X-rays production through betatron radiation emission from electron bunches is a valuable resource for several research fields. The EuAPS (EuPRAXIA Advanced Photon Sources) project, within the framework of the EuPRAXIA project, aims to provide 1-10 keV photons (soft X-rays) developing a compact plasma-based system designed to exploit self-injection processes that occur in highly nonlinear laser-plasma interaction (LWFA) to drive electron betatron oscillations. Since the emitted radiation spectrum, intensity, angular divergence, and possible coherence strongly depend on the properties of the self-injected beam, accurate preliminary simulations of the process are necessary to evaluate the optimal diagnostic device specifications. Dedicated tools for these tasks are under development: electron trajectories from particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are currently undergoing numerical analysis through the calculation of retarded fields and spectra for various plasma and laser parameter combinations. At the same time, an analytical approach is being examined to obtain an expression for the emitted spectrum, assuming linear or quadratic electron energy variation. Code structure and some trajectories analysis results are presented.

This work is the first part of a series of papers on a comprehensive analysis of the processes of prebiotic self-organization and protophotosynthesis on the surface of semiconductor minerals and in systems of natural dispersed semiconductors. Comprehensive analysis within the framework of the "semiconductor world" concept allows integrating a variety of models on a single physical basis - from ZnS world and FeS world (based on inorganic semiconductors) to the PAH world and aromatic world (including organic semiconductors). Thus, we do not put forward a new alternative hypothesis of chemical evolution - a new "chemical world", but only integrate the evolutionary and geochemical criteria of different "chemical worlds" into a single "physical world", which gives one the opportunity to reconstruct and predict the directions of chemical evolution according to the uniform principles of physical chemistry. In the first part of this series we consider photoinduced self-organization and "photo-controlled" evolution of the early protobiological systems performing solar energy conversion on the surface of dispersed semiconductor minerals capable of (photo)catalyzing and photosensitizing prebiological processes. The latter include a transition from the elementary cycles of photocatalytic reactions on the surface of semiconductors to protophotometabolic cycles and protophotosynthesis, from photophysical processes on the surface of mineral semiconductors to photoinduced membrane potentials, from photocontrolled sorption on the surface of such minerals to the formation of photosensitive protomembranes and selection of photosynthetic structures. The evolutionary approach to the analysis of protobiological mechanisms and protobioenergetics within the framework of the "semiconductor world" concept provides a new approach to the study of the last common point of divergence of protobiological systems, where the emergence principles of different energy supply schemes (like the energy source-specific photoautotrophy and substrate-specific chemoautotrophy) merge at the physicochemical level. The proposed integrating scheme is consistent with most biological, geological, and physicochemical concepts, which ensures its complete cross-checking and internal consistency.

Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between the type of conization, the volume and dimensions of the cone, with the persistence/recurrence of CIN 2-3, presence of affected margins and post-cone HR-HPV positivity. Methods: 227 women treated with LLETZ and histologically confirmed CIN2-3 were evaluated between 1996 and 2006 and followed up until June 2016. Age, type of resection according to IFCPC 2011, volume, cone dimensions, margins were studied. of resection, post-cone high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) status and viral load. Determinants of HR-HPV positivity were estimated using unconditional logistic regression and time to recurrence was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves. Results: Persistent/recurrent CIN2-3 was found in 12 cases (5.2%), type 1 conization was performed in 81 patients, with 5 recurrences (6.1%), type 2 in 101 patients, with 6 recurrences (5 .9%) and type 3 resection in 45 women, with 1 recurrence (2.2%). Volume and dimensions were not associated with recurrence. The Log-Rank Test did not show a significant difference between the 3 treatments (p= 0.18). The free margins in type 1 were 37%, in type 2 resection 61% and in type 3 71% (p=0.001). Resection type 1 had 15% HR-HPV post positive cone, type 2 reached 16% and type 3 had 9%, this difference being non-significant (p=0.58). The incidence of recurrence at 36 months in type 1 resection was 0.08%, in type 2 treatment it was 0.04% and in type 3 resection it was 0.0%. Conclusions : Type 3 resection had a higher proportion of free margins and lower post-cone HR-HPV positivity, with a lower incidence of persistence/recurrence.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis that affects the axial skeleton, causing intense pain, progressive joint destruction, and a gradual reduction in physical function. It has been recognized not only as affecting the axial skeleton but as a systemic disease. Since it also causes an increase in the rates of inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, acute anterior uveitis, and mental disorders affecting the quality of life. Furthermore, an association with neurological and cardiovascular events is documented. With the advent of biologics, treating AS dramatically changed due to its high efficacy and tolerable safety. AS can be treated with various biological treatments. Nevertheless, there are differences in traits, including rapidity of onset, long-term efficacy, safety profile, and influence on comorbidities. A better understanding of such traits enables clinicians to make the best decision for each patient, increasing persistence, extending medication survival, enhancing patient satisfaction, and reducing the disease effect of ankylosing spondylitis. In this article, we emphasize biologics' efficacy and safety profile in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. In addition, we discuss the impact of biologics on comorbidities and health-related quality of life.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine measures on children and adolescents’ hospitalization psychiatric has been poorly studied, especially in Italy, the first European country to adopt social restrictions. To fill this gap, this retrospective study examined changes in admissions to our child and adolescent psychiatry ward from the emergency department during the two COVID-19 quarantine periods in Italy (March to June 2020; October 2020 to January 2021) compared with two reference periods (defined as 12 months prior to the respective quarantine periods). Specifically, we examined data on the number of inpatients and the distribution of psychopathological disorders (i.e., psychosis, mood disorder) and self-injurious behaviors. The results revealed significantly fewer admissions during the first quarantine period relative to the first reference period and, conversely, significantly more admissions during the second quarantine period relative to the second reference period. Of note, the results showed an increased frequency of mood disorders, non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors and suicidal ideation during the quarantine periods, compared to the reference periods. The findings underline the need to focus on the psychopathological profile of children and adolescents with patient-tailored therapeutic interventions and suggest the importance of developing psychological healthcare services for future emergency periods..

Background and Objectives: Although there has been growing interest in the association of ADHD with anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and self-esteem, there is a lack of consistent results and these associations remain unclear. This study investigated the differential patterns of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and self-esteem with regard to the presence of ADHD. Materials and Methods: The subjects were divided into a patient group and a control group. The patient group included 49 patients diagnosed with ADHD at the department of psychiatry of one university hospital. For the control group, 3,727 students were invited to complete a questionnaire. Of the 1,717 students who responded to the questionnaire, 245 were selected for patient-controlled studies. All the subjects were instructed to complete the Beck Suicide Ideation Scale, Children's Depression Inventory, Beck’s Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results: ADHD subjects experienced more anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation as well as lower self-esteem compared to the control group comprising participants without ADHD. Conclusions: These findings suggest that ADHD symptoms may contribute to greater suicidal ideation through experienced depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem in school-aged children. Therefore, appropriate ADHD symptom management is necessary to reduce suicidal ideation among school-aged children with ADHD symptoms.

Many relevant health social actors have voiced concerns about the danger of self-medication in times of growing use of over-the-counter medicines and, in some contexts, unregulated selling of them. Previous research has examined the incidence of parental self-medication as well as the use and abuse of antibiotics without professional advice. However, these studies have limited evidence on the role of family doctors and the perceived severity of self-medication in the case of parents. Based on Health Belief Model, our research tested the effects of exposure to medical information on the perceived level of self-treating the children without medical advice. Specifically, we aimed to assess whether exposure to information warning about the risks of treating children without a medical prescription influences parents' attitudes toward administering medicines to their children without medical advice. The results showed that our respondents evaluated the practices of self-medication negatively, especially when it came to treating their children without medical advice. However, their attitudes towards self-medication varied depending on their beliefs about administering certain medications. Additionally, the results showed that the perceived level of satisfaction with the family physician could be a significant factor in controlling and avoiding the treatment of children without professional advice.

Objective: To observe the effect of the combination of fluid-increasing decoction, low molecular heparin sodium and aspirin in the treatment of oligohydramnios in pregnancy. Methods: In this study, 114 pregnant women with oligohydramnios during pregnancy admitted to our hospital between May 2019 and March 2022 were selected as objects, and the pregnant women were equally divided into the observation group and the experimental group by random number table method, with 57 cases in each group. The observation group received conventional fluid infusion, low molecular heparin sodium and aspirin, while the experimental group was treated with fluid-increasing decoction on the basis of the observation group. The treatment effect, S/D level, amniotic fluid index, maximum vertical pocket (MVP), coagulation indexes (plasma prothrombin time (PT), plasma activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB)), pregnancy outcome and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results: The total effective rate of treatment was obviously better in the experimental group than that in the observation group (P＜0.05); the S/D level after treatment in the experimental group was remarkably lower than that in the observation group (P＜0.05). The amniotic fluid index and MVP were remarkably higher in the experimental group than in the observation group after treatment (P < 0.05). No significant differences in PT, APTT and FIB were found between the two groups before and after treatment (P > 0.05). The rate of oligohydramnios at delivery, cesarean section rate, neonatal weight status and preterm delivery rate were dramatically better in the experimental group than in the observation group (P < 0.05). Post-partum haemorrhage rate, neonatal asphyxia rate, amniotic fluid contamination rate and incidence of adverse events were not significantly different between the two groups of pregnant women (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The combination of fluid-increasing decoction, low molecular heparin sodium and aspirin is clinically effective and safe in the treatment of pregnant women with oligohydramnios during pregnancy. The combination is effective in reducing the S/D ratio of fetal umbilical blood flow, enhancing the amniotic fluid index and MVP in pregnant women with oligohydramnios during pregnancy, whilst not adversely influencing the coagulation function of the mother, thus contributing to a reduction in the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Self-supervised learning is a method that learns general representation from unlabeled data. Masked image modeling (MIM), one of the generative self-supervised learning methods, has drawn attention showing state-of-the-art performance on various downstream tasks, though showing poor linear separability resulting from the token-level approach. In this paper, we propose a contrastive learning-based multi-view masked autoencoder for MIM, exploiting an image-level approach by learning common features from two different augmented views. We strengthen MIM by learning long-range global patterns from contrastive loss. Our framework adopts simple encoder-decoder architecture, learning rich and general representation by following a simple process: 1) two different views are generated from an input image with random masking and by contrastive loss, we can learn semantic distance of the representations generated by an encoder. By applying a high mask ratio, 80%, it works as strong augmentation and alleviates the representation collapse problem. 2) With reconstruction loss, decoder learns to reconstruct an original image from the masked image. We assess our framework by several experiments on benchmark datasets of image classification, object detection, and semantic segmentation. We achieve 84.3% fine-tuning accuracy on ImageNet-1K classification and 76.7% in linear probing, exceeding previous studies and show promising results on other downstream tasks. Experimental results demonstrate that our work can learn rich and general image representation by applying contrastive loss to masked image modeling.

This article is a scoping review analyzing advances in experimental studies on bacterial self-healing of concrete. From Scopus, ScienceDirect, Web of Science and Google Scholar search engine databases, 54 studies were selected for analysis, and an increasing trend of publications since 2015 was found, with India as the country with the largest research presence. Different ma-terials are used as replacement or admixture in concrete, such as fibers, particles and recycled material from construction waste. It was found that the most commonly used bacteria are Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus sphaericus, which can improve the strength of concrete by generating calcite and sealing cracks. In addition, it was found that the presence of materials such as fibers, ashes and construction recyclates can protect bacteria in an alkaline environment. The designs usually in-clude more than two experimental groups and a control. In summary, this study highlights the importance of bacterial self-healing in concrete and provides information on advances in this field of research.

This study proposes self-calibration of capacitor mismatch errors for high-resolution pipeline analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). The proposed calibration circuit recursively amplifies the capacitor mismatch error by re-utilizing a multiplying digital-to-analog converter in a pipeline stage without increasing the circuit complexity, and the amplified error voltage is converted into digital code by utilizing the remaining pipeline stages. Error correction is performed by subtracting the digital code from the ADC output during normal operation. A prototype of a 12-bit pipeline ADC is fabricated in a 0.18 µm standard CMOS process. The ADC comprises eight 1.5-bit stages, followed by a 4-bit flash ADC as the final stage; the capacitor mismatch errors in the first two pipeline stages are corrected by utilizing the proposed self-calibration technique. At a sampling rate of 30 MS/s, the measured differential and integral nonlinearities improve from +0.82/-0.75 and +1.12/-1.79 to +0.45/-0.41 and +0.47/-0.91 after calibration, respectively. Further, the measured dynamic performances improve significantly with calibration. For an input frequency of 2.09 MHz, the ADC achieves a spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) and signal-to-noise and distortion ratios (SNDR) of 69.3dB and 63.9dB before calibration, respectively. After calibration, the SFDR and SNDR increase to 84.1dB and 68.9dB, respectively, and the effective number of bits is approximately 11.1bit. The power consumption of the ADC is 35mW under 1.8V supply, and the resulting figure of merit is 514fJ/conversion step.

This article describes the impact of restricting the air intake in industrial 250 m3 WEMCO flotation cells at Los Pelambres concentrator. The influence of this air restriction on the hydrodynamic and metallurgical performance of this type of machine was evaluated. The experiments were conducted in single flotation cells and in entire rougher banks. In all cases, the gas holdup was measured to estimate the effectiveness of the obstruction system to decrease the air concentration. In single cells, axial profiles for solid percentage and particle size were evaluated. In addition, a mass balance was conducted to assess the copper recovery and concentrate features. In individual cells, the air restriction led to a decrease in the gas holdup. However, this slight change was enough to obtain a more stable froth zone and a better solids suspension. The latter was observed as a higher P80 below the pulp-froth interface, a less diluted pulp at this level, a slightly higher Cu recovery, and a coarser concentrate product. A mineralogical analysis of the concentrate sample also showed the presence of coarser liberated Cu-sulfide particles. The results in single cells suggested an improvement in the recovery of coarse particles by a more intense solids suspension. The air intake was also restricted in 3 rougher banks to assess the impact of the air obstruction on the overall performance of the respective circuit. Eleven out of fourteen cells were operated with air restriction, which led to a significant recovery improvement of 0.9%-1.6% (absolute) with a 95% confidence level. Size-by-size mass balances were also conducted for the rougher circuits, which proved that the recovery improvements were justified by the simultaneous increase in the recovery of coarse and fine particles. Thus, a restriction of the air intake showed that the decrease in the gas holdup (and in the bubble surface area flux) was compensated by a better solids suspension and a higher turbulence in the impeller. The former promotes the recovery of coarse particles, whereas the latter improves the interaction between bubbles and fine particles. Further developments are being made to implement a regulatory control strategy to control the air intake in self-aspirated flotation cells, and to use this approach for optimizing industrial flotation banks.

