Nowadays, speed up development and use of digital devices such as smartphones have put people at risk of internet crimes. The evidence of present crimes in a computer file can be easily unreachable by changing the prefix of a file or other algorithms. In more complex cases, either file divided into different parts or the parts of a file that has information about the file type are deleted, where the file fragment recognition issue is discussed. The known files are divided into different fragments, and different classification algorithms to solve the problems of file fragment recognition. A confusion matrix measures the accuracy of type recognition. In the present study, first, the file is divided into different fragments. Then, the file fragment features, which are obtained from Binary Frequency Distribution (BFD), are reduced by 2 feature reduction algorithms; Sequential Forward Selection algorithm (SFS) as well as Sequential Floating Forward Selection algorithm (SFFS) to delete sparse features that result in increased accuracy and speed. Finally, the reduced features are given to 3 classifier algorithms, Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Support Vector Machines (SVM), and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) for classification and comparison of the results. In this paper, we proposed the algorithm of file type recognition that can recognize 6 types of useful files ( pdf, txt, jpg, doc, html, exe), which may distinguish a type of file fragments with higher accuracy than the similar works done.

Recent preclinical studies have shown the potential benefits of short-term calorie reduction (SCR) on cancer treatment. In this integrative review, we aimed to identify and synthesize current evidence regarding the feasibility, process, and effects of SCR in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Ovid Medline, PsychINFO, and Embase were searched for original research articles using various combinations of Medical Subject Heading terms. Among the 311 articles identified, seven studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority of the reviewed studies was small randomized controlled trials or cohort study with fair quality. The results suggest that SCR is safe and feasible. SCR is typically arranged around the chemotherapy with the duration ranging from 24 to 96 hours. Most studies examined the protective effects of SCR on normal cells during chemotherapy. The evidence supports that SCR had the potential to enhance both physical and psychological wellbeing of patients during chemotherapy. SCR is a cost-effective intervention with great potential. Future well-controlled studies with sufficient sample sizes are needed to examine the full and long-term effects of SCR and its mechanism of action.

There are many pollution and environment problem in the human ecosystem. There are different methods are used to removal of sulfur from sour gases for example Basic Claus process and Modified Claus process . There are different chemical software are used for simulation and optimization of Claus process for example Aspen Plus and Chemcad ECT. The Gibbs free energy method is introduced and model of Claus process. There are new parameter are introduced in reaction furnace to reduce the error from 33% to 7 %. The waste heat boiler is installed at the reaction furnace in which high pressure stream is produced and study the decomposition the hydrogen sulphide. The new rate of reaction is introduced of the enhancement of H2 production in chemical process. The simulation of reaction furnace in Aspen plus software is the maximum utilization of process. Due to suitable operating condition of reaction furnace is caused the maximum destruction of ammonia gas in the reactor. When we are increasing the oxygen concentration and temperature of feed is causing decreasing the ammonia production in reaction furnace. It is below than acceptance value of ammonia is 150 ppm in the reaction furnace. The presence of oxygen components, Sulfur oxide, hydroxide components are effect on decreasing the amount of ammonia in furnace and temperature is about at 1350⁰C. It is noted that when the production of sulfur recovery is decrease in Claus process and the production of carbon monoxide is increase in the thermal section at the existence. Now we are work on parametric studies of furnace that could be causes the production of ammonia destruction and CO emission in the Claus process. Due to optimize the reaction furnace parameter are help to get large of sulfur production, ammonia gas destruction, increased the catalyst life and decreased of dangerous gases.

In this research, an attempt was made to reduce the dimension of wavelet-ANFIS/ANN (artificial neural network/adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system) models toward reliable forecasts as well as to decrease computational cost. In this regard, the principal component analysis was performed on the input time series decomposed by a discrete wavelet transform to feed the ANN/ANFIS models. The models were applied for dissolved oxygen (DO) forecasting in rivers which is an important variable affecting aquatic life and water quality. The current values of DO, water surface temperature, salinity, and turbidity have been considered as the input variable to forecast DO in a three-time step further. The results of the study revealed that PCA can be employed as a powerful for dimension reduction of input variables and also to detect inter-correlation of input variables. Results of the PCA-Wavelet-ANN models are compared with those obtained from Wavelet-ANN models while the earlier one has the advantage of less computational time than the later models. Dealing with ANFIS models, PCA is more beneficial to avoid Wavelet-ANFIS models creating too many rules which deteriorate the efficiency of the ANFIS models. Moreover, manipulating the Wavelet-ANFIS models utilizing PCA leads to a significant decreasing in computational time. Finally, it was found that the PCA-Wavelet-ANN/ANFIS models can provide reliable forecasts of dissolved oxygen as an important water quality indicators in rivers.

This paper presents an investigation into the influence of drag-reducing polymer (DRP) on the flow of water inside and around U-bends. The DRPs tested were partially hydrolysed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and two different molecular weight polyethylene oxides (PEO). The Reynolds number and in-situ concentration ranges of water and DRP were and respectively. The test section was made up of clear polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) pipes that contained two U-bends with radii of curvature (R) of 100 and 200 mm as well as straight sections of 19-mm ID. Higher pressure gradient was recorded in the under-developed flow section after the bend. Drag reduction (DR) increased with in-situ concentration of the DRP and the flowrate up to some threshold values. The concentration and flowrate thresholds were about 20 ppm and 1.07 m/s respectively. DR differed among the different sections considered with the highest values recorded for developed flows upstream of the bend and the least values recorded in the bend. DR at station 1 (immediately after the bend) was generally lower than that at station 2 (further downstream). P-K Plots showed that, the DR envelop for developed flow in straight pipes did not apply to the bend and the under-developed flow section. DR increased with polymer molecular weight and ionic strength in straight sections. However, molecular weight (and polymer shearing) had limited effect on DR in the bends. DR characteristics at the bend suggested that there was a different or additional mechanism. The effect of bend curvature ratio on DR was predominant after the U-bend. The larger the ratio of pipe diameter to bend diameter, the lower the DR in the redeveloping sections after the bend. For R = 100 mm, the highest DR recorded for fully developed flows before bend, in the bend, at stations 1 and 2 were 57, 31, 36 and 33% respectively while that for R = 200 mm were 64, 28, 42 and 49% respectively.

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

High electricity demand for consumption at current supply level in Indonesia led to the rising cost of electricity bills. This factor is compounded by the fact that many electric generators in Indonesia still use fossil fuels, which contributes to the high basic generation cost. UBL is one of the universities that aim to be a green campus. Our research explores the possibility of installing motion sensor to contribute on the energy efficiency. Although mostly common in developed countries, the use of motion sensor for energy efficiency is still rare, especially in Indonesia. despite rising cost and supply shortages, Indonesian buildings are still of high energy consumption. our experiment shows that simple installation of commercially available motion sensors can contribute to reduce the electricity bill from the increase of energy efficiency. One of the efforts to lower energy demand in consumer side is to use the electricity efficiently, such as turning off lights in a room when it's not in use. This method can be simply done by turning the light switches for office and classrooms, but difficult to do in public spaces such as toilets and corridors. Our experiment shows that simple installation of commercially available motion sensors can contribute to reduce the electricity bill from the increase of energy efficiency. Automatic light switches experimentally installed in sample toilet room prove that electricity consumption from the lamps can contribute to the reduction of total weekly energy that translates into Green House Gas emission reduction.

Health care is currently showing a fall in heart failure (HF) prevalence and incidence particularly in developed countries, but with only a subset receiving appropriate therapy to protect the heart against maladaptive processes such as fibrosis and hypertrophy. Appropriate markers of advanced HF are still needed, which should help choosing the most suitable therapy and avoid major compliance problems. Speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is a good choice, being a non-invasive imaging technique and is able to assess cardiac deformation in a variety of conditions. Several multicenter studies and meta-analyses have demonstrated its clinical applications and accuracy in early and late stages of HF, as well as its association with both left ventricular (LV) filling pressures and myocardial oxygen consumption, the two are important parameters in the evaluation of HF patients. Also, STE assists in assessing right ventricular free-wall longitudinal strain (RVFWLS) which is a solid predictor of right ventricle failure (RVF) following LV assist device (LVAD) implantation. Despite its limitations, STE plays an essential role in the clinical evaluation of patients with HF, early and advanced, in explaining symptoms and signs and also as an accurate prognosticator. The aim of this review is to examine the advantages of STE in early evaluation of myocardial dysfunction and their correlation with right heart catheterization (RHC) parameters, which should have a significant clinical relevance in the management of HF patients.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer mortality worldwide, and innovative drugs for the treatment of colorectal cancer are continually being revealed. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a common clinical chemotherapeutic drug. Acquired resistance to 5-FU is a clinical challenge in colorectal cancer. Parecoxib is a selective COX-2-specific inhibitor, which has been demonstrated to inhibit metastasis in colorectal cancers in our previous study. This study aimed to investigate the synergistic antimetastatic activities of parecoxib to 5-FU in human colorectal cancer cells and determine the underlying mechanism. parecoxib and 5-FU synergistically suppressed metastasis in colorectal cancer cells. Treatment with the parecoxib /5-FU combination induced an increase in E-cadherin and decrease in β-catenin. The parecoxib/5-FU combination could inhibit MMP-9 and MMP-2 expression and MMP-9 activity, and the NF-κB pathway might be suppressed as well. Mechanistic analysis denoted that the parecoxib/5-FU combination hindered the essential molecules of the PI3K/Akt route to obstruct metastatic colorectal cancer. Furthermore, the parecoxib/5-FU combination could inhibit reactive oxygen species. Our work showed the antimetastatic capacity of the parecoxib/5-FU combination for colorectal cancers via targeting the PI3K/Akt /NF-κB pathway.

New advances in creating effective and affordable copper-based catalysts for water splitting represent a promising strategy for driving sustainable energy technologies. However, ma- terials containing copper are susceptible to corrosion and agglomeration. In this study, we describe a synthesis route to produce olamine-functionalized CuO nanoparticles using the Hot Injection method. Nanoparticles were obtained and subsequently deposited on FTO substrates, undergoing thermal treatment at 500°C and 600°C in atmospheres containing O2 and N2, aiming to enhance the adhesion of the active material to the substrate and modify its oxidation state. Microstructural properties were analyzed using XRD, SEM, and TEM, while electrochemical properties were studied using CV, LSV, and EIS. Electrodes treated thermally in an N2 atmosphere at 600°C exhibited higher ESCA, indicating a greater area of active sites exposed to surface reactions and, therefore, superior catalytic activity in Hy- drogen Evolution Reaction (HER). These findings show an interesting strategy for avoiding rapid electron-hole recombination and, consequently, CuO corrosion. For Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER), samples treated thermally in O2 atmosphere at 500°C and 600°C appear to be more effective.

Formaldehyde (HCHO), an indoor volatile organic compound, is seriously harmful to human health. Therefore, green and effective decomposition of HCHO is essential. TiO₂ has been employed for the degradation of HCHO via photocatalytic generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (O^2-, ·OH), yet the low specific surface area of crystalline TiO₂ depressed the catalytic performance. Herein, we prepared TiO₂ aerogels with high specific surface area and high porosity by sol-gel method, and added PVA to introduce flexible molecular chains for pore size regulation. The photocatalytic performance test verifies that the pore size of TiO₂ aerogel is one of the important factors for HCHO decomposition. Notably, through the establishment of theoretical model and calculation, we validated that the efficiency of HCHO decomposition is related to the oxygen pressure in the pores of TiO₂ aerogel, and the oxygen pressure is inversely proportional to the pore size. Accordingly, the optimal pore size of TiO₂ aerogel for the photocatalytic HCHO decomposition is 2 nm~10 nm. This study provides a theoretical idea for TiO₂ aerogels in the decomposition reaction of HCHO, which is expected to inspire more breakthroughs in the study of TiO₂ aerogels for green chemistry.

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death pathway that involves depletion of intracellular glutathione (GSH) levels and iron-mediated lipid peroxidation. Ferroptosis is experimentally caused by inhibition of the cystine/glutamate antiporter xCT, which depletes cells of GSH, or by inhibition of Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4), a key regulator of lipid peroxidation. The events that occur between GPx4 inhibition and the execution of ferroptotic cell death are currently a matter of active research. Previous work has shown that calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) mediated by ryanodine receptor (RyR) channels contributes to ferroptosis-induced cell death in primary hippocampal neurons. Here, we used SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, which do not express RyR channels, to test if calcium release mediated by the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) channel plays a role in this process. We show that inhibition of GPx4 by RAS Selective Lethal Compound 3 (RSL3) generated an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), increased cytoplasmic and mitochondrial calcium levels, increased lipid peroxidation and caused cell death. The RSL3-induced calcium signals were inhibited by Xestospongin B, an inhibitor of the ER-resident IP3R calcium channel, by decreasing IP3R levels with carbachol and by IP3R1 knock-down. The intracellular calcium chelator BAPTA-AM inhibited RSL3-induced calcium signals, which were not affected by extracellular calcium depletion. We propose that GPx4 inhibition activates IP3R-mediated calcium release in SH-SY5Y cells, leading to increased cytoplasmic and mitochondrial calcium levels, which in turn stimulate the production of ROS and induce lipid peroxidation and ferroptotic cell death in a noxious positive feedback cycle.

