K and N, S condition with K65 and N140 showed best performance. At 80 DAT, the highest RN (373.00), RL (1700.00 cm), RV (8.90 cm3 hill-1), LAI (4.94) and TDM (25.83 g plant-1) was obtained from this combination. Grain yield (GY) and root traits except root porosity, showed a significant positive association. Grain yield (GY) was highest (27.12 g pot-1) in S condition with K65 and N140.

Articular chondrocytes are surrounded by chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, which attracts an abundant volume of interstitial water. The articular cartilage is compressed with joint-loading and weight-bearing stresses, followed by a bulging of the tissue during times of off-loading. Thus, osmotic pressure in articular cartilage is higher than in other tissues due to the fixed charged density and altered between loading and off-loading due to change in water content. Another unique characteristic of the articular cartilage is that it has longitudinal depth: surface, middle, and deep zones. Since each zone composes unique components of extracellular matrices, each zone has a various level of the osmotic pressure. It was unclear how changes in osmotic pressure affected chondrocyte homeostasis and matrix accumulation in specific longitudinal zone. We hypothesized that change in extrinsic osmotic pressure alters metabolic functions and histogenesis of extracellular matrix by zone-specific chondrocytes. We compared the gene expression of matrix related typical anabolic and catabolic molecules produced by zone specific articular chondrocytes and the immunohistology of these corresponding genes. Since the newly synthesized matrix needed a space to accumulate, we used a chondrocyte-spheroid model formed by longitudinal depth zone-derived cells and altered extrinsic osmotic pressure by changing media containing different osmotic pressures. Anabolic molecules upregulated continuously at high osmotic pressure and transiently by switching back the osmotic pressure from high to low. Each zone derived chondrocytes showed zone specific level of the gene expression. The spheroids once exposed to the high osmotic pressure accumulated extracellular matrices with empty spaces.

The current study characterizes the transient M/M/1 queue manifold info-geometrically, through devising Fisher Information matrix(FIM) and its inverse(IFIM). Additionally, the impact of stability on the existence of IFIM and explore the geodesic equations of motion has been revealed. More potentially, the paper discusses some info-geometric applications to Machine Learning are highlighted. Closing remarks with some challenging open problems combined with the next phase of research are given.

Nymphaea lotus L. is the medicinal plant that has long been used as food, cosmetic and traditional medicines in Africa and Asia since the ancient time. Its flavonoids and other interesting phytochemical compounds from rhizome, leaf, and the whole flowers have been reported in the previous published researches. However, stamens, which are essential for reproductive functions, may also represent new alternative sources of potential antioxidant flavonoids as investigated in this study. The innovative green chemistry method i.e. ultrasound-assisted extraction (USAE) as well as macroporous resin (MPR) purification procedure were employed in this current research. The optimal ultrasound-assisted extraction condition is 90 % (v/v) aqEtOH with 34.65 khz ultrasonic frequency and 46 minutes of extraction time. Comparing with heat reflux extraction (HRE) conventional method, the significant gain of 1.35 total flavonoids content was obtained using optimized USAE conditions, jumping to 2.80 when this USAE associated with MPR purification. Not only in vitro cell free antioxidant activity of N. lotus stamen extracts, but also in cellulo antioxidant investigation using yeast model showed the same trend to indicate that the best antioxidant flavonoid can be found in USAE coupled with MPR purification. Moreover, the key antioxidant genes expression in yeast model such as SIR2 and SOD2 were also expressed at the highest level in yeast cell treated with the extract from USAE together with MPR purification. Consequently, it can be seen that the USAE combined with MPR purification can help to enhance the flavonoids antioxidant potential of the stamens extract from this medicinal species.

In this work, effects of 20 transition element additives on the interfacial adhesion energy and electronic structure of Al (111)/6H-SiC (0001) interfaces have been studied by first principles method. For clean Al (111)/6H–SiC (0001) interfaces, both Si-terminated and C-terminated interfaces have covalent bond characteristics. The C-terminated interface has stronger binding energy, which is mainly due to the stronger covalent bond formed by the larger charge transfer between C and Al. The results show that the introduction of many transition elements, such as 3d transitional group Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and 4d transitional group Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, can improve the interfacial adhesion energy of the Si-terminated Al (111)/6H-SiC (0001) interface. However, for the C-terminated Al (111)/6H-SiC (0001) interface, only the addition of Co element can improve the interfacial adhesion energy. Bader charge analysis shows that the increase of interfacial binding energy is mainly attributed to more charge transfer.

Our wellbeing is greatly influenced by our childhood and adolescence, and the relationships that we form during those phases of our development. The human-dog bond started thousands of years ago. The higher prevalence of dog ownership around the world, especially in households including children along with the growing number of people studying dogs most likely explain the growing literature focusing on child-dog interactions. We review the potential effects of child-dog interactions on the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of both species. A scoping search of the SCOPUS database found several hundred documents meeting selection criteria. It allowed us to define the numerous ways in which children and dogs can interact, be it neutral (e.g., sharing a common area), positive (e.g., petting), or negative (e.g., biting). Then, we found evidence for an association between interacting with dogs during childhood and an array of health and mental benefits like stress relief and the development of empathy. Walking a dog and playing with one are perfect physical activity opportunities. Additionally, interacting with a dog can help lower stress and may have a role in the development of empathy. Nonetheless, a number of detrimental outcomes have also been identified in both humans and dogs. Children are the most at-risk population regarding dog bites and dog-borne zoonoses, which may lead to a subsequent fear of dogs or even death. Moreover, pet bereavement is generally inevitable when living with a canine companion and should not be trivialized. In terms of dogs, children sometimes take part in caretaking behaviors toward them which include going on walks. They are opportunities for dogs to relieve themselves outside, but also to exercise and socialize. In contrast, a lack of physical activity can lead to the onset of obesity. Dogs may present greater levels of stress when in the presence of children. Finally, the welfare of assistance, therapy, and free-roaming dogs remains underexplored. Overall, the study of the effects, positive as well as negative, on both species still requires further development. We call for more longitudinal studies and hope for cross-cultural research in the future in order to better understand the impact child-dog interactions might have.