Background and Objective: Intimate relationships hold significant importance during emerging adulthood. This study aimed to investigate the critical determinants of perceived well-being in friendship relationships during emerging adulthood.Method: Using a quantitative approach, a sample of 726 undergraduate students from the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad were selected through convenience sampling. They completed the Interpersonal Behaviors Questionnaire (IBQ), the Compassionate and self-image goals scale (CSIGS), the Basic Need Satisfaction in Relationships Scale (BNS-RS), the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ-10), Friendship Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-F), Interpersonal Behaviors Questionnaire-Self (IBQ-self), State Level Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS-SL), the Perceived Relationship Quality Component (PRQC), and the Basic Empathy Scale (BES). Data analysis was conducted using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).Results: The results indicated that the critical determinants in predicting perceived well-being in friendship relationships were, in order, goals in friendship relationships, friendship self-regulation, perceived support of basic psychological needs by friends, satisfied basic psychological needs, frustrated psychological needs, and supporting the basic psychological needs of friends.Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that self-determination theory (SDT) provides a coherent framework for explaining perceived well-being in friendships.

Background: Influenza vaccine is a tool for preventing infection and reducing exacerbations in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Purpose of this study is to investigate dynamics of CRP and serum cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17) in patients with asthma and COPD, as well as to perform a correlation analysis with the clinical parameters of the disease manifestation. Methods: The study included 34 patients with asthma, 20 patients with COPD vaccinated against influenza during a period of remission from 2 to 4 weeks, both groups being under a basic maintenance therapy, and 26 healthy individuals vaccinated with the trivalent polymer-subunit vaccine Grippol® Plus, containing 5 µg of influenza virus strains and 500 µg of azoximer bromide. Results: Observing patients with asthma and COPD, during a year after the vaccination, has revealed a significant reduction in exacerbations frequency (p < 0.05) and duration (p < 0.05) of the bronchial obstructive syndrome (BF). Before the vaccination the IL-6 level in patients with asthma had a direct moderate correlation with duration of exacerbations of the underlying disease (p < 0.05), along with the number of systemic corticosteroids courses during exacerbations (p < 0.05). In 12 months after the vaccination, while assessing cytokine profile of all study groups, a significant reduction in the level of IL-6 was observed, compared to the baseline values (p< 0.05). Conclusion: Conducted analysis of immunological, clinical, and functional parameters of patients with asthma and COPD has proven for influenza vaccine to be effective in BF patients.

(1) Background: We previously reported the development of a recombinant protein SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, consisting of the Receptor-Binding Domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, adjuvanted with aluminum hydroxide (alum) and CpG oligonucleotides. In mice and non-human primates, our wild-type (WT) RBD vaccine induced high neutralizing antibody titers against the WT isolate of the virus, and, with partners in India and Indonesia it was later developed into two closely resembling human vaccines, Corbevax and Indovac. Here, we describe the development and characterization of a next-generation vaccine adapted to the recently emerging XBB variants of SARS-CoV-2. (2) Methods: We conducted preclinical studies in mice using a novel yeast-produced SARS-CoV-2 XBB.1.5 RBD subunit vaccine candidate formulated with alum and CpG. We examined the neutralization profile of sera obtained from mice vaccinated twice intramuscularly at a 21-day interval with the XBB.1.5-based RBD vaccine, against WT, Beta, Delta, BA.4, BQ.1.1, BA.2.75.2, XBB.1.16, XBB.1.5 and EG.5.1 SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses. (3) Results: The XBB.1.5 RBD/CpG/alum vaccine elicited a robust antibody response in mice. Furthermore, serum from vaccinated mice demonstrated potent neutralization against the XBB.1.5 pseudovirus as well as several other Omicron pseudoviruses. However, regardless of high antibody cross-reactivity by ELISA, the anti-XBB.1.5 RBD antigen serum showed low neutralizing titers against the WT and Delta virus variants. (4) Conclusions: Whereas we observed modest cross-neutralization against Omicron subvariants by sera from mice vaccinated with the WT RBD/CpG/Alum vaccine or with the BA.4/5-based vaccine, sera raised against the XBB.1.5 RBD showed robust cross-neutralization. These findings underscore the imminent opportunity for an updated vaccine formulation utilizing the XBB.1.5 RBD antigen.

Living organisms are active open systems far from thermodynamic equilibrium. The ability to behave actively corresponds to dynamical metastability: minor but supercritical internal or external effects may trigger major substantial actions such as gross mechanical motion, dissipating internally accumulated energy reserves. Gaining selective advantage from beneficial use of activity requires a consistent combination of sensual perception, memorised experience, statistical or causal prediction models, and resulting favourable decisions on actions. This information processing chain originated from mere physical interaction processes prior to life, here denoted as structural information exchange. From there, the self-organised transition to symbolic information processing marks the beginning of life, evolving by novel purposivity of trial-and-error feedback and accumulation of symbolic information. The emergence of symbols and prediction models can be described as a ritualisation transition, a symmetry-breaking kinetic phase transition of the 2^nd kind previously known from behavioural biology. The related new symmetry is the neutrally stable arbitrariness, conventionality or code invariance of symbols with respect to their meaning. The meaning of such symbols is given by the structural effect they ultimately unleash, directly or indirectly, by deciding on which actions to take. The early genetic code represents the first symbols. The genetically inherited symbolic information is the first prediction model for activities sufficient for survival under the condition of environmental continuity, sometimes understood as a “final causality” property of the model.

Machinery degradation assessment can offer meaningful prognosis and health management in-formation. Although numerous machine prediction models based on artificial intelligence have emerged in recent years, they still face a series of challenges: (1) Many models continue to rely on manual feature extraction. (2) Deep learning models still struggle with long sequence prediction tasks. (3) Health indicators are inefficient for remaining useful life (RUL) prediction with cross-operational environments when dealing with high-dimensional datasets as inputs. This research proposes a health indicator construction methodology based on a transformer self-attention transfer network (TSTN). This methodology can directly deal with the high-dimensional raw dataset and keep all the information without missing when the signals are taken as the input of the diagnosis and prognosis model. First, we design an encoder with a long-term and short-term self-attention mechanism to capture crucial time-varying information from a high-dimensional dataset. Second, we propose an estimator that can map the embedding from the encoder output to the estimated degradation trends. Then, we present a domain dis-criminator to extract invariant features from different machine operating conditions. The case studies with the FEMTO-ST bearing dataset and the Monte Carlo method for RUL prediction during the degradation process are conducted. The experiment results fully exhibited the signif-icant advantages of the proposed method compared to other state-of-the-art techniques.

Oxytocin (OXT), a pro-social peptide, is increasingly recognized as a potential protective substance against drug addiction. In the context of ethanol, previous researches have shown OXT properties to reduce self-administration, alleviate motor impairment in rodents, and reduce craving in humans. However, its role in behavioral sensitization, a neuroadaptive response resulting from repeated drug exposure linked to increased drug incentive, remains unexplored. OXT is also associated with modulating the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, with corticosterone well-known as a significant factor in behavioral sensitization development. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Carbetocin (CBT), an analogue of OXT, on the expression of behavioral sensitization to ethanol and concurrent alterations in plasma corticosterone levels in male and female Swiss mice. We also aimed to confirm previous studies on OXT impact on ethanol consumption in male mice, but with a focus on CBT, using the two-bottle choice model and drinking in the dark (DID) methodology. For the sensitization study, mice received either ethanol (1.8 g/kg, ip) or saline treatments daily for 15 consecutive days, followed by treatment with carbetocin (0.64 mg/kg, ip) or a vehicle for 6 days. Subsequently, on day 22, all animals underwent an ethanol challenge to assess the expression of behavioral sensitization. Plasma corticosterone levels were measured on days 21 and 22. CBT effectively prevented the expression of ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization in both male and female subjects, with no alterations detected in corticosterone levels. In the ethanol consumption study, following an initial phase of ethanol acquisition, mice underwent a 6-day treatment with CBT i.p or saline before being reexposed to ethanol. We also found a reduction in ethanol consumption due to CBT treatment. In conclusion, carbetocin emerges as a promising and effective intervention in mitigating ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization and reducing ethanol intake, highlighting its potential significance in alcohol addiction treatment.

This study uses explainable artificial intelligence to analyze major predictors of poor self-rated health, dementia and their comorbidity, which include various aspects of social support. Data came from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2016-2018), with 5527 participants aged 56 or more. The dependent variables were: (1) poor self-rated health (SRH) with 5 categories (very good, good, middle, poor, very poor); (2) dementia (no, yes); and (3) their comorbidity with 4 categories (SRH very good, good or middle, dementia no; SRH very good, good or middle, dementia yes; SRH poor or very poor, dementia no; SRH poor or very poor, dementia yes). The 49 demographic, socioeconomic and health-related predictors were included. The accuracy and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were compared for logistic regression and the random forest. Logistic regression and the random forest registered similar AUCs with the range of 0.80-0.87. Based on random forest variable importance, 18 out of top-20 predictors were identical for SRH, dementia and their comorbidity: previous SRH, life satisfaction - health, age, body mass index, income, chronic diseases, life satisfaction - economic, life satisfaction - overall, grandchildren alive, friendship meeting, brothers/sisters alive, class identity, children alive, social activity - friendship, education, children in weekly contact, religion and drinker. However, some variations were found among the three dependent variables, i.e., previous SRH for comorbidity (1st) and SRH (1st) compared to dementia (11th), grandchildren alive for SRH (6th) and dementia (4th) compared to comorbidity (9th), chronic diseases for comorbidity (6th) compared to SRH (10th) and dementia (10th). In terms of Shapley Additive Explanation (SHAP) values, the probability of dementia is expected to decrease by 5.57% in case a predictor grandchildren alive is included to the model. This study highlights the importance of social support for the prediction of poor self-rated health, dementia and their comorbidity. Specifically, the promotion of family support and friendship activity for elders would be vital for the prevention and management of their self-rated health and dementia.

Three novel iron(II) coordination polymers, [Fe(H2O)2(ttmb)2](ClO4)2·4H2O (1), [Fe(H2O)2(ttmb)2](BF4)2·4H2O (2), [Fe(ttmb)2(NCS)2] (3), were synthesized with the linker 1,3,5-tris(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)methyl)benzene (ttmb). The single-crystal structures show that all three compounds form a double chain structure with the adjacent iron atoms being bridged by two ttmb linkers. The iron(II) ions are octahedrally surrounded by four N4 donor atom from the 1,2,4-triazol-1-yl groups of four different ttmb linkers which form an equatorial plane and two trans-coordinated aqua ligands in 1 and 2 or isothiocyanato ligands in 3 in the axial positions. In view of the neutral bridging ttmb linker, there is a counter-anion in all structures; uncoordinated ClO4– and BF4–in 1 and 2 or coordinated NCS–in 3. Compounds 1 and 2 are isostructural. Interestingly, the ttmb linker only utilizes two of its three potentially coordinating triazole groups. All iron(II) coordination networks are colorless or have a light-yellow color, being indicative of the high-spin state.

Discovery and development of effective strategies to treat emerging and often drug resistant strains of viral and microbial pathogens presents one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Despite nearly a century of progress in developments in antimicrobial and antiviral therapies, infectious diseases still account for a substantial proportion of deaths worldwide, including over 100 million globally in the recent pandemic to date. In recent decades, the plague of antimicrobial resistance also represents an additional and alarming signal for both human and animal healthcare and signals a renewed sense of urgency in addressing this issue. This has made the search for novel classes of antibiotics, antivirals and therapeutics found to be capable of bypassing the microbial and viral resistance mechanisms necessary to in order to replenish our current arsenal of antimicrobial and antiviral drugs and update our therapeutic regimens. In addition, the tremendous impact exerted by viral infections and related pathologies on our lives during the recent decade has forced scientists to acknowledge the opportunities and challenges associated with tackling infectious diseases by developing effective antiviral agents endowed with novel mechanisms of action. The discovery of new antimicrobial/antiviral agents, as well as the repurposing of existing drugs and therapeutic options will be crucial to fight the ever-increasing resistance of “superbugs”, pathogenic fungi, viruses, and parasites. Proponents of modern biophoton therapy proposed in this paper can trace its origins to the Russian scientist Alexander Gurwitsch, who a century ago observed ultra-weak emissions of light emerging from an onion root and soon found additional living tissues to be emanating similar energetic phenomena, thus energizing research which continues to the present day and projected toward the development of useful applications of the new-found biological photonic phenomena. The purpose of the present paper is to introduce the past experiences, potential applications and highly successful outcomes of biophotonic therapy as an option to treat infectious diseases including HIV, Hepatitis C, MRSA, and others, with emphasis on efficacy of using biophotonic therapies to treat and ameliorate the drug resistant variants of the above infectious agents, including potential applications for the current COVID-19 pandemic and in preparation for the emergence of the next epidemic or pandemic.

Self-selecting the intensity of aerobic training is a perspective that allows practitioners to develop autonomy (choice of pace), improve physical fitness and achieve weight loss. To compare the effect of four aerobic training protocols on cardiometabolic and psycho-affective responses in physically inactive adult men and women. The sample consisted of 11 individuals aged 56 ± 10 years and BMI 29.2 ± 2.4 kg/m2 performed four different treadmill aerobic training protocols, including: 1-individual with self-selected intensity (ISS), 2-individual with prescribed intensity (IPI) (64-76% of HR max), 3-small group with self-select. selected intensity (SGS) and 4-small group prescribed intensity (SGP) (64-76% of HR max). Heart rate (HR), lactate (LACT), perceived exertion (RPE), affective response (FS), activation scale (FAS), enjoyment (PACES) and intention to repeat the session (INT) were analyzed. Statistical analysis used ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test (p&lt;0.05). HR, LACT and RPE analyzes did not show significant differences between protocols. The FS showed a smaller decline in the SI protocol (p&lt;0.05), and the intention to repeat the training session was greater in the SI protocol (p&lt;0.05). Conclusion: The data allow us to conclude that the SI training protocol produced superior results in affective response, pleasure and intention to repeat the session.

