In this study, we investigated the features of co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and nonpathogenic strain LEV8 of coxsackievirus A7 or enterovirus A71 for Vero E6 cells and Syrian hamsters. The investigation of co-infection with SARS-СoV-2 and LEV-8 or EV-A71 in the cell model was shown that a competitive inhibitory effect for these viruses were especially significant against SARS-CoV-2. Pre-infection with enteroviruses in animals caused more than a 100-fold decrease in the levels of SARS-CoV-2 virus replication in the respiratory tracts and more rapid clearance of the lower respiratory tract from infectious SARS-CoV-2. Co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and LEV-8 or EV-A71 also reduced the severity of clinical manifestations of the SARS-CoV-2 infection for animals. Additionally, the histological data illustrated that co-infection with nonpathogenic coxsackievirus decreased the level of pathological changes by SARS-CoV-2 in the lungs. Research into the chemokine/cytokine profile demonstrated that the studied enteroviruses efficiently triggered this part of antiviral immune response, which can be associated with significant inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infection. These results demonstrate that there exists a strong viral interference between the studied nonpathogenic strain of coxsackievirus A7 or enteroviruses A71 and SARS-CoV-2 pathogenic for humans in vitro and in vivo.

Analyses of the three predominant types of sedimentation – clastic, carbonate and black shale – revealed their discontinuity/continuity in different facies environments of the Middle and Late Devonian of the central part of the Volga-Urals petroleum province, namely (1) in depressions, both condensed and non-condensed, (2) on the slopes of depressions and (3) in shallow water environments represented by tectonic arches or localised biohermal uplifts. The regional zonation of conodonts, correlated with the global chronostratigraphic scheme, substantiates the stratigraphic completeness of the general Devonian sequence in this area. In particular, the sedimentation of organic-rich black shales, traditionally considered as source rocks, lasted more than 29 million years, starting from the Late Eifel and ending at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary. There was only one hiatus in the deposition of both black shales and carbonate sediments, lasting about 2.5 million years at the end of the Frasnian. That interval is dominated by clastic sediments, which are considered to be the most productive reservoirs of the Volga-Ural province. In the time interval from the beginning of the Eifel to the end of the Frasnian (about 17 Ma), (a) clastic sediments show the highest accumulation rates; (b) the most complete sequences occur in depressions; and (c) arches and uplifts show the most significant gaps in the geological record. During Famennian, (a) clastic sedimentation has completely ceased; (b) differences between the slopes of troughs and shallow-water environments have diminished, resulting in stable accumulation of carbonate sediments in both settings; (c) the decrease in sequence thickness (up to 50 m) in depressions suggests reduced accumulation rates of deep-water organic-rich black shales. The results help to understand the complex spatial relationship between different coexisting sedimentation types and focus attention to the incompleteness of the geological record in different environments.

Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) is a promising algorithm for indoor positioning. However, the accuracy of PDR degrades due to the accumulated error, especially in multi-floor buildings. This paper introduces a three-dimensional (3D) positioning method based on terrain feature matching to reduce the influence of accumulated error in multi-floor scene. The proposed method involves two steps: motion pattern recognition and position matching calibration. The motion pattern recognition aims to detect different motion states, i.e., taking the stairs or horizontal walking, from the streaming data. Then, stair entrances and corridor corners are matched with transition points of motion states and pedestrian turning points, respectively. After matching, calibration is performed to eliminate the accumulated errors. By carrying out experiments on a two-floor closed-loop path with a walking distance about 145 m, it is shown that this method can effectively reduce the accumulated error of PDR , achieving accurate 3D positioning . The average error is reduced from 6.60 m to 1.83 m.

The Giant Babax, an endemic bird in China and a nationally protected wildlife species of Class Ⅱ, is primarily distributed in southern and southeastern Tibet. To investigate the factors influencing nesting site selection, this study conducted research on nest characteristics and nesting site preferences at four sample sites around Lhasa from March to October 2023y, using systematic search methods, tracking methods, and sampling methods. The research findings are as follows: (1) The average nest depth was (7.70±1.47)cm, nest height was (19.58±2.97)cm, inner diameter was (10.64±1.73)cm, outer diameter was (24.65±4.8)cm, average weight was (162.3±13.5)g, and average nest spacing within the plot was 396.93m. (2) The nests of Giant Babax were predominantly found on vegetation such as Salix longistamina (38%), Hippophae gyantsensis (20%), Rosa sericea Lindl. (14%), and Populus szechuanica Schneid(11%). They showed a preference for artificial secondary forests as nesting sites. (3) Giant Babax exhibited a preference for habitats with robust trees that had high canopies while being distant from houses and roads, but close to water sources; moreover, the canopy of the nesting tree played a crucial role in their choice of nesting sites. (4) The reproductive success rate reached 76%, with key factors affecting it being the canopy coverage of the nesting tree and the number of helpers. These research results provide fundamental data support for population conservation efforts and ecological resource management strategies concerning the Giant Babax.

Although numerous articles have been published to address drivers or barriers of corporate social responsibility (CSR), some parts of the world have received less attention. In this study, I reviewed the literature, from 2010 to 2021, to identify drivers and barriers of CSR in the the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and compare them with the findings in western countries. (2) Methods: For this study, I used a structured literature review method. By setting the inclusion and exclusion criteria, only 28 articles remained from selected database; (3) Results: The findings revealed some CSR drivers, such as leadership styles, profitability, reputation, moral commitment, and environmental conservation are common in both regions. There are also some differences between CSR drivers, for example religious beliefs, low concentration of ownership, and company characteristics are some of the drivers in the MENA region. Maintaining social license to operate, avoiding the risks of community opposition, pressure from the government, and consumer demand tend to be more important in western countries. Common barriers in both regions are lack of financial resources, cost, lack of CSR knowledge and awareness, and ownership concentration. This review also highlighted that lack of law enforcement, lack of stakeholder communication, lack of management commitment, lack of interests, corruption, and financial debts are some of the addressed barriers of CSR in the MENA region, while cost/benefit ratio, lack of customer interest, and lack of scientific frameworks are the special barriers in western countries. (4) Conclusions: While researchers in western countries have more focus on energy sector, there is a lack of research about drivers and barriers of CSR in the MENA region in several industries, including oil and gas.

Safe water is a global public health concern amid increasing scarcity and pollution. Bottled water production and consumption contribute to these problems. This study examines tap water consumption in Italy, assessing associated sociodemographic factors and related health outcomes such as obesity and self-perceived health status. Data from the Italian National Statistics Institute's "Aspects of daily life" survey (N=45,597) were analyzed. Covariates included education, age, gender, economic status, region, concerns about waste and climate change, consumption of carbonated drinks excluding water, alcohol consumption, consumption of vegetables, consumption of snacks, body mass index, and self-perceived health status. Bivariate analyses and mixed-effect logistic regression models explored the associations. People who drink tap water were 19,674 with a higher prevalence in people aged 45 to 59 old, people with a graduate/post-graduate degree diploma, with optimal economic resources, and concerned about waste production and climate change, coming from the North-East regions of Italy. Underweight people showed a higher prevalence of TW assumption as well as those who drink less than occasionally carbonated drinks, drink alcohol, consume vegetables more than once a day, and snacks less than once a week with a satisfying level perceived health status. Regressions showed that all age classes are less likely to drink tap water than people younger than 20 years old. The category with “inadequate” economic resources is more likely to consume tap water. Low educational classes show a low likelihood of consuming tap water as well as Islands. A concern about waste production and climate change is associated with an increased likelihood of assuming tap water. Tap water consumption was negatively associate with obesity but not with a satisfactory Self-perceived health status. Insights from this study can inform public health strategies.

Objective: The study aimed to characterize the changing landscape of circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages in the local community of Hong Kong throughout 2022. We examined how adjustments to quarantine arrangements influenced the transmission pattern of Omicron variants in a city with relatively rigorous social distancing measures at that time. Methods: In 2022, a total of 4,684 local SARS-CoV-2 genomes were sequenced using the Oxford Nanopore GridION sequencer. SARS-CoV-2 consensus genomes were generated by MAFFT, and the maximum likelihood phylogeny of these genomes were determined using IQ-TREE. The dynamic changes in lineages were depicted in a time tree created by Nextstrain. Statistical analysis was conducted to assess the correlation between changes in the number of lineages and adjustments to quarantine arrangements. Results: By the end of 2022, a total of 83 SARS-CoV-2 lineages were identified in the community. The increase in the number of new lineages was significantly associated with the relaxation of quarantine arrangements (One-way ANOVA, F(5,47)=18.233, p<0.001)). Over time, Omicron BA.5 sub-lineages replaced BA.2.2 and became the predominant Omicron variants in Hong Kong. The influx of new lineages reshaped the dynamics of Omicron variants in the community without fluctuating the death rate and hospitalization rate (One-way ANOVA, F(5,47)=2.037, p=0.091). Conclusion: The study revealed that even with an extended mandatory quarantine period for incoming travelers, it may not be feasible to completely prevent the introduction and subsequent community spread of highly contagious Omicron variants. Ongoing molecular surveillance of COVID-19 remains essential to monitor the emergence of new recombinant variants.

Diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) is a lipid kinase that phosphorylates diacylglycerol (DAG) to generate phosphatidic acid (PA). Based on converting one important signaling molecule (DAG) to another (PA), DGK plays an important role in plant responses to abiotic stress including waterlogging stress. However, no studies have been reported on the characterization of the DGK gene family in the waterlogging-tolerant kiwifruit germplasm, Actinidia valvata Dunn. Here, we identified 18 AvDGK genes in the A. valvata genome. The phylogenetic analysis showed that AvDGKs can be classified into three clusters, and members within the same cluster have similar domain distribution, exon-intron structures and conserved motif compositions. Chromosome localization analysis revealed that all the AvDGK genes are located across 18 different chromosomes. There were 29 duplicated gene pairs in kiwifruit and all had undergone purifying selection during evolution. Promoter cis-element analysis revealed that the cis-elements within AvDGK genes are associated with multiple functions, including phytohormone signal transduction, stress response, and plant growth and development. The expression pattern analyses indicated that AvDGK play an important role in the fruit development and plant response to waterlogging stress. AvDGKs gene family in the tetraploid A. valvata genome might promote PA synthesis and subsequent signal transduction both under short-term and long-term waterlogging stress. These results provide information regarding the structural characteristics and potential function of DGK genes within kiwifruit and lay a fundamental basis for further research into breeding for enhancing the kiwifruit’s tolerance to waterlogging stress.

To characterize the fecal microbiota of lactating Bactrian camels, this study employed a random selection of camels, assigning them to three groups: the first parity group, the third parity group, and the fifth parity group. The fecal microbial community of lactating camels was assessed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, and the resulting library was sequenced on an Illumina NovaSeq platform. The first parity group was characterized by Verrucomicrobiaceae as a distinctive bi-omarker, whereas Clostridiaceae exhibited a similar role to the third parity group. In terms of functional analysis, the relative abundance of the Steroid biosynthesis pathway was highest in the first parity group, whereas the fifth parity group demonstrated a higher relative abundance of the Tuberculosis pathway compared to the other groups. The first parity group exhibited the greatest presence of seven types of enzymes, whereas the fifth parity group displayed the highest levels of two specific enzymes. Additionally, a positive association was observed between the relative abundance of the Steroid biosynthesis pathway and Verrucomicrobiaceae. Furthermore, the relative abundance of the Tuberculosis pathway displayed positive correlations with 14 enzymes. In conclusion, this study revealed that different parity was associated with distinct fecal microbial ecologies in lactating Bactrian camels.

The geographical environment, food culture, and dietary habits are substantially different between the southern and northern regions in China. We investigated the associations with dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome between Chinese adult from the southern and northern regions (North: 1249; South: 1849) using data from the Chinese Health and Nutrition 2009 survey. Respectively, four dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis in the two regions. Each dietary pattern of factor score was calculated for three groups by tertile (T1<T2<T3). In the northern region, the association between the Alcohol and Western pattern and the risk of abdominal obesity (OR: 1.31; 95%:1.01, 1.68), hypertriglyceridemia (OR: 1.35; 95%:1.05, 1.74), high fasting blood glucose (OR: 1.37; 95%: 1.05, 1.80), and hypertension (OR: 1.55; 95%: 1.45, 1.99) was increased. In the southern region, the Convenience Food pattern was positively associated with hypertriglyceridemia (OR: 1.53; 95%: 1.03, 2.26), low HDL-cholesterol (OR: 1.96; 95%: 1.12, 3.43), and metabolic syndrome (OR: 1.79; 95%: 1.03, 3.11). The Alcohol dietary pattern was positively associated with high fasting blood glucose (OR: 1.83, 95%: 1.13, 2.97). There are some dietary pattern differences in the two regions. It is necessary to consider the factors of food culture and food intake habits in order to provide nutrition education to Chinese individuals from different regions in the future.

Sector coupling is one of the emerging topics in recent energy and climate change policy discussions. It can play a significant role in creating the pathway of a renewable-based energy system in the European energy sector. The North Sea region is very likely to play a key role in the transition to a sustainable energy system. Though different energy modelling approaches allow a versatile use, they lead to the problem of an unclear understanding of specific aspects of sector coupling, and the relevance of existing tools and techniques to model and analyze such a system. This paper is aimed at providing a comprehensive understanding of sector coupling and its incorporation in energy system models. Followed by a thorough literature review on sector coupling and energy system modelling, the paper outlines an approach to select an appropriate tool based on the specific rationales of the research. The paper also presents ‘Oemof’ as an open model tool to address the complex challenges of energy systems. The conclusions from the literature review provide a detailed understanding of the concept of sector coupling and indicate that it can be advantageous from the viewpoints of decarbonization, flexibility, network optimization, and system efficiency. To solve the coupling barriers, diversified techno-socio-economic circumstances should be taken into account through the use of model collaboration. It is also demonstrated how a list of appropriate tools for model collaboration can be picked up methodologically from an available wide range of models. Finally, ‘Oemof’ is hypothesized as a progressive tool to design a sector-coupled and renewable-based energy system in the North Sea region.