The conversion of native habitats into anthropogenic ones compromises the original composition and configuration of the landscapes, influencing ecological dynamics and affecting biodiversity. Increasingly, landscape ecology has shown that these effects can only be understood if accessed at adequate spatial scales, as the scale which landscape structure is evaluated influences species responses. Here, we investigated how three variables of landscape composition (proportion of forest, coffee crop and pasture) and two of configuration (number of fragments and mean nearest neighbor distance) interfere in the richness and composition of medium and large-sized mammals considering a multiscale approach. We recorded medium and large-sized mammal species in 13 landscapes with predominantly matrices of coffee and pasture in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Then, we built distance-based linear models to identify the scale of effect of each landscape variable for both response variables considering eight scales (from 250 m to 2000 m). Finally, we verified the influence of the landscape on the richness and composition of mammals, considering the landscape variables in their respective scales of effect. We found 67% of the probable species occurring in the region. The scales of effect varied among landscape variables probably due to the different variables affect different aspects of organisms' ecological requirements. The proportion of pasture in the landscape explained the variation in species richness, while the proportion of forest explained the variation in species composition. In addition, the proportion of pasture in the landscape had a positive influence on species richness, indicating that this matrix may favor the presence of generalist species of habitat and/or this result is due to the higher concentration of species in the fragments immersed in this matrix. These results suggest that considering different responses to biodiversity is important to understand different aspects of the landscape's influence on biodiversity. In addition, the composition of the landscape is fundamental for the perpetuation of species and, therefore, both forest cover and types of matrices in the landscape must be considered to improve species conservation strategies. Finally, generalizing a spatial scale can lead to misinterpretations about the influence of the landscape on biodiversity.

Introduced in 1967 by Lov\'{a}sz, graph exponentiation has received little attention over the past several decades. Since graph exponentiation produces large graphs and any graph can be constructed utilizing its adjacency matrix, we provide a four step linear construction algorithm that generates the adjacency matrix for the graph exponential.

This paper explores the application of Random Matrix Theory (RMT) as a methodological enhancement for portfolio selection within financial markets. Traditional approaches to portfolio optimization often rely on historical estimates of correlation matrices, particularly susceptible to instability. To address this challenge, we combine a data preprocessing technique based on the Hilbert transformation of returns with RMT to refine the accuracy and robustness of correlation matrix estimation. By contrasting empirical correlations with those derived from random matrices, we uncover non-random properties and underlying relationships within financial data. We then utilize this methodology to construct the correlation network dependence structure used in portfolio optimization. The empirical analysis presented in this paper validates the effectiveness of RMT in enhancing portfolio diversification and risk management strategies. This research contributes by offering investors and portfolio managers with methodological insights to construct portfolios that are more stable, robust, and diversified. At the same time, it advances our comprehension of the intricate statistical principles underlying multivariate financial data.

Dual quaternions have wide applications in automatic differentiation, computer graphics, mechanics and others. Due to its application in control theory, the matrix equation AXB=C has been extensively studied. However, there is currently limited information on matrix equation AXB=C over the dual quaternion algebra. In this paper, we provide the necessary and sufficient conditions for the solvability of the dual quaternion matrix equation AXB=C, and present the expression for the general solution when it is solvable. As an application, we derive the ϕ-Hermitian solutions for the dual quaternion matrix equation AXAϕ=C, where the ϕ-Hermitian extends the concepts of Hermiticity and η-Hermiticity. Lastly, we present a numerical example to verify the main research results of this paper.

Chondrocytes maintain the normal morphological structure and physiological function of articular cartilage. However, the increased expression of inflammatory mediators and matrix-degrading enzymes in chondrocytes can promote ECM degradation, consequently disrupting the physiological function of articular cartilage and ultimately leading to the onset of osteoarthritis (OA). Usnic acid (UA), an extract derived from plants, possesses multiple bioactive properties including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Hence, this study aims to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying its protective effects in an in vitro simulated model of OA in rat chondrocytes. In vivo experiments encompassed three groups: Control, Model, and Usnic acid (50 mg/kg), with sample extraction following 12 weeks of administration. Pathological alterations in articular cartilage were evaluated using Safranin O-fast green staining. Immunohistochemistry (ICH) analysis was employed to assess the expression of matrix degradation-related markers. The levels of serum cytokines were quantified via ELISA assays. In this study, primary rat chondrocytes were employed as the experimental subject. After a 24-hour treatment period, culture supernatants, total RNA, total protein, and nuclear protein were extracted from the different chondrocyte groups. ELISA and qPCR methods were used to measure levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and PGE2. WB and qPCR were employed to assess levels of p65, p-p65, IκBα, p-IκBα, Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1 ADAMTS-4, MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-13, INOS, COX-2, and COL2A1. IF analysis was performed to examine Nrf2, p-p65 and COL2A1. Results: (1) In vivo, intraperitoneal injection of usnic acid (50mg/kg) can alleviate pathological changes in articular cartilage and the levels of inflammatory and oxidative-related matrix in the serum. (2) UA reduced the level of inflammatory cytokines in IL-1β-induced chondrocytes supernatant. (3) UA can produce anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and inhibit chondrocytes matrix degradation through the Nrf2 and NF-κB pathways. (3) The mechanism by which UA exerts a protective role in chondrocytes is mediated by Nrf2 Conclusion: UA inhibits the expression of chondrocyte matrix degradation-related components through Nrf2 mediated Nrf2 pathway and NF-κB pathway, promotes the production of protective substances, and ultimately exerts a protective effect on chondrocytes.