In this paper, we critically examine the burgeoning role of advanced computational methodologies in deciphering the complex tapestry of farm animal behaviors and emotions. Leveraging digital imaging and artificial intelligence, we unearth nuanced behavioral patterns and micro-expressions, offering predictive insights into animal emotional states. Sound vocalization analysis, often overlooked, emerges as a pivotal tool, decoding intricate communicative nuances and emotional undertones. Cognitive tests, including mirror and bias assessments, challenge long-standing perceptions, revealing surprising depths of animal self-awareness and cognitive sophistication. However, the paper also underscores the imperative of integrating these tools with a profound understanding of animal psyche, ensuring technology serves as an enhancer, not a replacement, of traditional observational methods. This research not only highlights the transformative potential of cognitive computing in animal welfare but also calls for a judicious application, ensuring technology augments, not undermines, the intrinsic value of human-animal interactions and understanding.

DFT-D3 calculations based on structural X-ray diffraction data obtained for 3-oxo-camphorsulfonyl imine (1), camphorsulfonyl chloride (2) and seven camphor sulfonimines (O2SNC10H13NR, L1-L7) from which L2 (R=4-OHC6H4), L4 (R=4-ClC6H4) and L6 (R=3,5-(CH3)2C6H3) are new, provide information into the intra and inter molecular interactions with concomitant elucidation of the supramolecular arrangement of the compounds. The DFT D3 calculations performed in small clusters of 2 or 3 molecular units reproduce the interactions observed by X-ray analyses showing that as a general trend the structural arrangement of the molecules is driven by electronic rather than by packing parameters. In all compounds the self-assembly of 3D structures involves the sulfonyl imine group ( NSO2) either to establish hydrogen bonds, through the oxygen atoms or non-classic oxygen-aliphatic hydrogen or non-bonding interactions (NBI) which also involve the sulfonyl oxygens. Interestingly, the camphor sulfonimine compounds (L2, L3) having protic groups (R=C6H4X: X=OH, L2 or X=NH2, L3) at the aromatic imine substituents (=NR) present an extra π-π stacking which is absent in the other compounds aromatic derivatives. The X-ray analysis shows that all the reported camphor sulfonimine compounds display the E configuration with respect to the imine substituent (R). The study of the redox behavior of the compounds by cyclic voltammetry allows an insight into the solution properties of the compounds and the rationalization of the molecular interactions that stand in the solid and solution states. Camphor sulfonimine compounds (L) display appropriate binding atoms to coordinate transition metals. The herein results show that monodentate coordination through the nitrogen atom of the sulfonimine 5-membered ring to the {Ag(NO3)} metal center is favored. When this imine nitrogen atom is not itself involved in the Organic Framework DFT-D3 calculations shows that the complexation does not affect the non-covalent interactions that are reproduced in the MOF structure.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic and relapsing biopsychosocial condition that leads to a wide range of medical, psychological, social, economic, and personal issues. The study investigated the predictors of quality of life (QoL) among male patients seeking treatment for AUD based on attention, cognitive instability, motor impulsiveness, perseverance, and self-control dimensions of trait impulsivity. The study also investigated the potential mediating effect of anxiety and alcohol use severity in this relationship. After an initial assessment, participants underwent comprehensive evaluations, including sociodemographic data, clinical history, and QoL domains. Evaluations also covered AUD severity, impulsivity dimensions, cognitive functions, craving intensity, depression, anxiety and self-efficacy. Multiple linear regressions were employed to identify associations between independent variables and QoL. Attention dimension of impulsivity and anxiety symptoms significantly predicted physical health QoL. Self-control dimension and severity of alcohol use disorder predicted psychological QoL. Indirect effect of attention dimension on physical health was significant [effect =-1.082,95% CI (-2.008, -0.3598)].The significance of impulsivity in influencing QoL for individuals with AUD has profound clinical implications. These findings underscore the importance of addressing anxiety and impulsivity in managing AUD, given their considerable impact, particularly on QoL, ultimately shaping treatment outcomes.

Block copolymers are a class of materials particularly interesting for their ability to self-assemble into ordered structures. In this context, the coupling between environment and dynamics is particularly relevant, given that movements at the molecular level influence various properties of macromolecules. Mixing the polymer with a second macromolecule appears to be an easy way to study these relationships. In this work, we studied a system based on two diblock copolymers of methyl methacrylate as first block and 3-methyl-4-[6-(methylacryloyloxy)-hexyloxy]-4’-pentyloxy azobenzene as second block and their blends with PMMA. The relaxational properties of these systems were investigated by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy sensitive to nanometric length-scales. The results of the study on the blends were related to the dynamic behavior of the copolymer. The study evidenced the presence of fast and slow molecular sites for the molecular reorientation at nanoscale, modulated by the ability of block copolymer to form supramolecular structures. For blends, the heterogeneities at nanoscale are still detected. However it was found that the presence of the PMMA as the major component of the blends modified their dynamic behaviour.

The technical capabilities of modern Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 are rather vast and growing exponentially daily. The present-day Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) combines manifold underlying technologies that require real-time interconnections and communications among heterogeneous devices. Smart cities are established with sophisticated designs and control for seamless Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication to optimize resources, costs, performances, and energy distribution. All the sensory devices within a building interact to maintain a sustainable climate for residents and intuitively optimize the energy distribution to optimize energy production. However, it encompasses quite a few challenges for devices that lack compatible and interoperable designs. Conventional solutions are restricted to limited domains or rely on engineers to design and deploy translators for each pair of ontologies. This is a costly process in terms of engineering efforts and computational resources. The issue persists that a new device with a different ontology must be integrated into an existing IoT network. We propose a self-learning model that can determine the taxonomy of devices given their ontology meta-data and structural information. The model finds matches between two distinct ontologies using the Natural Language Processing (NLP) approach for learning linguistic contexts. Then, by visualizing the ontology network as a knowledge graph, it is possible to learn the structure of the meta-data and understand the device's message formulation. Finally, it can align entities of both ontology graphs similar in context and structure. Furthermore, the model performs dynamic M2M translation without requiring extra engineering or hardware efforts.

The research community has shown significant interest in the aqueous synthesis of nanomaterials due to its ability to eliminate the need for complex organic solvents. This synthesis approach aligns with the principles of green chemistry, attracting considerable attention. Aqueous solution technology in fabricating nanostructures has gained recognition for its potential to create ultrasensitive, low-energy, and ultrafast optoelectronic devices. This report focuses on synthesizing lead iodide (PbI2) nanoplates using a water-based solution technique and fabricating a planar photodetector. The photodetectors with a planar type of device structure (ITO/PbI2 NPs/Au) demonstrated a remarkable photosensitivity of 3.9×103 and a photoresponsivity of 0.51 mA/W at a wavelength of 405 nm. Notably, the asymmetrical output properties of ITO/PbI2 NPs/Au detector deliver additional evidence of the effective creation of a Schottky contact. Thus, the photodetector exhibited a photoresponse even at 0 V bias, leading to the realization of self-powered photodetectors. Additionally, the device exhibited a rapid photoresponse of 0.21/0.38 s (−5 V) in the visible range. This study has expanded the horizons for the aqueous-phase synthesis of nanoplate nanostructures, enabling the large-area fabrication of high-performance photodetectors.

The upsurge in and havoc being wrecked by antibiotic resistant bacteria makes urgent the need for efficacious alternatives to antibiotics. This study assessed the antibacterial efficacy of two isobutyl-cyanoacrylate nanoparticles (iBCA-NPs), D6O and NP30, against major bacterial pathogens of fish. In vivo tests on rainbow trout were preceded by tests of in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). NP30 exhibited higher efficacy, but both iBCA-NPs demonstrated dose-dependent and species-specific in vitro antibacterial properties against the bacterial isolates. Generally, Gram-negative bacteria were more resistant to the iBCA-NPs. Streptococcus iniae, Tenacibaculum maritimum, and Photobacterium damselae were particularly sensitive to both iBCA-NPs. Orally administered to rainbow trout, the iBCA-NPs produced relative gain rate and survival rates comparable to the control (P > 0.05). Condition factor, hepatosomatic and viscerosomatic indices of fish were indifferentiable (P > 0.05) between the iBCA-NP groups and the control. The iBCA-NPs caused no alteration in stress, oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase, SOD), plasma complement titre, and lysozyme activity. The results of this study suggest that D60 and NP30 may contribute to reducing the amount of antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents being used in aquaculture.

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) almost ceased to spread across the globe, but post Covid psychological experiences are rarely documented. It is essential to understand the individual psychological needs and challenges regarding working during the covid-19 pandemic and resilience and psychological health to continuing work in the aftermath of this crisis. Objective To explore the psychological transformation of staff nurses after COVID-19 Methods A phenomenological and purposive sampling approach was employed. Registered nurses working at the largest health organization in Qatar includes 14 health facilities were invited to participate in this study. 17 nurses who were working in the facilities and were deployed during the first, second and third wave of Covid 19 participated in the interview. Data were collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews using quarantine measures. The interview data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Results The psychological transformation of participants was summarized into three themes fear zone, Learning zone and growth zone. These themes were classified into 10 sub-themes Fear and anxiety, Influence of media and news, Frequent change in policies and guidelines were the fear zone factors .Secondly Coping mechanism, teamwork, establishing compassionate care, social acceptance, personal and professional benefits helps them learn psychologically. Thirdly growth factors such as confident & resilient, Sense of purpose and Change life perception and meaning Conclusion Working during COVID-19 imposed many challenges on nurses such as workload and stress. However, the different waves of the pandemic may increase the resilience, confidence and life meaning in nurses. Their previous experiences in handling difficult situations during the pandemic may make the nurses become more confident in dealing with stressful situations and working under pressure.

Previous studies on the mechanisms underlying willed actions reported that the premotor cortex may be involved in the construction of motor awareness. However, its exact role is still under investigation. Here we investigated the role of the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) in motor awareness by modulating its activity applying inhibitory rTMS to PMd, before a specific motor awareness task (under three conditions: without stimulation, after rTMS and after sham stimulation). During the task, subjects had to trace straight lines to a given target, receiving a visual feedback of the line trajectories on a computer screen. Crucially, in most trials the trajectories on the screen were deviated and to produce straight lines, subjects had to correct their movements towards the opposite direction. After each trial, participants were asked to judge whether the line seen on the computer screen corresponded to the line actually drawn. Results show that participants in the no stimulation condition did not recognize the perturbation until 14 degrees of deviation. Importantly, active, but not sham, rTMS significantly modulated motor awareness, decreasing the amplitude of the angle at which participants became aware of the trajectory correction. These results suggest that PMd plays a crucial role in action self- monitoring.

Background: BNT162b2 represents the authorized mRNA vaccine against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV–2) causing Covid–19. Methods: We conducted a prospective, single–center observational study with 273 employees of a medical facility to determine the efficacy and safety of the BNT162b2 third dose in relation to sex and BMI, and explore the possible determinants of neutralizing IgG and 25–hydroxy (25–OH) vitamin D levels. Results: At the median follow–up of 4.7 months, 38 of the participants had Covid–19 following vaccination. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was significantly higher in females vs. males (p < 0.0108) and subjects with a high BMI of ≥ 30 kg/m2 vs. low BMI (p < 0.0117). The values of IgG were significantly enhanced in males vs. females (p < 0.0004), participants with high BMI vs. low BMI (p < 0.0003), a high number of ≥3 AEs vs. low number of AEs (p < 0.0003), and following infection with Covid–19 vs. without Covid–19 (p < 0.0005). Multivariate analysis (MVA) showed sex, BMI, number of AEs, and Covid-19 to be of predictive significance. On the contrary, 25–OH vitamin D concentrations in individuals with high vs. low BMI were significantly reduced (p < 0.0144) but this was not evident in MVA. Conclusions: This study confirmed the high efficacy of BNT162b2 in real–world scenario and revealed that its safety was affected by sex and BMI. Higher IgG levels suggesting better protection against infection were present in males, participants with high BMI, a high frequency of AEs, and those who overcame Covid-19 following vaccination.

Anthocyanins (ACNs) have attracted considerable attention for their potential to modulate the immune system. Research has revealed their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which play a crucial role in immune regulation by influencing key immune cells such as lymphocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. Moreover, ACNs contribute to maintaining a balance between proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, thus promoting immune health. Beyond their direct effects on immune cells, ACNs significantly impact gut health and the microbiota, essential factors in immune regulation. Emerging evidence suggests that they positively influence the composition of the gut microbiome that enhance the immunomodulatory effects of ACNs. Furthermore, these compounds synergize with other bioactive substances, such as vitamins and minerals, further enhancing their potential as immune-supporting dietary supplements. However, detailed clinical studies must fully validate these findings and determine safe dosages for different populations. Incorporating these natural compounds into functional foods or supplements can revolutionize the management of immune-related conditions. Personalized nutrition and healthcare strategies can be developed to enhance overall well-being and immune resilience by fully understanding the mechanisms underlying their actions. Recent advancements in delivery methods have focused on improving the bioavailability and effectiveness of ACNs, providing promising avenues for future applications.

The phenomenon of ordered self-assembly on solid substrates is a topic of interest in both fundamental surface science research and its applications in nanotechnology. The regulation and control of two-dimensional (2D) self-assembled supra-molecular structures on surfaces have been realized through applying external stimuli. By utilizing scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), researchers can investigate detailed phase transition process about self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), providing insight into the interplay between intermolecular weak interactions and substrate-molecule interactions, which govern the formation of molecular self-assembly. This review will discuss the structural transition of self-assembly probed by STM in response to external stimuli and provide state-of-art methods such as tip induced confinement for the alignment of SAM domains and selective chirality. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities in the field of self-assembly and STM.

