SARS-CoV-2 is a new coronavirus that has caused a worldwide pandemic. It produces severe acute respiratory disease (COVID-19), which is fatal in many cases, characterised by cytokine release syndrome (CRS). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), those who smoke are likely to be more vulnerable to infection. Here, in order to clarify the epidemiologic relationship between smoking and COVID-19, we present a systematic literature review until 28 April 2020 and a meta-analysis. It includes 18 recent COVID-19 clinical and epidemiological studies based on smoking patient status from 720 initial studies in China, USA, and Italy. The percentage of hospitalised current smokers was 7.7% (95%CI: 6.9-8.4) in China, 2.3% (95%CI: 1.7-2.9) in the USA and 7.6% (95%CI: 4.2-11.0) in Italy. These percentages were compared to the smoking prevalence of each country and statistically significant differences were found in them all (p <0.0001). By means of the meta-analysis, we offer epidemiological evidence showing that smokers were statistically less likely to be hospitalised (OR=0.18, 95%CI: 0.14-0.23, p<0.01). CRS and exacerbated inflammatory response are associated with aggravation of hospitalise patients. In this scenario, we hypothesise that nicotine, not smoking, could ameliorate the cytokine storm and severe related inflammatory response through the cholinergic-mediated anti-inflammatory pathway.

SARS-CoV-2 is the betacoronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. It was listed as a potential global health threat by WHO due to high mortality, high basic reproduction number and lack of clinically approved drugs and vaccines for COVID-19. The genomic sequence of the virus responsible for COVID-19, as well as the experimentally determined three dimensional structure of the Main protease (Mpro) are available. The reported structure of the target Mpro was utilized in this study to identify potential drugs for COVID-19 using molecular docking based virtual screening of all approved drugs. The results of this study confirm preliminary reports that some of the drugs approved for treatment of other viral infections have the potential for treatment of COVID-19. Selected antiviral drugs, approved for human therapeutic applications, were ranked for potential effectiveness against COVID-19, based on predicted binding energy to the target Mpro of SARS-CoV-2, and novel candidates for drug repurposing were identified in this study. In addition, potential mechanisms for beneficial off target effects of some drugs in clinical trials were identified by using molecular docking.

The existence of a common ancestor to all living organisms in Earth is a necessary corollary of Darwin idea of common ancestry. The Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) has been normally considered as the ancestor of cellular organisms that originated the three domains of life: Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. Recent studies about the nature of LUCA indicate that this first organism should present hundreds of genes and a complex metabolism. Trying to bring another of Darwin ideas into the origins of life discussion, we went back into the prebiotic chemistry trying to understand how LUCA could be originated under gradualist assumptions. Along this line of reasoning, it became clear to us that the definition of another ancestral should be of particular relevance to the understanding about the emergence of biological systems. Together with the view of biology as a language for chemical translation, on which proteins are encoded into nucleic acids polymers, we glimpse a point in the deep past on which this Translation mechanism could have taken place. Thus, we propose the emergence of this process shared by all biological systems as a point of interest and propose the existence of this pre-cellular entity named FUCA, as the First Universal Common Ancestor. FUCA was born in the very instant on which RNA-world replicators started to be capable to catalyze the bonding of amino acids into oligopeptides. FUCA has been considered mature when the translation system apparatus has been assembled together with the establishment of a primeval, possibly error-prone genetic code. This is FUCA, the earliest ancestor of LUCA’s lineage.

COVID 19, a pandemic spread without any solid anti-viral antidote. Researchers worldwide are currently giving their best to make antidote for this virus with all available literatures and knowledge. Research carried out indicates sulfated polysaccharides (carrageenan) are selective inhibitors of several enveloped and non-enveloped viruses and act predominantly by inhibiting the binding or internalization of virus into the host cells. Polysaccharides produced from Porphyridium sp. are sulfated polysaccharides which are promising antiviral agents against respiratory viruses from the family of coronavirus. These biocompatible compounds can be used as a coating material on the sanitary items for COVID-19 prevention.

Introduction: The majority of epidemiological reports focus on confirmed cases of COVID-19. In this study, we aim to assess the health and well-being of adults not infected with Covid-19 after two months of quarantine in Morocco. Materials and methods: Two months after the declaration of quarantine in Morocco following the Covid-19 epidemic, we carried out a descriptive cross-sectional study of 279 Moroccan citizens. We used the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) as a determinant of quality of life, which is based on eight dimensions of health. The data were collected using an electronic questionnaire distributed online. The participants also indicated their socio-demographic data, their knowledge and practices regarding the Covid-19 pandemic and whether they had chronic health problems. Results: The quality of life of all participants was moderately disrupted during the Covid-19 pandemic with a mental health score (MCS) of 34.49 (± 6.44) and a physical health score (PCS) of 36.10 (± 5.82). Participants with chronic diseases scored lower with 29.28 (± 1.23) in mental health (MCS) and 32.51 (± 7.14) in physical health (PCS). The seriousness of COVID-19 has an impact on the quality of life and health well-being of people and this impact is more marked in people with chronic health problems. Conclusion: Our results confirm the need to pay attention to the health of people who have not been infected with the virus. Our results also point out that uninfected people with chronic illnesses may be more likely to have well-being problems due to quarantine restrictions.

Mexico´s inhabitants have approximately 7 million dogs and cats as pets, of which there is no accurate information about their environmental impacts as a result of their feeding and comfort requirements. The objective of this study is to compare the environmental footprint between a dog and a cat in a family environment. For this purpose, a life cycle analysis was performed including, among other factors, its feeding and waste management in one year of life. Different environmental indicators including the carbon footprint were considered. It was found that the equivalent CO2 emission of a dog is twice that estimated for a domestic cat and that the main contribution is due to the food production. The ecological footprint that is generated when satisfying the requirements for pet´s well-being impacts in the environment contributes primarily to the carbon footprint.

Utility of vaccine campaigns to control coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is not merely dependent on vaccine efficacy and safety. Vaccine acceptance among the general public and the healthcare workers, appears to have a decisive role for successful control of the pandemic. The aim of this review was to provide an up-to-date assessment of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance rates worldwide. A systematic search of the peer-reviewed English survey literature indexed in PubMed was done on December 25, 2020. Results from 30 studies, met the inclusion criteria and formed the basis for final COVID-19 vaccine acceptance estimates. Results of an additional recent survey from Jordan and Kuwait was considered in this review as well. Survey studies on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rates were found from 33 different countries. Among adults representing the general public, the highest COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rates were found in Ecuador (97.0%), Malaysia (94.3%), Indonesia (93.3%) and China (91.3%). On the other hand, the lowest COVID-19 vaccine acceptance rates were found in Kuwait (23.6%), Jordan (28.4%), Italy (53.7), Russia (54.9%), Poland (56.3%), US (56.9%), and France (58.9%). Only eight surveys among healthcare workers (doctors, nurses) were found, with vaccine acceptance rates ranging from 27.7% in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to 78.1% in Israel. In a majority of survey studies among the general public (62%), the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination showed a level of ≥ 70%. Low rates of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance were reported in the Middle East, Russia, Africa and several European countries. This could represent a major problem in the global efforts that aim to control the current COVID-19 pandemic. More studies are recommended to address the scope of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Such studies are particularly needed in the Middle East Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Middle and Latin America.

The storage of biochemical information, which is a prerequisite for the development of the first cell, is an unsolved problem affecting all concepts of the origin of life. However, if the protected environment in the continental crust is taken into account, completely new possibilities emerge for identifying processes that may have been crucial for the formation of the first cell. Under this background, we can hypothesize that cellular life began, with a self-sustaining cycle of molecular reaction steps and information storage of peptide sequences in RNA in a crustal depth of approximately 1000 m. This cycle was made possible in an open system bound to gas-permeable tectonic fracture zones with a high proportion of CO₂ and/or N₂. It can be assumed that a large number of RNA-like molecular strands formed in the crustal environment, from which a special RNA was selected by flotation processes, which formed the basis of a proto-tRNA. The formation of peptides and vesicles in supercritical CO₂ and the chemical evolution of peptides have already been proven at conditions of the upper continental crust. The behavior of individual amino acids in connection with vesicle formation deserves special interest. Hydrophobic amino acids accumulate in the vesicle membrane, with their position in the membrane depending on the degree of hydrophobicity. Selection of a proto-tRNA with an acceptor arm ending with the bases CCA resulted in a distinctive property. The position of adenine at the tip of the acceptor arm permitted it to penetrate the membrane, allowing it to be linked to an amino acid at the 3'-OH position of the terminal ribose. The penetration depth was controlled by the hydrophobicity of the opposite anti-codon, with adenine always occupying the middle position for the hydrothermally formed hydrophobic amino acids. When the vesicle membrane was closely occupied by proto-tRNAs, the anti-codons acted as templates and stored the sequence of the peptides that form. In the cases of hydrophilic anti-codons, the acceptor arm does not reach far enough into the membrane. This allowed hydrophilic amino acids to be linked to 2´-OH.

The present paper reviews evidence for ecological evolution of Montiaceae. Montiaceae (Portulacineae) comprise a family of ca. 275 species and ca. 25 subspecific taxa of flowering plants distributed mainly in extreme western America, with additional endemism elsewhere, including other continents and islands. They have diversified repeatedly across steep ecological gradients. Based on narrative analysis, I argue that phylogenetic transitions from annual to perennial life history have been more frequent than suggested by computational phylogenetic reconstructions. I suggest that a reported phylogenetic correlation between the evolution of life history and temperature niche is coincidental and not causal. I demonstrate how statistical phylogenetic comparative analysis (PhCA) missed evidence for marked moisture niche diversification among Montiaceae. I discount PhCA evidence for the relation between Montiaceae genome duplication and ecological diversification. Based on the present analysis of Montiaceae evolution, I criticize the premise of the prevalent statistical approach to PhCA, which tests Darwinian deterministic hypotheses against stochastic evolutionary null models. I discuss theoretical/empirical evidence that evolution is neither stochastic, nor Darwinistically-determined, but idiosyncratic. Idiosyncraticity describes the outcome of a stochastically perturbed nonlinear chaos-like process. The Principle of Evolutionary Idiosyncraticity (PEI) is based on the evolutionary theory of Natural Drift, which maintains that determinism in evolution is a property of the organism and not, as maintained by the theory of Natural Selection, its traits or its milieu. This determinism is characteristic of chaotic functions, which are absolutely determinate, generate self-similarity, but remain absolutely unpredictable. PEI explains precisely observations that evolution proceeds not linearly, but chaotically, producing both quasi-linear fractal-like patterns and non-linear jumps. PEI has ramifications for all areas of macroevolutionary research. In particular, it demonstrates both the fallacy and futility of the statistical PhCA approach that interprets evolutionary causes in terms of evolutionary correlations. However, statistical methods of PhCA can be applied heuristically and fruitfully to reveal idiosyncraticity and discover evolutionary novelty. This, in turn, is demonstrated by the emergence of statistical anomalies in evolutionary analyses of Montiaceae.

Management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often relies on biological and immunomodulatory agents for remission through immunosuppression, raising concerns regarding the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine's effectiveness. The emergent variants have hindered the vaccine neutralization capacity, and whether the third vaccine dose has the capacity to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants in this population remains unknown. This study aims to evaluate the humoral response of SARS-CoV-2 variants in patients with IBD 60 days after the third vaccine dose [BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna)].56 su bjects with IBD and 12 healthy subjects were recruited. 90% of patients with IBD (49/56) were receiving biologics and/or immunomodulatory therapy. 24 subjects with IBD did not develop effective neutralizing capability against the Omicron variant. 70% (17/24) of those subjects were receiving anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor therapy [10= adalimumab, 7= infliximab], two of them had a history of COVID-19 infection, and one subject did not develop immune neutralization against three other variants: Gamma, Epsilon, and Kappa. All subjects in the control group developed detectable antibodies and effective neutralization against all seven SARS-CoV-2 variants. Our study shows that patients with IBD might not be protected against SARS-CoV-2 variants, and larger studies are needed to evaluate optimal immunity.