Earth Observation (EO) techniques have significantly evolved over time, covering a wide range of applications in different domains. The scope of this study is to review the research conducted on EO in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa (EMMENA) region and to identify the main knowledge gaps. We searched through the Web of Science database for papers published between 2018 and 2022 for EO studies in the EMMENA. We categorized the papers in the following thematic areas: Atmosphere, Water, Agriculture, Land, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Cultural Heritage, Energy, Marine Safety and Security (MSS) and Big Earth Data (BED); 6647 papers were found with the highest number of publications in the thematic areas of BED (27%) and Land (22%). Most of the EMMENA countries are surrounded by sea, yet there was a very small number of studies on MSS (0.9% of total number of papers). This study detected a gap in fundamental research in the BED thematic area. Other future needs identified by this study are the limited availability of very high resolution and near real time remote sensing data, the lack of harmonized methodologies and the need for further development of models, algorithms, early warning systems and services.

Dirofilariosis is an infectious disease caused by species of the Dirofilaria genus. It is manifested by the appearance of a subcutaneous swelling, especially in the eye region. We present the case of a 29-year-old patient that accused facial asymmetry in the right genian region. Following clinical and paraclinical evaluations, the diagnosis of parasitic cyst was established in the context of dirofilariosis with Dirofilaria repens (D. repens). Treatment consisted of surgical excision of the formation associated with prophylactic antibiotic medication. Macroscopic analysis of the excision piece revealed a structure that contains a cystic cavity and a filamentous form with a length of approximately 10 mM and a diameter of 1 mM. This is the first case of dirofilariosis located in the genian region reported in Romania. The overview of this pathology is important to raise awareness among physicians about its presence and its clinical variations.

Pathogenicity of many bacteria including Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus depends on pore-forming toxins (PFTs), which cause lysis of host cells by forming pores in membranes of eukaryotic cells. Bioinformatic analysis revealed in over 600 PFTs a region homologous to the Lys171-Gly250 sequence in hemolysin II (HlyII) from B. cereus, which we designated as “homologous peptide”. Three β-barrel PFTs were used for a detailed comparative analysis. Two of them –HlyII and cytotoxin K2 (CytK2), – are synthesized in Bacillus cereus sensu lato; the third – S. aureus α-toxin (Hla) – is the most investigated representative of the family. Protein modeling showed certain amino acids of homologous peptide to be located on the surface of the monomeric forms of these β-barrel PFTs. We obtained monoclonal antibodies against both a cloned homologous peptide and a 14-membered synthetic peptide DSFNTFYGNQLFMK as part of homologous peptide. The HlyII, CytK2 and Hla regions recognized by the obtained antibodies, as well as an antibody capable of suppressing the hemolytic activity of CytK2, were identified in the course of the work. Antibodies capable of recognizing PFTs of various origins can be useful tools for both identification and suppression of the cytolytic activity of PFTs.

In the paper, the authors generalize the notion "k-Mittag-Leffler function'', establish some integral transforms of the generalized k-Mittag-Leffler function, and derive several special and known conclusions in terms of the generalized Wright function and the generalized k-Wright function.

Considering characteristics of high river density, special underlying surface in plain river network region, and municipal drainage system function, river network drainage unit model is proposed, which is defined as a region surrounded by main river or embankment. Flood storage variety and control projects regulation of small rivers in each unit is simulated. With drainage catchment as an object, according to its drainage capacity, simplified municipal drainage model was developed. Coupling river network drainage unit model, simplified municipal drainage model and 2D flood routing model, urban flood analysis model for plain tidal river network region was developed, which could be applied to analyzing flood from upstream river, storm surge and local rainfall. Demonstration research was carried out in Puxi flood protected area in Shanghai.

A better understanding of the expected future cyclonic activity, especially in the Mediterranean Basin in winter, is essential for developing scientifically based adaptation and mitigation methods to extreme precipitation and wind anomalies. The aim of this study is to analyze the change of winter cyclonic activity in the Mediterranean-Black Sea region, within the Atlantic–European region, at the beginning (as the recent historical period), middle and end of the 21st century. The projections are based on an ensemble of seven CMIP6 models, which showed the best consistency with NCEP/NCAR and ERA5 reanalysis, under the intermediate SSP2-4.5 and highest-emission SSP5-8.5 scenarios. The results show a consistent increase of the frequency of cyclones over Central Europe and the British Isles associated with the shift of cyclone tracks: norward from the Western Mediterranean region and southward from the Iceland Low. The latter leads to a decrease of the frequency in the north of the Atlantic–European region. At the same time, there is a reduction of the frequency of cyclones over the east of the Mediterranean Sea consistent with the decrease of cyclogenesis events. Area-averaged cyclone numbers in the Western and Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea subregions reduce to the end of the century under the highest-emission scenario, but not constantly and with a raise in the middle of the 21st century under both scenarios, which may be linked to the long-term multidecadal variability or regional features. In general, our study shows that the future winter cyclonic activity in the Mediterranean-Black Sea region responds unevenly to global climate changes, because regional and monthly features are important, as well as accounting for the long-term quasiperiodic variability.

Nowadays, the identification and characterization of grapevine cultivars resilient to climate and water stress while preserving quality traits is crucial for the wine industry. Therefore, the objective of this work was to characterize according to their aromatic potential 9 white and 6 red minority cultivars recently recovered from Castilla-La Mancha region (Spain), subjected at two different water deficit regimes: rainfed, with subsistence irrigation, and irrigated. For this, the varietal aromatic potential index (IPAv) and the detailed aromatic composition were analyzed by HS-SBSE-GC/MS, in extracts of two different ph. For IPAv values, red varieties did not show a clear trend with respect to irrigation. However, in white minority varieties, higher values were obtained under irrigation conditions. Thus, a clear differentiation of the minority varieties in comparison to the references was observed, primarily attributed to the content of esters and acids, in both white and red varieties. A notable contrast was observed at different pH, indicating a greater extractability of certain compounds like linalool, under more acidic conditions. This suggests that some recovered minority cultivars could be promising for cultivation in semi-arid regions with limited water, contributing to the wine sector sustainability in the future.

An imbalance between production and excretion of amyloid β peptide (Aβ) in the brain tissues of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients leads to Aβ accumulation and formation of noxious Aβ oligomers/plaques. A promising approach to AD prevention is reduction of free Aβ level by directed enhancement of Aβ binding to its natural depot, human serum albumin (HSA). We previously demonstrated the ability of specific low-molecular-weight ligands (LMWLs) of HSA to improve its affinity for Aβ. Here we develop this approach by bioinformatic search for the clinically approved AD-related LMWLs of HSA, followed by classification of the candidates according to the predicted location of their binding sites on HSA surface, ranking of the candidates, and selective experimental validation of their impact on HSA affinity for Aβ. The top 100 candidate LMWLs were classified into the five clusters. The specific representatives of the different clusters exhibit dramatically different behavior, with 3- to 13-fold changes in equilibrium dissociation constants for the HSA-Aβ40 interaction: prednisone favors HSA-Aβ interaction, mefenamic acid shows the opposite effect, while levothyroxine exhibits the bidirectional effects. Overall, the LMWLs of HSA chosen here provide a basis for drug repurposing for AD prevention, and for search for the medications promoting AD progression.

In this study, the olive pomace was considered because of its importance in the environment. So, this study carried out to estimate the total nitrogen content and the fatty acids profile of olive pomace. The olive pomace samples were collected from Irbid, Jarash, Ajloun and Mafraq during the harvesting season 2014 to study the biochemical characteristics of fatty acid composition and the total nitrogen (TN) content. The total nitrogen content was determined by standard Kjeldahl method and the fatty acid profile was detected by gas chromatography (GC). The results show that the total nitrogen content ranged from (0.39 ± 0.0) to (0.62 ± 0.02) with statistically significant difference suggesting that the composition of matrices and their percentage may be responsible for composition of amendments. The calculated total protein percentage ranged between (2.43 ± 0.00) to (3.87 ± 0.17). Also, 13 different fatty acids were quantitatively profiled and quantitated. Oleic acid (C 18:1) was found to be the highest percentage of all other fatty acids and ranged between (59.03%) and (63.81%), moreover the C 18:1/C 18:2 (oil quality) was calculated and C.V% showed variation meaning that nutritional implication could affect the oxidative stability of oils. In conclusion, OP by-product could give a sustainable and alternative-cheap source for fertilizers, pharmaceutical industries, cosmetics and other industries.

One of the most concerning global environmental issues is the pollution of agricultural soils by heavy metals (HMs), especially cadmium (Cd), which not only affects human health by taking Cd-containing foods but also impacts the quality of rice. The soil's nitrification and denitrification processes, coupled with the release of volatile organic compounds by plants, raise substantial concerns. The understanding of three aspects of paddy soil under conditions of heavy-metal pollution and water management is currently limited. In this review, we summarized recent literature related to the deleterious effects of Cd on both soil processes related to the N cycle and rice quality, particularly aroma, in different water management practices. Under both continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) conditions, cadmium (Cd) has been observed to reduce both nitrification and denitrification processes. The adverse effects are more pronounced in continuous flooding (CF) compared to alternate wetting and drying (AWD). Similarly, the alteration in rice aroma is more significant in AWD than in CF. The precise modulation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by Cd, remains unclear based on the available literature. Nevertheless, HM accumulation is higher in AWD conditions compared to CF, leading to a detrimental impact on volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The literature concluded that AWD practices should be avoided in Cd contaminated fields to decrease accumulation and maintain the quality of rice. In the future, rhizospheric engineering and plant biotechnology can be used to decrease the transport of HMs from the soil to the plant’s edible parts.

A large diversity of epigenetic factors, such as microRNAs and histones modifications, are known to be capable of regulating gene expression without altering DNA sequence itself. In particular, miR-1 is considered the first essential microRNA in cardiac development. In this study, miR-1 potential role in early cardiac chamber differentiation is analyzed through specific signaling pathways. For this, we performed in chick embryos functional experiments by means of miR-1 microinjections into the posterior cardiac precursors -of both primitive endocardial tubes- committed to sinoatrial region fates. Subsequently, embryos were subjected to whole mount in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry and RT-qPCR analysis. As a relevant nov-elty, our results revealed that miR-1 increases Tbx5, Gata4 and AMHC1, while this microRNA diminishes Mef2c expression, during early differentiation of cardiac sinoatrial region. Further-more, we observed in this developmental context that miR-1 upregulates CRABPII and RARß, and downregulates CRABPI, which are three crucial factors in retinoic acid signaling pathway. Interestingly, we also noticed that miR-1 directly interacts with HDAC4 and Calmodulin, as well as with Erk2/MAPK1, which are three key factors actively involved in Mef2c regulation. Our study shows, for the first time, a key role of miR-1 as an epigenetic regulator in early differenti-ation of cardiac sinoatrial region through orchestrating opposite actions between retinoic acid and Mef2c, fundamental to properly assign cardiac cells to their respective heart chambers. A better understanding of those molecular mechanisms modulated by miR-1 will definitely help in fields applied to therapy and cardiac regeneration and repair.

It has been shown that Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with several forms of cancer. Additionally, although there are more than 100 types of HPV, more than ten types of it, including types 16 and 18, are considered high-risk. The two proteins that make up the viral capsid of HPV 16 are L1, the major capsid protein, and L2, the minor capsid protein. FDA (The Food and Drug Administration) approved HPV vaccines mostly target L1 and L2 capsid proteins, which facilitate intracellular entry during infection. In this study, it was set out to analyze the creation of phylogenetic relations of L1 nucleic acid sequences of viral isolates. This study also analyzed sequences of three key elements within the amino acid sequences of HPV 16 L1: loops critical for structural stability, nuclear localization signal sequences, and residues implicated in viral attachment. As highlighted by the literature, these elements represent pivotal aspects of viral function. Furthermore, the report highlighted the particular inter-sequence variability within the HPV 16 L1 protein sequences. Overall analysis revealed clustering of sequences primarily due to geographical and characterized by more phylogenetic relatedness within location-specific clusters.

As the natural resources are getting exhausted, the concept of sustainable development of region has received increasing attentions, especially for resource-dependent cities. In this paper an innovative method that emergy analysis and IPAT (Human Impact Population Affluence Technology) model were combined in order to analyze the quantitative relationship of economic growth and energy consumption and further to evaluate its overall sustainability level. Taiyuan, a traditional, resource-dependent city in China, is selected as the case study region. The main results show that total emergy of Taiyuan increased from 9.023× 1023 sej in 2007 to 9.116× 1023sej in 2014, with 38% reduction on non-renewable emergy and 125% growth on imported emergy. Regional emergy money ratio (RMB) was reduced by 48% from 5.31× 1013sej/$ in 2007 to 2.74× 1013sej/$ in 2014, indicating that the increasing speed of consuming resources and energy was faster than the increase of GDP, and that Taiyuan’s money purchasing power declined. The lower emergy sustainability index (ESI) indicates that Taiyuan was explored and produced large quantities of mineral resources, which puts more stress on the environment as a consequence, and that this is not sustainable in the long run. The IPAT analysis demonstrates that Taiyuan sticks to the efforts of energy conservation and environmental protection, in order to promote regional sustainable development, it is necessary to take an integrated effort. Policy insights suggest that resourceful regions should improve include energy and resource efficiency, optimizing energy and resourceful structure.

