Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) is an emerging wide bandgap semiconductor promising a wide range of important applications. However, mass production of high-quality crystalline Ga2O3 still suffers from limitations associated with poor reproducibility and low efficiency. Low-temperature grown amorphous Ga2O3 demonstrates comparable performance with its crystalline counterparts. Lanthanide Er3+-doped Ga2O3 (Ga2O3: Er) possesses great potential for developing light-emitting devices, photodetectors and optical waveguides. The host circumstance can exert a crystal field around the lanthanide dopants and strongly influence their photoluminescence properties. Here we present a systematical study of the impact of amorphous-to-crystalline transition on the upconversion photoluminescence in Ga2O3: Er thin films. Through controlling the growth temperature of Ga2O3: Er films, the upconversion luminescence of as-grown thin films are strongly enhanced over 100 times. Moreover, the variation of photoluminescence reflects the amorphous-to-crystalline transformation of the Ga2O3: Er thin films. These results will aid further design of favorable optoelectronic devices integrated with lanthanide-doped Ga2O3 thin films.

Electrospun ultrathin fibers based on binary compositions of polylactide (PLA) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with different ratios of polymer components from 0/100 to 100/0 wt. % were studied. Using a combination of thermal (DSC) and relaxation (EPR) measurements, the effect of biopolymers content on the characteristics of the crystal structure of PLA and PCL and the diffusive rotational mobility of the stable TEMPO radical in the amorphous regions of PLA/PCL compositions was shown. It was revealed that after PLA and PCL blending, significant changes in the degree of crystallinity of PLA, PCL segmental mobility, sorption capacity of the radical as well as activation energy of rotational diffusion in the amorphous regions of PLA/PCL composition are observed. The characteristic region of biopolymers’ composition from 50/50 to 30/70 % PLA/PCL blends ratio was found, where the inversion transition of PLA from dispersive medium to dispersive phase where an inversion transition is assumed when the continuous medium of the PLA transforms into a discrete phase. The performed studies made it possible for the first time to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the effect of the system component ratio on the structural and dynamic characteristics of the PLA/PCL film material at the molecular level.

Together with display and input, storage and processing are requisite to computing. While storage technologies have improved tremendously in capacity and speed over the years, the basic principles enabling information storage into digital 1 and 0 remains the same: induction of phase change in the storage substrate. But recently, there has been much research into structural phase change material (SPCM) and exploration of its possible use in various types of memory storage applications. Despite unconventional use of structural change between amorphous and crystalline state as well as that between crystal structures for encoding information, key barriers for its widespread use remains access speed, capacity to cost ratio, and fidelity of storage. Hence, given the performance requirement of SPCM for memory applications, what are the material and design considerations that feed into translating a promising application into a practical reality? Given the important role of kinetic and thermal energy in structural organization of a phase change material, precise characterization of structural change in the material with external physical factors such as heat, voltage and current, is critical for storage material design. Next comes the precision at which individual memory cells for storing single bits of information could be defined reproducibly and at high fidelity using SPCM. In congruent with memory cell definition lies the equally important aspect of constraining the field characteristics used in modulating the phase state of the memory medium. Specifically, while heat is useful for mediating the “melting” of a crystalline material into its amorphous state, heat conduction is less useful for transferring the “switch command” from the effector to the memory material. More importantly, choice of structural phase change material for memory applications likely revolves around those where individual memory cells could be defined in a cross array format, which is amenable to high density information storage. Durability and fidelity of information storage are additional factors of design that favours selection of SPCM with phase change occurring at narrow operating windows without hysteresis over extended cycling. But, the most important requirement is speed of access. To this end, energetic cost of phase transitions might affect operation of the phase change memory at the system level: for example, usage of large current for high energy transition step may impact on device durability. Ultimately, there is a fundamental limit on the number of reproducible phase transitions in a SPCM before fidelity of information storage is no longer guaranteed. Hence, what are the drivers for uptake of phase change memories in consumer devices? Performance gains must be realized in access speed, storage capacity, form factor, and fidelity of information storage for practical application of structural phase change memories.

A two-layer Fe-Cr-Al-Zr surface alloy was synthesized on a zirconium substrate by magnetron sputtering and subsequent low-energy high-current electron-beam (LEHCEB) processing. Thicknesses of the top Fe69Cr20Al11 (at.%) relatively large-grained (~1 µm) and transition Fe-Zr Cr-Al amorphous layers were about 0.7 and 0.6 µm, respectively. In turn, the amorphous layer consisted of two Fe64–54Zr8–22Cr21–17Al8–7 and Fe40–16Zr42–78Cr12–4Al6–2 (at.%) sublayers, differing in both zirconium and iron concentrations in wide ranges, which were separated by another nanocrystalline interlayer. The Fe-Cr-Al-Zr surface alloy serve as a diffusion barrier, preventing interaction of the zirconium substrate with oxygen from an environment. It was thermally stable up to ≈1173 K.

Indonesia is an interesting case study for students of sustainable development and sustainable energy due to its ability to connect the multiple “worlds” it has become part of. Indonesia is an important bridge to Muslim countries, the voice of the Global South in the G20 and a main pillar of the 134-country-strong G77. Indonesia’s development trajectory is also key to the achievement of the Paris Climate Agreement as well as of the 2030 Agenda. Students can learn from how Indo-nesia address contradictions that would have been unsurmountable for other countries. Indone-sia’s energy transition offers helpful lessons, because of its aspiration to become a developed country by 2045. This goal is only possible when a country is able to effectively address barriers and caveats to sustainable energy. It is interesting how Indonesia focuses on silver linings and come up with pragmatic solutions to energy-related issues. This is followed by the “teaching guide,” which provides recommendations how the lessons from Indonesia can be embedded into a learning experience. The “learning activation approach” is introduced, which encourages stu-dents to systematically reflect on the complexity of selected contexts and understand this com-plexity by looking at the technical issues and processes that allow decision-making.

Canine mammary tumors represent one of the leading malignant pathology in female dogs, displaying the importance of efficient therapeutic findings, beside the golden standard surgery, able to limit the development of the disease. Studies in human cancers demonstrated that Doxorubicin presents a good effect in different biological processes like apoptosis, autophagy, cell cycle, cell invasion and epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Our study following the effects of Doxorubicin on two canine mammary cancer cell lines P114 and CMT-U27, showing an inhibitory effect in cell proliferation and an expression alteration of the EMT related genes.

Energy transition is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. All micro, small, medium and large enterprises in operation will have to face it, and some can al-ready boast the first successes in this regard. This paper focuses on the involvement of these smallest players in energy transition. Micro and small entities are the largest part of the economy, having a great influence on its development. Looking at the wide scale of their activities, these entities are distinguished by a specific owner-manager relationship. This means that the final decision-making is influenced by business goals, but also by the manager's approach, their awareness of changes, and personal and other factors. Based on a structured and standardized survey questionnaire, the research was carried out using the Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing technique between April and May 2022 among owners of micro and small enterprises operating in Poland. The survey showed that active engagement of micro and small enterprises in energy efficiency initiatives is related to their market success and financial health.

The aim of this article is to review hydrogen combustion applications within the energy transition framework. Hydrogen blends are also included, from the well known hydrogen enriched natural gas (HENG) to the hydrogen and ammonia blends whose chemical kinetics is still not clearly defined. Hydrogen and hydrogen blends combustion characteristics will be firstly summarized, in terms of standard properties like the laminar flame speed and the adiabatic flame temperature, but also evidencing the critical role of hydrogen preferential diffusion in burning rate enhancement and the drastic reduction in radiative emission with respect to natural gas flames. Then, combustion applications in both thermo-electric power generation (based on internal combustion engines, i.e., gas turbines and piston engines) and hard-to-abate industry (requiring high temperature kilns and furnaces) sectors will be considered, highlighting the main issues due to hydrogen addition related to safety, pollutant emissions, and potentially negative effects on industrial products (e.g., glass, cement and ceramic).

The energy sector plays an important role in Mexico’s development trajectory. Mexico makes an interesting case study, because it shows how difficult it is to reduce fossil energy dependence despite geographic and climatic conditions that favour renewable energy deployment and use. Resolving path dependencies and the related carbon lock-in are key to Mexico’s sustainable energy transition. This case study aims to identify and discuss how carbon lock-in affects Mexico’s sustainable energy transition. Mexico’s carbon lock-in involves oil and oil-run power plants that are costly to build but relatively inexpensive to operate. This case study identifies potential entry points for transitioning towards sustainable energy in Mexico – resources that can promote the use of clean energy despite carbon lock-in. For example, focusing on electrification – particularly of the carbon-intensive sectors – can help Mexico transit towards sustainable energy despite institutional constraints. Complementing this case study is a teaching guide with recommendations for using Mexico’s energy transition in courses on sustainability. It introduces a “learning activation framework” to identify emerging opportunities that can advance sustainable energy transitions in different cases of carbon lock-in. Finally, the framework also gives students a chance to help dismantle or cope with carbon lock-ins.

This paper offers a set of comprehensive guidelines aimed at facilitating the widespread adoption of hydrogen in the industrial hard-to-abate sectors. The authors begin by conducting a detailed analysis of these sectors, providing an overview of their unique characteristics and challenges. The paper delves into specific elements related to hydrogen technologies, shedding light on their potential applications and discussing feasible implementation strategies. By exploring the strengths and limitations of each technology, the paper offers valuable insights into its suitability for specific applications. Finally, through a particular analysis focused on the steel sector, the authors provide in-depth information on the potential benefits and challenges associated with hydrogen adoption in this particular context. By emphasizing the steel sector as a focal point, the authors contribute to a more nuanced understanding of hydrogen's role in decarbonizing industrial processes and inspire further exploration of its applications in other challenging sectors.

Background: Smart transport plays a crucial role in urban planning and the transition from traditional to smart cities in developing countries with sustainability requirements.Traditional cities in developing countries often suffer from traffic congestion,air pollution, and inadequate public transportation systems,which can impede economic growth and negatively impact the quality of life for residents. Smart transport solutions can address these challenges by providing more efficient, sustainable.Here is a possible business model for an ITS system in a high-potential city in Iran,Based on IoT analysis, Mashhad city in Iran selected as a high-potential city to be changed to a smart city in the transportation sector.In the localization business model,the Uber smart transportation business model as a successful world experience is considered the base model. Methods: Based on the literature review,various criteria and sub-criteria were identified and determined in designing a new localized transportation business model.A questionnaire was prepared and filled with the help of 11 experts,method IAHP technique; Results:The present study showed the possibility of monthly payments for customers,software development, and the addition of luxury cars are among the most important sub-criteria with high weights;Conclusions: Working with transport companies,schools and universities as key partners solves reaching a strong and sustainable smart transportation system.

The nitrogen-doped amorphous oxide semiconductor (AOS) thin film transistors (TFTs) with double-stacked channel layers (DSCL) were prepared and characterized. The DSCL structure composed of nitrogen-doped amorphous InGaZnO and InZnO films (a-IGZO:N/a-IZO:N or a-IZO:N/a-IGZO:N) made the corresponding TFT devices exhibit quite large field-effect mobility due to the existence of double conduction channels. Especially, the a-IZO:N/a-IGZO:N TFTs showed even better electrical performance (μ_FE = 15.0 cm²·V^-1·s^-1, SS = 0.5 V/dec, V_TH = 1.5 V, I_ON/I_OFF = 1.1×10⁸) and stability (V_TH shift of 1.5, -0.5, and -2.5 V for positive bias-stress, negative bias-stress and thermal stress tests, respectively) than the a-IGZO:N/a-IZO:N TFTs. Based on the X-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements and energy band analysis, it was assumed that the optimized interface trap states, the less ambient gas adsorption, and the better suppression of oxygen vacancies in the a-IZO:N/a-IGZO:N hetero-structures might be responsible for the better behaviors of the corresponding TFTs.

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) are vascular anomalies resulting in abnormal connection between pulmonary arteries and veins. In 80% of cases, PAVMs are present from birth, but clinical manifestations are rarely seen in childhood. These congenital malformations are typically associated with Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), a rare disease that affects 1 in 5,000/8,000 individuals. HHT disease is frequently caused by mutations in genes involved in the TGF-β pathway. However, approximately 15% of patients do not have a genetic diagnosis and, among the genetically diagnosed, more than 33% do not meet the Curaçao Criteria. This makes clinical diagnosis even more challenging in the pediatric age group. Here, we introduce an 8 years old patient bearing a severe phenotype of multiple diffuse PAVMs caused by an unknown mutation which ended in lung transplantation. Phenotypically, the case of study follows a molecular pattern HHT-like. Therefore, molecular biology and cellular functional analysis has been performed in primary endothelial cells (ECs) isolated from the explanted lung. The findings revealed a loss of functionality in lung endothelial tissue and a stimulation of endothelial to mesenchymal transition. Understanding the molecular basis of this transition could potentially offer new therapeutic strategies to delay lung transplantation in severe cases.