The chemical investigation of the anti-yeast methanol extract from the stem bark of Terminalia mantaly led to the isolation of seven compounds: 3-O-methyl-4-O-α-rhamnopyranoside ellagic acid (1), 3-O-mehylellagic acid (2), arjungenin or 2,3,19,23-tetrahydroxyolean-12-en-28-oïc acid (3), arjunglucoside or 2,3,19,23-tetrahydroxyolean-12-en-28-oïc acid glucopyranoside (4), 2α,3α,24-trihydroxyolean-11,13(18)-dien-28-oïc acid (5), stigmasterol (6), stigmasterol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7). Their structures were established by means of spectroscopic analysis and comparison with published data. Compounds 1-5 were tested in vitro for activity against three pathogenic yeast isolates, Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis and Candida krusei. The activity of compounds 1, 2 and 4 were comparable to that of the reference compound fluconazole (MIC values below 32 µg/ml) against the three tested yeast isolates. They were also tested for inhibitory properties against four enzymes of metabolic significance: Glucose-6-Phosphate Deshydrogenase (G6PD), human erythrocyte Carbonic anhydrase I and II (hCA I and hCA II), Glutathione S-transferase (GST). Compound 4 showed highly potent inhibitory property against the four tested enzymes with overall IC₅₀ values below 4 µM and inhibitory constant (Ki) <3 µM.

The West-African variety of Sorghum bicolor leaf sheath (SBLS) Jobelyn® is a natural remedy, which has gained international recognition for its anti-anemic effect and energy boosting qualities in debilitating diseases. The widespread use of traditional medicine in the region usually confirms its safety, but not its efficacy or deep assessment of their pharmacological properties. The other major issue for herbal-based treatments is the lack of definite and complete information about the composition of the extracts. Despite limitations, efforts have been made in isolation and characterisation of active compounds in this specie of sorghum showing various subclasses of flavonoids including apigeninidin, a stable 3-deoxyanthocyanidin and potential fungal growth inhibitor, which accounts for 84% of the total extract. Non-clinical in vitro and in vivo studies support previous indications that this variety of Sorghum bicolor possesses several biologically active compounds with potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging and neuro-protective properties. Clinical studies show that SBLS has the ability to boost hemoglobin concentrations in anemic conditions and most remarkably to increase CD4 count in HIV-positive patients. The multiple effects and high safety profiles of this extract may encourage its development as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of anemia, chronic inflammatory conditions or in the symptomatic management of HIV infections. This review describes the potential therapeutic aspects of SBLS extract and its potential benefits.

Using recent developments in econometrics and computational statistics we consider the estimation of the instantaneous rate of asset return process when the underlying Data Generating Mechanism (DGM) is an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, driven by fractional noise, and sampled at fixed intervals of length h. To address the problem we adopt throughout the paper an exact discretization approach. This enable us to exploit the fact that a flow sampling scheme arises naturally when observing the DGM. For, while the instantaneous rate of return process is unobservable at points in time, its time integral over successive observations is observable since it equals the increment of log-prices. Exact discretization delivers an ARIMA(1,1,1) model for log-prices with a fractional driving noise. Building on the resulting exact discretization formulae and covariance function, a new Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) scheme is proposed and we examine the properties of both the time and frequency domain likelihoods / posteriors through Monte Carlo. For the exact discrete model we adopt a general sampling interval of length h. This allow us to determine the optimal choice of h independent of the sample size. An empirical application using high frequency stock price data is presented showing the relevance of aggregation over time issues in modelling asset prices.

Critical realism emerged from the philosophical writings of Roy Bhaskar, and has evolved into a philosophy of social science research using the model of “dialectical critical realism” (DCR) which begins with the researcher’s assumptions that the structures being researched have a real, ontological grounding which is independent of the researcher. This approach has proved fruitful in British and European social science research, but has had less influence in North America. We outline DCR’s four level model for understanding society and its changing social structures through “the pulse of freedom”. DCR has been used by Marxists, Muslims, Catholics and secular scholars who engage fruitfully in morphogenic dialogues leading to a critical realist understanding of society and social research, which transcends positivist and social constructionist models. Examples of DCR’s application in the fields of childhood research, child abuse, education, and research on organisations are outlined to illustrate the working of this new research paradigm. We are enthusiastic in our advocacy of DCR as a model of qualitative research, and for constructing models of positive social change, and are particularly impressed by the substantive and theoretical expositions of DCR by Priscilla Anderson, Matthew Wilkinson and Margaret Archer, whose work we document and review.

Cordycepin is an extract from the insect fungus Cordyceps. militaris, which is a traditional medicine with various biological function. In previous studies, cordycepin had been reported with excellent anti-obesity effect, but the mechanism is unclear. A large quantity of evidences showed that prolactin plays an important part in body weight regulation, hyperprolactinemia can promote appetite and accelerate fat deposition. In this study, we explored the molecular mechanism of the anti-obesity effect of cordycepin by reducing prolactin release via an adenosine A₁ receptor. In vivo, obese rats model was induced by high fat diet for 5 weeks, the serum and liver lipids coupling with serum prolactin were reduced by treatment of cordycepin, the results suggested that cordycepin is a potential drug for therapying obesity which could be related with prolactin. In vitro, cordycepin could inhibit prolactin secretion in GH₃ cells via upregulating the expression of adenosine A₁ receptor, the inhibition effect could be blocked by an antagonist of adenosine receptor A1 DPDPX, prolactin induced the upregulation of lipogenesis genes PRLR, and P-JAK2 in 3T3-L1 cells. Intriguingly, cordycepin would down-regulate the expression of prolactin receptor (PRLR). Thus, we concluded that cordycepin modulate body weight by reducing prolactin release via an adenosine A₁ receptor.

A basic problem in all postulated pathways of prebiotic chemistry is the low concentration which generally is expected for interesting reactants in fluid environments. Even though compounds like nucleobases, sugars or peptides principally may form spontaneously under environmental conditions, they will always be rapidly diluted in an aqueous environment. In addition, any such reaction leads to side products which often exceed the desired compound and generally hamper the first steps of a subsequent molecular evolution. Therefore, a mechanism of selection and accumulation of relevant prebiotic compounds seems to be crucial for molecular evolution. A very efficient environment for selection and accumulation can be found in the fluid continuum circulating in tectonic fault zones. Vesicles which form spontaneously at a depth of approximately 1 km present a selective trap for amphiphilic molecules, especially for peptides composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic amino acids in a suitable sequence. The accumulation effect is shown in a numeric simulation on a simplified model. Further, possible mechanisms of a molecular evolution in vesicle membranes are discussed. Altogether, the proposed scenario can be seen as an ideal environment for constant, undisturbed molecular evolution in and on cell-like compartments, the latter offering preferential starting conditions for a subsequent RNA world.

Two new dimacrolide sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloids (DMSPAs), dimacroregelines A (1) and B (2), were isolated from the stems of Tripterygium regelii. The structures of both compounds were characterized by extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses, as well as HRESIMS data. Compounds 1 and 2 are two rare DMSPAs possessing unique 2-(3′-carboxybutyl)-3-furanoic acid units forming the second macrocyclic ring, representing the first example of DMSPAs bearing an extra furan ring in their second macrocyclic ring system. Compound 2 showed inhibitory effects on the proliferation of human rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblast cell (MH7A) at a concentration of 20 μM.

Intelligent fault diagnosis techniques have replaced the time-consuming and unreliable human analysis, increasing the efficiency of fault diagnosis. Deep learning model can improve the accuracy of intelligent fault diagnosis with the help of its multilayer nonlinear mapping ability. This paper has proposed a novel method named Deep Convolutional Neural Networks with Wide First-layer Kernels (WDCNN). The proposed method uses raw vibration signals as input (data augmentation is used to generate more inputs), and uses the wide kernels in first convolutional layer for extracting feature and suppressing high frequency noise. Small convolutional kernels in the preceding layers are used for multilayer nonlinear mapping. AdaBN is implemented to improve the domain adaptation ability of the model. The proposed model addresses the problem that currently, the accuracy of CNN applied to fault diagnosis is not very high. WDCNN can not only achieve 100% classification accuracy on normal signals, but also outperform state of the art DNN model which is based on frequency features under different working load and noisy environment.

A crewed mission to and from Mars may include an exciting array of enabling biotechnologies that leverage inherent mass, power, and volume advantages over traditional abiotic approaches. In this perspective, we articulate the scientific and engineering goals and constraints, along with example systems, that guide the design of a surface biomanufactory. Extending past arguments for exploiting stand-alone elements of biology, we argue for an integrated biomanufacturing plant replete with modules for microbial \textit{in situ} resource utilization, production, and recycling of food, pharmaceuticals, and biomaterials required for sustaining future intrepid astronauts. We also discuss aspirational technology trends in each of these target areas in the context of human and robotic exploration missions in the coming century.

All life on Earth uses three integrated molecular systems in which genetic information contained in DNA base sequences is transmitted to ribosomes by RNA and a genetic code, then translated into the amino acid sequences of structural and catalytic proteins. Therefore, the most important point for understanding the origin of life is to determine how such systems could emerge from random processes on the early Earth. In this review, two alternatives are compared: the RNA world hypothesis and the [GADV]-protein world hypothesis. [GADV] refers to four amino acids, Gly [G], Ala [A], Asp [D] and Val [V] that are conserved in the amino acid sequences of many common proteins. Here I will argue that the origins of the three primary processes required for life to begin can be better explained by the GADV hypothesis than the RNA world hypothesis. The GADV hypothesis also incorporates a conversion process by which random polymers can evolve into proteins with ordered sequences.

Based on a new model of a possible origin of life, we establish an efficient and stable system undergoing structural reproduction, self-optimization and molecular evolution. This system is being formed under realistic conditions by the interaction of two cyclic processes, one of which offering vesicles as the structural environment, the other supplying peptides from a variety of amino acids as versatile building blocks. We demonstrate that structures growing in a combination of both cycles have the potential to support their own existence, to undergo chemical and structural evolution and to develop unpredicted functional properties. The key mechanism is the mutual stabilization of the peptides by the vesicles and of the vesicles by the peptides together with a constant production and selection of both. The development of the proposed system over time not only would represent one of the principles of life, but could also be a model for the formation of self-evolving structures ultimately leading to the first living cell. The experiment yields clear evidence on a vesicle-induced accumulation of membrane-interacting peptide which could be identified by liquid chromatography combined with high-resolution mass spectroscopy. We found that the selected peptide has an immediate effect on the vesicles, leading to i) reduced vesicle size, ii) increased vesicle membrane permeability, and iii) improved thermal vesicle stability.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex, multisystem, and profoundly debilitating condition, probably of multifactorial etiology. No effective approved drugs are currently available for its treatment. Several studies have proposed symptomatic treatment with melatonin and zinc supplementation in chronic illnesses; however, little is known about the synergistic effect of this treatment on fatigue-related symptoms in ME/CFS. The primary endpoint of the study was to assess the effect of oral melatonin plus zinc supplementation on fatigue in ME/CFS. Secondary measures included participants’ sleep disturbances, anxiety/depression, and health-related quality of life. A proof-of-concept, 16-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial was conducted in 50 ME/CFS patients assigned to receive either oral melatonin (1 mg) plus zinc (10 mg) supplementation (n = 24) or matching placebo (n = 26) once daily. Endpoint outcomes were evaluated at baseline and then reassessed at 8 and 16 weeks of treatment and 4 weeks after treatment cessation, using self-reported outcome measures. Treatment was safe and well-tolerated. The most relevant results were the significant reduction in the perception of physical fatigue in the active group at the final follow-up versus placebo (p < 0.05), and the significant improvement in the physical component summary at all follow-up visits in the experimental group. Our findings suggest that oral melatonin plus zinc supplementation for 16 weeks is safe and potentially effective in reducing fatigue and improving the quality of life in ME/CFS. This clinical study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03000777).

Abstract The aim of this research is to conduct a systematic review analysing the role of the physiotherapy interventions in palliative care. PRISMA as a critical appraisal tool was utilised for the selection of the research articles. The inclusion criteria were based on the year of publication, ease of availability, language, geographical location, and study type. To ensure the credibility, databases such as Elsevier, Proquest, and EBSCO Host were used to filter the grey content. Data published in the past ten years (2009-onwards) was only included to ensure the selection of the most recent interventions used by the physiotherapists. A total of 11 articles were selected which determined that physiotherapy interventions involving breathing exercises, aerobic exercises, manual therapies, and educational awareness were critical to promoting the functional capability and empower the patients.

We address the need for a model by considering two competing theories regarding the origin of life: (i) the Metabolism First theory and (ii) the RNA World theory. We discuss two inter-related points. (I) Models are valuable tools in understanding both the processes and intricacies of the origin of life issues. (II) Insights from models also help us to evaluate the core objection to origin of life theories called “the inefficiency objection” commonly raised by proponents of both the Metabolism First theory and the RNA World theory against each other. We use Simpson’s paradox as a tool for challenging this objection. We will use models in various senses ranging from taking them as representations of reality to treating them as theories/accounts that provide heuristics for probing reality. In this paper, we will frequently use models and theories interchangeably. Additionally, we investigate Conway’s Game of Life and contrast it with our Simpson’s Paradox (SP)-based approach to emergence of life issues. Finally, we discuss some of the consequences of our view. A scientific model is testable in three senses: (i) a logical sense, (ii) a nomological sense, and (iii) a current technological sense. The SP-based model is testable in the logical sense. It is also testable nomologically. However, it is not currently feasible to test it.