The hump feature is one of the major instabilities in pump-turbines. When pump-turbines operate in the hump region, strong noise and serious fluctuations can be observed, which are harmful to their safe and stable operation and can even destroy the whole unit as well as water conveyance system. In this paper, a low specific speed (n_q = 36.1 min⁻¹) pump-turbine model was experimentally investigated. Firstly, the hump characteristic was obtained under 19 mm guide vane opening conditions. More interestingly, when the hump characteristic was measured in two directions (increasing and decreasing the discharge), characteristic hysteresis was found in the hump region. The analysis of performance characteristics reveals that the hump instability is the result of Euler momentum and hydraulic losses, and different Euler momentum and hydraulic losses in the two development processes lead to the hysteresis phenomenon. Then, 12 pressure sensors were mounted in the different parts of the pump-turbine model to obtain the time and frequency characteristics. The analysis of the corresponding fast Fourier transform confirms that the hump characteristic is related to low-frequency (0.04–0.15 times rotational frequency) vortices. The occurrence and cessation of vortices depend on the operating condition and measurement direction, which contribute to the hysteresis feature. Finally, the type of the low-frequency vortices was analyzed through the cross power spectrum.

The analysis of the morphological features can be framed in different temporal and spatial scales, depending on the specific objectives and methodologies of the various scientific fields that find in them a valuable source of information. The inventory and assessment of the geomorphological heritage may be based not exclusively in geophysical factors, but also in its contribution to the structuring of the biosphere, in its interrelation with other types of heritage or even in its potential for research or education purposes. In this article, we proceeded to the selection of a set of geomorphosites, at different scales, in Serra do Alvão (northern Portugal), seeking to demonstrate the importance of the broad lines of relief and intermediate and detailed landforms to the organization of the cultural landscape. Based on a questionnaire applied to a sample of 104 persons, it was intended to assess the value of the geomorphosites, concerning the scientific, preservation, use, cultural and educational dimensions.

Although, promotion of urbanization culture in recent decades has made inevitable development of cities in the world, however, the development can be guided in a direction that leave, to the extent possible, minimum socioeconomic and environmental impacts. For this, it is required to first forecast auto-spreading orientation of cities and suburbs in rural areas over time and then avoid shapeless growth of cities. This paper is an attempt to develop a dynamic hybrid model based on logistic regression (LR), Markov chain (MC), and cellular automata (CA) for prediction of future urban sprawl in fast-growing cities. The model was developed using 12 widely-used urban development criteria, whose significant coefficient was determined by logistic regression, and validated by relative operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The validated model was run in Guilan, a tourist province in northern Iran with a very high rate of urban development. For this, changes in the area of urban land use were detected over the period of 1989 to 2013 and then, future sprawl of the province was forecasted by the years 2025 and 2037. The analysis results revealed that the area of urban land use was increased by more than 1.7 % from 36012.5 ha in 1989 to 59754.8 ha in 2013, and the area of Caspian Hyrcanian forestland was reduced by 31628 ha. The results also predicted an alarming increase in the rate of urban development in the province by the years 2025 and 2037, during which urban land use is predicted to develop 0.9 % and 1.38 %, respectively. The development pattern is expected to be uneven and scattered, without following any particular direction. The development will occur close to the existing or newly-formed urban basements as well as around major roads and commercial areas. This development, if not controlled, will lead to the loss of 13863 ha of Hyrcanian forests and if the trend continues, 21013 ha of Hyrcanian forests and 20208 ha of Barren/open lands are expected to be destroyed by the year 2037. In general, the proposed model is an efficient tool for the support of urban planning decisions and facilitates the process of sustainable development of cities by providing decision-makers with an overview on future development of cities where the growth rate is very fast.

The creative potential of homo sapiens is the biological basis of his spirituality. To take into account factor of spirituality in analysis of global problems of demography and ecology used analogies of chemical kinetics. Stable in the historical time, population of people was modeled by open thermodynamic system, equilibrium state of which depends on climate and geophysics. The demography of creative potential was divided into two geographical zones - north and south. Process of society sapientation was formalized by introducing into logistic equation of Verhulst, in addition to a couple of parents, at least one more teacher from among educated people. Stationary solution of the modified kinetic equations determines optimal demography for sustainable development of population in accordance with its education index. The solution of the demographic, energy and environmental problems of mankind is determined by the level of world creative potential, the growth of which is currently limited by the consumption paradigm.

Natural radioactivity of 238U, 232Th and 40K for liquid and solid samples collected from Sidi Salem dam (Tunisia) and Aïn Dalia dam (Algeria) were measured using TERRA detector of rays (gam-ma, beta, and alpha), Atomic adsorption and Gamma-ray spectrometry were used to analyze the levels of radionuclides and toxic heavy metals, respectively. Toxic heavy metals (Fe, Bb, Zn, Ni, Cu, Cr and Cd) and associated health risks in surface water and sediment of dams have been in-vestigated in this present study. The radioactivity mean rates in the water samples were 1.72±0.01, 0.068±0.01 and 94.6±1.04 Bql-1 for 238U, 232Th and 40K respectively (Tunisia dam) and were 1.9± 0.24, 0.09±0.01 and 131.43±1.03 Bql-1 for 238U, 232Th and 40K respectively (Algeria dam). The 238U, 232Th and 40K radioactivity mean concentration measured in the sediment samples were 2.67±0.01, 0.18±0.012 and 197.87±2.01 Bqkg-1 respectively (Tunisian dam) and were 4.34±0.05, 0.27±0.05 and 287.61±3.34 Bqkg-1 respectively (Algeria dam). The activity concentration of 40K was higher than that of 238U and 232Th for the water and sediment samples. The mean activity concen-trations follow the order 40K > 238U > 232Th. The cumulative impact can be a serious immediate radiological health burden on the ecosystem, environment and people's health in this study area and can be transposable to any other similar region. The good knowledge of monitoring quality and quantity for the transboundary water resources and the international collaborations are es-sential to safeguard human health (women’s breasts cancer, thyroid cancer, neurological im-pact…), and avoid the conflicts, especially during these climatic upheavals of drought.

Very heavy stratiform precipitation (> 200 mm/per day) occurred in the Hokitika region on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand on 18 June 2015, under north-westerlies with small CAPE (< 25 J/kg). Analyses of model simulations and observations showed that this heavy rainfall was due to cold front lifting enhanced by orographic lifting over the Southern Alps. At 1.5 km grid-length, the model terrain underestimated the average height of the 103 tallest mountains over the South Island by ~ 800 m. This leads to weaker orographic lifting and mountain blocking, and a faster-moving and stronger cold front in the Hokitika region. As a result, large errors in the heavy rainfall prediction occur. By increasing either the resolved or the sub-grid mountain heights, the simulated rainfall errors were largely reduced through stronger orographic lifting and mountain blocking, and a better simulation of the cold front movement and strength. All the experiments have the same “flow-over” regime with mountain waves and/or wave breaking (Fm ranges 0.61 – 1.21). However, the rainfall amount and distribution on the windward side of mountains altered significantly. Our new findings were that the Southern Alps can have significant indirect effects on heavy rainfall by altering the speed and strength of the cold front, in addition to the well-known direct dynamical effects (i.e., orographic lifting and mountain blocking). A combination of these direct and indirect effects makes the heavy rainfall simulation sensitive to mountain heights even under the same “flow-over” regime.

Grasping the spatial and temporal patterns of forest fires, along with the key factors that drive them and the ability to forecast such events accurately, is essential for the successful management of forests. In China's southern region, forest fires significantly endanger the ecological system, public safety, and economic well-being. Through the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and LightGBM (Light Gradient Boosting Machine) model, this study investigates the determinants of fire incidents and formulates a predictive model for forest fire occurrences, alongside a zoning strategy, within the Central-South area. The results indicate: (i) Spatially, fire points exhibit significant clustering and autocorrelation characteristics; (ii) The Central-South Forest Fire Prediction Model shows exceptional accuracy, reliability, and predictive power, with high performance metrics across training and validation sets, including over 85% accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 scores, along with AUC values above 89%, underscoring its efficacy in forecasting forest fires and distinguishing between fire events; (iii) Throughout the year, forest fire risks in the Central-South region of China vary by region and season, with risk spikes from March to May in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, and Hainan. From June to August, localized risks are observed in Heyuan and Huangshi, while from September to November, an increase in risk is noted in Guangdong (Meizhou, Heyuan, Shaoguan), Guangxi (Nanning, Hezhou, Yulin), and Hunan (Binzhou, Yongzhou, Hengyang) due to cooler, drier conditions and leaf litter accumulation. From December to February, the risk continues in specific areas across Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, and Hubei.

In the era of mounting water scarcity, particularly in arid regions, the agricultural sector is striving to optimize the water resource management practices. Treated wastewater (TWW) has emerged as a viable alternative to freshwater for irrigation, offering a sustainable solution to water conservation. However, ensuring the safety and quality of TWW is paramount to safeguard for both crop health and environmental integrity. Electrical conductivity (EC), a critical factor in assessing TWW suitability for irrigation, can significantly impact crop yields and soil health since it is directly linked to the concentration of dissolved salts and ions. Therefore, this study delves into the development of advanced predictive models for EC assessment by employing supervised machine learning (ML) techniques like the Support Vector Regression (SVR), Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR). The TWW samples collected from Al-Qatif area, Saudi Arabia were assessed in the lab through a sensor-based real-time monitoring system integrated with Internet of Things (IoT) network and a multiprobe device. The key water quality parameters assessed involved, temperature (T), pH, Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP), Resistivity (RES), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Salinity and Turbidity which served as the foundation for these models, given their profound influence on and their anticipated impact on EC levels. Following feature selection, two distinct model combinations were identified for the SVR, ANFIS and MLR models. Furthermore, to evaluate prediction performance, four statistical criteria, including coefficient of determination (R²), correlation coefficient (R), mean square error (MSE), and root mean square error (RMSE), were employed. Overall, the comparative performance results proved that ANFIS-M2 indicated the strongest predictive capability with the R² value of 0.99572 and 0.75145 and the RMSE values of 0.00965 and 0.01134, respectively in both calibration and verification stages.

This research addresses a gap in the literature by conducting a comprehensive analysis of patients’ level of satisfaction with dental care. Methods: By combining quantitative and qualitative survey methods with the PSQ questionnaire this study aims to augment ongoing initiatives to enhance dental patients’ experiences by painting a more comprehensive depiction of patients' level of satisfaction; Results: When asked about their overall level of satisfaction 77,1% of the patients said they received excellent services from the office personnel and 72,2% said they trust their doctors; Conclusions: Assessing patient satisfaction in the realm of dental services quality is crucial for enhancing service quality and accuracy, benefiting both patients and dentists, and ultimately improving public health.

Arboviruses are infections caused by arboviruses that may be either symptomatic or asymptomatic, according to individuals' resistance and immune response, which dietary patterns can influence. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the possible association between the occurrence of clinical manifestations of arboviruses and the dietary pattern of the population studied. The study was conducted in a rural population in the metropolitan area of Belém, Pará State, Brazil. The sampling consisted of 95 individuals during a febrile outbreak. Two investigations were conducted: clinical-epidemiological-dietary and laboratory investigation based on blood samples taken for arbovirus analysis. Out of the 95 individuals studied, more than half (57.89%) showed clinical manifestations. Following the laboratory serology (HI and IgM ELISA) analyses, viral isolation in C6/36 cells, and viral genome detection (RT-qPCR), the final diagnosis of the cases was 47.37% Oropouche Fever, 2.11% Oropouche Fever and Chikungunya Fever, and 1.05% Mayaro Fever. Regarding dietary pattern, as for the comparison analyses, statistical significance was observed between dietary pattern and classification regarding the presence of symptoms (p<0.05); after the correspondence analysis, symptomatic cases were more associated with a bad dietary pattern, while asymptomatic cases were more associated with a good dietary pattern.

Background: Vaccine hesitancy was one of India's problems after the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. Earlier studies carried out to understand people's perception of the vaccine were mainly based on online or offline community-based surveys. These studies do not help to understand the actions taken by people towards vaccination. Hence, this study has been designed to understand the exact behavior of people toward the vaccine. Methods: Age-wise, the population was sub-grouped into three groups, above 18 years, 12-14 years, and 15-18 years. The data analysis has been done using cumulative coverage of vaccines in the said age groups. Results: The study shows a substantial population has missed second and booster doses of vaccine at the state, regional, and national levels in all three age groups. Even for the states that have shown the smallest number of people who missed their dose, their number is in the thousands. Conclusion: Further research is needed to know, in total population, how many people have not even taken a single dose of vaccine. Policy-level efforts are needed to cover the entire population of the country for at least a single dose and vulnerable populations, for additional booster doses after primary doses.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 mutations pose significant challenges to diagnostic tests as these mutations can reduce the sensitivity of commonly used RT-PCR assays. Therefore, there is a need to design diagnostic assays with multiple targets to enhance sensitivity. In this study, we identified a novel diagnostic target, nsp10 gene, using nanopore sequencing. Firstly, we determined the analytical sensitivity and specificity of our COVID-19-nsp10 assay. The COVID-19-nsp10 assay had the limit of detection of 74 copies/mL (95% confidence interval: 48-299 copies/mL) and did not show cross-reactivity with other respiratory viruses. Next, we determined the diagnostic performance of the COVID-19-nsp10 assay using 261 respiratory specimens, including 147 SARS-CoV-2-positive specimens belonging to ancestral strain and Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Mu, Eta, Kappa, Theta and Omicron lineages. Using the LightMix E-gene RT-PCR assay as the reference method, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the COVID-19-nsp10 assay were 100%. The median Cp values for the LightMix E-gene RT-PCR and our COVID-19-nsp10 RT-PCR were 22.48 (range: 12.95-36.60) and 25.94 (range 16.37-36.87), respectively. The Cp values of the COVID-19-nsp10 RT-PCR assay correlated well with those of the LightMix E-gene RT-PCR assay (Spearman’s ρ = 0.968; P&lt;0.0001). In conclusion, nsp10 is a suitable target for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assay.