"Finding fresh water in the ocean of data." is a challenge that all deep learning domains struggle with, especially in the area of hyperspectral image analysis. As hyperspectral remote sensing technology advances by leaps and bounds, there are increasing amounts of hyperspectral images(HSIs) can be available. Whereas in fact, these unlabeled HSIs are powerless to be used as material to driven a supervised learning task due to the extremely expensive labeling costs and some unknown regions. Although learning-based methods have achieved remarkable performance due to their superior ability to represent features, at the cost, these methods are complex, inflexible and tough to carry out transfer learning. In this paper, we propose the "Instructional Mask AutoEncoder"(IMAE), which is a simple and powerful self-supervised learner for HSI classification that uses a transformer-based mask autoencoder to extract the general features of HSIs through a self-reconstructing agent task. Moreover, we utilize the metric learning to perform an instructor which can direct the model focus on the human interested region of the input so that we can alleviate the defects of transformer-based model such as local attention distraction, lack of inductive bias and tremendous training data requirement. In downstream forward propagation, instead of global average pooling, we employ a learnable aggregation to put the tokens into fullplay. The obtained results illustrate that our method effectively accelerates the convergence rate and promotes the performance in downstream task.

Self-phase modulation (SPM) broadening of laser spectra was studied in a transmission mode in natural and synthetic diamonds at variable laser wavelengths (515 and 1030 nm), pulse energies and widths (0.3 - 12 ps, positively chirped pulses), providing their filamentary propagation. Besides the monotonous SPM broadening of the laser spectra versus pulse energy, more pronounced for the (sub)picosecond pulsewiths and more doped natural diamond, periodical low-frequency modulation was observed in the spectra at the shorter laser pulsewidths, indicating dynamic Bragg filtering of the supercontinuum due to ultrafast plasma and nanoplasmonic effects. Damping of broadening and ultramodulation for the longer picosecond pulsewidths was related to thermalized electron-hole plasma regime established for the laser pulsewidths longer, than 2 ps. Unexpectedly, at higher pulse energies and corresponding longer microfilaments, the number of spectral modulation features increases, indicating dynamic variation of the periods in the longitudinal plasma Bragg gratings along the filaments due to prompt secondary laser-plasmon interactions.

Molnupiravir, a prodrug known for its broad antiviral activity, demonstrated efficacy in animal models of Covid-19, prompting clinical trials where initial results indicated a significant effect against the disease. However, subsequent clinical studies did not confirm these findings, leading to the rejection of molnupiravir for permanent market authorization in many countries. This report critically assessed 19 studies published in 17 reports that investigated the efficacy of molnupiravir in animal models of Covid-19 with the purpose of determining how well the design of these models informed human studies. We found that the administered doses of molnupiravir in most studies involving animal Covid-19 models were disproportionately higher than the dose rec-ommended for human use. Specifically, when adjusted for body surface area, half of the doses of molnupiravir used in the animal studies were more than twice as high as the human dose. Addi-tionally, the drug was frequently given prophylactically or shortly after SARS-CoV-2 inoculation in these models, in contrast to clinical trials where such timing is not consistently achieved. Furthermore, the recommended five-day treatment duration for humans was exceeded in several animal studies. Collectively, we suggest that these design elements in the reported animal studies contributed to a bias favoring molnupiravir, and thus inflated expectations for its efficacy against Covid-19. Addressing these elements may offer avenues to enhance the clinical efficacy of mol-nupiravir for treatment of Covid-19 that include dose increment, early treatment, and admin-istration by inhalation along with use of molnupiravir in antiviral combination therapy.

Research on image-inpainting tasks has mainly focused on enhancing performance by augmenting various stages and modules. However, this trend does not consider the increase in the number of model parameters and operational memory, which increases the burden on computational resources. To solve this problem, we propose a Parametric Efficient Image InPainting Network (PEIPNet) for efficient and effective image-inpainting. Unlike other state-of-the-art methods, the proposed model has a one-stage inpainting framework in which depthwise and pointwise convolutions are adopted to reduce the number of parameters and computational costs. To generate semantically appealing results, we selected three unique components: spatially-adaptive denormalization (SPADE), dense dilated convolution module (DDCM), and efficient self-attention (ESA). The SPADE was adopted to conditionally normalize activations according to the mask to distinguish between damaged and undamaged regions. The DDCM was employed at every scale to overcome the gradient-vanishing obstacle and gradually fill-in pixels by capturing global information along the feature maps. The ESA was utilized to obtain clues from unmasked areas by extracting long-range information. In terms of efficiency, our model has the lowest operational memory compared with other state-of-the-art methods. Both qualitative and quantitative experiments demonstrate the generalized inpainting of our method on three public datasets: Paris StreetView, CelebA, and Places2.

In the realm of mathematics education, self-explanation stands as a crucial learning mechanism, allowing learners to articulate their comprehension of intricate mathematical concepts and strategies. As digital learning platforms grow in prominence, there are mounting opportunities to collect and utilize mathematical self-explanations. However, these opportunities are met with challenges in automated evaluation. Automatic scoring of mathematical self-explanations is crucial for preprocessing tasks, including the categorization of learner responses, identification of common misconceptions, and the creation of tailored feedback and model solutions. Nevertheless, this task is hindered by the dearth of ample sample sets. Our research introduces a semi-supervised technique using the Language Learning Model (LLM), specifically its Japanese variant, to enrich datasets for the automated scoring of mathematical self-explanations. We rigorously evaluated the quality of self-explanations across five datasets, ranging from human-evaluated originals to ones devoid of original content. Our results show that combining LLM-based explanations with mathematical material significantly improves the model's accuracy. Interestingly, there's an optimal limit to how much synthetic self-explanation data can bene-fit the system. Exceeding this limit doesn't further improve outcomes. This study thus highlights the need for careful consideration when integrating synthetic data into solutions, especially within the mathematics discipline.

Since the first published genome sequence of Trypanosoma cruzi in 2005, there has been tremendous technological advance in genomics, reverse genetics, and assay development for this elusive pathogen. However, there is still an unmet need for new and better drugs to treat Chagas disease. Here we introduce a T. cruzi assay strain that is useful for drug research as well as basic studies in host-pathogen interaction. Trypanosoma cruzi STIB980 is a strain of discrete typing unit TcI that grows well in culture as axenic epimastigotes or intracellular amastigotes. We have evaluated the optimal parameters for genetic transfection and constructed derivatives of T. cruzi STIB980 that express reporter genes for fluorescence- or bioluminescence-based drug efficacy testing, as well as a Cas9-expressing line for CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing. The genome of T. cruzi STIB980 was sequenced by combining short-read Illumina with long-read Oxford Nanopore technologies. The latter served for the primary assembly, the former to correct mistakes and fill the gaps. This resulted in a high-quality nuclear haplotype assembly of 28 Mb in 400 contigs, containing 10,043 open-reading frames with a median length of 1077 bp. We believe that T. cruzi STIB980 is a useful addition to the antichagasic toolbox, and propose that it can serve as a DTU TcI reference strain for drug efficacy testing.

The objectives of this study are threefold. First, we evaluate the applicability of the information–motivation–behavioral skills (IMB) model for predicting organic food purchase intention (OFPI) in adults with chronic conditions. Second, we examine the indirect effects of organic food knowledge, attitudes toward organic food purchase, and subjective norms on OFPI through self-efficacy. Third, we examine whether these indirect effects are moderated by gender and educational attainment. Data were collected from Indian adults with chronic conditions using a self-administered questionnaire. The results show significant indirect effects of organic food knowledge, attitude toward organic food purchase, and subjective norm on OFPI through self-efficacy. Moreover, the mediating effect of knowledge was moderated by gender and education attainment, with the effect being stronger for females and among individuals with a lower level of education. Organic food marketers, social marketers, and public health agencies promoting organic food consumption to people with chronic conditions should aim to increase their confidence in comprehending organic food. This study contributes to the literature by assessing the applicability of Fisher and Fisher’s (1992) IMB model in understanding behavioral intention toward organic food.

Dementia is a public health priority, in which memory impairments are prevalent and affects an individual’s daily activities. Research has tried to find ways to support memory problems of individuals with dementia. Self reference effect (SRE) has been shown to benefit memory in healthy, non-dementia group. The study aimed to investigate if SRE will improve memory performance of individuals with dementia. We used ecologically valid Ownership Procedure and the Remember/Know Paradigm to examine the Self-Reference Effect (SRE) on memory. It was hypothesised that participants living with dementia will perform differently in the recall of items that were self-referentially encoded compared to items other-referentially encoded and that the memory will be different in control participants than in those that live with dementia. The research found that self-referential processes did not have effect on memory in individuals with dementia. We suggest that impaired self-awareness may have contributed to the lack of this effect. However, we had a small sample size and these findings should be treated with caution.

Online education allows learners to develop knowledge and skills flexibly and conveniently—such observation among students whose characteristics involve student engagement, self-regulation, and self-efficacy. However, studies to characterize Filipino online learners seem lacking. Thus, this study aimed to characterize science education tertiary students in the Philippines concerning their online student engagement (OSE), self-regulated learning (SRL), and online learning self-efficacy (OLSE). The unprecedented events brought by COVID-19 pandemic also urged the implementation of online modalities while there is no available information on students’ online learning profiles. Hence, researchers used a survey research employed through ex post facto approach to determine the effects of the demographic profile on OSE, SRL, and OLSE. The survey was participated by N=373 respondents who answered the questionnaire with informed consent administered via Google Forms. Results revealed that OSE indicators moderately characterized students, while SRL and OLSE indicators are true of them, substantiated by the overall mean M=3.85(SD=0.90), M=3.86(SD=0.92), and M=3.14(SD=0.73), respectively. Also, multivariate tests showed no significant effect among the independent groups (p&gt;0.05), except for gender and OLSE interaction (p&lt;0.05) so, only in OLSE was a significant difference found in gender. In conclusion, Filipino online learners are moderate across aspects of student engagement, self-regulation, and self-efficacy.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study aimed to test the efficacy of a newly-developed symptom self-management program on health outcomes among inpatients post-AMI. A pilot randomised, controlled trial was utilised. A convenience sample of 90 was recruited from a tertiary hospital in Singapore. Adult inpatients with post-AMI were randomly assigned to the three groups: IManage-HSet, IManage-FF or control group. Sample size was computed using power analysis. Data were collected through self-reported questionnaires and physiological instruments. Data analyses included univariate statistics, analysis of variance and repeated measure analysis of variance. Ninety participants were recruited with 30 in each group. Participants in the IManage-HSet and IManage-FF group had significantly greater relaxation (ηp2 = 0.11), lower objective stress (ηp2 =0.14), and greater knowledge (ηp2 = 0.62) than those of the control group. The two intervention groups had lower subjective stress (ηp2 = 0.04), depression (ηp2 = 0.01), and anxiety (ηp2 = 0.03) than the control but such differences did not achieve statistical significance. Furthermore, most participants reported that they were satisfied with the programs and they provided positive comments on the contents, educational materials and relaxation practice. This pilot study supports the potential benefits and feasibility of the IManage-VR and IManage-FF interventions on stress, perceived relaxation, knowledge and patient satisfaction. Contents of the symptom management interventions could be added into current cardiac rehabilitation programs. Future RCTs with multi-centered sites and larger sample size are required to further test the intervention. This study was prospectively registered with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial on the 5th August 2014 with registration number ISRCTN61027816.

cGAS is a cytosolic DNA sensor that activates innate immune responses through production of the second messenger 2’3’-cGAMP, which activates the adaptor STING. cGAS senses dsDNA in a length-dependent but sequence-independent manner, and it cannot discriminate self-DNA from foreign DNA. In normal physiological conditions, cellular DNA is sequestered in the nucleus by nuclear envelope and in mitochondria by mitochondrial membrane. When self-DNA leaks into the cytosol during cellular stress, or during mitosis, the cGAS can be exposed to self-DNA and be activated. Recently, many studies have investigated how cGAS keeps inactive and avoids to be aberrantly activated by self-DNA. Thus, the aim of this narrative review is to summarize the mechanisms by which cGAS avoids to sense self-DNA under normal physiological conditions.

Incarceration negatively affects well-being and can shift an individual’s identity through labeling theory and prisonization. Seven incarcerated girls at a juvenile residential facility were administered self-esteem and life satisfaction questionnaires, and interviews were conducted to assess the impacts of incarceration on happiness and well-being. Afterwards, an eight-week music program was implemented. Results indicated that life satisfaction was significantly lower than self-esteem (p = .037), yet all participants expressed an optimistic outlook on their future in their interviews, sharing a desire to pursue further education. Participant feedback following the music program suggests positive impacts on their emotional state and well-being.

As an emerging model, self-service fitness centers are reshaping the consumer fitness experience globally. Given the crucial role of customer loyalty in the sustainable operation and management of fitness service enterprises, this study constructs a structural model incorporating service quality, service convenience, customer satisfaction, word-of-mouth intentions, and repatronage intentions. The model is designed to elucidate the factors and mechanisms impacting customer loyalty at self-service fitness centers and further investigates how these relationships are affected by service methods, either with staff or without staff. The study employs PLS-SEM to empirically analyze 552 customer questionnaires from four self-service fitness centers in first-tier cities in China. The results reveal positive correlations among the constructs in the structural model, emphasizing the important position of raising service quality standards and reducing the time and effort expended by customers in the management of customer loyalty. Concurrently, service convenience was found to play a significant driving role in customers' perceived service quality. Through the chain-mediating effect of service quality and customer satisfaction, service convenience exerts a considerable positive impact on word-of-mouth intentions and repatronage intentions. Moreover, the study reveals significant differences in these relationships when considering service methods, either with staff or without staff.

