This manuscript reviews two decades of projects funded by the Kirkhouse Trust (KT), a charity registered in the UK. KT was established to improve the productivity of legume crops important in African countries and in India. KT’s requirements for support are: 1) the research must be done by national scientists in their home institution, either a publicly funded agricultural research institute or a university; 2) the projects need to include a molecular biology component, which to date has mostly comprised the use of molecular markers for the selection of one or more target traits in a crop improvement programme; 3) the projects funded are included in consortia, to foster the creation of scientific communities and the sharing of knowledge and breeding resources. This account relates to the key achievements and challenges, reflects on the lessons learned and outlines future research priorities.

Semenov-Tian-Shansky has introduced the modified classical Yang-Baxter equation, which is called the modified $r$-matrix. Relevant studies have been extensive in recent times. This paper is devoted to study cohomology theory of modified Rota-Baxter pre-Lie algebras and its applications. First we introduce the concept and representations of modified Rota-Baxter pre-Lie algebras. We then develop the cohomology of modified Rota-Baxter pre-Lie algebras with coefficients in a suitable representation. As applications, we consider the infinitesimal deformations, abelian extensions and skeletal modified Rota-Baxter pre-Lie 2-algebra in terms of lower degree cohomology groups.

The present study analyzed the effect of temperature, pH, retention time, pretreatment and mixing ratio on the anerobic digestion process. The parameters during the anaerobic co digestion of cow manure and food waste were then optimized using the Taguchi experimental design method. ANOVA is carried out to find the significant parameters which influence the biogas production. Experimental tests were carried out at laboratory scale reactors kept at different temperatures (28 °C, 35 °C, and 50 °C). The specific methanogenic Performance (SMP) during anerobic digestion at higher temperatures was characterized with the analysis of acetate, propionate, butyrate, hydrogen, glucose, and formate. The improvement of biogas production with different pre-treatment i.e., ultrasonic, autoclave, and microwave techniques also analysed. The results showed that reactor that maintained at 35 °C showed the highest biogas production. While the reactor that maintained at lower temperature (28 °C) produced the lower volume of biogas. As the retention time increases, the amount of biogas produced increases. Methanogenic activities of microorganisms reduced at higher temperature conditions (65 °C). Biogas production increased by 28.1%, 20.23%, and 13.27 % when the of substrates treated with ultrasonic, autoclave, and microwave, respectively, compared to the untreated substrate. The optimized condition for the highest biogas production during anaerobic co digestion of food waste and cow manure is temperature of 35 °C, pH of 7 and mixing ratio (CM: FW=1.5:0.5). ANOVA showed that temperature is the most important input parameter affecting biogas production, followed by mixing ratio.

Hypertensive diseases of pregnancy (HDP) represent a global clinical challenge, affecting 5-10% of women and leading to complications for both maternal well-being and fetal development. At the heart of these complications is endothelial dysfunction, with oxidative stress emerging as a pivotal causative factor. The reduction in nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability is a vital indicator of this dysfunction, culminating in blood pressure dysregulation. In the therapeutic context, although antihypertensive medications are commonly used, they come with inherent concerns related to maternal-fetal safety, and a percentage of women do not respond to these therapies. Therefore, alternative strategies that directly address the pathophysiology of HDP are required. This article focuses on the potential of the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway, abundantly present in dark leafy greens and beetroot, as an alternative approach to treating HDP. The objective of this review is to discuss the prospective antioxidant role of nitrate. We hope our discussion paves the way for using nitrate to improve endothelial dysfunction and control oxidative stress, offering a potential therapy for managing HDP.

Background: Open AI developed ChatGPT, a language model based on the GPT architecture, designed for text-based communication. Trained on diverse internet texts, ChatGPT generates contextually appropriate responses using machine learning. It understands input through analysis and context interpretation, generating coherent and contextually relevant responses. Interaction is possible through messaging platforms. Materials and Methods: In November 2023, we utilized ChatGPT 3.5, the default version at that time, to answer questions from the Italian National Residency Program Admission Tests (SSMs) of 2021, 2022, and 2023. The questions cover clinical, diagnostic, analytical, therapeutic, and epidemiological scenarios, sometimes accompanied by images. The study compared ChatGPT's answers to the official corrections on the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) website. The scoring method used for evaluation was 1 point for correct answers, 0 points for unanswered questions, and -0.25 points for incorrect answers, reflecting the SSM test scoring system. Results: In summary, ChatGPT was tested with a total of 420 questions, 140 for each test. It achieved an overall accuracy of 80.48%, providing correct answers for 338 questions and incorrect answers for 82 questions. When faced with questions containing both text and images, it answered 55% correctly and 45% incorrectly. The model's performance varied over time, with an 82.14% accuracy rate in 2021 and 2022 (115 correct out of 140) and a 77.14% accuracy rate in 2023 (108 correct out of 140). Applying thisscoring method to the SSM test, ChatGPT would have scored 105 points in 2021 and 2022, and 100 points in 2023. Conclusions: ChatGPT has exhibited above-average performance in the last three SSM tests, highlighting its robust capability to interpret clinical scenarios and offer precise diagnostic and therapeutic guidance. Despite this, some limitations persist, notably the software's inability to interpret non-textual information.

The aim of this work was to classify the business incubators in Spain according to the four phases of startups incubation. Taking into account that the graduation rate implies greater survival and business success of the incubated companies, they have been identified at each stage of the incubation (spread of entrepreneurship, pre-incubation, advanced incubation, and graduation). The activities that present higher impacts on the success of the incubated companies and the activities carried out by the incubator that have a greater relevance on the graduation of the companies have concretely been considered. Principal component (PC) cluster analysis have been applied. All the incubation variables were used simultaneously, reducing their number, and grouping them into factors, finally the cases were grouped according to these latent variables. Principal components analysis reduced dimensionality to 8 factors with a 74 % of explained variance. Factor 1 was positively related to pre-incubation variables, factor 2 was linked to training and collaboration variables within the entrepreneurship diffusion phase. Factor 3 called activity monitoring and control and was related to phase 3 or basic incubation variables. Clusters analysis facilitates the grouping of incubators into three clusters: Group 1 (16 % of the total), incubators with strong deficits in incubation phases 1, 2 and 3. They are small Business Incubators, often located in rural areas or cities and low graduation rate. Group 2 (30 %), business incubators with very high graduation rate, and strongly positive values in factor 1 and 2. Factor 3 although positive is susceptible to improvement. They are the largest incubators and usually located in industrial and technological parks. Group 3 (54 %) is the majority, with values close to cluster 2 and 3.

Beaches are among the habitats most frequented by migratory birds for breeding and/or wintering. However, threats such as human pressure and sea level rise can reduce the availability of these habitats for different species. The presence of alternative areas, such as salt pans and brackish habitats, is essential for many migratory shorebird populations. This study addresses the post-breeding dispersal of the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) in the Iberian Peninsula by analysing C and N isotopes in feathers. The study was conducted at six locations along the Iberian coast, which were categorized in three areas: NW Atlantic coast, the Atlantic coast of Andalusia and the Mediterranean coast. Although linear mixed models did not reveal any significant effects of sex or coastal area on isotopic levels, the variability in the data suggests different habitat-use strategies in the post-reproductive period. Birds from the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula exhibit greater fidelity to a single habitat type, i.e. coastal beaches, while populations from the Mediterranean coast and the Atlantic coast of Andalusia show different individual dispersal strategies, occupying coastal habitats and freshwater wetlands. The lack of alternative habitats for the northwest Iberian population, the reduction in available habitat due to rising sea levels and human pressure together pose a serious threat to the survival of this species, already with an unfavourable conservation status.

Hemangioblasts give rise to endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), which also express the cell surface markers CD133 and C-kit. They may differentiate into the outgrowth endothelial cells (OECs) that control neovascularization in the developing embryo. Reduced levels of EPC in circulation have been linked to human cardiovascular disorders, according to numerous studies. Furthermore, preeclampsia and senescence have been linked to levels of EPCs produced from cord blood. Uncertainties surround how preeclampsia affects the way EPCs function. It is reasonable to speculate that preeclampsia may have an impact on the function of fetal EPCs during the in utero period; however, given the present literature's suggestion that maternal vasculopathies, including preeclampsia, damage fetal circulation. Additionally, the differentiation potential and general activity of EPCs may serve as an indicator of the health of the fetal vascular system since they promote neovascularization and repair during pregnancy. Thus, the purpose of this review is to compare, through assessment of their quantity, differentiation potency, angiogenic activity, and senescence, the angiogenic function of fetal EPCs obtained from cord blood for normal and pregnancy problems. This will shed light on the relationship between the angiogenic function of fetal EPCs and pregnancy complications, which could have an effect on the management of long-term health issues like metabolic and cardiovascular disorders in offspring with abnormal vasculature development.

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is an allotetraploid (2n = 4X= 40) drupe fruit and has high nutritional value belongs to genus Mangifera and family Anacardiaceae. Mango cultivars are used with worldwide acceptance to pharmacological, ethnomedical, and phytochemical industries. Assessment of the genetic distinctiveness of a cultivar through morphological descriptors is an important tool for both the registration and the protection. New mango genotypes have been improved using valuable diverse germplasm resources to ensure food security. DNA fingerprinting based simple sequence repeats (SSR)-markers have been the most broadly used, effective and accurate in evaluation of genetic characterization of a cultivar. Molecular breeding is an effective source of genetic gain after improvement of fruit trees using marker assisted genomic selection. Total genomic DNA (gDNA) was generated using CTAB method from each cultivar. The most effective 50 hyper-variable SSR markers were selected. Highly specific DNA fingerprints were identified in the candidate line ‘Azeem Chaunsa’ compared with three standard cultivars using SSR-PCR. An agglomerative hierarchical clustering method was used to construct dendrogram based on the UPGMA clustering method. Cultivar identification diagram (CID) was constructed to evaluate association among standard cultivars and Azeem Chaunsa. Our results showed that SSR markers could efficiently assess genetic diversity in mango. The genetic similarity coefficients were recorded between the cultivars of mango ranged from 0.49 to 0.67. CID results concluded that cultivar ‘Azeem Chaunsa’ varied significantly from the check cultivar, Sindhri (46.2%), S.B Chaunsa (45%) and Sufaid Chaunsa (46.7%). The results obtained in this study will orient cultivar identification strategies for a successful future.

The high genetic diversity of the tomato and its high micronutrient content make this fruit very interesting from an economic and nutritional point of view. The genetic erosion suffered by this crop, due to breeding objectives based on yield and marketing, makes it necessary to return to the origins in search of the nutritional and organoleptic quality lost in traditional varieties. In this study, the agronomic, physical, organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of eighteen F1 hybrids obtained by crossing fourteen traditional varieties, previously selected for their quality, were studied to select genotypes of superior quality that could be candidates for new. All parameters studied were strongly influenced by genotype, showing a wide range between cultivars. Principal Component Analysis revealed the characteristics of each hybrid that made it stand out from the others. Some hybrids (H3, H4, and H6) stand out because of their high concentration of active compounds, others (H16, H15, H10, H17, H9, and H11) because of agronomic performance and high content of β-carotene, and H5 was the only one to contain chlorophyll in their ripe fruits. Finally, the evaluation index allowed the selection of five hybrids with interesting characteristics, combining good yield performance and high quality

The objectives of this study were to evaluate fixed risk factors associated with PWM and to estimate genetic parameters for PWM. A total of 927 birth records from a mixed population of purebred and crossbred Boer and Spanish goats born between 2016 and 2023 at the International Goat Research Center (IGRC) were used for this study. Four binary traits were studied: D0-3 (death within 3 days after birth), D4-60 (death between 4 and 60 days), D61-90 (death between 61 and 90 days), and D0-90 (death within 90 days). Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the risk factors associated with PWM traits. Bayesian threshold models and Gibbs sampling were used to estimate the genetic parameters. Birth weight, season, litter size, sex, dam age, breed, and heterosis were found to be significantly associated with at least one of the PWM traits. Heritability estimates were 0.263, 0.124, 0.080, and 0.207, for D0-3, D4-60, D61-90, and D0-90, respectively. The genetic correlations between the studied traits ranged from 0.892 (D0-3 and D0-90) to 0.999 (D0-3 and D61-90). These results suggest that PWM in goats is influenced by both non-genetic and genetic factors and can be reduced by management, genetic selection, and crossbreeding approaches.

Abstract: More than 40 hypotheses predict associations between features of nest architecture and at least one measure of reproductive success. However, quantitative studies of reproductive consequences of nest characteristics remain scarce. In addition, most studies were conducted on model species of which nests can be easily monitored with artificial nest-boxes. Here we review the replicability of research protocols and findings in model species with many repeat studies focusing mainly on nest-size components, animal-derived nest material, or fresh greenery in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), great tits (Parus major), tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), and starlings (Sturnus spp.). The studies looked for correlations between nest traits and aspects of breeding performance that can be easily quantified in the field, such clutch size, brood size at hatching or fledging, the % of eggs that hatch or fledge, or nestling characteristics assumed to reflect qualities associated with survival probabilities (e.g., morphometry, body condition, blood profiles). We discuss the consequences of poor replicability of research methodologies and provide explanations for why many of these studies reported poor associations between nest design and breeding success at different spatiotemporal scales. We also make suggestions for future research. Keywords: Nest design, Breeding success, Nest-box, Cavity-nesting birds, Replicability

The mechanical pre-treatment constitutes an unavoidable pre-step prior to biofuels conversion. As the cost of this step is often underestimated, recently researchers have striven to identify and characterize the mechanical pre-treatment effects in terms of post-treatment physical characterization, derived improvement of enzymatic digestibility, and output yields. The status of existing mechanical pre-treatment techniques is reviewed by substrate’s typology for lignocellulose biomass, focusing on comminution techniques. Emphasis has been dedicated to the particle size achieved after treatment, crystallinity breakage and eventual inhibitory phenomena deriving from the application of particle size reduction, which are analysed and discussed.