According to previous studies the median raphe region (MRR) is known to contribute significantly to social behavior. Beside serotonin, there are reports of a small population of dopaminergic neu-rons in this region. Dopamine is linked to reward and locomotion, but very little has been known about its role in the MRR. To address that, we first confirmed the presence of dopaminergic cells in the MRR of mice (immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR) and humans (RT-PCR). Next, we used chemogenetic technology in mice containing Cre enzyme under the promoter of the dopamine transporter (DAT). With the help of an adeno-associated virus, artificial receptors were expressed in the dopaminergic cells of the MRR (DAT-MRR). Four weeks later, extensive behavioral charac-terization started 30 minutes after the injection of the artificial ligand (Clozapine-N-Oxide). Stimu-lation of DAT-MRR decreased social interest without influencing aggression and with an increase in social discrimination. Additionally, inhibition of the same cells increased the friendly social be-havior during social interaction test. No behavioral changes were detected in anxiety, memory and locomotion. All in all, dopaminergic cells were present both in the mice and human MRR, and manipulation of dopaminergic neurons of the MRR elicited a specific social response.

The agronomic characteristics of Cenchrus purpureus were assessed through a randomized block experimental design with seven accessions (Taiwan grass, King grass, Elephant grass, Merkeron, CT-115, Purpule grass and Maralfalfa) as treatments and four replications research was carried out at the Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Tantoyuca, in 2019 and 2020, under rainfed conditions. Sowing density was established at 36 tillers in 25 m2. Green and dry matter yield, daily rates of dry matter accumulation in leaves, leaf/stem ratio, height, leaf area index and cutting frequency were assessed. Rainfall amount, temperature, relative humidity and global radiation levels were recorded to assess their effect on the evaluated variables. One-way ANOVA and multivariate analysis techniques, such as multiple linear regression (MLR), Clustering, and Principal component analysis (PCA) with the Statistica V7 software, were used. The leaf area index was greatest (p &lt; 0.05) on the dry season. Green and dry matter yield were greatest in Maralfalfa (p &lt; 0.05). Variation in the results is attributed to weather phenomena; nonetheless, Elephant grass and Maralfalfa showed the highest yields. Quality parameters must be evaluated to identify those grasses with the best attributes.

Authorities and governmental bodies strongly emphasize the importance of residents preparing for natural disasters, particularly underscoring the significance of readiness for geophysical hazards like earthquakes. In this study, which represents comparative quantitative research, the levels and predictors of the impact on preparedness for earthquake-induced disasters in South-Eastern Europe countries such as Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia are examined. Using the snowball sampling technique (online questionnaire), a survey of 1245 respondents (Montenegro (n = 400), North Macedonia (n = 345), and Serbia (n = 500) was conducted from February 2023 to February 2024. The paper is based on the central hypothesis that the most significant predictor of earthquake preparedness in Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia is age, followed by gender and education. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the extent to which five scores of the subscales (household preparedness, community preparedness, disaster preparation, earthquake risk awareness, reinforced house) were associated with seventh demographic and socio-economic variables. In addition to the mentioned analysis, other statistical analyses such as T-test, one-way ANOVA analysis, and Pearson correlation were also utilized. The results indicate that age emerges as a predictor in various aspects of earthquake-induced disaster preparedness and awareness in most models, followed by education. These findings confirm the significance of respondents' age in determining levels of preparedness and earthquake awareness. Overall, in North Macedonia, respondents recorded the highest ratings (M = 3.52) for household preparedness for earthquakes, compared to Montenegro (M = 2.98) and Serbia (M = 3.26), where the lowest ratings were recorded. Research findings, taking into account cultural characteristics, can serve as a basis for the development of targeted interventions, strategies, policies, and programs aimed at improving the level of societal preparedness for earthquake-induced disasters.

Abstract. Natural Thermoluminescence (TL) from the core of MD81349 marine calcareous biological ooze samples in the ninetyeast ridge of the equatorial northeast Indian Ocean and samples from the core of IODP306-U1312B in the high latitudes of the North Atlantic Ocean was studied. The spurious TL intensity of 395 °C peak is dose independent when the heating rate is 6 °C/s in a nitrogen atmosphere . TL signals exhibit a significant correlation on the marine isotope stages (MIS) at the two oceans since the mid-Pleistocene. High TL intensity corresponds to a negative δ18O in the interglacial stages, and low TL intensity corresponds to a positive δ18O in the glacial stages. TL of both cores at the two oceans reveal that the global climate has experienced eight cold and warm cycles since the mid-Pleistocene. Single-frequency spectrum analysis of MD81349 and U1312 TL in the last 300 ka was performed.Near the equator of the Northeast Indian Ocean，it is more significant that the short cycle of 38 ka and 5 ka while it is more significant that the cycle of 8 ka at the North Atlantic.In addition, correlation analysis shows that the TL has a significant positive correlation with trace elements 135Ba, a significant negative correlation with 47Ti. The impurity ions (e.g. Ba2+, Mn2+ and Ti2+) doped in carbonate are acting as activators and suppressants respectively.Time series of the TL of calcareous biological ooze tests provide an important record of climate change. The source of TL signal is also discussed.

The transition to sustainable energy systems in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region addresses critical challenges of environmental protection, energy security, and socio-economic resilience. Using neo-institutional theory, this paper examines the intricate relationship between formal and informal institutions and their significant impact on the region’s energy transition. Despite the MENA region’s abundant renewable energy resources, numerous institutional barriers, such as governance inefficiencies, regulatory inconsistencies, and entrenched socio-cultural norms, significantly hinder this transition. Through a review of existing literature, this study presents a comprehensive analytical framework designed to overcome these barriers, with a focus on the Just and Sustainable Energy Transition model. This strategic model emphasizes equity, sustainability, and inclusive governance as pillars for reform. The study offers detailed recommendations for institutional change and underscores the importance of collaborative efforts among governments, industry stakeholders, and international partners to unlock the MENA region’s renewable energy potential, advance global sustainability goals, and ensure a more secure and resilient energy future.

The research presented in this article is based on a strategic approach to a rural area in the mountainous region of Romania and is underwritten by specialists in the economy of mountainous regions in order to elaborate relevant solutions to complex problems relating to sustainable development. In essence, the research underlines and promotes the particularities of performing research for the identification and valuation of endogenous resources, that is, creating relevant strategic options for the durable development of the mountainous region, centered on the renewal of economic activities related to the existent endogenous resources, by using methods, work techniques, and instruments of strategic analysis. These factors are subordinate to the process of harmonization to the requirements of community development and environmental protection according to the new strategy for the development of the European Union 2020 (European Green Pact). This pact also emphasizes the necessity of involving the different factor categories of local accountability, promotion, activation, and the development of specific economic activities of different local contexts of sustainability. The research methodology used involves a case study whose complexity necessitated the use of quality and quantity research methods in order to underline specific elements of the rural area in the Romanian mountainous region. Specifically, we used a strategic diagnosis of the Romanian mountainous region using the PESTEL and SWOT models. In order to have relevant strategic options available, the continuity of research was achieved through the use of SOR analysis, creating a problem tree and an objectives tree.

Introduction: United Nations General Assembly has set the target of bringing down under-five child mortality to 25 deaths per 1000 live births by 2030. Understanding the determinants that bring down preventable deaths in children is important. Design: Anonymized, publicly available data from the India National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) is collected. The sample consisted of 724,115 women in the age group of 15-49 years has been sub-grouped as urban and rural women. For better analysis of data, the country is divided into regions. Union territories are grouped in these regions as per their geographical locations. Descriptive statistical analysis and linear regression analysis was done.Result: Compared to NFHS-4 (2015-16) U5MR has reduced in almost all states of the country. The study shows more urban women have access to the Internet as compared to rural women. Child mortality is higher in rural areas in every state as compared to urban areas.Conclusion: Urban women have more access to health information because of internet access which may be the reason for lesser child mortality in urban areas compared to rural areas. Internet access for women (individual level) is far more effective in bringing down U5MR if compared to the community-level approach of Daycare centers.

The combined ecological, geophysical, climatic, and social factors of the Northeast of Russia influence the organism from the early childhood being too intense for the functional systems. The purpose of the research is to study the emotional characteristics of adolescents of different ethnic groups in the northeast of Russia. Presented in the paper are results of the study that covered 826 adolescents (445 females and 381 males) at the age of 15–17, different by ethnic origin. We used standard methods of psycho-diagnostics. Our study has showed that the formation of the adolescents’ emotional sphere in the North is undoubtedly influenced not only by the climatic and socio-economic environmental factors but also by ethnic features. There are intergroup differences in the aggressiveness profile of older adolescents living in the remote settlement vs. the regional center. It is shown that high school students in the remote settlement of Evensk, compared to their peers in Magadan, regardless of gender and ethnicity, are characterized by more pronounced hostile and auto-aggressive reactions. In adolescents of the Aboriginal population, as compared with their age mate Caucasians, the indicators of impairment in the field of Neuro Psychic Adaptation, Situational and Personal Anxiety, and Social Frustration are significantly more pronounced.

Background: CoronaVirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the main discussed topic world-wide in 2020 and at the beginning of the Italian epidemic, scientists tried to understand the virus diffusion and the epidemic curve of positive cases with controversial findings and numbers. Objectives: In this paper, a data analytics study on the diffusion of COVID-19 in Lombardy Region and Campania Region is developed in order to identify the driver that sparked the second wave in Italy Methods: Starting from all the available official data collected about the diffusion of COVID-19, we analyzed google mobility data, school data and infection data for two big regions in Italy: Lombardy Region and Campania Region, which adopted two different approaches in opening and closing schools. To reinforce our findings, we also extended the analysis to the Emilia Romagna Region. Results: The paper aims at showing how different policies adopted in school opening / closing may have on the impact on the COVID-19 spread. Conclusions: The paper shows that a clear correlation exists between the school contagion and the subsequent temporal overall contagion in a geographical area.

We have surveyed peer-reviewed literature on the awareness of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among Indigenous males in North America and Oceania. Using keywords HPV plus male, men or boy, and ethnical filters such as Indigenous, Aboriginal or First Nations, we retrieved 47 articles based on titles of which we kept 14 after reading the abstracts. Reported HPV awareness was generally low in Indigenous males in North America with no peer-reviewed data from Oceania. The lower understanding by males compared to females was largely attributable to misconceptions about HPV-related diseases, their transmission, and prevention. Lack of awareness and concern toward the risk of contracting HPV infection in Indigenous males suggests an impediment in disseminating health information about this cancer-causing virus. Culturally sensitive education, with emphasis on Indigenous males, is needed to improve this group’s HPV knowledge. Researchers should also engage meaningfully with Indigenous communities by building rapport to achieve a positive change in attitude.

In the paper, by a very simple approach, the author establishes an expression in terms of a lower Hessenberg determinant for the Euler polynomials. By the determinantal expression, the author finds a recurrence relation for the Euler polynomials. By the way, the author derives the corresponding expression and recurrence relation for the Euler numbers.

Allanite minerals are the principal host of REEs in the Sin Quyen, Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) type deposit. The studied allanites have concentrations of: REE (14-27 wt%), Ca (9-16 wt%), Al (8-19 wt%), Si (26-34 wt%) and Fe (12-21 wt%). Two populations of allanite are documented, the first is texturally older probably related to the Ca-K alteration (second stage of crystallization). This population has higher REE concentrations ranging from 20 to 27 wt%, and the second population texturally younger has lower total REE concentration ranging from 14 to 19.9 wt%, which occur as a rim surrounding the older and likely arose during the K alteration with Cu-Au mineralization (third crystallization). Differences between the two allanite populations are documented by both optical properties and analysis of their chemical composition. The last parameter indicate that the studied allanites belong to the Ce-La-ferriallanite family, with low HREE with an average of 0.21 wt.%. Temperature 355ºC which was calculated using value of δ34S isotopes is interpreted as a temperature of the second crystallization stage of allanite. The pressure of crystallization solution was calculated and is ranging from 0.98 to 5.88 MPa.

Speleothem oxygen isotope records from the Caribbean, Central, and North America reveal climatic controls that include orbital variation, deglacial forcing related to ocean circulation and ice sheet retreat, and the influence of local and remote sea surface temperature variations. Here, we review these records and the global climate teleconnections they suggest following the recent publication of the Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and Analysis (SISAL) database. We find that low-latitude records generally reflect changes in precipitation, whereas higher latitude records are sensitive to temperature and moisture source variability. Tropical records suggest precipitation variability is forced by orbital precession and North Atlantic Ocean circulation driven changes in atmospheric convection on long timescales, and tropical sea surface temperature variations on short timescales. On millennial timescales, precipitation seasonality in southwestern North America is related to North Atlantic climate variability. Great Basin speleothem records are closely linked with changes in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. Although speleothems have revealed these critical global climate teleconnections, the paucity of continuous records precludes our ability to investigate climate drivers from the whole of Central and North America for the Pleistocene through modern. This underscores the need to improve spatial and temporal coverage of speleothem records across this climatically variable region.