Tea (Camellia sinenesis) is a health beneficial beverage and is also a source for extracting bioactive components such as theanine, tea polyphenols (TPP) and tea polysaccharides (TPS). TPS is a group of hetero-polysaccharides bounded with proteins. There were tests showing that TPS had various bioactivities, such as antioxidant, antitumors, antihyperglycemia, anti-inflammation and improving immunity. However, inconsistent results concerning chemical composition and bioactivity of TPS were published in recent years. The advances in chemical composition and bioactivities of TPS were reviewed in the present paper. The inconsistent and controversial results regarding composition and bioactivities of TPS were also discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic affects all parameters, especially health care professionals, drugs and medical supplies. The KERRA is a mixed medicinal plant capsule that is used for the treatment of patients with high fever with food and drug administration approved by FDA Thailand. Recently, KERRA showed quicker recovery for COVID-19 patients. Therefore, it is possible that some ingredients in KERRA could inhibit SARS-CoV-2. In this study, two important replication-related enzymes in SARS-CoV-2, a main protease and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), were used to study the effect of KERRA. The results showed that KERRA inhibited the SARS-CoV-2 main protease and SARS-CoV-2 RdRp with IC50 values of 49.91 ± 1.75 ng/mL and 36.23 ± 5.23 µg/mL, respectively. KERRA displayed no cytotoxic activity on macrophage cells at concentrations lower than 1 mg/mL and exhibited anti-inflammatory activity. Additionally, KERRA was against a feline coronavirus (feline infectious peritonitis [FIP]) infection with an EC50 value of 134.3 g/mL. This study supports the potential use of KERRA as a candidate drug for COVID-19.

Nietzsche is almost always regarded as one of the thinkers who advocate extreme individualism, totally indifferent to or exclusively polemical towards the public human dimension. While this is very difficult to contradict, if we read his texts carefully we can see how his constant celebration of the individual runs parallel to an acute awareness of living in a new era, which he defined as ‘the century of the multitude and the masses’. The herd, conformism, mediocrity, public opinion: a civilisation in which community attempts suffocate all individual inspiration, and which therefore seems to row in the opposite direction. Although Nietzsche often uses collective life merely as a negative pole for more effectively emphasising the individual, his provocative words—pushed to the limits of the inexorable victory of the herd and of the paradoxical impossibility of all that is ‘public’—offer us a direct testimony of the tragic way of life of the man of his time. This provides us with an extremely clear and interesting phenomenological cross-section of the social sphere, as well as a very finely tuned and valuable seismograph for the continual monitoring of our everyday coexistence with and perception of the constantly incumbent dangers of its degeneration.

A possible way to valorize citrus peels, which are byproducts of the juice extraction industry, is to use them as natural biopreservatives. In this paper we present early results from a compared Solvent Free Microwave Extraction (SFME) with Hydro-Distillation (HD) and Cold Pressing (CP) of essential oils (EOs) using fresh orange peel (Citrus sinensis L. var. Valencia late), a by-product in the production of orange juice in Algeria. The EOs were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). All extracted C. sinensis EOs were chemotype limonene (94.64 to 95.48%). SFME is performed without added any solvent or water. SFME increases EO yield and eliminate wastewater treatment, resulting in a great progress in terms of time and cost efficiency. In its second part, the present study was conducted to evaluate “in vitro”, the antioxidant activities of Solvent Free Microwave (SFM) extracted orange EO by using the DPPH• (2,2-di-phenyl-1-picrilhydrazyl) free radical scavenging assay. The ability of orange EO to scavenge the free radical DPPH• was high, exceeding 80%. The result of the DPPH assay gives an IC₅₀ range value of 89.25 μg/mL (0.09 mg/mL) for the studied sample. Accordingly to the scientific literature, C. sinensis EO tested in the present study presented strong antioxidant activity, when looking to its values of AAI = 1.12 μg/mL. The feasibility of biopreservation used EOs as an alternative to synthetic techniques for liquid whole egg (LWE) stored under commercial retail conditions was investigated. The orange EO extracted by SFM was screened for its antibacterial and antioxidant activities in LWE at concentrations of 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5%. The TBA-RS results showed that the EO treatments significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the lipid oxidation in LWE. The long term oxidative, microbial and organoleptical stability of the LWE during display was positively influenced by orange EO treatments. Therefore, the results obtained here confirm that EO treatment as a promising technology to extend the commercial shelf-life of liquid egg products during retail/display.

Recently, design of electric scooters (ESs) has commonly adopted brushless DC motors (BLDCMs) in place of brushed DC motors. This invention develops a new anti-lock braking system (ABS), based on a slip-ratio estimator, for ES utilizing the braking force generated by the BLDCM when electrical energy releases to the load yielding an analogous effect of ABS control in gas-engine vehicles. Comparing to mechanical ABS, the design possesses the advantages of rapid torque responses due to fast actuating response. The electrical ABS is realized by associating with kinematic and Short-circuit braking. A current controller is used to adjust the braking force, while the sliding mode control strategy is adopted to regulate the slip ratio for best road adhesion while braking. Real-world experiments have been conducted for functional and performance verification.

The railway industry focus in the past years was to research, find and develop methods to mitigate noise and vibration resulted from wheel/rail contact along track infrastructure. This resulted in a wide range of abatement measures that are available for the professionals of the industry today. However, although there are many options in the market, their practical implementations depend upon general constraints that affect most technological application in the engineering world. The progression of these technologies have facilitated the selection of more adequate methods for each best case scenario, but further studies are ought to be made to proper assess if each one is fit for their purpose. Every method implementation must be analyzed through budget and timeframe limitations, which includes building, maintenance and inspection costs and time allocation, while also aiming to meet different benefits, such as environmental impact control and wear of the whole infrastructure. There are several situations and facilities in a railway project design that need noise and vibration mitigation methods and each design allocates different priorities for each one of them. Traditionally the disturbance caused by railways to the community are generated by wheel/rail contact sound radiation that expresses in different ways, depending on the movement of the rolling stock and track alignment, such as rolling noise, impact noise and curve noise. More specifically, in special trackworks such as turnouts, the main area of this study, there are two noises types that must be evaluated: impact noise and screeching noise. With respect to the second, it is similar to curve squeals and, being such, its mitigation methods are to be assigned as if it was to abate curve squeal in turnouts and crossings. The impact noise on the other hand, emerges from the sound made by the rolling stock moving through joints and discontinuities (i.e. gaps) that composes these special components of a railway track. A life cycle analysis is therefore substantial for this reality and in this case will be applied to Squeal and Impact Noise on Special Trackwork. The evaluation is based on a valid literature review and the total costs were assumed by industry reports to maintain coherency. The period for a life cycle analysis is usually of 50 years, hence it was the value assumed. As for the general parameters, an area with high density of people was considered to estimate the values for a community with very strict limits for noise and vibration.

Development of the self-cleaning and anti-fogging superhydrophobic coating for aluminum surfaces which is durable in the aggressive conditions has raised tremendous interest in materials science. In this work, by employing chemical etching technique with mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acid, followed by passivation with lauric acid, superhydrophobic aluminum surface was synthesized. The surface morphology analysis reveals the presence of rough microstructures on coated aluminium surface. Superhydrophobicity with water contact angle of 170 ± 3.9° and sliding angle of 4 ± 0.5° is achieved. Surface bounces off the high speed water jet, indicating excellent water-repellent nature of coating. It is also continuously floated on water surface for several weeks, showing excellent buoyancy nature. Additionally, coating maintains its superhydrophobicity after undergoing 100 cycles of adhesive tape peeling test. Its superhydrophobic nature withstands 90° and 180° bending, and repeated folding and de-folding. Coating exhibits the excellent self-cleaning property. In low temperature condensation test, almost no accumulation of water drops on the surface, showing the excellent anti-fogging property of coating. This approach can be applied to any size and shape of aluminium surface and hence has great industrial applications.

Mechanical forces and mechanical energy are prevalent in living cells. This may be because mechanical forces and mechanical energy preceded chemical energy at life’s origins. Mechanical energy is more readily available in non-living systems than the various forms of chemical energy used by living systems. Two possible prebiotic environments that might have provided mechanical energy are hot pools that experience wet/dry cycles and mica sheets as they move, open and shut, as heat pumps or in response to water movements.

It is proposed that the primary living cells (“probionts”) cannot emerge of organic substance simply by continuous chemical complication of prebiotic macromolecules and microsystems. The complication must be accompanied by the radical thermodynamic transformation (“jump”) of prebiotic microsystems that resulted in the acquired ability to extract free energy from the environment and export entropy. This transformation is called “the thermodynamic inversion” The inversion may occur by means of the efficient (intensified) response of the microsystems on the oscillations of physic-chemical parameters in hydrothermal environment. In this case the surplus available free energy within a microsystem, when combined with the informational modality, facilitates its conversion into a new microsystem—a living probiont. It is shown the schematic representation of an oscillating prebiotic microsystem that is transforming into a living probiont. A new kind of laboratory and computational experiments on prebiotic chemistry under oscillating conditions is offered to verify the inversion concept.

What is life, what is the difference between something that is alive and something that is not, are viruses living beings, or what would life be like elsewhere in the universe, are questions that still do not have clear-cut answers fully accepted by the scientific community. Based on the fundamental attributes of all living things, I define life as a process that takes place in very ordered organic structures and is characterized by being automatic, interactive and evolutionary. I also define a living being as an organic, highly ordered, automatic, interacting and evolutionary system, and a robot as an ordered automatic and interacting system. Based on this definition and what we know about the biology of viruses, I maintain that they should be considered as living entities. Finally, I explain why if there were life elsewhere in the universe, it would be very similar to what we know on our planet.

We summarize structural instabilities exhibited by the one dimensional (1D) (arene)2X family of organic conductors in relation with their electronic and magnetic properties. With a charge transfer of one electron to each anion X these salts exhibit a quarter-filled (hole) conduction band located on the donor stacks. Compounds built with donors such as fluorenthene and perylene derivatives and anions X such PF6 or AsF6 exhibit a high temperature (TP~170K) conventional Peierls transition which is announced by a sizeable regime of 1D 2kF charge density wave fluctuations (kF is the Fermi wave vector of the 1D electron gas located on Per stacks). Surprisingly, and probably because of the presence of a multi-sheet warped Fermi surface, the Peierls transition is considerably reduced in the perylene series α-(Per)2[M(mnt)2] where X is the dithiolate molecule with M=Au, Cu, Co and Fe. A special attention is devoted in this paper to physical properties of α-(Per)2[M(mnt)2] salts which with M=Pt, Pd and Ni incorporate segregated S=1/2 1D antiferromagnetic (AF) dithiolate stacks with 1D metallic Per stacks. We analyse conjointly the structural and magnetic properties of these salts in relation with the 1D spin-Peierls (SP) instability located on the dithiolate stacks. We show that the SP instability of the Pd and Ni derivatives occurs in the classical (adiabatic limit) while the SP instability of the Pt derivative occurs in the quantum (anti-adiabatic limit). Furthermore we show that in the Pd and Ni derivatives frustrated 1st neighbour direct and 2nd neighbour indirect (through a fine tuning with the mediated 2kF RKKY coupling interaction on Per stacks) AF interactions add their contribution to the SP instability to open a singlet-triplet gap. Our analysis of the data show unambiguously that magnetic α-(Per)2[M(mnt)2] salts are a typical realization of the physics predicted for two chain 1D Kondo lattices.

This paper seeks to model the crack propagation in of AAs (aluminum-alloys) 2524-T3 and 7050-T7452 subjected to fatigue loading at low temperature. Fatigue crack growth tests were performed on AAs 2524-T3 and 7050-T7452 subjected to constant-amplitude and actual random-spectra loading histories at room temperature of about 25 °C and at cryogenic temperature of -70 °C, respectively, to determine their crack growth properties and residual lives. The interaction mechanisms between cryogenic temperature and the fatigue load were deduced on the basis of the results of fractographic analysis. Temperature-dependent residual lives under actual random-spectrum load history were modeled based on a modified accumulation damage rule by accounting for the load interaction. Good correlation was achieved between the predictions and actual experiments, demonstrating the practical and effective use of the proposed method.

Batteries are called to be part of the electricity grid by providing ancillary services. Area regulation services seem to provide substantial revenues and profit. But Li-ion batteries are still too expensive to enter widely into this market. On the other hand, electric vehicle batteries are considered inappropriate for traction purposes when they reached a state of health of 80%. The reuse of these batteries offers affordable batteries for second life stationary applications. This study analyzes how batteries may provide services to a gas turbine cogeneration power plant and how long these batteries may last under different loads.