Abstract: The transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) and Hippo signaling pathways are evolutionarily conserved pathways that play a critical role in cardiac fibroblasts during embryonic development, tissue repair, and fibrosis. TGFβ and Hippo signaling is also important for cardiac cushion remodeling and septation during embryonic development. Loss of TGFβ2 in mice causes cardiac cushion remodeling defects resulting in congenital heart disease. In this study, we used in vitro molecular and pharmacologic approaches in the cushion mesenchymal cell line (tsA58-AVM) and investigated if Hippo pathway acts as a mediator of TGFβ2 signaling. Immunofluorescence staining showed that TGFβ2 induced nuclear translocation of activated SMAD3 in the cushion mesenchymal cells. In addition, the results indicated increased nuclear localization of Yes associated protein 1 (YAP1) following a similar treatment of TGFβ2. In collagen lattice formation assays, TGFβ2 treatment of cushion cells resulted in an enhanced collagen contraction compared to the untreated cushion cells. Interestingly, verteporfin, a YAP1 inhibitor, significantly blocked the ability of cushion cells to contract collagen gel in absence or presence of by exogenously added TGFβ2. To confirm the molecular mechanisms of verteporfin induced inhibition of TGFβ2-dependent extra-cellular matrix (ECM) reorganization we performed gene expression analysis of key mesenchymal genes involved in ECM remodeling in heart development and disease. Our results confirmed that verteporfin significantly decreased the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (Acta2), collagen 1a1 (Col1a1), Ccn1 (i.e., Cyr61), and Ccn2 (i.e., Ctgf). Western blot analysis indicated that verteporfin treatment significantly blocked TGFβ2-induced activation of SMAD2/3 in cushion mesenchymal cells. Collectively, these results indicate that TGFβ2 regulation of cushion mesenchymal cell be-havior and ECM remodeling is mediated by YAP1. Thus, TGFβ2 and Hippo pathway integration represents an important step in understanding the etiology of congenital heart disease.

Hydrogels can be considered as mimics of extracellular matrix (ECM).Cytoskeleton through integrins is connected with ECM and cytoskeleton tension depends on ECM stiffness.A number of age-related diseases depend on cellular processes related with cytoskeleton function.Some examples of cancer initiation and progression and heart disease in relationship with ECM stiffness has been analysed.Incorporation of rigid particles in ECM can increase ECM stifness and to promote formation of internal residual stresses. Water migration, changes of water binding energy to biomactomolecules, changes of the state of water from tightly bound water to free and loosely bound water changes stiffness of ECM. Risks related with rigid particles incorporation into ECM have been also iscussed.

The advancements achieved in Tissue Engineering are based on a careful and in-depth study of cell-tissue interaction. The choice of a certain biomaterial in Tissue Engineering is fundamental as it represents an interface for adherent cells in the creation of a microenvironment suitable for cell growth and differentiation. The knowledge of the biochemical and biophysical properties of the extracellular matrix is a useful tool for the optimization of polymeric scaffolds. The aim of this re-view is to analyse the chemical, physical and biological parameters on which it is possible to act in Tissue Engineering for the optimization of polymeric scaffolds. Understanding the scaffold impact on cell fate is of paramount importance for the successful advancement of Tissue Engineering.

The paper focuses on the admissibility problem of descriptor fractional-order systems (DFOSs). The alternate admissibility criteria are addressed for DFOSs with order in (0,2) which involve a non-strict linear matrix inequality (LMI) method and a strict LMI method, respectively. The forms of non-strict and strict LMIs are brand-new and distinguished with the existing literature, which fill the gaps of studies for admissibility. These approaches are available to the order in (0,2) without separating the order ranges into (0,1) and [1,2). In addition, a method involved least real decision variables in terms of strict LMIs is derived which is more convenient to process the practical solution. Three numerical examples are given to illustrate the validity of proposed results.

(1) Background: Breast cancer is a frequent heterogeneous disorder diagnosed in woman and is a high cause of mortality of them in reason to rapid metastasis and disease recurrence. Ferroptosis can inhibit breast cancer cell growth, improve the sensitivity of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and inhibit distant metastases so potentially acts on tumor micro-environment; (2) Methods: Ferroptosis/Extracellular matrix remodeling literature text-mining results were integrated in breast cancer transcriptome cohort according their distant relapse free survival (DRFS) under adjuvant therapy (anthracyclin+taxanes) and also in MDA-MB-231 transcriptome functional experiments with ferroptosis activations (GSE173905); (3) Results: Ferroptosis/Extracellular matrix remodeling text-mining identified 910 associated genes in at list 10 articles. Univariate Cox analyses censored on breast cancer (GSE25066) selected 252 individual significant genes and 171 of them found with an adverse expression. Functional enrichment of these 171 adverse genes predicted basal breast cancer signatures. By text-mining some ferroptosis significant adverse selected genes shared citations in domain of ECM remodeling such as: TNF, IL6, SET, CDKN2A, EGFR, HMGB1, KRAS, MET, LCN2, HIF1A, TLR4. A molecular score based on expression the eleven genes was found predictive of worst prognosis breast cancer at univariate level: basal subtype, short DRFS, high grade values 3 and 4, estrogen and progesterone receptors negative and nodal stages 2 and 3. This eleven gene signature was validated as regulated by ferroptosis inductors (erastin and RSL3) in triple negative breast cancer cellular model MDA-MB-231.; (4) Conclusions: Crosstalk between ECM remodeling-Ferroptosis functionalities allowed to define a molecular score which have been characterized as an independent adverse parameter in prognosis of breast cancer patients. Gene signature of this molecular score have been validated to be regulated by erastin/RSL3 ferroptosis activators. This molecular score could be promising to evaluate ECM impact of ferroptosis target therapies in breast cancer.