Marked changes in temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) content, and nutrient content typically occur in marine thermoclines, which are key factors that affect the corrosion of metals. Offshore platforms have required marine metals to be exposed to deep-sea environments and have thus increased their penetration into the marine thermocline. This study investigates the galvanic corrosion of E690 steel in a marine thermocline using a simulated marine thermocline (SMT). Specifically, the corrosion of E690 steel was analyzed using the wire beam electrode (WBE) technique, linear polarization (LP), corrosion morphology, and weight loss measurement. Results indicated that the SMT had a stable multilayer structure, and the variations of temperature, DO, pH and nutrient concentration in the SMT were similar to those in the natural marine thermocline. Galvanic corrosion occurred after the intrusion of E690 steel into the marine thermocline. The driver of galvanic corrosion was the of E690 steel at various depths of the marine thermocline. The Ecorr of E690 steel was influenced by the temperature, pH and DO of seawater, and the order was DO >> T > pH. The continuous reduction of Ecorr with depth contributed to the large-scale galvanic corrosion, and the oscillation variation of Ecorr with depth was the reason for small-scale galvanic corrosion. The primary anodic regions of galvanic corrosion were located in the area with the fastest temperature variation in the thermocline. The proportion of galvanic corrosion in the average corrosion rate could increase up to approximately 80% in the stable anodic region. There were many deep corrosion pits in the long-term and stable anodic region of galvanic corrosion.

Obesity and physical activity have opposing effects on cardiorespiratory fitness. This study aimed to investigate the impact of obesity measured by various anthropometric indicators and physical activity level on oxygen uptake and fat oxidation during moderate-intensity aerobic exercise in adults. Forty-eight individuals were recruited. Various anthropometric indicators (i.e., body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)) were measured. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (a short version). Total oxygen uptake (VO2tot) and fat oxidation were recorded during 30-minute aerobic exercise at moderate intensity. There were no differences in oxygen uptake and fat oxidation between obese and non-obese groups. Based on obesity and physical activity, VO2tot was significantly different among groups classified by WHR. Inactive obesity had significantly lower VO2tot 28.1% compared to active obesity and 29.2 % compared to active non-obesity. The inactive obesity had a 3.8%, 27.4%, and 4.3% lower fat oxidation than the active non-obesity, as classified by WC, WHR, and WHtR, respectively. However, the differences were not statistically significant. We conclude that active obesity, as measured by WHR, exhibited higher oxygen uptake compared to inactive obesity. Moreover, inactive obesity showed poorer oxygen uptake than active non-obesity.

: Nanotechnology has expanded what can be achieved in our approach to cancer treatment. The ability to produce and engineer functional nanoparticle formulations to elicit higher incidences of tumor cell radiolysis has resulted in substantial improvements in cancer cell eradication while also permitting multi-modal biomedical functionalities. These radiosensitive nanomaterials utilize material characteristics, such as radio- blocking/absorbing high-Z atomic number elements, to mediate localized effects from therapeutic irradiation. These materials thereby allow for subsequent scattered or emitted radiation to produce direct (e.g., damage to genetic materials) or indirect (e.g., protein oxidation, reactive oxygen species formation) damage to tumor cells. Using nanomaterials that activate under certain physiologic conditions such as the tumor micro-environment can selectively target tumor cells. These characteristics combined with biological interactions that can target the tumor environment allow for localized, radio-sensitization while mitigating damage to healthy cells. This review explores the various nanomaterial formulations utilized in cancer radiosensitivity research. Emphasis on inorganic nanomaterials showcase the specific material characteristics that enable higher incidences of radiation while ensuring localized cancer targeting based on tumor micro-environment activation. The aim of this review is to guide future research in cancer radiosensitization using nanomaterial formulations and to detail common approaches to radiosensization, as well their relations to commonly implemented radiotherapy techniques.

An important indicator of human-related pollution in watersheds is dissolved oxygen (DO). The DO is highly dependent on both space and time characteristics of the watershed and is directly linked to eutrophication, which impairs the development of both the aquatic fauna and flora, also negatively impacting the water quality. Aspiring to reach a more accurate and precise forecasting approach to predict levels of DO, the present work proposes new graph-based and transformer-based deep learning models. The models were trained and validated for the Credit River Watershed, and the results were compared with both benchmarking and literature-found approaches. The proposed Graph Neural Network Sample and Aggregate (GNN-SAGE) model was the best-performing approach, reaching coefficient of determination (R2) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) values of 97% and 0.34 ppm, respectively. The findings from the Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) indicated that the GNN-SAGE benefited from spatiotemporal information from the surrounding stations, improving the model’s results, and that temperature is a major input attribute for determining future DO levels. The results established that the proposed GNN-SAGE model stands as a state-of-the-art solution for DO forecasting, with potential for real-time water quality applications.

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

Changes in epitranscriptome with N6‐methyladenine (m6A) modification could be involved in the development of multiple diseases, which might be a prevalent modification of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in eukaryotes. The m6A modification might be performed through the action of methyltransferases, demethylases, and methylation-binding proteins. Importantly, the m6A methylation may be associated with various neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), depression, aging related diseases, and/or aging itself. In addition, the m6A methylation might functionally regulate the eukaryotic transcriptome by influencing splicing, export, subcellular localization, translation, stability, and decay of mRNAs. Neurodegenerative diseases may possess a wide variety of phenotypes depending on the neurons that degenerate at occasions. Interestingly, increasing number of evidences have indicated that m6A modification could modulate the expression of autophagy-related genes and promote autophagy in neuronal cells. Oxidative stresses such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) could stimulate the m6A RNA methylation, which may be also related to the regulation of autophagy and/or the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Both m6A modification and autophagy could also play critical roles in regulating health condition of neurons. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the m6A and autophagy relationship in human diseases may benefit in developing therapeutic strategies in the future. This paper reviews advances in the understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of m6A modification in the occurrence and development of neurodegenerative diseases and/or aging, discussing the possible therapeutic procedures related to mechanisms of m6A RNA methylation and autophagy.

Oxygen is a limiting factor both in the environment and production systems, so reduction may become a stressor. Diel cyclic hypoxia occurs with varying frequency and duration in freshwater habitats. Under a stressful situation fish activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis (HPI) which triggers the release of cortisol that induces secondary and tertiary responses. The recovery of individuals depends on their ability to modulate physiological, and biochemical responses to maintain homeostasis. The aim of this study is to determine the hematological and physiological responses of rainbow trout under repeated hypoxic stress in different time points. The methodology of the experiment consisted of dividing the fish in 5 different treatment groups, 2 control groups and 3 hypoxia groups. Every exposure consisted in decrease the dissolved oxygen concentration from 8mg O2/L to 2mg O2/L for 1 hour. After the exposure the fish went to a recovery tank until the sampling procedure. Hematological and physiological results show a habituation of the fish to different parameters such as hematocrit, hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume among others. Overall, our results indicate an ability of rainbow trout to resist this type of hypoxic exposures and a habituation of fish to repeated hypoxia as observed in the different measured parameters.

Oxygen evolution reaction is a momentous part of electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices such as rechargeable metal-air batteries. It is particularly urgent to develop low-cost and efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reactions. As a potential substitute for noble metal electrocatalysts, transition metal selenides are still challenging in improving the activity of oxygen evolution reaction and the research of reaction intermediates. In this study, a simple one-step solvothermal method was used to prepare a polymetallic compound carbon matrix composite (Co9Se8/Ni3Se4/Fe3O4@C) with a multilayered nanosheets structure. It exhibited good OER activity in an alkaline electrolyte solution with an overpotential of 268 mV at 10 mA/cm2 in an alkaline medium. Besides, this catalyst also showed excellent performance in the 24 hours stability test. The composite presents a multi-layer sheet structure, which effectively improves the contact between the active site and the electrolyte. The selenide formed by Ni and Co has a synergistic effect, Fe3O4 and Co9Se8 form a heterojunction structure, which can effectively improve the reaction activity by initiating the electronic coupling effect through the interface modification. In addition, carbon quantum dots have rich heteroatoms and electron transferability, which improves the electrochemical properties of the composites. This work provides a new strategy for the preparation of highly efficient OER electrocatalysts utilizing the multimetal synergistic effect.

Water splitting technology is an efficient approach to generate hydrogen (H2) energy, which can well address the problems of environmental deterioration and energy shortage, as well as establishment of a clean and sustainable hydrogen economy powered by renewable energy sources due to the green reaction of H2 with O2. While the efficiency of H2 production by water splitting technology is intimately related with the reactions on electrode. Nowadays, the efficient electrocatalysts in water splitting reactions are the precious metal-based materials, i.e., Pt/C, RuO2 and IrO2. Ni (Co, Fe)-based layered double hydroxides (LDH) 2D materials are the typical non-precious metal-based materials in water splitting with advantages of low cost, excellent electrocatalytic performance and simple preparation methods, which exhibits a great potential for the substitution for precious metal-based materials. This review summarizes the recent progress of Ni (Co, Fe)-based LDH 2D materials for water splitting, which mainly focuses on discussing and analyzing the different strategies to modify LDH materials towards high electrocatalytic performance. We also discuss the recent achievements including their electronic structure, electrocatalytic performance, catalytic center, preparation process and catalytic mechanism. Furthermore, the characterization progress in revealing electronic structure and catalytic mechanism of LDH is highlighted in this review. Finally, we put forward some future perspectives related to design and explore advanced LDH catalysts in water splitting.

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a late-onset; progressive, dominantly inherited neurological disorder marked by an abnormal expansion of polyglutamine (poly Q) repeats in Huntingtin (HTT) protein. The pathological effects of mutant Huntingtin (mHTT) are not restricted to the nervous system but systemic abnormalities including immune dysregulation have been evidenced in clinical and experimental settings of HD. Indeed, mutant huntingtin (mHTT) is ubiquitously expressed and could induce cellular toxicity by directly acting on immune cells. However, it is still unclear if selective expression ofmHTT exon1 in neurons could induce immune responses and hemocyte function. In the present study, we intended to monitor perturbations in the hemocytes population and their physiological functions in Drosophila, caused by pan-neuronal expression of mHTT protein. We found that pan-neuronal expression of mHtt significantly alters crystal cells and plasmatocyte count in larvae and adults with disease progression. Interestingly, plasmatocytes isolated from diseased conditions exhibit a gradual decline in phagocytic activity ex vivo at progressive stages of the disease as compared to age-matched control groups. We also observed an increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plasmatocytes at advanced stages of the disease. In addition, diseased flies displayed elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) in circulating plasmatocytes at the larval stage and in sessile plasmatocytes of hematopoietic pockets at of disease. All the parameters were monitored progressively, targeting the circulation at larvae stage and hematopoietic pockets in adults at different disease stages, and many alterations were documented in the early stage itself. These findings strongly implicate that neuronal expression of mHtt alone is sufficient to induce non-cell-autonomous immune dysregulation in vivo. Based on these findings, we propose that further insight into the mechanisms through which neuronal expression of mHtt might be inflicting the innate immune responses would facilitate therapeutic inventions aimed at amelioration of HD pathology and improving the quality of life of the patients.

Description of redox reactions is critically important for understanding and rational design of materials for electrochemical technologies including metal-ion batteries, catalytic surfaces, or redox-flow cells. Most of these technologies utilize redox-active transition metal compounds due to their rich chemistry and their beneficial physical and chemical properties for these types of applications. A century since its introduction, the concept of formal oxidation states (FOS) is still widely used for rationalization of the mechanisms of redox reactions, but there exists a well-documented discrepancy between FOS and the electron density-derived charge states of transition metal ions in their bulk and molecular compounds. We summarize our findings and those of others which suggest that density-driven descriptors are in certain cases better suited to characterize the mechanism of redox reactions, especially when anion redox is involved, which is the blind spot of the FOS ansatz.

This study aimed to obtain and characterize extracted hemp oil enriched in cannabidiol (CBD) by decarboxylation of cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) and to give new insights into its antioxidant and anticancer effects. Optimization of CBDA decarboxylation in hemp oil was performed, and CBD and CBDA contents and purities were determined by “flash chromatography”, 1H- and 13C-NMR. The antioxidant properties of CBD-enriched oil were investigated by Fe2+ chelating activity, Fe3+ reducing antioxidant power assay, O2− scavenging activity, HO− scavenging ability and lipid peroxidation inhibitory assay and its cytotoxicity, apoptosis- and oxidative stress-inducing effects on NHDF, MeWo, HeLa, HepG2 and HOS cells were determined. The CBD concentration in hemp oil was increased by CBDA soft decarboxylation optimized at 90°C, for 1 h and resulted oil was capable of reducing iron, scavenging free radicals, and inhibiting lipid peroxidation in cell-free oxidative conditions. CBD-enriched oil promoted NHDF proliferation at up to 15 µg CBD/mL, while inducing apoptosis and ROS production and modulating antioxidant enzymes’ gene expression in cancer cells, being selective for osteosarcoma cells and induced apoptosis by p53- and ROS-independent mechanisms. CBD-enriched hemp oil demonstrated antioxidant properties in oxidative conditions and promoted normal fibroblasts’ proliferation, while inducing apoptosis and ROS production in cancer cells.