The impact of early maternal age on several outcomes (e.g. mental health issues, delinquency, aggression, impulsivity, victimization and interpersonal difficulties) has been studied since the late 1980s. Research has demonstrated links between exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma related outcomes such as substance abuse, interpersonal and self-directed violence, and sexual risk-taking, to name a few. The current study analyzed the incidence of ACE exposure and mental health outcomes (e.g. suicidal behaviors or self-harm, psychiatric hospitalizations, and substance use) as related to early maternal age in youth known to have experienced trafficking or sexual abuse. General demographics and incidence of various experiences and clinical presentations (e.g. ACE exposure, age of mother at birth of youth and age at first birth), and history of self-harm, substance use and psychiatric hospitalization were examined in a sample of 225 youth referred for services subsequent to experiences of sex trafficking or exploitation. Relationships between ACE exposure and maternal age related to mental health outcomes was also examined. Trafficked and exploited youth reported rates of ACE exposure and poor mental health outcomes at far greater rates than the general population. Significant findings were related to early maternal age and engaging in self-harm or suicidal behaviors. Previously anticipated mediational analyses were not conducted due to the sample size and lack of correlations. Findings highlight the significant ACE exposure and high needs of exploited, trafficked and abused youth and related mental health outcomes, emphasizing the need for early and comprehensive preventive and therapeutic interventions.

Medical Self-service Terminals (MST) offer potential for process optimization and enhanced patient convenience in hospitals, including the elderly. However, the behavioral inclination (BI) of elderly Chinese individuals towards MST adoption remains suboptimal. This study aims to elucidate BI determinants for MST among the aging demographic, focusing on User Interface (UI) attributes within the extended Unified Technology Acceptance and Use Theory (UTAUT) Model. The empirical inquiry examines seven factors, comprising three key UI attributes and four fundamental UTAUT factors. Results reveal significant positive associations of Performance Expectancy (β=0.40, p&lt;0.001), Effort Expectancy (β=0.50, p&lt;0.001), and Social Influence (β=0.25, p&lt;0.05) with BI. Notably, User Interface Design positively correlates with Performance Expectancy (β=0.89, p&lt;0.001) and Effort Expectancy (β=0.81, p&lt;0.001). These findings emphasize the interplay between objective UI attributes and subjective UTAUT determinants. This research enhances understanding of UI's impact on MST BI and acceptance, particularly within the Chinese elderly population, urging MST researchers to prioritize elderly attitudes for effective technological integration in healthcare.

Recent simulation studies have revealed a wealth of distinct crystal polymorphs encountered in the self-organization of polymer systems driven by entropy or free energy. The present analysis, based on the concept of self-avoiding random walks on crystal lattices, is useful to calculate upper bounds for the entropy difference of the crystals that are formed during polymer crystallization and thus provide predictions on polymorph thermodynamic stability. Here, we compare two pairs of crystals sharing the same coordination number, ncoord: hexagonal close packed (HCP) and face centered cubic (FCC), both having ncoord = 12 and the same packing density, and the less dense hexagonal (HEX) and body centered cubic (BCC) lattices, with ncoord = 8. In both cases, once a critical step length is reached, one of the crystals shows a higher number of SAWs compatible with the crystal. We explain the observed trends in terms of the bending and torsion angles corresponding to the different chain geometry as imposed by the geometric constraints of the crystal lattice.

Objective: To examine the effect of bilateral total lobectomy and unilateral total lobectomy on improving thyroid function in patients with thyroid micropapillary carcinoma treated with euthyrox. Methods: The study was conducted on 68 patients with thyroid micro papillary carcinoma treated with euthyroxwho had been surgically treated with euthyrox in our hospital between January 2018 and December 2019. On the basis of random number grouping, they were divided into control groups (n = 34, bilateral total lobectomy) and observation groups (n = 34, unilateral total lobectomy plus isthmectomy). Thyroid function, free triiodothyronine (FT3), thyroid hormone (TSH), and voice function (VHI score) of the two groups were compared.Results: In comparison to the control group, the observation group had shorter incision lengths, shorter operation times, and shorter hospital stays, as well as less intraoperative bleeding and drainage volume, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05); As compared with the control group, the observation group had higher FT4 and FT3 levels as well as lower TSH levels, a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05).VHI scores of emotions, function, physiology, and other voice functions were significantly lower among the observation group than those of the control group (P < 0.05).Conclusion: A unilateral total lobectomy with adjacent isthmus resection in patients with thyroid micro papillary carcinoma can yield ideal results, accelerate the time taken for surgical rehabilitation, improve thyroid function, thereby improving voice quality, as well as improve the overall prognosis of the patient.

Scientists are gradually becoming aware of the challenges in the understanding of the very root mechanisms of massively parallel computations that are observed in literally all scientific disciplines ranging from cosmology, physics, across chemistry, biochemistry, and ending in biology. This leads us to the main motivation and simultaneously to the central thesis of this review: “Can we design artificial, massively-parallel, self-organized, emergent, error-resilient, computational environments?” A large number of simulations along with examples and counter-examples, finalized by a list of the future directions, are giving hints and partial answers to the main thesis. This all together is opening the crucial question whether there is existing a deeper, beyond the Turing machine theoretical description of massively-parallel computing. Important information dealing with this topic is reviewed along with highly expressive animations generated by the open-source, Python software GoL-N24. The perspective, future directions including applications in robotics and biology of this research are discussed in the light of known information.

This study is a two-phase hybrid study on the behavioral activities of undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. A questionnaire survey of students during the whole school period and a semistructured interviews with 13 undergraduates of different majors were conducted. First, we found that compared with primary and secondary school students, undergraduates showed many problems with self-time management. Second, the behavior of undergraduates at home may result from multiple factors, such as past experience, professional identity and behavioral habits. When secondary school provided a relatively relaxed learning environment or secondary school teachers placed more emphasis on continuous effort, and when students had a strong sense of the social value of their undergraduate major, students worked harder and achieved more during the pandemic. Otherwise, it was easier for students to slack off and be passive during the pandemic. Altogether, this study deepens our understanding of undergraduates' self-management of free time, and the differences in the values underlying different behaviors and the formation process of various behaviors.

Background: The ever-growing emergence of antibiotic resistance associated with tuberculosis (TB) has become a global challenge. In 2012, USFDA has given expedited approval to bedaquiline (BDQ), as a new treatment for drug-resistant TB in adults when no other viable options are available. BDQ is a diarylquinoline derivative and exhibits targeted action on mycobacterium tuberculosis but due to poor solubility desired therapeutic action is not achieved. Objective: To develop a QbD-based self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system of Bedaquiline using various oils, surfactants, and co-surfactants. Methods: The quality target product profile (QTPP) and critical quality attributes (CQAs) were identified with a patient-centric approach which facilitated the selection of critical material attributes (CMAs) during pre-formulation studies and initial risk assessment. Caprylic acid as a lipid, propylene glycol as a surfactant and Transcutol-P as a co-surfactant were selected as CMAs for the formulation of Bedaquiline fumarate SNEDDS. Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were constructed to determine the optimal ratio of oil and Smix. To optimize the formulation, a Box-Benkhen design (BBD) was used. The optimized formulation (BDQ-F-SNEDSS) was further evaluated for parameters such as droplet size, polydispersity index (PDI), percentage transmittance, dilution studies, stability studies, and cell toxicity through the A549 cell. Results: Optimized BDQ-F-SNEDDS showed well-formed droplets of 98.88±2.1 nm with a zeta potential of 21.16 mV. In vitro, studies showed enhanced drug release with a high degree of stability at 25 ± 2 ºC & 60 ± 5 % and 40 ± 2 ºC & 75± 5 %. Furthermore, BDQ-F-SNEDDS showed promising cell viability in A549 cells indicating BDQ-F-SNEDDS as a safer formulation for oral delivery. Conclusion: Finally, it was concluded that the utilization of a QbD approach in the development of BDQ-F-loaded SNEDDS offers a promising strategy to improve the biopharmaceutical properties of the drug, resulting in potential cost and time savings.

Ionic gel electrolyte retains the characteristics of non-volatilization, non-flammability and outstanding electrochemical stability of ionic liquid, and shows good electrochemical performance combined with the excellent characteristics of different matrix materials, which is considered to be the best choice to achieve the high energy density and safety at the same time. In this paper, a flexible and self-healing ionic gel electrolyte is prepared by solvent-assisted method based on a zteric ion (ZI) copolymer. Abundant hydrogen bonds and synergistic interaction of ions in the electrolyte system endowed it with wonderful self-healing ability. The ionic conductivity of 9.06×10-4 S cm-1 at room temperature was achieved. Besides, the tLi+ was also increased to 0.312. The self-healing function of the ionic gel electrolyte ensured the long-term tolerance of the SHIGE. The capacity retention rate of the Li//LiFePO4 battery is 96% after 155 cycles at 0.1 C at 60 oC. This polymer electrolyte is expected to solve the problem of increasing polarization，which is caused by the low lithium ions migration number in ionic liquid electrolyte. And ultimately, it gives rise to a good rate performance.

Good health and the promotion of well-being for all is the third of the 17 Global Goals included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Contributing to this goal, the current study aimed to examine the relationships between one kind of athletes’ well-being, namely state organic self-talk, with personality traits, and basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration within their sport. Athletes (N = 691; mean age 21.65) from a variety of individual (n = 270) and team sports (n = 421) completed a multisection questionnaire capturing the targeted variables. Three-step hierarchical regression analyses revealed that: In step 1, all personality traits were to some extent a significant predictor of athletes’ organic, spontaneous self-talk dimensions and goal-directed self-talk functions. In step 2, need satisfaction significantly contributed to all spontaneous self-talk dimensions and goal-directed self-talk functions (except for creating functional deactivated states) over and above personality. Finally, in step 3, need frustration significantly contributed to negative spontaneous self-talk dimensions, and to all goal-directed self-talk functions (except for instruction) over and above personality and need satisfaction. Overall, our results indicate the importance of personality traits as personal antecedents, and perceptions of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration as social-environmental antecedents, in shaping athletes’ state organic self-talk.

Many researches have identified that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidality. However, most studies have been restricted to a few types of ACEs. This study aims to investigate associations of 13 common types of ACEs with NSSI, suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempt (SA), as well as the mediation of depressive and anxiety symptoms therein. A total of 1771 students aged 11-16 years who participated in the baseline survey of the Chinese Adolescent Health Growth Cohort study were included for the analysis. ACEs, SI, SA, depressive and anxiety symptoms were recorded by standard questionnaire. Of included participants, 92.0% reported one or more category of ACEs. Smoking, parent-child separation, emotional abuse, physical abuse and being bullied were positively associated with NSSI, with the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 2.41(95%CI, 1.01-5.75), 1.80(1.28-2.54), 1.69(1.21-2.37), 2.08(1.44-3.01) and 1.87(1.35-2.59), respectively; smoking (4.03, 1.66-9.81), parent-child separation (1.42, 1.07-1.90), emotional abuse (1.91, 1.41-2.59), physical abuse (1.80, 1.27-2.57), emotional neglect (1.78, 1.28-2.49) and being bullied (2.08, 1.54-2.81) were positively associated with SI; smoking(4.30, 1.67-11.10), emotional abuse (2.42, 1.58-3.72) and being bullied (1.75, 1.17-2.60) were positively associated with SA. The associations of ACEs with NSSI, SI and SA were each partially or completely mediated through depressive and anxiety symptoms. Children and adolescents who had experiences of smoking, physical abuse and being bullied during childhood are consistently and independently associated with NSSI and suicidality, and these associations may be largely mediated through depressive and anxiety symptoms.

The implementation of residential distributed generation (DG) in South America has shown significant growth in the last decade, driven by increased research on photovoltaics and renewable energy sources. Regulatory policies and business models have been crucial in fostering the adoption of DG in the region, with residential self-supply being the most receptive sector for implementing the concept. This article presents a literature review on DG as applied to residential self-supply in South America by comprehensively analyzing documents published between 2013 and 2023, applying the PRISMA methodology. In total, 37 literature resources have been systematically selected and reviewed to contribute to the identification of trends and developments in the field of DG in the residential sector, as well as highlighting areas that require further research and attention from stakeholders, including policymakers, investors, technology providers and consumers in the South American context.

With the swift advancement of wearable electronic devices and the electronic textile industry, the energy storage components of these devices must possess the capability to maintain stable mechanical and chemical properties even after undergoing multiple bending or tensile deformations. This circumstance has expedited research efforts toward novel materials, processing techniques, and designs for flexible energy storage devices. Among the myriad of materials investigated thus far, biomass-derived architectures have garnered significant attention due to renewability, cost-effectiveness, and abundance in earthly resources. Notably, flexible carbon membrane/ monolithic derived from biomass serve as a particularly promising option for self-supporting electrodes, align seamlessly with the requirements of next-generation electronic devices, and obviate the need for additional costs, unnecessary weight, and the high contact resistance that additive insulating adhesives may entail. This review delves into the comprehensive analysis of biomass feedstocks and methodologies employed in the synthesis of flexible self-supporting carbon electrodes. Subsequently, the advancements in their application in energy storage devices are elucidated. Finally, an outlook on the potential of biomass self-supported carbon architectures and the challenges they face is provided.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic which emerged and spread, has sparked intense research on its spike protein, which is essential for viral entrance into host cells. Viral reproduction and transmission, host immune response regulation, receptor recognition and host cell entrance mechanisms, as well as structural and functional effects have all been linked to mutations in the spike protein. Spike protein mutations can also result in immune evasion mechanisms that impair vaccine effectiveness and escape, and they are linked to illness severity and clinical consequences. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the effects of these mutations on the spike protein structure and how it interacts with host factors. These results have important implications for the design and development of medicines and vaccines based on spike proteins as well as for the assessment of those products' efficiency against newly discovered spike protein mutations. The paper gives a general overview of how spike protein mutations are categorized and named, as well as the genomic and phylogenetic techniques that have been used to track their genesis and dissemination. Additionally, it looks at the links between spike protein mutations and clinical outcomes, illness severity, unanswered problems, and future research prospects. Additionally, explored are the effects of these mutations on vaccine effectiveness as well as the possible therapeutic targeting of spike protein mutations.