Chronic wounds are associated with considerable patient morbidity and present a significant economic burden to the healthcare system. Often, chronic wounds are in a state of persistent in-flammation and unable to progress to the next phase of wound healing. Placental-derived bio-materials are recognized for their biocompatibility, biodegradability, angiogenic, an-ti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-fibrotic, immunomodulatory, and immune privileged prop-erties. As such, placental-derived biomaterials have been used in wound management for more than a century. Placental-derived scaffolds are composed of an extracellular matrix (ECM) that can mimic the native tissue, creating a reparative environment to promote ECM remodeling, cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Reliable evidence exists throughout the literature to support the safety and effectiveness of placental-derived biomaterials in wound healing. How-ever, differences in source (i.e., anatomical regions of the placenta), preservation techniques, decellularization status, design, and clinical application have not been fully evaluated. This re-view provides an overview of wound healing and placental-derived biomaterials, summarizes the clinical results of placental-derived scaffolds in wound healing, and suggests directions for future work.

Collagen, the most abundant structural protein found in mammals, plays a vital role as a constituent of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that surrounds cells. Collagen fibrils are strengthened through the formation of covalent cross-links, which involve complex enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions. Lysyl oxidase (LOX) is responsible for catalyzing the oxidative deamination of lysine and hydroxylysine residues, resulting in the production of aldehydes, allysine, and hydroxyallysine. These intermediates undergo spontaneous condensation reactions, leading to the formation of immature cross-links, which are the initial step in the development of mature covalent cross-links. Additionally, non-enzymatic glycation contributes to the formation of abnormal cross-linking in collagen fibrils. During glycation, specific lysine and arginine residues in collagen are modified by reducing sugars, leading to the creation of Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs). These AGEs have been associated with changes in the mechanical properties of collagen fibers. Interestingly, various studies have reported that plant polyphenols possess amine oxidase-like activity and can act as potent inhibitors of protein glycation. This review article focuses on compiling literature describing polyphenols with amine oxidase-like activity and antiglycation properties. Specifically, we explore the molecular mechanisms by which specific flavonoids impact or protect the normal collagen cross-linking process. Furthermore, we discuss how these dual activities can be harnessed to generate properly cross-linked collagen molecules, thereby promoting the stabilization of highly organized collagen fibrils.

When a large artery becomes occluded, hemodynamic changes stimulate remodeling of arterial networks to form collateral arteries in a process termed arteriogenesis. However, the structural changes necessary for collateral remodeling have not been defined. We hypothesize that decon-struction of the extracellular matrix is essential to the remodeling of smaller arteries into effective collaterals. Using multiphoton microscopy, we analyzed collagen and elastin structure in maturing collateral arteries isolated from ischemic rat hindlimbs. Collateral arteries harvested at different timepoints showed progressive diameter expansion associated with striking rearrangement of in-ternal elastic lamina (IEL) into a loose fibrous mesh, a pattern persisting at 8 weeks. Despite a 2.5-fold increase in luminal diameter, total elastin content remained unchanged in collaterals compared with control arteries. Among the collateral midzones, baseline elastic fiber content is low. Outward remodeling of these vessels with a 10-20 fold diameter increase was associated with fractures of the elastic fibers and evidence of increased wall tension as demonstrated by straight-ening of the adventitial collagen. Inhibition of lysyl oxidase (LOX) function with β-aminopropionitrile resulted in severe fragmentation or complete loss of continuity of the IEL in developing collaterals. Collateral artery development is associated with permanent redistribution of existing elastic fibers to accommodate diameter growth. We found no evidence of new elastic fiber formation. Stabilization of the arterial wall during outward remodeling is necessary and dependent on LOX activity.

The paper summarizes in a step by step ‘recipe’ format a model of developing new ideas (Ideation) that can be used to form a new venture or develop a new product. The proposed ‘recipes’ are widely used and can be applied in tandem with other prevalently available models or tools. The intention of the paper is also to serve as a resource for entrepreneurs and innovators, and the links and references munificently used in the paper are serving this purpose. The author has used the outline and the tools described here in numerous Ideation classes taught for over a decade in several countries around the world. The paper’s intention is not to conduct a systematic review on the subject of new venture creation or propose new research agenda (for that, see for example Shepherd et al., 2021). The purpose is to provide an effective and efficient set of tools, models and techniques that can assist the entrepreneur in her journey to create and achieve her dreams. One such tool is the matrix of Reasonings-Outcomes introduced here for the first time.