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a role in chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) can inhibit transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) mediated EMT. Although compartmentalization via A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs) is central to cAMP signaling, functional studies on their therapeutic value in the lung EMT process are lacking. Bronchial epithelial (BEAS-2B, primary HAE cells) were exposed to TGF-β1. Epithelial (E-cadherin, ZO-1) and mesenchymal markers collagen Ӏ (mRNA, protein) were analyzed. St-Ht31 disrupted AKAP-PKA interactions. TGF-β1 release was measured by ELISA. TGF-β1-sensitive AKAPs Ezrin, AKAP95 and Yotiao were silenced using siRNA. Cell migration was analyzed by wound healing assay, xCELLigence, Incucyte. Prior to TGF-β1, dibutyryl-cAMP (dbcAMP), fenoterol, rolipram, cilostamide, forskolin were used to elevate intracellular cAMP. TGF-β1 induced morphological changes, decreased E-cadherin but increased collagen Ӏ and cell migration, a process reversed by PF-670462. TGF-β1 altered (mRNA, protein) expression of Ezrin, AKAP95 and Yotiao. St-Ht31 decreased E-cadherin (mRNA, protein), but counteracted TGF-β1-induced collagen Ӏ upregulation. Cigarette smoke (CS) increased TGF-β1 release, activated TGF signaling, augmented cell migration and reduced E-cadherin expression, a process blocked by TGF-β1 neutralizing antibody. Silencing of Ezrin, AKAP95 and Yotiao diminished TGF-β1-induced collagen Ӏ expression, as well as TGF-β1-induced cell migration. Fenoterol, rolipram, and cilostamide, in AKAP silenced cells pointed to distinct cAMP compartments. We conclude that Ezrin, AKAP95 and Yotiao promote TGF-β1-mediated EMT, linked to a TGF-β1 release by CS. AKAP members define the ability of fenoterol, rolipram and cilostamide to modulate the EMT process, and are potential relevant targets in the treatment of COPD.

To better understand the shape memory materials and self-healing materials, a new series of liquid-crystalline shape memory polyurethane (LC-SMPU) composites, named SMPU-OOBAm, were successfully prepared by incorporating 4-octyldecyloxybenzoic acid (OOBA) into the PEG-based SMPU. The effect of OOBA on the structure, morphology and properties has been carefully investigated. The results demonstrate that SMPU-OOBAm have liquid crystalline properties, triple-shape memory properties and self-healing properties. The incorporated OOBA promotes the crystallizability of both soft and hard segments of SMPU, and the crystallization rate of the hard segment of SMPU decreases when the OOBA-content increases. Additionally, the SMPU-OOBAm forms a two-phase separated structure (SMPU phase and OOBA phase), and it shows two-step modulus changes upon heating. Therefore, the SMPU-OOBAm shows triple-shape memory behavior, and the shape recovery ratio decreases with an increase in the OOBA content. Finally, SMPU-OOBAm shows self-healing properties. The new mechanism can be ascribed to the heating-induced “bleeding” of OOBA in the liquid crystalline state and the subsequent re-crystallization upon cooling. This successful combination of liquid crystalline properties, triple-shape memory properties and self-healing properties make the SMPU-OOBAm composites with many promise applications in smart optical devices, smart electronic devices and smart sensors.

Chronic rhinosinusitis is a common inflammatory disease of paranasal sinuses, which causes rhinorrhea, nasal congestion and hyposmia. The genetic predisposition or the exposure to irritants can sustain the inflammatory response and the development of nasal polyposis. Nasal polyps are benign and teardrop-shaped growths that project in the nasal cavities and originate from the ethmoid sinuses. This inflammatory process is associated with high expression of IL-5 cytokine and infiltration of eosinophils. Humanized monoclonal antibodies targeting IL-5 or its receptor, represent a therapeutic strategy in the treatment of nasal polyposis in combination with corticosteroids. The molecular pathogenesis of nasal polyps in CRS patients is associated to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process in which epithelial cells lose their typical phenotype acquiring a mesenchymal phenotype. TGFβ/SMAD, ERK, and Wnt/β-catenin pathways are altered in EMT during the nasal tissue remodeling. miRNA and inhibitor molecules targeting these altered signaling pathways are able to interfere with EMT; which could lead to alternative therapies. Nasal polyps are an alternative source of mesenchymal stem cells which can be easily isolated from surgical biopsies. A molecular understanding of the biology of PO-MSCs will contribute to delineating inflammatory process underlying the development of nasal polyps.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains the most lethal gynecologic malignancy, largely due to metastasis and drug resistant recurrences. Fifteen percent of ovarian tumors carry mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, rendering them vulnerable to treatment with PARP inhibitors such as olaparib. Recent studies have shown that TGFβ can induce “BRCAness” in BRCA wild-type cancer cells. Given that TGFβ is a known driver of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the con-nection between EMT and metastatic spread in EOC and other cancers, we asked if TGFβ and EMT alter susceptibility of EOC to PARP inhibition. Epithelial EOC cells were transiently treated with soluble TGFβ and their clonogenic potential, expression and function of EMT and DNA repair genes, and response to PARP inhibitors compared with untreated controls. A second epithelial cell line was compared to its mesenchymal derivative for EMT and DNA repair gene expression and drug responses. We found that TGFβ and EMT resulted in downregulation of genes responsible for homologous recombination (HR) and sensitized cells to olaparib. HR efficiency was reduced in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, mesenchymal cells displayed sensitivity to olaparib, cis-platin, and the DNA-PK inhibitor Nu-7441. Therefore, treatment of disseminated, mesenchymal tumors may represent an opportunity to expand clinical utility of PARP inhibitors and similar agents.

Transitions from seed to seedling represent a critical developmental step in the life cycle of higher plants, dramatically affecting plant ontogenesis and stress tolerance. The release from dormancy to acquiring the germination ability is defined by a balance of phytohormones, with a substantial contribution of abscisic acid (ABA), which inhibits germination. We studied the embryonic axes of Pisum sativum L. before and after radicle protrusion. Our previous work compared RNA sequencing-based transcriptomics in the embryonic axes isolated before and after radicle protrusion. The current study aims to analyze ABA-dependent gene regulation during the transition of embryonic axes from germination to post-germination stage. First, we determined the levels of abscisates (ABA, phaseic acid, dihydrophaseic acid, and neo-phaseic acid) using the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Second, we made a detailed annotation of ABA-associated genes using RNA sequencing-based transcriptome profiling. Finally, we analyzed the DNA methylation pattern in the promoters of the PsABI3, PsABI4, and PsABI5 genes. We showed that changes in the abscisate profile are characterized by the accumulation of ABA catabolites, and the ABA-related gene profile is accompanied by the upregulation of genes controlling the seedling development and the downregulation of genes controlling the water deprivation. The expression of ABI3, ABI4 and ABI5, which encode the crucial transcription factors during late maturation, was downregulated by more than 20-fold, and their promoters exhibited a high level of methylation already at the late germination stage. Thus, although ABA remains important, other regulators seems to be involved in the transition from seed to seedling.

In the process of climate change mitigation and adaptation, the focus on climate risks driven by transition innovations has received widespread attention from governments, regulators and investors. Based on the identification of low-carbon patents through the Green and Low-carbon Technology Inventory in China, we construct low-carbon innovation measurements of listed firms in China from 2015 to 2021 then an empirical model is used to investigate the impact and mechanism of climate transition innovations on the default risk. The baseline regression model shows that low-carbon innovations can mitigate the default risk of firms. Moreover, our findings are supported by instrumental variable regressions that use time costs of innovation. In addition, the mediation effect demonstrates that investor attention, total factor productivity, and technology spillovers are paths for transition innovations to affect the default risk. This study reveals that low-carbon technological advances have a positive effect on climate transition risks. Further, it provides empirical evidence for listed companies to develop low-carbon innovations.

The current study primarily aimed to simulate detonation initiation via turbulent jet flame acceleration in partial-premixed H2-air mixtures. Different vertical concentration gradients were generated by varying the duration of hydrogen injection (referred to as diffusion time) within an enclosed channel filled with air. H2-air mixtures with average hydrogen concentrations of 22.5% (lean mixture) and 30% (near stoichiometric mixture) were investigated at diffusion times of 3, 5, and 60 seconds. Numerical results show that the vertical concentration gradient has a major influence on the early-stage of flame acceleration (FA). In the stratified lean mixture, detonation began in all the diffusion times, and comparing the flame-speed graphs showed that a decrease in the diffusion time and an increase in the mixture inhomogeneity speeded up the flame propagation and the jet flame to detonation transition occurrence in the channel. In the stratified H2-air mixture with an average hydrogen concentration of 30%, transition from a turbulent jet flame to detonation occurred in all the cases, and the mixture inhomogeneity weakened the FA and delayed the detonation initiation.

The TiO₂ nanostructures resulted by pyrolysis of TiCl₄ at low temperature of 80 ^oC are found to be a mixture of amorphous TiO₂ complexes and anatase nanostructure whose ratio depends on the pH of the pyrolysis medium. At low pH level, the resulting TiO₂ nanostructure is predominant anatase and gradually shifts to the amorphous TiO₂ complexes with pH level increasing. By means of heat treatment, the amorphous TiO₂ complexes can be converted back to the anatase nanostructure and then transform to rutile with the elevating temperature. Amongst of the TiO₂ nanostructure recovered from amorphous TiO₂ complexes, the anatase shows to be the most effective photocatalyst in decomposition of methylene blue.

We report on magnetic studies of inhomogeneous commercial and synthesized amorphous carbon (a-C) and a-C doped with sulfur (a-CS) powders which exhibit (i) peculiar magnetic behavior and (ii) traces of two superconducting (SC) phase ~ Tc=33 and at 65 K. (i) The temperature dependence of zero-field-cooled (ZFC) curves measured up to room temperature show a well distinguish elusive peaks around 50-80 K, their origin is not yet known. These peaks are totally washed-out in the second ZFC sweeps and in the FC branches as well. As a result, in the vicinity of the peaks, the FC curves lie below the ZFC peaks (FC<ZFC), a phenomenon which is rarely observed. These magnetic anomalies are intrinsic properties of a-C and a-CS materials (ii) SC was observed in three different a-C sources: (a) The commercial a-C powder contains 0.21% of sulfur and it is suggested that two different a-CS phases (at 33 and 65 K) are the origin of the two SC states observed. The compositions of these two phases are not yet unknown. The small SC volume fractions of the 33 K phase can be enhanced by a solid reaction with additional sulfur at 250 ºC. (b) The synthesized a-C powder (obtained from decomposition of sucrose) is not SC. However, when mixed with sulfur and heated at 400 ºC under a protective atmosphere, the a-CS powder obtained also show traces of a SC phase at TC= 42 K. (c)The same occurs in a-C thin films. The as-grown films are not SC but a SC phase at Tc = 34 K emerges after the films were reacted with sulfur at elevated temperatures. It is concluded therefore, that all SC phases observed are due to different unknown a-CS phases. Since the a-C and a-CS powders possess SC and magnetic states, we believe that these powders resemble the high TC curates and Fe-As based systems in which the SC and the magnetic states are closed related to each other.

Background and Objectives: Acute lung injury (ALI) is an inflammatory response in the lung caused by bacteria, viruses, trauma and other factors that results in lack of alveolar surfactant and subsequently respiratory distress. Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) is closely related to ALI-induced pulmonary fibrosis development and progression. This study examined the effect of milk fat globulin factor 8 (MFGE8) knockdown and overexpression on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced EndoMT. Methods: Total MFGE8 activity in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and healthy volunteers was assessed using a colorimetric kit. In vitro, cell morphology was observed by microscopy, and invasion and migration were tested by Transwell and scratch assays. Specific siRNAs were transfected into HLMECs to downregulate MFGE8, and CD31 and α-SMA protein expression was detected by fluorescence microscopy and FCM. MFGE8, BMP, Smad 1, Smad4, Smad5, Snail, CD31 and α-SMA protein and gene expression was assessed by western blotting (WB) and qRT‒PCR. In vivo, the changes in cell morphology and alveolar septum in the lung of mice (C57BL/6, aged 7-8 weeks, male) were observed by H&E staining. In addition, ECM deposition in lung tissue was detected by Masson staining. CD31 and α-SMA protein expression in lung tissue was measured by WB. Results: The serum level of MFGE8 was lower in the ARDS group than in the control group. MFGE8 was identified as a protective factor associated with hospital survival. In vitro, the treatment of human lung microvascular endothelial cells (HLMECs) with LPS for 96 h clearly changed the cells from the typical cobblestone shape of ECs to spindle-like fibroblasts. The scratch and Transwell assay results indicated that endothelial cell migration and invasion were enhanced in the LPS group compared with the control group. Fluorescence microscopy, FCM, WB and PCR showed that LPS greatly inhibited CD31 (endothelial marker) expression and increased α-SMA (mesenchymal marker) expression. These data showed that LPS could induce EndoMT in HLMECs. Notably, siRNA-treated HLMECs yielded the same results. The administration of rhMFGE8 to HLMECs in the LPS or LPS+siRNA group ameliorated the changes in cell morphology and decreased cell migration and invasion. rhMFGE8 attenuated the effect of LPS or LPS+siRNA on EndoMT induction by increasing CD31 and decreasing α-SMA protein and gene expression. Moreover, activation of BMP/Smad1/5-Smad4 signalling in response to LPS and Snail (related to EndoMT transcription factors) expression were increased by MFGE8 knockdown but inhibited by rhMFGE8. In vivo, H&E staining revealed a thickened alveolar septum in the LPS group, and the thickness increased over time; in contrast, rhMFGE8 reversed this effect. ECM deposition occurred early in ALI induced by LPS and increased over time, and the administration of rhMFGE8 reversed this effect. WB showed that LPS inhibited CD31 protein expression and increased α-SMA protein expression in lung tissue. Conclusions: rhMFGE8 exerts a protective effect early in LPS-induced EndoMT through BMP/Smad1/5/Smad4 signalling and could be a therapeutic target in ALI.