Since the discovery of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) as an oncogenic driver in a subset of breast cancers and the development of HER2 directed therapies, the prognosis of HER2 amplified breast cancers has increased meaningfully. Next to monoclonal anti-HER2 antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, the antibody-drug conjugate T-DM1 is a pillar of targeted treatment of advanced HER2-positive breast cancers. Currently, several HER2 directed antibody-drug conjugates are under clinical investigation for HER2 amplified but also HER2 expressing but not amplified breast tumors. In this article, we review the current preclinical and clinical evidence of the investigational drugs A166, ALT-P7, ARX788, DHES0815A, DS-8201a, RC48, SYD985, MEDI4276 and XMT-1522.

Vimentin is an intermediate filament protein that plays key roles in integration of cytoskeletal functions, and therefore in basic cellular processes such as cell division and migration. Consequently, vimentin has complex implications in pathophysiology. Vimentin is required for a proper immune response, but it can also act as an autoantigen in autoimmune diseases or as a damage signal. Although vimentin is a predominantly cytoplasmic protein, it can also appear at extracellular locations, either in a secreted form or at the surface of numerous cell types, often in relation to cell activation, inflammation, injury or senescence. Cell surface targeting of vimentin appears to associate with the occurrence of certain posttranslational modifications, such as phosphorylation and/or oxidative damage. At the cell surface, vimentin can act as a receptor for bacterial and viral pathogens. Indeed, vimentin has been shown to play important roles in virus attachment and entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV), dengue and encephalitis viruses, among others. Moreover, the presence of vimentin in specific virus-targeted cells and its induction by proinflammatory cytokines and tissue damage contribute to its implication in viral infection. Here, we recapitulate some of the pathophysiological implications of vimentin, including the involvement of cell surface vimentin in interaction with pathogens, with a special focus on its role as a cellular receptor or co-receptor for viruses. In addition, we provide a perspective on approaches to target vimentin, including antibodies or chemical agents that could modulate these interactions to potentially interfere with viral pathogenesis, which could be useful when multi-target antiviral strategies are needed .

Oligonol is a low-molecular-weight polyphenol derived from lychee fruit. This study was conducted to examine whether oligonol has an ameliorative effect on diabetes-induced pancreatic damage via oxidative stress-induced inflammation. Oligonol was orally administered at 10 or 20 mg/kg body weight/day for 10 days to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, and changes in serum glucose, C-peptide, insulin, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) levels as well as body weight and food and water consumption were assessed. Furthermore, rat pancreases were analyzed for weight, ROS generation, TBARS level, insulin content, and protein expressions of phosphor (p)-p38, p-extracellular-signal regulated kinase 1/2, p-inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa Bα, nuclear factor-kappa Bp65, cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6. Markers of diabetes were shown to be decreased by oligonol administration and histological damage in the pancreas was also ameliorated. These results indicate that oligonol exerts antidiabetic activities, which may be mediated via antioxidative, stress-related, anti-inflammatory signaling.

The concept of genetic improvement in relation to biological control involves the exploitation of natural genetic variation for the benefit of existing biological control agents (BCAs). Despite recent calls for this process to be adopted in biological control research, there is no clear overview of the current state of research into genetic variation within a biological control context, including quantifiable estimates such as narrow-sense heritability (h²). In this systematic review, we aim to determine the current state of research on the genetic variation of biological control traits in natural enemies. After the searching process, screening for papers that can deliver on our research question reduced the initial 2,927 search hits to only a mere 69 papers for data extraction. Of these, the majority (73.6%) did not report quantitative values for genetic variation. Extracting the traits measured in these papers, we categorized them according to two approaches; the first related to fitness components, and the second related to biological control importance. This systematic review highlights the need for more rigorous reporting of the quantitative values of genetic variation to enable the successful genetic improvement of biological control agents.

A novel approach has been suggested to use isoelectric points of viral and human proteins to quickly identify proteins that are effective in not allowing virus particles to attach to human receptor cells by virtue of their electrical charge. The method has been applied to SARS CoV-2 to suggest potentially important human proteins that can be suitable for making anti-viral drugs.

The proposed research methodology aims to design a generally implementable framework for providing a house owner/member with the immediate notification of an on-going theft (unauthorized access to their premises). For this purpose, a rigorous analysis of existing systems was undertaken to identify research gaps. The problems found with existing systems were that they can only identify the intruder after the theft, or cannot distinguish between human and non-human objects. Wireless Sensors Networks (WSNs) combined with the use of Internet of Things (IoT), Cognitive Internet of Things, Internet of Medical Things, and Cloud Computing are expanding smart home concepts and solutions, and their applications. The primary objective of the present research work was to design and develop IoT and cloud computing based smart home solutions. In addition, we also propose a novel smart home anti-theft system that can detect an intruder, even if they have partially/fully hidden their face using clothing, leather, fiber, or plastic materials. The proposed system can also detect an intruder in the dark using a CCTV camera without night vision facility. The fundamental idea was to design a cost-effective and efficient system for an individual to be able to detect any kind of theft in real-time and provide instant notification of the theft to the house owner. The system also promises to implement home security with large video data handling in real-time.

A tailored model for the assessment of environmental benefits achievable by “light-weighting” in the automotive field is presented. The model is based on the Fuel Reduction Value (FRV) coefficient, which expresses the Fuel Consumption (FC) saving involved by a 100 kg mass reduction. The work is composed of two main sections: simulation and environmental modelling. Simulation modelling performs an in-depth calculation of weight-induced FC whose outcome is the FRV evaluated for a wide range of Diesel Turbocharged (DT) vehicle case studies. Environmental modelling converts fuel saving to impact reduction basing on the FRVs obtained by simulations. Results show that for the considered case studies, FRV is within the range 0.115–0.143 and 0.142–0.388 L/100 km × 100 kg, respectively, for mass reduction only and powertrain adaptation (secondary effects). The implementation of FRVs within the environmental modelling represents the added value of the research and makes the model a valuable tool for application to real case studies of automotive lightweight LCA.

A plenty of theories on the origin of genetic codes have been proposed so far, yet all ignored the energetic driving force, its relation to the biochemical system, and most importantly, the missing “matchmaker” between proteins and nucleic acids. Here, a new hypothesis is proposed, according to which ATP is at the origin of the primordial genetic code by driving the coevolution of the genetic code with the pristine biochemical system. This hypothesis aims to show how the genetic code was produced e.g. by photochemical reactions in a protocell that derived from a lipid vesicle enclosing various life’s building blocks (e.g. nucleotides and peptides). At extant cell, ATP is the only energetic product of photosynthesis, and is at the energetic heart of the biochemical systems. ATP could energetically form and elongate chains of both polynucleotides and polypeptides, thus acting a “matchmaker” between these two bio-polymers and eventually mediating precellular biochemical innovation from energy transformation to informatization. ATP was not the only one that could drive the formation of polynucleotides and polypeptides, but favored by precellular selection. The protocell innovated a photosynthesis system to produce ATP efficiently and regularly with the aids of proteins and RNA/DNA. The completion of permanently recording the genetic information by DNA marked the dawn of cellular life operated by Darwinian evolution. The ATP hypothesis assumes or supports the photochemical origin of life, shedding light on the origins of both photosynthetic and biochemical systems, which remains largely unknown thus far. Based on ATP hypothesis, virus (like the new coronavirus) could not be the earliest life on Earth, as it has neither biochemical systems nor lipid bilayer membrane that provided relatively isolated environment for the development of protobiochemical reactions, although it owns the genetic code of a cellular life. Virus could not be a bridge between life and non-life, but is an anti-life substance, as it depletes cellular material for its own replication, and then spreads by destroying the host cells. It can be imagined that if cellular life are completely wiped out by the virus, the complete destruction of life on Earth would be inevitable.

Interrelationships between traditional dental variables are becoming more evident in far reaching aspects of life such as psychosocial interaction, self-esteem, overall health and even occupational performance. This study compares quality of life (QoL) in postmenopausal women (PMW) with poor oral health (POH) with QoL in PMW with good oral health. 200 randomly recruited PMW received a dental evaluation and completed Utian Quality of Life Survey. The participants were divided into POH and healthy groups based on dental exam. Mean scores were calculated for each QoL item, domain and the overall summary score. For each of the four parameters for periodontitis diagnosis, periodontitis patients’ QoL outcomes were compared to those of healthy patients using T-test with threshold of significance at p<0.05. QoL in all fields measured were significantly poorer in the POH compared to the healthy patients, occupational (19.95±5.35vs. 27.56±6.13), health (18.02±8.23 vs. 26.59 ±6.45), emotional (15.68±10.22vs. 21.15±9.15), sexual (6.2±5.98vs. 10.02±5.35), and total score (60.21±25.85 vs. 84.26±22.35). This study finds that PMW with POH, report significantly poorer quality of life. Clinicians caring for PMW should be aware of that oral health impacts QoL and make appropriate referral decisions for patients’ dental care. Keywords: Quality of Life, Oral Health, Post-menopause, Women

A pump station is a very important flood control facility for mitigating inundation of urban lowland areas. It is not easy to secure a site to increase the capacity of a pump station in an urban area because of various limitations or to maximize the discharge capacity of the pump sump. Adding a facility to improve the pump capacity of a pump station may affect the flow characteristics, such as unexpected increases in the flow velocity and vorticity, and cause severe problems with operating the pump station. To solve those problems, anti-vortex devices (AVDs) have been developed and adopted for appropriate design standards. The Korean design criteria for AVDs are based on experience and foreign standards because not enough data on the AVD are available. In this study, the flow in the sump was numerically simulated at various AVD heights to collect information on improving the design and efficiency of a pump station. Consequently, an appropriate height for the AVD and changes in the flow pattern and vortex in the pump sump were determined and compared with 12 cases of inflow conditions with respect to the vertical location.

We consider the financial planning problem of a retiree wishing to enter a retirement village at a future uncertain date. The date of entry is determined by the retiree's utility and bequest maximisation problem within the context of uncertain future health states. In addition, the retiree must choose optimal consumption, investment, bequest and purchase of insurance products prior to her full annuitisation on entry to the retirement village. A hyperbolic absolute risk-aversion (HARA) utility function is used to allow necessary consumption for basic living and medical costs. The retirement village will typically require an initial deposit upon entry. This threshold wealth requirement leads to exercising the replication of an American put option at the uncertain stopping time. From our numerical results, active insurance and annuity markets are shown to be a critical aspect in retirement planning.

High pressure crystallization technique has been successfully used to prepare an elusive form II of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, Mefenamic acid. Single crystal of form II was grown at 0.3 GPa from an 4:1 methanol/ ethanol mixture as a solvent using Diamond Anvil Cell. Comparison of crystal structures show that the efficient packing of MA molecules in Form II results from the structural flexibility of MA acid molecules. Compression studies performed on the single crystal of form I resulted in 14 % decrease of unit cell volume up to 2.5 GPa. No phase transition was observed up to this pressure. A reconstructive phase transition is required to induce conformational changes in the structure, which is confirmed by crystallization at high pressure results.

How did life begin on Earth? And is there life elsewhere in the Cosmos? Challenging questions, indeed. The series of conferences established by NoR CEL in 2013, addresses these very same questions. The basis for this paper is the summary report of oral presentations that were delivered by NoR CEL’s network members during the 2018 Athens conference and, as such, disseminates the latest research which they have put forward. More in depth material can be found by consulting the contributors referenced papers. Overall, the outcome of this conspectus on the conference demonstrates a case for the existence of “probable chemistry” during the prebiotic epoch.

Using the techniques of computer-aided drug design, the docking of Survivin and known active small molecules was simulated and then the key amino acid residue fragment of the target protein was analyzed. It led to the discovery of active groups capable of binding to the critical sites. Through the use of the natural product, Oleanolic Acid, as a lead compound, the introduction of the active groups onto the A-ring, and the modification of the carboxyl group at the C-28 position using esterification or amidation, twenty new Oleanolic acid derivatives had been designed and synthesized.A549 and SGC-7901 cells were used to screen the antitumor activity in vitro through the standard MTT method. The compounds, II₃, III₅ and Ⅳ_4, exhibited more potent cytotoxicity than positive drugs.

