Abstract: Background: To determine the impact of a patient's ethnicity on the seeking preventive dental services at the Community Health Centers (CHCs) in South-Central Texas. Methods: Pri-mary electronic health records (HER) data were collected regarding each patient's medical and dental history, and comprehensive treatment planning. The researchers retrieved EHR from Jan-uary 2016 to 2022. Bivariate analysis was completed to test outcome with predicator and covariates using appropriate statistical tests. A multiple linear regression model was used to understand the association between the predictor and outcome variable while controlling for confounders. Results: The study findings revealed significantly higher dental visits (2.26 ± 2.88) for Hispanic patients. The results from the multiple regression model indicated that non-Hispanic patients had a 8% fewer chance of visiting the CHCs for preventive dental services compared to the Hispanic population (p-value<0.001) when all other variables are held constant. However, the study results were not significant as the effect size was small to conclude the effect of ethnicity on the patients visiting the dental clinic at the CHCs for preventive services. Conclusion: The study concluded that there is no difference in the preventive dental services completed by Hispanics and Non-Hispanics when all other variables are controlled.

An interesting anomaly of the diffusion process with an apparently negative diffusion coefficient defined through the mean-square displacement in a one-dimensional quantum molecular chain model is shown. Nevertheless, the system satisfies the H-theorem, so that the second law of thermodynamics is satisfied. The reason why the “diffusion constant” becomes negative is due to the effect of the phase mixing process, which is a characteristic result of the one-dimensionality of the system. We illustrate the situation where this negative “diffusion constant” appears.

In this study a new approach for planning Micro-Catchment Water Harvesting (M.C.W.H.) systems for irrigation in semi-arid regions such as the Aegean islands, is presented. M.C.W.H. is a cheap solution for constructing irrigation infrastructure with zero energy cost in regions where water is scarce. The proposed approach introduces simple linear relationships for estimating the annual volume of water V_s collected mainly from the CA (Contributing Area), stored in the root zone (Infiltration Basin, IB), according to the annual rainfall and runoff depths, after having determined the ratio of areas of micro-catchment (MC) components i.e. λ= Α_CA/Α_ΙΒ and its whole area A_MC This procedure was applied in Paros island of the Cyclades complex in the middle of the Aegean sea in east Mediterranean. Besides, income-cost analysis was performed via NPV method for almond, peach and apricot trees. The new approach was proved versatile and easy to use. Besides, the investment turned out to be advantageous two years after the MCs construction.

The application of geophysical methods for the characterization of geomorphologic subsurface features has become very popular in recent years. Convential geophysical applications on undifferentiated and weathered slopes have been less effective. Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) is a new hope for the solution of the problem. MASW methods was used to the first step in order to reconstruct the ancient eruption of Mount Samalas. MASW was applied to the remnants of ancient volcanic sediment on Lombok Island to determine the physical and physical characteristics of seismic subsurface features. This paper is also discussion the application's capabilities of the MASW method on undifferentiated and weathered volcanic deposits on the slope area and classified them. The results of the research show that MASW technique is powerful in characterizing and delineating the stratum of the layers of undifferentiated and weathered volcanic precipitation areas. MASW is able to predict subsurface structures, especially for shallow and thin layers and presenting site class information for internal structure (vertical resolution). Based on S wave velocity structure, undifferentiated and weathered volcanic layer, genes are classified into site class C, D, and E. In the future, this method will completed with combination of other geophysical method and parameters variation (frequency and spaces) for isopach mapping of volcanic sediment and then analysis of ancient volcanic eruption dynamics.