The study of the tribological behavior of the braking system in auto vehicles requires knowing the characteristics of the material in contact and, in the work process, for the friction pair, brake disc-pads. Materials structural analysis is necessary because the wear process depends on the friction pair chemical composition, and brake disk-pads, respectively on the work process parameters (pressing force, rotational speed, traffic conditions, etc.). The material of the brake discs is generally the same gray cast iron, but the brake pads can be semi-metallic (particles of steel, copper, brass, and graphite, all united with a special resin), organic materials (particles of rubber, glass, and kevlar all joined with the help of a resin), composite materials that contain different constituents and ceramic materials (rarely have small copper particles). Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to know the crystalline structure and the mechanical properties of the brake pad materials, through specific studies and analyses, with important implications on the friction and wear behavior.

One of the most used markers of cancer stem cells in several cancers, including colorectal cancer and breast cancer, is CD44. CD44 is a glycoprotein that traverses the cell membrane and binds to many ligands including hyaluronan resulting in activation of signaling cascades. Several reports have shown conflicting data on the expression of CD44 and that the expression depends on modes of investigations and subtypes of cancers. In addition, the correlation between CD44 expression and drug resistance, immune infiltration, EMT, metastasis and patients prognosis in several cancer types remains unclear. This study investigated CD44 expression in several cancers and explored its relationship with tumorigenesis using various publicly available databases, including The Cancer Genome Atlas, GEPIA, Oncomine, Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer and Tumor Immune Estimation Resource. Our analysis reveals that CD44 is differentially expressed in different cancers. CD44 expression is significantly associated with cancer patients’ survival in gastric, pancreatic and colorectal cancers. In addition, CD44 expression is closely linked with immune infiltration and immune suppressive features in pancreatic, colon adenocarcinoma and stomach cancer. High CD44 expression was significantly correlated with the expression of drug resistance-, EMT- and metastasis- linked genes. Tumors expressing high CD44 have higher mutation burden and afflict older patients than tumors expressing low CD44. Cell lines expressing high CD44 are more resistant to anti-cancer drugs compared to those expressing low CD44. Protein-protein interaction investigations and functional enrichment analysis showed that CD44 interacts with gene products related to cell-substrate adhesion, migration, platelet activation, and cellular response to stress. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that these genes play key roles in biological adhesion, cell component organization, locomotion, G-α-signaling and the response to stimulus. Overall, this investigation reveals that CD44 play significant roles in tumorigenesis, can be used as a prognostic biomarker in several cancers and can be therapeutically targeted in cancer therapy.

We studied the magnetostriction coefficients, λs, Curie temperature, Tc, and their dependence on annealing conditions in Fe47Ni27Si11B13C2 and Co67Fe3,9Ni1,5B11,5Si14,5Mo1,6 amorphous glass-coated microwires with rather different character of hysteresis loops. A positive λs≈20x10-6is observed in as-prepared Fe47Ni27Si11B13C2, while low and negative λs ≈-0.3x10-6 is ob-tained for Co67Fe3,9Ni1,5B11,5Si14,5Mo1,6 microwire. Annealing affects the magnetostriction coeffi-cients and Curie temperatures, Tc, of both Fe47Ni27Si11B13C2 and Co67Fe3,9Ni1,5B11,5Si14,5Mo1,6 glass-coated microwires in a similar way. Observed dependencies of hysteresis loops, λs and Tc on annealing conditions are discussed in terms of superposition of internal stresses relaxation and structural relaxation of studied microwires. We observed linear λs dependence on applied stress, σ, in both studied microwires. A decrease with applied stress is observed for Co-rich mi-crowires with negative magnetostriction coefficient. In contrast, a linear increase of the magne-tostriction coefficient with applied stress is observed for Fe-Ni- rich microwires with positive magnetostriction coefficient. Observed results are discussed in terms of influence of internal stresses and short range atomic rearrangements induced by annealing on hysteresis loops, magnetostriction coefficients and Curie temperatures of studied microwires.

The interest on amorphous carbon thin films with low secondary electron yield (SEY) has been increasing in the last years, to mitigate electron multipacting in particle accelerators and in RF devices. Previous works found that the SEY increases with the hydrogen amount and correlates with the Tauc gap. In this work, we analyse films produced by magnetron sputtering with different contents of hydrogen and deuterium, incorporated via target poisoning and sputtering of CxDy molecules. XPS was implemented to estimate the phase composition of the films. The maximal SEY was found to decrease linearly with the fraction of the graphitic phase in the films. These results are supported by Raman scattering and UPS. The graphitic phase decreases almost linearly for hydrogen and deuterium concentrations between 12% and 46% (at.), but abruptly decreases when the concentration reaches 53%. This vanishing of the graphitic phase is accompanied by a strong increase of SEY and of the Tauc gap. These results suggest that the SEY is not dictated directly by the concentration of H/D but by the fraction of graphitic phase. The results are supported by a model used to calculate SEY of films consisting of a mixture of graphitic and polymeric phases.

Co-Zr amorphous alloys exhibit soft magnetic properties, whereas Co-rich crystalline magnetic phases in this alloy system display hard magnetic behaviour. In this study, an initial two-phase Co-Zr composite with an overall composition of 75 at.% Co and 25 at.% Zr was processed by high pressure torsion (HPT) and the effects of severe plastic deformation and subsequent thermal treatment on the structural evolution and its magnetic properties have been investigated. HPT processing allowed us to achieve an amorphous microstructure in the as-deformed state with low coercivity. To further tune magnetic properties and study the alloys’ crystallization behaviour, various annealed states are investigated. Microstructural properties are correlated to the magnetic properties and a decreasing coercivity with increasing annealing temperature is observed despite the onset of crystallization in the amorphous alloy. At higher annealing temperatures, coercivity increases again. The results appear promising to obtain tuneable rare-earth free magnetic materials by severe plastic deformation.

Understanding of the correlation between the magnetomechancial coupling factors (k) and damping factors (Q^-1) is a key pathway to enhance the magnetomechanical power conversion ef-ficiency in laminated magnetoelectric (ME) composites by engineeringly manipulating the magnetic and mechanical properties of Fe-based amorphous metals. The k and Q^-1 factors of FeSiB amorphous ribbons annealed in air at different temperatures are investigated. It is found that k and Q^-1 factors are affected by both magnetic and elastic properties. The magnetic and elastic properties are equalized in terms of the magnetomechanical power efficiency for the low temperature annealing. The k and Q^-1 of FeSiB-based epoxied laminates with different stacking numbers show that the -3 dB bandwidth and Young’s modulus are equalized in terms of the magnetomechanical power efficiency for the high lamination stacking.

We developed an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) of the poorly water-soluble molecule niclosamide that achieved more than a 2-fold increase in bioavailability. Notably, this niclosamide ASD formulation increased the apparent drug solubility about 60-fold relative to the crystalline material due to the generation of nanoparticles. Niclosamide is a weakly acidic drug, BCS class II, and a poor glass former with low bioavailability in vivo. Hot-melt extrusion is a high-throughput manufacturing method commonly used in the development of ASDs for increasing the apparent solubility and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble compounds. We utilized the polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone–vinyl acetate (PVP–VA) to manufacture niclosamide ASDs by extrusion. Samples were analyzed based on their microscopic and macroscopic behavior and their intermolecular interactions, using DSC, XRD, NMR, FTIR, and DLS. The niclosamide ASD generated nanoparticles with a mean particle size of about 100 nm in FaSSIF media. In a side-by-side diffusion test, these nanoparticles produced a 4-fold increase in niclosamide diffusion. We successfully manufactured amorphous extrudates of the poor glass former niclosamide that showed remarkable in vitro dissolution and diffusion performance. These in vitro tests were translated to a rat model that also showed an increase in oral bioavailability.

An amorphous silicon carbide (SiC) membrane with H2 permeance of 1.2E-7 mol･m^-2･s^-1･Pa^-1 and excellent H₂/CO₂ selectivity of 2600 at 673 K was successfully synthesized on a Ni-gamma-alumina-coated alpha-alumina porous support by counter diffusion chemical vapor deposition (CDCVD) using silacycrobutane (SCB) at 788 K. The dominant permeation mechanism for He and H₂ in the temperature range 323-673 K was activated diffusion. The SiC active layer was formed in Ni-gamma-Al₂O₃ intermediate layer. The thermal expansion coefficients mismatch between SiC active layer and Ni-gamma-Al₂O₃-coated alpha-Al₂O₃ porous support was eased by the low decomposition temperature of SiC source and membrane structure.

Complex systems exhibit critical thresholds at which they transition among alternative phases. Complex systems theory has been applied to analyze disease progression, distinguishing three stages along progression: (i) a normal non-infected state, (ii) a pre-disease state in which the host is infected and responds; therapeutic interventions could still be effective, (iii) an irreversible state, where the system is seriously threatened. The Dynamical Network Biomarker (DNB) theory sought for early-warnings of the transition from health to disease. Such DNBs might range from individual genes to complex structures in transcriptional regulatory or protein-protein interaction networks. Here we revisit transcriptomic data obtained during infection of tobacco plants with tobacco etch potyvirus to identify DNBs signaling the transition from mild/reversible to severe/irreversible disease. We identified genes showing a sudden transition in expression along disease. Some of these genes cluster in modules that show the properties of DNBs. These modules contain both genes known to be involved in response to pathogens (e.g., ADH2, CYP19, ERF1, KAB1, LAP1, MBF1C, PR1, or TPS5) and other genes not previously related to biotic stress responses (e.g., ABCI6, BBX21, NAP1, OSM34, or ZPN1).

The rapid development of the photovoltaic (PV) industry will result in an increase in the amount of electrical and electronic waste from used PV panels. Only in Poland, the total capacity installed in photovoltaic sources in Poland in May 2020 exceeded 1,950 MW, and the installation weight was approximately 120,000. tone. The problem arises in the recycling or management of this waste. This work presents methods used to recycle waste into photovoltaic modules. The authors investigated the possibility of mechanical and chemical processing of crystalline silicon. A method of thermal treatment of the panel was also proposed. As a result of the research, it was found that the stage of separating materials (crystalline cream, EVO foil, aluminum frame) plays an important role in the recycling process, which is not easy. Chemical treatment allows the silicon to become plastic and the temperature melts the back layer of the panel.

In this paper, a novel synthesis for a chemical precursor for nanocrystalline VO2 coatings is elaborated. The compatibility of the precursor towards the substrate is optimized for spin coating. This is done by subjecting multiple solvents to contact angle measurements. A suitable thermal treatment is developed to densify the coating and to induce crystallization. Afterwards the microstructure of the coating is investigated using X-Ray diffraction, electron microscopy and ellipsometry techniques. To assess the thermochromic properties of the fabricated device, optical transmission experiments were conducted both at room temperature and at elevated temperature. A correlation between these thermochromic properties and coating thickness was investigated in order to obtain an optimized thermochromic device, where both high visual transparency and prominent thermochromic switching abilities are aimed for. In this work, an optimal coating thickness is proposed for a thermochromic coating with high switching ability and solar modulation.

The current paper is focused on the rapidly developing field of nano-/micro three-dimensional production of inorganic materials. The fabrication method includes laserlithography of hybrid organic-inorganic materials with subsequent heat treatment lead-ing to a variety of crystalline phases in 3D structures. In this work, it was examineda series of organometallic polymer precursors with different silicon (Si) and zirconium (Zr) molar ratios, ranging from 9:1 to 5:5, prepared via sol-gel method. All mixtureswere examined for perspective used in 3D laser by manufacturing by fabricating nano-and micro-feature sized structures. Their deformation and surface morphology wereevaluated depending on chemical composition and crystallographic phase. The appear-ance of a crystalline phase was proven using single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis,which revealed a lower crystallization temperature for microstructures compared tobulk materials. Fabricated 3D objects retain a complex geometry without any distortion after heat treatment up to 1400^oC. Under the proper conditions, a zircon phase (ZrSiO₄ - a highly stable material) can be observed. In addition, the highest newrecord of achieved resolution below 60 nm has been reached. The proposed prepara-tion protocol can be used to manufacture micro/nano-devices with high precision andresistance to high temperature and aggressive environment.

