Governments all over the world are currently grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. While some countries were very hard hit, others were only mildly hit but all are still taking measures to mitigate the consequences. The virus emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China and spread to most continents by the beginning of March 2020, which led to the World Health Organization declaring it as a pandemic on the 11^th of March 2020. Since it was a novel disease, there was limited information on the virus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) belongs to the same family as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Researchers all over the world started working simultaneously to understand the virus to provide the necessary treatment regime or vaccine in order to reduce the impact of the virus on its victims. Africa and other developing countries with limited resources and poor planning and management are expected to be among the worst hit in the long run. The implications of the COVID-19 on food, water, hygiene, sanitation, and the environment in Africa have been reviewed in this paper, as well as possible implications they may pose to the population, based on the existing common practices and their immediate impacts. This information can assist policymakers in Africa to adequately plan the management of the COVID-19 in order to lessen its impact on the population.

A sequence of new acetamide derivatives 9-15 of primary, secondary amine, and para-toluene sulphinate sodium salt have been synthesized under microwave irradiation and assessed in vitro for their antibacterial activity against one Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacterial species such as S. pyogenes, E. coli, and P.mirabilis using the Mueller-Hinton Agar diffusion (well diffusion) method. The synthesized compounds with significant differences in inhibition diameters and MICs were compared with those of amoxicillin, ampicillin, cephalothin, azithromycin and doxycycline. All of the evaluated acetamide derivatives were used with varying inhibition concentrations of 6.25, 12.5, 37.5, 62.5, 87.5, 112.5 and 125 µg/ml. The results show that the most important antibacterial properties exercised by the synthetic compounds 9 and 11 bearing para-chlorophenyl moiety incorporated into the 2-position moiety of acetamide 2. The molecular structures of the new compounds were determined using FT-IR, 1H-NMR techniques.

The present study reports a critical review of NIO's business model, considering the evolving landscape of the electric vehicle market and servicing. The objective of this study is to develop a comprehensive framework that facilitates the identification of key elements characterizing a company's business model and highlights ongoing transformations, crucial for adaptation and survival in a rapidly changing environmental context. Focusing on the case study of NIO, a relatively young Chinese original equipment manufacturer (OEM) specializing in high-tech electric cars, the research delves into the challenging scenario of the Chinese electric vehicle market, which has recently faced a bubble in 2023. The market proliferation, supply chain disruptions, and price wars triggered by Tesla have resulted in a survival struggle for numerous automotive startups, leaving larger companies with increasing market shares. Despite facing adversities, NIO managed to secure a promising segment, catering to premium-range battery electric vehicles (BEVs), establishing a competitive advantage through differentiation. By pursuing ambitious investments, the company aims to create economies of scope and achieve cost leadership, venturing into new market sectors and vertically integrating the production chain. Given NIO's agility in adapting to market conditions, aggressive entry into new segments, and a strategic vision for the future, it serves as an excellent candidate for testing and validating the proposed framework. The research sheds light on NIO's trajectory and offers insights into its potential for sustained growth in the dynamic electric vehicle market.

Since 2017 Cartagena UNESCO World Heritage has threatened to be categorized as "in Danger" by UNESCO. This research analyzes two main critical aspects, Governance and Current state of the Site. Regarding Governance, the study aims to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and treats in the UNESCO Site. Exemplary heritage management systems are studied to propose an adaptable management approach specifically for Cartagena. On the other hand, a comprehensive analysis is conducted utilizing a photographic report that highlights the major issues arising from inadequate heritage management. Hyperspectral images obtained from a previous study are employed to identify vegetation and asbestos-cement roofs within the cultural heritage Site. The study reveals that the ambiguity surrounding decision-making authority for heritage management, distributed between the Mayor's Office and the Ministry of Culture, is a primary challenge. This fragmentation has resulted in duplicated efforts and a lack of coordinated action, significantly compromising the conservation and protection of the cultural heritage Site. Moreover, twelve current shortcomings of cultural heritage in Cartagena are identified through authors' five-year on-site regular visits, photographic reports and observation. To address the prevailing concerns, a new line of command for cultural heritage management is proposed as the most effective means of tackling these challenges. Additionally, general recommendations are presented to mitigate the existing problems and prevent the classification of Cartagena's heritage as "at risk" by UNESCO in the near future. This research provides a scientific perspective, drawing upon years of experience studying heritage and residing in the city, devoid of political influences or conflicts of interest.