Reconstructing the Tree of Life remains a central goal in biology. Early methods, relying on small numbers of morphological or genetic characters, often yielded conflicting evolutionary histories, undermining confidence in the results. Investigations based on phylogenomics, which use hundreds to thousands of loci for phylogenetic inquiry, have provided a clearer picture of life's history, but certain branches remain problematic. To resolve difficult nodes on the Tree of Life, two recent studies tested the utility of synteny, the conserved collinearity of orthologous genetic loci in two or more organisms, for phylogenetics. Synteny exhibits compelling phylogenomic potential while also raising new challenges. We identify and discuss specific opportunities and challenges that bear on the value of synteny data and other rare genomic changes for phylogenomic studies. Synteny-based analyses of highly contiguous genome assemblies mark a new chapter in the phylogenomic era and the quest to reconstruct the Tree of Life.

An ultra-low anti-reflection optical coating on both surfaces of a plastic cover slip was studied for use in confocal image measurement. The optical reflectance at a wavelength of 632.8 nm was less than 0.1% when the coated sample was placed in a liquid having a refractive index of 1.34 close to the aqueous solution of the biomaterial. The high- and low-index coating films, Substance-2 (PrTiO3) and silicon dioxide (SiO2), were measured by an ellipsometer to determine their optical refraction indices and extinction coefficients. Theoretically, when the two layer thicknesses are designed using the optical admittance diagram of the cover slip to approach the equivalent index of 1.34, a reflectance of 1.6×10-5% in the liquid could be obtained. Experimentally, the reflectance of the sample deposited on the two faces of the cover slip was 4.223±0.145% as measured in the air; and 0.050±0.002% as measured by a He-Ne laser in the liquid.

This work can be considered as a first step of designing a future competitive data-driven approach for remaining useful life prediction of aircraft engines. The proposed approach is an ensemble of serially connected extreme learning machines. The results of prediction of the first networks are scaled and fed to the next networks as an additive features to the original inputs. This feature mapping allows increasing the correlation of training inputs with their targets by holding new prior knowledge about the probable behavior of the target function. The proposed approach is evaluated under remaining useful estimation using a set of “time-varying” data retrieved from the public dataset C-MAPSS (Commercial Modular Aero Propulsion System Simulation) provided by NASA. The prediction performances are compared to basic extreme learning machine and proved the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the current global public health threat with no specific, effective, and approved treatment available till date. The outbreak of COVID-19 has led the world into an unimagined and uncertain situation by disrupting the economies, claiming human lives, and leaving many into secondary mental health problems. As per the latest WHO report, approximately 8.2 million people are infected, and nearly 0.44 million lives are lost to COVID. The infection has spread to over 200 countries and territories around the world. The world is in search of efficient diagnostics and therapeutics, including vaccines, biologics and drugs. With the rapid increase in rates of infection and time constraints, drug repurposing seems to be a potential and viable option to find the promising anti-COVID therapeutics. In the wake of a rapid increase in the number of clinical trials involving drugs for repurposing, we aim to provide information on the safety concerns related to the drugs currently investigated in trials. This review also highlights the possible mechanisms of actions, adverse drug reactions, and contraindications of the drugs under repurposing evaluation.

CONTEXT– Energy is widely involved in human activity and corresponding emissions of SOX, NOX and CO2 from energy generation processes affect global climate change. Clean fuels are desired by society because of their reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Hydrogen is once such candidate fuel. Much hydrogen is produced from fossil fuel, with biomass being an alternative process. OBJECTIVE– The project compared the environmental impact of hydrogen production by natural gas steam reforming vs. biomass gasification. METHOD–Environmental impact was calculated from the input and output data from life cycle inventory analysis. The impact assessment was focused on greenhouse gas emission, acidification, and eutrophication. Models of the two processes were developed and analysed in OpenLCA. The agribalyse database was used to connect inventory flow data to environmental impacts. FINDINGS– For all three metrics, biomass gasification had lower impacts than natural gas steam reforming, sometimes by large margins. For biomass gasification the silica sand production contributes most to all three impact categories, whereas for natural gas steam reforming it is the LPG extraction.

This review paper highlights feasible and practicable approaches for managing end-of-life rolling stocks. It aims to promote and enable sustainable procurement policy for rolling stocks. Firstly, it demonstrates that modern rolling stocks can potentially gain the environmental benefits since almost all of their materials used in the rolling stock manufacturing can be recycled and reused. In this study, brief definition and concept of various train types are introduced and discussed, accompanied by some demonstrative illustrations. Then, component analyses, recovery rates and percent proportion of each material in various rolling stock assemblies have been evaluated. The estimation of material quantities that can potentially be recycled has been carried out using industry data sources. The suitable management procedures for end-of-life rail vehicles are then discussed, together with the life cycle of the key materials in which the recyclability criteria take into account the environmental risks and the best and safest approaches to deal with them. The aim of this study is to increase the awareness of the public, train manufacturers and rail industries on the benefits to the environments from rolling stock recycling, which could result in sustainable society and urban livings.

The effects of environmental media on the corrosion fatigue fracture behavior of 25CrMo steel were investigated. The media include air, and a 3.5 wt.% and a 5.0 wt.% NaCl solutions. Experimental results indicate that the media induces the initiation of corrosion fatigue cracks at multiple sites. The multi-cracking sites cause the changes in the crack growth directions, the crack growth rate during the coupling action of the media and the stress amplitude. The coupling effects are important for engineering applications and research. The probability and predictions of the corrosion fatigue characteristic life can be estimated using the 3-parameter Weibull distribution function.

The present review focuses on recent clinical trials that analyze the efficacy of intravitreal therapeutic agents for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), such as neuroprotective drugs, and complement inhibitors, also called immunomodulatory or anti-inflammatory. A systematic literature search was performed to identify randomized controlled trials published prior to January 2019. Patients affected by dry AMD treated with intravitreal therapeutic agents were included. The changes in the correct visual acuity and the reduction in geographic atrophy progression were evaluated. Several new drugs have shown some promising results, including those targeting the complement cascade and agents called neuroprotective. The action potential of the two groups of drugs is to block the complement cascade model for immunomodulating agents, and prevent the degeneration and apoptosis of ganglion cells for the neuroprotectors, respectively. To the best of knowledge, and after extensive studies on the matter, there are still many investigations to be carried out on dry AMD in collaboration between researchers. They will have to identify truly effective molecules, understand the practical potential of pluripotent stem cells, and refine gene therapies. Only in-depth clinical trials will be able to allow the most appropriate and personalized treatments for each dry AMD patient.

Building a social security system to ensure Singapore residents have peace of mind in funding for retirement has been at the top of Singapore Government’s policy agenda over the last decade. Implementation of the Lifelong Income For the Elderly (LIFE) scheme in 2009 clearly shows that the government spares no effort in improving its pension scheme to boost its residents’ income after retirement. Despite the recent modifications to the LIFE scheme, Singapore residents must still choose between two plans: the Standard and Basic plans. To enhance the flexibility of the LIFE scheme while maintaining its simplicity, we propose some plan modifications such that scheme members do not face a dichotomy of plan choices. Instead, they select two age parameters: the Payout Age and the Life-annuity Age. This paper provides an actuarial framework for determining members’ payouts and bequests based on the proposed age parameters. We analyze the net cash receipts and internal rate of return (IRR) for various plan-parameter configurations. This information helps members make their plan choices. To address cost-of-living increases we propose to extend the plan to accommodate an annual step-up of monthly payouts. By deferring the Payout Age from 65 to 68, members can enjoy an annual increase of about 2% of the payouts for the same first-year monthly benefits.

Panel data of our interest consist of a moderate number of panels, while the panels contain a small number of observations. An estimator of common breaks in panel means without a boundary issue for this kind of scenario is proposed. In particular, the novel estimator is able to detect a common break point even when the change happens immediately after the first time point or just before the last observation period. Another advantage of the elaborated change point estimator is that it results in the last observation in situations with no structural breaks. The consistency of the change point estimator in panel data is established. The results are illustrated through a simulation study. As a by-product of the developed estimation technique, a theoretical utilization for correlation structure estimation, hypothesis testing, and bootstrapping in panel data is demonstrated. A practical application to non-life insurance is presented as well.

Not a lot is known about either death or the dying process. Politicians and many in the medical profession in the UK tend to shy away from interfering with it by not allowing euthanasia as an end of life option for the patient. This is the first paper in a series of two, comparing the situation in human medicine and veterinary medicine, in which euthanasia is well practiced for relieving suffering at the end of an animal’s life. This first part takes the form of a literature review including best practice around end of life care, its deficiencies and the need for assisted dying. Veterinary surgeons are well trained in the ethics of euthanasia and put it to good use in the best interest of their animal patients. In countries which have legalized physician assisted suicide for the terminally ill reporting indicates that it works well, without increases in involuntary euthanasia and most importantly without intimidation of the vulnerable. However, there is still an ever increasing tendency to overuse sedation and opioids at the end of life, which merits further investigation. With advances in medical science able to significantly prolong the dying process, patient autonomy demands a review of the law in the UK.

Medium-carbon steel is commonly used for the rail, wire ropes, tire cord, cold heading, forging steels, cold finished steel bars, machinable steel and so on. Its fatigue behavior analysis and fatigue life estimation play an important role in the machinery industry. In this paper, the estimation of fatigue life of medium-carbon steel with different surface roughness using established S-N and P-S-N curves is presented. To estimate the fatigue life, the effect of the average surface roughness on the fatigue life of medium-carbon steel has been investigated using 75 fatigue tests in three groups with average surface roughness (Ra): 0.4μm, 0.8μm, and 1.6μm respectively. S-N curves and P-S-N curves have been established based on the fatigue tests. The fatigue life of medium-carbon steel is then estimated based on Tanaka-Mura crack initiation life model, the crack propagation life model using Paris law, and material constants of the S-N curves. 6 more fatigue tests have been conducted to validate the presented fatigue life estimation formulation. The experimental results have shown that the presented model could estimate well the mean fatigue life of medium-carbon steel with different surface roughness

As renewed interest in human space-exploration intensifies, a coherent and modernized strategy for mission-design and planning has become increasingly crucial. Biotechnology has emerged as a promising approach to increase mission resilience, flexibility, and efficiency by virtue of its ability to efficiently utilize in situ resources and reclaim resources from waste streams. Since its infancy during the Apollo years, biotechnology, and specifically biomanufacturing, have witnessed significant expansions of scope and scale. Here we outline four primary mission classes, on Luna and Mars, that drive a staged and accretive biomanufacturing strategy. Each class requires a unique approach to integrate biomanufacturing into the existing mission architecture and so faces unique challenges in technology development.These challenges stem directly from the resources available in a given mission class – the degree to which feedstocks are derived from cargo and in situ resources – and the degree to which loop-closure is necessary. We see that as mission duration and distance from Earth increase, the benefits of specialized sustainable biomanufacturing processes increases. Here we present a strategic approach, guided by technoeconomics, to development, testing, and deployment of these technologies serves to nucleate the larger effort of supporting a sustained human presence in space. The processes needed for each scenario spans the technical breadth of synthetic biology to design engineering, from sophisticated genetic tailoring of chassis-organisms to building scalable, automated, easily operable bioreactors and processing systems. As space-related technology development often does, these advancements are likely to have profound implications for the creation of a stable, resilient bioeconomy on Earth.

There is still little research on psychological wellbeing and reported problems in preadolescents and adolescents under therapy for leukemia, also comparing them with their healthy peers. The present study aims to analyze the life perceptions, psychological well-being and problems’ intensity in these patients during the first year of therapy and to compare these reports with those of matched healthy peers adopting a battery of self-report questionnaires. Mann-Whitney tests identified the younger patients more at risk than older ones in their problems’ intensity and psychological symptoms. Older patients resulted instead more vulnerable regarding past life perceptions. Wilcoxon test with 2 dependent samples analyses showed that: healthy peers have a better perception of current life and lower percentage of somatization symptoms than patients after 6-months post-diagnosis. On the other hand, healthy peers reported more problems dealing with impulsivity, mood, disorganization, concentration and memory than patients both at 6-months and 1-year from diagnosis. Healthy peers reported also more anxiety and depression symptoms than patients and worse past and future life perceptions than patients at 1-year from diagnosis. The clinical aim is to perform a psychological screening of preadolescents and adolescents in order to prepare ad hoc psychological interventions.

For older adults, approaching end-of-life (EOL) brings unique transitions related to family relationships. Unfortunately, most families greatly underestimate the need to discuss these difficult issues. For example, parents approaching EOL issues often struggle with receiving assistance from others, avoiding family conflict, and maintaining their sense of personhood. In addition, discussions of EOL issues force family members to face their parents’ mortality, which can be particularly difficult for the adult children to process emotionally. This study explored aging issues identified by aging parents and their families as they traverse these impending EOL changes. Ten focus groups of seniors (n = 65) were conducted. Focus groups were organized according to race (African American/Caucasian), gender, and whether the older adult was living independently or in an assisted care facility. When asked open-ended questions about discussing aging and EOL issues with family members, participants revealed tensions that led us to consider Relational Dialectics Theory as a framework for analysis. The predominant tension highlighted in this report was certainty versus uncertainty, with the two sub-themes of sustained life versus sustained personhood and confronting versus avoiding EOL issues. For these data, there were more similarities than differences as a result of gender, race, or living situation than one might expect, although culture and financial status were found to be influential in the avoidance of EOL discussions. The results of this study help to provide additional insight into relational dialectics related to aging, EOL, and the importance of communication in facilitating family coping.