Most natural language processing (NLP) tasks operate an input sentence as a sequence with token-level embeddings and features, despite its clausal structures. Taking Abstract Meaning Representation (AMR) parsing as an example, recent parsers are empowered by Transformers and pre-trained language models, but long-distance dependencies (LDDs) introduced by long sequences are still open problems. We argue that LDDs are not superficially blamed on the sequence length but are essentially related to the internal clause hierarchy. Typically, non-verb words in a clause cannot depend on words outside, and verbs from different but related clauses have much longer dependencies than those in the same clause. With this intuition, we introduce a type of clausal feature, hierarchical clause annotation (HCA), into AMR parsing and propose two HCA-based approaches, HCA-based self-attention (HCA-SA) and HCA-based curriculum learning (HCA-CL), to integrate HCA trees of complex sentences for addressing LDDs. We conduct extensive experiments on two in-distribution (ID) AMR datasets (AMR 2.0 and AMR 3.0) and three out-of-distribution (OOD) ones (TLP, New3, and Bio). Experimental results show that our HCA-based approaches achieve significant and explainable improvements against the baseline model and outperform the state-of-the-art (SOTA) model when encountering sentences with complex clausal structures that introduce most LDD cases.

The production associated with geopolymers is more environmentally friendly because it does not emit as much carbon dioxide as when OPCs are used. In addition, research has been initiated to produce a geopolymer with very good mechanical properties without the need to cure it at high temperatures. Bio-additives such as honey, cotton or molasses were found to have a good effect on the properties of the geopolymer. The purpose of this study was to develop a composition of geopolymer modified with bioaddi-tives (introduction of plant-derived materials containing sugars) in order to improve the strength para-meters of geopolymers cured at ambient temperature or to accelerate their setting process, and to identify whether it is possible to produce geopolymers with good strength parameters without the need for annealing. In this study, fly ash (FA)-based materials were made and addi-tionally modified with cane molasses and beet molasses in varying amounts. The made samples were subjected to surface morphology analysis (SEM), mechanical properties analysis - compres-sive and flexural strengths, phase composition analysis (XRD) and absorption analysis.

Self-medication with natural products during disease outbreaks in developing countries poses significant public health challenges yet remains relatively unexplored in the published literature. This study aims to assess the implications of such practices, address the state and quality of evidence, identify gaps in the literature, explore determinants and contributing factors, elucidating the implications, and propose possible solutions. Using a modified systematic literature review methodology, 20 articles were selected from 1,683 reports after applying rigorous selection criteria and quality assessment using the AXIS critical evaluation tool. The findings revealed a dearth of literature concerning the implications of self-medication with natural products during disease outbreaks, highlighting the need for further investigation in this domain. Key determinants included gender, acquisition, and ideological factors, while common side effects comprised diarrhoea, stomach pain, sweating, headache, and nausea/vomiting. Notably, self-medication with natural products was associated with reduced communication with healthcare providers, leading to underreported side effects. It also creates a false sense of safety which may potentially exacerbate the spread of the prevailing disease. In conclusion, the rampant use of natural products for self-medication necessitates increased awareness among the population, encouraging individuals to seek professional medical care and support when faced with disease outbreaks.

The vast majority of autonomous driving systems are limited to applications on roads with clear lane markings and are implemented using commercial grade sensing systems coupled with specialized graphic accelerator hardware. This research reviews an alternative approach for autonomously steering vehicles that eliminates the dependency on road markings and specialized hardware. A combination of machine vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence based on popular pre-trained Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) was used to drive a vehicle along roads lacking lane markings (unmarked roads). The team developed and tested this approach on the ACTor (Autonomous Camus TranspORt) vehicle - an autonomous vehicle development and research platform coupled with a low-cost webcam based sensing system and minimal computational resources. The proposed solution was evaluated on real-world roads and varying environmental conditions. It was found that this solution may be used to successfully navigate unmarked roads autonomously with acceptable road following behavior.

Secure attachment, developed through consistent relationships with attachment figures in childhood, is a crucial factor in fostering healthy interpersonal relationships and a positive self-perception. This research aimed to assess how perceived security, as an indicator of secure attachment, predicts adult self-concept through the mediating effects of resilience and positive self-esteem. A quantitative, cross-sectional, and non-probabilistic study was conducted with 383 participants, of whom 76.2% were females, aged between 17 and 86 years (M = 28.52, SD = 12.23). Correlational analyses revealed significant positive associations between perceived security, self-concept, resilience, and positive self-esteem. Path analysis demonstrated that resilience and positive self-esteem sequentially mediate the relationship between perceived security during childhood and adult self-concept (Total Effect R2 = .34, F(1,381) = 193, p < .001; Indirect effect of sequential mediation b = .02, CI 95% [.01, .04]). Findings suggest that the ability to cope with ad-versity and personal acceptance underlie the impact of perceived security on self-concept. It is recommended to promote not only secure attachment in family interventions but also resilience and self-esteem in programs targeting adolescents, youth, and adults.

Modern drugs have changed epilepsy, which affects people of all ages. But for young people with epilepsy, the framework of drug development has stalled. In the wake of the thalidomide catastrophe, the misconception emerged that for people <18y antiseizure medications (ASMs) need separate proof of efficacy and safety (E&S), overall called “pediatric drug development.” This has been corrected to some extent. Authorities accept that ASMs are effective in <18y as well, but they still require "extrapolation of efficacy," as if minors were another species. In our view, the real problem is less that relevant parts of pediatric clinical epilepsy research over the past decades were useless, but that this has hampered research on meaningful challenges. We do not need to show that ASMs work also before the 18th birthday. But we need to learn how to best use ASMs to prevent brain damage in young patients and optimize ASMs use considering a broader range of aspects

This study examines the behavior of stearic acid (SA) and 12-hydroxystearic acid (12-HSA) aqueous mixtures as a function of temperature and 12-HSA/SA molar ratio (R). Whatever R, the system exhibits a morphological transition at a given threshold temperature, from multilamellar self-assemblies at low temperature towards small micelles at high temperature, as shown by a combination of transmittance measurements, Wide Angle X-ray diffraction (WAXS), small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments. Such transition originates from the melting of the crystallized fatty acids within the lamellar phase. The precise determination of the threshold temperature, which ranges between 20°C and 50°C depending on R, allows for the construction of the whole phase diagram of the system as a function of R. At high temperature the micelles that are formed are oblate for pure SA solutions (R = 0) and prolate for pure 12-HSA solution (R = 1). In the case of mixtures, there is a progressive continuous transition from oblate to prolate shape when increasing R, with micelles that are almost purely spherical for R = 0.33.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive and biologically heterogeneous disease. Approximately 40% of patients with DLBCL will experience disease relapse or will be refractory to first line chemoimmunotherapy. In recent years there have been several new therapeutic agents approved for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) DLBCL. These agents include anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies (CAR T-cells) and monoclonal antibodies as polatuzumab and tafasitamab. Nevertheless, despite the high efficacy of all these new therapies, there are still patients who do not respond or relapse, representing an unmet clinical need. This review describes new promising therapies that are under investigation to treat R/R DLBCL.

Type 1 diabetes imposes a complex and challenging routine on patients and caregivers. Therefore, considering individual experiences and personal facilitators to promote assertive interventions is crucial. However, no studies have addressed these perspectives in the Brazilian adult population. We aimed to identify psycho-behavioral characteristics perceived as facilitators for coping with the condition. We used a biographical method to conduct semi-structured, face-to-face, in-depth interviews for each participant. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Participants (n = 22) were aged 18–57 years (mean: 30.2, standard deviation (SD): 8.7), and the duration since diagnosis was approximately 20.6 years (SD: 4.6). Twelve (54.4%) were women, 13 (59.1%) used insulin pumps, 14 (63.6%) had at least a college degree, and 13 (59.1%) had HbA1C (glycated hemoglobin) levels above 58 mmol/mol (7.5%). Five major themes emerged: 1) peer learning, 2) ownership, 3) welcoming experiences, 4) equity, and 5) reframe the path (P.O.W.E.R.). All themes appeared in the lived experiences shared by participants with HbA1C levels below 58 mmol/mol (7.5%). Improved glycemic control can be achieved, and the challenges encountered in diabetes care within similar socioeconomic contexts can be addressed, by an interdisciplinary care team that takes P.O.W.E.R into consideration when providing person-centered care strategies.

This paper proposes a Grouped Contrastive Learning of self-supervised Sentence Representation (GCLSR), which can learn an effective and meaningful representation of sentences. Previous works maximize the similarity between two vectors to be the objective of contrastive learning, suffering from the high-dimensionality of the vectors. In addition, most previous works have adopted discrete data augmentation to obtain positive samples and directly employed contrastive framework of computer vision to perform contrastive training, which could hamper contrastive training because text data is discrete and sparse compared with image data. To address those issues, we propose a grouped contrastive learning framework, i.e., GCLSR, which divides the high-dimensional feature vector into several groups and respectively computes the groups’ contrastive losses to make use of more local information, eventually obtaining a more fine-grained sentence representation. In addition, in GCLSR, we design a new self-attention mechanism and a continuous as well as partial word vector augmentation (PWVA). For the discrete and sparse text data, the usage of self-attention could help model focus the informative words by measuring the importance of every word in a sentence. By using the PWVA, GCLSR can obtain high-quality positive samples used for contrastive learning. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed GCLSR achieves an encouraging result on the challenging datasets of the standard semantic textual similarity (STS) task and transfer task.

Background: Depression is a common mental health problem that can affect everyone at different stages of development. Though the prevalence rate of depression among university students is rising, exploration among engineering students is limited. The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence of depression and its associated factors of among engineering students in Thailand. Methods: 346students participated in this study. All completed the outcome inventory-depression subscale (OI-D) to evaluate the level and prevalence of depression. Other variables assessed included social skill, learning styles, relationship satisfaction, interpersonal difficulty, alcohol use, internet addiction, and neuroticism. Correlation and regression analysis were applied to test the association between sociodemographic and psychosocial factors and depression. Results. Of 346 students with the mean age was 20.25 (SD, 1.33), 52.31% was male. Based on the OI-D, 35.3% of participants exhibited symptoms indicative of major depression. Multiple regression showed that only neuroticism, interpersonal difficulties, social skills, and self-esteem appeared to be the significant predictors of depression. Conclusion: the prevalence of depression among engineering students is unexpectedly high. Intra and interpersonal factors were found to be associated with depression. Further study on identifying these risk factors should be encouraged.

This review article delves into the intricate psychology behind galivanting, absenteeism, and self-denial among college students. By conducting a meticulous analysis of relevant books, journals, and articles, key psychological factors come to light. The review examines the influence of exploration and identity formation, social motivation, coping mechanisms, lack of motivation or engagement, time management, and self-denial on these behaviors. By addressing gaps in the literature, it provides a deeper understanding of the phenomena at hand. The implications of this study extend to the development of interventions and strategies that address self-denial tendencies, promote effective time management, and foster a supportive learning environment. By shedding light on the intricate interplay of these factors, this paper opens doors for future research and targeted interventions, ultimately aiming to enhance academic engagement, reduce absenteeism, and support the overall well-being and success of college students.

Some evidence suggests that personality types are a useful construct to understand stress and coping. However, further research is needed, especially on academic stress. Our aim was to explore how personality types and gender relate to coping strategies for academic stress and perceived coping efficacy. A total of 810 university psychology students completed the NEO-FFI Inventory and the Coping Strategies Inventory. Post-hoc tests for MANOVA and ANOVA were performed, where personality types and gender were treated as predictors and use of coping strategies and perceived coping efficacy as criteria. Finally, a one-way ANOVA followed by post hoc comparisons was performed to analyse the associations between personality types and perceived coping efficacy. Those with personality types combining low neuroticism with high conscientiousness chose the most adaptive coping strategies and showed the highest levels of perceived coping efficacy, while those whose personality types combined high neuroticism with low conscientiousness opted for maladaptive coping strategies and presented the lowest level of perceived coping efficacy. As for gender, women chose emotional expression more frequently. The personality type classification provided useful information on individual differences in coping with academic stress, which can help guide specific strategies to manage it.

The purpose of the current study was the level of the self-confidence among with high musical abilities Student? The randomly selected sample consisted of students (n= 130, M= 65, F= 65) . The analytical descriptive approach was applied in the study and self-confidence Scale developed by the author was administered to participants. Results indicated that: - The self-confidence among the high musical abilities Student students was rated high. There were no statistically significant differences at (α=≤0.05) attributed to effect of sex on the self-confidence overall degree. There were statistically no significant differences at (α≤0.05) attributed to effect of achievement on the self-confidence overall degree,

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) production is a complex operation that requires finding a good combination and a suitable dosage of each of its constituents. Several formulation methods have been developed to meet the workability requirements of SCC. In this paper, the relationships between the fresh properties of SCC based on local metakaolin (MK) and the spreading of its mortar was investigated. The results showed the existence of good correlations between the spreading of the mortar and the fresh state properties of the related SCC and that the MK substitution rate did not affect these correlations. The choice of the mortar flow rate should target appropriate fresh properties of the SCC and a viscosity enhancing agent (VEA) could be used if the mix is too fluid and present an instability.

Abstract: Objective: This study aimed to estimate adherence to methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and identify specific nonadherence risk factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study included 111 patients (age mean 56.2±10.6 years, 78.4% female, and disease duration mean 6 (3-13) years). Three adherence self-assessment questionnaires were used: the Compli-ance-Questionnaire-Rheumatology (CQR19), the Medication Adherence Reports Scale (MARS-5), and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). We also collected demographic data, disease and treatment characteristics, and anxiety/depression estimation results (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale- HADS). Results: Adherence was identified in 48.6% of patients (COR19), 70.3% (MARS-5), and 82.9% of patients in the VAS questionnaire. All three questionnaires displayed a significant positive mutual correlation: CQR19 with MARS-5 and VAS (r =0.364, r=0.329 respectively, p<0.001 for both), between VAS and MARS-5 score (r=0.496, p<0.001). A significant positive prediction was shown for urban residence (0.347 (0.134-0.901), p=0.030), using the MARS-5 scale, female sex (0.264 (0.095-0.730), p=0.010) according to CQR19 and for a dose of methotrexate (0.881 (0.783-0.992), p=0.036) in VAS scale, while negative prediction were shown for comorbidity number (3.062 (1.057-8.874), p=0.039), and depression (1.142 (1.010-1.293), p=0.035) using MARS-5 scale and for older age (1.041 (1.003-1.081), p=0.034) according to CQR19. The use of steroids was a significant positive predictor in all three questionnaires and remained an independent predictor for metho-trexate adherence in multivariant logistic regression. Conclusion: We showed nonadherence to methotrexate in a significant number of patients using all three questionnaires. Concomitant steroid therapy emerged as an independent positive predictor for adherence.