To handle the challenges and uncertainties of the actual labor market, the concept of employability becomes increasingly relevant, especially for graduates facing the transition from university to work. Graduate employability is a complex concept comprising different dimensions that may trigger effective job search and career management. This study introduces a new multifaceted tool, labeled the Orientamentis Questionnaire, to assess graduate employability from an agentic perspective, testing its psychometric properties. The Orientamentis questionnaire measures 14 dimensions merged into four 4 areas, namely graduate psychological capital, graduate agentic capabilities, graduate career perspective, and graduate proactive strategies. The tool was administered to a sample of 1238 graduate students (66% females) examining its factorial structure and reliability. To test its criterion validity, associations with three occupational outcomes collected one year later were explored on a subsample of 273 participants (66% females). Results attested the factorial structure of the Orientamentis questionnaire and the reliability of all dimensions. Moreover, the four areas and most of the dimensions were differently related to at least one subsequent occupational outcome. The Orientamentis Questionnaire represents a sound and reliable tool providing a multifaceted profile of graduate employability strengths and weaknesses, that could be used in academic placement programs to foster graduates’ self-awareness and proactive job search.

The UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 Report 2022 is about ensuring access to clean and affordable energy, which is key to the development of agriculture, business, communications, education, healthcare, and transportation. The lack of access to energy hinders economic and human development. Nevertheless, the current pace of progress is insufficient to achieve Goal 7 by 2030. Huge disparities in access to modern sustainable energy persist. Rising commodity, energy and shipping prices have increased the cost of producing and transporting solar photovoltaics modules, wind turbines and biofuels worldwide, adding uncertainty to a development trajectory that is already far below Goal 7 ambitions. Achieving energy and climate goals will require continued policy support and a massive mobilization of public and private capital for clean and renewable energy such as methane from biomass. An important factor in improving methane yield from biomass waste is pre-treatment of the biomass prior to anaerobic digestion. Size reduction of lignocellulose biomass is important for changing and increasing digestibility thus increasing methane yield. A Hollander beater was used as the mechanical pre-treatment machine throughout this study. Results indicate that methane yield is directly proportional to feedstock/Inoculum (F/I) ratio as higher F/I ratio led to higher methane yield. It was observed at an F/I ratio of 0.5 that 5 minutes pre-treatment time produced highest methane yield, while the lowest methane yield was observed at an F/I ratio of 0.2 with 1 minute of pre-treatment time. Methane yield decreased by 30% from 140 mL gTS-1 at F/I ratio 0.5 with 5 minutes pre-treatment time to 98 mL gTS-1 at F/I 0.2 with 5 minutes pre-treatment time. The optimum methane yield was attained at high F/I ratio allowing sufficient nutrient essential for complete degradation of biomass. Overall, this research shows the Hollander beater is not efficient in optimizing methane yield for cardboard.

This longitudinal study examined the development of executive function and calibration accuracy in pre-adolescents. Two hundred sixty two students(127 females) from grades 4 (n = 91), 5 (n = 89) and 6 (n = 82) took measures of executive function and performance calibration in a sport task, three times within a period of 20 months. A latent growth curve modeling analysis showed a significant relation between the rates of change of executive function and calibration. Further, the results showed a dynamic interplay in the development of executive function and calibration. There were significant inter-individual differences in the estimated population means both in executive function and calibration and in the rate of change of executive function, but not in the rate of change for calibration. The age of the participants had a positive effect only on the estimated population mean of executive function.

: Julia Creek dunnarts are an endangered species of carnivorous marsupials and the focus of multiple conservation strategies involving significant resources such as captive breeding programs. Despite the relevance for conservation, no study to date has focused on evaluating geriatric diseases in dunnarts. This study describes the pathology findings in a group of one wild and 35 captive-born, mostly geriatric Julia Creek dunnarts that failed to produce offspring over multiple breeding periods. A total of 20 females and 16 males were submitted for a postmortem examination, with ages ranging from 9-42 and 12-42 months for females and males, respectively. Of these, 10 had unremarkable findings. The most common condition in females was cystic glandular hyperplasia (n=8), typical of hormonal dysregulation profiles in senescence, particularly hyperestrogenism. Rarely, cutaneous disease represented by unidentified dermal round cell infiltrates was observed in females (n=2). Primary reproductive hormonal dysregulation was also suspected in males diagnosed with testicular degeneration, aspermatogenesis and/or atrophy (n=3). Cutaneous round cell infiltrates, possibly compatible with epitheliotropic lymphomas were seen in males (n=3), and 2/3 affected males also had concurrent testicular degeneration or atrophy, indicating male sex could be a predictor for lymphoid neoplasia in aged dunnarts especially in individuals with concurrent testosterone-luteinizing hormone dysregulation as it occurs in gonadectomized animals. The role of an underlying viral etiology is also explored. This study is the first to describe major spontaneous diseases in endangered aged Julia Creek dunnarts, providing an important understanding of senescence and geriatric diseases within a conservation context.

This study focuses on enhancing controllable fibrin-based hydrogels for tissue engineering, addressing existing weaknesses. By integrating a novel copolymer, we improve the foundation for cell-based angiogenesis with adaptable structural features. Tissue engineering often faces challenges like waste disposal and nutrient supply beyond the 200 µm diffusion limit. Angiogenesis breaks through this limitation, allowing the construction of larger constructs. Our innovative scaffold combination significantly boosts angiogenesis, resulting in longer branches and more capillary network junctions. The copolymer attached to fibrin fibers enables precise adjustment of hydrogel mechanical-dynamic properties for specific applications. Our material proves effective for angiogenesis, even under suppression factors like suramin. In our study, we prepared fibrin-based hydrogels with and without the copolymer PVP12400-co-GMA10mol%. Using a co-culture system of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), we analyzed angiogenetic behavior on and within the modified hydrogels. Capillary-like structures were reproducibly formed on different surfaces, demonstrating the general feasibility of three-dimensional endothelial cell networks in fibrin-based hydrogels. This highlights the biomaterial's suitability for in vitro pre-vascularization of biohybrid implants.

Transport electrification is essential for reducing CO2 emissions, and technologies such as hybrid and range-extended electric vehicles will play a crucial transitional role. Such vehicles employ an internal combustion engine for on-board chemical energy conversion. The Wankel rotary engine should be an excellent candidate for this purpose, offering high power-to-weight ratio, simplicity, compactness, perfect balance, and low cost. Until recently, however, it has not been in production in the automotive market, due, in part, to relatively low combustion efficiency and high fuel consumption and unburnt hydrocarbon emissions, which can be traced to constraints on flame speed, an elongated combustion chamber, and relatively low compression ratios. This work uses large-eddy simulation to study the in-chamber flow in a peripherally ported 225cc Wankel rotary engine, providing insight into these limitations. Flow structures created during the intake phase play a key role in turbulence production but presence of the pinch point inherent to Wankel engine combustion chambers inhibits flame propagation. Two efficiency-enhancement technologies are introduced as disruptive solutions: (i) pre-chamber jet ignition and (ii) the two-stage rotary engine. These concepts overcome the traditional efficiency limitations and show that Wankel rotary engine design can be further enhanced for its role as a range extender in electrified vehicles.

Bovine Dewclaw Dermatitis (BDCD) is a hoof disease characterized by inflammation of the second and fifth accessory digits and the skin in this region. This pathology is poorly described in the literature; however, it has recently been observed in beef cattle in the Amazon Biome, Brazil. The objective of this study was to identify the epidemiological factors associated with BDCD onset in cattle in the analyzed biome. Samples were collected from eight farms with extensive breeding systems located in Xinguara, Rondon do Pará, Curionópolis, and Ipixuna do Pará, in the state of Pará, Brazil. A total of 706 Nellore and Nellore crossbred with taurine bovine of both sexes were evaluated, with males aged between 2–4 years and a mean weight of 650 kg and females aged between 2–11 years and a mean weight of 400 kg. Distal extremities were inspected during cattle management, and in case of dewclaw lesions, a specific examination was carried out after proper restraint. Bovine were diagnosed with BDCD in all farms analyzed. Of the 706 cattle inspected, 49 (6.94%) showed BDCD, of which 19 (38.77%) were Nellore and 30 (61.22%) were crossbred. This was the first study to determine BDCD’s occurrence in extensive farming systems in the Amazon re-gion, also showing that pastures with large amounts of stumps and stones, the physical structure of pens, and trauma and injury incidence during animal management are the most important pre-disposing factors for the onset of BDCD.

Keywords: Wheat; Speed Breeding; Maize Pollen Induction; Chromosome Elimination; Doubled Haploid (DH)

Evaluation of the patients after the surgical correction of idiopathic scoliosis in long-term follow-up with the clinical neurophysiology methods has not been presented in detail. This study aimed to compare the results of the neurophysiological studies in 45 girls with scoliosis of Lenke 1-3 types performed pre- (T0), postoperatively (T1, one week after surgery), and 6 months after the surgery (T2). Parameters of surface electromyography during the attempt of maximal contraction (mcsEMG) and transcranially evoked motor evoked potentials (MEP) recorded from anterior tibial muscles, as well as the electroneurography (ENG) of peripheral transmission in the peroneal nerve motor fibers were compared. The results indicate that efferent neural conduction function both centrally and peripherally as well as TA muscle function improve immediately after surgical correction of scoliosis (at p=0.05) and further normalization appears after six months in long-term follow-up (at p=0.03). It has been found in sEMG recordings, that the TA muscle motor unit recruitment function after half a year from surgical treatment in IS patients is comparable to the normal condition. ENG recordings results indicated the gradual retreat of the motor fibers injury symptoms mainly of the axonal type in peroneal nerves, the surgeries improved also the lumbar ventral roots’ neural transmission to the functional status considered as normal. MEP amplitude parameters recorded after the surgical scoliosis correction in T1 indicated a slight improvement in the efferent transmission of neural impulses within the fibers of the spinal tracts; in long-lasting T2 observation, they reached values comparable to those recorded in healthy volunteers bilaterally. Preoperatively (T0) the results of all neurophysiological study parameters in IS patients were asymmetrical at p=0.036-0.05 and recorded as worse on the concave side, suggesting the lateralization of neurological motor deficits. One week postoperatively (T1), this asymmetry was recorded as gradually reduced, showing almost no difference between the right and left sides six months later (T2). The presented algorithm of the diagnostic proceeding pre-, early post-, and long-lasting postoperatively using mcsEMG, MEP, and ENG neurophysiological examinations can be significant not only in making the final decision regarding surgical treatment and its personalization but also helps in precise ascertaining its effects as well as in predicting the final result of IS treatment.

Thin twin-roll cast strips from a model Al-Cu-Mg-Li-Zr alloy with a small addition of Sc were prepared. A combination of a fast solidification rate and a favorable effect of Sc microalloying impacts the size and distribution of primary phase particles and the dimension of eutectic cells. Small interdendritic spacing in the range of 10-15 um enables substitution of the initial long-term homogenization annealing by a two-step annealing at 300 and 450 °C and a short solution treatment at 530 °C before quenching and the final age-hardening procedure. A dense dispersion of small Al3(Sc,Zr) precipitates intensively inhibiting recrystallization forms during this treatment. Further refining and fragmentation of the structure were performed using constrained groove pressing before the solution treatment. Small pre-straining of quenched specimens and subsequent age-hardening simulating T8 temper were used to promote the formation of a homogeneous distribution of strengthening particles and to suppress preferential heterogeneous precipitation on subgrain and grain boundaries. Microstructural features and microhardness evolution during annealing were critically examined and confronted with microstructural characteristics observed on reference mold cast alloy or alloys without Sc alloying. The proposed treatment represents a model near net shape procedure for manufacturing thicker sheets for the aerospace industry.

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

Breeding for low hydrogen cyanide (HCN) varieties is a major objective of programmes targeting boiled cassava food product. To enhance breeding for low HCN, knowledge on genetic variation and trait heritability is essential. In this study, 64 cassava clones established across four locations and evaluated for HCN using three HCN assessment methods; 1 to 9 scale, 0 ppm to 800 ppm scale and a quantitative assay based on spectrophotometer readings (HCN_Spec). Data were also collected on the weather variables precipitation, relative humidity, and temperature. Significant differences were observed among clones (P &lt; 0.001) and locations (p &lt; 0.001). There were also significant (p &lt; 0. 001) clone by environment interactions. Locations Arua and Serere posted higher HCN scores among clones and were associated with significantly higher (p &lt; 0.001) mean daily temperature (K) and lower relative humidity (%) across 12-hour and 18-hour intervals. Within locations HCN broad sense heritability estimates ranged 0.22 – 0.64 while combined location heritability estimates ranged 0.14 to 0.32. Relationships between the methods were positive and strong (R2 = 0.75 – 0.92). It is expected that the information herein will accelerate efforts towards breeding for low HCN cassava varieties.

Urbanization influences food culture, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where there is an increasing consumption of processed and pre-packaged foods. This shift is contributing to a rise in non-communicable diseases. Food labeling standards are crucial for regulating manufacturing practices and aiding consumers in making healthy food choices. We aimed to assess the compliance of local and imported pre-packaged snacks with Tanzanian and international labeling standards in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 180 snack products. A checklist based on Tanzanian and Codex labeling standards was used to evaluate adherence. We also examined factors influencing adherence, such as product origin, price, category, purchase location, and package size. The majority of the snacks demonstrated partial adherence to labeling standards. Imported products showed significantly better full adherence to both Tanzanian and International standards. Notably, over half of the products used English for labeling, and infrequently used the recommended World Health Organization Front-of-Pack nutrition Labeling. Product category, origin, and package size were significantly associated with higher levels of International standard adherence (p<0.05). The inadequate adherence to mandatory labeling standards, scarce use of Swahili and FoPL highlight the need to strengthen labeling practices and potential challenges faced by consumers in understanding nutritional information. Thus, strengthening and emphasizing good labeling practices is of urgency as we seek to address diet-related Non-communicable diseases.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and its various forms are extensively utilized in both research and clinical settings to analyse molecules. NMR data pre-processing, while essential to NMR data analysis, can be uniquely complex. Despite the availability of software tools, understanding these processes can be challenging, complicating the selection of appropriate pre-processing steps. In this review, we elucidate pre-processing steps in the time domain from a mathematical and statistical perspective, explaining direct current offset removal, eddy current correction, shift and linear prediction, weighting, zero filling, and domain transformation using plain language and fundamental mathematical formulas. Our objective is to clarify these processes in simple terms and provide general guidance.