In the paper, the authors find closed forms for derangement numbers in terms of the Hessenberg determinants, discover a recurrence relation of derangement numbers, present a formula for any higher order derivative of the exponential generating function of derangement numbers, and compute some related Hessenberg and tridiagonal determinants.

In the dynamic interplay between people and their physical environments, the Global South stands as a mosaic undergoing a multitude of transformative influences in architecture and urbanism where examining social sustainability becomes imperative. While prevailing attention remains on environmental and economic sustainability, this study addresses a persistent gap in the urban literature by focusing on the dynamic and manifold nature of social sustainability. Positioning itself within the context of sustainable development, the study links the pursuit of social aspects of sustainability with selected unique urban contexts from the Global South. Five cases that include Alexandria (Egypt), Tripoli (Libya), Basra (Iraq), Lilongwe (Malawi), and Accra (Ghana) are discussed through multi-layered investigations that involve attitude surveys, interviews, focus groups, participatory systematic observations, and behavioral mapping, engaging directly with inhabitants and stakeholders. Uncovering people-place narratives in the identified contexts, the cases are developed into five knowledge typologies that serve as practical tools for planning and design decision-making, policy formulation, and academic discourse. Discussions are conceived to demonstrate the transformative role people-place narratives play in fostering a more sustainable and equitable urban future. Conclusions are drawn to offer practical insights for stakeholders involved in various capacities in shaping the urban landscape of the Global South.

In the paper, by virtue of the Faá di Bruno formula and two identities for the Bell polynomial of the second kind, the authors find a closed form for the Stirling polynomials in terms of the Stirling numbers of the first and second kinds.

In the paper, the authors present an explicit form for a family of inhomogeneous linear ordinary differential equations, find a more significant expression for all derivatives of a function related to the solution to the family of inhomogeneous linear ordinary differential equations in terms of the Lerch transcendent, establish an explicit formula for computing all derivatives of the solution to the family of inhomogeneous linear ordinary differential equations, acquire the absolute monotonicity, complete monotonicity, the Bernstein function property of several functions related to the solution to the family of inhomogeneous linear ordinary differential equations, discover a diagonal recurrence relation of the Stirling numbers of the first kind, and derive an inequality for bounding the logarithmic function.

In the paper, the authors consider the generating functions of the Hermite polynomials and their squares, present explicit formulas for higher order derivatives of the generating functions of the Hermite polynomials and their squares, which can be viewed as ordinary differential equations or derivative polynomials, find differential equations that the generating functions of the Hermite polynomials and their squares satisfy, and derive explicit formulas and recurrence relations for the Hermite polynomials and their squares.

The hyper-arid environment is characterized by high inter-annual climatic fluctuations. The yearly average rainfall can change substantially for several years, forming wet or dry sub-periods. Observing rainfall trends over a sub-period can lead to a false perception of a change in the trend but may in fact represent a periodic cycle when examined on a larger time scale. We aimed to better characterize the rainfall regime prevailing in the hyper-arid Arava Valley (Israel/Jordan), and to examine the response of vegetation to annual rainfall. We hypothesized that annual and perennial vegetation would respond differently to wet and dry sub-periods, and that grazing activities will impact vegetation growth. We used a time series of monthly rainfall, from which we calculated Standard Precipitation Index (SPI), and calculated proxies of perennial and annual vegetation over the last four decades using Landsat-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). We found no clear trend in rainfall amounts during this period, however we did identify wet and dry sub-periods which were statistically distinct in rain and in vegetation patterns from each other. The highest levels of correlation between rainfall and the NDVI derived proxies were found when examining average rainfall over a period of two- three years for the annual vegetation and over four years for perennial vegetation. Using the Mann-Kendall test, we identified a time lag of two to four years, with the proxies of annual vegetation responding faster than the proxies of perennial vegetation, to shifts between wet and dry sub-period. In addition, we found a consistent difference between natural vegetation cover in Jordan (grazed) and Israel (non-grazed), favoring the development of natural vegetation on the Israeli side. We conclude that integrating between long-term remote sensing satellite imagery and climatic records revealed the greater resilience of perennial vegetation in the hyper-arid region to climatic fluctuation, and enabled us to identify the vegetation’s sensitivity to anthropogenic impact.

The Himalaya is well known for high diversity and ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants. However, not all areas of the Himalayas are well studied. In particular, studies on ethnobotanical uses of plants from the Eastern Himalayas are rare and lacking for many tribes. Past studies primarily focused on listing plants name and their traditional medicinal uses. However, studies on traditional ethnopharmacological practices on medicine preparation had not yet been reported in published literature from the Eastern Himalaya. In this study, we are reporting the first time ethnopharmacological used 24 medicines, their procedures of preparation and listed 53 plant species used for those medicines for Monpa tribe. Such documentations had not yet been done for other tribes in India. Our research demonstrates the urgent need to documents traditional medicine preparation procedures from the local healers before rapid cultural modernization forgets them in transforming country like India. This study should motivate national and international researchers to do more works on ethnopharmacology and bioprospecting.

This study evaluated batch fermentation modes, namely, separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF), Quasi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (Q-SSF), and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), and fermentation conditions, i.e., enzyme and yeast loadings, nutrient supplementation and sterilization, on high titer bioethanol production from SPORL-pretreated Douglas-fir forest residue without detoxification. The result indicated Q-SSF and SSF were obviously superior to SHF operation in terms of ethanol yield. The enzyme loading showed a strong positive correlation between enzyme loading and the ethanol yield. The nutrient supplementation and sterility was not necessary for ethanol production from SPORL-pretreated Douglas-fir. The yeast loading showed no significant influence on the ethanol yield for typical SSF conditions. The terminal ethanol titer of 43.2 g/L, or 75.1% theoretical based on glucose, mannose, and xylose theoretical was achieved when SSF was conducted at the condition of following: whole slurry solids loading of 15%, enzyme loading of 20 FPU/g glucan, 1.8 g/kg (wet) yeast loading, without nutrition supplementation and sterilization, at 38°C, on shake flask at 150 rpm for 96h. It is believed that with mechanical mixing, enzyme loading can be substantially reduced with affect ethanol yield by using a long fermentation time.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide therefore studies about the etiological factors and carcinogenesis are important.The aim of the study is to detect the presence and types of Human papilloma virus (HPV) in lung cancer and non-tumoral lung and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) mutation prevalance in lung cancer with Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method.Fifty patients who were histopathologically diagnosed lung cancer and 7 patients with non-neoplastic lung disease were enrolled in the study. HPV positivity was detected in 75.4% of the patients. The rate of high-risk HPV positivity was 100% in adenocarcinomas, 64.5% in squamous cell carcinomas, and 57% in non-neoplastic lung. HPV 51 was the most frequent type followed by HPV 16 (43.9%). There was no statistically significant relationship between HPV infection and age, gender and smoking history and EGFR mutation. The prevalence of HPV positivity is variable in lung cancer in different studies and this may be due to many factors including HPV detection methods, number of patients, geographic regions. New studies about the role of HPV infection need to be performed in order to obtain information about the use of prophylactic and theurepatic agents in lung cancer.

The Vu Gia - Thu Bon River Basin (VG-TB) is confronting numerous challenges related to water security (WS), particularly in the face of the impacts of climate change. These challenges manifest in salinity intrusion, altered rainfall patterns, and reduced water supply in downstream areas. To assess the current state of water security in the basin, the study employed statistical analysis methods, Process Analysis Method (PAM), SMART, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to develop a comprehensive Assessment Framework for Water Security (AFWS) in the VG-TB. The AFWS encompasses five key dimensions, 17 indicators, and 28 variables, aligning with the UN-Water definition of water security and addressing the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) criteria for global water sustainability. It also adheres to the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) approach to water security assessment as outlined in the Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) reports. This allows for the computation of a comprehensive Water Security Index (WSI) for specific regions, serving as a foundation for decision-making and policy formulation aimed at enhancing water security in the context of climate change and facilitating sustainable basin development in the future.

The application of Explainable AI (XAI) to improve understanding of complex non-linear SST teleconnections and gain predictive skills is at the frontier of climate research. In this study, we attempt to refine the applications of XAI advancements to ENSO prediction by including SSTA in the western North Pacific (WNP) as a precursor. Our analyses indicate that the baseline accuracy increases from the 60% threshold previously reported for ENSO to &gt;85% for moderate warm, cold, and neutral ENSO states one year in advance when WNP SSTA is included. Precision increases to over 90% for higher magnitude El Niños and La Niñas. Experiments conducted at 4-year lead times yield a strong WNP SSTA signal. A moderate SSTA signal is observed at 3-year lead time with no predictability; however, predictability spikes to over 80% when stratospheric zonal winds are included with WNP SSTA. While additional scientific work is required to make robust connections between XAI and dynamical processes, our results demonstrate a potential to improve long term predictability of ENSO through the ability of XAI in capturing SST patterns evolving at extended spatial and temporal scales.

The increasing cancer burden is a major health concern in Arab countries with variations in cancer profiles. Given the limited oncology research output and scarce data on cancer trial participation in the Arab region, this study explored the therapeutic cancer trial landscape in Arab countries over the past 20 years. A bibliometric analysis of the PubMed database was conducted on primary publications of therapeutic trials with a participating Arab center. Arab countries participated in 320 published cancer-related therapeutic trials (2000‒2021). There was a consistent increase in the number of trials, sample size, multiregional site participation, and number of randomized trials. However, most trials were small, did not receive external funding, and included a single Arab site. Compared with Arab-only trials, trials with joint non-Arab sites were larger (p = .003) and more likely to be externally funded (p < .001). Citation numbers and journal impact factors were higher in trial publications with joint non-Arab authorship than those without (p < .001, for both). Despite improving conduct and publication records of oncology trials with Arab centers, cancer trial participation remains limited in Arab countries. Concerted efforts are required to encourage sponsorship and international collaboration in this region.

To date, 41 species of Gyrodactylus have been described from Africa. However, none of these have been reported in Morocco. After identifying and examining 738 cyprinid host specimens, 26 specimens belonging to Gyrodactylus were found to parasitize the gills of nine species of Luciobarbus, Carasobarbus, and Pterocapoeta. The current study describes in detail 12 specimens of Gyrodactylus isolated from the gills of Luciobarbus pallaryi (Pellegrin, 1919) and Luciobarbus ksibi (Boulenger, 1905). Based on morphoanatomical observations, the characterization of the specimens collected suggests a species of Gyrodactylus new to science, described here as Gyrodactylus nyingiae n. sp. The new species is different from previously described gyrodactylids infecting African cyprinid hosts because it has a longer hamulus total length, a longer hamulus root, a downward projecting toe, a trapezium shaped ventral bar membrane with slightly striated median portion and small rounded anterolateral processes. This study brings the total number of Gyrodactylus spp. found in African cyprinids to four.

Climate change and the overall increase of seawater temperature is causing a poleward shift in species distribution, which includes a phenomenon described as tropicalization of temperate regions. This work aims at reporting the first records of four species off the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, namely oceanic puffer Lagocephalus lagocephalus Linnaeus, 1758, Madeira rockfish Scorpaena maderensis Valenciennes, 1833, ornate wrasse Thalassoma pavo Linnaeus, 1758, and bearded fireworm Hermodice carunculata Pallas, 1766. These last three species, along with other occurrences of aquatic fauna and flora along the Portuguese coast, reveal an ongoing process of poleward expansion of several species for which a comprehensive survey along the entire Iberian Peninsula is urgent. The putative origins of these subtropical and tropical species off continental Portugal are discussed, as well as the urgent need of public awareness due to potential health risks resulting from the toxicity of two of the four species reported in this paper.

Background: In India, 26 million children are born every year. These Children (0-6 years) comprise 13% of the country's total population. Methods: We used anonymized, publicly available secondary data from the India National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5). Descriptive statistical analysis and regression analysis of the data have been done. Results: The study shows a linear correlation between the variables of internet access to women and children under five years who are underweight (weight-for-age) in India. The analysis shows Goodness of Fit with an R square value of 0.9960. Conclusion: The study clearly shows that when compared, community daycare centers (AWCs) have a limited role in the child's nutrition, but Internet access to the mothers can be a determinant of the child's nutrition. Internet access to women can help reduce the number of underweight children under five years and improve overall maternal and child health as well as public health.

Mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) are a group of illnesses transmitted by mosquitoes and can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites. These diseases represent a significant global burden of infectious diseases, including morbidity and mortality. This systematic review delves into the multifaceted factors contributing to the spread of mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Following PRISMA guidelines, a thorough analysis of peer-reviewed articles from May 1990 to Jan 2023 was conducted, highlighting the interplay of population, environmental, disease, and mosquito factors in disease transmission and prevalence. The review incorporated 31 studies that revealed a complex relationship between various risk factors and the presence of MBDs. Significant associations were observed with age, certain occupations, environmental conditions such as rainfall and temperature, sanitation practices, specific pathogen variants, clinical symptoms, and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Conversely, gender, socioeconomic status, educational status, and certain sanitation-related factors showed inconsistent association with the spread of MBDs. The review underscores the need for targeted interventions, including vector control, improved sanitation, and educational campaigns to mitigate the spread of MBDs in the MENA region. This review could guide research studies to address data gaps and assist in developing effective surveillance programs in the MENA region. This work emphasizes the need for region-specific public health strategies and further research to understand and curb the burden of these diseases effectively.