The origin of life has not been solved as yet, in spit of the time passage more than thirty years from publication of RNA world hypothesis by W. Gilbert (1986), which is based on the “gene/replicator--first” theory. On the contrary, I have proposed [GADV]-protein world hypothesis (GADV hypothesis), assuming that life emerged from [GADV]-protein world, which is grounded on the “protein/metabolism-first” theory. However, two weak points of protein world hypothesis, (i) protein cannot be produced without gene, and (ii) protein cannot be self-replicated, have been frequently pointed out by supporters of RNA world hypothesis. Then, I examined whether the two weak points could be overcome by GADV hypothesis or not. From the results, it was confirmed that (i) [GADV]-protein could be pseudo-replicated in the absence of gene owing to protein 0^th-order structure or [GADV]-amino acids, and (ii) the replication ability is not always required from the beginning but it is sufficient to acquire it at some time point until the emergence of life. Thus, it was concluded that life emerged as [GADV]-protein world hypothesis, which is grounded on the “protein/metabolism-first” theory, expects.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of β-Hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation on anti-inflammatory cytokines including IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β during an acute bout of resistance exercise (RE) in young resistance trained men. Ten resistance-trained men in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study, were administered a 7-day HMB supplementation (3×1 g.d-1 of HMB) and placebo (3×1 g.d-1 of Maltodextrin) with a 7 days washout period. After supplementation periods, subjects performed three sets of bench press, lat pull down, leg extension, leg curl, biceps curl, triceps curl and shoulder press to failure with 85% of one repetition to maximum (1RM). Blood samples were obtained before- (Pre), immediately post- (IP) and 1 hour-post RE (1h P) to assess serum concentrations of IL-4, IL-10 and TGF-β1. The data were analyzed using 2 (treatment: HMB and PL) × 3 (time points: Pre, IP and 1hP) repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Bonferroni post hoc test with a significant level of p<0.05. Serum IL-4 was significantly higher at IP resistance exercise in HMB compared to placebo. Circulating IL-4 and TGF-β1 were significantly raised at IP compared to Pre in both HMB and placebo treatments. No significant differences between treatments were observed for IL-10 and TGF-β1at any time points. In conclusion, HMB supplementation increased the circulating level of IL-4 during RE in resistance-trained men, which may attenuate inflammation and facilitate adaptation to RE.

With the increasing of copper consumption, the in-use stock of copper tends to increase. This paper used the “average use life method” to quantify the amount of copper in-use stock, and calculated the average age of in-use stock. It was indicated that the total in-use stock had an overall smooth trends, and reached its peak in 2007 was about 68.9 Mt (million tons), in addition, in-use stock per capita reached its peak ,234 kg/capita in 2001. The results demonstrated that during the period 1992-2002, the average age of copper in-use stock was continually decreased, but gradually increased since the year 2003. The fixed assets depreciation method used in this paper is applied to analyze depreciated copper in-use stock, and to analyze the relationship with economic indicator (GDP). It is demonstrated that it was inconsistent with the theory of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) before 2000, this might be the demand for copper in the service sector is greater than the reduced strength of alternatives. Finally, scenario analysis of future copper in-use stock and depreciated copper in-use stock per capita in the U.S. were presented. The corresponding average age of the in-use stock will have a slight rise in the next decade.

In vitro studies show that diclofenac inhibits enzymatic steroid glucuronidation. This study was designed to investigate the influence of diclofenac on the excretion of stanozolol and 3'-hydroxystanozolol via analyses in hair, blood and urine in vivo in a rat study. Brown Norway rats were administered with stanozolol (weeks 1-3) and diclofenac (weeks 1-6). Weekly assessment of steroid levels in hair was complemented with spot urine and serum tests. Levels of both stanozolol and 3'-hydroxystanozolol steadily increased in hair during stanozolol treatment and decreased post-treatment, but remained readily detectable for 6 weeks. In contrast, compared to control rats, diclofenac significantly reduced urinary excretion of 3’-hydroxystanozolol which was undetectable in most samples. This is the first report of diclofenac altering steroid metabolism in vivo, detrimentally affecting detection in urine, but not in hair which holds considerable advantages over urinalysis for anti-doping tests.

The synthesis of metal nanoparticles using plant extracts is a very promising method in green synthesis. The medicinal value of Moringa oleifera leaves and the anti-microbial activity of metallic copper were combined in the present study to synthesize copper nanoparticles having a desirable added-value inorganic material. The use of a hydroalcoholic extract of M. oleifera leaves for the green synthesis of copper nanoparticles is an attractive method as it leads to the production of harmless chemicals and reduces waste. The total phenolic content in the M. oleifera leaves extract was 23.0 ± 0.3 mg gallic acid equivalent/g of dried M. oleifera leaves powder. The M. oleifera leaves extract was treated with a copper sulphate solution. A color change from brown to black indicates the formation of copper nanoparticles. Characterization of the synthesized copper nanoparticles was performed using UV-Vis spectrophotometer, FT-IR spectrometer, TEM, SEM, and XRD. The synthesized copper nanoparticles have an amorphous nature and particle size of 35.8-49.2 nm. We demonstrate that the M. oleifera leaves extract and the synthesized copper nanoparticles display considerable antioxidant activity. Moreover, the M. oleifera leaves extract and the synthesized copper nanoparticles exert potent anti-bacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis (MIC values for the extract: 500, 250, 250, and 250 μg/mL; MIC values for the cooper nanoparticles: 500, 500, 500, and 250 μg/mL, respectively). Similarly, the M. oleifera leaves extract and the synthesized copper nanoparticles exert relatively more potent anti-fungal activity against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Candida albicans, and Candida glabrata (MIC values for the extract: 62.5, 62.5, 125, and 250 μg/mL; MIC values for the cooper nanoparticles: 125, 125, 62.5, and 31.2 μg/mL, respectively). Our study reveals that the green synthesis of copper nanoparticles using a hydroalcoholic extract of M. oleifera leaves was successful. In addition, the synthesized copper nanoparticles can be potentially employed in the treatment of various microbial infections due to their potent antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal activities.

The coffee leaf miner (CLM) Leucoptera coffeella moth is a major threat to coffee production. Insect damage is related to the feeding behavior of the larvae on the leaf. During the immature life stages, the insect feeds in the mesophyll, triggering necrosis and causing loss of photosynthetic capacity, defoliation, and significant yield loss to coffee crops. Chemical control is mandatory to sustain the coffee production chain, though market requirements move towards conscious consumption, claiming for more sustainable methods. In this overview, we discuss aspects about the CLM concerning biology, history, geographical distribution, economic impacts, and the most relevant control strategies in progress. Insights to develop an integrate approach for a safer and eco-friendly control of the CLM are discussed, including bio-extracts, nanotechnology, pheromones, and tolerant cultivars.

Space missions have always assumed that the risk of spacecraft malfunction far outweighs the risk of human system failure. This assumption breaks down for longer duration exploration missions and exposes vulnerabilities in space medical system. Space agencies can no longer buy down the majority of human system risk through the crew member selection process and emergency re-supply or evacuation. No mature medical solutions exist to close the risk gap. With recent advances in biotechnology, there is promise in augmenting a space pharmacy with a biologically-based space foundry for on-demand manufacturing of high-value medical products. Here we review the challenges and opportunities of molecular pharming, the production of pharmaceuticals in plants, as the basis of a space medical foundry to close the risk gap in current space medical systems. Plants have long been considered an important life support object in space and can now also be viewed as programmable factories in space. Advances in molecular pharming-based space foundries will have widespread application in promoting simple and accessible pharmaceutical manufacturing on Earth.

Phosphorylation reactions of glycerol were studied using different inorganic phosphates such as sodium phosphate, trimetaphosphate (a condensed phosphate), and struvite. The reactions were carried out in two non-aqueous solvents: formamide and a eutectic solvent consisting of choline chloride and glycerol in a ratio of 1:2.5. The glycerol reacted in formamide and in the eutectic solvent with phosphate to yield its phosphorylated derivatives in the presence of silicates such as quartz sand and kaolinite clay. The reactions were carried out by heating glycerol with a phosphate source at 85 °C for one week and were analyzed by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS). The yield of the phosphorylated glycerol was improved by the presence of silicates, and reached 90% in some experiments. Our findings further support the proposal that non-aqueous solvents are advantageous for the prebiotic synthesis of biomolecules, and suggest that silicates may have aided in the formation of organophosphates on the prebiotic earth.

NASA mission systems proposals are often compared using an equivalent system mass (ESM) framework wherein all elements of technology to deliver an effect- its components, operations and logistics of delivery- are converted to effective masses since this has a known cost scale in space operations. To date, ESM methods and the tools for system comparison have not considered complexities wherein systems that serve a mission span multiple transit and operations stages, such as would be required to support a crewed mission to Mars, and thus do not account for the different mass equivalency factors operational during each period and the inter-dependencies of the costs across the mission. Further, ESM does not account well for the differential reliabilities of the underlying technologies. Less reliability should incur an equivalent mass cost for technologies that might otherwise provide a mass advantage. We introduce an extensions to ESM to address these limitations and show that it provides a direct method for analyzing, optimizing and comparing different mission systems. We demonstrate our extended ESM (xESM) calculation with crop production technologies -- an aspect of the developing offworld biomanufacturing suite -- since it represents a case with strong coupling among stages of the mission and a relatively high-risk profile.

Background: The preexistence of obesity with nutritional anaemia is becoming an increasing problem in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Much controversy exists around the role of continued breastfeeding in alleviating the health and survival consequences of these problems in the region. Aim: To examine trends and relationships of nutritional anaemia (NA) in women and children under-five years of age (CU5) with obesity and breastfeeding practices in the EMR. Methods: Data from regional database banks of WHO and UNICEF for anaemia in pregnant and non-pregnant women and CU5 from 22 countries in EMR were retrieved, compiled, and statistically analyzed. Breastfeeding indicators for timely first suckle (TFS), exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and continued breastfeeding for 12 (BFC12) and 24 months (BFC24), low-birth-weight (LBW), stunting, overweight, total fertility rates (TFR) and mortality rates (MR) were correlated with nutritional anaemia and analyzed by income groups into 5 low income countries (LIC), 11 middle income countries (MIC) and 6 high income countries (HIC). Results: Trends in mean prevalence of anaemia in women showed a concave curve increasing after a short decrease in the early 2000 in all income groups (P > 0.05). Trends in anaemia in the CU5 exhibited a steep decrease from a mean of 52.59 ± 16.4 in 2000 to 37.3 ± 14.9 in 2016 at P < 0.002, the steep decline was significant in HIC (P < 0.01) and MIC (P < 0.02), but not for LIC (P > 0.05). Anaemia prevalence in women and CU5 was significantly correlated to LBW, stunting, and with overweight and obesity in adults but negatively in CU5. All age specific MRs were highly correlated with anaemia in pregnant, non-pregnant and CU5 at P < 0.001 and TFR at P < 0.05. BFC for shorter durations was negatively correlated with anaemia in pregnant women (r-0.5) at P < 0.05 and was positively correlated in MIC and HIC. In non-pregnant women, BFC12 and BFC 24 correlated positively with anaemia prevalence in all three income groups at P < 0.01. Conclusions: Completing optimal breastfeeding for two years should be promoted to protect women and CU5 from anemia and obesity. Nutritional anemia during pregnancy increases regional rates of LBW, stunting and mortality. Spacing out births by encouraging longer duration of breastfeeding, to replenish iron stores, can help alleviate many of the health and nutritional problems in the region.

The anti-money laundering (AML) process has failed both in identifying suspicious cases in due time as in assisting the AML analysts in decision making. Starting from a new generic anti-fraud approach, this article presents the main aspects related to the development of a multi-agent system that goes beyond the capture of suspicious transactions, seeking to assist the human expert in the analysis of suspicious behaviour. First, a transactional behavioural profile of clients is obtained in a data mining process. A set of rules, obtained through data mining over a real database, in conjunction with specific rules based on legal aspects and in the expertise of the AML analysts make up the agents' knowledge base. The cases for which the system was unable to suggest a decision are flagged as requiring more detailed analysis. The system analysed 6 months of real transactions and indicated several suspicious profiles, a set of these suspects was investigated by the AML analysts who proved the suspicion of several cases, including some that had not been identified by the systems in execution.