The aim of the study was to compare the standard baseline imaging, with extended radiological staging. To assess our hypothesis, we performed a prospective, single-centre study which included 132 participants recruited between October 2015 and March 2020. Descriptive statistics, the Friedman and chi-squared tests were performed and p &lt; 0.05 was considered significant. Patients were grouped into two cohorts, CT scan cohort (n=87) and PET-CT cohort (n=43). In the first group the originally determined disease stage changed in 36.8 % of cases, in second group in 51.2 %. The consistency between assessment of axillary lymph nodes by imaging (cN) and the postoperative pathology report (pN) was evaluated. In most cases, clinical and pathological evaluation of involved nodes was consistent, for CT scan the result was χ2(1) = 18.98; p &lt; 0.001, for PET-CT the result was χ2(1) = 6.41; p = 0.03. Highly customized radiation therapy defined as dose boost within the involved lymph nodes, not covered by surgeon, was applied in nine patients.

Prospecting for a future breeding site is an essential component of informed dispersal. It allows individuals to reduce the uncertainty of their environment by gathering personal and social information about the local quality of alternative breeding areas, and to make informed emigration and settlement decisions. Although this process has been studied in territorial and social animal species for decades, it is still not well-understood and spatial patterns of prospecting movements are hard to generalize over taxa or even species due to substantial intra and inter-specific variability. Using 124 empirical studies which have explicitly described prospecting in a context of breeding habitat selection in birds, mammals, fish and invertebrates, I review why, how, when and which individuals prospect depending on their life history traits and sociality. From this synthesis, I identify persisting knowledge gaps which explain why prospecting is still understudied and sometimes overlooked. I finally propose key objectives and research directions, to shed light on prospecting movements and their consequences on informed dispersal strategies, individual fitness and population dynamics, both empirically and theoretically. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying prospecting, their causes and their consequences will fully reveal how prospecting could constitute a powerful adaptive response to environmental changes for many social and territorial species which will help them persist on the long-term. It will also significantly enhance our ability to predict species responses to environmental changes and thus, inform more effective management plans for threatened species

Anthracnose stands as the primary obstacle to lupin cultivation, impeding development despite the considerable agronomic, ecological, and economic potential of such legume crops. This review explores recent efforts to unravel the complexities of anthracnose in domesticated lupins, focusing on both the plant perspective and the causative pathogenic agent, Colletotrichum lupini. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies has yielded crucial insights into various facets of this devastating disease, encompassing plant and pathogen biology, genetic and molecular regulations of the interaction, fungal diversity and population dynamics, and screening of plant genetic resources for anthracnose resistance. The lack of effective disease control measures, relying primarily on the use of disease-free seeds, highlights the need to develop anthracnose-resistant varieties. However, challenges arise from the intricacy of lupin's response to the disease, influenced by polygenic inheritance, in spite of loci with major effects, and environmental factors. The slow pace of genetic improvement underscores the need for more efficient breeding processes, including biotechnological approaches. This review offers a comprehensive overview of current progress and knowledge gaps, stressing the urgent need to further enhance understanding of C. lupini pathogenic mechanisms and lupin‘s resistance. Integrating advanced technologies and accelerated research efforts is paramount for achieving efficient disease management and sustainable lupin cultivation in the face of anthracnose challenges.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a multisystem disorder that presents with a variety of phenotypes involving metabolic, endocrine, reproductive, and psychological symptoms and signs. Women with PCOS are at increased risk of pregnancy complications including implantation failure, miscarriage, gestational diabetes, fetal growth restriction, preterm labour, and preeclampsia (PE). This may be attributed to the presence of specific susceptibility features associated with PCOS before and during pregnancy, such as chronic systemic inflammation, insulin resistance (IR), and hyperandrogenism, all of which have been associated with an increased risk of pregnancy complications. Many of the features of PCOS are reversible following lifestyle interventions such as diet and exercise, and pregnant women following a healthy lifestyle have been found to have a lower risk of complications, including PE. This review summarizes the evidence investigating the risk of PE and the role of nutritional factors in women with PCOS. The findings suggest that the beneficial aspects of lifestyle management of PCOS, as recommended in the evidenced-based international guidelines, extend to improved pregnancy outcomes. Identifying high-risk women with PCOS will allow targeted interventions, early pregnancy screening, and increased surveillance for PE. Women with PCOS should be included in risk assessment algorithms for PE.

As for their large surface area and pore volume, three-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (3D COFs) have emerged as competitive porous materials. However, due to the structural dynamic behavior particularly for imine-linked 3D COFs, potentially unlock their potential for gas storage application. Herein, we showed a pre-locked linker strategy introduces breaking dynamic behavior in 3D COFs. A predesigned planar linker based 3,8-diamino-6-phenylphenanthridine (DPP) was prepared to produce non-dynamic 3D JUC-595, as benzylideneamine moiety in DPP locked the linker flexibility and restrict the molecular-bond rotation of the imine linkages. Upon solvent inclusion and release, the PXRD profile of JUC-595 remained intake, while JUC-594 with flexible benzidine linker experienced crystal transformation due to framework contraction-expansion. As a result, the activated JUC-595 achieved higher surface areas (754 m² g-1) than that of JUC-594 (548 m² g-1). Furthermore, improved CO2 and CH4 storages were also seen in JUC-595 compared with JUC-594. Impressively, JUC-595 recorded high normalized H2 storage capacity that surpass other reported high surface area 3D COFs. This works shows important insight on manipulating structural properties of 3D COF to tune the gas storage performance.

The measurement of sP4 often varies due to different laboratory methodologies and individual canine characteristics. In this investigation, sP4 outcomes obtained from a commercial POC analyzer, designed for efficient sP4 assessment in bitches, were compared with results derived from CMIA, the reference laboratories in Thailand. Thorough documentation encompassed various parameters: mean, standard deviation (SD), 95% confidence interval (CI), minimum and maximum sP4 concentration values. Additionally, we meticulously recorded the Pearson’s correlation coefficient, Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient, and the bias correction factor. Interestingly, there was no significant difference (p &gt; 0.05) in the means obtained by the POC and CMIA. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient between POC and CMIA stood at 0.957, with Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient for POC recorded as 0.949. Furthermore, the bias correction factor was established at 0.991. This investigation followed established CMIA guidelines, modified to incorporate the mean and 95% CI as criteria for optimal breeding time using the POC analyzer. In conclusion, the commercial POC immunologic analyzer emerges as a valuable tool, aiding in precisely determining the optimal timing for natural mating or artificial insemination in bitches.

In a Water-Cooled Lithium-Lead (WCLL) Breeding Blanket (BB), the heat generated by the plasma thermal radiation and nuclear reactions is removed mainly by two components; namely, the First Wall (FW) and the Breeding Zone (BZ). The FW faces the neutrons and charged particles fluxes generated by the fusion reactions and the thermal radiation coming from the plasma. The present work takes into account the FW cooling system inspired by the WCLL BB 2018 design of DEMO 2017 baseline. Unlike the baseline where a Pressurized-Water Reactor (PWR) setup is used for the coolant, various setup between the Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) and the High-Pressure (HP) BWR are studied in the present work operating in the Two-Phase Flow (TPF) regime. The 3D model of the FW in the WCLL BB 2018 design is simplified into a 1D model and a steady state analysis is carried out to optimize the mass flow rate of the water and the number of parallel channels at the BB cells at different poloidal locations of the reactor, which helps not only in reducing the used coolant but also in improving the Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR). The present work takes into account forced convection in the liquid only region, the subcooled boiling region, and the saturated boiling region using suitable empirical or semi-empirical models from the literature. The results are validated against the existing results in the literature. In the end, related conclusions are made regarding the pros and cons of the studied operating conditions.

With the continuous update of gene editing technology, great progress has been made in livestock breeding, researchers have produced gene edited pigs, cattle, sheep and other improved livestock. Gene editing technology is a genetic means to knock in, knock out, delete, inhibit, activate or replace specific bases of DNA or RNA sequences at the genome level to achieve accurate modification, and can edit genes at a fixed point without the need for DNA templates. In recent years, although regular clusters of interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system mediated gene editing technology has been widely used in animal genetic breeding research, but so far, the system's precise insertion efficiency of foreign genes is not high enough, and there are certain off-target effects, and it is not enough to be used in genome editing of large livestock such as cashmere goats. In this paper, the development status, challenges, application prospects and look into the distance of CRISPR/ Cas9-mediated precisiongene editing technology in livestock breeding were reviewed, in order to provide theoretical reference for livestock gene function analysis, genetic improvement and livestock breeding with local economic characteristics.

Leaf area estimation is a critical component in the study of plant growth and productivity within agricultural systems. This research introduces the LeafArea package, a specialized tool designed to calculate the leaf area of six distinct Andean fruit species: S. quitoense, S. betaceum, P. peruviana, R. fruticosus, P. ligularis and P. edulis. Leveraging response variables such as species type, leaf length and width, the package employs advanced machine learning algorithms to estimate leaf area accurately. The primary focus of the study is to identify the most effective model for describing the relationship between leaf width, length, and area for each plant species. Currently, the LeafArea package utilizes four different machine learning algorithms, namely generalized linear model (GLM), generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), Random Forest and XGBoost. Among these, XGBoost stands out as a top-performing algorithm, exhibiting exceptional predictive accuracy. The evaluation metrics employed in the program provide valuable insights for researchers, aiding in informed decision-making. Specifically, XGBoost demonstrates significantly lower prediction errors and approaches a near-perfect R2 value, emphasizing its potential to enhance predictive accuracy. These results underscore the efficacy of machine learning techniques, as a compelling choice for researchers seeking precise and robust predictions in leaf area estimation. The LeafArea package thus represents a valuable tool for advancing our understanding of plant growth dynamics, resource allocation, and overall productivity within agricultural ecosystems.

X-band marine radar captures signal reflected from the sea surface. Theoretical studies indicate that the initial unfiltered signal contains meaningful information including parameters related to wind waves. Traditional methods for estimating significant wave height (SWH) rely on the physical laws describing signal reflection from rough surfaces. However, recent studies suggest the feasibility of employing artificial neural networks (ANNs) for SWH approximation. Both classical and ANN-based approaches necessitate costly in situ data. In this study, we propose generating synthetic radar images with specified wind wave parameters using Fourier-based approach and Pierson–Moskowitz wave spectrum as a viable alternative. We generate synthetic images and use them for unsupervised learning approach to train a convolutional component of an ANN. After that, we train a regression ANN based on the previous convolutional component to obtain SWH back from synthetic images. Then, we apply preliminary trained weights for the same regression model to train SWH approximation on the dataset of real sea clutter images. In this study, we demonstrate the increase in the accuracy of SWH estimation from radar images with the preliminary training on synthetic data.

The objective of the present report is the dissemination of information acquired during the application of ISO 6579-1:2017 for the isolation of Salmonella spp. from swine samples. ISO 6579-1:2017 is the officially recommended by the EU protocol for the isolation of Salmonella spp., aiming in the harmonization of effective successful control of Salmonella infection in food producing animals. Successful control of animal salmonellosis is highly dependent on the sensitivity of the biochemical methods reliably detecting the presence of the pathogen in various stages of food production. Application of ISO 6579-1:2017 resulted in the isolation of twelve Salmonella spp. and eighteen other members of the family of Enterobacteriaceae biochemically and antigenically resembling salmonellae. The findings necessitated in the depth evaluation of the culture media xylose-lysine-desoxycholate agar (XLD), Salmonella-Shigella Agar (SS), Brilliant Green Agar (BGA), Salmonella Chromogenic Agar (SCA), Triple Sugar Iron (TSI) and modified semi-solid Rappaport–Vassiliadis (MSRV) agar. The evaluation showed that these culture selective media differed significantly in their performance regarding the isolation of Salmonella from swine samples. It was concluded that the presence of atypical Salmonella strains negatively affects the prevalence of Salmonella, thus the identification of carrier pigs, eventually affecting the efficiency of control programs. Thus, doubtful results require additional biochemical testing for confirming the accuracy of such universally recommended isolation methods.

Wheat pollen, characterized by its short lifespan, exhibits rapid germination after anthesis. The preservation of wheat pollen is contingent upon environmental factors, including temperature, relative humidity, light, and wind. The objective is to develop a method for preserving wheat pollen effectively, specifically for the purpose of breeding. The short longevity of wheat pollen grains renders it impractical to conduct tests for pollen viability and in vitro germination on a large scale. Herein, the impact of storage temperatures and duration was assessed on pollen viability and in vitro germination to optimize storage conditions for preserving pollen viability. Pollen grains from 50 diverse spring wheat genotypes, each with three replicates, were harvested and stored at temperatures of 22°C, -20°C, and 4°C. Subsequently, pollen viability and in vitro germination rates were determined after storage of 1, 3, and 6 days. The results revealed that storage temperatures, durations, genotypes, and their interactions had a statistically significant impact on both pollen viability and in vitro germination. Notably, when pollen was kept at 22°C, almost all genotypes exhibited a loss of pollen viability and in vitro germination after 1, 3, and 6 days of storage. Likewise, storage at -20°C failed to extend pollen germination. However, at a storage temperature of 4°C, the pollen of 36 wheat genotypes exhibited a range of 6-14% in vitro pollen germination and remained viable even for 6 days. Simple linear regression analysis further revealed a significant negative correlation between pollen viability, in vitro germination, and storage time and temperature. In conclusion, our findings underscore 4°C as the optimal temperature for preserving pollen viability and in vitro pollen germination in spring wheat for up to 6 days. The results of the present study suggests that pollen viability of wheat is genotype de-pendent, storage temperature and storage duration. Thus, the 36 wheat genotypes identified during the present work could be efficiently maintained at 4◦C for short-term storage (6 days) and could be further used for genetics and breeding purposes.

Introduction Infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDR) occur more frequently after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) compared to other abdominal surgeries, and infective complications are a leading cause of postoperative morbidity following PD. Pre-operative biliary stent (PBS) placement often leads to biliary contamination, which in turn plays a significant role in postoperative infections. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of MDR contamination on short-term postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing PD and to examine the relationship between MDR bacteria, PBS, and bile contamination. Methods This is a retrospective study based on a prospectively maintained database comprising 825 consecutive patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) between January 2010 and December 2020 at our center. All procedures were conducted with a standardized resection by a dedicated group of surgeons in a specialized pancreatic surgery unit, and the patients were managed according to the same perioperative enhanced recovery protocol. Results MDR bacteria were present in 17.5% of bile cultures, exclusively within the stented group. In our multivariate analysis, the development of a major postoperative complication (MPC) was correlated with the presence of MDR bacteria in the bile (OR 1.66, 95% CI: 1.1-2.52; p = 0.02). MDR bacteria were detected early in the surgical drainage in 144 out of 825 patients (12.1%), with 72.2% having a previous biliary stent placement and 27.8% without stents (p < 0.001). In our multivariate analysis, the development of an MPC was associated with the presence of MDR bacteria in the drainage (OR=1.81, 95% CI: 1.21-2.73, p= 0.0042). Conclusions We demonstrated that MDR contamination worsens the short-term outcomes of patients undergoing PD. Specifically, when MDR bacteria are present in both the bile and drainage, there is a statistically significant increase in the incidence of major postoperative complications (MPC). Our data suggest that the majority of MDR surgical site infections stem from biliary contamination resulting from the placement of a pre-operative biliary stent (PBS).