Oxidative stress is known to be critically implicated in the pathophysiology of several neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and ischemic stroke. The remarkable neurotrophic activity of Gelidium amansii, has been reported consistently in a series of our previous studies, inspired us to investigate whether this popular agarophyte could protect against hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced oxidative injury in hippocampal neurons. The primary culture of hippocampal neurons challenged with H/R suffered from a significant loss of cell survival, accompanied by apoptosis and necrosis, DNA damage, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) which were successfully attenuated when the neuronal cultures were preconditioned with GAE, an optimized ethanolic extract of G. amansii. Moreover, the expression of N-methyl-D-acetate receptor subunit 2B (GluN2B), an extrasynaptic glutamate receptor, was significantly repressed in GAE-treated neurons as compared to those without GAE intervention. Together, this study demonstrates that GAE attenuated H/R-induced oxidative injury in hippocampal neurons through, at least in part, a potential neuroprotective mechanism that involves inhibition of GluN2B-mediated excitotoxicity and suppression of ROS production, and suggest that this edible seaweed could be a potential source of bioactive metabolites having therapeutic significance against oxidative stress-related neurodegeneration, including ischemic stroke and neurodegenerative diseases.

This study investigates the role of oxygen vacancy on Fe-doped CeO₂ catalyst activity for soot oxidation. The oxygen vacancy was assessed through Ce³⁺ content. The Fe content was varied between 0 and 30% for two catalyst preparation methods, co-precipitation (CP) and solution combustion synthesis (SCS). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that ceria exists as both Ce₄₊ and Ce₃₊, while iron is present only as Fe₃₊. The catalyst’s activity was evaluated by ignition (T10) and combustion (T50) temperatures using thermogravimetric analysis. Optimum Fe contents yielding the highest activity were found to be 10% and 5% for CP and SCS catalysts, respectively. The surface area and morphology have shown moderate effect on catalyst activity, because catalytic soot oxidation involves solid-solid contact. More importantly, regardless of the fabrication method, it was found that Ce₃₊ content, which is closely related to oxygen vacancies, plays the most important role in affecting the catalyst activity.

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an invasive species that has modified ecosystem functioning in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta), California, USA. Studies in lakes and rivers have shown that water hyacinth alters water quality. In tidal systems, such as the Delta, water moves back and forth through the water hyacinth patch so water quality directly outside the patch in either direction is likely to be impacted. In this study, we asked whether the presence or treatment of water hyacinth with herbicides resulted in changes in water quality in this tidal system. We combined existing datasets that were originally collected for permit compliance and long-term regional monitoring into a dataset that we analyzed with a before-after control-impact (BACI) framework. This approach allowed us to describe effects of presence and treatment of water hyacinth, while accounting for seasonal patterns in water quality. We found that although effects of treatment were not detectable when compared with water immediately upstream, dissolved oxygen and turbidity became more similar to regional water quality averages after treatment. Temperature became less similar to the regional average after treatment, but the magnitude of the change was small. Taken together, these results suggest that tidal hydrology exports the effects of water hyacinth upstream, just as river flow is known to transport the effects downstream, creating a buffer of altered water chemistry around patches. It also suggests that although water hyacinth has an effect on dissolved oxygen and turbidity, these parameters recover to regional averages after treatment.

There have been a great number of investigations about the influence of weak magnetic fields on biological systems, such as isolated cells and whole organisms. This is also a subject of considerable medical concern since old epidemiologic observations have indicated a possible tumorigenic effect of these fields. Their mechanism of action, however, is not firmly established. A large number of biological effects of electromagnetic fields have been attributed either to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or to the entrance Ca²⁺ in the cell. A new biochemical pathway is proposed that covers these two possibilities: the primary effect of the magnetic field would be by the mechanism of radical pairs resulting in the production of ROS; these could activate the ion channels TRPM2 producing cellular inflow of Ca²⁺, which would induce the calcium dependent effects. Thus, a large number of biological effects observed up to the present could be explained.

: Background: Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for many chronic diseases, and weight-loss interventions often include systematic exercising and nutritional supplements. The purpose of this study was to determine the independent/synergistic effects of Spirulina maxima supplementation (6-week, 4.5 g/day) and a systematic physical exercise program (6 weeks/ 2 times) on body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness of overweight and obese subjects. Methods: 27 overweight and 25 obese sedentary male subjects were assigned to four interventions through a randomized double-blind, crossover controlled trial: Physical exercise program with (SE) or without (Ex) Spirulina maxima or no-exercise program with (Sm) and without (C) Spirulina maxima. Body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness parameters were taken during a maximal intensity test. Results: As compared to C group, SE, Sm and Ex groups reduced (p < 0.05) their body fat percentage while improving their maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max; r = −0.40), being obese subjects more benefited. Weight loss, time to reach fatigue and onset of blood lactate accumulation were improved in both Spirulina maxima supplemented groups, regardless the subjects’ body composition. Conclusions: Spirulina maxima supplementation synergistically improves the effects of systematic exercise in body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness parameters in overweight but mostly in obese adults.

We evaluated the mono- and combination-therapy effects of valproic acid (VPA) and doxorubicin (DOX) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and identified a specific and efficient, synergistic anti-proliferative effect of the VPA and DOX combination in HCC cells, especially HepG2 cells; this effect was not apparent in MIHA cells, a normal hepatocyte cell line. The calculation of the coefficient of drug interaction confirmed the significant synergistic effect of the combination treatment. Concurrently, the synergistic apoptotic cell death caused by the VPA and DOX combination treatment was confirmed by Hoechst nuclear staining and western blot analysis of caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activation. Co-treatment with VPA and DOX enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and autophagy, which were clearly attenuated by ROS and autophagy inhibitors, respectively. Furthermore, as an indication of the mechanism underlying the synergistic effect, we observed that DOX internalization, which was induced in the VPA and DOX combination-treated group, occurred via by the caveolae-mediated endocytosis pathway. Taken together, our study uncovered the potential effect of the VPA and DOX combination treatment with regard to cell death, including induction of cellular ROS, autophagy, and the caveolae-mediated endocytosis pathway. Therefore, these results present novel implications in drug delivery research for the treatment of HCC.

This study examines if enterprises’ digital transformation enhances their sustainable development capabilities and reduces carbon emissions, thus enhancing carbon neutrality performance and implementing the "dual-carbon" strategy. It specifically explores the impact of Chinese firms’ digital transformation on carbon neutrality performance in 30 provinces and municipalities in China from 2011 to 2021. Based on the Difference-in-Difference method and spatial econometric modeling, this study finds a U-shaped relationship between enterprise digital transformation and carbon performance, with spatial spillover effects. It also finds that converting environmental charges into taxes can significantly improve carbon performance. In terms of the mechanism of action, digital transformation affects carbon performance by influencing energy use efficiency and adjusting the level of industrial structure advancement and rationalization. In terms of heterogeneity, this U-shaped relationship exists only in the eastern and central regions, and the significance is more substantial in the east; in addition, the impact of enterprise digital transformation on carbon performance is more evident in regions with higher R&D intensity and higher economic development levels. These findings imply that the government should further encourage and guide enterprise digital transformation, monitor the effects of environmental protection policies and select and implement carbon emission reduction strategies according to local conditions to improve carbon performance.

Detection and measurement of pain are crucial in designing effective pain management interventions to alleviate suffering and prevent functional decline in the medical domain. Traditional methods of pain identification rely on verbal patient reports or observable signs, which can be imprecise or subjective due to variability in patient self-assessments. Hence, there is a pressing need for automated methods to standardize pain measurement procedures. This paper proposes a novel facial expression-based automated pain assessment system as a behavioral indicator for pain evaluation. Our system integrates a fusion structure comprising Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Tensor-based extended Quantitative Expression Descriptors Analysis (TXQEDA). This innovative approach allows for joint learning of robust pain-related facial expression features from raw facial images, combining RGB appearance with shape-based latent representation. We extensively evaluated our proposed model using the UNBC-McMaster dataset for pain classification and intensity estimation. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed technique, achieving an impressive accuracy of 99.10% for pain level classification. Furthermore, our system excels in pain intensity estimation, showcasing its potential to provide precise and reliable assessments of pain severity. Overall, our research underscores the importance of automated pain assessment systems in improving patient care and clinical outcomes. By leveraging advanced deep learning techniques and fusion strategies, our proposed model offers a promising approach for standardizing pain measurement procedures and enhancing the quality of pain management interventions.

In view of the fact that the field monitoring information can more intuitively and accurately reflect the stability state of slopes, this paper takes the warning threshold of slope deformation rate monitoring as the slope stability evaluation standard, and puts forward a method for solving the safety coefficient of rocky slopes. The discrete element method 3DEC, which is suitable for rocky slopes, is selected as the numerical calculation tool, and the convergence criterion of its strength reduction method is modified to the slope deformation rate threshold, and the method is realized by the bifurcation method through its built-in FISH programming language. The results of the classical case show that, by selecting the slope deformation rate threshold in the appropriate interval, the results of this paper's method are very close to those of the finite unit stress method and the limit equilibrium method, which verifies the reliability of this paper's method. Further, the method of this paper is applied to an open-pit mine slope project, based on the slope deformation on-site monitoring data, through the time series prediction method to determine the slope deformation rate warning threshold, using the threshold as an evaluation criterion to solve the slope's coefficient of safety, the calculation results show that: the slope's coefficient of safety in natural working conditions is 1.086, basically stable, suffered from continuous rainfall, the slope body is gradually saturated, the slope's coefficient of safety is reduced to 0.987, the slope's safety is reduced to 0.987. After continuous rainfall and gradual saturation of the slope, the coefficient of safety decreased to 0.987, destabilizing and destroying, which is consistent with the site conditions.

This study investigates the influence of adding hydrogen as an additive to gasoline in a four-stroke engine, utilizing a comprehensive thermodynamic comparative analysis conducted with self-developed engine model. The research aims to assess the performance, emissions, and efficiency of the engine when using gasoline-hydrogen blends, and to provide insights into the potential benefits of this approach. First the engine performance and emissions under different hydrogen blending levels were examined. A range of different air-to-fuel ratios (rich to lean) and varying percentages of hydrogen were considered. This systematic variation allowed for a detailed evaluation of the influence of hydrogen content on combustion efficiency, power out-put, and emissions characteristics. The analysis results included key parameters such as indicated specific fuel consumption and mean effective pressure. Additionally, the study focused on range prediction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, which are a critical environmental concern asso-ciated with internal combustion engines. The analysis of pressure and temperature profiles throughout the engine cycle shed light on the combustion characteristics and efficiency im-provements associated with hydrogen addition. In terms of emissions, the study projected that all emissions were reduced except NOx, which is highly dependent on hydrogen percentage, and it might be reduced in some cases, but with higher temperatures and pressures associated with hydrogen addition in most cases there is actually NOx increase, especially at higher engine loads.

Electromagnetic cloaking approach is employed with the intention to curb the destructive effects of mutual interference for rectangular and circularly shaped patch antennas situated in a tight spacing (sub-wavelength separation is employed). Primarily, we show that by coating the top surface of each patch with an appropriately designed metasurface, it is possible to considerably reduce the mutual coupling between the said antennas. We also demonstrate that, despite the close proximity of these patches, the individual radiation characteristic of each antenna is reinstated to emulate their performance in an isolated scenario. Furthermore, the cloak construct is extended to a tightly spaced, interleaved linear patch antenna array configuration and it is shown that the coated metasurfaces successfully enhance the performance of each array in terms of their matching characteristics, total efficiencies as well as their far-field realized gain patterns for a broad range of beam-scan angles. The decoupling and cloaking action of these metasurfaces are demonstrated by various full-wave numerical simulation results. We believe that the simple planar structure of our metasurface design (according to simulation models) makes it feasible for fabrication and the fact that it is used to accomplish cloaking of an electrically large antenna surface, makes it unique in itself.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is enforcing increasingly stringent regulations on ship carbon emissions, The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been implementing progressively strict regulations on ship carbon emissions, leading to the adoption of the virtual arrival (VA) method by many vessels to reduce their carbon footprint. However, the effectiveness of the traditional VA method often varies in busy ports with complex traffic organization scenarios. To address this, our study presents a novel, comprehensive model that integrates vessel scheduling with the VA approach. This model is designed to achieve a dual objective: reducing carbon emissions through Virtual Arrival and simultaneously minimizing vessel waiting times. In addition to these goals, it incorporates essential aspects of safety, efficiency, and fairness in port management, utilizing the NSGA-2 algorithm to find optimal solutions. This model has been tested and validated through a case study at Ningbo-Zhoushan port, employing its dataset. The results demonstrate that our innovative model and algorithm significantly outperform traditional scheduling methods, such as First-Come-First-Serve (FCFS) and Virtual-Arrival Last-Serve (VALS), particularly in terms of operational efficiency and reduction in vessel carbon emissions.

The processes of hydrogen reduction of silicon and germanium chlorides under the conditions of radio-frequency (40.68 MHz) counteracted arc discharge stabilized between two rod electrodes were investigated. The main gas-phase and solid products of plasma-chemical transformations were determined. Thermodynamic analysis of SiCl4 + H2 and GeCl4 + H2 systems was carried out. It is shown that under the implemented experimental conditions, equilibrium components of the products are established. The detected spectra of chemical activity were studied, which gave reason to assume that the molecular mechanism of the hydrogen reduction process is the main one. The impurity composition of gas-phase and solid reaction products was investigated. The possibility of single-stage production of high-purity Si and Ge mainly in the form of compact ingots, as well as high-purity chlorosilanes and trichlorogermane, was shown.