Vegetation identification using remote sensing is essential for understanding terrestrial ecosystems and monitoring climate change. This technology by providing high-resolution images of the Earth's surface from satellites, aircraft, and drones has revolutionized the way scientists study and un-derstand vegetation patterns, providing information on the distribution, structure, and health of plant communities in different regions and biomes. However, identifying vegetation in multi and hyperspectral images remains a difficult, time-consuming, and costly process. Traditional methods for vegetation mapping involve the in-terpretation of spectral indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), alt-hough they often suffer from limitations such as manual interpretation and limited spatial resolution of satellite images. Furthermore, machine learning techniques, artificial neural networks, decision trees, support vector machines, and random forests have shown promising results in identifying and classifying vegetation cover from hyperspectral images. However, due to the need for per-son-nel with specialized expertise, their application on a large scale is still challenging. On the other hand, correlation methods between curves have emerged as powerful and simplified tool for comparing spectral signatures of hyperspectral image pixels and efficiently classifying vegetation in a study area. Pearson's correlation coefficient and spectral angle mapper are among the most common correlation methods used in vegetation mapping. These correlation methods, among many others available, offer an easily implemented and computationally efficient approach, making them particularly useful for applications in developing countries or regions with limited resources. In this article, a comparative study of correlation/distance metrics was conducted for the detection of vegetation pixels in hyperspectral images. The study allowed for the comparison of five distance and/or correlation metrics: direct correlation, cosine similarity, normalized Euclidean distance, Bray-Curtis’s distance, and Pearson correlation. The two metrics that yielded the best accuracy results in vegetation pixel detection were direct correlation and Pearson correlation. Based on the selected methods, a vegetation detection algorithm was implemented and validated on a hyper-spectral image of the Manga neighborhood in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. The spectral library was utilized for image processing, while the numpy and scipy libraries in the Python programming language were used for the mathematical calculation of correlations. Both the study's approach and the implemented algorithm aim to serve as a reference for conducting detection studies of various material types in hyperspectral images using open-access programming platforms.

Among various metal-based nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) manifest superior inhibitory effect against several microorganisms. In fact, the AgNPs based therapy has been reported to inhibit both sensitive as well resistant isolates of bacteria and other disease causing microbes with equal propensity. Keeping this fact into consideration, we executed bio-mediated synthesis of AgNPs employing Hibiscus rosa sinensis flower extract. The as-synthesized AgNPs were evaluated for their potential to inhibit Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), one of the main causative bacteria for dental caries. Beside several other reasons, orthodontic appliances have also been reported to facilitate infliction of oral cavity with a range of microbes including S. mutans. To determine the growth inhibitory and anti-adherence activity of AgNPs on orthodontic appliance, we performed microbiological assays employing AgNPs adsorbed on to the orthodontic wires. Topographic analysis of orthodontic wires was executed by scanning electron microscopy. In addition to antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity against oral S. mutans, the as-fabricated AgNPs demonstrated significant inhibitory and anti-biofilm properties against other biofilm forming bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes as well.

The rise in dependency upon information present on web and social networks has increased the importance of content credibility systems. These sys- tems can help the users to make a right decision related to buying a product, utiliz- ing a service and etc. Application areas including social network blogs of different subjects such as health, food, education, politics and product review/ratings some- times suffer incredible and wrong information flow. The content credibility sys- tems can help users to identify the credible information on these various forums. Recently, researchers have proposed certain mechanisms for these systems, out of which reputation based systems have gained most attention. However, reputa- tion systems are vulnerable to reputation based attacks, like Sybil, Slandering, and Whitewash promoting spread of wrong information. The authors have proposed a defense mechanism against these attacks that is based upon Bayesian Model. The proposed defense mechanism provides protection against these attacks so that fake or wrong information could be prevented. The authors evaluated the proposed mechanism in three different scenarios and presented the results in terms of pre- cision, recall and rate of change in rank. The results reveal almost 88%prevention against these attacks in comparison to the baseline systems.

Objective: The causes of vertigo and dizziness in children are diverse and require attention from various specialists. Numerous authors have reported that the commonest type of vertigo in children is migraine-associated vertigo (vestibular migraine and benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood - BPV). We aimed to check whether this could be applied to our group of patients. Materials and methods: A retrospective case series of 257 consecutive pediatric vertigo and diz-ziness patients referred to the tertiary pediatric ENT clinic from 2015 to 2020. Patients received a complete audiovestibular workup and were referred to pediatric neurologists and other special-ists depending on the signs and symptoms. Results: Of 257 children aged 1-17 years, almost one fifth of them, 49/257 (19.1 %) had a central type of vertigo, 20/257 of them (7.8%) had benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood and 4/257 (1.6%) had a migrainous type of vertigo. Most of the children, 112/257 (43.6%), remained unclas-sified, without a final diagnosis. Conclusion: Due to the numerous possible causes, a child presenting with dizziness and vertigo requires a multidisciplinary approach. In the majority of cases, vertigo spells are self-limiting. They stop spontaneously and sometimes remain clinically undiagnosed. The most prevalent reasons for pediatric vertigo may be temporary hemodynamic (vaso-vagal) and psychological imbalance.

By taking advantage of a stability criterion established recently, the critical temperature T_c is reckoned with help of the microscopic parameters, characterising the normal and superconducting electrons, namely the independent-electron band structure and a repulsive two-electron force. The emphasis is laid on the sharp T_c dependence upon electron concentration and inter-electron coupling, which might offer a practical route toward higher T_c values and help to understand why high-T_c compounds exhibit such remarkable properties.