Total 219 countries and territories globally suffering from the recent pandemic COVID-19 is now in its second wave with more brutality, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) . It has several symptoms like as persistent fever; respiratory illnesses; cough; fatigue; shortness of breath; loss of appetite; persistent pain or pressure in the chest; dysgeusia; acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) etc., and here the things to worry about is the development of pulmonary fibrosis after COVID-19 in both peoples who had died of due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or those who survived. Due to COVID-19, dysregulated immune response and wound repair mainly in elderly patients causes this secondary pulmonary fibrosis. Thus using anti-fibrotic agents could be meaningful in these circumstances although their efficacy in treating COVID-19 is subject to more detailed laboratory research works. In this review article you will get to know about the lung fibrosis generation due to COVID-19 infection, about anti-fibrotic agents and the currents challenges of this field.

The attention to sustainable-related issues has grown fast in recent decades. The experience gained with these themes reveals the importance of considering this topic in the construction industry, which represents an important sector in the world. This work consists on conducting a multicriteria analysis of four cement powders, with the objective of calculating and analysing the environmental, human health and socio-economic effects of their production processes. The economic, technical, environmental and safety performances of the examined powders result from official, both internal and public, documents prepared by the producers. The Analytic Hierarchy Process permitted to consider several indicators (i.e. environmental, human health related and socio-economic parameters) and to conduct comprehensive and unbiased analyses which gave the best, most sustainable cement powder. As assumed in this study, the contribution of each considered parameter to the overall sustainability has a different incidence, therefore the procedure could be used to support on-going sustainability efforts under different conditions. The results also prove that it is incorrect to consider only one parameter to select the ‘best’ cement powder, but several impact categories should be considered and analysed if there is an interest for pursuing different, often conflicting interests.

Fossil-based emissions can be avoided through using wood in place of non-renewable raw materials as energy and materials. However, increasing wood harvest influences forest carbon stocks. This effect may reduce the overall climate benefit of wood use significantly but is widely overlooked. We carried out a systematic review of simulation studies and compared differences in forest carbon and amount of wood harvested between more and less intensive wood harvest scenarios for three different time perspectives; short (1-30 years), mid (31-70 years) and long (71-100 years). Out of more than 450 reviewed studies 44 provided adequate data. Our results show that increased harvesting reduced carbon stocks over 100 years in temperate and boreal forests roughly 1.6 (stdev 0.9) t_C per t_C harvested. The value proved to be robust when outliers explicitly influenced by other factors than change in harvest rate, such as increase in fertilization or forest area, were removed. Interestingly, no significant difference in carbon impacts was found for average values of boreal and temperate forests or between short and long time-horizons. However, impacts tend to be greatest in the mid-term. This carbon balance indicator that we estimated can be interpreted as carbon debit of wood harvest in forests. It is significant compared with the typical GHG credits in technosphere generated by avoiding fossil emissions in substitution and increase in carbon storage in harvested wood products, and should not be ignored. Our estimates provide default values that can directly be included in GHG balances of products or assessment of mitigation policies and measures related to wood use. However, more systematic scenarios and transparent data in which different factors influencing forest carbon stocks are separately studied are clearly required to provide better constrained estimates for specific forest types.

This is the second of a series of two papers comparing the end of life issues in human and veterinary medicine. We outline the main differences between human and animal patients such as patient communication, finance and ‘conflicts of interest’ between animal, owner and veterinarian. We discuss striking similarities between human and veterinary issues such as assessing quality of life and the primary role of the attending veterinarian or doctor being the welfare and care of the patient. This paper takes the form of an ethical argument in favour of allowing euthanasia in human medicine, by providing insights into end of life issues for humans from an independent veterinary perspective. Veterinary surgeons are well trained in the ethics of euthanasia and put it to good use in the best interest of their animal patients. Doctors in the UK are limited and unwilling to put forward a case for the option of euthanasia for those patients who face a slow and agonizing death. With advances in medical science being able to significantly prolong the dying process, autonomy for the patient demands a review of the law regarding patient choice in the UK.

At a time when the world faces an emotional breakdown, crushing our dreams if not taking our lives, we realize that together we must fight the war against the COVID-19 outbreak even if almost the majority of the scientific community finds itself confined to home. Every day, like everyone else, we, scientists, listen to the latest news with its promises and announcements. Across the world, a surge of clinical trials trying to cure or slow down the coronavirus pandemic has been launched to bring hope instead of fear and despair. One first proposed clinical trial has drawn worldwide hype to the benefit of chloroquine (CQ), a well-known and broadly used anti-malarial drug, in the treatment of patients infected by the recently emerged deadly coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). We should consider this information in the light of the long-standing anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties of CQ-related drugs. Yet, none of the articles promoting the use of CQ in the current pandemic evoked a possible molecular or cellular mechanism of action that could account for any efficacy. Here, given the interaction of viruses with macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as autophagy), a CQ-sensitive anti-viral safeguard pathway, we would like to discuss the pros, but also the cons concerning the current therapeutic options targeting this process.

Gender parity, is an important standard to be achieved by a society in which men and women are treated equally. The distinctions in the treatment may arise from psychology, biology, or cultural norms constructed by society. Studies show the different experiences of genders across many areas including health, education, personality, life expectancy, sports, interests, political empowerment, and careers. However, we are still far from reaching the objective, because there are conducts such as gender discrimination and expressions such as the purplewashing. In relation to feminism, purplewashing is used to define a diversity of marketing and political strategies intended at promoting people, companies, associations, and other organizations through an appeal to gender equality: they use only some of the feminist values at their convenience and in its actions, they are not really supportive of gender equality. In this opinion we aimed to address some of the reasons for inequality of opportunities based on gender; purplewashing is described as an expression that takes away the visibility of women's struggle. Additionally, we touch on some actions that promote gender equality in the family, educational, and work environments. Global leaders have an unprecedented opportunity to build gender-sensitive societies and economies. The challenges facing women today are essentially the same as they were a long time ago. It is time to break the bias.

Hydrophilic coatings have recently emerged as a new approach to avoid the adhesion of (bio)organisms on surfaces immersed in water. In these coatings the hydrophilic character is crucial for the anti-fouling (AF) performance. However, this property can be rapidly lost due to the inevitable damages which occur at the surface, reducing the long-term effectiveness of the AF functionality. We report hydrophilic polycarbonate-mPEG polyurethane coatings with tunable hydrophilic properties as well as an excellent and long-term stability in water. The coatings exhibit low protein adhesion values and are able to self-replenish their hydrophilicity after damage, due to the existence of a reservoir of hydrophilic dangling chains incorporated in the bulk. The combination of low T_g and sufficient mobility of the mPEG dangling chains (enabled by chains with higher molecular weight) proved to be crucial to ensure autonomous surface hydrophilicity recovery when the coatings were immersed in water. This coatings and design approach offer new possibilities towards high performance AF coatings with an extended service life-time which can be used in several major applications areas, such as marine and biomedical coatings, with major economic and environmental benefits.

The Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) are two widely used scales to measure resilience. Although both scales seek to assess an individual’s ability to recover from and adapt to disruptions or stressful events, they may capture different aspects of resilience. While the CD-RISC focuses on resources that can help individuals recover from and adapt to disruptions or stressful events, the BRS directly measures one’s ability to bounce back or be resilient. The aim of this study is to empirically examine the differences between the CD-RISC and the BRS. Two samples (n = 202, 246) consisting of undergraduate students from Taiwan were used. The results of confirmatory factor analysis show that the CD-RISC and the BRS are highly correlated but still distinct. The results of regression analyses show that the CD-RISC and the BRS have unique predictive effects on depression and life satisfaction. The research findings suggest that the CD-RISC and the BRS capture different aspects of resilience. For future research on resilience, researchers should pay attention to the differences between these scales and choose the one that most closely fits their research purpose.

We wanted to investigate the current knowledge on the impact of diet on anti-TNF response in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), to identify dietary factors that warrant further investigations in relation to anti-TNF treatment response, and, finally, to discuss potential strategies for such investigations. PubMed was searched using specified search terms. One small prospective study on diet and anti-TNF treatment in 56 patients with CD found similar remission rates after 56 weeks among 32 patients with good compliance that received concomitant enteral nutrition and 24 with poor compliance that had no dietary restrictions (78% versus 67%, p = 0.51). A meta-analysis of 295 patients found higher odds of achieving clinical remission and remaining in clinical remission among patients on combination therapy with specialised enteral nutrition and Infliximab (IFX) compared with IFX monotherapy (OR 2.73; 95% CI: 1.73–4.31, p < 0.01, OR 2.93; 95% CI: 1.66–5.17, p < 0.01, respectively). In conclusion, evidence-based knowledge on impact of diet on anti-TNF treatment response for clinical use is scarce. Here we propose a mechanism by which Western style diet high in meat and low in fibre may promote colonic inflammation and potentially impact treatment response to anti-TNF drugs. Further studies using hypothesis-driven and data-driven strategies in observational, animal and interventional studies are warranted.

Although Support Vector Machines (SVM) are widely used for classifying human motion patterns, their application in the automatic recognition of dynamic and static activities of daily life in the healthy older adults is limited. Using a body mounted wireless inertial measurement unit (IMU), this paper explores the use of SVM approach for classifying dynamic (walking) and static (sitting, standing and lying) activities of the older adults. Specifically, data formatting and feature extraction methods associated with IMU signals are discussed. To evaluate the performance of the SVM algorithm, the effects of two parameters involved in SVM algorithm—the soft margin constant C and the kernel function parameter $\mathsf{\gamma }$—are investigated. The changes associated with adding white-noise and pink-noise on these two parameters along with adding different sources of movement variations (i.e., localized muscle fatigue and mixed activities) are further discussed. The results indicate that the SVM algorithm is capable of keeping high overall accuracy by adjusting the two parameters for dynamic as well as static activities, and may be applied as a tool for automatically identifying dynamic and static activities of daily life in the older adults.

Efforts to quantify and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the built environment often neglect embodied emissions, instead focusing on reducing emissions from building operations. Utilizing sustainably sourced mass timber offers low embodied carbon alternatives to traditional concrete and steel structural systems, however the variability in embodied carbon for different mass timber approaches remains understudied. In this study, we used life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare the whole building embodied carbon of nine mass timber design options and two typical concrete and steel reference cases for an eight-story mixed-use building, ensuring structural, acoustic, thermal, programmatic, and fire-rating equivalence between the designs. The study found that the mass timber designs vary significantly, ranging between a 14-52% reduction in whole building embodied carbon from the most impactful reference case, and a 31-73% reduction when considering the structural systems alone. This study demonstrates the value that whole building LCA (WBLCA) provides as a primary driver for low-carbon structural system design and architectural development of mass timber buildings, beyond that of single material comparisons using environmental product declarations (EPDs).

In this review paper, the latest literature on the functional properties of phospholipids in relation to inflammation and inflammation-related disorders has been critically appraised and evaluated. The paper is divided into three sections: Section one addresses the relationship between the anti-inflammatory bioactivities of different phospholipids in relation to their structures and compositions. Sections two and three are dedicated to the structures, functions and anti-inflammatory properties of dietary phospholipids from animal and marine sources. Most of the dietary phospholipids of animal origin come from meat, egg and dairy products. To date, there is very limited work published on meat phospholipids, undoubtedly due to the negative perception that meat consumption is an unhealthy option due to its putative associations with several chronic diseases. These assumptions are addressed with respect to the phospholipid composition of meat products. Recent research trends indicate that dairy phospholipids possess anti-inflammatory properties, which has led to an increased interest into their molecular structures and reputed health benefits. Finally, the structural composition of phospholipids of marine origin is discussed. Extensive research has been published in relation to ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and inflammation, however this research has recently come under scrutiny and has proved to be unreliable and controversial in terms of the therapeutic effects of ω-3 PUFA, which are generally in the form of triglycerides and esters. Therefore, this review focuses on recent publications concerning marine phospholipids and their structural composition and related health benefits. Finally, the strong nutritional value of dietary phospholipids are highlighted with respect to marine and animal origin and avenues for future research are discussed.

