The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of transduser design and its elements, and their materials on temperature in deeper layers of tissues measurement results. A digital modeling was performed to evaluate the influence of the properties of transduser design elements. Experimental research was carried out. Revealed that the accuracy, similar to that of an invasive method using needle probes, can be achieved by measuring the temperature in deeper muscle layers using the proposed transducer.

Studying the two famous old problems that why the moon can move around the Sun and why the orbit of the Moon around the Earth cannot be broken off by the Sun under the condition that calculating with F=GMm/R^2, the attractive force of the Sun on the Moon is almost 2.2 times that of the Earth. We found that the planet and moon are unified as one single gravitational unit which results in that the Sun cannot have the force of F=GMm/R^2 on the moon. The moon is moved by the gravitational unit orbiting around the Sun. It could indicate that the gravitational field of the moon is limited inside the unit and the gravitational fields of both the planet and moon is unified as one single field interacting with the Sun. The findings are further clarified by reestablishing Newton’s repulsive gravity.

Reconstructing ancestral species is a challenging endeavour: fossils are often scarce or enigmatic, and inferring ancestral characters based on novel molecular approaches (e.g. comparative genomics or developmental genetics) has long been controversial. A key philosophical challenge pertinent at present is the lack of a theoretical framework capable of evaluating inferences of homology made through integration of multiple kinds of evidence (e.g. molecular, developmental, or morphological). Here, I present just such a framework. I start with a brief history and critical assessment of attempts at inferring morphological homology through developmental genetics. I then bring attention to a recent model of homology, namely Character Identity Mechanisms (DiFrisco, Love, & Wagner, 2020), intended partly to elucidate the relationships between morphological characters, developmental genetics, and homology. I utilise and build on this model to construct the evaluative framework mentioned above, which judges the epistemic value of evidence of each kind in each particular case based on three proposed criteria: effectiveness, admissibility, and informativity, as well as providing a generalised guideline on how it can be scientifically operationalised. I then point out the evolution of the eumetazoan body plan as a case in point where the application of this framework can yield satisfactory results, both empirically and conceptually. I will conclude with a discussion on some potential implications for more general philosophy of biology and philosophy of science, especially surrounding evidential integration, models and explanation, and reductionism.

This study explored intraindividual multidimensional profiles integrating psychosocial factors, namely, body image and satisfaction, weight-related self-stigma, positivity, and happiness, and behavioural-lifestyle factors, namely, adherence to a healthy diet, among Spanish adults with overweight or obesity. We further aimed to investigate the association of excess weight (i.e., measured body mass index, BMI) with the abovementioned multidimensional configurations. A convenience sample of adult individuals with excessive weight completed self-reports regarding the study variables, and their weight and height were measured. With a perspective centred on the individual, a cluster analysis established three distinct intraindividual psychosocial and diet-related profiles: a group of healthy individuals with excess weight; a group of individuals who were negatively affected by their excessive weight and showed the most distressed profile; and a group of dysfunctional individuals who seemed to be excessively unrealistic and optimistic regarding their excessive weight and unhealthy lifestyles. Furthermore, individuals in the affected cluster had higher obesity. The results showed that there are specific psychosocial and lifestyle profiles in the adult population with excess weight and that there are relationships among psychological, behavioural, and body-composition factors. For clinical application purposes, it is important to account for the heterogeneity within individuals who are obese.