Low-loss photonic waveguides in lithium niobate offer versatile functionality as nonlinear frequency converters, switches, and modulators for integrated optics. Combining the flexibility of laser processing with liquid phase epitaxy we have fabricated and characterized lithium niobate channel waveguides on lithium niobate and lithium tantalate. We used liquid phase epitaxy with K2O flux on laser-machined lithium niobate and lithium tantalate substrates. The laser-driven rapid-prototyping technique can be programmed to give machined features of various sizes, and liquid phase epitaxy produces high quality single-crystal, lithium niobate channels. The surface roughness of the lithium niobate channels on a lithium tantalate substrate was measured to be 90 nm. The lithium niobate channel waveguides exhibit propagation losses of 0.26 ± 0.04 dB/mm at a wavelength of 633 nm. Second harmonic generation at 980 nm was demonstrated using the channel waveguides, indicating that these waveguides retain their nonlinear optical properties.

Crystallization often occurs in the laser welding of amorphous alloys, reducing the amorphous alloys’ properties. So, it is necessary to simulate the temperature field curve of the welding area by computer and then determine the power and laser moving speed of laser welding. In this paper, the temperature field curve of Zr41.2Ti13.8Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5(Vit1) amorphous alloy in laser welding is obtained by finite element analysis. The continuous heating curve (CHT) of Vit1 is fitted by the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann (VFT) equation and the Kissinger equation. If the temperature field curve intersects with the CHT curve, crystallization occurs. The experiment results show that the VFT equation can be used to predict the crystallization of Vit1 better in laser welding. The tem-perature and welding time are increased by using low welding speed. Therefore, the temperature of the weld zone cannot fall in time, resulting intersection of the temperature field curve and the CHT curve. So, crystallization can be avoided if the welding speed is controlled within a rea-sonable range, and the highest temperature is kept under the CHT curve.

In the present study, the corrosion resistance of amorphous coating and composite coatings in 3.5 wt.% NaCl, 0.5 M H₂SO₄ and 10 wt.% NaOH solution were studied. The composite coatings exhibit superior corrosion resistance. When the content of AT13 （Al₂O₃–13 wt.% TiO₂）was 15 wt.%, the composite coating has the lowest corrosion current density (1.75×10^-6 A cm^-2), which is 5.14×10^-5 A cm^-2 for Fe-based metallic glassy coating, and the highest corrosion potential (-411 mV), which is -580 mV for Fe-based metallic glassy coating. The breakdown potential of the passivation film in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution was much higher than that of 316L.The long-time immersion corrosion tests carried out on different coatings showed that the corrosion protection effect of coating was enhanced with the increase of the amount of AT13 added.

A series of Ti₄₀Zr₂₅Cu₉Ni₈Be₁₈)_100-xTM_x (x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 at.%, TM = Nb, Y) Bulk amorphous alloys were designed and prepared using the copper mold casting method. The microstructures, glass forming ability and mechanical properties of the alloys were investigated by means of X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning colorimetry (DSC), depth-sensitive nanoindentation and uniaxial compressive test. The Bulk amorphous alloys with different ductility were investigated by measuring their plastic deformation energy (PDE) of the first pop-in events during loading. The relationships between the PDE value, shear band formation and ductility in Bulk amorphous alloys have been investigated. The results show that the PDE value decreases by the Nb addition and promotes the generation of multiple shear bands easily, which increase the fracture strength and plasticity significantly. Substituting Nb with Y has exactly the reverse effect. A useful rule for preparing of Bulk amorphous alloys with high plasticity is herein proposed, whereby the chemical composition of the Bulk amorphous alloys can be tailored to possess a lower PDE value.

Silver powder, as the primary component of solar silver paste, significantly influences various aspects of paste performance, including printing, sintering, and conductivity. Silver powders prepared using the liquid-phase reduction method exhibit different microstructures depending on whether the growth process is dominated by aggregation or crystalline growth. This study explores the impact of different silver powder microstructures on packing density and sintering activity. It is observed that polycrystalline aggregated silver powder possesses higher surface energy, lower packing density, and greater sintering activity. Investigation into the influence of different silver powders on the electrical conductivity, adhesion, and structural density of silver paste reveals that polycrystalline aggregated silver powder is more suitable for lower sintering temperature pastes, whereas crystalline growth-type silver powder is better suited for higher sintering temperature pastes, resulting in a denser sintered silver layer. Finally, an analysis of the impact of various silver powders on the aspect ratio and electrical performance of solar cell silver grid lines yields higher aspect ratios (0.40) and photoelectric conversion efficiency (19.26%).

Hf1-xZrxO2 (HZO) thin films are versatile materials suitable for advanced ferroelectric semiconductor devices. Previous studies have shown that the ferroelectricity of HZO thin films, can be stabilized by doping them with group III elements at low concentrations. While doping with Y improves the ferroelectric properties, there has been limited research on Y-HZO thin films fabricated using atomic layer deposition (ALD). In this study, we investigated the effects of Y doping cycles on the ferroelectric and electrical properties of as-deposited Y-HZO thin films with vaying compositions fabricated through ALD. The Y-HZO thin films were stably crystallized without the need for post-thermal treatment and exhibited transition behavior depending on the Y-doping cycle and initial composition ratio of the HZO thin films. These Y-HZO thin films offer several advantages, including enhanced dielectric constant, leakage current density, and improved endurance. Moreover, the optimized Y-doping cycle induced a phase transformation that resulted in Y-HZO thin films with improved ferroelectric properties, exhibiting stable behavior without fatigue for up to 1010 cycles. These as-deposited Y-HZO thin films show promise for applications in semiconductor devices that require high ferroelectric properties, excellent electrical properties, and reliable performance with a low thermal budget.

: We evaluated the pharmaceutical properties of levofloxacin (LV) in the form of an orally disintegrating tablet (LVODT) to find a new usefulness of low frequency (LF) Raman spectroscopy. LVODT contained dispersed granules with diameters in the order of several hundred micrometers, which were composed of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), as confirmed by infrared (IR) microspectroscopy. On the contrary, the API and inactive pharmaceutical ingredients (non-APIs) were homogeneously distributed in LV tablet (LVT) formulations. Microscopic IR spectroscopy and thermal analyses showed that LVODT and LVT contained the API in different crystalline forms or environment around the API each other. Furthermore, powder X-ray diffraction showed that LVT contained a hemihydrate of the API, while LVODT showed a partial transition to the monohydrate form. This result was confirmed by microscopic LF Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, this method confirmed the presence of thin layers coating the outer edges of the granules that contained the API. Spectra obtained from these thin layers indicated the presence of titanium dioxide, suggesting that the layers coexisted with a polymer that masks the bitterness of API. The microscopic LF Raman spectroscopy results in this study indicated new applications of this method in pharmaceutical science.

Membranes based on sulfonated synditoactic polystyrene were thoroughly characterized by contrast variation SANS over a wide Q-range in dry and hydrated states. The film samples were prepared by solid-state sulfonation that allowed a uniform sulfonation of only the amorphous phase while preserving the crystallinity of the membrane. The samples were loaded with different guest molecules in either the amorphous (fullerenes) or the crystalline (toluene) regions, in order to vary the neutron contrast or to reproduce the conditions enabling an increased resistance of the membranes to chemical decomposition. The use of uni-axially deformed film samples and contrast variation with different H2O/D2O mixtures allowed for the identification and characterization of different structural levels with sizes between nm and μm, which form and evolve in the membrane morphology in dry and hydrated states and produce scattering features on different detection sectors and at different detection distances after the sample, depending on their size and orientation.

For the first time, it is shown that inhaled ambient air-dust particles settled in the human lower respiratory tract induce lung calcification. Chemical- and mineral compositions of pulmonary calcium precipitates in the lung right lower-lobe (RLL) tissues of 12 individuals who lived in Upper Silesia Conurbation in Poland and who had died from causes not related to lung disorder were determined by transmission- and scanning electron microscopy. Whereas calcium salts in lungs are usually reported as phosphates, calcium salts precipitated in RLL are almost exclusively carbonates, i.e. Mg-calcite and calcite. These constitute 37% of 1652 mineral particles examined. Mg-calcite predominates in the submicron size range with the MgCO3 content up to 50 mol%. Magnesium plays a significant role in the lung mineralization, a fact so far overlooked. The calcium phosphate (hydroxyapatite) content in RLL is negligible. The predominance of carbonates is explained by increased CO2 fugacity in RLL. Carbonates enveloped inhaled mineral-dust particles, including uranium-bearing oxides, quartz, aluminosilicates, and metal sulfides. Three possible pathways for the carbonates precipitation on the dust particles are postulated: (1) precipitation of amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) followed by its transformation to calcite; (2) precipitation of Mg-ACC followed by its transformation to Mg-calcite; (3) precipitation of Mg-free ACC causing a localized relative enrichment in Mg ions and subsequent heterogeneous nucleation and crystal growth of Mg-calcite. The actual number of inhaled dust particles may be significantly greater than observed because of the masking effect of the carbonate coatings. There is no simple correlation between smoking habit and lung calcification.

Silicates are among the most abundant and important inorganic materials, not only in the Earth’s crust but also in the interstellar medium in the form of micro-/nano-particles or embedded in the matrices of comets, meteorites and other asteroidal bodies. Although the crystalline phases of silicates are indeed present in Nature, amorphous forms are also highly abundant. Here we report a theoretical investigation of the structural, dielectric and vibrational properties of the amorphous bulk for forsterite (Mg₂SiO₄) as a silicate test case by a combined approach of classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for structure evolution, and periodic quantum mechanical DFT calculations for electronic structure analysis. Using classical MD based on an empirical partial charge rigid ionic model within a melt-quenching scheme at different temperatures performed with the GULP 4.0 code amorphous bulk structures for Mg₂SiO₄ were generated using as initial guess the crystalline phase. This has been done for bulks with three different unit cell sizes adopting a super-cell approach; i.e., 1×1×2, 2×1×2 and 2×2×2. The radial distribution functions indicated a good degree of amorphisation of the structures. Periodic B3LYP-geometry optimizations performed with the CRYSTAL14 code on the generated amorphous systems were used to analyze their structure, to calculate their high frequency dielectric constants (ε_∞), and to simulate the IR, Raman and reflectance spectra, which were compared with the experimental and theoretical crystalline Mg₂SiO₄. The most significant changes of the physico-chemical properties of the amorphous systems compared to the crystalline ones are presented and discussed (e.g., larger deviations in the bond distances and angles, broadening of the IR bands, etc.), which are consistent with their disordered nature. It is also shown that by increasing the unit cell size the bulk structures present larger degree of amorphisation.

Tunicate orthologs in the human genome comprise just 84 genes of the 19,872 protein-coding genes, yet they stand at the base of the Olfactores clade - which radiated to generate thousands of tunicate and vertebrate species. What were the powerful drivers among the 84 that enabled this process? Many of these orthologs are present in gene families. We discuss the biological role of each family and the orthologs’ quantitative contribution to the family. Most important was the evolution of a second type of cadherin. This, a Type II cadherin, had the property of detaching the cell containing that cadherin from cells that expressed the Type I class. The set of such Type II cadherins could now detach and move away from their Type I neighbours, a process which would eventually evolve into the formation of the neural crest, “ the fourth germ layer”, providing a wide range of possibilities for further evolutionary invention. A second important contribution were key additions to the broad development of the muscle and nerve protein and visual perception tool-kits. These developments in mobility and vision provided the basis for the development of the efficient predatory capabilities of the Vertebrata.

Band structure calculations using the spin-polarized relativistic Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker (SPRKKR) band structure method have been performed to determine the intrinsic magnetic properties (magnetic moments, magneto-crystalline anisotropy -MAE and Curie temperatures) of the Fe5-x-yCoxMySiB2 (M = Re, W) alloys. The general gradient approximation for ex-change-correlation potential and the atomic sphere approximation (GGA ASA) have been em-ployed. Previous studies showed that the Co doping is turning the in-plane into axial anisotropy for a certain doping range, whilst the 5d doping enables a strong spin-orbit coupling of Fe-3d and M-5d states which is needed to enhance the MAE. The theoretical calculations aim to find the dependence of the anisotropy constant K1 for combined Co and M doping, building a two-dimensional (2D) map of K1 for 0 ≤ x ≤ 2 and 0 ≤ y ≤ 1. Similar theoretical 2D maps for magnetization and Curie temperature vs. Co and M content (M = W and Re) have been built, allowing to select alloy compositions with enhanced values of uniaxial anisotropy, magnetization and Curie temperature. Magnetic properties of Fe4.1W0.9SiB2 alloy that meets the selection criteria for axial anisotropy K1 > 0.2 meV/f.u., Curie temperature Tc > 800 K determined by mean field approach and magnetization µ0Ms > 1 T are discussed.