Maritime ports represent an important ecosystem for pollutant emissions and, taking into account the ongoing energy transition, need to adopt new solutions to mitigate current emission levels. These emissions are partially avoidable if ships and vessels docked at the port use electric energy to feed their internal power needs instead of using their internal combustion engines. In Europe, there is an ongoing discussion on including such emissions in the European Emissions Trading System which will represent added costs for maritime operators. Onshore Power Supply systems can contribute to the ongoing energy transition by allowing the use of electric power to feed docked ships. As a first step to contribute to the development of Onshore Power Supply solutions, it is necessary to evaluate the added power needs that these systems would represent for the port. This paper presents a methodology that allows port operators to verify, straightforwardly and transparently, their power needs for Onshore Power Supply applications. The methodology is based on the historical data of docked ships at the port or quay level and provides an energy analysis of each type of vessel to determine the power to be installed at the port so that it is possible to supply energy to different types of ships and vessels simultaneously. Additionally, the implemented methodology provides economic and technical decision support factors by comparing the fuel costs with electric power costs, assessing the potential for this transition to Onshore Power Supply. The methodology is validated using a real case study for the port of Lisbon and obtained results demonstrate the potential for the installation of Onshore Power Supply in medium to large-dimension maritime ports.

The changes in consumer lifestyles have raised awareness of the variety of food options and packaging technologies. Active and smart packaging represents an innovative technology that serves to enhance the safety and quality of products. Smart packaging, as a subset of this technology, entails the integration of additives into packaging materials, thereby facilitating the preservation or extension of product quality and shelf life. This technological approach stimulates a heightened demand for safer food products with prolonged shelf life. Active packaging predominantly relies on the utilization of natural active substances. Therefore, the combination of active substances has a significant impact on the characteristics of active packaging particularly on polymeric blend like Polylactic acid (PLA) as a matrix. So, This review will summarize and explains how the addition of natural active agents influenced the properties related to the performance of active packaging through systematic analysis, providing new insights about the relationship between the types of active agents on physical-mechanical properties, bacterial colony reduction, and applications in foods packaging such as meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables. Through their integration, the market for active and smart packaging systems is expected to have a bright future.

As broiler farming facilities have become larger and more concentrated in response to external environmental changes, there is a possibility of increased concentrations of fine dust and aerosols inside these facilities due to enclosure. In particular, workers are exposed to high concentrations of organic particulate matter and harmful gases while performing their tasks, and as they age, they become more vulnerable to respiratory diseases. It is essential to directly monitor the concen-trations to which workers are exposed, along with the spatial distribution of aerosols inside broiler house. In this study, we analyzed the regional aerosol concentrations using passive samplers in commercial tunnel-ventilated broiler farms. Simultaneously, we employed active samplers at the height of the workers' breathing zones to monitor real-time aerosol concentrations by particle size along their work routes. Spatial aerosol concentrations generally increased from the inlet to the exhaust in the breathing zone. The average aerosol concentrations were TSP -1,042 µg/m³, PM-10 718 µg/m³, and PM-2.5 137 µg/m³. To analyze the workers' exposure environments, we categorized the tasks in the barn into Static work period (SWP) and Moving work period (MWP) based on video analysis. The results showed that during MWP, fine dust concentrations exceeded the standards by up to 214%. Particularly, during MWP, the concentrations were 1.74 times higher for TSP, 1.40 times higher for PM-10, and 1.22 times higher for PM-2.5 compared to SWP. It was observed that during the movement of workers, physical generation of particles around 10 µm, such as feces, feed, and bedding, occurred due to the movement of chicken, which influenced the aerosol concentration.

Due to increasing concerns about global warming and energy crisis, intensive efforts have been made to explore renewable and clean energy sources. Single-atom metals and two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have attracted extensive attention in the fields of energy and environment because of their unique electronic structures and excellent properties. In this review, we sum-marize the state-of-art progress on the single-atom metal supported at 2D MoS2 (single-atom metal/2D MoS2) for electrochemical CO2 reduction and water splitting. First, we introduce the advantages of single-atom metal/2D MoS2 catalysts in the fields of electrocatalytic CO2 reduction and water splitting, followed by the strategies for improving electrocatalytic performances of single-atom metal/2D MoS2 hybrid nanomaterials and the typical preparation methods. Further, we discuss the important applications of the nanocomposites in electrocatalytic CO2 reduction and water splitting via some typical examples, particularly focusing on their synthesis routes, modification approaches, and physiochemical mechanisms for improving their electrocatalytic performances. Finally, our perspectives on the key challenges and future directions of exploring high-performance metal single-atom catalysts are presented based on recent achievements in the development of single-atom metal/2D MoS2 hybrid nanomaterials.

In hydraulic systems, energy dissipation can be significant. The pressure drops that can occur in the hydraulic circuit, influenced by the adopted drive architecture, result in an absorbed power often significantly greater than that required by the mechanical system. In this paper, a comparative study of energy efficiency among five drive common architectures in industrial hydraulic axes is carried out. The analysis is applied to a hydraulic blanking press with variable speed and force, a fairly frequent industrial system, e.g. in the production of semi-finished brass products. Standard, regenerative, high-low, variable displacement pump and variable speed drive for a fixed displacement pump configurations have been analysed and compared. An adequate and optimized sizing of the various components of the system has been carried out in each case and subsequently the energy consumption has been estimated for a load cycle common to all the considered cases. The results show that the choice of power generation architecture of the hydraulic system has a very significant impact on energy efficiency and consequently operating costs and carbon footprint. The performed quantification of the potential energy efficiency of the considered drive architectures can be very useful in guiding energy-conscious choices.

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

(1) Background: COVID-19 had devastating effects on both physical and mental well-being, prompting the need for interventions. This study aimed to explore the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction on mental health, mindfulness, and sleep disorders in COVID-19 survivors.; (2) Methods: In this interventional parallel study, the sample was selected university students in nursing and midwifery faculties using total population sampling. The intervention included providing counseling on mindfulness methods by trained experts. General health, mindfulness and sleep quality questionnaires were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using SPSS22, descriptive and interferential statistic. A significance level of 0.05 was considered; (3) Results: In this study, the mean age of the students was 20.29 ± 2.03 years. 69.5% of the participants were female and 96% were single. 71.3% were studying nursing and 67% had a history of Corona infection. The intervention was only effective on general health questionnaire and the mean score of this questionnaire was 1.7 higher than the control group; (4) Conclusions: the study indicated that MBSR intervention improves mindfulness, mental health, and sleep quality in COVID-19 survivors. Regular assessment and use of this intervention can help address long-term challenges and improve overall well-being.

This study investigates via Lie symmetry analysis the Hunter-Saxton equation, an equation relevant to the theoretical analysis of nematic liquid crystals. We employ the multiplier method to obtain conservation laws of the equation derived from first-order multipliers. Conservation laws of the Hunter-Saxton equation, in combination with the Lie point symmetries of the equation, enable us to perform symmetry reductions through employment of the double reduction method. The method exploits the relationship between Lie point symmetries and conservation laws to effectively reduce both the number of variables and the order of the equation. Five nontrivial conservation laws of the Hunter-Saxton equation are derived, four of which are found to have associated Lie point symmetries. Applying the double reduction method to the Hunter-Saxton equation results in a set of first-order ordinary differential equations, the solutions of which represent invariant solutions for the equation.

Bimetallic Ni/Cu core-shell and Cu-Ni heterostructural micro- and nanoparticles were prepared using two simple successive reduction procedures. Monometallic Ni and Cu particles were synthesized for comparison. The phase constitutions and morphological features of the particles were studied by means of X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy methods. All the obtained mono- and bimetallic particles were applied as electrocatalysts in the electrohydrogenation of p-nitrophenol (p-NPh). An additional electrochemical reduction of copper cations during the hydrogen saturation of Cu-containing particles was established. Some of the prepared particles exhibited high catalytic activity with an increase in the hydrogenation rate of p-NPh by more than 3 times compared to its electrochemical reduction on the non-activated cathode, and p-NPh conversion yielded the maximum values. The main product of p-NPh electrocatalytic hydrogenation over Ni-Cu particles is p-aminophenol, which is an intermediate in the synthesis of many drugs. p-Aminophenol formation is confirmed by UV-Vis spectra.

Since Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) was recognized as a gas transmitter, its detection and quantifica-tion have become a hot research topic among chemists and biologists. In this area. fluorescent probes have shown great advantages: fast and strong responds, low detection limit and easy ma-nipulation. Here we developed a new fluorescent probe that detected H2S selectively among various bioactive and inorganic salts. This probe was based on the core structure of fluorescein and reacted with H2S through azide-reduction. Great linearity was achieved correlating fluores-cence intensity and H2S concentrations in solution. The detection of H2S in cancer cells was also achieved.

Electrical rotating machines like Induction Motors (IMs) are widely used in several industrial applications since their robust elements, provide high efficiency and give versatility in industrial applications. Nevertheless, the occurrence of faults in IMs is inherent to their operating conditions, hence, Inter-turn short-circuit (ITSC) is one of the most common failures that affect IMs and its appearance is due to electrical stresses leads to the degradation of the stator winding insulation. In this regard, this work proposes a diagnosis methodology for the assessment and detection of incipient ITSC in IMs, the proposed method is based on the processing of vibration, stator currents and magnetic stray-flux signals. Certainly, the novelty and contribution include the characterization of different physical magnitudes by estimating a set of statistical time domain features, as well as, their fusion and reduction through the Linear discriminant Analysis technique within a feature-level fusion approach. Furthermore, the fusion and reduction of information from different physical magnitudes leads to perform the automatic fault detection and identification by a simple Neural-Network (NN) structure. The proposed method is evaluated under a complete set of experimental data and the obtained results demonstrate that the fusion of information from different sources (physical magnitudes) allows to improve the accuracy during the detection of ITSC in IMs , the results make this proposal feasible to be incorporated as a part of condition-based maintenance programs in the industry.

Concept sustainable of banking is based on principle realization growth and profit for the bank and shareholders, but only with achievement social goals, as and care for conservation life environment. Providing new ones banking service and creation new ( green ) banking jobs, except for _ profitable, they achieve and spreads social and ecological goals, chances are with creation competitive advantages, both in countries Western Balkans observed in the work, so and in all countries of the world In this one work we will focus on analysis macroeconomic parameters in countries Western Balkans works tests influence selected indicators on performance banking system, with special in retrospect on social and component protection life environment. The results indicate that rate unemployment the most significant indicator potentially risky events for bankers, as and banks they are not recognized in national conservation strategies _ life environment which are in WB countries currently on strength. Accordingly, the former is necessary to carry out education foreign affairs, and in parallel to promote green loans like they live and in the long term more favorable of traditional loans, with update the existing one regulatory frame in the domain protection life environment.

The reckless use of non-replenishable fuels by the growing population for energy and the resultant incessant emission of hazardous gases and waste products into the atmosphere insisted scientists to fabricate materials capable of managing these global threats at once. In recent studies, photo-catalysis employed focus on utilizing renewable solar energy to initiate chemical processes with the aid of semiconductors and highly selective catalysts. A wide range of nanoparticles have showcased promising photocatalytic properties. Ultrasmall metal nanoclusters (MNCs) with sizes below 2 nm, stabilized by ligands shows discrete energy levels, exhibits unique optoelectronic properties which are vital to photocatalysis. In this review, we intend to compile information on varying photocatalytic efficiency of metal NCs with respect to changes in their properties. Review discusses about the photocatalytic activity of atomically precise ligand-protected MNCs and its hybrids in the domain of in energy conversion processes like photodegradation of dyes, Oxygen Evolution Reaction (ORR), Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) and CO2 Reduction Reaction (CO2RR), and photosensitizer in solar cell.

Hazelnut is a widespread nut species, especially in Europe, that can be consumed raw or roasted, due to its pleasant taste and nutritional properties. Despite the renowned beneficial properties, hazelnuts contain several proteins capable of inducing food allergy in sensitized individuals such as Cor a 2 (profilin), Cor a 8 (lipid transfer protein), Cor a 9 (11S seed storage globulin, legumin-like) and Cor a 11 (7S seed storage globulin, vicilin-like). In the present paper we investigated the effectiveness of autoclave based treatments in decreasing the allergic potential of hazelnut as also assessed by submitting the treated material to in vivo skin prick test and to in vitro immunoblot analysis with sera of allergic individuals exposed to the treated food material. This preliminary analysis shows that autoclave treatment, preceded by hydration and/or followed by drying, seems to be a promising approach and appears to be effective in reducing the allergenicity of hazelnut in most patients, probably due to the denaturation of most major and minor allergenic proteins. This work will open to the opportunity to produce, in perspective, hypoallergenic hazelnut derivatives tolerated by the allergic subjects.

In this study, a novel porous geopolymer mortar (GP) was produced and tested experimentally. Industrial waste materials/by-products were used as constituents of the GP, along with dune sand. One sample was produced as a control sample for benchmarking. For the rest of the samples, 15%, 30%, and 45% by volume, the solid constituents were replaced with expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) beads. These mortar samples were heat cured to depolymerize the EPS to cause porosity inside the samples. Indoor experiments were conducted to evaluate the response of produced porous GP to high heat flux. The porous samples were able to reduce heat transmission across the opposite surfaces. Induced porosity resulted in a decrement in compressive strength from 77.2 MPa for the control sample to 15.8 MPa for 45% porous sample. However, the limit lies within the standards for partitioning walls in buildings and pavements in urban areas to absorb rainwater.