Africa is gradually becoming an epicentre for the COVID-19 pandemic. From the current trends of the disease, Africa might be the last hardest hit continent. While scientific investigations are ongoing to develop effective management through medications and vaccines, existing knowledge, perceptions and attitudes could be harnessed to develop an effective strategy to curb community transmission of the COVID-19. The present study assessed the awareness level, perceptions and attitudes of people living in rural, peri-urban and urban communities in Northern Ghana and their preparedness for the prevention and containment of COVID-19. We conducted a face-to-face interview and administered 553 semi-structured questionnaires in eighteen (18) rural and peri-urban/urban communities under Tolon District, Kumbungu Districts, Sagnarigu Municipality, Savelugu Municipality and Tamale Metropolis from 23^rd of April to 8^th of June 2020. The percentage of male to female among the respondents was 56.8% and 43.2%, respectively. Nearly half (41%) of the respondents had no formal education and 91.3% of them were Muslims. Most of the respondents (85%) held the view that COVID-19 is a punishment from God. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) between the time rural and peri-urban/urban communities first heard of COVID-19. Majority (63%) of the rural respondents depended on radio, while the peri-urban/urban respondents (51%) relied on television for information on COVID-19. All respondents were aware of COVID-19 and 91.7% could mention at least two symptoms of the disease but 18% believed there was no COVID-19 in Ghana. Most of the respondents (69.6%) believed they will not contract the virus. Our findings may provide useful data to government and other stakeholders in the COVID-19 fight.

A qualitative analysis of pressure acting within the human eye is presented. The situation emerging within the human eye in rest and human eye of accelerated/training person should be distinguished. When the person is in rest, the hydrostatic pressure is much larger than the Laplace pressure. The dynamic (Bernoulli pressure) emerging from intraocular flows in this case is negligible. The situation is rather different for accelerated or decelerated person. In this case, the dynamical pressure and the water hammer pressure become dominant. Under certain circumstances, the water hammer pressure may be larger than the ultimate tensile strength of retina, choroid and the Bruch membrane‐choroid complex, which may possibly affect the retina. As a recommendation: physical training, which is not accompanied with ultimate acceleration/acceleration of the body, may be performed after posterior vitreous detachment; however, potentially traumatic activities such as boxing or competitive diving should be avoided.

Accurate classification of objects in 3D point clouds is a significant problem in several applications, such as autonomous navigation and augmented/virtual reality scenarios, which has become a research hot spot. In this paper, we presented a deep learning strategy for 3D object classification in augmented reality. The proposed approach is a combination of the GRU and LSTM. LSTM networks learn longer dependencies well, but due to the number of gates, it takes longer to train; on the other hand, GRU networks have a weaker performance than LSTM, but their training speed is much higher than GRU, which is The speed is due to its fewer gates. The proposed approach used the combination of speed and accuracy of these two networks. The proposed approach achieved an accuracy of 0.99 in the 4,499,0641 points dataset, which includes eight classes (unlabeled, man-made terrain, natural terrain, high vegetation, low vegetation, buildings, hardscape, scanning artifacts, cars). Meanwhile, the traditional machine learning approaches could achieve a maximum accuracy of 0.9489 in the best case.

The escalating reliance on revolutionary online web services has introduced heightened security risks, with persistent challenges posed by phishing despite extensive security measures. Traditional phishing systems, reliant on machine learning and manual features, struggle with evolving tactics. Recent advances in deep learning offer promising avenues for tackling novel phishing challenges and malicious URLs. This paper introduces a two-phase stack generalized model named AntiPhishStack, designed to detect phishing sites. The model leverages the learning of URLs and character-level TF-IDF features symmetrically, enhancing its ability to combat emerging phishing threats. In Phase I, features are trained on a base machine learning classifier, employing K-fold cross-validation for robust mean prediction. Phase II employs a two-layered stacked-based LSTM network with five adaptive optimizers for dynamic compilation, ensuring premier prediction on these features. Additionally, the symmetrical predictions from both phases are optimized and integrated to train a meta-XGBoost classifier, contributing to a final robust prediction. This work's significance lies in advancing phishing detection with AntiPhishStack, operating without prior phishing-specific feature knowledge. Experimental validation on two benchmark datasets, comprising benign and phishing or malicious URLs, demonstrates the model's exceptional performance, achieving a notable 96.04% accuracy. This research adds value to the ongoing discourse on symmetry and asymmetry in information security and provides a forward-thinking solution for enhancing network security in the face of evolving cyber threats.