This note shows that the well-known reverse order law $(AB)^{\dag} = B^{\dag}A^{\dag}$ for the Moore--Penrose inverse of matrix product is equivalent to many other equalities for that are composed of multiple products $(AB)^{\dag}$ and $B^{\dag}A^{\dag}$ by means of the definition of the Moore--Penrose inverse and orthogonal projector theory.

Cachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome characterized by loss of skeletal muscle, leading to a significant weight loss that impacts patient morbidity and mortality. Given the complexity of gene regulatory networks that control gene expression, our objective was to perform an integrative mRNA and miRNA profiling to identify genetic programs that capture essential mechanistic details that promote muscle atrophy in cancer cachexia. Here, we used RNA sequencing to analyze miRNAs and mRNAs expression profiles in tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of the Lewis lung carcinoma model of cancer cachexia. In addition, we compared these findings with RNA-Seq data from C2C12 myotubes treated in vitro with the cachectic factors tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). Extracellular matrix (ECM) alterations were validated by picrosirius staining, western blot, and fractal dimension analyses. We found 1,008 mRNAs and 18 miRNAs differentially expressed in cachectic mice. This set of genes was associated with the ECM, proteolysis, and inflammatory response. Enrichment analysis of transcriptional factor binding sites revealed activation of the atrophy-related transcriptional factors: NF-κB, Stat3, AP-1, and FoxO. Furthermore, the integration of mRNA and miRNA expression profiles identified post-transcriptional regulation by miRNAs of genes involved in ECM organization, cell migration, transcription factors binding, ion transport, and FoxO signaling pathway. C2C12 myotubes treated with TNF-α and IFN-γ similarly down-regulate subsets of ECM genes, including collagens. Our integrative analysis of miRNA-mRNA co-profiles comprehensive characterized regulatory relationships of molecular pathways and revealed miRNAs targeting ECM-associated genes in cancer cachexia. We also confirmed in C2C12 myotubes that changes in ECM-associated genes are dependent on inflammatory signaling of the cytokines TNF-α and IFN-γ.

Accumulation of damage is generally considered the cause of aging. Interventions that delay aging mobilize mechanisms that protect and repair cellular components. Consequently, research has been focused on studying the protective and homeostatic mechanisms within cells. However, in humans and other multicellular organisms, cells are surrounded by extracellular matrices (ECM), which are important for tissue structure, function and intercellular communication. During aging, components of the ECM become damaged through fragmentation, glycation, crosslinking, and accumulation of protein aggregation, all of which contribute to age-related pathologies. Interestingly, placing senescent cells into a young ECM rejuvenates them and we found that many longevity-assurances pathways re-activate de-novosynthesis of ECM proteins during aging. This raises the question of what constitutes a young ECM to reverse aging or maintain health? In order to make inroads to answering this question, I suggest a systems-level approach of quantifying the matrisome or ECM compositions reflecting health, pathology, or phenotype and propose a novel term, the “matreotype”, to describe this. The matreotype is defined as the composition and modification of ECM or matrisome proteins associated with or caused by a phenotype, such as longevity, or a distinct and acute physiological state, as observed during aging or disease. Every cell type produces its unique ECM. Interestingly, cancer-cell types can even be identified based on their unique ECM composition. Thus, the matreotype reflects cellular identity and physiological status. Defined matreotypes could be used as biomarkers or prognostic factors for disease or health status during aging with potential relevance for personalized medicine. Treatment with biologics that alter ECM-to-cell mechanotransduction might be a strategy to reverse age-associated pathologies. An understanding of how to reverse from an old to a young matreotype might point towards novel strategies to rejuvenate cells and help maintain tissue homeostasis to promote health during aging.

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanocomposites processed with different morphologies, such as porous and non-porous films and fibres, have been prepared with silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) of varying diameter (17, 100, 160 and 300 nm) which in turn have encapsulated perylenediimide (PDI), a fluorescent molecule. Structural, morphological, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites, with SiNP filler concentration up to 16 wt% were evaluated. Further, cytotoxicity and cell proliferation studies were performed. All SiNPs are negatively charged independently of the pH and more stable from pH 5 upwards. The SiNPs introduction within the polymer matrix increases the contact angle independently of the nanoparticle diameters and the smallest ones (17 nm) improve the PVDF Young modulus from 0.94 ± 0.04 GPa for the pristine polymer film to 1.05 ± 0.06 GPa. Varying filler diameter, physico-chemical, thermal and mechanical properties of the polymer matrix were not significantly affected. Finally, the SiNPs inclusion does not induce cytotoxicity in murine myoblasts (C2C12) after 72 h of contact and proliferation studies reveal that the prepared composites represent a suitable platform for tissue engineering applications, as they allow to combine the biocompatibility and piezoelectricity of the polymer with the possible functionalization and drug encapsulation and release of the SiNP.

We explore the use of inverse multiquadratic (IMQ) functions as basis functions when solving the vibrational Schrödinger equation with the rectangular collocation method. The quality of the vibrational spectrum of formaldehyde (in six dimensions) is compared to that obtained using Gaussian basis functions when using different numbers of width-optimized IMQ functions. The effects of the ratio of the number of collocation points to the number of basis functions and of the choice of the IMQ exponent are studied. We show that the IMQ basis can be used with parameters where the IMQ function is not integrable. We find that the quality of the spectrum with IMQ basis functions is somewhat lower that that with a Gaussian basis when the basis size is large and for a range of IMQ exponents. The IMQ functions are, however, advantageous when a small number of functions is used or with a small number of collocation points e.g. when using square collocation.