Neuronal lesion or injury is a traditional approach to investigate neural circuit. Is any new neural pathway or new neurodegeneration related central nerve system injury? Spinal disc herniation can cause the spinal cord injury. However, the histological examination is still lack. It happened that a case of spinal disc herniation of a 10-year old dog was examined with NADPH diaphorase (N-d) histology. We did not find the N-d neurodegenerative aberrant in the tissue of the mid-rostral lumber segment besides the metamorphoses by the compression of the disc herniation. However, the severe neuropathological changes majorly occurred in the lumbosacral spinal cord. We found more diverse neurodegenerative alterations: the aging-related N-d body (ANB), megaloneurite and N-d homogeneous formazan globule in the lumbosacral spinal cord. We also found that a new circuit pathway (intermedial collateral pathway) showed by a megaloneurite between the lateral collateral pathway and the medial collateral pathway. The enormous notch caused by spinal disc herniation located at the mid-rostral lumber segments. The aging-related neurodegeneration occurred the specific lumbosacral segments. The homogeneous formazan globule was round or oval homogeneous N-d positivity which distributed in the gray matter and dorsal column. In the medulla oblongata, ANBs were revealed in the gracile nucleus, nucleus reticularis lateralis (ventrolateral spinal trigeminal nucleus) and middle of the spinal trigeminal nucleus.

How does the human neurophysiological system self-organize to achieve optimal phase relationships among joints and limbs, such as in the composite rhythms of butterfly and front crawl swimming, drumming, or dancing? We conducted a systematic review of literature relating to CNS control of phase among joint/limbs in continuous rhythmic activities. SCOPUS and Web of Science were searched using keywords ‘Phase AND Rhythm AND Coordination’. This yielded 998 matches from which 23 papers were extracted for inclusion based on screening criteria. The empirical evidence arising from in-vivo, fictive, in-vitro, and modelling of neural control in humans, other species, and robots indicates that the control of movement is facilitated and simplified by innervating muscle synergies by way of spinal central pattern generators (CPGs). These typically behave like oscillators enabling stable repetition across cycles of movements. This approach provides a foundation to guide the design of empirical research in human swimming and other limb independent activities. For example, future research could be conducted to explore whether the two-layer CPG model proposed by Saltiel et al [1] to explain locomotion in cats might also explain the complex relationships among the cyclical motions in human swimming.

Higher body weight is known to negatively impact plasma vitamin C status. However, despite this well-documented inverse association, recommendations on daily vitamin C intakes by health authorities worldwide do not include particular reference values for people of higher body weight. This suggests that people of higher body weight and people with obesity may be insufficient in vitamin C in spite of ingesting the amounts recommended by their health authorities. The current preliminary investigation sought to estimate how much additional vitamin C people with higher body weights need to consume in order to attain a comparable vitamin C status to that of a lower weight person consuming an average Western vitamin C intake. Data from two published vitamin C dose-concentration studies were used to generate the relationship: a detailed pharmacokinetic study with seven healthy non-smoking men and a multiple depletion-repletion study with 68 healthy non-smoking men of varying body weights. Our estimates suggest that an additional intake of 10 mg vitamin C/day is required for every 10 kg increase in body weight to attain a comparable plasma concentration to a 60 kg individual with a vitamin C intake of ~110 mg/day, which is the daily intake recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Thus, individuals weighing e.g. 80 and 90 kg will need to consume ~130 and 140 mg vitamin C/day, respectively. People with obesity will likely need even higher vitamin C intakes. As poor vitamin C status is associated with increased risk of several chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, these findings may have important public health implications. As such, dose-finding studies are required to determine optimal vitamin C intakes for overweight and obese people.

Wireless Body Area Networks are composed of sensor nodes that may be implanted in the body or worn on it. A node is composed of a sensing unit, a processor and a radio unit. One of the nodes, the sink, acts as a gateway between the body area network and other networks such as the Internet. We propose a routing protocol that constructs paths between nodes such that the final network topology is a tree rooted at the sink. The protocol's aim is to increase network lifetime and reliability, and to adapt to network conditions dynamically. Moreover, the protocol enables communications between nodes and sink both in the upstream direction, from nodes to sink, and in the downstream direction from sink to nodes. When the network tree is constructed, a node chooses its parent, i.e., next hop to sink, by using one of various criteria. Namely, these are the number of hops between parent and sink, energy level of parent, received signal strength from parent, number of current parent's children, and a fuzzy logic function that combines multiple criteria. Moreover, as time progresses the tree structure may dynamically change to adapt to conditions such as the near-depletion of a routing node's energy. Simulation results show improvements in network lifetime and energy consumption over the older version of the protocol.