Nanling Mountain region is a typical southern hilly region, which plays an important ecological and environmental protection role in China's overall land protection pattern. Based on the remote sensing image data of Longnan City in Nanling Mountain in 2013, 2018 and 2023, this paper interpreted the land use type and analyzed the land use transfer situation by using Land use transfer flow, and Land use transfer matrix. At the same time, based on the remote sensing Ecological index (RSEI) model, the ecological environment quality of Longnan City from 2013 to 2023 was retrieved. The temporal and spatial response model of ecological environment quality to land use transfer in Longnan City from 2013 to 2023 was discussed based on Spatial autocorrelation and Geographic detector. The results show that from 2013 to 2023, the decrease of forest land (16.23km²) and the increase of construction land (13.25km²) were the main land use transfer in Longnan City. The ecological environment index of Longnan City in 2013, 2018 and 2023 was 0.789, 0.917 and 0.872, respectively, showing a trend of "first rising and then decreasing". The ecological environment quality in the north of Longnan City was significantly lower than that in the south, and the poor ecological quality area appeared in and around the northern main urban area, showing a trend of "inward contraction". Forest land, garden land, grassland, cultivated land and water area have a positive impact on ecological environment quality, while traffic land, construction land and other land have a negative impact on ecological environment quality. The response of ecological environment quality to different land use transfer modes is related to the change of the overall ecological environment quality. The interaction between LUCC and other factors had a great impact on the evolution of ecological environment quality in Longnan City.

In the last two centuries, land use change (LUC) has been the most important direct changes driver for terrestrial ecosystems. To contrast the consequent ecosystems degradation, forward-looking spatial policies and target landscape and land-use planning processes, promoting a sustainable land use change, are needed. The present paper proposes a framework of action including different landscape planning and ecological approaches: from the spatial modelling to recognize the LUC and build different scenarios, to the ecosystem services (ESs) assessment to evaluate the possible environmental impacts. Three different scenarios were built: Trend, No-Tillage and Energy crops. The Sediment Delivery Ratio and Carbon Storage and Sequestration ESs were assessed and compared for each scenario. The aim of the paper is to support decision-makers and local communities into the landscape planning process. Results show that a regional development in line with past trend could lead to further land degradation. Instead, the two scenarios proposed in compliance with EU policies, could bring benefits only if related to moderate LUCs and respecting the naturally grass-vegetated land. From the local to global scale, a guided and shared LUC management allows implementing sustainable development, basing on a deep knowledge of physical-environmental but also social and economic issues.

Precise determination of the tectonothermal events at the Qinling-Qilian junction is extremely significant for understanding the tectonic evolution of the eastern branch of the Paleo-Tethys. The Banpo porphyry outcrops in the northern margin of the North Qinling were chosen as the research subject, and its formation and tectonic environment were analyzed using Zircon U-Pb age estimation and geochemical studies. The results indicated the final stage of the Triassic orogeny and the closure phase of the Paleo-Tethys. The weighted average values of 206Pb/238U ages of samples from 3 sites of the Banpo porphyry corresponded to 213.4 ±2.1 Ma (MSWD = 0.56), 213.0 ±1.6 Ma (MSWD = 0.92), and 213.2 ±4.4 Ma (MSWD = 1.6). This study revealed that the Banpo porphyry was formed during the Late Triassic (Norian). The porphyry with high SiO2 and high alkali is typical A-type granite, which belongs to the weak peraluminous shoshonite series. All the samples are rich in low rare earth elements. However, the heavy rare earth elements are low, especially Eu, which exhibits a seagull-type right-leaning partitioning curve. In addition, based on the regional geological data, it can be concluded that the Banpo porphyry was formed during the transition period from a post-orogenic environment to a non-orogenic environment. This study indicated the closure of the Paleo-Tethys-Mianxian-Lveyang Ocean by the Late Triassic as well as the completion of the collision between the North China and Yangtze Blocks along the Qinling orogenic belt.

The petrogenesis of high Ba-Sr granitoids provide a great significance to penetrate the Proto-Tethys evolution in the North Qilian orogenic belt. This paper presents a combination of zircon U-Pb age, whole-rock major and trace element concentrations, and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic data for Caowa high Ba-Sr dioritic intrusion from the eastern part of the North Qilian orogenic belt, aiming to decipher its petrogenesis and tectonic setting. LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating yields an emplacement age of 447±3 Ma for the Caowa intrusion, indicating a magmatic activity of the late Ordovician. The Caowa quartz diorites contain moderate contents of SiO2, MgO, Mg# and resultant high concentrations of Na2O+K2O, Fe2O3T and Al2O3, displaying calc-alkaline and metaluminous characteristics. Their relatively elevated Ba (up to 1165 ppm) and Sr (561 to 646 ppm) contents, with obvious enrichment in LILEs (e.g. Ba、Th、U) and depletion in HFSEs (e.g. Nb、Ta、Ti) resemble those of typical high Ba-Sr granitoids in subduction zone. Together with enriched Sr-Nd isotopic compositons[(87Sr/86Sr)i=0.7082−0.7086, εNd(t)= -5.1 to -4.9], and relatively extensive εHf(t) values (-13.2 to +8.5) of zircons, it suggests that these high Ba-Sr quartz diorites were derived from a mixture magma source between the ancient crust materials and the enriched lithospheric mantle metasomatised by fluid was released from subducted oceanic crust or sediment. Taking into account the ophiolites, high pressure metamorphic rocks and arc magmatic rocks in the region, we infer that affected by the northward subduction of the Qilian Proto-Tethys ocean, the Laohushan oceanic crust of the North Qilian back-arc basin was subducted during the Late Ordovician and resulted in extensive metasomatism of lithospheric mantle by fluids derived from oceanic crust or sediments, and the Caowa high Ba-Sr quartz diorites generated in the process of crust-mantle interaction during the Late Ordovician.

The neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimers, Parkinsons, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntingdons) and the prion disorders, have in common a dysregulation of metalloprotein chemistry involving redox metals (Cu,Fe,Mn). The consequent oxidative stress gives rise to protein plaques and neuronal cell death. An equilibrium exists between the functional requirement of the brain for Cu and Fe and their destructive potential with the production of reactive oxygen species. The importance of the brain barrier is highlighted in regulating the import of these metals. Upregulation of key transporters occurs in foetal and neonatal life when brain metal requirement is high and is down-regulated in adult life when need is minimal. By contrast a neonatal mode of CTR1 upregulation persists in feral N.Ronaldsay sheep. This has led to the premise that metal regulation may return to the default setting in ageing with implications for neurodegenerative disease.

North and West Africa are the most vulnerable regions to drought, due to the high variation in monthly precipitation. An accurate and efficient monitoring of drought is essential. In this study, we use TRMM data with remote sensing tools for effective monitoring of drought. The Drought Severity Index (DSI), Temperature Vegetation Drought Index (TVDI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Normalized Vegetation Supply Water Index (NVSWI) are more useful for monitoring the drought over North and West Africa. To classify the areas affected by drought, we used the TRMM spatial maps to verify the TVDI, DSI and NVSWI indexes derived from MODIS. The DSI, TVDI, NVSWI and Monthly Precipitation Anomaly (NPA) indexes with the employ of MODIS-derived ET/PET and NDVI were chosen for monitoring the drought in the study area. The seasonal spatial correlation between the DSI, NPA, NVWSI, NDVI, TVDI and TCI indicates that NVSWI, NDVI and DSI present an excellent monitor of drought indexes. The change trend of drought from 2002 to 2018 was also characterized. The frequency of drought showed a decrease during this period.

The article addresses the function of (post)colonial nostalgia in a context of multidirectional memory (Rothberg 2009) in contemporary Europe. How can different cultural memories of the Second Word War be put into respectful dialogue with each other? The text is based on a contrapuntal reading (Said 1994) of British and Egyptian popular narratives, using a qualitative content analysis of 10 British tv documentary films about the North Africa Campaign, and data from qualitative interviews collected during ethnographic fieldwork in Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt, during visits 2013--2015. The study highlights considerable differences between the British and Egyptian narratives, but also significant similarities regarding the use and function of nostalgia. In addition, the Egyptian narrative expresses a profound cosmopolitan nostalgia and a longing for what is regarded as Egypt’s lost, modern Golden Age, identified as the decades before the nation’s fundamental change from western-oriented monarchy to Nasser’s Arab nationalist military state. The common elements between the two national narratives indicate a possibly fruitful way to open up for a shared popular memory culture about the war years, including postcolonial aspects.

Few reports exist on the pathologies of the northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) and other Ziphiidae. We here describe a large exostosis in the right pterygoid bone of adult female H. ampullatus ANSP-3004 that stranded on the US Atlantic coast in 1867. Images of the skull and 14 cranial measurements were examined and compared with two ‘normal’ adult female H. ampullatus specimens. Surface scans of ANSP-3004 were made with a Faro Design Arm 1.0 scanner at 75µm resolution. The form, structure and width (15.9 cm) of the right pterygoid were found to be abnormal. Its distal extremity was curved in labial direction while its proximal extremity was deformed by a large, bulbous exostosis of 14.3 x 12.5 cm that partially obstructed the right nasal passage. Lytic lesions in the posterior end of the exostosis exposed deep resorption lacunae. The left pterygoid was thin (3.4 cm) and laterally displaced. No diagnosis was possible for lack of histological examination but the osteopathy was consistent with osteoma, a benign bone tumor commonly seen on the jaws and nasal sinuses of bovines, phylogenetical relatives of Cetacea. The partial nasal passage obstruction may have affected respiration to some degree, but since the female was lactating, general fitness appeared stable.

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 is an important swine bacterial pathogen causing sudden death, septic shock, and meningitis. However, serotype 2 strains are phenotypically and genotypically heterogeneous and composed by a multitude of sequence types (STs) whose distribution greatly varies worldwide. It has been previously shown that lipoprotein (LPP) maturation enzymes diacylglyceryl transferase (Lgt) and signal peptidase (Lsp) significantly modulate the inflammatory host response and play a differential role in virulence depending on the genetic background of the strain. Differently from Eurasian ST1/ST7 strains, the capsular polysaccharide of a North American S. suis serotype 2 ST25 representative strain only partially masks sub-capsular domains and bacterial wall components. Thus, our hypothesis is that since LPPs would be more surface exposed in ST25 strains than in their ST1 or ST7 counterparts, the maturation enzymes would play a more important role in the pathogenesis of the infection caused by the North American strain. Using isogenic Δlgt and Δlsp mutants derived from the wild-type ST25 strain, our studies suggest that these enzymes do not seem to play a role in the interaction between S. suis and epithelial and endothelial cells, regardless the genetics background of the strain used. However, a role in the formation of biofilms (also independently of the STs) has been demonstrated. Moreover, the involvement of LPP dendritic cell activation in vitro seems to be somehow more pronounced with the ST25 strain. Finally, the Lgt enzyme seems to play a more important role in the virulence of the ST25 strain. Although some differences between STs could be observed, our original hypothesis that LPPs would be significantly more important in ST25 strains due to a better bacterial surface exposition could not be confirmed.

Turkey is located in the heart of complex transition geography between Eurasia and the Middle East. In the grand scheme, the so-called Eastern Mediterranean Basin is almost amidst the dusty belt and a hot spot of climate change. The downstream location of dust carrying winds from the closer desert sources reveals Turkey as an open plane to particulate matter exposure throughout the year. In order to clarify this phenomenon, it is aimed to find out the desert dust climatology of Turkey via CALIPSO onboard Lidar. This prominent instrument enables us to understand clouds, aerosols and their types and relatedly climatic systems with its valuable products. In this study, 9-year CALIPSO derived pure dust product is formed to explain horizontal and vertical distributions, transport heights and case incidences. Results indicated mass and conditional abundancy are higher with the location shifts from west to east. In the same direction, dominant spring months change to summer and autumn. Mountain range systems surrounding Anatolia are the main obstacles against lofted and buoyant dust particles travelling to northern latitudes. Even if high ridges accumulate mass load on the southern slopes, it also enables elevated particles to reach the ground level of the inner cities.

.(1) Background: Groundwater resources management in dry lands, characterized by climate var-iability and population growth, is difficult. Exploration and exploitation of groundwater, due to inadequate surface water is very costly. The present study employed Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and GIS to identify Ground-Water Potential (GWP) areas in a semi-arid region of Nigeria; (2) Methods: Land-use-land-cover, drainage density, slope, rainfall, static water level, soil media, vadose media and aquifer media were selected for GWP analysis. Parameters weights were de-termined using AHP and ranked based on their contribution to GWP by experts. The parameters were then integrated using weighted overlay tool in ArcGIS 10.5 to produce GWP map of the study area. Boreholes yield data from 245 wells were collected to determine the model accuracy and model validation; (3) Results: Results classified the study area into very high GWP (1.9%), high GWP (8.8%), moderate GWP (62%), low GWP (20.70%) and very low GWP (6.6%). Validation of the AHP model with boreholes yield data shows a correlation coefficient of 71.3% giving a good prediction; (4) Conclusions: AHP and GIS can be used to successfully map GWP areas which could serve as an exploration guide for sustainable management of groundwater resources in semi-arid areas.