In order to achieve the target, several activities are being undertaken, including the development of multipurpose reservoir planning for the water supply and sanitation infrastructure, irrigation, and hydropower development for the H project. To undertake this work, the main data given was rainfall data, flow data, catchment area, base population for water supply, and so on. This report presents a specifically preliminary study and design of water supply, irrigation, and hydropower development for the project, which is carried out in accordance with the scope of work given by our professor. The preliminary study and design are therefore to investigate scenarios and alternatives and prepare a document of water supply, irrigation, and hydropower infrastructures for the provision of the assignment. This report, as required in the assignment, contains project background, water sources assessment, selection of suitable hydropower potential, and irrigation sizing, design criteria, descriptions of the proposed scheme, preliminary design of water supply components. The objective of the project is to recommend and design a cost-effective water supply system, irrigation, and hydropower development to supply reliable, sufficient, and safe water from a defined water source to the H project. The specific objectives of the investigation works are: • To assess potential water source alternatives for water supply • Selecting appropriate size for the reservoir which could satisfy all water demand • Assess and select suitable irrigation development and hydropower potential. • Preliminary study and design of all components of the reservoir and appurtenant structures The scope of the project generally focuses on preliminary study and design of water supply, irrigation and hydropower development components from water sources potential and the water balance output.

Goji berries, long valued in Chinese medicine and cuisine for their wide range of medicinal benefits, are considered a 'superfruit' and functional food. Out of the nearly 100 Lycium species known for their genetic diversity, L. barbarum and L. chinense currently dominate the market. Due to increasing market demand and concerns about food safety and sustainability, Europe and the Americas are expanding the local goji berry production, using as starting material plants originated from China. European breeding programs are focusing on Lycium to develop varieties adapted to local conditions, especially in response to climate change. By 2023, Romania registered seven goji berry varieties, both from L. barbarum and L. chinense species, without incorporating local germplasm. Advanced genomic studies, including NGS sequencing of five cultivated and three wild goji berry plant genomes, have been conducted to analyse their genetic variation, with a particular focus on the BODYGUARD 3 and 4 genes. This research uncovered significant differences between cultivated and wild genotypes, both in the entire genome and specifically in the BODYGUARD genes, providing crucial insights for goji berry breeders to support the development of goji berry cultivation in Romania.

The leading role of Italy in the cultivation of durum wheat stimulated intense breeding activities in the country from the beginning of the 20th century, much earlier than any other country involved in durum wheat production. Older, genetically more heterogeneous landraces became replaced with new highly productive, superior quality varieties, and this led an inevitable reduction in overall genetic diversity among new cultivars, which makes the genetic variability of the old cultivars preserved particularly valuable and important. The aim of this paper was to assist future breeding programmes by providing a detailed description of the history of durum wheat breeding in Italy and of the changes in yield, quality and related traits that subsequently occurred, starting from the most diffuse landraces present between 1900 and 1920 up until the present day. The parallel evolution of breeding techniques, breeding goals and agricultural systems in this period is also described, and some future breeding goals suggested. In the current context of climate change and of rapidly mutating pathogen populations, preserving the yield level with the continuous introduction of new cultivars by exploiting the reservoir of largely unused genetic variation stored in old cultivars and landraces could be as important as increasing grain yield and quality.

Pea (Pisum sativum L.), like most legumes, forms mutualistic symbioses with nodule bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. The positive effect of inoculation is partially determined by the plant genotype, thus, pea varieties with high and low symbiotic responsivity have been described, but the molecular genetic basis of this trait remains unknown. Here, we compare the symbiotically responsive breeding line ‘Triumph’ of grain pea with its parental cultivars ‘Vendevil’ (a donor of high symbiotic responsivity) and ‘Classic’ (a donor of agriculturally valuable traits) using genome and transcriptome sequencing. We show that ‘Triumph’ inherited one-fourth of its genome from ‘Vendevil’, including the genes related to AM and nodule formation, and reveal that under combined inoculation with nodule bacteria and AM fungi, ‘Triumph’ and ‘Vendevil’, in contrast to ‘Classic’, demonstrate similar up-regulation of the genes related to solute transport, hormonal regulation and flavonoid biosynthesis in their roots. We also identify the gene PsGLP2, whose expression pattern distinguishing ‘Triumph’ and ‘Vendevil’ from ‘Classic’ correlates with difference within the promoter region sequence, making it a promising marker for the symbiotic responsivity trait. The results of the study may be helpful for future molecular breeding programs aimed at creation of symbiotically responsive cultivars of pea.

Cocoa beans of the CCN-51 clone harvested in the Tumaco region (Nariño, Colombia) were fermented following four different treatments: (1) spontaneously (at room temperature for 120 h) in traditional conditions (Control); (2) traditional processing with a pre-drying (sun-dried for 24 h) treatment (PD); (3) with fermentation (for 120 h) after inoculation of a yeast starter culture (YS); and (4) including both treatments, pre-drying and yeast inoculation (PD+YS). Chemical composition, fatty acids, total polyphenol, methylxanthines (theobromine and caffeine) and lactic acid content of cocoa beans were determined. Chemical and fatty acid composition and theobromine content were not affected by the different fermentation treatment applied. When analysing total polyphenol content, YS and PD+YS treatments significantly increased the content of these compounds at the end of the fermentation process, while PD treatment decreased the caffeine content of cocoa beans. Finally, lactic acid content decreased as a consequence of both inoculation of yeast starter and mainly the pre-drying treatment. In conclusion, solar pre-drying in the open air and the inoculation of a yeast starter treatments could improve the final quality of coca beans.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is widely used in clinics and research due to its accurate disease identification and non-invasive nature. MRI is based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), which is also extensively employed in various fields. NMR and its modern versions involve intricate pre-processing steps before data analysis. These steps are initially processed in the time domain and subsequently in the frequency domain. While our previous review focused on time domain pre-processing (https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202310.2032/v1), this review delves into the mathematical and statistical aspects of frequency domain pre-processing. We discuss essential pre-processing steps like phase error correction, baseline correction, solvent filtering, calibration and alignment, reference deconvolution, binning/bucketing and peak picking, peak fitting/deconvolution and compound identification, integration and quantification, normalization and transformation. Furthermore, we offer practical recommendations for each step.

The Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer (GPT), also known as ChatGPT, is a powerful generative AI model that can simulate human-like dialogues across a variety of domains. However, this popularity has attracted the attention of malicious actors who exploit ChatGPT to launch cyberattacks. This paper examines the tactics that adversaries use to leverage ChatGPT in a variety of cyberattacks. Attackers pose as regular users and manipulate ChatGPT’s vulnerability to malicious interactions, particularly in the context of cyber assault. The paper presents illustrative examples of cyberattacks that are possible with ChatGPT and discusses the realm of ChatGPT-fueled cybersecurity threats. The paper also investigates the extent of user awareness of the relationship between ChatGPT and cyberattacks. A survey of 253 participants was conducted, and their responses were measured on a three-point Likert scale. The results provide a comprehensive understanding of how ChatGPT can be used to improve business processes and identify areas for improvement. Over 80% of the participants agreed that cyber criminals use ChatGPT for malicious purposes. This finding underscores the importance of improving the security of this novel model. Organizations must take steps to protect their computational infrastructure. This analysis also highlights opportunities for streamlining processes, improving service quality, and increasing efficiency. Finally, the paper provides recommendations for using ChatGPT in a secure manner, outlining ways to mitigate potential cyberattacks and strengthen defenses against adversaries.

Screening of pollen traits in diploid wild potatoes (Solanum sect. Petota, Solanaceae) is desirable to develop heat-tolerant potato (S. tuberosum) cultivars. To accomplish this goal requires exploring potato genetic resources that are conserved in genebanks. The goal of this study was to assess pollen viability and 2n pollen production of the diploid potato wild relatives under heat stress condition. We assessed pollen viability and size of nine potato accessions conserved at the Embrapa Potato Gene Bank, including S. chacoense (BRA 00167447-2, BRA 00167017-3, BRA 00167023-1, BRA 00167028-0), S. commersonii (BRA00167007-4, BRA00167420-9, BRA00183760-8), and S. malmeanum (BRA 00183755-8), along with a control accession from the cultivated species S. tuberosum (BRA 00167251-8). The plant accessions were cultivated in different growth chambers, simulating both control temperature (ranging from 14 to 27°C) and supraoptimal temperature conditions (ranging from 24 to 34°C). At heat stress, the accessions BRA 00167251-8 did not bloom, and BRA 00167023-1 did not produce pollen. The remaining accessions did not exhibit a significant reduction in pollen viability as the temperature increased. Pollen viability at the control temperature had the lowest value in BRA-00167420-9 (S. commersonii) with 68.5% and the highest in BRA 00183755-8 (S. malmeanum) with 100%. At the supraoptimal temperature the lowest value was in BRA 00167420-9 (S. commersonii) with 54.5% and the highest in BRA 00183755-8 (S. malmeanum). The average of pollen size was 20 μm in all wild potato genotypes, and the increase of temperature did not lead to 2n pollen production. Estimated Genotypic Coefficient of Variation (GCV) was lower than Phenotypic Coefficient of Variation (PCV) for pollen viability. The observed heritability values ranged from 58.82% in BRA00167007-4 to 91.32% in BRA 00183755-8. Our results highlight the genetic variability available in wild potato germplasm concerning pollen viability under heat stress. Furthermore, these first insights offer valuable guidance for ongoing and future endeavors in diploid potato breeding.

The cryopreservation of gametes and embryos is an important element of biodiversity conservation. One species in need of conservation is the honey bee Apis mellifera L. Changing environmental factors, especially the anthropogenic factor, have led to a reduction in the numbers of this insect species. In this study, we provide an example of the creation of a biobank of honey bee drone sperm. For sperm cryopreservation, drones of the most common subspecies of honey bees common in Russia were selected. These were the dark forest bee, Apis mellifera mellifera from the Republic of Bashkortostan, with three subspecies (A. m. carnica, A. m. carpatica, and A. m. caucasica) from the southern regions of Russia, as well as two breeding stocks, the Far Eastern bee and Prioksky bee. For subspecies identification, morphometric and genetic methods were used. The subspecies of the studied samples were confirmed by the analysis of the tRNAleu-COII locus of mitochondrial DNA and nine microsatellite markers of nuclear DNA. It was shown that bees of the Prioksky breeding stock belong to the subspecies A. m. caucasica based on phylogenetic analysis, and the Far Eastern breeding stock is a stable hybrid, descending on the maternal line from the evolutionary lineage C or O. The results of the morphometric analysis are consistent with the results of the genetic analysis. For the cryopreservation of sperm, we used a honey diluent. As a result, the viability of frozen–thawed sperm decreased by 20.3% compared to fresh sperm, and overall motility decreased by 25-fold. The measurement of the sperm concentration in the spermatheca of artificially inseminated queens showed that it varied from 0.22 to 4.4 million/μL. Therefore, the use of honey in sperm cryopreservation has great potential.

Based on the teaching material of "Robotics" course, this paper studied the automatic knowledge graph construction, including knowledge points extraction and knowledge point relation extraction. We proposed a new method of extracting the first-level, second-level, and third-level knowledge points as well as their prerequisite relations of knowledge points in the textbook. For the problem of insufficient knowledge of the pre-trained language model in the specific field, methods such as incremental pre-training and optimization of cost functions are employed to integrate subject knowledge into the pre-trained language model, thus improving its effectiveness. To overcome the problem that the traditional method of relationship extraction can not be applied directly to the extraction of teaching materials, a new scheme for knowledge point relationship extraction based on keyword relationship is proposed. The experimental data from textbooks shows that the F1 score of knowledge point extraction reaches 93%, considerably improved compared to the traditional model. Consequently, the knowledge point entity extraction and relationship extraction methods based on the pre-trained model can effectively extract structured information and facilitate the automatic construction of knowledge graphs.

Time-series analysis is a widely used technique across various fields and industries, as it helps in understanding, predicting, and forecasting the behavior of data points over time. These fields include but are not limited to finance, economics, healthcare, transportation, etc. In the case of this paper, we have focused on finance. Predicting future values of financial time series offers several benefits. Accurate forecasts can help investors make better decisions about their investments. To predict future values, deep learning algorithms are commonly used since it is an effective method with complex data. In this study, we conduct a study that investigates the use of different data pre-processing techniques on deep learning algorithms in predicting the time series values. To conduct this experimental study, we utilize an open source software, which using long short-term memory technique as the representative deep learning technique, published in github software code repository platform. With this study, we investigate the effects of autoencoder and discrete wavelet transform data pre-processing techniques in time-series prediction. We discuss the details of the experimental study and report our results. The results show that time series prediction (using backtesting methodology) without any data pre-processing leads to 12.6% for mean absolute percentage error. The results also show that, time series prediction with the data preprocessing techniques (Wavelet Transform and Stacked Autoencoder) lead to 3.4%

Over the last decade, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has severely affected poultry production systems across the globe. In particular, massive pre-emptive depopulation of all poultry within the certain distance has raised concerns regarding animal welfare and food security. Thus, alternative approaches to reducing unnecessary depopulation, such as risk-based depopulation, are highly demanded. This paper proposes a data-driven method to generate a rule table and risk score for each farm to identify preventive measures against HPAI. To evaluate the proposed method, 105 cases of HPAI occurring in a total of 381 farms in Jeollanam-do from 2014 to 2023 were evaluated. The accuracy of preventive measure identification was assessed for each case using both the conventional culling method and the proposed data-driven method. The evaluation showed that the proposed method achieved an accuracy of 84.19%, significantly surpassing the previous 10.37%. The result was attributed to the proposed method reducing the false-positive rate by 83.61% compared with the conventional method, thereby enhancing the reliability of identification. The proposed method is expected to be utilized in selecting farms for monitoring and management of HPAI.