This case study examined changes in body composition, resting metabolic rate (RMR), aerobic capacity, and daily physical activity in a patient who had ulcerative colitis who underwent ileal pouch‒anal anastomosis (IPAA) surgery. Body composition, RMR, and VO2 peak were assessed prior to, 4, 8, and 16 weeks after IPAA surgery. Daily physical activity data was extracted from a wrist-worn activity tracker preoperatively and 16 months postoperatively. At baseline, total body mass was 95.3 kg; body fat, 11.6 %; lean body mass, 81.1 kg; RMR, 2,416 kcal/d; and V̇O2peak, 42.7 mL/kg/min. All values decreased from baseline at 4 weeks postoperatively, body mass was 85.2 kg (-10.5%); body fat, 10.9% (-6.0%); lean body mass, 73.1 kg (-9.9%); RMR 2,210 kcal/d (-8.5%) and V̇O2peak, 25.5 mL/kg/min (-40.3%). At 16 weeks postoperatively, most parameters were near their baseline levels (within 1%-7%); exceptions were V̇O2peak, which was 20.4% below baseline, and RMR, which increased to nearly 20% above baseline. After the patient had an IPAA surgery, his total and lean body masses, RMR, and aerobic capacity were markedly decreased. Daily physical activity decreased postoperatively and likely contributed to the decreased aerobic capacity, which may take longer to recover compared to body composition and RMR parameters.

Virtual human body models contribute to designing safe and user-friendly products through virtual prototyping. Anthropometric biomechanical models address different physiques using average dimensions. In designing personal protective equipment, biomechanical models with the correct geometry and shape shall play a role. The presented study shows the variations of subject-specific anthropometric dimensions from the average for the different population groups in the Czech Republic and China as a background for the need for personalized human body models. The study measures a set of clothing industry dimensions of Czech children, Czech teens, Czech adults and Chinese adults and compares them to the corresponding age average, which is represented by a scaled anthropometric human body model. The cumulative variation of clothing industry dimensions increases the farer is the population group from the average. It is smallest for the Czech adults 7.54% ± 6.63%, Czech teens report 7.93% ± 6.25% and Czech children differ 9.52% ± 6.08%. Chinese adults report 10.86% ± 11.11%. As the variations of the particular clothing industry dimensions from the average prove the necessity of having personalized subject-specific models, the personalization of particular body segments using the measured clothing industry dimensions leading to a subject-specific virtual model is addressed. The developed personalization algorithm results in the continuous body surface desired for contact applications for assessing body behavior and injury risk under impact loading.

Objective On the eve of the summer Olympic Games in Tokyo research focus has shifted on the core temperature responses of elite athletes competing in the heat. In the absence of the field data of core temperature during Olympic sailing competition aim of the present study was to identify core temperature response during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Test Event. Methods Four elite athletes from Olympic sailing (177.5±5.2 cm, 71.1±7.4 kg, body mass index 22.5±1.4 kg/m2, 24.8±3.7 yrs, VO2max 50.6±7.2 mL/min/kg)): 2 males and 2 females participated in the study. Core temperature was recorded using e-Celsius ingestible capsules, heart rate using a heart rate monitor. Ambient conditions in direct sunlight were measured using portable meteo station. Results Core temperature was recorded at water environment via an ingestible capsule in 4 sailors during the training (T), and competition (C), respectively. Ambient conditions in direct sunlight were hot and humid: during training temperature were 30.9°C±1.7°C and relative humidity 81.4%±2.8%, corresponding to a wet-bulb globe temperature of 41°C±4°C and during competition temperature was 31.2°C±2.3°C and relative humidity 87.2%±4.4%, corresponding to a wet-bulb globe temperature of 45.2°C±8.9°C. Core temperature increased during training reaching higher peak values (38.6°C±0.4°C) and during competition (38.9°C±0.4°C). The highest temperature recorded was 39.4°C (C). Conclusion The current study provides unique information into the core temperature parameters under heat stress in elite Olympic sailors during training and race event.