The development of a remote sensing system is proposed in the present study for monitoring of the electrical resistance of concrete in real time. The sensor is embedded in the concrete bulk, and the data are sent via a gateway to a computer for the data analysis. The sensibility of the sensors to the effect of the presence of a crystalline admixture has been also assessed in the study. Different cycles of drying and water penetration have been considered to assess the sensor performance in different water content conditions. Sensors have shown to capable of detecting changes in electrical resistance when humidity changes. The sensitive of the sensors to the action of waterproofing admixtures in the mortar has been also confirmed. The contribution of the temperature plays a critical role on the sensor response, and its simultaneous monitoring is recommended.

Keywords: Amorphous-precipitate, Nitride, Morphological stability, Diffusion, Internal stresses, Modelling, Simulation

Applying of blood biopolymers to regulate the phase composition is promising in designing the hydroxyapatite-based hybrid biomaterials with controllable resorbability. Hybrid materials based on hydroxyapatite and platelet-poor plasma (PPP) were formed in conditions of chemical precipi-tation at pH 11, [Ca2+] / [PO43–] ratio 1.67, PPP volume fraction of 6–24%, maturing time of 4–9 days. Mineral component of the materials was represented as 53% hydroxyapatite / 47% amor-phous calcium phosphate after 4 days of maturation, and 100% hydroxyapatite after 9 days of maturation. Varying PPP content from 6% to 24% provided forming of materials with rather de-fined content of amorphous calcium phosphate and biopolymer component, having desired mor-phology ranging from typical apatitic conglomerates to hybrid apatite-biopolymer fibers. Co-precipitated hybrid materials based on hydroxyapatite and PPP are promising for bone regen-eration in osteoplastic and maxillofacial applications.

One of the major problems caused by repeated subcutaneous insulin injections in diabetic patients is insulin amyloidosis. Understanding the molecular mechanism of amyloid fibril formation of insulin and finding effective compounds to its inhibit or eliminate is very important and extensive research has been done on it. In this study, the anti-amyloidogenic and destabilizing effects of the pyrogallol, as a phenolic compound, on human insulin protein were investigated by CR absorbance, ThT and ANS fluorescence, FTIR spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. According to the obtained results, the formation of amyloid fibrils at pH 2.0 and 50 °C was confirmed by CR, ThT, ANS, FTIR assays. Microscopic images also showed the twisted and long structures of amyloid fibrils. Simultaneous incubation of the protein with pyrogallol at different concentrations reduced the intensities of CR, ThT and ANS in a dose-dependent manner and no trace of fibrillar structures was observed in the microscopic images. FTIR spectroscopy also showed that the position of amide I band in the spectrum of samples containing pyrogallol was shifted. Based on the findings in this study, it can be concluded that pyrogallol can be effective in preventing and suppressing human insulin amyloid fibrils.

Crystalline phase engineering is a prominent strategy for synergistically optimizing the sur-face-body phases of a catalyst. In this work, TiO2 nanosheets assembled into nanotubes (TNSTs) with two-phases of anatase and rutile were firstly synthesized via crystal engineering by simple thermal annealing, and subsequently loaded with Ru nanoparticles to create efficient benzene hydrogenation catalyst Ru/TNSTs. The well- designed nanosheet-tubes structure boasts large specific surface area and excellent transmission channels, which effectively prevents the ag-glomeration and deactivation of loaded Ru nanoparticles, as well as promotes the internal diffu-sion in the reaction process of benzene hydrogenation to cyclohexene. Furthermore, titanium dioxide nanosheet-tubes contain numerous Ti3+ defects, which not only improves the overall generation rate of cyclohexene, but also enhances the suppression of cyclohexene adsorption. Most importantly, the two-phases of titanium dioxide increases the ratio of the electron defi-ciencies of Ru and promotes cyclohexene desorption. These synergistic properties enhance the selectivity and efficiency of the Ru/TNSTs catalysts, resulting in excellent performance in the hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexene. Especially the Ru/TNSTs-4 catalyst achieves a 95% in-itial selectivity and 51% yield of cyclohexene in the reaction, outperforming most supported Ru-based catalysts. This work may provide new perspectives for designing efficient benzene hydrogenation catalysts via crystalline phase engineering.

Due to the severe environmental impact of the CO2 emissions associated with the production of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and the increasing demand for this commodity material, the development of alternative products has become a global concern. One alternative to OPC, or alitic-based clinkers, are amorphous-wollastonitic low calcium hydraulic binders (AWLCs). This new class of hydraulic binders, described in the literature for the first time in 2015, may significantly reduce the CO2 emissions associated with its production, resulting from its lower calcium content, but also from the fact that its production technology can be fully electrified. In this paper it is provided a state-of-the-art review, providing a comprehensive description on the latest research, summarizing both the physico-chemical and mechanical characteristics for this type of hydraulic binders, as well as possible routes for its production at an industrial scale.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) can be produced by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) of SiH4 (Silane) mixed with Hydrogen. The resulting material shows outstanding radiation resistance properties and can be deposited on a wide variety of different substrates. These devices have been used to detect many different kinds of radiation namely: MIPs, x-rays, neutrons and ions as well as low energy protons and alphas. However, MIP detection using planar diodes has always been difficult due to the unsatisfactory S/N ratio arising from a combination of high leakage current, high capacitance and a limited charge collection efficiency (50% at best for a 30 µm planar diode). To overcome these limitations the 3D-SiAm collaboration proposes to use a 3D detector geometry. The use of vertical electrodes allows for a small collection distance to be maintained while conserving a large detector thickness for charge generation. The depletion voltage in this configuration can be kept below 400 V with consequent reduction in the leakage current. In this paper, following a detailed description of the fabrication process, the results of the tests performed on the planar p-i-n structures made with ion implantation of the dopants and with carrier selective contacts will be illustrated.

Zirconium based bulk metallic glasses are industrially valuable materials which commercial market grows rapidly. Surface modification of these metallic glasses by high-intensity lasers is relatively new and costly treatment promising great advantages over classical surface processing methods. In this work we perform the case study of surface modification of Zr$_{46}$Cu$_{36.8}$Ag$_{9.2}$Al$_8$ metallic glass by high-intensity millisecond laser beam. Our results suggest chemical deposition of atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen in the laser-melted surface area and its surroundings. Zirconium nitride layer was detected in the middle of laser-irradiated area. Nanocrystals embedded in the amorphous matrix were also formed on the surface. Overall, our findings suggest possibilities for improvement of mechanical characteristics of the studied metallic glass.

This study aims to investigate the effect of banana stem fibers (BSFs) treatment with liquid smoke on changes in the micro-mechanics properties of BSFs, the tensile strength of single fibers, mor-phology, crystalline properties, and functional groups. The research used four model specimen variations, namely fiber without treatment and immersion in liquid smoke for 1, 2, and 3 hours. The BSFs with treatment was dried in an oven with a temperature of 40ºC for 30 minutes. Several tests were conducted, including a tensile test of single fiber capacity of 50N standard ASTM 3379-02, SEM observation, XRD, and FTIR test. The results showed that the highest increase in fiber strength was P2J, which was 264.21 MPa, and the lowest was TP fiber at 148.54 MPa. Fibers treatment with liquid smoke can form strong C-C elemental bonds caused by the H2O degradation process in BSFs, hence carbon atoms (C) are dense, and in conditions of excessive H2O degradation, the fiber strength will become brittle and the liquid smoke can increase the tensile strength of the fiber. The morphology of the fiber changed where the untreated fiber was covered with lignin, while the treated fiber had an elongated rectangular line pattern, porous, and the lignin was eroded. Crystalline properties in the X-ray diffractogram pattern differ between untreated and treated fibers. At an angle of 2ϴ, the lowest diffraction peak is around 160 in untreated wool, and the highest is 230 in treated fiber. The functional group of the fiber has changed where there is a difference in the wave crest between untreated and treatment fiber. The longer immersion time, the element of Carbon (C) will increase. In conclusion, treating BSFs with liquid smoke can change the physical, mechanical, and chemical properties, hence becoming a choice of composite reinforcement material in the future which is lightweight and environmentally friendly.

Most of the phase change materials (PCMs) have been limited to use as functional additions or sealed in containers, and extra auxiliary equipment or supporting matrix is needed. The emergence of 3D printing technique has dramatically advanced the developments of materials and simplified production processes. This study focuses on a novel strategy to model thermal energy storage crystalline gels with three-dimensional architecture directly from liquid resin without supporting materials through light-induced polymerization 3D printing technique. A mask-projection stereolithography printer was used to measure the 3D printing test, and the printable characters of crystalline thermal energy storage P(SA-DMAA) gels with different molar ratios were evaluated. For the P(SA-DMMA) gels with small fraction of SA, the 3D fabrication was realized with higher printing precision both on mili- and micro-meter scales. As a comparison of 3D printed samples, P(SA-DMAA) gels made by other two methods, post-UV curing treatment after 3D printing and UV curing using conventional mold, were prepared. The 3D printed P(SA-DMAA) gels shown high crystallinity. Post–UV curing treatment was beneficial to full curing of 3D printed gels, but did not lead to the further improvement of crystal structure to get higher crystallinity. The P(SA-DMAA) crystalline gel having the highest energy storage enthalpy that reached 69.6 J·g⁻¹ was developed. Its good thermoregulation property in the temperature range from 25 to 40 °C was proved. The P(SA-DMAA) gels are feasible for practical applications as one kind of 3D printing material with thermal energy storage and thermoregulation functionality.

Nanocrystalline silicon oxide (nc-SiOx:H) is a multipurpose material with its varied application in solar cells as a transparent front contact, intermediate reflector, back reflector layer and even tunnel layer for passivating contacts, owing to easy tailoring of its optical properties. In this work, we systematically investigate the influence of gas mixture (SiH4, CO2, PH3 and H2), RF power and process pressure on the optical, structural and passivation properties of thin n-type nc-SiOx:H films prepared in an industrial, high throughput, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactor. We provide a detailed description of the n-type nc-SiOx:H material develop-ment using various characterization techniques (SEM, EDX, Raman spectroscopy, and spectro-scopic ellipsometry) with a focus on the relationship between the material properties and the pas-sivation they provide to n-type c-Si wafers characterized by their effective carrier lifetime (τeff). Further, we also outline the parameters to be kept in mind while developing different n-type nc-SiOx:H layers for different solar cell applications. We report a tunable optical gap (1.8 – 2.3 eV) for our n-type nc-SiOx:H films as well as excellent passivation properties with τeff up to 3.5 ms (iVoc ~ 715 mV) before annealing. Oxygen content plays an important role in determining the crystallinity and hence passivation quality of the deposited nanocrystalline silicon oxide films.

Amorphous silicon (α-Si) film present an inexpensive and promising material for optoelectronic and nanophotonic applications. Its basic optical and optoelectronic properties are known to be improved via phase transition from amorphous to polycrystalline phase. Infrared femtosecond laser radiation can be considered as a promising nondestructive and facile way to drive uniform in-depth and lateral crystallization of α-Si films that are typically opaque in UV-visible spectral range. However, so far only a few studies reported on utilization of near-IR radiation for laser-induced crystallization of α-Si providing no information regarding optical properties of the resultant polycrystalline Si films. The present work demonstrates efficient and gentle single-pass crystallization of α-Si films induced by their direct irradiation with near-IR femtosecond laser pulses coming at sub-MHz repetition rate. Comprehensive analysis of morphology and composition of laser-annealed films by atomic-force microscopy, optical, micro-Raman and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, as well as numerical modeling of optical spectra, confirmed efficient crystallization of α-Si and high-quality of the obtained films. Moreover, we highlight localized laser-driven crystallization of α-Si as a promising way for optical information encryption, anti-counterfeiting and fabrication of micro-optical elements.

Amorphous solid dispersions are considered a promising formulation strategy for the oral delivery of poorly soluble drugs. The limiting factor for the applicability of this approach is the physical (in)stability of the amorphous phase in solid samples. Minimizing the risk of reduced shelf life for a new drug by establishing a suitable excipient/polymer-type from first principles would be desirable to accelerate formulation development. Here we perform Molecular Dynamics simulations to determine properties of blends of eight different polymer-small molecule drug combinations for which stability data is available from a consistent set of literature data. We calculate thermodynamic factors (mixing energies) as well as mobilities (diffusion rates and roto-vibrational fluctuations). We find that either of the two factors, mobility and energetics, can determine the relative stability of the amorphous form for a given drug. Which factor is rate limiting depends on physico-chemical properties of the drug and the excipients/polymers. The methods outlined here can be readily employed for an in-silico pre-screening of different excipients for a given drug to establish a qualitative ranking of the expected relative stabilities, thereby accelerating and streamlining formulation development.