An especially important species in southern Brazil, yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is traditionally consumed as tea, chimarrão and tererê. Yerba mate consumption has been stimulated by scientific discoveries that have identified high concentrations of bioactive compounds and their health benefits. There are no studies or scientific evidence to certify or guarantee stability of these compounds’ concentrations during different years in the same plants. We were interested in quantifying caffeine, theobromine, total phenolic compounds and proteins concentrations in leaves of yerba mate genotypes and their stability in the same plants over four consecutive years. Mature leaves from yerba mate genotypes selected on a provenance and progenies trial were collected in August of 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Methylxanthines (caffeine and theobromine), total phenolic compounds and total protein contents were quantified. Our results indicate large variations between genotypes regarding caffeine (0.035 to 2.385 g 100 g^-1), theobromine (0.0004 to 1.772 g 100 g^-1), total phenolic compounds (7.028 to 9.424 g 100 g^-1) and proteins (10.39 to 16.58 g 100 g^-1) contents, and also high stability of those compounds over the four evaluated years. A great variation of the studied bioactive compounds in different Ilex paraguariensis genotypes was found and its stability over four consecutive years was showed.

BDD is a hoof disease characterized by inflammation of the second and fifth accessory digits and the skin in this region. This pathology is scarcely described in the literature; however, it has recently been observed in beef cattle in the Amazon Biome region. The objective of this study was to identify the epidemiological factors associated with BDD onset in cattle in the analyzed biome. Samples were collected from eight farms with extensive breeding systems located in Xinguara, Rondon do Pará, Curionópolis, and Ipixuna do Pará, in the state of Pará, Brazil. A total of 706 Nellore and Nellore crossbred with taurine animals of both sexes were evaluated, with males aged between 2–4 years and a mean weight of 650 kg and females aged between 2–11 years and a mean weight of 400 kg. Distal extremities were inspected during cattle management, and in case of accessory digit lesions, a specific examination was carried out after proper restraint. Animals were diagnosed with BDD in all farms analyzed. Of the 706 cattle inspected, 49 (6.94%) showed BDD, of which 19 (38.77%) were Nellore and 30 (61.22%) were crossbred. This was the first study to determine BDD’s occurrence in extensive farming systems in the Amazon region, also showing that pastures with large amounts of stumps and stones, the physical structure of pens, and trauma and injury incidence during animal management are the most important predisposing factors for the onset of BDD.

The author attempts to reconstruct the climatic vicissitudes of the Mediterranean to explain why only broadly distributed Eurasian forest species have penetrated the Mediterranean peninsulas. He has carried out a bibliographic survey of the status of breeding forest birds in Italy over 15 decades (1872-2022) in order to establish an objective long-term trend (stable, increasing, decreasing, etc.). The number of breeding forest birds in Italy amounts to 61; their distribution, with a few exceptions, indicates that they are widespread in Eurasia, but only a small percentage of Eurasian forest species have colonized Italy and the other Mediterranean peninsulas, namely 49 in Iberian, 61 in Italian and 64 in Balkan peninsulas; a small percentage of them (between 10.9 and 14.3%) belongs to trans-Saharan migrants. The similarity between the forest species on the three peninsulas (Iberian, Italian and Balkan) results between 0.45 and 0.48, indicating a certain differ-ence in the overall fauna on the three territories. Not all species have penetrated southwards into the three peninsulas; for example, some that stopped in the Italian Alps have instead arrived to the forests of Greece, at a latitude corresponding to southern Italy, or species that in Italy stopped in the northern Apennines in the other two peninsulas have instead arrived far south. Iberian peninsula and the island of Corsica hold three endemic species among breeding forest birds, Italian and Balkan peninsulas have not endemic species. Overall, the Mediterranean presently hosts mainly neo-endemic taxa among forest bird species; the only paleo-endemics can be considered the three species of nuthatches living in Corsica, Algeria, and Turkey (other than Caucasus and the islet of Lesvos) and Le Vaillant’s woodpecker in the Maghreb (North Africa). Italian forests cover ca. 40% of land surface and since 1980’ are increasing, but 22% of them do not have a natural origin. However, it is difficult to know the true increase of forests, because some of them are fired every year. The presence of some ecologically demanding forest birds depends on the age of the trees, permanent open spaces and other characteristics at the edge of woodland.

BACKGROUND: Pre-marital sex is a sexual interest practiced by people who are yet to get married and has ended up being accepted specifically in western countries. Sex before marriage is sexual behavior engaged in by single people. In the past, having sex before getting married is seen as a moral dilemma that many cultures forbade and that many people regarded to be sin in many religions, although it has gained wider acceptance across the board. OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to determine the perception, practices, and factors associated with pre-marital sex, courtship, and its influences among Osun State University Undergraduates, Osogbo, Osun State. METHODOLOGY: The study was a descriptive study, and respondents were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Students of Osun State University, Osogbo main campus form the population of the study and its sample size was calculated using Leslie Kish’s formula. A total of 387 responses were validated from the survey. The instrument for data collection was a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire consisting of four sections. The data obtained were collated, examined for completion, coded, imputed, and analyzed using SPSS v21. RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was between 19.19±2.17, and the majority were between 18 – 24 years. About 52% of the respondents show a positive perception of premarital sex and courtship. Also, in the practice of courtship majority (88.3%) of the respondents think those that go around together are courting and from the responses obtained and analyzed from the factors leading to pre-marital sex, the findings revealed that peer pressure (90.4%), Internet (86.7%), pornography (83.9%) and drugs (82.9%) are the leading factors which contribute to pre-marital sex among undergraduates. CONCLUSION: The study hereby recommends that Parents should as a matter of responsibility monitor and pays regular visits to their children in the universities and provide them with materials that will make them stay comfortable for them not to fall victim to peer pressure.Pre-marital sex is a practice that should be avoided by undergraduate students, though most students consider courtship as a normal practice, it is still used as a normal factor that leads them to practice pre-marital sex.

Empowering teachers with Critical Thinking and understanding of sustainability is vital for guiding students’ informed decisions and actions in today’s world. Higher education needs innovative, student-centered methods like case-based teaching in order to promote Critical Thinking and the principles of Education for Sustainable Development. The aim of the study was to explore and evaluate pre-service teachers' Critical Thinking when engaged with case studies in a practicum preparation course centered on Education for Sustainable Development. Nine undergraduate students in Teacher Education participated in the study and answered four case studies. The case studies’ responses were analyzed through a bottom-up content analysis revealing eight higher-order categories. While approaching the case studies, student-teachers followed thinking processes similar to the processes proposed by the iterative models of Critical Thinking as perceived by Garrison (1991) and/or Brookfield (1987). Nevertheless, in some cases, pre-service teachers’ disengagement was evident. The rubric assessment highlighted that the responses fell under three profiles, namely the “Deficient Critical Thinker”, the “Emerging Critical Thinker” and the “Competent Critical Thinker”. The findings emphasize the need for targeted and individualized teaching interventions in teacher higher education programs aiming at Education for Sustainable Development complying with the learning needs of student-teachers’ Critical Thinking profiles.

Lupinus mutabilis, also known as tarwi or chocho, is an important agricultural species cultivated in South America since ancient times. Tarwi is native from the Andean regions of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador and has a very high protein content. Despite its high nutritional value and promotion efforts by regional researchers and breeders, tarwi is not a widely cultivated crop in its center of origin. In this review, we present the work carried out by public breeding programs of L. mutabilis at national agricultural research institutes, universities, and other institutions in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The main breeding method used in the Andes to improve local landraces has been mass selection to adapt lines to specific environments. At least 25 cultivars or ecotypes have been selected and released over the last 40 years using this breeding system. Notwithstanding, breeders are currently struggling to develop new varieties that are high yielding, suitable for mechanized harvesting, have a low content of alkaloids or other anti-nutritional properties, and to anthracnose (Colletotrichum acutatum). Therefore, it is necessary to reassess the potential of this crop and invest in its research to incorporate new techniques and breeding strategies to optimize the development of new varieties in the Andes which address the current cultivation challenges of the species.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis for COVID-19 with Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab in immunocompromised patients has reduced the risk of breakthrough infection, disease, hospitalization, and COVID-19 related mortality. However, the advent of the Kraken variant (XBB.1.5) has limited the use of this monoclonal antibody, based on poor efficacy in in vitro studies The objective of the study was to evaluate the risk of breakthrough infection, symptomatic disease, hospitalization, intensive care admission and COVID-19 related death in kidney transplanted recipients receiving pre-exposure prophylaxis with Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab for COVID-19 in the era of the Kraken variant (XBB.1.5). In a prospective, observational study, we enrolled kidney transplant patients undergoing pre-exposure prophylaxis for COVID-19 with Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab at the Division of Infectious Diseases of Federico II University of Naples between February 2023 and August 2023. Each patient subsequently underwent a six-month follow-up with symptom monitoring and surveillance nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection every 30 days, regardless of symptoms. Thirty-four kidney transplant patients were enrolled and in the follow-up period, only one tested positive for the nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 research with asymptomatic infection and virological recovery on the eighth day from the diagnosis of infection. Therefore, no patient developed disease and no patient needed hospitalization and no death occurred. No adverse drug reaction to Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab occurred. Our data, although derived from a limited and uncontrolled sample, show the potential of Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab as a valid and viable therapeutic strategy in pre-exposure prophylaxis for immunocompromised patients. These findings highlight the importance of conducting clinical studies on this topic.

This study leverages transformer-based models and focuses on data representation strategies in the named entity recognition task, including "single" (one sentence per vector), "merged" (multiple sentences per vector), and "context" (sentences joined with attention to context). Performance analysis reveals that models trained with a single strategy may not perform well on different data representations. A combined training procedure is proposed to address this limitation, using all three strategies to enhance the stability and adaptability of the model. The results of this approach are presented and discussed for various datasets for four languages (English, Polish, Czech, and German), demonstrating the effectiveness of the combined strategy.

Assessment of the genetic distinctiveness of a cultivar through morphological descriptors is an important tool for both the registration and the protection. New mango genotypes have been improved using valuable diverse germplasm resources to ensure food security. DNA fingerprinting based simple sequence repeats (SSR)-markers have been the most broadly used, effective and accurate in evaluation of genetic characterization of a cultivar. Molecular breeding is an effective source of genetic gain after improvement of fruit trees using marker assisted genomic selection. Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is an allotetraploid (2n = 4X= 40) drupe fruit and has high nutritional value belongs to genus Mangifera and family Anacardiaceae. Mango cultivars are used with worldwide acceptance to pharmacological, ethnomedical, and phytochemical industries. This study investigated the molecular evaluation of a new mango cultivar ‘Azeem Chaunsa’ using a set of the most effective 50 hyper-variable polymorphic SSR markers. Highly specific DNA fingerprints were identified in the genome of this mango cultivar, ‘Azeem Chaunsa’ compared with three standard cultivars such as Sindhri, Samar Bahisht (S.B) Chaunsa and Sufaid Chaunsa. Our results showed that SSR markers could efficiently assess genetic diversity in mango. An agglomerative hierarchical clustering method was used to construct dendrogram based on the ‘Unweighted Pair- Group Method with Arithmetic Mean’ (UPGMA). The genetic similarity coefficients were recorded between the mangos cultivars ranged from 0.49 to 0.67. Cultivar identification (CID) evaluates association among standard cultivars and Azeem Chaunsa and further concludes significant variations. CID results concluded that cultivar ‘Azeem Chaunsa’ varied significantly from the check cultivar, Sindhri (46.2%), S.B Chaunsa (45%) and Sufaid Chaunsa (46.7%). The results obtained in this study will orient cultivar identification strategies for a successful future mango breeding programmes in the context of climate change.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based models hold the potential to transform higher education if adopted properly and ethically. A prime example is ChatGPT with earlier studies indicating its widespread adoption in academia and by university students. The current study aimed to identify the factors influencing the attitude towards ChatGPT and its usage among university students in Arab countries. A previous survey instrument termed Technology Acceptance Model Edited to Assess ChatGPT Adoption (TAME-ChatGPT) was administered online using a convenience-based approach among the contacts of the authors. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for the survey constructs was done using root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), comparative fit index (CFI), and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI). The final study sample comprised a total of 2240 participant divided as follows: Iraq (n=736, 32.9%), Kuwait (n=582, 26.0%), Egypt (n=417, 18.6%), Lebanon (n=263, 11.7%), and Jordan (n=242, 10.8%). A total of 1048 respondents heard of ChatGPT before the study (46.8%), of which 551 used ChatGPT (52.6%). The mean scores of TAME-ChatGPT constructs showed that the ease of ChatGPT use, positive attitude towards technology and social influence, higher perceived usefulness, the influence of behavioral/cognitive factors, low perceived risks and low anxiety were the determinants of positive attitude to ChatGPT and its use. For both the attitude and usage scales of TAME-ChatGPT, CFA collectively yielded satisfactory fit indices as indicated by low RMSEA and SRMR together with high CFI and TLI. Multivariate analysis showed that attitude to ChatGPT use was significantly influenced by country of residence, age, university type, and the latest grade point average of the students. The current study confirmed the validity of TAME-ChatGPT as a survey instrument to assess the possible determinants of ChatGPT use among university students in Arab countries. The study findings highlighted that successful adoption of ChatGPT in higher education could be dependent on perceived ease of use, usefulness, positive attitudes to technology, social influence, behavioral/cognitive factors, lower anxiety, and minimal perceived risks. The utility of ChatGPT in higher education requires policies that should be tailored for various settings, considering the differences observed in attitude towards ChatGPT among participating students in this study.

The violence against women is a theme that extrapolates health issues, since after a victim seek for a health care, there is the notification of the act [1]. In Brazil, many times, these women are first assisted by mobile urgency services (SAMU/SIATE) and, as far as we have concern, there are no other studies with specific data about these assistance. The present paper aimed to analyze SAMU/SIATE assistance to abused women. Qualitative and retrospective epidemiological study of assistance to assaulted women carried out by SIATE and SAMU Maringá/Norte Novo between 2011 and 2020. Women between 20 and 39 years old, non-pregnant, were the main victims, and 19,52% of them have used some kind of drug. The (ex)partner figured as the perpetrator in 17,35%, but there were no information about this variable in 73,75% of the records. The Qui-square test shows a mortality rate superior to 70% among the severe traumatized victims. This is one of the first studies to analyze this kind of care provided by SAMU/SIATE, and reveals some gaps in its “modus-operandi” that can limitate an extrapolation of the results to bigger spheres. More researches in mobile urgency care services, in other provinces also, are needed to propose strategies to fight against this epidemic.