The UK aviation industry is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 through sustainable measures, and one of the key aspects of this effort is the implementation of Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) systems. These UTM systems play a crucial role in enabling the safe and efficient integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the airspace. As part of the Airspace of the Future (AoF) project, the development and implementation of UTM services have been prioritized. The paper aims to create an environment where routine drone services can operate safely and effectively. To facilitate this, a digital twin of the National Beyond Visual Line of Sight Experimentation Corridor has been created. This digital twin serves as a virtual replica of the corridor and allows for the synthetic testing of unmanned traffic management concepts. The implementation of the digital twin involves both simulated and hybrid flights with real drones. Simulated flights allow for the testing and refinement of UTM services in a controlled environment. Hybrid flights, on the other hand, involve the integration of real drones into the airspace to assess their performance and compatibility with the UTM systems. By leveraging the capabilities of UTM systems and utilizing the digital twin for testing, the AoF project aims to advance the development of safer and more efficient drone operations. Experimentation Corridor has been developed to simulate and test concepts related to managing unmanned traffic. The paper provides a detailed account of the implementation of the digital twin for the AoF project, including simulated and hybrid flights involving real drones.

“White matter disease” identifies series of different conditions and pathological mechanisms: autoimmune, infectious, toxic-metabolic and vascular. Each of these leads to a global impairment of the neural myelination process through the secondary destruction of previously myelinated structures. To date, the imaging spectrum represents an irreplaceable tool to detect these lesions, describe their distribution patterns and stage them over time. This study aims presents a pictorial review of white matter disease, from pathology to imaging spectrum, reporting current main staging systems with greater emphasis to relationship between cerebrovascular disease and white matter hyper-intensity appearance, and the newest advances in this field.

This work aimed to study the thermal and crystalline properties of poly (1,4-phenylene sulfide)@carbon char nanocomposites. Coagulation-processed nanocomposites of polyphenylene sulfide were prepared using synthesized mesoporous nanocarbon of coconut shell as reinforcement. The mesoporous reinforcement was synthesized using a facile carbonization method. The investigation of the properties of nanocarbon was done by SAP, XRD, and FESEM analysis. The research was further propagated via the synthesis of nanocomposite by the addition of characterized nanofiller into poly (1,4-phenylene sulfide) at five different combinations. The coagulation method was utilized for the nanocomposite formation. The obtained nanocomposite was analyzed using FTIR, TGA, DSC, and FESEM analysis. The BET surface area and average pore volume of bio-carbon prepared from coconut shell residue were calculated to be 1517 m2/g and 2.51 nm respectively. The addition of nanocarbon to poly (1,4-phenylene sulfide) has led to an increase in thermal stability and crystallinity up to 6% loading of filler. The minimum achievable glass transition temperature is for 6 % doping of filler into the polymer matrix. It was established that the thermal, morphological, and crystalline properties have been tailored by synthesizing their nanocomposites with mesoporous bio-nanocarbon obtained from coconut shells. So, the loading of filler into poly (1,4-phenylene sulfide) can be optimized to enhance its thermoplastic properties for surface applications.

Erosion caused by the repeated impact of particles on a substance surface is a usual wear method resulting in gradual and continual loss of objects. It is a crucial problem in several modern industries because their surfaces are frequently subjected to destructive erosive situations. Polymers and their hybrid materials include several applications to be used as a coating in the form of powder for different applications. This review paper aims to provide extensive information on the erosion behavior of thermoset and thermoplastic neat resin and their hybrid materials composites. Focus is specifically paid to highlight the influence of properties of selected materials, impingnation parameters such as incident Angle of erodent, impact velocity of erodent, erodent nature, and the erosion mechanism. The review further extends the information about the erosion techniques and numerical simulation methods used for wear studies of surfaces. An investigation has been carried out for researchers to explore the selection of materials and methods in terms of conditions and parameters to meet the current and future needs and challenges for the protection of surfaces of the advanced industries. During review according to the findings achieved from the literature of the past fifty years, it has been noted that the thermoplastic nature of the composite is a key component to determine the anti-wear properties, the composites with lower glass transition, higher ductility, and greater crystallinity can provide better protection to erosion in advance surface applications.

The extensive use of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) such as zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in various commercial fields has spurred significant concern about its possible toxicological effects of ZnO NPs on human health and eco-system. Therefore, it is substantial to understand the aggregation phenomena which could attenuate this effect. This data article provides information on aggregation of ZnO NPs under the influence of various parameters of water chemistry. Moreover, Taguchi orthogonal array L27(313) design matrix was used to evaluate the effect of multiple parameters in aqueous solution. The data were obtained from single beam UV-Vis spectrophotometer (Optizen 2120 UV, Mecasys, Korea) using Optizenview 4.2.5 PC interference software, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT/IR-4700, spectroscopy, JASCO Analytical Instruments, Easton, USA) and particle electrophoresis (NanoZS, Zetasizer, Malvern Instruments Ltd, Worcestershire, UK). The dataset draws attention on dominant parameters influencing aggregation of ZnO NPs in water. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) data revealed that electrolyte concentration, type and natural organic matter (NOM) concentration were the most significant parameters. Furthermore, FT-IR data presents a possible mechanism of ZnO NPs stabilization in the presence of different NOM. This data will be helpful for the development of environmental risk assessment strategies and prediction of fate and mobility of other ENPs in the aquatic environment.