Formulating a novel concept about the origin of human aging has been constrained by the dominance of a “classic theory” that was proposed nearly 70 years ago. Despite concern over the validity of some of its assumptions, the theory remained basic to our understanding of aging’s relationship with natural selection (NS). However, the logic upon which it rests was tested and subsequently challenged. The present theory describes the single cause of human aging consistent with Darwin’s evolutionary requirement for selection of adaptive traits. It describes an emergent property of the developmental program (DP), that is expressed upon completion of ontogenesis. It involves redundant expression of regulatory processes from the last stage of the DP. That mechanism subsequently preserves a non-aging, stable interval of unchanging NS during which reproductive fitness is achieved. Thereafter, loss of DP regulatory redundancy due to reliability limits, stochastic mutation accumulation, reproductive and a specific type of DNA damage, initiates aging which causes an inexorable decline in strength of NS to begin. It starts approximately a decade later than proposed in the classic theory. Since reproduction and aging are inextricably linked by the same emergent property, selection of that regulatory mechanism makes both traits products of NS.

Two major sample configurations are adopted in all the instruments for fabric hand measurement, flat sample as in KES and FAST types machines, and wrinkled sample as in PhabrOmeter. This paper compares the two sample types to examine which one if any offers a better coverage and reflection of the fabric sensory attributes. Fabrics have unique behaviors of drape, wrinkle and tactile sense which are entirely due to the simultaneous occurrence of both in-plane membrane deformation and out-of-plane bending deformation in multiple curvature. Such singular deformation mode cannot be detected by any machines using flat sample, whereas during a PhabrOmeter test, the fabric sample genuinely produces drape, wrinkle in addition to other related deformations. This paper then introduced the theoretical research pertaining to the measurement. Then a split sample experiment is conducted to demonstrate the importance of the internal connections in fabric during drape and wrinkle processes. As such fabric interconnection will be barely disclosed during tests using flat samples, another important advantage of PhabrOmeter is hence clearly shown.

The concept of DC power distribution has gained interest within the research community in the past years; especially due to rapid prevalence of solar PVs as a tool for distributed generation in DC microgrids. Various efficiency analyses have been presented for the DC distribution paradigm, in comparison to the AC counterpart, considering a variety of scenarios. However, even after a number of such comparative efficiency studies, there seems to be a disparity in the results of research efforts - wherein a definite verdict is still unavailable: 'Is DC distribution a more efficient choice as compared to the conventional AC system?' A final verdict is absent primarily due to conflicting results. In this regard, system modeling and the assumptions made in different studies play a significant role in affecting the results of the study. The current paper is an attempt to critically observe the modeling and assumptions used in the efficiency studies related to the DC distribution system. Several research efforts will be analyzed for their approach towards the system upon which they have performed efficiency studies. Subsequently, the paper aims to propose a model that may alleviate the shortcomings in earlier research efforts and be able to give a definite verdict regarding the comparative efficiency of DC and AC networks for residential power distribution.

The main question proposed in this research is if different types of organizational approach, adapted from rapidly changing disciplines — such as IT industry, and software engineering in particular — could help overcome this gap by shortening the response time needed to analyze advanced solutions in accordance with changed circumstances, thus allowing for architectural programming to obtain different positions in the timeline of project planning and realization. We propose a novel methodology of architectural design as a self-reliant instrument inspired by Agile Manifesto and some of its instantiations, most notably by the Scrum Framework.

Research within the field of hydrology often focuses on comparing stochastic to machine learning (ML) forecasting methods. The comparisons performed are all based on case studies, while an extensive study aiming to provide generalized results on the subject is missing. Herein, we compare 11 stochastic and 9 ML methods regarding their multi-step ahead forecasting properties by conducting 12 large-scale computational experiments based on simulations. Each of these experiments uses 2 000 time series generated by linear stationary stochastic processes. We conduct each simulation experiment twice; the first time using time series of 100 values and the second time using time series of 300 values. Additionally, we conduct a real-world experiment using 405 mean annual river discharge time series of 100 values. We quantify the performance of the methods using 18 metrics. The results indicate that stochastic and ML methods perform equally well.