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) stands as a historically significant and culturally important plant, embodying economic, social, and medicinal relevance for human societies. However, years of prohibition and stigmatization have hindered the cannabis research community, which is hugely undersized and suffers from a scarcity of understanding of cannabis genetics and how key traits are expressed or inherited. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive phenotypic characteriza-tion of 176 drug-type cannabis accessions, representative of Canada's legal market. We assessed germination methods, evaluated various traits including agronomic, morphological, and canna-binoid profiles, and uncovered significant variation within this population. Notably, yield dis-played a negative correlations with maturity-related traits but positive correlation with fresh biomass. Additionally, the potential THC content showed positive correlation with maturi-ty-related traits but negative correlation with yield. Significant different were observed between plants derived from regular female seeds and feminized seeds, as well as between plants derived from cuttings and seeds for different traits. This study advances our understanding of cannabis cultivation, offering insights into germination practices, agronomic traits, morphological charac-teristics, and biochemical diversity. These findings establish a foundation for precise breeding and cultivar development, enhancing cannabis's potential in the legal market.

Red raspberry fruit production is increasing worldwide due to the growing consumer interest in foods with high antioxidant properties. However, raspberries are very perishable fruit with a short shelf life. Chitosan applications have shown promising results in promoting the storage of different berry fruit. This work aimed at analysing the effects of chitosan applied in pre- and/or post-harvest on the quality and antioxidant properties of raspberry fruit during the cold storage and room temperature conditions (i.e., 6 d at 4 °C and 3 d at 20 °C, respectively). Pre-harvest chi-tosan applications reduced fruit weight loss during cold storage and room temperature condi-tions but also reduced fruit decay at room temperature conditions. Furthermore, pre-harvest treatments with chitosan increased the total phenol and anthocyanin contents and promoted the highest total antioxidant activity with respect to other treatments. Of note, after the cold storage, post-harvest chitosan application drastically reduced the development of fungi that cause fruit decay, thus minimizing the potential risk of mycotoxin production. Overall, this study demon-strates that applications of chitosan in pre-harvest are sufficient to ensure the goal of maintaining and/or increasing the quality and antioxidant properties of fruit during cold storage and room temperature conditions.

Agriculture is one of the indispensable fields for the survival of mankind. Potatoes also have a significant role in the field of agriculture. The quality and quantity of potatoes are significantly impacted by several diseases, such as early blight and late blight, and manual interpretation of these leaf diseases is time-consuming and inconvenient. Fortunately, leaf appearance is used to detect diseases in potato plants. Productivity will considerably rise if the infections are detected early. Different types of image processing methods and machine learning methods are used for early recognition of those diseases from leaf images so that the product losses are decreased significantly. For the incredible and marvelous performance of CNN, it is the most popular deep learning method that is used immensely for the recognition of leaf diseases from images. Several pretrained deep learning models, such as VGG16, ResNet50, InceptionV3, MobileNetV2, Xception, and a deep learning model developed using CNN, are employed for potato leaf disease classification and recognition on the same dataset. The transfer learning technique is applied to the pretrained model and the data augmentation technique is applied to the Proposed CNN model for potato disease classification from leaf samples. Compared to pretrained models, the proposed CNN model offers the lowest loss and highest accuracy for potato leaf disease detection while using fewer parameters and layers. It achieves the best performance with a test accuracy of 99.33% compared to other Pretrained models used in the diagnosis of potato leaf disease.

Wheat dwarf disease (WDD) is an important disease of monocotyledonous species, including economically important cereals. The causative pathogen, the wheat dwarf virus (WDV), is a monopartite Mastrevirus that has a circular single-stranded (ss)DNA genome and is transmitted persistently and propagatively mainly by the leafhopper Psammotettix alienus. The disease can induce high yield losses in many European countries in a range of 20-100%. Due to climate change the periods of vector activity increased and the vectors spread to new habitats, leading to an increased importance of WDV in large parts of Europe. In the light of integrated pest management approaches cultivation practices and the use of resistant/tolerant host plants are currently the only effective methods for controlling WDV. To date, there is limited knowledge of the pathosystem and epidemiology of the disease. The few sources of genetic tolerance, indicate the need for further research. Considering the economic importance of the disease, and its likely increasing relevance in the coming decades, this review was prepared to compile and update knowledge on aspects of WDV.

Earnings management and financial distress are two critical facets of financial management in corporations that have lately been the focus of thorough research from both scholars and practitioners. The purpose of the research is to evaluate the influence of financial distress on the earnings management of companies listed at the NSE during the pre- and post-COVID eras. Multiple linear regression was applied in this study to examine the causal association between earnings management and financial distress. To assess the effect of financial distress on earnings management, the study analyzed data from 37 listed companies during the pre-COVID and post-COVID periods. The methodology also takes into account control factors like firm size, GDP, and inflation. The pre-COVID research indicates a significant positive correlation between financial strain and earnings management. In contrast, the correlation between financial distress and earnings management is not statistically significant in the post-COVID analysis. However, research shows that firm size has a statistically significant negative influence on managing earnings. The results of this study show that smaller firms are more inclined to engage in earnings management during the post-COVID era than bigger ones.

In sub-Saharan Africa, sweetpotato weevils are the most devastating pests of cultivated sweetpotato, causing estimated losses of between 60% and 100%, primarily during dry spells. The predominantly cryptic feeding behavior of the Cylas spp within the roots makes their control difficult, thus host plant resistance is one of the most promising lines of protection against these pests. However, progress in breeding for weevil-resistant cultivars has been slow in part due to the complex hexaploid genome of sweetpotato, which complicates conventional breeding in addition to the scarcity of varieties with significant levels of resistance for use as sources of resistance. Pollen sterility, cross incompatibility and poor seed set and germination in sweetpotato are also common challenges to improving weevil resistance. Accurate phenotyping of sweetpotato weevil resistance to enhance efficiency of selection has been equally difficult. Genomics-assisted breeding though in its infancy stages in sweetpotato has the potential application in overcoming some of these barriers. However, it will require the development of more genomic infrastructure; particularly single nucleotide polymorphism markers (SNPs), robust next generation sequencing plat-forms together with relevant statistical procedures for analyses. With the recent advances in genomics, we anticipate that genomic breeding for sweetpotato weevil resistance will be expedited in the coming years. This review sheds light on Uganda's efforts to date to breed against the Cylas puncticollis (Boheman) and Cylas brunneus (Fabricius) species of African sweetpotato weevil.

Serum albumin (ALB), one of the most important proteins in human physiology, has the main functions of maintaining plasma oncotic pressure and plasma volume, transporting hormones, vitamins, oligominerals and drugs, and exerting a powerful antioxidant-antiinflammatory role. Its prognostic value in liver and malabsorption syndromes is well known. In this narrative review, an analysis of the most important studies evaluating the prognostic significance of low serum ALB levels in hospitalized patients was performed. Specifically, the risk in emergency medicine, cardiovascular diseases, COVID-19 infection, nephrology, oncology and autoimmune rheumatic diseases has been examined to fully explore its clinical value. ALB is a negative acute-phase reactant and the reduction of its serum levels represents a threatening parameter for long-term survival in several clinical settings, and a strong poor prognostic biomarker in most diseases. Therefore, clinicians should consider serum ALB as a valuable tool to assess the efficacy of specific therapies, both in hospitalized patients and in chronic follow-up.

In this paper, the extraction of essential oil (EO) from thyme by consecutive use of ultrasound and microwave treatments is presented. The aim of the study was to apply an ultrasound pre-treatment of thyme leaves to enhance the thymol content and the extraction yield of the EO obtained by microwave-assisted hydro-distillation (MWHD). Compared with the conventional hydro-distillation (CHD), the consecutive use of ultrasound and microwave treatments resulted in a 72% lower extraction time. When the ultrasound pre-treatment (using the ultrasonic processor with an amplitude of 70%) was applied, the EO content was 23% higher compared to the extraction without pre-treatment. The EO samples were analyzed by GC/MS. The results showed that the major component, thymol, varied from 43.54% (by CHD) to 65.94% (by consecutive use of ultrasound and microwave treatments).

(1) Background: Artificial Intelligence (AI) models have shown potential in various educational contexts. However, their utility in explaining complex biological phenomena, such as Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (IDPs), requires further exploration. This study empirically evaluated the performance of various Large Language Models (LLMs) in the educational domain of IDPs. (2) Methods: Four LLMs, GPT-3.5, GPT-4, GPT-4 with Browsing, and Google Bard (PaLM 2), were assessed using a set of IDP-related questions. An expert evaluated their responses across five categories: accuracy, relevance, depth of understanding, clarity, and overall quality. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and Tukey's honesty significant difference tests were utilized for analysis. (3) Results: The GPT-4 model consistently outperformed the others across all evaluation categories. Although GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 were not statistically significantly different in performance (p&gt;0.05), GPT-4 was preferred as the best response in 13 out of 15 instances. The AI models with browsing capabilities, GPT-4 with Browsing and Google Bard (PaLM 2) displayed lower performance metrics across the board with statistically significant differences (p&lt;0.0001). (4) Conclusion: Our findings underscore the potential of AI models, particularly LLMs such as GPT-4, in enhancing scientific education, especially in complex domains such as IDPs. Continued innovation and collaboration among AI developers, educators, and researchers are essential to fully harness the potential of AI for enriching scientific education.

The Water-Cooled Lead Lithium (WCLL) Breeding Blanket (BB) is one of the two BB concepts candidate to be selected as driver blanket for the EU-DEMO fusion reactor. In this regards, the development of a sound architecture of the WCLL Central Outboard Blanket (COB) Segment, ensuring the fulfilment of the thermal and structural design requirements, is one of the main goals of the EUROfusion consortium. To this purpose, an exploratory research campaign has been launched to preliminarily investigate the thermo-mechanical performances of the Bottom Cap (BC) region of the WCLL COB segment, because of its peculiarities making its design different from the other regions. The assessment has been carried out considering the nominal BB operating conditions, the Normal Operation (NO) scenario, as well as a steady-state scenario derived from the in-box LOCA accident, the Over-Pressurization (OP) scenario. Starting from the reference geometric layout of the WCLL COB BC region, a first set of analysis has been launched in order to evaluate its structural performances under a previously calculated thermal field and to select potential geometric improvements. Then, the analysis of a more complete BC region has been conducted from both the thermal and structural standpoints, evaluating its structural behaviour in compliance with the RCC-MRx code. Finally, after some iterations and geometric updates, a promising geometric layout of the BC region has been obtained even though some criticalities still persist in the internal Stiffening Plates and First Wall. However, the obtained results clearly showed that the proposed layout is worthy to be further assessed to achieve a robust enough configuration. The work has been performed following a theoretical-numerical approach based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) and adopting the quoted Ansys commercial FEM code.

Neuromonitoring of the efferent nerve impulses transmission in the spinal cord tracts during surgical scoliosis treatment makes it possible to assess whether the functional status is deteriorating, affecting the procedure's safety. Is there any relationship between pre- and intraoperative motor evoked potentials recordings and does idiopathic scoliosis (IS) surgical correction improve directly the spinal efferent transmission? This study aimed to compare the results of surface recorded electromyography (EMG), electroneurography (ENG, M and F-waves), and especially motor evoked potentials (MEP) from tibialis anterior (TA) muscle bilaterally in 353 girls with the right idiopathic scoliosis (types 1A-4C according to Lenke classification). It has not yet been documented whether the results of MEPs recordings induced by transcranial single magnetic stimulus (TMS, pre – and postoperatively) and trains of electrical stimuli (TES; intraoperatively in T0-before surgery, T1 – after pedicle screws implantation, T2 – after scoliosis curvature distraction and derotation following two rods implantation) can be compared for diagnostic verification of improvement of the spinal neural transmission. The study also attempted to determine whether the constant level of optimal anesthesia during the certain surgical steps of scoliosis treatment affects the parameters of MEPs recorded during neuromonitoring procedures. No neurological deficits have been observed postoperatively. Values of amplitudes but not latencies in MEPs recordings evoked with TMS in IS patients compared before and after surgery indicated a slight improvement in the efferent transmission of neural impulses within the fibers of the spinal tracts postoperatively. Results of all neurophysiological studies in IS patients were significantly asymmetrical and recorded worse on the concave side, suggesting greater neurological motor deficits at p=0.04. This asymmetry had been significantly reduced following IS surgery. The surgeries in IS patients brought significant improvement (p=0.04) in parameters of amplitudes of sEMG recordings, however reflecting still the consequences of the neurogenic injury of TA muscle motor units. ENG studies results indicated the symptoms of the axonal type injury in peroneal motor fibers improved only on the concave side at p=0.04 in parallel with the significant improvement of F-waves parameters, which suggests that surgeries might result in the lumbar ventral roots decompression. There were not detected significant differences in amplitudes or latencies of MEPs induced with TMS or TES comparing the parameters recorded preoperatively (one day before surgery) and intraoperatively in T0. The amplitudes of TES evoked MEPs increased gradually at p=0.04 in the subsequent periods (T1 and T2) of observation. The significant reduction of MEPs latency at p=0.05 was observed only at the end of the IS surgery. Studies on the possible connections between the level of anesthesia fluctuations and the required TMS stimulus strength, as well as the MEPs amplitude changes measured in T0-T2 revealed lack of relationships. It is not likely that they could be the factors influencing the efferent transmission in spinal pathways beside the surgical procedures. Considering that MEPs amplitude parameter reflects the number of axons excited from the motor cortex and transmitting the efferent impulses via spinal descending tracts in the white matter, pre- (TMS evoked) and intraoperative (TES evoked) recordings are reliable for evaluating the patient’s neurological status before and during surgical scoliosis correction procedures. The results of this study indicate an agreement between preoperative and early-intraoperative evaluations with these both diagnostic methods. An increase of MEPs amplitude parameters recorded on both sides after scoliosis surgery proves immediate improvement of the total efferent spinal cord transmission. Considering comparative pre- and postoperative sEMG and ENG recordings it can be concluded that surgeries might directly result in the additional lumbar ventral roots decompression. Our results of the tests on the possible variability of the anesthesia level on the parameters of intraoperative recorded MEPs show no clear relationships. We can conclude that MEPs parameters changes are determined by the surgery procedures during neuromonitoring, not the anesthesia conditions if they are kept stable, which influences a decrease in the number of false-positive neuromonitoring warnings. Further studies on a larger population of patients with long-lasting observation postoperatively are required to confirm the presented conclusions on the direct influences of scoliosis surgery on improvement of the motor function in patients with IS.