Chronic exposure of workers to powder containing crystalline silica (SiO₂) can lead to chronic lung diseases (lung cancer, silicosis, etc.). The aim of the study was to evaluate the exposure of Greek construction workers to SiO₂ and describe their pulmonary function. The study involved 86 outdoor and underground workers. Medical and professional history was obtained, and breath samples were collected at morning hours through a mask for the determination of SiO₂ levels. Pulmonary function tests, radiological examination and evaluation of radiographs were, also performed. During the examination of the pulmonary function, the majority of the workers were within normal range (61.4%) while the rest were diagnosed with mild (26.5%) and more severe impairment (7.2%). Working conditions (underground-outdoor) were statistically significantly related to the categorization of pulmonary function (p = 0.038). During radiological examination, the type of working conditions (underground-outdoor) were statistically significantly related to the categorization of these findings (p = 0.044). Of the 69 employees, 52 did not present findings (75.4%) and five (5) were diagnosed with findings specific to occupational diseases (7.2%). The environmental exposure to RCS (Respirable crystalline silica) was detected at 0,0125 mg/ m³ in the workplace, which is not beyond the legal limits. Underground workers with more than 15 years of exposure to SiO₂ are more likely to present chronic silicosis compared to the workers of outdoor activities.

The release profiles of methotrexate, an anticancer drug, from the monoolein liquid crystalline cubic phases were studied. The cubic phases were used either in the form of a lipidic film deposited onto a glassy carbon electrode surface or in the dispersed form of magnetocubosomes, which are considered a prospective hybrid drug delivery system. Commonly, cubosomes or liposomes are employed, but not in the case of toxic methotrexate, known to block receptors responsible for folate transport into the cells. The release profiles of the drug from the lipidic films were monitored electrochemically and described using the Higuchi model. They were also modified via changes in temperature; the release was faster, although deviating from the model when the temperature was increased. Magnetocubosomes - cubic phase nanoparticles containing hydrophobic magnetic nanoparticles placed in an alternating magnetic field of low frequency and amplitude, stimulated drug release from the suspension, which was monitored spectroscopically. These new biocompatible hybrid materials are very promising, allowing to control the release of the drug at the appropriate sites, but do require further investigations into their in vitro cytotoxicity and in vivo biodistribution.

The present Feature Paper highlights the application of bacterial surface (S-) layer proteins as versatile components for the fabrication of biosensors. One technologically relevant feature of S‑layer proteins is their ability to self-assemble on many surfaces and interfaces to form a crystalline 2D protein lattice. The S-layer lattice on the surface of a biosensor becomes part of the interface architecture, linking the bioreceptor to the transducer interface, which may cause signal amplification. The S-layer lattice as ultrathin, highly porous structure with functional groups in a well-defined special distribution and orientation and an overall anti-fouling characteristics can significantly raise the limit in terms of variety and ease of bioreceptor immobilization, compactness of bioreceptor molecule arrangement, sensitivity, specificity, and detection limit for many types of biosensors. The present paper discusses and summarizes examples for the successful implementation of S-layer lattices on biosensor surfaces in order to give a comprehensive overview on the application potential of these bioinspired S-layer protein-based biosensors.

Large Language Models (LLMs) have proved significant proficiency when comes to code generation especially in Structured Query Language (SQL) for databases and recent successful Text-to-SQL method involves fine-tuning pre-trained LLMs for SQL generation tasks. Transforming natural language text into SQL queries, has been attempted to solve with various learning techniques including Few-shot learning[1], fine tuning. In this paper we propose Supervised fine-tuning (SFT) as a better alternative for learning technique for text-to-SQL generation task using Code-Llama that pushes state of art accuracy on spider test suite to 89.6% on dev set which represent first instance of surpassing the earlier best-in-class with 5.5% higher score and 86.8% of exact match accuracy on dev set. Furthermore, we demonstrate that properly prompted LLM along with SFT provides far fewer hallucinations and much more robust LLM that can be used as a general tool for any text-to-SQL generation use case.

In the paper the experimental methodology for the single-crystal circular plate deformation measurement and subsequent procedure for mechanical properties quantitation are developed. The procedure is based on a new numerical-analytical solution of nonlinear boundary-value problem for finite deformations of a circular anisotropic plate. Using the developed method, a study of the deformation of single-crystal circular plates formed on the basis of a silicon-on-insulator structure was carried out. The values of residual stresses are determined and it is shown that the presence of these stresses increases the flexural rigidity of the plate in several times.

Comparison of the influence of conditioning temperature of microspheres made of medical grade poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and polylactide with 4wt.% of D-lactide content (PLA), on its thermal and structural properties is presented. The microspheres were fabricated by solid-in-oil-in-water method for application in additive manufacturing. The microspheres were annealed below glass transition temperature (Tg), above Tg but below onset of cold crystallization, and at two temperatures selected from the range of cold crystallization corresponding to crystallization of α’ and α form of poly(L-lactide) respectively, i.e., at 40°C, 70°C, 90°C and 120°C, in order to verify the influence of conditioning temperatures on sinterability of microspheres set as sintering window (SW). Based on differential scanning calorimetry measurements SW of microspheres were evaluated with consideration of existence of cold crystallization and reorganization of crystal polymorph. The results indicate that the conditioning temperature influence on availability and range of SW that depending on the D-lactide presence. We postulate the need for an individual approach for polylactide powders in determining the SW as a temperature range free of any thermal events. Moreover, other core powder characteristic, such as residual solvent content, morphology, particle size distribution, powder flowability and thermal conductivity, as a key property for successful laser sintering, are characterized. The microspheres are close to sphere and the size of microspheres are below 100 µm. Residual solvents content decreases with the increase of annealing temperature. The thermal conductivity is 0.073 W/mK and 0.064 W/mK for PLA and PLLA microspheres, respectively, and it depends on the spherical shape of the microspheres. Furthermore, the WAXD studies prove that an increase in the conditioning temperature causes a slight increase in crystallinity degree for PLLA microspheres and clear increase in crystallization for PLA microspheres.

The amorphous Fe77Cu1Si13B9 ribbons were treated with pulsed laser interference heating (PLIH). It was confirmed here that the use of the laser heating process allowed for obtaining two-dimensional crystallised micro-areas, periodically distributed (at a distance of 17µm) on the surface of the amorphous ribbons. The correlation between structural changes (SEM, TEM, HRTEM) and the distribution of magnetic field lines of heated amorphous Fe77Cu1Si13B9 (FeCuSiB) ribbons is presented. Particular attention is paid to structure changes in micro-areas where, by controlling the laser interference heating process, partial crystallisation of amorphous alloys and the formation of clusters or single nanocrystallites (α-Fe(Si)) embedded in an amorphous matrix are given. The addition of copper to the FeSiB alloy promoted inhibition of grain growth. Electron holography of micro-areas confirmed shifts of the magnetic field lines in the areas of nanocrystallites, the presence of which in the structure caused magnetisation of the surrounding amorphous matrix.

In recent times, the process control network (PCN) of oil and gas installation has been subjected to amorphous cyber-attacks which include Denial-of-Service (DoS), Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDoS), Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks, and this may have been caused majorly by the integration of open network to Operation Technology (OT) as a result of low-cost network expansion. The connection of the OT to the internet for firmware updates, third-party support, or vendor interventions, has exposed the industry to attacks. The inability to detect these unpredictable cyber-attacks exposes the PCN and a successful attack can lead to devastating effects. This paper reviews the different forms of cyber-attacks in PCN of oil and gas installations and proposes the use of machine learning algorithms to monitor data exchanges between the sensors, controllers, processes, and the final control elements on the network so as to detect anomalies in such data exchanges. Python 3.0 Libraries, Deep-Learning Toolkit, MATLAB, and Allen Bradley RSLogic 5000 PLC Emulator software were used in the simulation of process control. The outcome of the experiments shows the reliability and functionality of the different machine-learning algorithms in detecting these anomalies with significant precise attack detections identified using a coarse tree algorithm.

Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are shape morphing materials whose large and reversible shape transformation results from the coupling between the mobile anisotropic properties of liquid crystal (LC) units and the rubber elastic of polymer networks. Their shape changing behaviors under the stimuli are largely directed by LC orientations, and therefore various strategies have been developed to spatially modulate the LC alignments. But most of the methods suffer from complex fabrication technologies or intrinsic limitations in applicability. To address this issue, programmable complex shape changes in some types of LCEs, such as polysiloxane side-chain LCEs or thiol-acrylate main-chain LCEs, etc, have been achieved by using a mechanical alignment programming process coupled with two-step crosslinking. Here, we report a polysiloxane main-chain LCE with programmable 2D and 3D shape changing performances achieved by mechanically programming the polydomain LCE between the two crosslinking steps. The resulting LCEs exhibited reversible thermal induced shape transformation between the initial and programmed shapes due to the two-way memory between the first network structure and the second network structure. Our work would be potential for expanding the applications of LCE materials in actuators, soft robotics and smart structures where arbitrary and easily programmed shape morphings are needed.

The magnetic properties of 0.10 mm ultra-thin grain-oriented (UTGO) silicon steel and Fe-based amorphous (FBA) alloy under sinusoidal excitation were measured experimentally, and the magnetic field strength and iron loss of the two materials under different frequencies and magnetic densities were obtained. Based on the measured data, the magnetization and loss characteristics of the two materials were analyzed and compared. Furthermore, two Epstein square ring models of the same specification and different materials were designed, and the reliability of the models was verified. Then, the electromagnetic characteristics of the two Epstein square ring models at higher and lower frequencies were calculated by using the finite element method, and the iron loss was obtained and compared. The results show that the FBA alloy has good application characteristics at low frequency and low power, and the 0.10 mm UTGO silicon steel has good application characteristics at high frequency and high power. This research can provide important data basis to promote the application of these two materials in new energy equipment.

Sustainable development of our society demands recycling of metallic wastes which may contain a variety of metallic impurities. Thus, it is desirable to develop a ‘universal’ structure, such as an amorphous alloy tolerating high concentrations of metallic pollutants. We performed ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to manufacture a novel multicomponent amorphous alloy of twenty elements (20e-HEAA). Analysis reveals both topological and chemical compositional short-range ordering in the obtained 20e-HEAA and formation of B-B clusters. Electronic structure calculations reveal the metallic nature of the amorphous alloy with its Fermi level falling in a valley in the density of states. Moreover, the Zn 3d and Cd 4d electrons exhibit a localized nature and thus, should be excluded from the valence electron concentration (VEC) analysis in the study of high-entropy alloys. The information obtained here is helpful to get insight into multicomponent high entropy materials, especially multicomponent high-entropy amorphous alloys as potential circular metals.

The research examines the relationship between self-rated health situation and personal percep-tion of heat waves, and how social linkage of communities would be a moderator variable in residents’ perception of heat waves in Taiwan. This study uses the questionnaire conducted by Sinica “Responsive Capacity under Heat Wave: The Perspectives of the Locals”(2019), using OLS method for estimating the unknown parameters in multiple regression model. The author finds that the correlation of self-rated health situation and perception toward heat is significantly posi-tive. Also, social linkage in communities affects strongly as a moderator variable: While the sat-isfaction to with their community could reduce negative reaction to heat, contacts with neighbors could increase possibility people feel uncomfortable in high-temperature situation. This study ex-hibits the effects of social environment on community, and expects further related researches or practices to strengthen capability to resist heat wavesƒ for Taiwanese residents.

Amebiasis is a disease caused by the unicellular parasite Entamoeba histolytica. In most cases, the infection is asymptomatic but when symptomatic, the infection can cause dysentery and invasive extraintestinal complications. In the gut, E.histolytica feeds on bacteria. Increasing evidences support the role of the gut microbiota in the development of the disease. In this review we will discuss the consequences of E.histolytica infection on the gut microbiota. We will also discuss new evidences about the role of the gut microbiota in regulating the resistance of the parasite to oxi-dative stress and its virulence.

Objective: To explore three novel fasting blood glucose (FBG)-based novel indicators, including FBG-to-albumin ratio (FAR), FBG-to-lymphocytes ratio (FLR), and FBG-to-hemoglobin ratio (FHR), in predicting prognosis and detecting metastasis for patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms after resection. Materials and methods: A total of 178 pNEN patients underwent surgical resection were included in this study. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the diagnosis values of FAR, FLR, and FHR, and the cut-off values were obtained for further analyses. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine the independent predictors. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the pNEN patients. Results: The optimal cut-off values of FAR, FLR, and FHR were 0.17, 2.85, and 0.028, respectively. As for PFS, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.693 for FAR, 0.690 for FLR, and 0.661 for FHR, respectively. The AUC was 0.770, 0.692, and 0.715 accordingly for OS. The groups with lower FAR, FLR, and FHR were significantly associated with prolonged PFS and OS (p < 0.05). In patients with metastasis, the lower FAR group was correlated with significantly longer PFS and OS (p = 0.022 and 0.002, respectively). The FLR was an independent predictor of PFS in pNEN patients, and the FAR was a predictor of OS. FAR was an independent indicator of PFS in patients with metastasis. Conclusion: Preoperative FAR, FLR, and FHR are effective in predicting the prognosis of pNEN patients and detecting the synchronous metastases.