The paper proposes a new principle of finding and removing elements of mathematical model, redundant in terms of parametric identification of the model. It allows reducing computational and time complexity of the applications built on the model. Especially this is important for AI based systems, systems based on IoT solutions, distributed systems etc. Besides, the complexity reduction allows increasing an accuracy of mathematical models implemented. Despite the model order reduction methods are well known, they are extremely depended however on the problem area. Thus, proposed reduction principles can be used in different areas, what is demonstrated in this paper. The proposed method for the reduction of mathematical models of dynamic systems allows also the assessment of the requirements for the parameters of the simulator elements to ensure the specified accuracy of dynamic similarity. Efficiency of the principle is shown on the ordinary differential equations and on the neural network model. The given examples demonstrate efficient normalizing properties of the reduction principle for the mathematical models in the form of neural networks.

Convalescent blood product therapy has been introduced since early 1900s to treat emerging infectious disease based on the evidence that polyclonal neutralizing antibodies can reduce duration of viremia. Recent large outbreaks of viral diseases for whom effective antivirals or vaccines are still lacking has revamped the interest in convalescent plasma as life-saving treatments. This review summarizes historical settings of application, and surveys current technologies for collection, manufacturing, pathogen inactivation, and banking, with a focus on COVID-19.

The search for lower cost materials that reduce pressure drop in fluid transport systems in oil and gas industries to conserve pumping energy is of paramount importance. Polymers are known to reduce pressure drop in pipeline oil-water flows in a process referred to as drag reduction (DR). The effect of partially hydrolysed polyacrylamide, polyethylene oxide, aloe vera mucilage and their mixtures as drag reducing polymers (DRPs) on pressure gradient (pressure drop; Δp) in pipeline oil-water flows was studied. The experiment was carried out in flow rig with 0.02-m diameter straight unplasticised polyvinylchloride (uPVC) pipe, two centrifugal pumps, control valves and two storage tanks. Tap water (ρ = 997 Kg/m³ and µ = 0.89 cP) and diesel (ρ = 832 Kg/m³ and µ = 1.66 cP) were used as the test fluid at ambient condition. The polymer mixture total concentration (MTC) of 30 and 400 ppm at different mixing proportion, mixture Reynolds number (Re_mix) and oil input volume were investigated. The results show increase in pressure gradient with increase in oil input volume in both single-phase water flow and oil-water flow before adding drag reducing polymers (DRPs). But Δp decreased after adding DRPs with increase in Reynolds number (Re) or Re_mix and decrease in the oil-phase Re, vice versa. The results further showed higher reduction in pressure drop by the polymer mixture than in each of the polymer used at the same conditions. The rigidness of the biopolymer was improved by adding synthetic polymers which result to increase in DR efficiency.The search for lower cost materials that reduce pressure drop in fluid transport systems in oil and gas industries to conserve pumping energy is of paramount importance. Polymers are known to reduce pressure drop in pipeline oil-water flows in a process referred to as drag reduction (DR). The effect of partially hydrolysed polyacrylamide, polyethylene oxide, aloe vera mucilage and their mixtures as drag reducing polymers (DRPs) on pressure gradient (pressure drop; Δp) in pipeline oil-water flows was studied. The experiment was carried out in flow rig with 0.02-m diameter straight unplasticised polyvinylchloride (uPVC) pipe, two centrifugal pumps, control valves and two storage tanks. Tap water (ρ = 997 Kg/m³ and µ = 0.89 cP) and diesel (ρ = 832 Kg/m³ and µ = 1.66 cP) were used as the test fluid at ambient condition. The polymer mixture total concentration (MTC) of 30 and 400 ppm at different mixing proportion, mixture Reynolds number (Re_mix) and oil input volume were investigated. The results show increase in pressure gradient with increase in oil input volume in both single-phase water flow and oil-water flow before adding drag reducing polymers (DRPs). But Δp decreased after adding DRPs with increase in Reynolds number (Re) or Re_mix and decrease in the oil-phase Re, vice versa. The results further showed higher reduction in pressure drop by the polymer mixture than in each of the polymer used at the same conditions. The rigidness of the biopolymer was improved by adding synthetic polymers which result to increase in DR efficiency.

Microbial populations involved in forming the distinctive precipitates of the S, Fe, Mn, and Ca cycles in the San Diego River watershed reflect an interplay between mineralogy of the rocks in the watershed, sparse rainfall, ground- and surface-water anoxia, and runoff of high sulfate, treated imported water. In the less developed headwaters, Temescal Creek tributary emerges from pyrite-bearing metamorphic rocks, and thus exhibits both an oxidized Fe and reduced S cycle. In the middle reaches, the river moves through developed land where treated, imported high sulfate Colorado River water enters from urban runoff. Mast Park surrounded by caliche-bearing sedimentary rocks is a site where marl is precipitating. Cobbles in riffles in the river are coated black with Mn oxide. When the river encounters deep-seated volcanic bedrock, it wells up to precipitate both Fe and Mn oxides at Old Mission Dam. Then, directly flowing through caliche-laced sedimentary rocks, Birchcreek tributary precipitates tufa. Further downstream, at a site that periodically receives full sunlight, a sulfuretum sets up during the summer when the river is deoxygenated. Such a rich geochemistry results in activity of iron and manganese oxidizing bacteria, sulfur oxidizers and reducers, and cyanobacteria precipitating calcareous marl and tufa.

Vanadium titano-magnetite is a significant resource in China, and in this study, we characterize its isothermal reduction mechanisms in the mixture of H₂, CO, and N₂ where the variables considered here include reduction time, reduction temperature, gas composition, and pellet size. The kinetics of the reduction process are mainly studied, which follows a shrinking core model. The results indicate that the reduction degree of oxidized VTM pellets increases with the increase of reduction time, reduction temperature but decreases with the increase of pellet size. Moreover, we found that an increase of H₂/(H₂+CO) ratio induces an increase of the reduction degree. Then the transformation of main Ti-bearing mineral phases is discussed, and the most probable reaction mechanism is revealed. In the whole reduction process, the kinetic results confirm the existence of an early stage and a latter stage, which are controlled by interface chemical reaction and diffusion, respectively. Furthermore, the results show that the diffusion-control step can be observably shortened with the decrease of pellet size because a thinner product layer is formed during the reduction process. Our study thus provides a valuable technical basis on the VTM industrial application.

Recent wastewater testing suggests the poliovirus is reemerging, raising questions about the efficacy of the current inactivated polio vaccine and mass vaccination to eradicate poliomyelitis. The present study reassessed reported outcomes from the placebo-control study of the 1954 Salk inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine field trial, which studied a population of 1,829,916 U.S. school children from the first three grades. The placebo-control study of the trial reported that the polio vaccine was 80% to 90% effective in reducing cases of laboratory confirmed paralytic poliomyelitis, 60% to 70% effective against type 1 of the virus, and greater than 90% effective against types 2 and 3 of the poliovirus. However, these outcomes are reported as relative risk reductions, and the absolute risk reductions of the 1954 polio vaccine field trial were never reported to the public. The present paper’s analysis reveals to the public for the first time that the inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine's absolute risk reduction of laboratory confirmed paralytic poliomyelitis in the placebo-control study is 0.01% to 0.02%, an extraordinarily low clinical effect that impugns the Salk polio vaccine’s reported effectiveness. Furthermore, absolute risk reductions for the three poliovirus types are 0.01%, 0.00%, and 0.01%, respectively. Outcome reporting bias in the 1954 inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine field trial casts doubt on eradication of the poliovirus through mass vaccination.

Based on the previous work done by Fujii et al., NdBaInO4 compounds present modest oxide-ion conductivities. Therefore, it has been an attractive system of significant interest. In this paper, the Ca element has been attempted to partially substitute for Nd and the total electrical conductivity has been successfully improved due to the generation of oxygen vacancies. The synthesis, crystal structure, density, surface topography and electrical properties of NdBaInO4 and Ca-doped NdBaInO4 have been studied respectively. NdBaInO4, 10% and 20% molar fraction of Ca doped NdBaInO4 were synthesized through solid state reaction and they were calcined at 1000 °C for 14 hours and sintered at 1440 °C,1430 °C and 1420 °C respectively. The crystal structure of them has been obtained from Le Bail refinement of the XRD pattern, giving the result of the monoclinic structure which belongs to P21/c space group. The size of particles processed with different ball milling time and surface topography have been detected by the scanning electron microscope. The total electrical conductivities of Nd1-xCaxBaInO4-x/2 (x = 0, 0.1 and 0.2) were measured in the dry atmosphere by AC impedance spectroscopy and Nd0.9Ca0.1BaInO3.95 exhibited the highest total electrical conductivity and the lowest activation energy. What is more, the total conductivity of Nd0.9Ca0.1BaInO3.95 in the wet atmosphere at moderate temperature is relatively higher than that in the dry atmosphere while this phenomenon was not found in NdBaInO4. Therefore, the excess conductivity suggests that potential proton conduction may exist in wet atmospheres. In addition, Ca-doped NdBaInO4 were chosen for the oxygen isotope exchange which aims to obtain the diffusion coefficient and surface exchange coefficient, and Nd0.9Ca0.1BaInO3.95 shows the highest diffusion coefficient and D* decreases with the increase of the molar fraction of the Ca element.

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), which ensures the normal functioning of the neural retina, is a pigmented single-cell layer that separates the retina from the Bruch's membrane and the choroid. There are three main types of pigment granules in the RPE cells of the human eye: lipofuscin granules (LG) containing the fluorescent “age pigment” lipofuscin, melanoprotein granules (melanosomes, melanolysosomes) containing the screening pigment melanin and complex melanolipofuscin granules (MLG) containing simultaneously both types of pigments - melanin and lipofuscin. This review examines the functional role of pigment granules in the aging process and in the development of oxidative stress and associated pathologies in RPE cells. The focus is on the process of light-induced oxidative degradation of pigment granules caused by reactive oxygen species. The reasons leading to increased oxidative stress in RPE cells as a result of oxidative degradation of pigment granules are considered. A mechanism has been proposed to explain the phenomenon of age-related decline in melanin content in RPE cells. The essence of the mechanism is that when the lipofuscin part of the melanolipofuscin granule is exposed to light, reactive oxygen species are formed, which destroy its melanin part. As more melanolipofuscin granules are formed with age and the development of degenerative diseases, the melanin in pigmented epithelial cells ultimately disappears.

Resistance evolution during exposure to non-lethal levels of antibiotics is influenced by various stress responses of bacteria which are known to affect growth rate. Here, we aim to disentangle how the interplay between resistance development and associated fitness costs is affected by stress responses. We performed de novo resistance evolution of wild-type strains and single-gene knockout strains in stress response pathways using four different antibiotics. Throughout resistance development, the increase in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) is accompanied by a gradual decrease in growth rate, most pronounced with amoxicillin or kanamycin. By measuring biomass yield on glucose and whole-genome sequences at intermediate and final timepoints, we identified two patterns of how the stress responses affect the correlation between MIC and growth rate. First, single-gene knockout E. coli strains associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) acquire resistance faster and mutations related to antibiotic permeability and pumping out occur earlier. This increases the metabolic burden of resistant bacteria. Second, the ΔrelA knockout strain which has reduced (p)ppGpp synthesis, is restricted in its stringent response, leading to diminished growth rates. The ROS-related mutagenesis and the stringent response are vulnerabilities within the fitness of resistant strains that can possibly be targeted to prevent development of resistance.

Due to the imbalance between the supply and demand of oxygen, the oxygen system of iron- and steel-making enterprises in China has problems with high oxygen emission and high pressure in the pipelines, resulting in the energy consumption of oxygen production being high. To relieve this problem, using a large-scale iron- and steel-making mill as a case study, the research on demand forecasting and optimal scheduling of the oxygen system was carried out. The ARIMA model and the GABP model are employed to forecast oxygen demand. Based on the forecast results, an optimal scheduling model for the oxygen system was developed to conduct optimal scheduling. The case study shows that based on the oxygen demand forecast and the optimal scheduling, the oxygen emission and the pipeline pressure in the studied iron- and steel-making enterprise can be significantly reduced, thereby achieving considerable energy-saving effects and economic benefits. Specifically, the following conclusions are obtained: (1) For the oxygen demand forecast, the prediction accuracy of the GABP model is better than that of the ARIMA model. The average MAPE of the 12 sets of data of the ARIMA and GABP models are 23.8% and 20.2%, respectively. (2) By comparing the scheduling results and the field data, it is found that after the scheduling, the amount of oxygen emission has decreased by 6.32%, the pipeline pressure has decreased by 0.61%, and the energy consumption of oxygen compression has decreased by 1.6%. Considering both the oxygen emission loss and the energy consumption of oxygen compression, the total power consumption of the oxygen system is reduced by 1.38%, which saves the electricity cost of about 9.03 million RMB per year.