Background: The adoption of self-care behaviors among patients with arterial hypertension (AH) plays an important role in the management of their health condition. However, a lack of scales assessing self-care is observed. We aimed to develop and validate the Hippocratic hypertension self-care scale. Methods: From a pool of questions derived from a literature review, 18 items were included in the scale and reviewed by a committee of experts. Participants indicate the frequency at which they follow the self-behavior prescribed in each statement on a five-point Likert scale. Data were collected between April 2019 and December 2019. Re-sults: 202 consecutive adult patients with AH were enrolled in the study. The internal consistency of the scale was found to be 0.807, using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. An exploratory factor analysis identified two do-mains that accounted for 92.94% of the variance of the scale items; however, each sub-scale could not be used as an independent scale. Finally, the test- retest of the scale showed a significant strong correlation (r=0.0095, p<0.001). Conclusion: Our data indicate that the scale is a reliable and valid tool for assessing self-behaviors in patients with AH. Health professionals can use it in their clinical practice to improve the management of patients’ health condition.

In swarm-robotics foraging, the purpose of task allocation is to adjust the number of active foraging robots dynamically based on the task demands and changing environment. It is a difficult challenge to generate self-organized foraging behavior in which each robot can adapt to environmental changes. To complete the foraging task efficiently, this paper presents a novel self-organized task allocation strategy known as the dynamic response threshold model (DRTM). To adjust the behavior of the active foraging robots, the proposed DRTM newly introduces the traffic flow density, which can be used to evaluate the robot density. First, the traffic flow density and the amount of obstacle avoidance are used to adjust the threshold which determines the tendency of a robot to respond to a stimulus in the environment. Then, each individual robot uses the threshold and external stimulus to calculate the foraging probability that determines whether or not to go foraging. Simulation and physical experiments are carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The experimental results show that the DRTM is superior to and more efficient than the adaptive response threshold model (ARTM) in swarm foraging.

Keywords: FTY720, self-assembled nanoparticles, intracerebral hemorrhage, neuroprotection

Life in the modern century is heavily reliant on an enormous amount of electricity consumption as technology has become the most integral part of daily life. In this context, smart grid systems play a pivotal role to maintain the uninterrupted power supply which needs to be monitored in a timely fashion to keep track of the electric consumers’ usage pattern. The smart meter is the one of smart applications of the smart grid that collects huge amounts of consumer load data on a daily basis which has become a focus for various researchers and analyzers to study load characterization. In this paper, an approach has been proposed to recognize the energy consumption patterns among diverse types of consumers ranging from residential to industrial levels. This approach is worth considering not only for load pattern recognition but also for involving customers in different events such as demand response or peak shaving. In such a way, this analytical mechanism certainly assists in reducing power wastage and saving costs. The proposed methodology is based on a two-fold clustering algorithm with the use of state-of-the-art technology, machine learning. The primary goal is to classify electric customers' data collected from smart meters. Then, analyzing the classified results with an aim to predict power consumption patterns for the customers in the future and making the right energy policy that will benefit both the grid operator and consumers as well.

Background: Student-specific stress is pervasive and impairs health and attainment. Experimentally induced self-affirmation can reduce stress, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying this effect, and the role of individual differences. The present study explores the relationship between spontaneous self-affirmation, student-specific stress, and overlapping constructs of positive self-regard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study investigated inter-relationships between spontaneous self-affirmation, student-specific perceived stress and potential covariates including self-esteem, self-integrity and habitual positive self-thought. University students (N = 151) aged 18 to 50 responded to an online questionnaire including the Spontaneous Self-Affirmation Measure, College Student Stress Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Habitual Index of Positive Thinking and Self-Integrity Scale. Results: Unexpectedly, regression analysis revealed that spontaneous self-affirmation was a positive predictor of student-specific stress, seemingly driven by relational affirmations. Self-esteem and habitual self-thought were negative predictors of student-specific stress, whilst self-integrity was not a predictor. Conclusions: Habitual positive self-thought may offer a sustainable solution to student-specific stress, but spontaneous self-affirmation does not. A reduction in defensive responses, elicitation of negative emotions, or use of conditional relationships in relational affirmation

Despite being a rare disease worldwide, rabies has the highest morbidity and mortality rates, with nearly all symptomatic cases leading to coma and death. Rabies represents an infectious disease caused by the Rabies virus (RABV), which is part of the Lyssavirus group and the Rhabdoviridae family, and it mainly spreads through the bite and scratch of an infected mammal, but particularly of wild animals, such as bats, foxes, wolves and racoons, and of domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, in rabies-prone areas of the world. Airborne transmission has been deemed as extremely rare, and no clinical case as such has been recorded worldwide yet, except in the enclosed environment, such as research laboratories and caves where infected bats are present. Domestic mammals, such as dogs and ferrets, represent other important reservoirs of disease transmission, and the human cases of Asia and Africa amount approximately 95% of all human cases worldwide. Infected animals most commonly start transmitting the virus once the first symptoms have occurred, and if they experience disease aggravation and death within 10 days, a case of rabies is registered, more easily if the incidence occurred in the urban area and then, any person or animal that had been potentially exposed are strongly recommended to receive the inoculation. It is rare for asymptomatic mammals to transmit the illness. Most First-World and several Second-World countries have recently been declared dog rabies-free by the World Health Organization. The disease can only be treated prophylactically, with three doses of a vaccine containing an inactivated form of RABV, or with five doses of the vaccine and two doses of anti-RABV immunoglobulins within 28 days if the patient is believed to have been exposed to the virus beforehand. It has been projected that, once the viral load reaches elements of the central nervous system, prophylactic approaches are no longer effective, even if symptoms have not begun yet, and this highlights the urgent trait of the medical condition, strongly recommending exposed people to receive the prophylactic doses immediately after the potential exposure to the virus. The pathogen first infects the bodily fluids, before reaching the peripheral nervous system, from where it will gradually move toward the spinal cord or the encephalon, at a speed of movement ranging from 1 to 40 cm per day. It was also found, in extremely rare circumstances, to infect the nasopharyngeal cavity and the lungs. The primary cause of a successful, gradual advance of the viral load toward the point of clinical no-return for the patient - the CNS - is a complex mechanism of induced innate immune evasion, with the interferon system being heavily targeted and silenced by RABV proteins. The ‘Milwaukee’ protocol is locally believed to decrease the mortality rate of the clinical illness to approximately 80%, although significantly more research is required in this sense. First-line immune evasion represents the central mechanism developed by viruses during their evolutionary process to gain control over human immunity, so it could be the development and adjustment of a counter-offensive to this evolutionary operating system that could address the core elements of the problem. Human recombinant Type I and Type III Interferons were found to be significant vaccine adjuvants and to considerably delay the clinical onset of the disease. Despite their central role in natural immunity-based prophylaxis, vaccine support and, in often cases, vaccination per se, a local administration of IFNs as such may not be enough to tackle the core problem of the endemic disease, and a specific and systemic treatment of potential host cells with IFN I and III, as well as IFN-stimulating proteins, may constitute a major research requirement in the coming years of disease investigation, as the inoculation efforts with the inactivated virus and immunoglobulin administration continue. The administration of a relatively low dosage of somatic Natural Killer cells, gamma-interferon and perhaps, of somatic helper CD4+ and somatic cytotoxic CD8+ T-lymphocytes treated with alpha-, beta- and lambda-interferon could be merged with the administration of a similar dosage of alpha-, beta- and lambda-interferon during the efforts to develop an effective and less costly prophylactic vaccine against rabies. A combination of a nasal substance containing a low dosage of IFN I and III with a reduced concentration of neutralized RABV copies, and/or with a low dose of anti-RABV IgA antibodies, could also be tested for humans for the purposes of pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) results in various functioning impairments in children’s lives and families. Parents of children with ADHD report high levels of parenting stress, low levels of parental self-efficacy and use of more authoritarian and/or permissive parenting practices than parents of typically developing children. Intervention programs need to address both children’s and parents’ needs and multimodal intervention programs could cover this demand. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of “Child ViReal Support Program” - a multi-level evidence-based comprehensive program - on parenting stress, parental self-efficacy, parenting practices, and the core symptoms of children’s ADHD. Families with a child diagnosed with ADHD (n = 16) were randomly allocated to two groups (PC and CP; P = parent training, C = child training) and a cross-over design was utilized. Participating parents completed, in four different times during the study, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire-Short Version and the parent form of the ADHD Rating Scale-IV. Parents from both groups, after their participation in the parent training, demonstrated reduced parenting stress, enhanced parental self-efficacy and increased the employ of democratic parenting practices. More than that, they reported decreased levels of inattention and impulsivity/hyperactivity for their children. Evidence-based multi-level intervention programs could produce positive effects in parents and children by incorporating effective methods and tools in accordance with the needs and the demands of the family context.

Graphene nanostructures (GNS) are among the most promising materials for creating supercapacitors. However, GNS are still not used in creating supercapacitors due to the impossibility of obtaining large volumes of high-quality material at an acceptable cost. In this work, we investigated the efficiency of using few-layer graphene (FLG) with the number of layers is not more than 5 synthesized under Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) conditions as basic material for supercapacitors. Using the SHS process makes it possible to synthesize large volumes of FLG without Stone-Wales defects. It was found that the synthesized FLG makes it possible to obtain better results than using classical materials, namely activated carbon (AC). It was found that the sample based on FLG has a higher specific capacitance – 65 F×g-1 compared to the sample from AC, the specific capacitance of which is 35 F×g-1, for a speed of 5 mV×s-1 these values are 170 and 64 F×g-1, respectively. The drop in capacitance over 1000 cycles was 4%, which indicates a sufficiently high stability of FLG and allows us to consider FLG as perspective material for use in supercapacitors.

Balanced fear supports human rational decision making and useful behavioral responses. In contrast, overwhelming, persistent, and unbalanced fear can paralyze the individual and result in heightened anxiety, lack of cognitive flexibility, fear-based public compliance and serious mental health issues. Psychobiotics research has established that a healthy microbiome is required for balanced fear and mental health protection via control of fear extinction. The recent Covid-19 pandemic featured daily, persistent, fear-of-a single contagion conditioning on a global scale paired with various behavioral mandates (e.g., lockdowns of the healthy, masks, isolation from environmental microbes and each other) that degraded the human microbiome and isolated us from each other and useful environmental microbes. It also ignored the historic role of secondary bacterial pathobionts, in pandemic deaths. This narrative review examines how institutional promotion of fear-of-a single contagion, lack of balanced risk communication, and appalling disregard of our fundamental nature (as majority-microbial human superorganisms) resulted in problems rather than solutions. This review concludes that government-public health-media promotion of pervasive fear and microbiome-degrading behaviors: 1) increased public compliance, 2) reduced cognitive flexibility, and 3) increased risk of mental health conditions. It further argues that microbiome-first public health should be embraced to ensure that human freedom, rather than paralyzing fear, dominates our future.

Zero-dimensional (0D) tin halide perovskites feature extraordinary properties, such as broadband emission, high photoluminescence quantum yield, and self-absorption-free characteristics. The innovation of synthesis approaches for high-quality 0D tin halide perovskites has facilitated the flourishing development of perovskite-based optoelectronic devices in recent years. However, discovering an effective strategy to further enhance their emission efficiency remains a considerable challenge. Herein, we report a unique strategy employing rapid heat treatment to attain efficient self-trapped exciton (STE) emission in Cs4SnBr6 zero-dimensional perovskite. Compared to the pristine Cs4SnBr6, rapid thermal treatment (RTT) at 200°C for a duration of 120 seconds results in an augmented STE emission with photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield rising from an initial 50.1% to a substantial 64.7%. Temperature-dependent PL spectra analysis, Raman spectra, and PL decay traces reveal that the PL improvement is attributed to the appropriate electron-phonon coupling as well as the increased binding energies of STEs induced by the RTT. Our findings open up a new avenue for efficient luminescent 0D tin-halide perovskites toward the development of efficient optoelectronic devices based on 0D perovskites.

This article presents a state-of-the-art literature review to understand people’s perceptions and opinions of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) and the factors that influence AV adoption. A strategic literature search was conducted to select articles for this review. Most of the articles were published within the last five years and they used a household questionnaire survey to collect data. Mostly, they used statistical and econometric methods to evaluate the factors that affect people’s intentions to adopt AVs. The results show that psychological factors often appear as the most important internal factors of people’s willingness to adopt AVs. Additionally, other internal factors such as the socioeconomic profile of individuals and their household, and knowledge and familiarity with AV technologies would affect AV adoption tendencies. User attributes also indirectly affect AV adoption by influencing the psychological factors of users. We identify several critical external factors such as opportunities (e.g., safety and security, low congestion, energy use) and challenges (e.g., system failure, privacy breach, and legal issues), while another influential group includes transportation factors (e.g., travel mode, distance, and time), urban form (e.g., urban/rural, density, land use diversity), affinity to new technology, and the institutional regulatory environment. We discuss some recommendations for policy makers, auto industries, and private stakeholders to formulate policies and strategies to increase market share of AVs. Finally, we identify some limitations of previous studies and provide a blueprint for future research on AV adoption.

Semiconductor nanowhiskers, in particular, nanostructured whiskers based on zero-dimensional (0D) C70 fullerene, are being actively discussed due to the great potential of their application in modern electronics. For the first time, we proposed and implemented a method for the synthesis of nanostructured C70 fullerene whiskers based on the self-organization of C70 molecules during thermal evaporation of C70 droplets on the substrate surface. We found that the onset of the synthesis of C70 nanowhiskers upon evaporation of drops of a C70 solution in toluene on the substrate surface depends on the substrate temperature. We have provided experimental evidence that an increase in both the C70 concentration in the initial drop and the substrate temperature leads to an increase in the geometric dimensions of C70 nanowhiskers. The obtained results provide useful vision on the role of solute concentration and substrate temperature in the synthesis of one-dimensional materials.