The videofluorographic study is indicated for diseases potentially causing dysphagia and aspiration, such as gastrointestinal reflux disease, cancers of the oropharynx and esophagus, and certain neurologic diseases needing swallowing assessment. The study is designed to survey the anatomy and physiology of swallowing to diagnose any swallowing impairment and is standardized using scales such as the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile (MBSImP). The procedure requires the patient to swallow a barium contrasted bolus which helps to visualize and obtain a real-time result. There are certain complications of the procedure including radiation exposure which requires necessary safety protocols to be followed.

The horizontal flatbed electrophoresis system has been used for the electrophoresis of protein samples and is often preferred for a two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In currently available equipment, cathode and anode electrodes were placed on top of a gel at each end. An electric field entered from the top of a gel, and its strength was relatively weaker in the bottom part of the gel. Such configuration caused migrating protein bands to lie down forward in the migrating direction. New electrodes, i.e., the clamp-shaped and the double-deck electrodes, were developed to simultaneously apply an electric field from the top and bottom of a gel. Electrophoretic separation with these electrodes made protein bands more focused and improved protein band resolutions. When the FIGE technique was tested together with new electrodes, protein bands were aligned nearly vertically and showed the best electrophoretic resolutions.

The electromagnetic inference is an issue from decades, where working for a better shielding material is still on-going. The purpose of this study is to review the existing methods in the formation of graphene, metal and polymer-based composites. Study indicates that in graphene and metal-based composites, the utilization of alternating deposition method showed the highest shielding effectiveness, whereas, in polymer-based composite, the utilization of chemical vapor deposition method showed highest shielding effectiveness. However, this review reveals that still there is a gap in the literature in terms of the selection of the method. Although there are various available methods which researchers adopt as per their convenience, none of the studies makes a comparison of the methods to form a similar composite. Therefore, as a future gap researcher needs to adopt various methods to form a single composite and then make a comparison of shielding effectiveness. This act will be useful for future researchers to select the appropriate method.

Hollow and concrete-filled steel tubes (CFSTs) are widely used as columns in many structural systems and local buckling can occur when they are subjected to axial compression loading. The critical regions for the local buckling of the columns are near the ends of the column where the moments are the highest. To strengthen the critical regions of the CFSTs the CFRP provides a simple and effective method which used previously as an enhancement for both of strength and ductility. So, this study suggests investigating the axial load behaviour of CFST strengthened with CFRP using FE method after a verification study and then a various parametric studies were carried out to cover the effect of the CFRP layers, number, confinement length and position. The FE results proved that, one CFRP sheet with thickness equal to 1.2 mm was strengthened the composite column by 8.5%, two CFRP sheets with total thickness equal to 2.4 mm was strengthened the composite column by 23.5%, three CFRP sheets with total thickness equal to 3.6 mm was strengthened the composite column by 35.1% and four CFRP sheets with total thickness equal to 4.8 mm was strengthened the composite column by 44.5%. Moreover, this study proved that by strengthened the composite columns with CFRP sheets with different lengths, the axial load resistance was improved by 8.5%, 4.6%, 0.1% and 0.0% for length percentages 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% respectively.

The escalating demand for multifunctional and advanced materials for growing industries has turned scientific exploration to graphene-based hybrid filler polymer composites. The introduction of graphene with other fillers into polymer matrices results in astonishing properties and thus has gained significant attention in recent years. This study addresses the significance of graphene-based hybrid filler polymer composites in progressive materials science and engineering. The paper encloses some traditional and current preparation techniques employed in the fabrication of composites and a comprehensive review of successfully prepared graphene hybrid polymer composites with enhanced mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties reported in published research. The role of different factors, e.g., filler type, aspect ratios, filler-matrix compatibility, dispersion effects, homogeneity, filler orientation through polymer matrices, and curing conditions, are summarized. Finally, the applications in heavy industries, e.g., aerospace, electronics, energy storage, and automotive sectors were also analyzed. We hope this study will serve as a practical resource for new researchers and practitioners to understand and harness the full potential of these composites in various scientific and industrial fields.

This study assessed the impacts of genotypes, environments, and their interaction on the performance of elite cowpea lines for key adaptive, grain yield, and associated traits across different locations. A total of 42 elite genotypes were evaluated in five Nigerian environments, representing various savanna ecologies during the 2021 growing season. The experimental design employed was an alpha lattice arrangement, replicating each genotype three times. The results revealed significant differences among genotypes, environments, and genotype-by-environment interaction for most traits, including days to maturity, 100 seed weight, and grain yield. GGE biplot showed G21 (IT14K-2111-2) and G25 (IT15K-2386-1) as the most stable genotypes across the five environments, G41(IT1K-61-82) was best adapted to Ibadan and Shika, G5 (245-1) was best adapted to Bagauda and Gumel while G30 (IT16K-2365-1) was best adapted to Bauchi. G21 and G25 could be recommended across the five test environments while G41, G30 and G5 are specific to the adapted environments.