Currently, there are two approaches to the foundations of thermodynamics. One, associated with the mechanistical Clausius-Boltzmann tradition, is favored by the physics community. The other, associated with the post-mechanical Carnot tradition, is favored by the engineering community. The bold hypothesis is that the conceptual foundation of engineering thermodynamics is the more comprehensive. Therefore, contrary to the dominant consensus, engineering thermodynamics (ET) represents the true foundation of thermodynamics. The foundational issue is crucial to a number of unresolved current and historical issues in thermodynamic theory and practice. ET formally explains the limited successes of the ‘rational mechanical’ approaches as idealizing special cases. Thermodynamic phenomena are uniquely dissymmetric and can never be completely understood in terms of symmetry-based mechanical concepts. Consequently, ET understands thermodynamic phenomena in new way, in terms of the post-mechanical formulation of action. The ET concept of action and the action framework trace back to Maupertuis’s Principle of Least Action, both clarified in the engineering worldview research program of Lazare and Sadi Carnot. Despite the intervening Lagrangian ‘mechanical idealization of action’, the original dualistic, indeterminate engineering understanding of action, somewhat unexpectedly, re-emerged in Planck’s quantum of action. The link between engineering thermodynamics and quantum theory is not spurious and each of our current formulations helps us develop our understanding of the other. Both the ET and quantum theory understandings of thermodynamic phenomena, as essentially dissymmetric (viz. embracing complementary), entail that there must be an irreducible, cumulative historical, qualitatively emergent, aspect of reality.

Susceptibility to photoimmune suppression and photocarcinogenesis is greater in male than in female humans and mice and is exacerbated in female estrogen receptor-beta knockout (ER-β-/-) mice. We previously reported that the active vitamin D hormone, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D) applied topically protects against ultraviolet radiation (UV)-induction of cutaneous cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and suppression of contact hypersensitivity (CHS) in female mice. Here we compare these responses in female versus male Skh:hr1 mice, in ER-β-/- versus wild type C57BL/6 mice, and in female ER-blockaded Skh:hr1 mice. Induction of CPDs was significantly greater in male than female Skh:hr1 mice and was more effectively reduced by 1,25(OH)2D in female Skh:hr1 and C57BL/6 mice, than in male Skh:hr1 or ER-β-/- mice respectively. This correlated with reduced sunburn inflammation by 1,25(OH)2D in female but not male Skh:hr1 mice. Furthermore, although 1,25(OH)2D alone dose-dependently suppressed basal CHS responses in male Skh:hr1 and ER-β-/- mice, UV-induced immunosuppression was universally observed. In female Skh:hr1 and C57BL/6 mice, the immunosuppression was decreased by 1,25(OH)2D dose-dependently, but not in male Skh:hr1, ER-β-/- or ER-blockaded mice. These results reveal a sex bias in genetic, inflammatory and immune photoprotection by 1,25(OH)2D favoring female mice, that is dependent on the presence of ER-β.

The application of the sensors optical fiber in the areas of scientific instrumentation and industrial instrumentation is very attractive due to its numerous advantages. In the industry of civil engineering for example, quasi-distributed sensors made with optical fiber are used for reliable strain and temperature measurements. Here, a quasi-distributed sensor in the frequency domain is discussed. The sensor consists of a series of low-finesse Fabry-Perot interferometers where each Fabry-Perot interferometer acts as a local sensor. Fabry-Perot interferometers are formed by pairs of identical low reflective Bragg gratings imprinted in a single mode fiber. All interferometer sensors have different cavity length, provoking the frequency-domain multiplexing. The optical signal represents the superposition of all interference patterns which can be decomposed using the Fourier transform. The frequency spectrum is analyzed and sensor´s properties were defined. Following, a quasi-distributed sensor was numerically simulated. Our sensor simulation considers sensor properties, signal processing, noise system and instrumentation. The numerical results show the behavior of resolution vs. signal-to-noise ratio. From our results, the Fabry-Perot sensor has high resolution and low resolutions. Both resolutions are conceivable because the FDPA algorithm elaborates two evaluations of Bragg wavelength shift

How to disentangle the possible genuine quenching of gA caused by scale anomaly of QCD parameterized by the scale-symmetry-breaking quenching factor qssb from nuclear correlation effects is described. This is done by matching the Fermi-liquid xed (FLFP) point theory to the "Extreme Single Particle (shell) Model" (acronym ESPM) in superallowed Gamow-Teller transitions in heavy doubly-magic shell nuclei. The recently experimentally observed indication for (1-qssb) ≠0 - that one might identify as "fundamental quenching (FQ)" - in certain experiments seems to be alarmingly signicant. I present arguments how symmetries hidden in the matter-free vacuum can emerge and suppress such FQ in strong nuclear correlations. How to conrm or refute this observation is discussed in terms of the superallowed Gamow-Teller transition in the doubly-magic nucleus 100Sn and in the spectral shape in the multifold forbidden β decay of 115In.