Durability of concrete requires a dense microstructure which can be achieved by using self-compacting concrete (SCC). Both calcined clay (CC) and rice husk ash (RHA) are promising supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) that can partially replace cement, but their use in SCC is critical due to their higher water demand and specific surface area (SSA) compared to cement. Empirical method of SCC design was adopted considering the physical properties of both CC and RHA. The influence of partially substituting cement at 20 vol-% with binary and ternary blends of CC and RHA were investigated. The fresh properties of SCC were investigated using a variety of tests. The time dependent workability was monitored by plunger method and flow resistance determined based on the rheological measurements of SCC. The evolution of the hydrate phases of the binder in SCC was determined by thermogravimetric analysis, while the durability was evaluated by rapid chloride migration test. Cement partial replacement with 20 vol-% CC has no significant effect on SCC fresh, time dependent, compressive strength and durability properties. 20 vol-% RHA on the other hand requires higher dosage of SP to achieve self-compactability and increased the viscosity of SCC. Its workability retention is only up to 30 min after mixing and exhibited higher flow resistance. It consumes more CH and improves compressive strength and chloride resistance of SCC. The ternary blending with CC and RHA yielded better fresh SCC properties compared to the binary blend with RHA, while an improved chloride penetration resistance could be achieved compared to binary CC blend.

Abstract: The Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) LiDAR point cloud in autonomous vehicles has a large deflection range, which results in slow registration speed and poor applicability. To maximize speed, an improved NDT (Normal Distribution Transform) method that integrates point cloud density features has been proposed. First, the point cloud is reduced using a modified voxel filter and a pass-through filter. Next, the ISS (Intrinsic Shape Signature) algorithm is utilized to analyze the point cloud features and extract keypoints, the 4PCS (4-Point Congruent Sets) algorithm is then employed to calculate the initial pose under the constraints of the keypoint set to complete the coarse registration. Finally, the self-adaptive segmentation model is constructed by using KD-tree to obtain the density features of keypoints, and the NDT algorithm is combined with this model to form an SSM-NDT algorithm, which is used for fine registration. Each algorithm was compared on the autonomous vehicle dataset PandaSet and actual collected data sets, the results show that the novel method increases the speed by at least 60% and takes into account good registration accuracy and strong anti-interference.

Background: Understanding the distribution of HPV types in cervical cancer cases is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of HPV screening and vaccination in reducing cervical cancer burden. This study aimed to assess genotype prevalence among 178 cervical cancer cases detected during a 20-year screening period in Northern Norway and compare the potential efficacy of HPV vaccines in preventing cervical cancer. Methods: A total of 181 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples from women diagnosed with cervical cancer between 1995 and 2015 in Troms and Finnmark, Norway, were analyzed using a 45-type HPV DNA test. The results were compared to a 7-type HPV mRNA test targeting oncogenic types included in the nonavalent HPV vaccine. Results: Invalid HPV test results were observed in 1.7% (3/181) of the samples and were subsequently excluded from further analysis. Among the remaining cases, 92.7% (165/178) tested positive for HPV using any test combination. HPV DNA was detected in 159 cases (89.3%), while HPV mRNA was detected in 149 cases (83.7%). The most prevalent HPV types were 16 and 18, responsible for 70.8% of the cases, with the nonavalent vaccine types accounting for 86.6% of cases. HPV 35 was identified in eight cases (4.5%). Conclusion: The bivalent/quadrivalent HPV vaccines have the potential to prevent 76.4% (126/165) of HPV-positive cervical cancer cases, while the nonavalent vaccine could prevent 93.3% (154/165) of cases. Tailoring screening strategies to target HPV types with the highest oncogenic potential may improve cervical cancer detection and enable targeted interventions for high-risk individuals. The use of a 7-type HPV mRNA test holds promises as an advantageous approach.

Material selection for product design is a complex task. Thus, one of the objectives of this work is to analyze, understand and promote the importance of selection of materials to conceive quality products with help of designers' that promote green self-identity in the early stage of the conception of new products. A questionnaire was sent to professional designers and engineers. 38 responses were validated, this being the sample of our study. The aspects that influence the complex selection of materials and the final quality of the products through the design and production process is presented. As a result of the answers carried out with product designers who work in the market, with students who are graduating and with some engineers, a new approach for the selection of materials was developed. Based on a collection of main ideas from traditional and non-traditional methods of material selection, seeking to group the maximum requirements of both methods, inspired by the "Canvas" model on the basic modular methodology, a new model for a project of new product is presented. Our study focuses on the selection of materials, since this aspect is one of the most relevant steps in early stage of the prototyping phase of new products, with a view to reducing CO² from the air in the atmosphere that we all breathe. The classification of materials is complex, due to the diversity of available options. The novelty of this model is that all properties of the newly designed product, such as technical, aesthetic, productive, environmental and other properties, are all grouped in a model, which serves as an innovative support. Thus, the designer has at his disposal a tool that can help him in the selection of the best material for the products he designs. This study intends to make a contribution in the field of material selection, quality and design of new products, promoting a green self-identity for designers in the initial phase of product design. Consequently, all consumers in search of a sustainable planet will profit from it.

Nurses and paramedics play a pivotal role when Mass Casualty Incidents (MCI) occur, yet they often feel unprepared for such events. Implementation strategies for training activities, including Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) simulations, offer realistic and immersive learning experiences, enhancing skills and competencies for nursing students. The aim of this work was to investigate the adopted tools in studies on VR&amp;AR simulations for training nursing and paramedic students in managing MCI. A scoping review was performed following the PRISMA-ScR statement, and the search strategy was conducted through five electronic databases from December 2022 to March 2023. Of 162 records identified, 27 full-text were screened and, six studies were included in this review. These studies involved students who were assigned to different training methods, including immersive VR simulation, written instruction, and traditional lecture. VR&amp;AR and immersive simulation generally show promising evidences in enhancing practical skills and knowledge in MCI management. VR&amp;AR showed to be promising in disaster education and preparedness training, offering different levels of immersiveness and engagement, encouraging active and experential learning. Further research is needed to determine their long-term effectiveness. The choice of training method should consider program goals, target population, and available resources.

: BACKGROUND: The prevalence of smoking among students is a growing concern, particular-ly among medical students. Being associated with stress, competitiveness, and various social in-fluences, smoking can have detrimental effects on self-esteem and self-efficacy and may create a vicious cycle that may contribute to students’ well-being and academic performance out-comes.METHODS: A cross-sectional study on 456 medical students was conducted via an online survey using structured questionnaires on socio-demographic characteristics, smoking habits, nicotine dependence, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking was 31.1% The scores of self-esteem and self-efficacy were positively correlated with smoking habits (W1=0.957, W2=0.975, P<0.05). Students presented rather low smoking addiction with male stu-dents having slightly higher scores than female students on self-esteem and self-efficacy, mili-tary students had higher self-esteem scores than civilians with physical activity having a posi-tive correlation with non-smoking behavior. CONCLUSION: According to our results, self-esteem and self-efficacy were slightly positively correlated with smoking habits. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant association between other social factors and smoking. Our results may develop a theoretical basis for medical students’ psychological variables studying for further implementation of university educational programs and preventive interventions em-powering students towards an overall better quality of life, addressing, among others, smoking behaviors.

NAD⁺ is known classically as a metabolite that participates in catabolic and anabolic pathways throughout the metabolism that is taught to students in introductory biochemistry courses. However, non-classical studies starting over a decade ago found that NAD⁺ is also involved in higher order functions, in part because of its involvement in the activation of SIRTs and the support of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response. Many studies since have suggested that NAD⁺ is involved in an extensive spectrum of human pathologies, including neurodegenerative disorders, cardiomyopathy, obesity, and diabetes, Further, healthy aging and longevity appear to be closely related to NAD⁺ and its related metabolites, including NAR and NMN. Together, these studies show that this system has value as a dietary supplement to improve general health overall, as well as mitigating specific disease conditions. Accordingly, many are now recommending the consumption of materials in this system as dietary supplements. Nicotinamide riboside (NAR) appears to have special value in this regard. It appears to be better tolerated than other molecules in this system, as well as better pharmacodynamics and greater potency. Unfortunately, NAR is a reactive molecule, often unstable during its manufacturing, transport, and storage. Indeed, HPLC analyses of many commercial samples of NAR shows that they contain substantial amounts of material that are not, in fact, NAR. In some of these commercial preparations, NAR is a minority component. Therefore, more stable derivatives of NAR that are easily converted upon consumption into NAR are therefore desired. Recently work related to prebiotic chemistry provided the borate derivative of NAR. NARB is considerably more stable than NAR itself. However, immediately upon consumption, the borate dissociates from NARB, and is lost in the body through dilution and binding to other species, notably carbohydrates such as fructose and glucose. The NAR left behind is expected to behave pharmacologically in ways identical to NAR itself. This review provides a comprehensive summary (through Q1 of 2023) of literature that makes the case for the consumption of NAR as a dietary supplement. It then summarizes the challenges of delivering quality NAR to consumers using standard synthesis, manufacture, shipping, and storage approaches. It concludes by outlining the advantages of NAR-borate in these processes.

In response to escalating environmental concerns and the surge in eco-friendly sports activities, this study investigates the determinants of sustained intention to participate in plogging, a prac-tice that combines jogging and litter collection. The study seeks to discern the effects of autonomy, competence, and relatedness experiences, as suggested by Self-Determination Theory, on the intent to persist in plogging. Additionally, the study probes the moderating role of eco-friendly attitudes, thereby propelling the confluence of sports and environmental research. The research methodology encompassed surveying plogging participants and analyzing their responses. The validation of these relationships was executed using multi-group structural equation modeling. The results revealed that autonomy and competence did not significantly sway extrinsic motivation, but relatedness surfaced as the most influential factor. This suggests that plogging, primarily viewed as a volunteering activity, serves more as a prosocial behavior that bolsters relationships rather than a means to enhance physical competence. The study also found that the value participants derived from plogging and their intention to continue varied based on their eco-friendly attitudes. The study concludes that voluntary participation and socializing are the core values of plogging, and understanding these values can foster healthier and more sustainable behaviors. The findings offer valuable insights for academic, practical, and policy perspectives in promoting eco-friendly sports activities.

The dynamics of the topological charge of a vortex optical beam propagating in a turbulent air with accounting for the cubic nonlinearity is theoretically considered. On a number of examples, we show that the optical beam self-focusing manifests itself ambiguously depending on optical wave power. At near-critical values of beam power, self-focusing leads to enhanced spatial localization of optical vortices and substantial suppression of vortex walk-off relative to the beam axis caused by air turbulence. However, with increasing of optical intensity the modulation instability imposed by cubic nonlinearity becomes significant and contributes jointly with medium turbulence to faster divergence of vortex beams.

The presented research focused on the evaluation of the novel concept of overmolding technique using self-reinforced composite prepregs and recycled polymer blends. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed manufacturing technique, several series of materials based on polycarbonate/polyethylene terephthalate (PC/PET) and polycarbonate/polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PC/PETG) blends were prepared. The reinforcing component in the form of overmolded prepreg was made from polyester-based self-reinforced composite (srPET). The prepared materials were compared in terms of mechanical properties and heat resistance; the study was supplemented by thermal analysis measurements (DMTA, DSC). Considering the mechanical characteristics, the overmolding technique turns out to be an effective method of improving the properties of composites, and the increase in impact strength turns out to be particularly beneficial. The increase of the impact strength for overmolded PC/PET blend reached 430 % for PC/PETG sample 330% , while for PC-based composite, only 100%. The expected improvement in thermomechanical properties turned out to be difficult to achieve due to the rapid softening of the srPET prepreg at around 70 °C. However, technological tests and analysis of properties clearly indicated that the use of PC-based blends makes it possible to create a permanent connection with reinforcement based on srPET prepregs, which can significantly expand the potential of applications of this type of materials.

The potential use of nanostructured dipeptide self-assemblies in materials science for energy harvesting devices is a highly sought-after area of research. Specifically, aromatic cyclo-dipeptides containing tryptophan have garnered attention due to their wide-bandgap semiconductor properties, high mechanical rigidity, photoluminescence, and nonlinear optical behavior. In this study, we present the development of a hybrid system comprising biopolymer electrospun fibers incorporated with the chiral cyclo-dipeptide L-Tryptophan-L-Tyrosine. The resulting nanofibers are wide-bandgap semiconductors (bandgap energy 4.0 eV) and consist of self-assembled nanotubes embedded within a polymer matrix, exhibiting intense blue photoluminescence. Moreover, the cyclo-dipeptide L-Tryptophan-L-Tyrosine incorporated into polycaprolactone nanofibers displays a strong effective second harmonic generation signal of 0.36 pm/V and also shows notable piezoelectric properties with a high effective coefficient of 22 pCN−1. These hybrid systems hold great promise for applications in the field of nanoenergy harvesting and nanophotonics.

Negative mental health in students currently is classified as a global crisis with the highest and lowest student achievers recognized at greatest risk. Public schooling, in reproducing accepted psychosocial beliefs through standardized learning, developed separately from necessitating student mental health, in contrast to self-directed learning. Differing from standardized learning, the objective of self-directed learning in public schools is the creation of relevant support structures for student mental health, promoting positive psychosocial outcomes. The designed separation of public schooling from both mental health and self-directed learning was first acknowledged—and lamented—by John Dewey, over 100 years ago, in anticipating today’s mental health crisis. Yet, in responding effectively to the limitations of COVID-19, self-directed learning became an acknowledged learning method in public schools, potentially able to be accommodated by them regularly in support of mental health through the use of online technology. This study investigates the COVID-19 results of self-directed online learning in public schools through a Google Scholar search of peer reviewed research regarding self-directed learning, online learning, and mental health during COVID-19, recommending support for self-initiated self-directed online learning so that self-directed learning can continue, post COVID-19, improving student mental health in public schools, leading to positive psychosocial outcomes.