This study presents the synthesis of graphitic carbon nitride (g−C3N4) and its nanostructures with cobalt ferrite oxide (CoFe2O4) and silver nanocubes (Ag) using the combined pyrolysis of melamine and polyol method. The resulted nanostructures were tested as electrocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions in alkaline media. It was found that the Ag/CoFe2O4/g−C3N4 shows the highest current density and gives the lowest overpotential of −259 mV for HER to reach a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in 1 M KOH. Overpotentials to reach the current density of 10 mA·cm−2 for OER are 370.2 mV and 382.7 mV for Ag/CoFe2O4/g−C3N4 and CoFe2O4/g−C3N4, respectively. The above results demonstrate that CoFe2O4/g−C3N4 and Ag/CoFe2O4/g−C3N4 materials could act as a bifunctional catalyst due to the notable performance towards HER and OER and for total water splitting in practical applications is a promising alternative to noble metal-based electrocatalysts.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex disease involving multiple factors such as amyloid plaque formation, mitochondrial dysfunction, telomere length, and oxidative stress. As the disease began 20 years before the onset of clinical symptoms, treatment of AD after its onset is likely to be too late to have a significant effect. Therefore, prevention from an early stage is important. Twendee X®︎ (TwX, Oxicut®︎) is an antioxidant supplement consisting of eight ingredients. TwX has been proven to prevent dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, prospective intervention trial. To elucidate the mechanisms of TwX on brain and cellular function, TwX was administered in in vitro experiments and in a C57BL/6 old wild-type, and spontaneous hyperglycemia model with accelerated cognitive decline, and its effects on diabetes, brain autophagy, neurogenesis, and telomere length were evaluated in comparison with those of the non-treated groups. TwX protected mitochondria from oxidative stress with higher antioxidant capacity than a single antioxidant. TwX not only lowered blood glucose levels, but also suppressed reduction of brain neurogenesis and loss of autophagy. Telomeres in aged mice were significantly longer than those in non-TwX-treated mice. Development of dementia is based on many factors of brain function. TwX was suggested to prevent dementia not only by its antioxidant effects, but also by its effects on diabetes, brain neurogenesis, telomere deficiency, and energy production.

Despite the development of biorefinery processes, so far this area does not take into account the possibility of coupling the “conventional” composting process with the production of biochemicals. However, net carbon monoxide (CO) production has been observed during bio-waste composting. So far, O2 concentration and temperature have been identified as main variables influencing CO formation. This study aimed to investigate the CO net production during bio-waste composting under controlled laboratory conditions, depending on different aeration rates and temperatures. A series of composting processes were carried out in conditions ranging from ~psychrophilic to thermophilic (T=35, 45, 55, and 65°C) and an aeration rate of 2.7, 3.4, 4.8, and 7.8 L‧h-1. The highest concentrations of CO in each thermal variant was achieved with oxygen deficit (aeration rate 2.7 L‧h-1); additionally, CO levels increased with temperature, reaching ~300 ppm at 65°C. Production of CO in mesophilic and thermophilic conditions draws attention to the biological CO formation by microorganisms capable of producing the CODH enzyme. Further research on the CO production efficiency in these thermal ranges is necessary with the characterization of the microbial community and analysis of the ability of the identified bacteria to produce the CODH enzyme and convert CO from CO2.

Oxidative stress has been implicated in cellular senescence and aging, as well as in the onset and progression of many diverse genetic and acquired diseases and conditions. The search for biomarkers of oxidative stress has become relevant to many biomedical fields using many different methods and approaches. Fluorescence methodology is advantageous because of its simplicity and high sensitivity. Fluorescent probes are frequently used to investigate the role of reactive oxygen species in oxidative stress in experimental or clinical settings, often involving the use of flow cytometry and related single-cell based technologies. To assess the specific role of reactive oxygen species in oxidative stress studies by cytometric methodologies, it is essential to detect and characterize these species accurately. However, the detection and quantitation of individual intracellular ROS is still a challenge, but different and complementary strategies may focus on other endpoints of oxidative stress. In this review we present and discuss briefly the limitations and perspectives of such approaches. Based on our results, we also provide recommendations for proper design of cytometric studies of oxidative stress in order to prevent or minimize experimental errors..

CO2 has characteristic properties and reactions at converter smelting temperature, and the chemical reaction between CO2 and elements such as C and Si in the molten pool has bubble proliferation and cooling effects, which can effectively improve the kinetic and thermodynamic conditions of converter smelting. Here, an experimental study and industrial test on the application of CO2 in converter smelting were carried out. The smelting effects of Mode-1 and Mode-2 with total CO₂ injection amounts of 229 Nm³ and 196 Nm³, respectively, were compared, and the changes in molten steel and slag compositions, dust removal, and gas are analyzed. The test results show that converter top and bottom blowing CO₂ technology (COMI-B)technology had significant metallurgical advantages over the N-Mode; the dephosphorization rate increased by 4.2%, slag (FeO) content was reduced by 2.04%, end point nitrogen content of molten steel was reduced by 20%, gas recovery increased by 8.29 Nm³/t, and soot production reduced by 14.7%. The results of the study provide reference for the application of COMI-B technology in converters in the iron and steel industry and develop a new path for resource utilization of CO₂.

Intestinal gases are usually discarded as physiologically inert, useless sub-products of colonic fermentation that must be expelled to prevent discomfort and meteorism. Starting from the observation that many living beings use exogenous and/or endogenous gases to attain evolutionary benefits, we question whether intestinal gases in healthy humans could have underestimated physiological effects, either intestinal or extra-intestinal. We examine gaseous volume, composition, source and local distribution in proximal as well as distal gut, providing extensive data that may serve as reference for future studies. We analyze each one of the most abundant intestinal gases and describe their diffusive patterns, active trans-barrier transport dynamics, chemical properties, intra-/extra-intestinal metabolic effects mediated by intracellular, extracellular, paracrine and distant actions. Discussing the physical properties of the whole intestinal gaseous mixture, we illustrate how changes in volume/pressure can be generated by two different mechanisms, namely, physical muscular gut contraction and biological colonic fermentation, with quite different metabolic outcomes. The experimental gas laws suggest that the gaseous exchanges between lumen and bloodstream are impaired by muscular contraction and improved by muscular relaxation. In turn, the surface-area-to-volume ratio suggests that the gaseous exchanges are impaired by microorganismal overproduction and improved by microorganismal reduction. Further, theoretical stochastic approaches from probability theory indicate that the non-turbulent, random paths of gas molecules inside colonic haustra do not homogenously spread over the whole mucosal surface. This means that the intestinal area available for lumen/blood metabolic exchanges is much less than expected not just in disease states, but also in healthy individuals.

heterocycles are particularly common moieties within marine natural products. Specifically, tetrahydrofuranyl rings are present in a variety of compounds which present complex structures and interesting biological activities. Focusing on terpenoids, a high number of tetrahydrofuran-containing metabolites have been isolated during the last decades. They show promising biological activities, making them potential leads for novel antibiotics, antikinetoplastid drugs, amoebicidal substances or anticancer drugs. Thus, they have attracted the attention of the synthetic community, and numerous approaches to their total syntheses have appeared. Here, we offer the reader an overview of marine-derived terpenoids and related compounds, with a special focus on their isolation, structure determination, biological profiles and total syntheses.

Aims:To update analytic formulas for the overall efficacy of corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) including both type-I and oxygen-mediated type-II mechanisms, the role of oxygen and the initiator regeneration. Study Design:modeling the kinetics of CXL in UV light and using riboflavin as the photosensitizer.Place and Duration of Study:New Taipei City, Taiwan, between June, 2021 and July, 2021.Methodology:Coupled kinetic equations are derived under the quasi-steady state condition for the 2-pathway mechanisms of CXL. For type-I CXL, the riboflavin (RF) triplet state [T] may interact directly with the stroma collagen substrate [A] to form radical (R) and regenerate initiator. For type-II process, [T] interacts with oxygen to form a singlet oxygen [¹O₂]. Both reactive radical (R) and [¹O₂], can relax to their ground state, or interact with the substrate [A]) for crosslinking. Based on a safety dose, the minimum corneal thickness formula is derived. Results:Our updated theory/modeling showed that oxygen plays a limited and transient role in the process, in consistent with that of Kamave [2]. In contrary, Kling et al [3] believed that type-II is the predominant mechanism, which however conflicting with the epi-on CXL results. For both type-I and type-II, a transient state conversion (crosslink) efficacy in an increasing function of light intensity (or dose), whereas, its steady state efficacy is a deceasing function of light intensity. RF depletion in type-I is compensated by the RF regeneration term (RGE) which is a decreasing function of oxygen. For the case of perfect regeneration case (or when oxygen=0), RF is a constant due to the catalytic cycle. Unlike the conventional Dresden rule of 400 um thickness, thin cornea CXL is still safe as far as the dose is under a threshold dose (E*), based on our minimum thickness formula (Z*). Our formula for thin cornea is also clinically shown by Hafez et al forultra thin (214 nm) CXL. Conclusion: For both type-I and type-II, a transient state conversion (crosslink) efficacy in an increasing function of light intensity (or dose), whereas, its steady state efficacy is a deceasing function of light intensity. Ultra thin cornea is still safe as far as it is under a threshold dose (E*), based on our minimum thickness formula.

Nonhost disease resistance is the most common type of plant defense mechanism against potential pathogens. In this study, the metabolic enzyme formate dehydrogenase (FDH1) was identified to be involved in nonhost disease resistance in Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana. In Arabidopsis, AtFDH1 was highly upregulated in response to both host and nonhost bacterial pathogens. Arabidopsis Atfdh1 mutants were compromised in nonhost resistance, basal resistance, and gene-for-gene resistance. The expression patterns of salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) marker genes after pathogen infections in Atfdh1 mutant indicated that SA is most likely involved in the FDH1-mediated plant defense response to both host and nonhost bacterial pathogens. Previous studies reported that FDH1 localizes to only mitochondria, or both mitochondria and chloroplasts. Our results showed that the AtFDH1 localized to mitochondria and the amount of FDH1 localized to mitochondria increased upon infection with host or nonhost pathogens. Interestingly, the subcellular localization of FDH1 was observed in both mitochondria and chloroplasts after infection with a nonhost pathogen in Arabidopsis. We speculate that FDH1 plays a role in cellular signaling networks between mitochondria and chloroplasts to produce coordinated defense responses such as SA-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and hypersensitive response (HR)-induced cell death against nonhost bacterial pathogens.

We have developed IrO_x/M-SnO₂ (M = Nb, Ta, and Sb) anode catalysts, IrO_x nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on M-SnO₂ supports with fused-aggregate structures, which make it possible to evolve oxygen efficiently, even with a reduced amount of noble metal (Ir) in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. Polarization properties of IrO_x/M-SnO₂ catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) were examined at 80 °C in both 0.1 M HClO₄ solution (half cell) and a single cell with a Nafion^® membrane (thickness = 50 μm). While all catalysts exhibited similar OER activities in the half cell, the cell potential (E_cell) of the single cell was found to decrease with the increasing apparent conductivities (σ_{app, catalyst}) of these catalysts: an E_cell of 1.61 V (voltage efficiency of 92%) at 1 A cm^-2 was achieved in a single cell by the use of an IrO_x/Sb-SnO₂ anode (highest σ_{app, catalyst}) with a low Ir-metal loading of 0.11 mg_Ir cm^-2 and Pt supported on graphitized carbon black (Pt/GCB) as the cathode, with 0.35 mg_Pt cm⁻². In addition to the reduction of the ohmic loss in the anode catalyst layer, the increased electronic conductivity contributed to decreasing the OER overpotential due to the effective utilization of the IrO_x nanocatalysts on the M-SnO₂ supports, which is an essential factor in improving the performance with low noble metal loadings.

Gas-liquid reactors pose transfer difficulties due to diffusion effects. It is necessary to master the aeration and hydrodynamics of the medium to conduct the reaction well and get a good performance. For this purpose, a study in a submerged membrane bioreactor with a useful volume of 30L, consisting of a microfiltration membrane with an average pore size of 0.14 mm having an effective surface area of 0.2 m2 and a PVC cylindrical air diffuser of radius 4 cm has been studied. The saline tracing method associated with a conductimetric follow-up made it possible to determine the residence times and the mixing time in the reactor at 4 different points both in recirculation and in the absence of recirculation. Gas retention was measured by the manometric method. The experiments were carried out at different temperatures of 25 ° C, at 45 ° C, with a variable air flow rate of 0.5 to 16 mL / s and different solutions (osmosis water, ammonium formate solution, solution ammonium formate + salt, synthetic rubber effluent). The results show that the mixing time varies from one point to another and the recirculation of the mixture reduces the mixing time. One of the positions is limiting, the transfer is done most by diffusion with a mixing time of 115 min without circulation and 65 min with circulation. Gas retention increases with aeration rate and temperature. On the other hand, the more the medium becomes rich in organic substances, the more the gaseous retention decreases. The homogeneous fine-bubble regime is obtained for an air flow rate of between 3 and 10 mL / s of aeration. Beyond this flow rate, the regime becomes heterogeneous without a transition phase for ammonium formate and formate ammonium + salt solutions.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease induced by many environmental factors. The inhalation of allergens and pollutants promote the reactive oxygen species (ROS) production leading to airway inflammation, hyper-responsiveness and remodeling in allergic asthma. The effects of asthma medications on ROS production are unclear. The present study investigated the anti-ROS effects of current asthma medications including inhaled corticosteroid (ICS; budesonide and fluticasone), leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA; montelukast), long acting β2 agonists (LABAs; salmeterol and formoterol) and a new extra-LABA (indacaterol). The human monocyte cell line THP-1 cells were pre-treated with different concentrations of the asthma medications at different time-points after hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) stimulation. H₂O₂ production was measured with DCFH-DA by flow cytometry. Montelukast, fluticasone and salmeterol suppressed H₂O₂-induced ROS production. Indacaterol enhanced H₂O₂-induced ROS production. Budesonide and formoterol alone had no anti-ROS effects, but the combination of these two drugs significantly suppressed H₂O₂-induced ROS production. Different asthma medications have different anti-ROS effects on monocytes. The combination therapy with LABA and ICS seemed not be the only choice for asthma control. Montelukast may be also a good supplemental treatment for the poorly-controlled asthma because of its powerful anti-ROS effects. Our findings provide a novel therapeutic view in asthma.