Objective: The current study aimed to delineate the relationship of furin with inflammation while cervical intraepithelial neoplasia progresses to cancer. Study Design:This cross-sectional study included 81 women who required colposcopic examinations. The study groups were formed based on pathological results: Group I included women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) I (n=30); Group II included women with CIN II-III (n=28); and Group III included women with cervical cancer (CC) (n=23). Furin, ki-67, and p16 levels were evaluated based on immunostaining intensity. The inflammatory indices were calculated parallel with the literature from routine blood samples retrieved within one week before the procedure. Results:Furin expression gradually increased from CIN I to CIN II-III and from CIN II-III to CC, respectively (p < .001, p = .005). The NLR, MLR, PLR, and SII were significantly higher in the CC group (p < .001). ROC curve analysis unveiled that NLR, MLR, PLR and SII predicted the presence of CC with a cutoff value of 2.39 for NLR (sensitivity: 91.3%, specificity: 63.8%, AUROC: 0.79, p < .001); a cutoff value of 0.27 for MLR (sensitivity: 78.3%, specificity: 72.4%, AUROC: 0.77, p = .009); a cutoff value of 123 for PLR (sensitivity: 100%, specificity: 41.4%, AUROC: 0.70, p = .04); and a cutoff value of 747 for SII (sensitivity: 69.6%, specificity: 90.7%, AUROC: 0.71, p = .014). Conclusion:Furin expression increased gradually in parallel to the severity of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. The inflammatory indices were higher in the presence of CC and denoted good discrimination ability for predicting cervical cancer.

(1) Background: Little research has been done on professionals' perceptions of institutions and governments during epidemics. We aim to create a profile of physicians who feel they can raise public health issues with relevant institutions during a pandemic. (2) Methods: A total of 1285 Romanian physicians completed an online survey as part of a larger study. We used binary logistic regression to profile physicians who felt able to raise public health issues with relevant institutions; (3) Results: Five predictors could differentiate between respondents who tended to agree with the trust statement and those who tended to disagree: feeling safe at work during the pandemic, considering the financial incentive worth the risk, receiving training on the use of protective equipment, having the same values as colleagues, and enjoying work as much as before the pandemic; (4) Conclusions: Physicians who trust the system to raise public health issues with the appropriate institutions feel they share the same values as their colleagues, say they were trained in the use of protective equipment used during the pandemic, felt they were safe at work during the pandemic, enjoyed their work as much as before the pandemic, and felt the financial bonus justified the risk.

The properties of the annual, semiannual and triennial oscillations (AO, SAO and TO) in the middle atmosphere have been investigated using the TIMED/SABER temperature data. The Lomb-Scargle and wavelet spectra were used to determine the dominant oscillations in the background temperature field. The AO is prominent at the mid-latitudes. The AO amplitudes present an asymmetry between the two Hemispheres, being larger in the mesosphere than in the stratosphere. The SAO dominates the tropical regions, with three amplitude maxima at altitudes of 45, 75, and 85 km. The SAOs in the upper mesosphere (75 km) are out of phase with those in the mesopause (85 km) in the tropical regions, which can generate an enhancement of 11 K at each equinox, contributing to the lower mesospheric inversion layer. The TO is significant in the tropical region, with amplitude being maximum at 35, 45 and 85 km. Result shows that there may be potential interaction by the TO with SAO at 85km at the equator. The relation between ENSO and TO has also been discussed. The ENSO signal may modulate the amplitude of the TO, mainly in the lower stratosphere. The real origin of the TO may lie in the wave-mean-flow interaction.

Economic development and population growth lead to increased production of chicken manure (CM), which is a problematic organic waste for its amount, environmental threats, and moisture content. There are different ways of CM, namely anaerobic digestion, composting, combustion, and direct land spreading. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is another emerging way, however. In this study, the HTC of CM was performed to produce energy-rich material called hydrochar (HC). The effects of HTC temperature (180, 240, 300 C) and process time (30, 90, 180 min) were summarized. Proximate and ultimate analysis, as well as heating values (HHV, LHV), have been performed both on raw CM and derived HC. Additionally, the process performance has been examined. The obtained results show that HTC is a feasible method for CM disposal and valorization. Although process time did not influence considerably fuel properties of CM, higher temperature led to significantly higher HHV, reaching 23,880.6734.56 Jg-1 at 300 C and 180 min with an improvement of 8,329 Jg-1 compared with raw CM (15,551.67 Jg-1). The process conducted at 240 C in 30 min has been specified as the most favorable, due to the highest energy gain of HC and relatively low energy consumption.

The increase in the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) is one of the most important world problems. Decreasing of GHG emission is a big challenge in the future. Transportation sector uses a significant part of petroleum production in the world and it leads to an increase in the emission of GHG. The result of this issue is that population of the world befoul environment of transportation system automatically. Electric Vehicles (EV) have a potentiality to solve a big part of the GHG emission and energy efficiency issues such as stability and reality of energy. The energy actors and their research team determine some targets for 2050; hence, they hope to decrease the world temperature to 6 °C in the best and 2 °C in the normal condition. Fulfillment of these scenarios needs suitable grid infrastructure but in most of the countries, the grid does not have a suitable background to apply those scenarios. In this paper, some problems about energy scenarios, energy storage systems, grid infrastructure and communication systems in supply and demand side of the grid and its solutions have been investigated.

Vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) or briefly V2X communications are the one of hot topics in automotive industry. Therefore, this situation is providing many advantages of connected vehicles and infrastructures which bring to human life. For instance, vehicles and road infrastructures which shares information with each other, provides a neat flow regulation, more ordered traffic flow and therefore jammed traffic dependent accident’s percentage will be decreased. On the other hand, security is the most important issue for these systems because the operation of V2X networks is completely dependent on uninterrupted and accurate information sharing. In the light of these information, in this paper we review security issues and current solution architectures. We also propose some open problems in this lively field.

Sustaining learners’ motivation to keep learning has been concerned for over 60 years in education and SLA. Most research focusing on Japanese university students has contributed lots of theoretical and practical developments, but research focusing on motivations of non-traditional adult learners and those under 18-year-old to learn Chinese is still little even though previous research findings have proved age is one of the key variables influencing learning besides nationalities and Chinese language levels. In order to find an effective treatment for sustainable Chinese language learning in Japan, this study utilized a survey method to analyze the types of Japanese learners’ motivation to learn Chinese via analysis of a moment structures (AMOS), and to compare the differences of the motivation via one-way ANOVA. This study revealed that Japanese learners’ motivation to learn Chinese consists of eight common types, which are “instrumental motivation”, “personal orientation”, “identified regulation”, “Chinese cultural productions”, “integrating into Chinese community”, “external regulation”, “social responsibility”, and “Chinese for academic purposes”. Also, there are similarities and differences existing in the eight motivation types among the Japanese children, adolescents, (non-) traditional adult learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). The findings contribute the understanding of motivation types and differences among the four aged Japanese learners to teachers of teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages (TCSOL), and to future research further exploring how differently aged Japanese learners can have and use a higher motivation as a main drive to learn Chinese language as a lifelong business.

The new unique technology for granulation of metals and nonmetallic melts is presented in the paper. It was created on the newly developed controlled film flow disintegration with rapid cooling of the droplets and solidified granules in amorphous state. Three new phenomena discovered by us created the base for 3 different methods for granulation of metals and nonmetallic melts in a wide range of granules’ sizes. Electromagnetic resonance method allows producing granules of metals in the range of 1 mm and over. The soliton-like vibrational regime is available for production of any granulation material in the range 0.1-1 mm. Moreover, the shockwave regime is applicable for producing particles from 10 micrometers by size. All methods produce particles of the stated size with a narrow distribution by size: deviation from the average size no more than 50%. The other known methods do not produce granules with such high cooling rate, which can realize the amorphous state and cannot regulate size of particles in such bright but narrow range from 10 micrometers to 1-2 mm.

A community-level nutrition intervention was implemented among tribal children (3 to 6 years) in Telangana, India. The one-year intervention involved six nutrient-rich formulations of millet-pulse-groundnut based products, suited to local taste preferences. Anthropometric measurements of height, weight and Mid-Upper-Arm -Circumference (MUAC) along with haemoglobin (Hb) levels were monitored at baseline and endline. The treatment group showed considerable gain in height (3.2 cm), weight (1.68 kg) and MUAC (0.33 cm), over the control group. Paired t-test indicated significant differences (p<.01) between pre- and post-intervention anthropometric measurements. Positive shifts were observed in wasting (WHZ; -1.2 ±1.3 to -0.9± 1), stunting (HAZ; -1.8±1.6 to -0.3±1.3) and underweight (WAZ; -1.9±1.2 to -0.7±1) among treatment group. Hb levels in the treatment group also improved significantly from 9.70 ± 0.14 g/dl (moderately-anaemic) to 11.08 ± 0.13 g/dl (non-anaemic). Post-intervention Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) involving mothers and teachers confirmed the positive impact. Thus, nutritional intervention formulated using climate resilient millets, pulses and groundnut, promotes dietary diversity and improves the nutrition & health status of children.

Here we report the preparation and characterization of a novel biomimetic toothpaste containing morphogenetically active amorphous polyphosphate (polyP) microparticles enriched with retinyl acetate (“a-polyP/RA-MP”). The spherical microparticles (average size, 550±120 nm), prepared by co-precipitating sodium-polyP with calcium chloride and supplemented with retinyl acetate, were incorporated into a basis toothpaste at a final concentration of 1% or 10%. The paste containing “a-polyP/RA-MP” significantly increased the growth of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), compared to a commercial toothpaste which acts rather inhibitory and the paste without polyP and retinyl acetate. qRT-PCR experiments revealed that the retinoid causes an induction of the expression of the MSC marker genes for osteoblast differentiation encoding collagen type I and alkaline phosphatase. On the other hand, the polyP ingredient, supplied as Zn-polyP microparticles (“Zn-a-polyP-MP”) strongly inhibited the growth of the cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans. We demonstrate that the amorphous polyP-containing toothpaste, enriched with retinyl acetate, efficiently repairs both cracks/fissures and carious lesions in the tooth enamel, and reseals dentinal tubules, already after a 5 d treatment (brushing) of teeth twice daily for 5 min as examined by SEM and quantitative EDX analysis. The stability of the occlusion of dentin cracks even turned out to resist against short high power sonication treatment. Our results demonstrate that the novel toothpaste prepared here, containing amorphous polyP and retinyl acetate, is particularly suitable for prevention/repair of (cariogenic) damages of tooth enamel/dentin and for treatment of dental hypersensitivity.

Access to medicines is one of the essential problems in Public Health of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The World Health Organization (WHO) defines access to medicines as the possibility of "having continuously accessible and affordable medicines in public or private health facilities that are within a kilometer of the place of residence." Access to medicines, as defined by the WHO, is not fully guaranteed in many LMICs and even in many regions of high-resource countries. The WHO identifies several factors as determinants of limitations in the access to medicines: rational selection, affordable prices, sustainable financing, and reliable health services. The action on these factors makes it possible to improve universal access to medicines with consequent improvement in Public Health. Adequate access to antibiotics and vaccination will avoid a large part of the deaths caused by infectious diseases in the LMICs. However, the emergence of resistance and the difficulties in vaccination campaigns due to socio-political or cultural problems make it challenging to fight many easily treatable infectious diseases. The use and abuse of antibiotics are inevitably associated with the appearance of resistances that make them ineffective. Thus, whereas limited access to antibiotics raises mortality rates from infectious diseases, generalized open access to them ends up eliminating their clinical value. Moreover, the contraction of research in this field for many years has reduced the success in discovering new drugs. Additionally, local market regulations, inadequate selection, inaccessible prices, especially for those of second and third-generation, inefficient health systems, and difficulties of administration and control of prescription compliance, especially in the case of combined therapies, are additional obstacles to universal access to antibiotics. In order to simultaneously improve access to antibiotics and keep resistances under control, it is necessary to develop training and education activities at different social levels (from patients to various Health Care Providers) to complement the national or supranational strategic plans.

Intestinal failure (IF) is characterized by a critical reduction of functional gut mass below the minimum needed for optimal growth in children. It requires parenteral nutrition (PN) and home-PN (HPN) which is challenging in terms of meeting nutritional needs according to age, growth velocity, clinical situation, and rapid changes in fluid and electrolyte requirements. Due to these complex requirements, age-adapted multi-chamber bags (MCBs) are important additions to the nutrition armamentarium. The launch of composite fish oil (FO)-containing intravenous lipid emulsions (ILEs) heralded the development of MCBs containing these ILEs in combination with a crystalline amino acids solution (CAAS) adapted for pediatric use. The safety and efficacy of lipid and amino acid components in this context have been widely documented in numerous published studies. This manuscript includes a review of the articles published in PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar until June 2022, exploring studies in the age groups from term infants to children and adolescents. Preterm infants with their highly specific demands are not included. It aims to offer an overview of the clinical experience regarding the use of a composite FO-based ILE and a specific CAAS developed

Neuropsychiatric manifestations of COVID-19 include delirium, general malaise, headache, and psychiatric symptoms. These manifestations are related to the neuroinflammatory response to viral antigens and proinflammatory mediators/immune cells. Tetracyclines, such as minocycline, have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Saiko-keishi-to, a traditional Japanese Kampo medicine, also has anti-inflammatory properties. Given the anti-inflammatory properties of minocycline and Saiko-keishi-to, we describe two cases of COVID-19 with prolonged headaches and general malaise successfully treated with these medications.