AgW materials exhibit excellent properties and are widely used as contact materials in low- and medium-voltage switches. In this study, a pre-sintering and infiltration method was employed to pre-sinter W powder with Cu, Ni, and (Cu+Ni) addition in the low temperature range of 950–1050 °C. The low-temperature sintering behaviours of W skeletons with different additives were investigated. Subsequently, AgW70, AgW75, AgW80, and AgW85 materials were prepared through infiltration at 1050 °C. The microstructure morphology and physical properties of high-W contact materials were investigated using a metallographic microscope and scanning electron microscope. The mechanism of low-temperature sintering-infiltration of high-W contact materials was elucidated. The results indicated that pure W and 1% Cu-added W skeletons experience minimal linear shrinkage within the temperature range of 950–1050 °C. The linear shrinkage curves of W skeletons with different additives coincided under the conditions of 950–1000 °C/90 min. At 1050 °C, after sintering for 150 min, the particle boundaries in the W skeleton were fully spheroidised, with a dihedral angle of 120°. At 1050 °C and after 150 min of infiltration, cross-sectional micrographs of the AgW material revealed the presence of irregular Ni layers, where Ni spatially enveloped/encapsulated Ag. With an increase in the W content, the electrical conductivity and relative density of AgW(70–85) materials decreased, whereas the hardness of the materials increased.

Many farms utilize closed-type livestock systems to enhance productivity and facilitate effective environmental management. However, the confined nature of these closed spaces poses an increased risk of exposure to harmful gases and organic dust for both workers and livestock. Additionally, the introduction of outside air through ventilation systems can lead to temperature fluctuations within the breeding environment, resulting in potential productivity issues. This research paper employs computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to develop ventilation operation management plans that address both the working environment and the breeding environment simultaneously. The proposed plans are designed to be easily implemented in practical farm settings. The findings of this study, based on simulation analysis, indicate that while ventilation is effective in reducing harmful gases and improving the working environment, its efficiency decreases after the initial 3 minutes of operation. Furthermore, uncontrolled ventilation can cause sudden temperature changes, which may adversely affect the well-being of the livestock. However, when upgraded ventilation structures are implemented, significant improvements in the working environment (an average of 27.3% improvement) can be achieved while maintaining temperature stability for the livestock. These results highlight the importance of referring to the provided ventilation operation management table before commencing work, as it enables workers to improve the working environment while minimizing the potential impact of ventilation on the breeding environment.

Sources of resistance to powdery mildew in wild barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum) collected in Jordan, Lebanon, and Libya Jerzy H. Czembor 1, *, Elżbieta Czembor 1 1 Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute – National Research Institute (IHAR-PIB), Radzikow, 05-870 Błonie, Poland; e.czembor@ihar.edu.pl (E.C.) *Correspondence: j.h.czembor@ihar.edu.pl) Abstract Barley powdery mildew (BPM) is caused by the pathogen Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei (Bgh). It is an economically important disease and plant pathologists are looking for new sources of resistance to BPM. Barley genetic resources present in gene banks are often a rich source of disease resistance to be used by breeders. These new sources of resistance to BPM are often used in combination (pyramiding) with those that are already used in modern cultivars. Barley accessions, including the wild subspecies Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum (Hvs), are stored in many gene banks and often are a valuable source of economically important characteristics. This source of biodiversity should be more efficiently used to improve barley in the process of plant breeding. However, their proper characterization and availability are urgently needed. The resistance to BPM in 81 accessions of wild barley (Hvs) collected in Jordan (47), Lebanon (23), and Libya (11) was investigated. The seed samples of these accessions were obtained from the ICARDA gene bank and collected in 10 expeditions from 1981 to 1995. Twenty European differential isolates of BPM were used to select accessions with efficient resistance. Thirty-one resistant single plant lines were selected from 15 accessions from Jordan and Libya based on tests performed with the most avirulent isolate of Bgh available. These resistant single plant lines were tested for the presence of specific resistance genes using a differential set of Bgh isolates. After analysis of obtained results, it was concluded that all tested 31 single plant lines of wild barley have genes for resistance that are not represented in the Pallas isolines differential s. Twenty-six lines of Hvs selected from accessions originated in Jordan and Libya showed resistance reaction to all isolates used. Identified new sources of effective resistance to BPM in single plant lines of Hvs will be further tested and used in barley pre-breeding programs. Keywords: Blumeria graminis; resistance genes; resistance; germplasm; gene bank;

Crop breeding is an important global strategy to meet sustainable food demand. CRISPR-Cas is a most promising gene-editing technology for rapid and precise generation of novel germplasm, and leads to revolutionary crop breeding innovation. In this review, we summarize recent advance of CRISPR/Cas technology in gene function analyses and generation of new germplasms with increased yield, improved product quality, and enhanced resistance to biotic and abiotic stress. We highlight their applications and breakthroughs in agriculture including crop de novo domestication, decoupling the gene pleiotropy tradeoff, crop hybrid seed conventional production, hybrid rice asexual reproduction, and double haploid breeding. Moreover, the challenges and development of CRISPR/Cas technology in crops are also discussed.

Dialogue State Tracking is an essential component in multi-domain dialogue systems, aiming to accurately determine the current dialogue state based on the dialogue history. Existing research has addressed the issue of multiple mappings in dialogues by employing slot self-attention as a data-driven approach. However, learning the relationships between slots from a single sample has limitations and introduces noise. In this paper, we propose an External Slot Relation Memory-based Dialogue State Tracking model (ER-DST). By utilizing an external memory storage, we learn the relationships between slots as a dictionary of multi-domain slot relations. Additionally, we employ a small filter to discard slot information irrelevant to the current dialogue state. Experimental results on the MultiWOZ2.0 and MultiWOZ2.1 benchmarks demonstrate significant improvements while reducing the time complexity to O(n).

The disruptive application of ChatGPT (GPT-3.5, GPT-4) to a variety of domains has become a topic of much discussion in the scientific community and society at large. Large Language Models (LLMs), e.g., BERT, Bard, Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPTs), LLaMA, etc., have the ability to take instructions, or prompts, from users and generate answers and solutions based on very large volumes of text-based training data. This paper assesses the impact and potential impact of ChatGPT on the field of digital forensics, specifically looking at its latest pre-trained LLM, GPT-4. A series of experiments are conducted to assess its capability across several digital forensic use cases including artefact understanding, evidence searching, code generation, anomaly detection, incident response, and education. Across these topics, its strengths and risks are outlined and a number of general conclusions are drawn. Overall this paper concludes that while there are some potential low-risk applications of ChatGPT within digital forensics, many are either unsuitable at present, since the evidence would need to be uploaded to the service, or they require sufficient knowledge of the topic being asked of the tool to identify incorrect assumptions, inaccuracies, and mistakes. However, to an appropriately knowledgeable user, it could act as a useful supporting tool in some circumstances.

Bone metastasis detection and quantification on bone scintigraphy is challenging and clinical important for treatment and patient’s life quality. To develop a CNN based diagnostic system for automated segmentation on bone metastasis regions is non-trivial, especially for a small dataset. A dataset in house comprising 100 breast cancer patients and 100 prostate cancer patients is utilized for this research. The Double U-Net model is adapted through the integration of background removal, adding negative samples, and transfer learning methods for bone metastasis detection. The performance is investigated via 10-fold cross-validation and computed in pixel-wise scale. The best model we achieved has precision of 63.08%, sensitivity of 70.82%, and F1-score of 66.72%. The developed system has the potential to provide pre-diagnostic reports for physicians in final decisions and the calculation of the bone scan index (BSI) with the combination with bone skeleton segmentation.

OpenAI has managed to turn 100 million heads in two months towards their new Language model tool (LM) ChatGPT. The third generation Generative Pretrained Transformer (GPT-3) has the capacity to tackle simple to complex and sophisticated problems, while providing reasoning behind its generated answers. ChatGPT can be used to increase productivity and improve efficiency and face challenging problems. Programming mobile applications is a challenging task that requires professional software engineers, skills and abilities to be developed. The following paper takes a case study approach to assess how novice app developers can use ChatGPT to generate Java scripts that will be used in Android studio to create a functional application. The results after, many iterations and ongoing conversations with ChatGPT managed to create an application for the anticipated function. Important insights have been drawn from the case study that could set the ground for any novice user seeking to create applications using Java scripting and Android Studio.

This paper explores the challenges faced by blue-collared international migrants in adapting to new and unfamiliar climates while pursuing job opportunities, with a focus on poverty alleviation. Drawing on existing research and empirical evidence, the study investigates the trials encountered by these migrants as they navigate climate shocks and assesses the potential impacts on poverty reduction efforts. The findings underscore the significant difficulties blue-collared migrants experience when confronted with abrupt changes in climate conditions, adversely affecting their physical and mental well-being, as well as their employment prospects. The process of adjustment involves not only acclimating to new climate patterns but also navigating cultural nuances and social dynamics, exacerbating stress and feelings of isolation. Consequently, these challenges can perpetuate poverty by disrupting employment stability and limiting opportunities for career advancement. To address these issues, the paper proposes comprehensive support measures, including targeted pre-departure training programs, access to retraining opportunities, and assistance in securing sustainable livelihoods. By prioritizing climate resilience and empowering blue-collared migrants to adapt effectively to new climates, it becomes possible to enhance their livelihood prospects, reduce poverty levels, and foster sustainable development. The paper concludes by highlighting the significance of integrating climate adaptation strategies with poverty alleviation efforts to create a more inclusive and resilient future for blue-collared migrants in their pursuit of sustainable livelihoods.

In the case of indigenous grapevine varieties, the aim of clonal selection is twofold: to improve their technological cultivation problem while preserving the varietal character. As the sensitivity of perennial crops to climate change becomes more pronounced, clonal selection, which is already very time-consuming for perennial woody crops, may take even longer. In Badacsony, clonal selection breeding of the ‘Kéknyelű’ and ‘Juhfark’ varieties was started in the early 2000s. The problem mentioned above in cultivation technology is the poor fertility of ‘Kéknyelű’ (functionally female-flowered variety), while in the case of ‘Juhfark’ the high susceptibility to grey rot (Botrytis). Based on 11 years of data significant difference in yield between clone B.2. and the base variety was found. In this comparison the year clusters also gave different values, as in years belonging to cluster 1 the ’Kéknyelű’ yielded more than in another year. Both clones of ‘Kéknyelű’ matured with significantly lower pH compared to the base variety. ‘Kéknyelű' is renowned for the distinctive variety character of its wine, which is said to be acidic. Given the acidic nature of ‘Kéknyelű’ wine and the expected increase in must degrees and pH due to climate change, these distinctions may be beneficial in the future. Daily meteorological parameters were also recorded in the years under study, and different indexes were calculated for both of varieties for different phenological periods. The years were classified into 3 clusters and the harvest data were analyzed within each cluster. In the case of 'Kéknyelű' our results revealed significant differences in yield between vintage clusters for clone B.2. However, clone B.1 demonstrated distinct KMW and pH values. Both 'Kéknyelű’ clones have produced a substantially higher incidence of Botrytis infection in cluster 2 years than in cluster 3 years. Botrytis infection only showed statistically significant differences between year clusters for ‘Juhfark’. It is intriguing that in most years, the rotting rate was lower in both clones, especially in year clusters 1 and 3 when the overall rate of Botrytis infection was quite low. Our results highlighted the year-round sensitivity of the two varieties studied and the difficulties of clonal selection.

Background: There is an exponential increase in caesarean sections with epidemic proportions worldwide, which is considered as a serious public health issue that influences negatively both maternal and childhood health. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the associations between pre-dominant maternal risk factors and the prevalence of caesarean section in a representative sample of women from Greece. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 5182 healthy, re-productive-aged women from 11 geographically diverse Greek areas after applying specific inclu-sion and exclusion criteria. Statistical analysis was applied to evaluate the impact of maternal so-ciodemographic, anthropometric, lifestyle and perinatal factors in the risk of caesarean section de-liveries. Results: A high prevalence of 56.4% of caesarean section deliveries was recorded in the study population. The incidence of caesarean sections reached to 51.5% in private hospitals in which an increasing rate of 47.5% for planned caesarean sections were noticed. Older maternal age, pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity, excess gestational weight gain, high rates of preterm birth, better economic status, smoking habits, and private type of birth hospital were significantly related with enhanced risk of caesarean section, independently of multiple confounding factors. Conclu-sions: Our study revealed that caesarean section rates are continuously increase, while several maternal risk factors, including especially pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity and excess gestational weight gain, cumulatively raise its prevalence which further increase the risk for postnatal adverse outcomes for both the mothers and their children. Emergent public health policies and strategies should be promoted to confront the predominant maternal risk factors-related with caesarean sec-tion and inform future mothers how to be prevented from them by applying healthier nutritional and lifestyle habits and to select caesarean section only due to emergency medical reasons. Alarmingly enough, targeted nutritional intervention strategies are strongly recommended to ef-fectively reduce the prevalence of maternal pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity and the excess gestational weight gain, which in turn may minimize the risk of childhood overweight/obesity.

The pre-chamber technologies can improve the ignition performance of IC engines by more than two orders in magnitude and thereby substantial economic benefits. Compared with the common pre-chamber, a plug-and-play passive scheme is suitable for quick retrofit, which is getting more attention from the automobile industry. Good scavenging is the precondition for improving turbulent jet ignition performance for a passive pre-chamber. Therefore, detailed evaluations of the scavenging process and turbulent jet ignition deserve investigations for new pre-chamber schemes. In this paper, the effects of design parameters on ignition processes of plug-and-play passive pre-chamber were numerically studied, allowing for the lateral angle, orifice diameter, and vertical angle design. Seven pre-chamber schemes were evaluated, and four optimal ones were selected for bench tests. The characteristics of the scavenging process, turbulent jet ignition, and main-chamber combustion were investigated and analyzed. The results show that allowing for the trade-off between ignition energy and scavenging efficiency, the volume ratio of the pre-chamber to clearance is recommended to be 0.2~0.7%, and the corresponding area-volume ratio is 0.003~0.006 mm-1. Compared with the original natural gas engine, the pre-chamber retrofit can save up to 13.2% fuel consumption, which presents a significant improvement in fuel economy.