The organic solar cells (OSCs) have drawn attention in the past decade due to its cynosure in industrial manufacturing because of its promising properties such as low weight, highly flexible and low cost production. However, low η restricts the utilization of OSCs for potential application such as low cost energy harvesting devices. In this paper, OSCs structure based on triple junction tandem scheme is reported with three different absorber materials with the objective to enhance the absorption of photons which in turn improves the η, as well as its correlating performance parameters. The investigated structure gives the higher value of η = 14.33% with Jsc=16.87 (mA/m2), Voc=1.0 (V), and FF=84.97% by utilizing a stack of three different absorber layers with different band energies. The proposed structure is tested under 1.5 (AM) with 1 sun (W/m2). The impact of top, middle and bottom sub cells thickness on η is analyzed with a terse to find the optimum thickness for three sub cells to extract high η. The optimized structure is then tested with different electrode combination and the highest η is recorded with FTO/Ag. Moreover, the influence of upsurge temperature is also demonstrated on the proposed structure and observed that the upsurge temperature has greatly affected the electrical parameters of the device and η decreases from 14.33% to 11.40% when the temperature of the device rises from 300-400 K.

Complex interactions between gene variants and environmental risk factors underlie the pathophysiological pathways in major psychiatric disorders. Autism Spectrum Disorder is a psychiatric condition in which susceptible alleles along with epigenetic memories contribute to the mutational landscape of the ailing brain. The present work reviews recent evolutionary, molecular, and epigenetic mechanisms potentially linked to the etiology of autism. First, we present a clinical vignette to describe clusters of maladaptive behaviors frequently diagnosed in autistic patients. Next, we microdissect brain regions pertinent to the nosology of autism as well as cell networks from the bilateral body plan. Lastly, we catalog a number of pathogenic environments associated with disease risk factors. This set of perspectives provides emerging insights into the dynamic interplay between epigenetic and environmental variation in the development of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Background and Aim: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly aggressive malignancy associated with low survival rates. Many chemotherapeutic regimens have been investigated for advanced unresectable and metastatic PC, but with only minimal improvement in survival and prognosis. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-cancer function of free and nano-encapsulated hydroxytyrosol (Hyd) and curcumin (Cur), and its combinations (Hyd-Cur) on the PANC-1 cell line.Methods: The poly lactide-co-glycolide-co-polyacrylic acid (PLGA-co-PAA) nano-encapsulated Hyd and Cur were synthesized, and MTT assay was performed to evaluate cytotoxic effects of free and nano-encapsulated Hyd, Cur, and Hyd-Cur. Moreover, effects of free and nano-encapsulated Hyd, Cur, and Hyd-Cur were evaluated on viability, migration, morphological alterations, colony formation, and apoptosis on PANC-1 cell line. The mRNA expression levels of MMP2, MMP9, BAX, BCL-2, and Cas9 genes were assessed after treated PANC-1 cells with free and nano-encapsulated Hyd, Cur, and Hyd-Cur.Results: The obtained results showed that free and nano-encapsulated Hyd, Cur, and Hyd-Cur treatments significantly decreased the viability, migration, and colony formation in the PANC-1 cells. Furthermore, apoptosis rates in PANC-1 cells were increased in a concentration and time dependent manner in all of the treatment groups. Moreover, anti-proliferative activity of nano-encapsulated Hyd-Cur was significantly more than other treatments.Conclusion: According to our results, Hyd-Cur combination and nano-encapsulation therapy exerts more profound apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects on PANC-1 cell line than free Hyd or Hyd monotherapy.

Leishmaniasis remains a significant global health concern, with current treatments relying on outdated drugs associated with high toxicity, lengthy administration, elevated costs, and drug resistance. Consequently, the urgent need for safer and more effective therapeutic options in leishmaniasis treatment persists. Previous research has highlighted selenium compounds as promising candidates for innovative leishmaniasis therapy. In light of this, a library of 10 selenium-containing diverse compounds was designed and evaluated in this study. The compounds were subjected to screening against L. amazonensis promastigotes, and their cytotoxicity was assessed in NIH/3T3 cells. Among the tested compounds, MRK-106 and MRK-108 displayed the highest potency against L. amazonensis promastigotes while demonstrating reduced cytotoxicity. Notably, MRK-106 and MRK-108 exhibited IC50 values of 3.97 µM, 4.23 µM, respectively, and most of the tested compounds showed low cytotoxicity in NIH/3T3 cells (CC50 &gt; 200 µM). Although these results are promising, additional investigations focusing on intracellular amastigotes are required to determine the antileishmanial activity of the compounds. In conclusion, the identified selenium-containing compounds hold considerable potential as antileishmanial drug candidates and warrant further exploration in subsequent studies. These findings represent a significant step towards the development of safer and more effective therapies for leishmaniasis, addressing the pressing need for novel and improved treatments.