This study aims to describe the commitment to national heritage, patriotism, nationalism of elementary school students in the border areas between Indonesia and Timor Leste. This research was conducted in three elementary schools, they are SD Inpres Moto Ain, SD Inpres Class Jau Halimuti, SD Kristen Nanaeklot, and SD Negeri Motabenar from June to August 2018. The subjects of this study were elementary students in the Indonesia-Timor Leste border areas precisely around Motaain City, Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. The research questionnaire was adapted from Karazawa and analyzed with descripriptive statistics. The results of this study showed that the commitment to national heritage, patriotism, and nationalism of elementary students on the Indonesian border areas with Timor Leste is in the very high level.

Aim: To investigate inflammation indices and erythropoietin (EPO) levels for their potential role in distinguishing polycythemia vera (PV) from secondary polycythemia (SP), and to compare different parameter combinations in terms of diagnostic accuracy. Methods: This retrospective cohort was created from patients assessed for polycythemia from January 2020 to December 2023. PV diagnosis was made according to the 2016 WHO criteria (n=145). Those who did not fulfill the criteria were defined as having SP (n=84). Results: NLR, PLR and SII were significantly higher in the PV group (p

The study comprehensively evaluated the prognostic roles of PLR, NLR, MLR, BLR, and ELR in patients with acute exacerbation chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). 619 patients with AECOPD and 300 healthy volunteers were retrospectively included into the study. The clinical characteristics containing laboratory findings of the AECOPD patients and the blood cell counts (CBCs) of the healthy volunteers were collected. Compared with the healthy volunteers, PLR, NLR, and MLR were elevated in COPD patients in stable condition, and were further ele-vated during exacerbation. ELR showed the opposite trend. PLR, NLR, and MLR were all posi-tively correlated with hospital LOS as well as CRP. In contrast, ELR was negatively correlated with hospital LOS as well as CRP. Elevated PLR, NLR, and MLR were all associated with more serious airflow limitation in AECOPD. Elevated PLR, NLR, and MLR were all associated with increased in-hospital mortality while Elevated ELR was associated with decreased in-hospital mortality in AECOPD. A nomogram was construct to predict in-hospital mortality in AECOPD. The nomo-gram had a C-index of 0.850 (95% CI: 0.799 – 0.901) with good predictive value and clinical ap-plicability. In summary, PLR, NLR, MLR, and ELR served as predictors for clinical outcomes in patients with AECOPD.

Background. IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is associated with chronic inflammation. Platelet-related parameters, such as platelet (PLT) count, platelet-to-albumin ratio (PAR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), were examined as potential prognostic indicators for renal and cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in IgAN. Methods. 150 IgAN patients were devided into two groups based on the cut-off value of PAR. All-cause mortality, major CV events and end-stage renal disease were the primary combined endpoints. Secondary endpoints, such as CV or renal endpoints, were also analyzed separately. Results. The patient’s mean age was 43.7 ± 13.5 years, and the follow-up time was 124 ± 67 months. The K-M curve showed that PLR, PAR and PLT were strongly associated with primary combined (p = 0.002, p = 0.004, p = 0.001) and renal outcomes (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001), but not with CV outcomes in IgAN. However, when combined with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) or metabolic syndrome (MetS) PAR was found to be a significant predictor of both primary (p < 0.001, p < 0.001) and secondary outcomes (p = 0.001 and p = 0.038; p = 0.001 and p = 0.015). Additionally, PLR correlated with microalbuminuria (r = -0.165, p = 0.033) and LVH (r = -0.178, p = 0.025), while PLT correlated with eGFR (r = 0.158, p = 0.040). Conclusion. Elevated PAR and PLR may predict progression to end-stage kidney disease, but in combination with LVH and MetS, they showed CV events also in IgAN. The determination of PAR and PLR can be useful and cost-effective parameters for assessing both cardiovascular and renal risks in CKD.

Background: The aim of this study has been to investigate if inflammatory biomarkers such as the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have any correlation with the recurrence of pleomorphic adenomas (PA) in patients afflicted by this disease. Methods: A retrospective multicentre study involving two Italian centres, the Maxillofacial Sur-gery at the Policlinico Federico II in Naples and the ENT and Maxillofacial Surgery at the IRCCS G. Pascale National Cancer Institute in Naples, has been performed. The study, involving 608 pa-tients who had received a diagnosis of PA, was conducted between January 2000 and January 2020. A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the optimal cut-off values for the SII, PLR and NLR. A linear regression model (LRM) and a non-linear logistic re-gression model (NLRM) were realized with respect to the NLR, PLR and SII. Results: The highest performance was achieved by the NLR (cut-off 2.960) with the AUC = 0.91, with an accuracy of 96.1%, sensitivity of 78.4% and specificity of 97.2%, PPV = 64.4% and NPV = 98.6%. The LRM and NLRM including all the haematological parameters did not increase the per-formance in terms of recurrence detection. Conclusion: The NLR is an excellent support tool in predicting the recurrence of PA with a cut-off of 2.960. It can be a good reference point for surgical decision-making and follow-up in clinical practice.

Breast cancer (BC) affects millions of women; it is the leading cause of death by neoplasia in wom-en worldwide, with at least 500 thousand deaths each year, 70% of which occur in developing countries. Elastography evaluates tissue stiffness, making this a promising non-invasive real-time technique. BI-RADS is recognized as a standard and helpful technique for establishing BC risk. This study aimed to determine, by strain elastography (SE), the fat-to-lesion index (F/L index), sen-sitivity, specificity, and optimal cut-off to diagnose BC. This prospective study included 216 wom-en who underwent SE, ultrasound, mammography, and breast biopsy; according to mammogra-phy, we recruited BI-RADS category 2 (n= 5), category 3 (n=29), category 4 (n= 94), category 5 (n= 71) and category 6 (n=17); after biopsy, 108 women were classified as negative, and 108 were pos-itive for BC. Three expert BC radiologists performed all imaging interpretations and biopsies. Our results show mean values of the F/L index for negative biopsies of 3.70±2.57 and positive biopsies of 18.10±17.01; we developed two models for the prediction of BC, a logistic regression model with an AUC of 0.893 and a neural network with an AUC of 0.902. The Youden index yielded a F/L index cut-off >5.76, with a sensitivity and specificity of 84.26%. Positive Spearman's Rho cor-relation coefficient was observed between the F/L index and BI-RADS, r=.073 (p< 0.001). ANOVA test showed a difference between F/L index vs. molecular subtypes (p=0.002). SE is helpful as a di-agnostic complement to mammography, or in cases where the latter is contraindicated, elas-tography has an adequate predictive capacity and is a fast and minimally invasive procedure.

It has been proposed that upregulation of the noradrenergic (NA) system through exposure to novelty might be one of the key components for building cognitive reserve and resilience to neurodegeneration. A personality trait that promotes greater interest in novel experiences is Openness to Experience (OE). Individuals who are high in OE exhibit strong curiosity towards novelty and are more likely to be exposed to novel stimuli throughout the lifespan.Performing voxel-based morphometry analyses, we examined whether OE in 135 healthy young adults was associated with Locus Coeruleus (LC) - the main core of the noradrenergic system. We also investigated whether LC mediates the relationship between OE and a key measure of reserve, I.Q. In comparison with other neuromodulators’ seeds (Dorsal and Median Raphe [DR-MR] -5-HT, Ventral Tegmental Area [VTA] -DA- and Nucleus Basalis of Meynert [NBM] -Ach-), results show that greater LC integrity was related to greater OE and IQ. Additionally, mediation analyses revealed that only LC mediated the relationship between OE and IQ. Furthermore, a Bayesian multiple regression was conducted to model the contribution of both isolated and combined neuromodulator seeds to OE trait express. This approach found that the LC + VTA could account for more variance in OE expression compared to the LC alone. Other weaker but significant associations were observed between DR and OE, between LC + NBM and Conscientiousness and between DR + NBM and Extraversion. These results are together suggestive that OE is primarily underpinned by monoaminergic functioning, and that the LC-NA system plays a central role mediating the interdependence between OE expression and cognition (IQ level). While offering further understanding of the neurobiology of human personality, these findings indicate a pivotal role of LC-NA system integrity in novelty seeking in daily life. This provides a psychobiological account for how OE expression may be beneficial for maintaining the noradrenergic system to facilitate cognitive reserve and resilience to neurodegenerative conditions.

This paper compares the performance of three text-to-speech (TTS) models released from June 2021 to January 2022 in order to establish a baseline for Brazilian Portuguese. Those models were trained using dataset for Brazilian Portuguese. The experimental setup considers tts-portuguese dataset to fine-tune the following TTS models: VITS end-to-end model; glowtts and gradtts acoustic models both using hifi-gan vocoder. Performance metrics are arranged into objective and subjective metrics. As subjective metrics, the naturalness and intelligibility are measured based on the mean opinion score (MOS). Results shows that gradtts+hifigan model achieved naturalness of 4.07 MOS, close to performance of current commercial models.

Background: Vaccinating children against COVID-19 is an essential public health strategy in order to reach herd immunity and prevent illness among children and adults. Parents are facing tremendous stress in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccination program for children. In this study, we aimed to investigate parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 in North Kivu province (DRC). Methods: A cross-sectional survey between December 01, 2021 to January 20, 2022 in 6 health zones (Goma, Karisimbi, Butembo, Beni, Kamango and Katwa) was conducted in the province of North Kivu. In each health zone, we selected 5 clusters (Health area) using the method of probabilistic selection proportional to population size. In total, 522 parents participated in our study. Results: Overall, 32.8% of parents intended to vaccinate their children. In the multivariate analysis, younger age of parents (aOR : 2.40, CI : [1.50-3.83]), higher level of fear that “a member of my family” could contract COVID-19 (aOR : 2.35, CI : [1.38-4.02]), higher level of perceived vulnerability to COVID-19 within the family (aOR : 1.70, CI : [1.005-2.2881]), higher level of perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 within the family (aOR : 3.07, CI : [1.80-5.23]), and history of vaccination against COVID-19 among parents (aOR : 16.47, CI : [8.39-32.33]), were significantly associated with the intention to have their children or adolescents vaccinated. Conclusion: Willingness of parents to vaccinate their children against the COVID-19 vaccination was low in North Kivu. There is undeniably in this region a need to reinsure the populations about vaccine safety for both children and adults. Public health authorities should also address widespread misinformation about vaccines in a timely manner.

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing and the resulting economic burden increasingly apparent, the Indonesian government began to prepare a "new normal" phase and make peace with COVID-19. From this new decision arises the question of the readiness of businesses and the industrial sector to resume operations amid COVID-19. This article aims to provide concise and precise information about the preparations that can be made by businesses to operate safely amid COVID-19 based on existing scientific studies and literatures. From the literature visits it can be concluded that transmission and danger of a COVID-19 pandemic can be prevented through: creation of infectious disease prevention and response plan, implementing basic infection prevention measures, policies and procedures for proper identification and isolation of sick people, applying flexibilities in policies, and protections in the workplace.

Here we review and describe a set of research priorities to meet present and future challenges posed to farmed animal production that build on progress, successes and resources from the Functional Annotation of ANimal Genomes (FAANG) project.

South America has become the new epicenter of the coronavirus, especially in Brazil where the disease continues to spread exponentially across the country. This text aims to analyze the psychosocial factors of Covid-19 on back to school strategies in Brazil from a bioecological perspective. At the microsystem level, the population is experiencing different levels of stress and fear; at the mesosystem level, changes in routines, separation from family and friends, and closure of schools; and at the macrosystem level, national guidelines to control the pandemic, institutional standards on a national and international scale. Therefore, the main focus for the success of school return must be in the prevention of contagion and with physical and psychological health, and should not only consider the demands of curricula, financial or administrative management. For this reason, it is paramount that greater female representativeness is increased in decision-making levels of the meso and macrosystem, regarding the resumption of school and academic activities in the pandemic period, since the number of female leaders in decision-making, is still insufficient.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the world with increased challenges. The response to this pandemic has led to a sudden disruption of routine medical and elective surgical care. Most hospitals across the globe have had to change the way outpatient clinics are carried out and postpone non-urgent elective surgical procedures. NHS England ceased all elective general surgeries to train and re-deploy their staff to support the increased pressures from COVID-19 in an intensive care setting. However, with a decline of reported cases and deaths, the return to undertaking non-urgent elective services is imminent. In May 2020, Radha and Afzal published the first evidence-based guidelines for the resumption of elective orthopaedic services titled “Evidence based suggestions for the return to elective orthopaedic surgery following the COVID-19 Pandemic”. The pathway presented is adapted from the “Evidence based suggestions for the return to elective orthopaedic surgery following the COVID-19 Pandemic” and could potentially be used as a model for other surgical specialities. We present a three-phased return back to urological services. Safe resumption of elective care is possible but needs to be carefully planned.