Significant design efforts were undertaken during the Pre-Concept Design (PCD) phase of the European DEMO programme to optimize the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) breeding blanket. A gate review was conducted for the entire European DEMO programme at the conclusion of the PCD phase. This article presents a summary of the design evolution and the rationale behind the HCPB breeding blanket concept for the European DEMO. The main performance metrics, including nuclear, thermal hydraulics, thermal mechanical, and tritium permeation behaviors, are reported. These figures demonstrate that the HCPB breeding blanket is a highly effective tritium-breeding and robust driver blanket concept for the European DEMO. In addition, three alternative concepts of interest were explored. Furthermore, this article outlines the upcoming design and R&D activities for the HCPB breeding blanket during the Concept Design phase (2021-2027).

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) within the exosomes are short non-coding RNAs that are associated with many diseases including cancers and are crucial players in regulating gene expression and regula-tion. Owing to their potential role as emerging biomarkers, efficient isolation, and quantification methods of miRNA from the exosomes in the cell’s supernatant are complicated and challenging. The quantitative PCR method is the gold standard for miRNA identification and estimation. Nucleic acid-based assays are expensive, labour-intensive, and require expertise. In this work, we demon-strated an aptamer-based magnetic separation of the exosomes, and quantification of the miRNA using a fluorescence switching assay. The fluorescence assay relies on the fluorescence of the fluorophore labelled cDNA quenched by carbon nanomaterials coated on magnetic beads (OFF state). When the target miRNA210 is introduced to the system, the cDNA detaches from the quenching surface. As a result, the fluorescence intensity increases (ON state) with increasing miRNA concentration within the dynamic range of 0-100 nM. This method can detect miR210 as low as 5 pM. This method does not exhibit any cross-reactivity with other closely related miRNAs. The method was validated by spiking miRNA with the standard RT-PCR method using SYBR green as a fluorescent probe. This method can be used for the minimally invasive detection of cancer biomarkers in breast cancer patients.

Due to the influence of bio-geographical and environmental factors, as well as anthropogenic landscape features, organism shows different reproductive strategies among different populations. There is lack of detailed information on the reproductive biology of Kentish plover Charadrius al-exandrinus in arid lands in Central Asia. In this study, we summarized the characteristics of the reproductive biology of three geographically distinct plover populations in Aibi Lake in the Northwestern Xinjiang, Taitema Lake in the Southern Xinjiang and artificial reservoirs around Urumqi City in Northern Xinjiang respectively, based on 440 eggs of 158 nests observed and ana-lyzed from April to July of 2019 and 2020. We find that there is no significant difference in clutch size among the three populations. However, the egg size of Taitema Lake population is signifi-cantly larger than those of the other two populations, whilst egg volume and clutch volume of ar-tificial reservoirs population are significantly larger than that of Aibi Lake. With the postpone-ment of laying date, the northern and northwestern populations respectively show the character-istics of small clutch size and relatively small egg size, and decrease of reproductive outputs. The heavier female plovers in Taitema Lake lays eggs earlier, and there was significantly positive cor-relation between the female body mass and the clutch size and egg size. The tarsometatarsus length of the female plovers was significantly positively correlated with the reproductive output in all three populations. The model selection results show that female body size and ambient tem-perature restrict the egg size and reproductive output of Kentish plovers, which is consistent with the upper limit hypothesis of the maternal condition and the maternal constraint. Our data sup-port that Kentish plover show distinct flexibility in breeding strategies to cope with the harsh nat-ural environment in arid lands of Xinjiang, China. The results of relatively high average clutch size and average egg size imply that saline wetlands in Western China are important breeding habitats for Kentish plover.

Context. During the COVID-19 pandemic, patient care was mainly organised around the hospital. Pre-hospital care has, to our knowledge, never been evaluated. Objective: To evaluate the impact of pre-hospital pathways on hospitalisation during the last part of the pandemic. Design. This was a monocentric retrospective analysis of prospectively collected medical records. Data from patients admitted to our institute between 1 February and 7 March 2022 were analysed. Main Outcome Measure(s): The primary outcomes were defined as the number of hospitalisations, resuscitations, and deaths at the time of interview and in the subsequent 30 days. The main explanatory variables were times from onset of symptoms to care, age, gender, News2 score, comorbidities, and pre-hospital pathways and their duration. Results: Three pre-hospital pathways have been identified: a pathway in which the patient consults a general practitioner for a test (PHP1); a pathway in which the patient consulted for care (PHP2); and no pre-hospital pathway and direct admission to hospital (PHP3). Factors independently associated with outcome (hospitalisation) were being male (OR 95% CI; 2.21 [1.01–4.84], p=0,04), News2 score (OR 95% CI; 2.04 [1.65–2.51], p<0.001), obesity (OR 95% CI; 3.45 [1.48–8.09], p=0.005), D-dimers > 0.5 µg/ml (OR 95% CI; 3.45 [1.47–8.12], p=0.005), prolonged time from symptoms to hospital care (PHP duration) (OR 95% CI; 1.07 [1.01–1.14], p=0.03). All things being equal, patients with a “PHP2” pre-hospital pathway had a higher probability of hospitalisation compared to those with a “PHP3” pre-hospital pathway (OR 95% CI; 4.31 [1.48–12.55], p=0.007). Conclusions. Along with recognised risk factors such as gender, News 2 score, and obesity, the patient’s pre-hospital pathway is an important risk factor associated with hospitalisation.

Foliar fungal diseases in tomatoes include early blight (Alternaria linariae), Septoria leaf spot (Septoria lycopersici), and late blight (Phytophthora infestans) which is oomycetes. These are one of the significant production constraints in tomatoes. We describe the etiology, host range, distribution, symptoms, and disease cycle to understand the biology followed by management practices emphasizing the resistance breeding approach for these diseases. In crop improvement efforts, we provide an analytical review, including conventional and molecular methods for improving this disease resistance. Modern breeding tools, including genomics, genetic transformation, and genome editing, can be used to improve these traits. There is a good possibility of using these tools in the future to improve these traits.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of global cancer-related mortality resulting in ~1.8 million deaths annually. Systemic, molecular targeted, and immune therapies have provided significant improvements of survival outcomes for patients. However, drug resistance usually arises and there is an urgent need for novel therapy screening and personalized medicine. 3D patient-derived organoid (PDO) models have emerged as a more effective and efficient alternative for ex vivo drug screening than 2D cell culture and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. In this review, we performed an extensive search of lung cancer PDO-based ex vivo drug screening studies. Lung cancer PDOs were successfully established from fresh or biobanked sections/biopsy of lung tumors, PDXs, and pleural affusion. PDOs were subject to ex vivo drug screening with chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immune therapy agents. PDOs mainly recapitulated the genomic alterations, transcriptomic landscape and drug sensitivity of primary tumors. Although sample sizes of the previous studies were limited and some technical challenges remained, PDOs showed promise to screen novel therapy drugs. With the technical advance of high throughput, tumor-on-chip, combined microenvironment, and air-liquid interface (ALI), the drug screening using PDOs would serve better for precision care of lung cancer patients.

Background: Pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity of women of childbearing ages, has alarmingly a growing trend in developed countries. This study aimed to evaluate potential associations between maternal pre-pregnancy excess body weight and childhood demographic and anthropometric characteristics, as well as perinatal and postnatal outcomes. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 5198 pre-school children aged 2-5 years old and their matched mothers that were enrolled from nine different Greek regions. Maternal and childhood anthropometric and demographic data, perinatal and postnatal outcomes were collected from medical history records or validated questionnaires. Results: A prevalence of 24.4% and 30.6% of overweight/obesity was recorded for the enrolled children and their mothers 2-5 years postpartum. In multivariate analysis, childhood overweight and obesity was significantly more frequently observed when maternal pre-pregnancy BMI status was overweight or obese [OR: 2.11 (1.80-2.42) p=0.0001]. A high prevalence of caesarean section delivery and childhood diabetes type I was also significantly associated with maternal pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity [OR:1.71 (1.33-2.19) p=0.0175) and OR: 1.27 (1.04-1.53) p=0.0014, respectively]. Conclusions: Maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity rates were related with increased childhood weight status at birth and 2-5 years postpartum, highlighting the necessity of encouraging healthy lifestyle promotion, including healthier nutritional habits, and focusing on obesity population policies and nutritional interventions among women of reproducible age.

Tixagevimab/cilgavimab (TIXA/CILGA) was introduced in early 2022 as a promising new drug for pre-exposure prophylaxis against COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients. The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TIXA/CILGA in a Slovenian national cohort of kidney transplant recipients as pre-exposure prophylaxis in the Omicron era. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and therapeutic data were collected from electronic and paper medical rec-ords. Of the 106 patients who received TIXA/CILGA, 6 patients (5.7%) subsequently acquired SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection. The incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was only slightly lower compared with patients who did not receive TIXA/CILGA (7.0%). All patients who re-ceived TIXA/CILGA had a mild disease course, whereas 20% of patients who did not receive TIXA/CILGA required hospitalization and two patients died. Adverse effects most likely related to TIXA/CILGA occurred in 12% of patients, one of whom experienced deep vein thrombosis. None of the patients suffered acute myocardial infarction or cerebrovascular insult. Overall, the benefit of added protection for kidney transplant patients appears to outweigh the potential risk of adverse events and provide additional protection against severe COVID-19 protection.

In 1937,German mathematician L.Collatz proposed a conjeture:for any positive integer,if it is even,divide it by 2;if it is odd,multiply it by 3 and 1 to get an even number;keep going on and on, the final result is 1.This paper gives a sequence classification of odd numbers,and gives 1-1 mapping of odd numbers and odd number sequences,and uses these results to give a proof of this conjecture.

Artificial intelligence, a key technological tool in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, is being actively applied to education beyond industry, economy, and culture. In the future society, understanding and using artificial intelligence technology will be considered an essential skill for everyone, and the professionalism of AI education for pre-service teachers nurturing future talents is also important. This study verifies the effectiveness of pre-service teachers after undergoing a 15-week extension program consisting of AI Literacy Education (10 weeks), AI-Linked Subjet Education (3 weeks), and Micro-teaching (2 weeks) which was designed to enhance the AI ​​education professionalism of pre-service teachers. The AI Literacy Education section consisted of understanding AI, AI ethics, and basic programming, and the education was conducted through both experience and practice. After that, the pre-service teachers analyzed the curriculum of the 5th and 6th grades of an elementary school, and developed a subject-related education program using AI tools in three stages. Using the developed program, micro-teaching classes were conducted twice. The study results are as follows. First, there was a change in the positive perception of AI (p<.05). Second, the understanding of AI educational technology tools was improved and the recognition of the usefulness of developing a curriculum-related program was expanded. Third, the importance of teacher competency development was learned through the micro-teaching, and the students' understanding of the learning process was expanded.

Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) is one of the drought-resistant warm-season turfgrasses adapted to the southern and transitional zones in the United States. Multiple hybrid varieties have been developed and released for use as a turfgrass and others are in pipeline. Increasing genetic di-versity of commercial varieties is vital to tackle stress tolerance. A DNA profiling study of 21 experimental selections from the Oklahoma State University (OSU) turfgrass breeding program and 11 cultivars was conducted using 51 simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs that spread across the bermudagrass genome. Pairwise genetic relationship analysis among the genotypes using 352 polymorphic bands showed genetic similarity coefficients ranging from 0.59 to 0.89. Cluster analysis using the un-weighted paired group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA) method grouped the entries into six clusters. Correlation analysis identified different levels of pairwise genetic relationship among the entries that largely reflected parental relationship. Di-rectional breeding and selection for cold hardiness or drought resistance created progeny that had distinct genetic diversity in the tested bermudagrasses. It is evident that an increase in genetic diversity of the existing cultivar pool with the release of one or more of the experimental selec-tions for commercial use will strengthen and improve bermudagrass systems.

Plants have a natural protective process of altering their genetic molecules in response to changing environments. To uncover the genetic potential of plants, it is crucial to understand how they adapt to adverse conditions by analyzing their genetic molecules. In the study, we focused on understanding the responsive genes of tomatoes under drought conditions. We analyzed RNASeq data from different Tomato genotypes, tissue types, and different drought durations. We used a time series scale to identify early and late drought-responsive gene modules and applied a machine learning method to identify the best responsive genes. We found six candidate genes of Tomato (ASCT, FLA2, BAG5, DCL2b, NFP7.3, and ADC1) that were responsive to drought. We further constructed their protein-protein interaction network to identify their potential interactors and found them drought responsive proteins. The candidate genes can help to explore the adaptation of tomato plants under drought conditions. The identification of these candidate genes and modules can have far-reaching implications for molecular breeding and genome editing in Tomato, providing insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie drought adaptation. This research underscores the importance of the genetic basis of plant adaptation, particularly in changing climates and growing populations.

Diabetes mellitus and dental caries (tooth decay) are not only common Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) contributing to high burden of diseases but costly diseases to manage. Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of mortality and reduced life expectancy across the globe. Early child hood dental caries (ECC) denotes a common chronic childhood disease and cariogenic dietary patterns dominated by refined sugar is one of the main causative factors. Thus, high burden of ECC could be a proxy indicator of excessive refined sugar consumption of a child. If such unhealthy dietary patterns are continued through to adolescent to adulthood, there is a high probability of an individual becoming a diabetic. Therefore, it is rational to argue high ECC burden in a country could be an indicator of future burden of diabetes. Moreover, ECC provides a critical period and a window of opportunity across life-course perspective, to intervene with cariogenic dietary patterns underpinned by common risk factor approach. This could be achieved by tailored dietary counseling for parental care givers of children with ECC. A healthy dietary pattern fostered in the childhood, most probably would continue to adulthood which may become beneficial in reducing the incidence of diabetes. Against this backdrop, we provide a perspective from Sri Lanka: a lower-middle-income country (LMIC) which records the highest prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes in south Asia. Our perspective will provide novel insights and innovative ideas into prevention and control of diabetes burden in LMICs, harnessing the potential of preventive dentistry.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a highly effective HIV prevention strategy that involves the continuous administration of antiretroviral drugs to HIV-negative individuals wit a substantial risk of contracting an HIV infection. The use of PrEP has shown a reduction in the risk of HIV acquisition through sexual intercourse by up to 99%. Despite its effectiveness, PrEP uptake remains low among populations at high risk of HIV infection. This highlights the need for further research in stratetegies to enhance awareness and uptake of PrEP amongst these specific populations