This article puts forward the bi-matrix games with crisp parametric payoffs based on interval value function approach. We conclude that the equilibrium solution of the game model can converted into optimal solutions of the pair of the non-linear optimization problem. Finally, experiment results show the efficiency of the model.

In recent years, many algorithms based on end-to-end deep networks have been proposed to deal with the target detection problem of videos. However, the deep network models usually consume a lot of computing resources during the procedure of analysis of videos with complex dynamic backgrounds. In this paper, a new method of object detection based on information theory is presented. Firstly, each frame in a video is converted into an effective information map by using the Harris corner detection method. Secondly, the sensitive areas in the frame are extracted by using the context information and the effective information maps of the consecutive video frames. The sensitive areas in the video frame are the candidate areas where the target objects would be appeared at high probabilities. Thirdly, the information entropy features of each sensitive area are extracted to form the feature matrix, based on which, an SVM model is trained for selecting the target areas from the sensitive areas. Finally, the locations of the objects are detected based on the target areas in the video with a complex dynamic background. As a lightweight video detection framework, the method presented in this paper can save a lot of computing resources. Experimental results show that this method can achieve good results in the benchmark of CDnet 2014.

The Folla Redonda grape is indigenous to the region of Rias Bajas in Galicia, Spain. This grape is distinguished by its characteristic acid flavor and pulp of remarkable coloration. Despite the wine obtained from this grape is highly valued by consumers of this region for its surprising acidic notes and thickness, it is important to note that it is not a variety of Vitis vinifera and its production is not legally regulated. In the present study, an evaluation of the physicochemical properties of the Folla Redonda grape (pH, °Brix, °Bé, density, acidity, sugar content, etc.) as well as its content in bioactive compounds (total polyphenols and anthocyanins) was carried out. Additionally, the antioxidant potential of the extracts obtained from this grape was demonstrated. This study proved the interesting organoleptic characteristics of the grape, along with a high content of compounds of interest and an important antioxidant activity comparable to that of Vitis vinifera grapes. Therefore, the grape's natural consumption and its application in different industries such as nutraceutical or pharmacological would result in an important revaluation of the grape and significant health benefits. In case that the production of wine from this variety is legalized, consumers will not only be able to enjoy a wine with a characteristic dense reddish color and important acid tones, but also with interesting concentrations of bioactive compounds.

Structural self-organizing and pattern formation are universal and key phenomena observed during growth and cluster-assembling of the carbyne-enriched nanostructured metamaterials at the ion-assisted pulse-plasma deposition. Fine tuning these universal phenomena opens access to designing the properties of the growing carbyne-enriched nano-matrix. The structure of bonds in the grown carbyne-enriched nano-matrices can be programmed by the processes of self-organization and auto-synchronization of nanostructures. We propose the innovative concept, connected with application of the universal Cymatics phenomena during the predictive growth of the carbyne-enriched nanostructured metamaterials. We also propose the self-organization approach for increase stability of the long linear carbon chains. The main idea of suggested concept is manipulating by the self-organized wave patterns excitation phenomenon and their distribution by the spatial structure and properties of the nanostructured metamaterial grows region through the new synergistic effect. Mentioned effect will be provided through the vibration-assisted self-organized wave patterns excitation along with simultaneous manipulating by their properties through the electric field. We propose to use acoustic activation of the plasma zone of nano-matrix growing. Interaction between the inhomogeneous electric field distribution generated on the vibrating layer and the plasma ions will serve as the additional energizing factor controlling the local pattern formation and self-organizing of the nano-structures. Suggested concept makes it possible to provide precise predictive designing the spatial structure and properties of the advanced carbyne-enriched nanostructured metamaterials.

LOXL2, a copper-dependent amine oxidase, has emerged as a promising therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Increased LOXL2 expression in HCC has been linked with aggressive phenotype and represents a poor prognostic factor. Here, we focus on mechanisms by which LOXL2 orchestrates multiple oncogenic functions in HCC development. We are reviewing current knowledge about the roles of LOXL2 in the modulation of the HCC tumor microenvironment, formation of premetastatic niches, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Also, we are highlighting the complex interplay between LOXL2 and hypoxia, angiogenesis, and vasculogenic mimicry in HCC. At the end of the review, we summarize current LOXL2 inhibitors and discuss their potential in HCC precision treatment.

Azobenzene-containing molecules may associate with each other in systems such as self-assembled monolayers or micelles. The interaction between azobenzene units leads to a formation of exciton states in these molecular assemblies. Apart from local excitations of monomers, the electronic transitions to the exciton states may involve charge transfer excitations. Here, we perform quantum chemical calculations and apply transition density matrix analysis to quantify local and charge transfer contributions to the lowest electronic transitions in azobenzene dimers of various arrangements. We find that the transitions to the lowest exciton states of the considered dimers are dominated by local excitations, but charge transfer contributions become sizable for some of the lowest ππ* electronic transitions in stacked and slip-stacked dimers at short intermolecular distances. In addition, we assess different ways to partition the transition density matrix between fragments. In particular, we find that the inclusion of the atomic orbital overlap has a pronounced effect on quantifying charge transfer contributions if a large basis set is used.