Main purposes and research question: Wheat is the second largest grain crop by tonnage in the world and the largest in Denmark. Given the observed, adverse impacts on wheat yields of climate change and the importance of wheat in the human diet, the purpose of this study was to use life cycle assessment to compare conventional wheat farming with indoor vertical farming using hydroponics. Methods: Life Cycle Assessment was used to assess the base case systems up to the “farm gate” for 1 tonne of wheat grain. The processes contributing most of the impacts were identified, and scenarios were assessed to determine how much the impacts could be reduced. Results: The conventional system outperformed the base case vertical system in every impact category, due to the electricity consumption in the lighting system. The scenarios included increasing the efficiency of the LED lighting and using 100% wind energy, but the conventional system still outperformed the vertical system by significant margins in all impact categories. This was due to the low photosynthetic conversion efficiency and the high energy density of wheat. Conclusions: Until significant improvements are made to lighting efficiency, the photosynthesis conversion efficiency of wheat, new wheat variants designed for vertical gardens and the sustainability of electricity supply, conventional wheat production will be environmentally preferable and vertical gardens would be advised to focus on food products with low energy densities.

The rapid development of multicopters has led to many security problems. In order to prevent multicopters from invading restricted areas or famous buildings, an Anti-UAV Defense System (AUDS) has been developed and become a research topic of interest. Topics under research in relation to this include electromagnetic interference guns for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), high-energy laser guns, US military net warheads, and AUDSs with net guns. However, these AUDSs use either manual aiming or expensive radar to track UAVs. This paper proposes a dual-axis rotary platform with UAV automatic tracking. The tracking platform uses visual image processing technology to track and lock the dynamic displacement of a UAV. When a target UAV is locked, the system uses a nine-axis attitude meter and laser rangefinders to measure its flight altitude and calculates its longitude and latitude coordinates through sphere coordinates to provide UAV monitoring for further defense or attack missions. Tracking tests of UAV flights in the air were carried out using a DJI MAVIC UAV at a height of 30 meters to 100 meters. It was set up for UAV image capture and visual recognition for tracking under various weather conditions by a thermal imager and a full-color camera respectively. When there was no cloud during the daytime, the images captured by the thermal imager and full-color camera provide a high-quality image recognition result. However, under dark weather, black clouds will emit radiant energy and seriously affect the capture of images by a thermal imager. When there is no cloud at night, the thermal imager performs well in UAV image capture. When the UAV is tracked and locked, the system can effectively obtain the flight altitude and longitude and latitude coordinate values.

Torenia Concolor Lindley var. formosama Yamazaki ethanolic extract (TCEE) is reported to have anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity properties. However, the effects of TCEE and its underlying mechanisms in the activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) have not yet been investigated. Increasing the endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) production has been known to be beneficial against the development of cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we investigated the effect of TCEE on eNOS activation and NO-related endothelial function and inflammation by using in vitro system. In endothelial cells (ECs), TCEE increased NO production in a concentration-dependent a manner without affecting the expression of eNOS. In addition, TCEE increased the phosphorylation of eNOS at serine 635 residue (Ser635) and Ser1179, Akt at Ser473, calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII) at threonine residue 286 (Thr286) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) at Thr172. Moreover, TCEE-induced NO production, and EC proliferation, migration and tube formation were diminished by pretreatment with LY294002 (an Akt inhibitor), KN62 (a CaMKII inhibitor) and compound C (an AMPK inhibitor). Additionally, TCEE attenuated the tumor necrosis factor-α-induced inflammatory response as evidenced by the expression of adhesion molecules in ECs and monocyte adhesion onto ECs. These inflammatory effects of TCEE were abolished by L-NG-nitroarginine methyl ester (a NOS inhibitor). Collectively, our findings suggest that TCEE confers protection from endothelial dysfunction by activating the Akt/CaMKII/AMPK/eNOS/NO signaling pathway.

Talking about sustainable development refers mainly to the environmental sphere, but the concept is much broader and also takes into account the social and economic conditions. The concept of sustainability, in this sense, is linked to the compatibility between the development of economic activities, the related social phenomena, and the protection of the environment. Therefore, the ability to balance social, economic and environmental sustainability is the very meaning of the concept of sustainable development. Firms that choose to develop policies and strategies to enhance and pursue sustainable development in the medium to long term have the burden of having to quantitatively document the improvements in production processes with the aim of sustainable development. As a result, one of the biggest challenges for European industry is to introduce sustainability principles into business models leading to competitive advantage. This is particularly important in raw material and energy intensive manufacturing sectors such as the ceramic industry. The present state of knowledge lacks a comprehensive operational tool for industry to support decision-making processes geared towards sustainability. In the ceramic sector, the economic and social dimensions of the product and processes have not yet been given sufficient importance. Moreover, the traditional research on industrial districts lacks an analysis of the relations between firms and the territory with a view to sustainability. Finally, the attention of scholars in the field of economic and social sustainability, has not yet turned to the analysis of the Sassuolo district. Therefore, in this paper we introduce the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), as a method that can be a suitable tool to fill this gap, because through a mathematical model it is possible to obtain the information useful for decision makers to integrate the principles of sustainability both at the microeconomic level in enterprises, and at the meso-economic level for the definition of economic policies and territorial governance. Environmental and socio-economic analysis was performed from the extraction of raw materials to the packaging of the product on different product categories manufactured by the Italian ceramic industries of the Sassuolo district (northern Italy). For the first time the LCSA model, usually applied to unitary processes, is extended to the economic and industrial activities of the entire district, extending the prospect of investigation from the enterprise and its value chain to the integrated network of district enterprises.

Flavonoids, compounds present in many dietary supplements, affect growth of different bacterial species when tested as purified or synthetic substances. Here, we asked if soy isoflavone extracts, commonly used in many products sold as anti-menopausal dietary supplements, influence bacterial growth similarly to synthetic isoflavone, genistein. Four commercially available products were tested in amounts corresponding to genistein concentrations causing inhibition of growth of Vibrio harveyi (a model bacterium sensitive to this isoflavone) and Escherichia coli (a model bacterium resistant to genistein). Differential effects of various extracts on V. harveyi and E. coli growth, from stimulation, through no changes, to inhibition, were observed. Moreover, contrary to genistein, tested extracts caused a decrease (to different extends) in viability of human dermal fibroblasts. These results indicate that effects of various soy isoflavone extracts on bacterial growth and viability of human cells are different, despite similar declared composition of the commercially available products.

Guava is a vital fruit worldwide, especially in Pakistan, and due to its nutritional value famous in each age group. Due to a very short shelf life, the marketing and export of this fruit faced severe constraints. Therefore, in the current study, edible coating of chitosan (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0%) was evaluated on postharvest shelf life when guava fruits were stored (room temperature and 4 °C temperatures) for 12 days. The chitosan treated coating fruits have shown reduced total sugars and malondialdehyde levels compared to untreated control samples. However, a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) in total sugar and malondialdehyde levels exists between samples stored in m compared to refrigerated temperature (4 °C). The chitosan-coated samples have shown a greater amount of vitamin C, quercetin, rutin, and total phenolic contents than control samples. However, these nutritional parameters' levels were significantly different (p ≤ 0.05) in samples stored at room than samples stored at refrigerated temperature. However, the levels of crude fiber, potassium, and sodium were found statistically nonsignificant (p ≥0.05) in control versus chitosan treated coating treatments. The findings have documented that the coatings of 1.5 and 2.0% were most effective for extension in shelf life and maintaining the nutritional attributes of guava fruit.

Micronutrient deficiencies are a major public health problem. Beans are an important plant-based source of iron, zinc and copper, but their absorption is reduced in the presence of anti-nutrients such as phytates, polyphenols and tannins. Soaking and discarding the soaking water before cooking is unanimously recommended, but this can result in mineral loss. Data on the consequences for mineral bioaccessibility is still limited. This study aimed to evaluate iron, zinc and copper bioaccessibility in black beans cooked (regular pan, pressure cooker) with and without the soaking water. Minerals were quantified by ICP-MS, myo-inositol phosphates (InsP₅, InsP₆) by HPLC ion-pair chromatography, total polyphenols using Folin-Denis reagent and condensed tannins using Vanillin assay. Mineral bioaccessibility was determined by in vitro digestion and dialysis. All treatments resulted in a statistically significant reduction of total polyphenols (30%) and condensed tannins (20%). Only when discarding the soaking water a loss of iron (6%) and copper (30%) was observed, and InsP₆ was slightly decreased (7%) in one treatment. Bioaccessibility of iron and zinc were low (about 0.2% iron and 35% zinc), but copper presented high bioaccessibility (about 70%). Cooking beans under pressure without discarding the soaking water resulted in the highest bioaccessibility levels among all household procedures. Discarding the soaking water before cooking did not improve the nutritional quality of the beans.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild dementia are a clinically relevant health problem in the elderly and Alzheimer's disease being the most common neurodegenerative disorder. Furthermore, MCI and mild dementia are characterized by a deterioration of cognitive function and their diagnosis is mainly based on cognitive examination and, the prognosis of the disease seems to be an essential reason for the diagnosis, because there is a high risk of cognitive decline in the two syndromes. This review describes the effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba (EGb761®) leaf extract for the treatment of dementia syndrome and EGb761® combination therapy with other medications for symptomatic dementia. Tebonin® is a drug of plant origin based on the active ingredient “Ginkgo biloba”. This drug has shown encouraging results, improving cognitive function, neuropsychiatric disorders and consequent reduction of caregiver stress and maintenance of autonomy in patients with age-related cognitive decline, MCI and mild dementia. Nowadays, there is little evidence to support the efficacy of EGb761® combination therapy with anti-dementia drugs and, therefore, more evidence is needed to evaluate the role of EGb761® in mixed therapy.

What proportions should a thermally massive building have? How should the thermal mass be distributed? Should the "massing" change with the choice of material? This paper shows how to optimize the physical proportions of a building so that it synchronizes ambient heat exchanges in a natural feedback cycle. The internal mass is thermally coupled with buoyancy ventilation; the cycle is driven by the daily swing of outdoor temperature. Tripling up functions in this way—so that structural materials can reliably cool and power the ventilation for buildings—could help decarbonize the construction industry and provide an effective strategy for adapting to life-threatening heatwaves. Based on harmonic analysis, the method allows designers to thermally tune the form and mass of a building to meet chosen targets for temperature and ventilation in free-running mode. Once the optimal balance of exchange rates is known, design teams can proportionally vary the building height and ventilation openings against the surface area and thickness of an internal thermal mass. The possible permutations are infinite but parametrically constrained, allowing teams to fairly compare the functional and environmental credentials of different construction materials while they produce and evaluate preliminary options for organizing the exterior form and interior spaces of a building. An example study suggests that thin-shell structures of minimum weight, and even timber buildings, may be optimally tuned to produce ample ventilation and temperature attenuation.

The new pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a worldwide threatening health issue. Early progression of this disease starts in the lung airways with an exaggerated inflammation, triggered by the viral infection and characterized by a “cytokine storm” that can lead to lethal lung injuries. In the absence of an effective anti-viral molecule and until the formulation of a successful vaccine, anti-inflammatory drugs might offer a complementary tool for controlling the associated complications and thus decreasing the subsequent fatalities. Drug repurposing for several molecules has emerged as a rapid temporary solution for COVID-19. Among these drugs, Thalidomide, a historically emblematic controversial molecule that harbors an FDA approval for treating Erythema Nodosum Leprosum (ENL) and multiple myeloma (MM). Based on only one-case report of positive outcomes in a patient treated amongst others with Thalidomide, two clinical trials on the efficacy and safety of Thalidomide in treating severe respiratory complications in COVID-19 patients were registered. Conversely, the absence of any substantial, promising evidence on Thalidomide usage in that context along with the discontinued studies on the efficiency of this drug in similar pulmonary diseases might cause a significant obstacle for carrying on clinical studies. In this review, we will discuss the theoretical effectiveness of this drug in attenuating inflammatory complications that are encountered in patients with COVID-19 while pinpointing the lack of evidence that is needed to move forward with this drug.

Contemporary climate change is exposing plant populations to novel combinations of temperatures, drought stress, [CO₂] and other abiotic and biotic conditions. These changes are rapidly disrupting the evolutionary dynamics of plants. Despite the multifactorial nature of climate change, most studies typically manipulate only one climatic factor. In this opinion piece, we seek to explore how climate change factors interact with each other and with biotic pressures to alter evolutionary processes. We first explore the ramifications of climate change for key life history stages (germination, growth and reproduction). We then examine how mating system variation influences population persistence under rapid environmental change and propose that mixed mating could be advantageous in future climates. Furthermore, we discuss how spatial and temporal mismatches between plants and their mutualists and antagonists could promote or constrain adaptive responses to climate change. For example, plant-virus interactions vary from highly pathogenic to mildly facilitative, and are partly mediated by temperature, moisture availability and [CO₂]. Will host plants exposed to novel, stressful abiotic conditions be more susceptible to viral pathogens? Finally, we propose novel experimental approaches that could illuminate how plants will cope with unprecedented global change, such as resurrection studies combined with experimental evolution, genomics or epigenetics.