Fear extinction requires coordinated neural activity within the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Any behavior has a transcriptomic signature that is modified by environmental experiences, and specific genes are involved in functional plasticity and synaptic wiring during fear extinction. Here, we investigated the effects of optogenetic manipulations of prelimbic (PrL) pyramidal neurons on amygdala gene expression to analyze the specific transcriptional pathways involved in adaptive and maladaptive fear extinction. To this aim, transgenic mice were (or not) fear-conditioned and during the extinction phase they received optogenetic (or sham) stimulations over PrL pyramidal neurons. At the end of behavioral testing, electrophysiological (neural cellular excitability and Excitatory Post-Synaptic Currents) and morphological (spinogenesis) correlates were evaluated in the PrL pyramidal neurons. Furthermore, transcriptomic cell-specific RNA-analyses (differential gene expression profiling and functional enrichment analyses) were performed in amygdala pyramidal neurons. Our results show that the optogenetic activation of PrL pyramidal neurons in fear-conditioned mice induces fear extinction deficits, reflected in an increase of cellular excitability, excitatory neurotransmission, and spinogenesis of PrL pyramidal neurons, and in strong modifications of the transcriptome of amygdala pyramidal neurons. Understanding the electrophysiological, morphological and transcriptomic architecture of fear extinction may facilitate the comprehension of fear-related disorders.

Graphene hybrid-filler polymer composites have emerged as prominent materials that revolutionize heavy industries. This study encapsulates the in-depth analysis of different influential factors such as filler/graphene type, aspect ratios, dispersion methods, filler-matrix compatibility, fiber orientation, synergistic effects, different processing techniques, and post-curing conditions that affect the processing, properties and determine the resultant applications of graphene hybrid polymer composites. Additionally, it discusses the substantial role of graphene collaboration with other fillers such as carbon nanotubes, silica, nano-clays and metal oxides to produce functionalized hybrid polymer composites with synergistically enhanced tailored properties to offer solutions for heavy industries like aerospace, automotive, electronics, and energy harvesting. The review concludes with some suggestions and outlook on the future of these composite materials by emphasizing the need for continued research to fully optimize their potential.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic inferred on neuro-oncological patients (PTS) and the caregivers regarding tumor care and emotional functioning. This study aimed to understand how COVID-19 affects their psychological state and relations between PTS and health personnel in neuro-oncology. Methods: A cross-sectional study on neuro-oncological PTS and their caregivers. Results: A total of 162 PTS and 66 caregivers completed the questionnaire. The 37.5% of PTS perceived greater risk of contracting the COVID-19 compared to the general population. On the 0-10 scale, PTS tumor-related anxiety score was 5.8 and COVID-related 4.6. The caregivers reported 7.7 and 5.5 respectively. The QoL was described at least as good in 75% of both PTS and caregivers; the caregivers’ care burden increased in 22.7% during the pandemic, with no correlation with QoL. Future perception often changed both in PTS and in the caregivers. Cancer treatment schedule was changed in 18.5%, including for PTS decision. However, the 93.5% of PTS was satisfied with the overall care. Conclusion: A considerable proportion of PTS and caregivers still perceived the tumor disease as more burdensome than the pandemic, and perceived their future as more uncertain. Such data rinforce the need to build a proficient alliance between PTS and health personnel.

To effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the state government of Bahia, Brazil, has distributed intensive and non-intensive care units along the nine regions that divide the state of Bahia, such that COVID-19 patients could be easily hospitalized in health care units located at the same regions where they live. However, the observed hospitalizations networks for COVID-19 patients shows that a considerable number of COVID-19 patients had to travel beyond their region of residence to be hospitalized. Hence, this study indicates that the current distribution of health care units in Bahia, Brazil, is not sufficient to effectively reduce the distances traveled by COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization. We believe that such unnecessary travels to distant hospitals may put the sick patients as well as healthy people involved in the transportation process in risk, further delaying the stabilization of the COVID-19 pandemic in each region of the state of Bahia.

In this review, we covered the recent advances in synthesis of gold nanoparticles and their uses in degradation of dyes. This study provides framework to develop a low cost, ecofriendly and highly efficient synthesis of gold nanoparticles. These synthetic methods do not produce any toxic byproduct. The present study is focus on removal of dyes by Au-NPs because gold nanoparticles act as good absorbent for dyes in short time. Synthesis of Au-NPs from plant extract e.g. marine alga, Scutellarin Barbata, A.nigra, Fruit peels, Bacillus marisflavi from raw silk cocoons, amylopectin and poly acrylic acid, L.asparagine, Grephene oxide, IPEI coated Au-NPs. The synthesizes Au-NPs were used further for removal of dyes like methylene blue (MB), Rhodamine B (RB) Degradation, methylene orange, acid red degradation, Congo red.

Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines have been studied regarding drug development. The objective of this work was to evaluate the antileukemic capacity of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivatives by screening its ability as a pro-oxidant. Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivatives were synthesized and oral bioavailability and toxicity were analyzed in silico. Redox screening was performed on human Kasumi, KG-1, K562 and Jurkat leukemia cells. The imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivative and the most responsive leukemic cell were selected for cytotoxicity, cell proliferation, cell senescence and oxidative stress assays. The predictive toxicity analysis showed a possible effect on the reproductive system, but without mutagenic, carcinogenic or irritability effects. MRK-107 against K562 cells was the compound that showed the best redox profile. MRK-107 did not induce cell death in K562 and monocyte cells. However, this compound was able to decrease cell proliferation and increase cell senescence after 48 and 72 hours. Furthermore, MRK-107 induced oxidative stress in K562 cells after 72h, increasing lipid peroxidation and decreasing reduced glutathione (GSH) contents. This study demonstrated that MRK-107-induced senescence with the involvement of oxidative stress as a possible mechanism of action, addressing this compound as a potential antitumor drug against chronic myeloid leukemia.

The blood counts of α thalassemia carriers (α-thal) are similar to those of β thalassemia carriers, except for Hgb A2 that is not elevated. The objective of this study was to determine whether mathematical formulas are effective for detecting suspected α-thal. The data were obtained from the database of the prevention program for detecting couples at risk for having a child with hemoglobinopathy. RBC indices were analyzed using mathematical formulas and the sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) calculated. Among 1334 blood counts suspected α-thal analyzed, only the Shine&Lal and the Support Vector Machine formulas revealed high sensitivity and NPV. Sensitivity was 85.54 and 99.33% and NPV 98.93 and 99.93%, respectively. Molecular defects were found in 291, 81 had normal α genes. Molecular analysis was not performed in 962. Based on these results, mathematical formulas incorporating one of these reliable formulas for detecting suspected α or β thalassemia carriers in the program of the automatic analyzers can flag these results and increase the awareness of the primary physicians about the carrier risk and send an alert with a recommendation for further testing.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare cancer arising in skeletal muscle that typically impacts children and young adults. It is a worldwide challenge in child health as treatment outcomes for metastatic and recurrent disease still pose a major concern for both basic and clinical scientists. The treatment strategies for rhabdomyosarcoma include multi-agent chemotherapies after surgical resection with or without ionization radiotherapy. In this comprehensive review, we first provide a detailed clinical understanding of rhabdomyosarcoma including its classification and subtypes, diagnosis, and treatment strategies. Later we focus on chemotherapy strategies for this childhood sarcoma and discuss the impact of three mechanisms that are involved in chemotherapy response including apoptosis, macro-autophagy, and the unfolded protein response. Finally, we discuss in vivo mouse and zebrafish models, and in vitro 3-dimensional bioengineering models of Rhabdomyosarcoma to screen future therapeutic approaches and promote muscle regeneration.

Within the micro and nano world, tiny membrane-enclosed bits of material are more or less free to move and act as communication tools within cells, between cells, between different tissues and between organisms in global environment. Based on the mechanism of membrane budding and vesiculation that includes all types of cells, in this review, we attempted to present a review on SARS-CoV-2 virus actions in compartments of different scales (cells and their surroundings, tissues, organisms and society). Interactions of the virus with cells on a molecular level, with neural system, endothelium, hematopoietic system, gastrointestinal system and genitourinary system. Transmission route between organisms and between mother and fetus are considered. Also, transmission of virus through contact with materials and with environment, the suggested measures to prevent contamination with the virus and to support the organism against the disease are given.

Cardiomyopathies are major causes of heart failure. Chagas disease (CD) is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, and it is endemic in Central, South America. Thirty percent of the cases evolve into chronic cardiomyopathy (CCC) with worse prognosis as compared with other cardiomyopathies. In vivo bioenergetic analysis and ex vivo proteomic analysis of myocardial tissues highlighted worse mitochondrial dysfunction in CCC, and previous studies identified nuclear-encoded mitochondrial gene variants segregating with CCC. Here, we assessed the role of the mitochondrial genome through mtDNA copy number variations and mtDNA haplotyping and sequencing from heart or blood tissues of severe, moderate CCC and asymptomatic/indeterminate Chagas disease as well as healthy controls as an attempt to help decipher mitochondrial-intrinsic genetic involvement in Chagas disease development. We have found that mtDNA copy number was significantly lower in CCC than in heart tissue from healthy individuals, while blood mtDNA content was similar among asymptomatic Chagas disease, moderate and severe CCC patients. MtDNA haplogrouping study has indicated that African haplogroups were over represented in the Chagas subject groups in comparison with Brazilian healthy individuals. The European lineage is associated to protection against cardiomyopathy and the macro haplogroup H is associated with increased risk towards CCC. By mitochondria DNA sequencing, 84 mtDNA-encoded protein sequence pathogenic variants were associated with CCC. Among them, two variants were associated to left ventricular non-compaction and two to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The finding that mitochondrial protein-coding SNPs and mitochondrial haplogroups associate with risk of evolving to CCC is consistent with a key role of mitochondrial DNA in the development of Chronic Chagas disease Cardiomyopathy.