One of the earliest hallmarks of plant immune response is production of reactive oxygen spe-cies (ROS) in different subcellular compartments, which regulate plant immunity. A suitable equilibrium, which is crucial to prevent ROS over-accumulation leading to oxidative stress, is maintained by salicylic acid (SA), a chief regulator of ROS. However, ROS are not only acting downstream of SA signaling, but were also proposed to be a central component of a self-amplifying loop that regulates SA signaling as well as the interaction balance between dif-ferent phytohormones. The exact role of this crosstalk, the position where SA interferes with ROS signaling and ROS interferes with SA signaling and the outcome of this regulation depend on the origin of ROS but also on the pathosystem. The precise spatiotemporal regulation of or-ganelle specific ROS and SA levels determine the effectiveness of pathogen arrest and is there-fore crucial for a successful immune response. However, the regulatory interplay behind still remain poorly understood, as up till now, the role of organelle specific ROS and SA in HR-conferred resistance has mostly been studied by altering the level of a single component. In order to address these aspects, a sophisticated combination of research methods for monitoring the spatiotemporal dynamics of key players and transcriptional activity in plants is needed, and will most probably consist of biosensors and precision transcriptomics.

In this paper, a 100CMM regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) system based on a high heating device for low-emission combustion is implemented at a volatile organic compound (VOCs) gas generation workplace. Existing RTO has a structure that repeats the inflow and discharge of VOCs gas into a cylindrical drum-type rotating disk and has excellent energy efficiency with a heat recovery rate of 95% or more. However, when used for a long time, there is a problem that rotation stops or explodes due to the discharge of pollutants due to dust and thermal expansion due to high temperature of 800℃. To overcome this, a RTO based on a high heating device was developed to reduce low-emission combustion emissions and energy use. Through 177 hours of demonstration time, the oxidation efficiency of VOCs was 98.87%; the waste heat recovery rate was reduced by 95.78%, the fuel consumption was reduced by 21.95%, and the nitrogen oxide concentration was 3.9 ppm

This study explores the stability of electrodeposited copper catalysts utilized in electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) across various amine media. The focus is on understanding the influence of different amine types, corrosion ramifications, and the efficacy of pulse ECR methodologies. Employing a suite of electrochemical techniques including potentiodynamic polarization, linear resistance polarization, cyclic voltammetry, and chronopotentiometry, the investigation reveals useful insights. The findings show that among the tested amines, CO2-rich monoethanolamine (MEA) exhibits the highest corrosion rate. However, in most cases the rates remain within tolerable limits for ECR operations. Primary amines, notably monoethanolamine (MEA), show enhanced compatibility with ECR processes, attributable to their resistance against carbonate salt precipitation and sustained stability in potential over extended durations. Conversely, tertiary amines such as methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) present challenges due to the formation of carbonate salts during ECR, impeding their effective utilization. The study highlights the effectiveness of pulse ECR strategies in stabilizing ECR. A noticeable shift in cathodic potential and reduced deposit formation on the catalyst surface through periodic oxidation underscores the efficacy of such strategies. These findings offer insights for optimizing ECR in amine media, thereby providing promising pathways for advancements in CO2 emission reduction technologies.

The introduction of ChatGPT in academia has raised significant concerns, particularly regarding issues like plagiarism and the ethical use of generative text for academic purposes. Existing literature has predominantly focused on ChatGPT adoption, leaving a notable gap in addressing the strategies users employ to mitigate these emerging challenges. To bridge this gap, this research utilizes the Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) to formulate user strategies for reducing uncertainty. These strategies include both interactive and passive approaches. Concurrently, the study identifies key sources of uncertainty, which include concerns related to transparency, information accuracy, and privacy. Additionally, it introduces the concepts of seeking clarification and consulting peer feedback as mediating roles to facilitate reduced uncertainty. We tested these hypotheses with a sample of Indonesian users (N = 566) using structural equation modeling via Smart-PLS 4.0 software. The results confirm that interactive Uncertainty Reduction Strategies (URS) are more effective in reducing uncertainty when using ChatGPT compared to passive URS. Transparency concerns, information accuracy, and privacy concerns are identified as factors that increase the level of uncertainty. In contrast, consulting peer feedback is the most effective strategy for reducing uncertainty compared to seeking clarification at the individual-system level. Insights from the mediating effects confirm that consulting peer feedback significantly mediates uncertainty sources to reduce uncertainty. The study discusses various strategies for the ethical use of ChatGPT by users in the educational context and contributes significantly to theoretical development.

In this paper, a 100CMM regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) system based on a high heating device for low-emission combustion is implemented at a volatile organic compound (VOCs) gas generation workplace. Existing RTO has a structure that repeats the inflow and discharge of VOCs gas into a cylindrical drum-type rotating disk and has excellent energy efficiency with a heat recovery rate of 95% or more. However, when used for a long time, there is a problem that rotation stops or explodes due to the discharge of pollutants due to dust and thermal expansion due to high temperature of 800℃. To overcome this, a RTO based on a high heating device was developed to reduce low-emission combustion emissions and energy use. Through 177 hours of demonstration time, the oxidation efficiency of VOCs was 97.87%; the waste heat recovery rate was reduced by 95.78%, the fuel consumption was reduced by 21.95%, and the nitrogen oxide concentration was 3.9 ppm

Computed tomography (CT) is a widely employed imaging modality with diverse clinical applications in pediatric and adult populations, offering numerous advantages. Despite several alternatives to imaging modalities with ionising radiation, CT scans have demonstrated persistent global popularity, contributing to a substantial amount of effective radiation doses for patients. This exposure results in hazards, including stochastic effects that amplify the radiation-induced cancer risk proportionally to the radiation dose received. CT-related radiation comprises a substantial portion of cumulative effective doses within diagnostic radiology, specifically impacting younger patient cohorts undergoing repeated investigations for chronic diseases over time. Scientific literature over recent decades has explored various methods to mitigate radiation doses during medical imaging. One notable strategy involves implementing low-dose and ultralow-dose CT protocols, maintaining diagnostic efficacy in acute and non-acute medical and surgical conditions. Utilising innovative image reconstruction algorithms, such as iterative reconstruction and emerging deep-learning algorithms based on artificial intelligence, plays a pivotal role in achieving an approximately 80% reduction in patient radiation compared to standard doses. This review article discusses the significance of low-dose protocols across a spectrum of acute and chronic medical conditions affecting different body systems.

When disposing of waste metal resources in landfills, environmental issues such as soil contamination may arise. Recycling these resources not only recovers valuable metals but also mitigates environmental pollution. Platinum (Pt), a valuable metal used in fuel cells for its high water production activity, will see increased future demand as a fossil fuel alternative. This study analyzes the environmental and resource reduction effects of recycled Pt, considering the growing emphasis on its recycling for stable supply and demand of Pt. The environmental impact and resource consumption of recycled Pt with primary Pt (from natural mines) were compared and analyzed using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) technique. Results revealed that resource consumption for primary Pt was 8.25E+01 kg Sb-eq./kg, significantly more than the 5.45E+00 kg Sb-eq./kg for recycled Pt. This represents an environmental reduction effect of approximately 93%. In the case of greenhouse gas emissions, primary Pt emitted 1.35E+04 kg CO2-eq./kg, while recycled Pt emitted 6.94E+02 kg CO2-eq./kg, resulting in an environmental reduction effect of approximately 95%. In conclusion, recycling Pt, compared to primary extraction, offers substantial environmental and resource reduction benefits. This study underscores the significance of recycling and highlights the potential environmental improvements achievable through sustainable practices.

The combination of e-commerce and the green economy allows enterprises to distribute their green products directly to consumers through Internet channels. This paper investigates the impact of service spillovers on emission reduction and channel decisions in a two-echelon supply chain,in which the supplier is a Stackelberg leader and the retailer is a follower.By comparing the equilibrium outcomes of the single-channel and dual-channel supply chain in a setting with and without retail services, we observe that the supplier prefers to encroach on the market when services that retail locations provide largely spillover to and benefit the direct sales channel. Contrary to popular belief, a higher degree of service spillovers is beneficial for the retailer to get more returns under the dual-channel structure, whereas supplier encroachment will lead to a decline in the service level if the spillover degree is relatively low. In addition, the emission reduction level of products under supplier encroachment is always higher than that employed in the single-channel structure if consumers have both low-carbon preference and high degree of service sensitivity. Furthermore, we extend the equilibrium decisions under a carbon cap-and-trade (CCT) mechanism; the results fully verify the above conclusions. Interestingly, the implementation of a carbon price not only motivates carbon emission abatement and supplier encroachment, but also helps achieve a win-win outcome for supply chain members when service spillovers happen.

The weight loss process variables of alkali-treated micropolyester woven fabric were optimized and reported in this study. The grey relational analysis (GRA) with the help of the Taguchi technique was efficiently used to optimize the key variables of this process. The caustic soda concentration, treatment temperature, and weight loss machine speed were considered the control or design parameters. The weight reduction percentage, air permeability, tensile strength, and thermal resistance of alkali-treated woven polyester fabrics were also considered as responses in this study. The experiments were implemented according to a 33 full factorial design. The levels of the control parameters which yield the maximum weight reduction, tensile strength, air permeability, and minimum thermal resistance of the treated polyester fabrics were found to be NaOH concentration and treatment temperature with the highest levels, and machine speed with the lowest level. This means that a 27% caustic soda concentration, treatment temperature of 125 OC, and machine speed of 40 m/min exhibited the optimum properties of the treated micropolytester fabrics. It is also proved that the treatment temperature is the most influential factor affecting the micropolyester fabric’s properties. The confirmation test which was carried out in this study confirmed that the GRA improved the alkali-treated polyester fabric properties.

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.

Symmetry concepts in parametrized dynamical systems may reduce the number of external parameters by a suitable normalization prescription. If, under the action of a symmetry group G, parameter space A becomes a (locally) trivial principal bundle, A ~ A/G x G, then the normalized dynamics only depends on the quotient A/G. In this way, the dynamics of fractional variables in homogeneous epidemic SI(R)S models, with standard incidence, absence of R-susceptibility and compartment independent birth and death rates, turns out to be isomorphic to (a marginally extended version of) Hethcote's classic endemic model, first presented in 1973. The paper studies a 10-parameter master model with constant and I -linear vaccination rates, vertical transmission and a vaccination rate for susceptible newborns. As recently shown by the author, all demographic parameters are redundant. After adjusting time scale, the remaining 5-parameter model admits a 3-dimensional abelian scaling symmetry. By normalization we end up with Hethcote's extended 2-parameter model. Thus, in view of symmetry concepts, reproving theorems on endemic bifurcation and stability in such models becomes needless.

The effects of global warming combined with the progressive expansion of urbanization have considerably increased exposure to urban flooding and runoff widespread erosion risk, also causing shallow landslides and mud flows, respectively in urbanized areas of lowland and hill/foothill environments. Increasing urban flooding resilience has become a priority at virtually all levels of governance. The analysis of a different hazard scenarios, in which various hydro-meteorological conditions and management alternatives are examined, should act as the basis for the effective design and evaluation of interventions to improve urban flooding resilience. Turin Metropolitan Area (TMA), located in north-western Italy, represents a unique case due to its complex orography, with a mountainous sector in the west side and a flat or hilly part in the east side. During the warm season, these environmental conditions make the urban area prone to severe atmospheric convection causing frequent hailstorms and rainstorms of high intensity that may impact on urban infrastructures (i.e., drainage system and road network), thus requiring an adequate management as a key factor to reducing risk and losses. The urban areas of TMA are monitored by polarimetric Doppler weather radars and by a dense rain gauges network. Analyzing several case studies of urban flooding, this research work assesses the feasibility of a meteorological radar early warning system based on the identification of rainfall thresholds that characterize urban flooding, occurring in the lowlands, and the runoff erosion phenomena affecting the urbanized hills and foothills.

The battery energy storage systems (BESS) are most promising solution for increasing efficiency and flexibility of distribution networks (DNs) with significant penetration level of photovoltaic (PV) systems. There are various issues related to the optimal operation of DNs with integrated PV sys-tems and BESS that need to be addressed to maximize DN performance. This paper deals with the day-ahead optimal active-reactive power dispatching in unbalanced DNs with integrated sin-gle-phase PV generation and BESSs. The objectives are the minimization of cost for electricity, en-ergy losses in the DN and voltage unbalance at three-phase load buses by optimal managing of active and reactive power flows. To solve this highly constrained nonlinear optimization problem, a hybrid particle swarm optimization with sigmoid-based acceleration coefficients (PSOS) and cha-otic gravitational search algorithm (CGSA), called PSOS-CGSA algorithm, is proposed. A scenario based approach encompassing the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method with the simultaneous backward reduction algorithm is used for the probabilistic assessment of the uncertainty of PV generation and power of loads. The effectiveness of the proposed procedure is evaluated through the series test cases in a modified IEEE 13-bus feeder.