In this paper after introducing a model of binary data matrix (BDM) for physical parameters of an evolving system (of particles), we develop a Hilbert space as an ambient space to derive induced metric tensor on embedded parametric manifold identified by associated joint probabilities of particles observables (parameters). Parameter manifold assumed as space-like hypersurface evolving along time axis, an approach that resembles 3+1 formalism of ADM and numerical relativity. We show the relation of endowed metric with related density matrix. Identification of system density matrix by this metric tensor, leads to the equivalence of quantum Liouville equation and metric compatibility condition while covariant derivative of metric tensor has been calculated respect to Wick rotated time or spatial coordinates. After deriving a formula for expected energy per particles, we prove the equality of this expected energy with local scalar curvature of related manifold. We show the compatibility of BDM model with Hamilton-Jacobi formalism and canonical forms. On the basis of the model, I derive the Ricci flow like dynamics as the governing dynamics and subsequently derive the action of BDM model and Einstein field equations. Given examples clarify the compatibility of the results with well-known principles such as equipartition energy principle and Landauer’s principle. This model provides a background for geometrization of quantum mechanics compatible with curved manifolds and information geometry. Finally, we conclude a “bit density principle” which predicts the Planck equation, De Broglie wave particle relation, , Beckenstein bound and Bremermann limit.

This research delves into the intricate dynamics underlying the impact of investments on global output, em-ploying the Leontief matrix as a robust analytical framework. Investments wield a profound influence on economies worldwide, with varying effects contingent upon investment types, development levels of coun-tries, and external factors such as trade conflicts and global shocks. The diverse range of investment forms, including physical capital, human capital, R&D, and technological investments, engenders distinct implica-tions for productivity, innovation, and efficiency. Developing and developed economies navigate unique tra-jectories, with investments playing a pivotal role in bridging infrastructure gaps, improving technology, and spurring growth. However, external disruptions, such as trade wars and global shocks, introduce an element of complexity, reshaping investment patterns and altering global output trajectories. This study centers on harnessing the Leontief matrix's prowess to evaluate the interplay of investments and global output, focusing on the Romanian economy. By analyzing input-output tables, encompassing 105 branches aggregated into 10 sectors, the research captures the intricate connections between economic segments. No-tably, the Romanian context reveals the volatility of the matrix coefficients', an outcome of ongoing transi-tional processes, technological advancements, and fluctuating relative prices. In unraveling the intricate threads weaving investments and global output, this study contributes to a nuanced comprehension of these multifaceted interactions. The findings underscore the significance of tailoring investment strategies to specific economic contexts and advocate for robust frameworks, such as the Leontief matrix, to inform pol-icy decisions and drive sustainable growth in an increasingly complex global economy.

The use of cow bones for biomaterial is still limited; accordingly, the cow bones waste has low economic value. Basically, a human’s and a cow’s bones are the same in terms of their forming compound. Aluminum (Al) has the potential to combine with hydroxyapatite (HAp) to make metal matrix composites (MMC) that have the potential for biomaterials. Compatible elements to be combined with Al and HAp are magnesium (Mg), titanium (Ti), and Copper (Cu), used self-high propagating temperatures synthesis (SHS). MMC can be processed to be a useful, solid product. Applying pressure to the SHS reaction and heating process may result in biomaterial composite product consisting of some matrix materials such as Al come from cans materials used in the experiment was HAp that was processed from cow bones calcination, added by can that contained aluminum and wetting agent, namely magnesium. The exothermic temperature was 800-900°C. The compaction process was done to allow materials to be bound. Based on the ASTM F138 standard for element of biomaterials, the porosity value was below 30% and hardness level above 40 HV. Cow bones and can-based composite sample with the composition of HAp-Al-Mg: 85%-10%-5% met the standard since the hardness value was: 73.3 HV with a porosity value of 29.88%.

With the widespread Application of Virtual Reality (VR) in education, optimizing foreign language learning in VR has become a focal point of research. This paper introduces a comprehensive theoretical framework (VR-CCL) based on constructivism and cognitive load theory to enhance foreign language learning in VR. Through a literature review, we explore the applications of VR in education, foreign language learning theories, and prior works on technology-assisted language learning. We further detail the three main components of the VR-CCL framework and validate its effectiveness through two case studies: Duolingo VR and Rosetta Stone VR. Finally, we discuss the strengths and limitations of the framework and its implications for educators and developers.

Autonomous driving systems are increasingly becoming a necessary trend towards building smart cities of the future. Numerous proposals have been presented in recent years to tackle particular aspects of the working pipeline towards creating a functional end-to-end system, such as object detection, tracking, path planning, sentiment or intent detection. Nevertheless, few efforts have been made to systematically compile all of these systems into a single proposal that effectively considers the real challenges these systems will have on the road, such as real-time computation, hardware capabilities, etc. This paper has reviewed various techniques towards proposing our own end-to-end autonomous vehicle system, considering the latest state on the art on computer vision, DSs, path planning, and parallelization.

UAV cooperative control has been an important issue in UAV-assisted sensor network, thanks to the considerable benefit obtained from cooperative mechanism of UAVs being applied as a flying base station. In coverage scenario, the tradeoff between coverage performance and transmission performance often makes deployment of UAVs fall into a dilemma, since both indexes are related to the distance between UAVs. To address this issue, UAV coverage and data transmission mechanism is analyzed in this paper, then an efficient multi-UAV cooperative deployment model is proposed. The problem is also modeled as a coalition formation game (CFG). The CFG with Pareto order is proved to have a stable partition. Then, an effective approach consisting of coverage deployment and coalition selection is designed, wherein UAVs can decide strategies cooperatively to achieve better coverage performance. Combining analysis of game approach, a coalition selection and position deployment algorithm based on Pareto order (CSPDA-PO) is designed to execute coverage deployment and coalition selection. Finally, simulation results are shown to validate the proposed approach based on efficient multi-UAV cooperative deployment model.