This study presents established methods, along with new algorithmic developments, to automate the point cloud processing within the Field Information Modeling (FIM)™ framework. More specifically, given an n-D designed information model, and the point cloud’s spatial uncertainty, the problem of automatic assignment of the point clouds to their corresponding elements within the designed model is considered. The methods addressed two classes of field conditions, namely, (i) negligible construction errors; and (ii) existence of construction errors. The emphasis was given to describing and defining the assumptions in each method and shed light on some of their potentials and limitations in practical settings. Considering the shortcomings of current point cloud processing frameworks, three new and generic algorithms were developed to help solve the point cloud to model assignment in field conditions with both negligible, and existence (or speculation) of construction errors. The effectiveness of the new methods was demonstrated in real-world point clouds, acquired from construction projects, with promising results.

Finding out how cells with the same genome change fates in differentiation commitment is a challenge of biology. We used MCF-7 breast cancer cells treated with the ErbB2 ligand heregulin (HRG), which induces differentiation, to address if and how the constitutive pericentromere-associated domains (PADs) may be involved in this process. PAD-specific repressive heterochromatin (H3K9me3) and active euchromatin (H3K4me3) marking, centromere (CENPA) labelling, qPCR, acridine-orange-DNA structural test, and microscopic image analysis were applied. We found a two-step DNA unfolding, at 15-20 min and 60 min after HRG treatment, coinciding with bi-phasic activation of the early response genes (c-FOS family) and two steps of critical phase transition which were revealed in transcriptome studies. In control, the distribution of PAD number and size displays a power-law scaling with a boundary at the nucleolus. PADs’ clustering correlates with centromere numbers. 15 min after HRG treatment, the unravelling of PADs occurs, coinciding with the first step of euchromatin unfolding. The second step is associated with transcription of long-non-coding-RNA from satellite III DNA. We hypothesize that splitting of the PAD clusters under the critical size threshold of the silencing domain abrupts position effect variegation. It allows the first genome transcription avalanche to occur, starting differentiation commitment.

Historical analysis of Australian bushfire data spanning 170 years addresses whether the strength of recent fire events has been exacerbated by human-induced climate change. The question of “cause” looks at the characteristics of a wider range of natural hazards. Fire characteristics are compared with earthquake hazard characteristics: (1) energy – termed “magnitude”; (2) severity – termed “intensity”; and (3) resultant damage to people and structures – termed “impact”.Published global, Northern and Southern hemisphere temperature data are shown to vary consistently in phase over 170 years, but vary in amplitude with statistical significance. CO₂ levels north and south of the Equator have tracked quite consistently. Thus, Southern Hemisphere bushfire magnitude and intensity is compared with the Southern Hemisphere climate record, rather than a global data set.28 major bushfires and associated droughts since 1850 show neither apparent drought extent, nor area burned, nor bushfire intensity, correlates with changes in Southern Hemisphere climate. Average rainfall from 1900 shows a wetter, rather than drier trend. Cyclone energy shows no significant trend with climate. Planet-wide “greening”, through CO₂ fertilisation, is an insignificant contributor to bushfire magnitude. Combustion theory shows recorded “global warming” could have had no significant influence on bushfire magnitude or intensity. Any increase in Australian bushfire impact, as judged by lives lost, similarly, shows no correlation with bushfire magnitude, nor indeed, any observed Southern Hemisphere global warming.Thus, bushfire magnitude seems much more likely driven by fuel load and any anomalous bushfire intensity is likely driven by anomalous ground level fuel load. The evidence suggests that any CO₂ emissions reduction will have no impact on future bushfire “severity.