The prospects of processing blast furnace and steelmaking sludge using Waelz process in a laboratory rotary kiln is shown. The influence of varying thermal treatment modes, furnace atmosphere and type of reducing agents on the level of zinc reduction from sludges was analyzed. In general, the blast furnace sludge contains a high portion of iron (approx.48 wt. %) and can be reused as a charge after satisfactory zinc reduction. It was found that N- atmosphere and high content of the graphite or coke oven reducing agent in combination with high temperature can reduce the content of Zn in the sludge to 0.08 wt. % at 1200 °C for mixture of steelmaking and blast furnace sludge. A significant reduction in the Zn content to 0.66 wt. % occurs at 1100 °C. The content and type of reducing agent play an important role; graphite has shown a better reducing ability compared to coke oven dust. When nitrogen is used, zinc is reduced even without an additional reducing agent, since the carbon contained in the sludge is made use of for the reduction. In an air atmosphere, without the use of a reducing agent, there was no reduction in the Zn content.

A winemaking waste was used as a precursor of activated carbon used in hazardous Cr(VI) removal from solutions. The preparation process consisted of a hydrothermal process, and a chemical activation, of the resulting product, with KOH. The adsorption results showed that the adsorption of Cr(VI) on the obtained activated carbon is strongly dependent on the stirring speed applied to the carbon/solution mixture, pH of the solution, and temperature. The equilibrium isotherm was well fitted to the Langmuir type-II equation, whereas the kinetic can be described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic studies revealed that Cr(VI) adsorption was an exothermic and spontaneous process. Finally, desorption experiments showed that Cr(VI) was effectively desorbed using hydrazine sulfate solutions, and at the same time, the element was reduced to the less hazardous Cr(III) oxidation state.

This paper presents a multifunctional reflective digital metasurface of arbitrary base based on voltage tunable liquid crystal (LC). The reflective digital metamaterial can be multiplexed for different desirable functions by properly biasing the LC for different code patterns. Simulation results of three significant functions, beam steering with a steering elevation angle 27° at 75 GHz, RCS reduction of at least 15dB along the incident direction, and beam shaping with different beam shapes have been presented to prove the concept.

A review of influence of drag-reducing agents on curved pipe flows is presented in this work. In addition, this review outlined proposed mechanism, friction factor and fluid flux models for drag-reducing agents in curved pipe flows. Our finding reveals that drag reduction by additives in curved pipes is quite significant but generally lower than the corresponding drag reduction in straight pipes. It decreases with increase in curvature ratio and more pronounced in the transition and turbulent flow regimes. Drag reduction strongly depends on the polymers and surfactants’ concentrations as well as the bubble fraction of micro-bubbles. It is also reported that drag reduction in curved pipes depends on temperature and existence of dissolved salts in the fluids. Maximum drag reduction asymptote differed between straight and curved pipes and between polymer and surfactant. No definite conclusion could be drawn as regards drag reduction for two-phase flow in curved pipes due to the limited studies in this area. Many questions such as the mechanism of drag reduction in curved pipes and how drag-reducing agents interact with secondary flows still remained unanswered. Hence, some research gaps have been identified with recommendations for areas of future researches.

Objective: This study investigated the effect of the hierarchical medical system under the national health insurance program on resident’s healthcare-seeking behavior in Taiwan. Background: Healthcare authorities in Taiwan initiated the allowance reduction of outpatient visits at regional hospitals and higher hierarchical hospitals from 2018. The ultimate goal is to implement a hierarchical medical system and provide the residents accessible as well as consistent medical services. Methods: This research was conducted through the questionnaire survey method and data were collected between August and December 2018 from the records of subjects who had recently sought medical attention. A total of 1,340 valid questionnaires were returned. Results: Regarding the effect on healthcare-seeking behavior, the following factors were significant: being aged between 40 to 49 (p＜.1), subjects with an educational background of junior high school (p＜.05), those who were not aware of the policy (p＜.001), and an awareness about both the hierarchical medical system and the policy to reduce outpatient visits to large hospitals (p＜.001). Conclusion: The public should be made aware about the hierarchical medical system to improve healthcare.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in biological processes and offer hope for the development of effective treatments for ROS-dependent diseases, including cancer. The interaction of hydrogen peroxide with proteins stimulates the creation of chemical molecules that can weaken or stop the pathological process in cancer. However, reliable drugs have not yet been described. To understand the reason for the failure, we studied the behavior of ROS-containing compounds in cancer cells. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is activated by interaction with a ligand protein, as well as by binding the chemical structure of hydrogen peroxide to the catalytic cysteine in the intracellular domain. Both mechanisms trigger signaling pathways in cells. The EGFR can be inactivated by protein tyrosinase phosphatase PTP-1B, which itself is activated by hydrogen peroxide. A simple in-gel fluorescence technique was used to demonstrate the rapid binding of hydrogen peroxide to a large number of proteins, including both activating and inactivating target proteins. Natural defense systems take longer to action and apparently cannot prevent hydrogen peroxide from binding to protect cells from exposure to unwanted proteins. Therefore, superoxide dismutase, which produces hydrogen peroxide, is not a suitable target for disease therapy.

Chemo-resistance is a substantial challenge in the realm of cancer treatment that requires exploring new therapeutic approaches for effective mitigation. Achieving this goal requires examination of the molecular mechanisms involved in both tumor growth and therapeutic interventions. The potential of NRF2 (Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2) in addressing resistance to chemotherapy across diverse cancer types highlights its value as a promising therapeutic approach based on cancer characteristics. Manipulating the NRF2 signaling pathway has a dual impact, offering promise for both preventing and treating cancer, as well as inhibiting carcinogenesis. The influence of the NRF2/KEAP1 pathway on the progression of tumor formation and resistance to drugs has been well-documented. The interplay between the NRF2 signaling pathway and processes such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, unfolded protein response (UPR), and autophagy plays a crucial protective role. A deeper understanding of NRF2's role in the modulating these pathways is necessary to develop novel approaches for improving chemotherapeutic efficacy. This article discusses the significance of the NRF2-KEAP1 pathway in preventing/promoting cancer and resistance mechanisms to various chemotherapeutic agents, with a focus on the complementary effects of antioxidants via NRF2-mediated signaling pathways. This study aims to provide a molecular basis for targeting NRF2 via inhibitors/activators as promising therapeutic strategies to overcome chemo-resistance.

Upcycling recycled carbon fibers recovered from waste carbon composites can reduce the price of carbon fibers while improving disposal-related environmental problems. This study assessed and characterized recycled carbon fibers subjected to sizing treatment using N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APS) chemically coordinated with polyamide 6 (PA6) and polypropylene (PP) resins. Sizing treatment with 1 wt.% APS for 10 s yielded O=C-O on the surface of the carbon fiber, and the -SiOH in the APS underwent a dehydration-condensation reaction that converted O=C-O (lactone groups) into bonds of C-O (hydroxyl groups) and C=O (carbonyl groups). The effects of C-O and C=O on the interfacial bonding force increased to a maximum, resulting in an oxygen-to-carbon ratio (O/C) of 0.26. The polar/surface energy ratio showed the highest value of 32.29% at 10 s, and the interfacial bonding force showed the maximum value of 32 MPa at 10 s, which is about 15% better than that of commercial carbon fiber (PA6-based condition). In 10-s resizing treatments with 0.5 wt.% 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS), C-O, C=O, and O=C-O underwent a dehydration-condensation reaction with -SiOH, which broke the bonds between carbon and oxygen and introduced a methacrylate group (H2C=C(CH3)CO2H), resulting in a significant increase in C-O and C=O, with an O/C of 0.51. The polar/surface free energy ratio was about 38% at 10 s, with the interfacial bonding force increasing to 27% compared to commercial carbon fiber (PP-based conditions). The MPS exhibited a superior interfacial shear strength improvement, two times higher than that of APS, with excellent coordination with PP resin and commercial carbon fiber, although the interfacial bonding strength of the PP resin was significantly lower.

CO2 is widely used in the prevention and control of coal spontaneous combustion. In this manuscript, three low-rank coals with different metamorphic degrees were selected as the research objects. The temperature-programmed experiments, in-situ infrared cooling experiments, simulation of competitive adsorption of CO2 and O2 in coal pores, and simulation study of CO2 inhibition of coal oxygen composite reaction were used to obtain the role and effect of CO2 in preventing oxygen adsorption in coal at low-temperature oxidation stage. It is concluded that CO2 can displace the O2 near the pore wall to physically prevent the adsorption of O2. Through the change law of heating rate and kinetic analysis, it is found that CO2 can increase its activation energy by 5.3%-108.3% during the slow heating stage of coal, and reduce its heating rate. At around 120°C, coal loses the protective effect of CO2. From the changes of functional groups, it can be seen that when coal is cooled in CO2 atmosphere, mainly pyrolysis and condensation reactions occur due to the lack of O2. In addition, CO2 can also inhibit the chain reaction of coal's chemical adsorption of oxygen. This work provides a theoretical basis for CO2 prevention and control of coal spontaneous combustion.

We aimed to provide a comprehensive assessment of exercise physiology of adult Fontan patients (FP) and factors limiting functional capacity (FC). A prospective single-centre study of 37 FP aged ≥16years and 19 healthy-controls (HC), who underwent CPET on cycle-ergometer in February-March 2022. Lung function was impaired in FP, mostly mild restrictive pattern (56.8%). Mean peakVO2 was 21±5.4ml/kg/min, 55% predicted. Morphologically left-single ventricle showed higher peakVO2%predicted (57.4±14.4% vs 43.4±8.1%, p=0.045). A lower peakVO2%predicted was observed in patients with an early flattened and/or descending O2 pulse at maximal exertion (52±14% vs 62±12.5, p=0.04 and 47.6±9% vs 60±14 respectively, p=0.018) and chronotropic insufficiency (53±12% vs 69.8±20%, p=0.008). Strong positive correlation was observed between %OUES and peakVO2%predicted (r=0.726, p>0.001). PeakVO2%predicted was progressively higher as the level of physical activity increased (low-level 49.5±14%, moderate-level 55±12%, intense-level 69±20%). FP showed lower inspiratory muscle strength compared to HC but it was no statistically associated with either peakVO2 or VE/VCO2 slope. In FP OUES is a useful submaximal parameter in those who fail to reach maximal exertion. Chronotropic insufficiency and early flattened or descending oxygen pulse slope were factors associated with low peakVO2. Regular intense physical activity improves FC. Although FP have inspiratory muscle weakness, its impact on FC is unclear.

Genetic, developmental, biochemical, and environmental variables interact intricately to produce sex differences. The significance of sex differences in cancer susceptibility is being clarified by numerous studies. Epidemiological research and cancer registries have revealed over the past few years that there are definite sex variations in cancer incidence, progression, and survival. However, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction also have a significant impact on the response to treatment of neoplastic diseases. Young women may be more protected from cancer than men because most of the proteins implicated in the regulation of redox state and mitochondrial function are under the control of sexual hormones. In this review, we describe how sexual hormones control the activity of antioxidant enzymes and mitochondria, as well as how they affect several neoplastic diseases. The molecular pathways that underlie the gender-related discrepancies in cancer that have been identified may be better understood, which may lead to more effective precision medicine and vital information on treatment options for both males and females with neoplastic illnesses.

Background: The hypothesis is that a hypoxic-hyperoxic preconditioning (HHP) is associated with a protective effect on myocardial function by reducing endothelial damage and a beneficial effect on postoperative outcome in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Methods: Patients (n=120) were randomly assigned to an HHP and a control group. A safe inhaled oxygen fraction for the hypoxic preconditioning phase (10-14% oxygen for 10 minutes) was determined by measuring the anaerobic threshold. At hyperoxic phase, 75-80% oxygen fraction was used during 30 minutes. Results: The cumulative frequency of postoperative complications was 14 (23.3%) in the HHP vs 23 (41.1%), p=0.041. The nitrate decreased after surgery by up to 20% in the HHP group and up to 38% in the control group. Endothelin-1 and nitric oxide metabolites were stable in HHP but remained low more than 24 h in control group. The endothelial damage markers appeared to be predictors of postoperative complications. Conclusion: The HHP with individual parameters based on the anaerobic threshold is a safe procedure, it can reduce the frequency of postoperative complications. The endothelial damage markers appeared to be predictors of postoperative complications.

The study reports about a case of a lung cancer patient with increasing difficulties in falling asleep and frequent periods of wakefulness. Severe dyspnea related to pneumonitis caused as a side effect of immunotherapy worsened the situation. Eventually, fear of falling asleep developed, including panic attacks and anxiety of choking, which was shown to lead to nights of complete wakefulness. The patient did not only sleep poorly; he did not sleep at all at night for several days, as evidenced by the notes he made during the night. Polygraphy showed no evidence of sleep-disordered breathing, but frequent periods of wakefulness and reduced basal saturation around 90% during sleep due to lung changes such as extensive functional failure of the left upper lobe with position-dependent shunts. The authors hypothesized that the symptoms described were causally related to a drop in oxygen saturation in the patient's blood. Therefore, they pursued the goal of finding a measurement technique that is as inexpensive as possible and that the patient can operate without outside assistance and great effort. So the patient started using a low-cost wearable device that allows simultaneous measurements of blood oxygen content, pulse rate and movement intensity. It consists of a finger ring with pulse oximetry sensor and a wristband with the control unit containing a vibration motor. The described device reliably warned of disturbances in oxygen concentration in the blood during the night with its vibration alarm. By use of that device during the whole night at home, the events of reduced oxygen saturation and the anxiety symptoms were reduced. Sleep disturbances with sudden awakenings did not occur when using the device. The patient benefited from the security gained in this way and slept much more peacefully, and he could spend nights without waking up again. In conclusion, wearable oximeters with vibration alarm can be recommended for patients’ home care in lung cancer patients.