The root extracts of Symphytum officinale (comfrey) are commonly used in traditional medicine to treat muscle, joint, skin and bone disorders. However, little information is available on the biomedical functions of comfrey leaves. In this study, sequencing results of Internal Transcribed Spacer and trnL-trnF genes showed that plants purchased from the local market were comfrey and named as S. officinale WL (WL). The optimal extraction conditions of WL leave with the highest extract yield and contents of total phenols and flavonoids by microwave-assisted extraction were identified. The antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities and possible molecular mechanism(s) of the WL leaf extract (WLE) were evaluated. Furthermore, the major component of WLE was identified as rosmarinic acid by HPLC. Results showed that the optimal extract condition was obtained with 750W microwave power, 50℃, 75% methanol, the solid-to-solvent ratio of 1:10, and 15 minutes. Results of all DPPH, ABTS and superoxide radical scavenging activities, reducing power, ferrous ion chelating activity, and ferric reducing antioxidant power showed high antioxidative capacities of WLE. Furthermore, WLE showed obvious DNA protecting activity. WLE attenuated lipopolysaccharides-stimulated inflammation by suppressing iNOS, COX-2, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α expressions in RAW264.7 macrophages. These attenuations involved in inactivations of lipopolysaccharides-induced NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways.

The matrix converter converts the input line voltage into a variable voltage with an unrestricted output frequency without using an intermediate circuit, dc link circuit. A pure sine in and pure sine out is the unique feature of the matrix converter. This research paper also analyzes the basic operating principle and the simulation modeling of the direct matrix converter, which is controlled by the Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation technique by using the software which is known as MATLAB/Simulink. The most desirable features in the power frequency changes can be fulfilled by using the matrix converters, and this is the reason for the tremendous interest in the topology. Since the power electronic circuits which is known as the motor drives are used to operate the AC motors at the frequencies other than that of the supply.

Falls, highly common in the constantly increasing global aging population, can have a variety of negative effects on their health, well-being, and quality of life, including restricting their capabilities to conduct Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), which are crucial for one’s sustenance. Timely assistance during falls is highly necessary, which involves tracking the indoor location of the elderly during their diverse navigational patterns associated with ADLs to detect the precise location of a fall. With the decreasing caregiver population on a global scale, it is important that the future of intelligent living environments can detect falls during ADL.s while being able to track the indoor location of the elderly in the real world. Prior works in these fields have several limitations, such as – the lack of functionalities to detect both falls and indoor locations, high cost of implementation, complicated design, the requirement of multiple hardware components for deployment, and the necessity to develop new hardware for implementation, which make the wide-scale deployment of such technologies challenging. To address these challenges, this work proposes a cost-effective and simplistic design paradigm for an Ambient Assisted Living system that can capture multimodal components of user behaviors during ADLs that are necessary for performing fall detection and indoor localization in a simultaneous manner in the real world. Proof of concept results from real-world experiments are presented to uphold the effective working of the system. The findings from two comparison studies with prior works in this field are also presented to uphold the novelty of this work. The first comparison study shows how the proposed system outperforms prior works in the areas of indoor localization and fall detection in terms of the effectiveness of its software design and hardware design. The second comparison study shows that the cost for the development of this system is the least as compared to prior works in these fields, which involved real-world development of the underlining systems, thereby upholding its cost-effective nature.

The goal of this article is to provide a review of the experimental techniques and procedures using vibration methods for the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of Polymer-Matrix Composites (PMC). It aims to be a guide for any researchers to carry out vibration experiments. The linear methods are first introduced. But as PMC is a complex material, these classic methods showed some limits, such as low accuracy for small damages, and a high environmental dependency. This is why the nonlinear methods are secondly studied, considering that the complexity of PMC induces a nonlinear behavior of the structure after damage occurrence. The different damage mechanisms are well explained in order to evaluate the potential of each vibration method to detect them.

In this paper, we introduce as a pedagogical strategy an internal division-free, straightforward, and symmetrically progressing algorithm in manually computing matrix inverse and solving systems of linear equations by revisiting the application of elementary row operations in the Gauss-Jordan reduction method and connecting it to the determinant method. The proposed cross-multiplication-flip (CMF) algorithm employs cross-multiplication similar to the butterfly movement in computing determinants as a strategic application of elementary row operations to efficiently reduce the rows and then applies flipping of rows and entries to put an upper triangular matrix into lower triangular form to continue the reduction process.

(1) Background: Considering highly selected patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), active surveillance is a valid alternative to surgery. Our study is aimed at showing the reliability of post-biopsy complete lesion removal, documented by mammogram, as additional criterion to select these patients. (2) Methods: 2173 Vacuum Assisted Breast Biopsies (VABB) documented as DCIS have been reviewed. Surgery has been performed in all cases. We retrospectively collected the reports of post-VABB complete lesion removal and the histological results of the biopsy and surgery. We calculated the rate of upgrade of DCIS identified on VABB upon excision for patients with post-biopsy complete lesion removal and for those showing residual lesion. (3) Results: We observed 2173 cases of DCIS: 408 classified as low grade; 1262 as intermediate grade; 503 as high grade. The overall upgrading rate to invasive carcinoma was 15.2% (330/2173). The upgrade rate was significantly lower (8.2%) when considering patients showing mammographically documented complete removal of the lesion. (4) Conclusion: The absence of mammographically documented residual lesion following VABB is associated to a lower upgrading rate of DCIS to invasive carcinoma on surgical excision and should be considered when deciding the proper management DCIS diagnosis.