The North Sea Offshore Grid concept has been envisioned as a promising alternative to: 1) ease the integration of offshore wind and onshore energy systems, and 2) increase the cross-border capacity between the North Sea region countries at low cost. In this paper we explore the techno-economic benefits of the North Sea Offshore Grid using two case studies: a power-based offshore grid, where only investments in power assets are allowed (i.e. offshore wind, HVDC/HVAC interconnectors); and a power-and-hydrogen offshore grid, where investments in offshore hydrogen assets are also permitted (i.e. offshore electrolysers, new hydrogen pipelines and retrofitted natural gas pipelines). We compare these scenario results with a business as usual scenario, in which offshore wind is connected radially to the shore and no offshore grid is deployed. All scenarios are run with the IESA-NS model, without any specific technology ban and under open optimization. This paper also presents a novel methodology, combining Geographic Information Systems and Energy System Models, to cluster offshore spatial data and define meaningful offshore regions and offshore hub locations. This novel methodology is applied to the North Sea region to define nine offshore clusters taking into account offshore spatial claims, and identifying suitable areas for single-use and multi-use of space for renewable energy purposes. The scenario results show that the deployment of an offshore grid provides relevant cost savings, ranging from 1% to 4.1% of relative cost decrease (2.3 bn € to 8.7 bn €) in the power-based, and ranging from 2.8% to 7% of relative cost decrease (6 bn € to 14.9 bn €) in the power-and-hydrogen based. In the most extreme scenario (H2) an offshore grid permits to integrate 283 GW of HVDC connected offshore wind and 196 GW of HVDC meshed interconnectors. Even in the most conservative scenario (P1) the offshore grid integrates 59 GW of HVDC connected offshore wind capacity and 92 GW of HVDC meshed interconnectors. When allowed, the deployment of offshore electrolysis is considerable, ranging from 61 GW to 96 GW, with capacity factors of around 30%. Finally, we also find that, when imported hydrogen is available at 2 €/kg (including production and transport costs), large investments in an offshore grid are not optimal anymore. In contrast, at import costs over 4 €/kg imported hydrogen is not competitive.

The Source Region of the Yellow River (SRYR), renowned as the "Water Tower of the Yellow River", serves as an important water conservation domain in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, significantly influencing water resources within the basin. Based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model Hydrological modeling system (WRF-Hydro) model, the key variables of the atmosphere-land-hydrology coupling processes over the SRYR during the 2013 rainy season are analyzed. The investigation involves a comparative analysis between the coupled WRF-Hydro and the standalone WRF simulations, focusing on the hydrological response to the atmosphere. The results reveal that the WRF-Hydro model's proficiency in depicting streamflow variations over the SRYR, yielding a Nash Efficiency Coefficient (NSE) of 0.44 and of  0.61 during the calibration and validation periods, respectively. Compared to the standalone WRF simulations, the coupled WRF-Hydro model demonstrates enhanced performance in soil heat fluxes simulations, reducing the mean Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of surface soil temperature by 0.96 K and soil moisture by 0.01 m\textsuperscript{\textsuperscript{3}}/m\textsuperscript{\textsuperscript{3}}. Furthermore, the coupled model adeptly captures the streamflow variation characteristics with the NSE of 0.33. This underscores the significant potential of the coupled WRF-Hydro model for delineating coupled atmosphere-land-hydrology processes in regions characterized by cold climates and intricate topography.

Background: The effectiveness of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine remains a matter to be clarified. Methods: The humoral and cellular immunity after the administration of three doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech and Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 over one year and the appearance of post-vaccination COVID-19 have been studied. Results: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgA antibodies showed a progressive increase throughout the vaccination period. This increase was greatest after the third dose. The highest levels were observed in subjects who had anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies prior to vaccination. There was an increase in CD4+ αβ, CD8+ γδ and TEM CD8+ γδ T cells, and a decrease in apoptosis in CD4+CD8+ and CD56+ αβ and γδ T cells. Post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infection was greater than 60%. The symptoms of COVID-19 were very mild and were related to γδ T cell deficit, specifically CD8+ TEMRA and CD56+ γδ TEM, as well as lower pre-vaccine apoptosis levels. Conclusions: Those results demonstrate the important role that γδ T cells play in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine immunization.

Novel strategies in coastal protection are needed to cope with climate change-induced sea level rise. They aim at the sustainable development of coastal areas in light of an intensification and land use changes. A promising approach is the design of nature-based solutions (NbS), complementing the safety levels of technical infrastructures. However, NbS lack a widespread and large-scale implementation. To address this deficit, co-design concepts are needed that combine experiences from science and practice. This work presents and discusses the approach of a coast-specific real-world laboratory (RwL) addressing the inclusive design of ecosystem-based coastal protection. Strategies of RwLs are applied for the first time in a coastal context along the North Sea coastline in Germany. We found the concept of RwLs suitable for coastal transdisciplinary research, although adaptions in the spatial reference level or flexibility in location and time of experimentation are necessary. A profound actor analysis is indispensable to specify participatory processes and interaction levels. A criteria-based cooperative selection of RwL sites helps to reveal and solve conflicting interests to achieve trust between science and practice. Addressing site-specific characteristics and practitioners’ needs, our coastal RwL provides a mutual learning space to develop and test NbS to complement technical coastal protection.

Scrub typhus is a life-threatening infectious disease and always creating a diagnostic dilemma in terms of rapid turnaround time and accuracy, qRT PCR can become a very good option to achieve the desired result with the molecular level of accuracy and boost up the rapid patient management. This study was performed to evaluate the performance of qRT PCR in comparison to commonly used IgM ELISA and Weil-Felix tests to diagnose scrub typhus, as well as to look for the demographic and clinical profile of the disease in North-East India. It was a hospital-based prospective study conducted in a tertiary care hospital of north-east India, over a period of 1 year, in which all the samples from suspected scrub typhus cases were screened by Weil-Felix test as per institute’s diagnostic protocol after which IgM ELISA for Scrub Typhus was performed. All the IgM positive samples and 20 highly suspected but ELISA negative samples were subjected to qRT PCR, targeting 56 kDa type-specific gene of O. tsutsugamushi. Statistical analysis was done by MS-Excel for Windows v2013® and MedCalc® v17.9 for Windows (MedCalc Software, Acacialaan 22, B-8400 Ostend, Belgium). In this study, we have successfully evaluated the performance of qRT PCR kit for diagnosis of scrub typhus. Out of 54 samples tested, 24 IgM ELISA positive samples and 3 IgM ELISA negative samples have shown the presence of bacterial DNA with quantification of DNA copies. It has also been observed that 21 out of 27 PCR positive samples (77.8%) were detected within the 1st 7 days of illness. All the demographic, as well as clinical data, were also analysed. The performance of the commercial qRT PCR kit used in our study is satisfactory, which provides the extra advantage of quantification of DNA copies and increases diagnostic accuracy within the 1st week of fever.

Can investing in women’s agriculture increase productivity? This paper argues that it can. We assess climate impacts and gender bias on women’s production in the global South and North and challenge the male model of agricultural development to argue further that women’s farming approaches can be more sustainable. Level-based analysis (global, regional, local) draws on literature review, including authors’ published longitudinal field research in Ghana and the United States. Women farmers are shown to be undervalued and to work harder, with fewer resources, for less compensation; gender bias challenges are shared globally while economic disparities differentiate; breaches of distributive, gender, and intergenerational justices as well as compromise of food sovereignty affect women everywhere. We conclude that investing in women’s agriculture needs more than standard approaches of capital and technology investment. Effective ‘investment’ would include systemic interventions into agricultural policy, governance, education, and industry; be directed at men as well as women; and use gender metrics, e.g. quotas, budgets, vulnerability and impacts assessments, to generate assessment reports and track gender parity in agriculture. Increasing women’s access, capacity, and productivity cannot succeed without men’s awareness and proactivity. Systemic change can increase productivity and sustainability.

The transition region is a very thin but most peculiar layer in the solar atmosphere, located between the solar chromosphere and the corona. It is a key region for understanding the coronal heating, the solar eruptions triggering, and the origin of solar winds. Here, the gradients of all physical parameters are very high, including plasma density, ionization degree, temperature, and magnetic fields, etc. Therefore, the transition region should be highly dynamic, such as fast energy releasing and transporting, plasma heating, and even particle accelerating. They include two physical aspects: thermal and non-thermal processes. The thermal processes can be observed from the ultraviolet (UV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission by multi-wavelength images. The non-thermal processes, however, should be related to radio emissions especially at millimeter wavelengths, and the frequency range should span from several GHz to beyond 300 GHz, and the emission mechanism should be highly related to the magnetic fields and variations. The ultra-wide broadband spectral observations at millimeter wavelengths with high spectral resolutions may provide rich dynamic information about the transition region, such as non-thermal energy release and transmission, the flows of plasma and energetic particles, the magnetic fields and their variations, the generation and transportation of various waves, and the formation and evolution of the source regions of solar eruptions. Here, we discussed the spectral characteristics of millimeter-wave emission from the transition region and proposed a new conception of ultra-wide broadband millimeter-wave spectrometers to observe them.

Based on the geochemical analysis of the volcanic material from the sediment core AMK-340, central zone of the Reykjanes Ridge, we could detect two ash-bearing sediment units accumulated during the Termination I. They correlate to the Ash Zone I in the North Atlantic Late Quaternary sediments having an age of 12170-12840, within the Younger Dryas cold chronozone, and 13600-14540 years, within and Bølling-Allerød warm chronozone. The ash of the Younger Dryas unit is presented mostly by the mafic and persilicic material originated from the Icelandic volcanoes; Vedde Ash is presented in one sediment sample from this unit. The ash of the Bølling-Allerød unit is presented mostly by the mafic shards which are related to the basalts of the rift zone on the Reykjanes Ridge, having presumably the local origin. A detection of Vedde Ash helped to specify the timing of the previously reconstructed paleoceanographic changes for the Termination I in the point of study: a significant warming in the area could occur as early as 300 years prior to the end of the conventional Younger Dryas cold chronozone.

Organic farming has positive, impact on environment, soil health, and healthy food quality. Worldwide demand for organic foods is increasing by leaps and bounds in recent years. The present investigation was undertaken during 2014 to 2018 to evaluate the effect of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) co-culture with maize (Zea mays L.) on productivity enhancement over prevailing maize-fallow system, and to assess the feasibility of inclusion of short duration winter crops after maize with appropriate residue management practices on productivity and soil health. The experiment comprised of six cropping systems in main plot and three soil moisture conservation (SMC) measures options in sub plot. Results indicated that the inclusion of second crop in place of fallow and cowpea co-culture with maize increased average maize grain yield by 6.2 to 23.5% as compared to that of maize-fallow (MF). Use of maize stover mulch (MSM) + weed biomass mulch (WBM) increases maize grain yield by 19.1 and 6.5% over those of MSM and no mulch (NM), respectively. Various soil moisture conservation (SMC) measures had significant (p=0.05) effect on crop yields and water productivity. Double cropping system had significantly (p=0.05) higher amount of soil available NPK, soil organic carbon (SOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) at 0-15 cm and at 15-30 cm depth than those under MF. The SWC measures of MSM+WBM had significantly higher available N, SOC, and MBC by 5.5, 4.8 and 8.1% than those under NM, respectively. Correspondingly, soils under MSM and MSM+WBM had 2.24 and 2.99% lower bulk density (ρb) in 0-15 cm and 2.21 and 2.94% lower ρb in 15-30 cm than that of NM. The energy use efficiency (EUE) was significantly higher under MCV (7.90%) over rest of the cropping sequences. MSM+WBM and MSM recorded 25.1 and 16.6% higher net energy over NM, respectively. The net return (INR 159.99×103/ha) and B:C ratio (2.86) were significantly higher with MCV system followed by MCR cropping sequence. MSM+WBM had significantly higher net return (INR 109.44×103/h), B:C ratio (2.46) over those under MSM (INR 97.6×103/h) and NM (INR 78.61×103/h). Overall the cowpea co-culture with maize and inclusion of short cycle winter crops along with MSM+WBM in maize-based cropping systems was found productive in terms of crop and water, profitable, energy efficient and sustained the soil health.

Legionella pneumophila RpoS (LpRpoS) is an alternative sigma factor of RNA polymerase (RNAP) essential for virulence and stress resistance. To investigate the mechanism of RpoS in the intracellular pathogen L. pneumophila, we determined the high-resolution crystal structure of the LpRpoS (residues 95-194) containing a partial region 1.2 and region 2. The structure of LpRpoS (residues 95-194) reveals that the conserved residues are critical for promoter melting, DNA and core RNAP binding. The differences in regulatory factor binding site between Escherichia coli RpoS and LpRpoS suggest that LpRpoS may employ a distinct mechanism to recruit alternative regulatory factors controlling transcription initiation.

Abstract: The species composition, the structure of phytoplankton communities, hydrochemical parameters in the artificial cooling reservoir of one of the largest thermal power plants (TPP) in the north-east of Europe in the Pechora River basin, Komi Republic were studied in the ice-open period in June and August. Altogether 81 species of algae and cyanobacteria was revealed with the last one predominated. Among cyanobacteria and algae (Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta), indicators of water quality were found. Assessment of water quality according to the species composition and abundance of indicator phytoplankton species showed that the waters of the Pechorskoe Reservoir can be at-tributed to the III class of water quality, beta-mesosaprobic self-purification zone, with water quality of satisfactory purity, retaining the ability to self-purify. An increase in the diversity of plankton communities and high values of their abundance and biomass under the influence of the warming effect of TPP water outlet were noted and revealed its spatial distribution over the reservoir surface. The plankton of the northern reservoir under the influence of warm waters indicates a slight in-crease in the trophic status of the studied water body, which is also confirmed by the data of hydrochemical analysis. Ecological mapping for the chemical and biological variables as well as pollution indices over the water area of the reservoir was carried out. The results obtained can be used to make forecasts of changes in the phototrophic biota of small northern water bodies under the conditions of climate change.

Significant amounts of anthropogenic radionuclides were introduced in ocean waters following nuclear atmospheric tests and development of the nuclear industry. Dispersion of artificial dissolved radionuclides has been extensively measured for decades over the European continental shelf. The radionuclide measurement and release fluxes databases provided here represent an exceptional opportunity to validate dispersion hydrodynamic models. MARS hydrodynamic model have been applied at different scales to reproduce in realistic conditions the measured dispersion. Specific methods have been developed to obtain qualitative and quantitative results and perform model/measurement comparisons. Model validation concerns short to large scales with dedicated surveys following the dispersion: it was performed within two and three dimensions framework and from minutes and hours following a release up to several years. Results are presented concerning the dispersion of radionuclides in marine systems deduced from standalone measurements, or according to model comparisons. It allows characterising dispersion over the continental shelf, pathways, transit times, budgets and source terms. This review exhibits the main features retained from the point of view of radiotracers, hydrodynamic models and model/measurement methods with perspectives of applications in other areas or oceanographic domains.

In the paper, the author presents explicit and unified expressions for a sequence of improper integrals in terms of the beta functions and the Wallis ratios. Hereafter, the author derives integral representations for the Catalan numbers originating from combinatorics.

Background: Metformin is a drug used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes, especially those who suffer from obesity. It is also used in the treatment of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This disease has been shown to be related to insulin resistance and multiplied blood sugar ranges. Further, it has been found that the use of metformin improves the menstrual cycles and ovulation rates of these women. Methods: A structured questionnaire will be conducted to determine the prevalence of breast cancer among women using metformin in the Ha’il region. Result: Incidence of breast cancer among women using metformin in the Ha’il region is very low. Conclusions: According to previous findings, metformin has been linked to lower breast cancer risk in women with type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, the findings of this study have corroborated the literature for the same by indicating that there is a substantial connection between metformin use and a lower risk of breast cancer in women with type 2 diabetes

Drinking water quality is a major concern, especially in African countries. This manuscript aims to analyze the chemical composition of Lioua’s groundwater in order to determine the geological processes influencing the chemical elements' composition and origin. Therefore, chemometrics techniques such as multivariate statistical analysis (MSA) and time series methods (TSM) are used. Indeed, MSA includes a component analysis (PCA) and a cluster analysis (CA), while au-tocorrelation analysis (AA) supplemented by simple spectral density analysis (SDA) is used for TMS. PCA displays three main factors explaining a total variance (TV) of 85.01 %. Factors 1, 2, and 3 are 68.72%, 11.96%, and 8.89 % of TV, respectively. In the CA, three groups were controlled by TDS and EC. G1 reveals a close association between SO42−, K+, Ca2+, and TDS; G2 reveals a close association between Na+, Cl−, Mg2+, and EC; G3 shows the dissociation of bicarbonates HCO3− and NO3− from other chemical elements. AA shows a linear interrelationship of EC, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl−, and SO42−. However, NO3− and HCO3− indicate uncorrelated characteristics with other parameters. For SDA, the correlograms of Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl−, and SO42− have a similar trend with EC. None-theless, pH, Ca2+, HCO3− and NO3− exhibit multiple peaks related to the presence of several dis-tinct cyclic mechanisms. The methods enabled the authors to conclude that the geochemical processes influencing the chemical composition are: (i) dissolution of evaporated mineral depos-its, (ii) water-rock interaction, and (iii) evaporation process. In addition, Groundwater exhibits two bipolar characteristics, one recorded with negative and positive charges on pH and Ca+ and another recorded only with negative charges on HCO3− and NO3−. On the other hand, SO42-, K+, Ca2+, and TDS are the major predominant elements in the groundwater’s chemical composition. The major participation of salts and chlorides is in the electrical conductivity of water. The dominance of the lithological factor in the overall mineralization of the Plio-Quaternary surface aquifer waters. The origins of HCO3− and NO3− are different. Indeed, carbonated for HCO3- has a carbonate origin, whereas NO3– has an anthropogenic origin. The salinity was affected by Mg2+, SO42-, Cl-, Na+, K+, and EC. Ca2+, HCO3− and NO3− are resulted from human activity fertilizers, the carbonate facies outcrops, and domestic sewage.

The Huayangchuan uranium deposit, located in the west of the Xiaoqinling belt on the southern margin of the North China Craton, is a polymetallic deposit dominated by U, Nb, Pb, and rare earth elements. The Huayangchuan uranium deposit, discovered in the 1950s, has long been known as a carbonatite-type uranium deposit. Recently, new geological work has found uranium mineralisation in many granitic pegmatite veins in the Huayangchuan deposit and adjacent areas. Here, we report a systematic investigation of the petrography, whole-rock geochemistry, zircon U-Pb ages, and in situ Lu-Hf isotopic characteristics of newly discovered U-rich granitic pegmatite veins in the west of Huayangchuan deposit. The petrological results showed that the lithology of the samples is equivalent to that of granite. The U-Pb ages of zircon were 1826.3 ± 7.9 and 1829 ± 11 Ma. Microscopically, the symbiotic characteristics of zircon, betafite, and uraninite exist in the intergranular fissures of K-feldspar and quartz, reflecting metallogenic phenomena in the rock formation process. Almost all whole-rock samples were rich in SiO2 (64.37–70.69 wt.%), total alkalis (K2O+Na2O = 8.50–10.30 wt.%), and Al2O3 (12.20–14.41 wt.%), but poor in Ti2O (0.23–0.73 wt.%), MgO (0.38–0.90 wt.%), P2O5 (0.14–0.83 wt.%), MnO (0.04–0.57 wt.%). Additionally, they showed enrichment of LILEs (such as Rb, Ba, Th, U, and K), depletion of HFSEs (such as Ta, Nb, P, Ti, and Hf), no alkaline dark minerals, and the characteristics are typical of intraplate A1-type granite. The A1-type granite displayed low zircon εHf(t) values (-19.42– -15.02) with zircon two-stage Hf model aged 3.10–2.76 Ga, indicating that the U-rich granitic pegmatite was derived predominantly from partial melting of the ancient continental crust (such as the early Taihua group formed in Archean-Neoarchean). Combined with the above results and regional geological data, the U-rich granitic pegmatite discovered in the Huayangchuan deposit was related to granite magma activity that formed in a post-collisional regime after the Luliang movement in the late Palaeoproterozoic. This study suggests that future uranium prospecting work in this area should focus on late Palaeoproterozoic U-rich granitic pegmatites.

Emerging of mass-spectroscopy with inductively-coupled plasma (ICP-MS) made possible to study the microelement composition of crude oil and its derivatives (with the limit of detection at the ppt level). We have studied the crude oil composition of some West Siberian and Tatarstan oilfields with the ICP-MS method to detect 50 rare, rare-earth, and other microelements. The elemental composition is reasonably comparable to their concentrations in ultrabasites whereas the contents of most of the elements are low to the limit. On the diagrams of rare-earth elements, one can see the prevalence of light lanthanides and positive europium anomaly. The study shows that crude oils have a specific microelement composition that stands out from other geological systems.

Sentinel-1A/B radar remote sensing data were applied for the first time to determine the sixth nuclear test, its underground explosion h-bomb location and affected zone in North Korea, on September 3, 2017. Location of epicenters nuclear test were found according to line-of-sight displacement images via its maximum value. Line-of-sight displacement images were obtained by processing in the GMTSAR package in the VirtualBox virtual machine of the Linux Ubuntu 16.04 operation system. In this research, three scenes Sentinel-B data with descending orbits were considered, one after and two before the event (the nuclear test date) scene were used.

The most massive and fast-eroding thaw slump of the Northern Hemisphere located in the Yana uplands of northern Yakutia was investigated to assess in detail the cryogenic inventory and carbon pools of two distinctive Ice Complex stratigraphic units and the uppermost cover deposits. Differentiating into modern and Holocene near-surface layers (active layer and shielding layer), highest total carbon contents were found in the active layer (18.7 kg m-2), while the shielding layer yielded much lower carbon content of 1.8 kg m-2. The late Pleistocene upper Ice Complex contained 10.4 kg m-2 total carbon, and the mid-Pleistocene lower Ice Complex 17.7 kg m-2. The proportion of organic carbon from total carbon content is well above 70% in all studied units with 94 % in the active layer, 73% in the shielding layer, 83% in the upper Ice Complex and 79% in the lower Ice Complex. Inorganic carbon is low in the overall structure of the deposits.

Abstract: Community forests are being promoted in Togo as an alternative to the degradation of protected areas and as a means of restoring forest landscapes. The present study is carried out within Kouampante Community Forest (KCF) in Ogaro (Togo, West Africa). It intends to contribute to the sustainable management of KCF. Specially, it aims at: (i) mapping forest ecosystems and analysing their dynamic and (ii) characterising the floristic diversity of the KCF. Forest ecosytems are mapped and their dynamic evaluated based on Google Earth images of 2010 and 2020. The floristic and silvicultural analyses are based on inventories carried out in 13 plots of 1,000 m² each. The KCF is made up mainly by tree/shrub savannahs (58.73%) and croplands/fallow (41.27%) in 2010. These two land use types have undergone changes over the period. In 2020, the KCF had two land use types: tree/shrub savannahs (84.30%) and croplands/fallows (15.70%). The flora census consisted of 59 species grouped in 6 families. The most important plant species are Detarium microcarpum and Vitellaria paradoxa. The Fabaceae were the most abundant and diversified families, followed by the Combretaceae. The demographic structure showed a high abundance of individuals with small diameter and height. This indicates the possibility of a rapid restoration of the native vegetation. Protecting the forest from anthropogenic threats could be crucial for achieving the desired objective.

The goods and services produced by forest vegetation ecosystem are the driving force for the rapid, high-quality and sustainable development of human society. In history, with the increase of population and economic development, there is an increasing demand for the quantity and variety of forest vegetation ecosystem products and services in a country or a region. To meet the demands, most of the original forest has become farmland, plantation and grass and crops land. As a result, the plant water relationship changed from equilibrium to non-equilibrium, which easily led to soil drought, soil degradation and vegetation decline in dry years or waste of soil water in rainy years in most of water-limited regions. In order to solve the question and realize the sustainable utilization of soil water resources and the high-quality sustainable development of forest, it is necessary to apply the limit theory of plant utilization of soil water resources and the vegetation carrying capacity theory in the critical period of plant-water relationship regulation to adjust the relationship between plant growth and soil moisture to obtain the maximum yield and benefit and realize high-quality and sustainable development.

Upland lakes (ULs) of the Carajás, southeastern Amazonia, have been intensively studied to their evolution during the Quaternary, as well as the development of the associated biota. In this review, several classical and modern approaches from structural geology to the pollen rain and sedimentary data which cover an area of around 41,300 km² were compiled. Multi-elemental geochemistry indicates that the detrital sediments derived from weathered crusts and soils, while the sedimentary organic matter represent autochthonous (siliceous sponge spicules, algae, macrophytes) and allochthonous (C3 plants and freshwater DOC) sources. Modern pollen rain suggests that even small lakes and canga areas can reflect forest signal, which depends on the topographic control and prevailing wind direction on pollen deposition. Integrated data of the sedimentary cores indicate that the active lakes never dried up during the last 50 ka cal BP. However, subaerial exposure occurs on filled lakes such as ST02 Lake during the LGM, LB3 and R2 lakes at the mid-Holocene due to drier paleoclimate conditions. Considering the organic proxies, only LB3 Lake presents expansion of C4 canga (montane savanna) plants since ULs of the Serra da Bocaína does not present siderites. Siderite formation on ULs deposits also points to drier paleoenviromental conditions, interrupting predominantly wet conditions. However, there is no evidence for widespread expansion of savanna into Southeastern Amazonia during the late Pleistocene and Holocene.

For the symmetrical mixture model and mixture test area, the lattice point set is used to partition, and then the corresponding test statistics can be constructed. In this paper, we first proposes the partition methods under the lattice point sets and obtains several sub-simplexes without common interior points. Furthermore, we present the method for constructing a uniform design on the simplex using the center points of these sub-simplexes. The designs satisfy the uniformity of maximum distance deviation and provide good results for the mean square error deviation. Finally, the uniformity test on the mixture region is considered and illustrated by examples.

Pito is a traditionally brewed alcoholic beverage in some African countries. It is gaining much prominence and the patronage among the youth. Therefore, samples of the drink were collected every week for six weeks from three different popular brewing sites at Lower Prampram in the Ningo-Prampram District of Accra, Ghana. The samples were processed and examined for bacteria and fungi using the Standard Plate Count (SPC) technique. A total of six different bacteria and a fungus were isolated. The bacteria were Escherichia coli, Klesiella pneumoniae, Shigella spp, Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeroginosa, whiles the fungus was Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Total viable counts as well as individual isolates counts in all the pito samples were found to be less than 104 cfu/ml. It is noteworthy that, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the only fungus isolated is known to be associated with fermentation and the microbes isolated from the pito samples were found to be within the permissible limits. However, these potentially pathogenic microbes, if found in unacceptable limits, from the fermenting samples could merit public health attention. Therefore, periodic screening of pito and their brewers, coupled with education on the maintenance of recommended guidelines concerning food and drink production is encouraged.