Recent evidence suggests that among behavioral-lifestyle factors, adherence to a healthy dietary pattern such as the Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) is linked not only to better psychological health and mental positive status but also to increased subjective well-being (SWB). Nevertheless, this association has been unexplored among individuals with excessive weight. This study explored whether adherence to the MedDiet and the intake of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables (FV) are associated with increased happiness and life satisfaction among Spanish adults with overweight or obesity when weight, body image, and body satisfaction are also considered. A convenience sample of adult individuals with excessive weight completed self-reports on the study variables, and weight and BMI were measured by bioimpedance. No evidence of a relationship with SWB indicators was obtained for MedDiet global indicators, probably due to the low adherence to a healthy diet by these individuals. In contrast, FV intake, as a powerful indicator of healthy eating, was associated with life satisfaction when BMI and body image dimensions were considered, among which body satisfaction also had a key role. Moreover, life satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between FV consumption and happiness. Our findings are expected to make a relevant contribution to knowledge on the positive correlates or protective factors for overall well-being in obesity, including dietary habits and body appreciation. Our results may inform obesity management actions focused on inclusive, positive aesthetic models and promoting a healthy lifestyle for happiness in obesity.

The use of whole-body vibration (WBV) for therapeutic purposes is far from being standardized and only very recently an empirical foundation for reporting guidelines for human WBV studies has been published. Controversies about safety and therapeutic dosage stll exist. The present study aimed to investigate the metabolic and mechanical effects of low-intensity WBV in according to the ISO 2631 norm on subjects with obesity. 41 obese subjects (BMI≥ 35 kg/mˆ2) were recruited to participate in a 3-week multidisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation program including fitness training and WBV training. During WBV the posture was monitored with an optoelectronic system with 6 infrared cameras (Vicon, Vicon Motion System, Oxford, UK). The primary endpoints were: variation in body composition, factors of the metabolic syndrome, functional activity (sit-to-stand and 6-min walking test), muscle strength, and quality of life. Secondary endpoints were: modification of irisin, testosterone, growth hormone, IGF1 levels. We observed significant changes in salivary irisin levels, Group 2 (p<0.01) as compared to the control group, while muscle strength, function, and other metabolic and hormonal factors did not change after a 3-week low-intensity WBV training respect control group. Future studies are needed to deeper investigate the potential metabolic effect of low-intensity WBV in managing weight.

Recent improvements in deepfake creation have made deepfake videos more realistic. Moreover, open-source software has made deepfake creation more accessible, which reduces the barrier to entry for deepfake creation. This could pose a threat to the people’s privacy. There is a potential danger if the deepfake creation techniques are used by people with an ulterior motive to produce deepfake videos of world leaders to disrupt the order of countries and the world. Therefore, research into the automatic detection of deepfaked media is essential for public security. In this work, we propose a deepfake detection method using upper body language analysis. Specifically, a many-to-one LSTM network was designed and trained as a classification model for deepfake detection. Different models were trained by varying the hyperparameters to build a final model with benchmark accuracy. We achieved 94.39% accuracy on the deepfake test set. The experimental results showed that upper body language can effectively detect deepfakes.

There is growing recognition of the adverse effects of body image dissatisfaction (BID) and eating disorder (ED) symptoms on adolescent health. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of ED symptoms, BID, and their relationship in adolescents from public schools in Southern Brazil. A total of 782 schoolchildren (male: n=420, female: n=362); age: 15 ± 0,4 years) answered a self-administrated questionnaire to identify sociodemographic data. Children´s Figure Rating Scale was adopted to identify body image and Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) was applied to investigate ED symptoms. Inferential statistics and hierarchical model-controlled logistic regression were used for association between variables. Most of the schoolchildren reported being satisfied with their bodies. However, we observed a higher prevalence of dissatisfaction among girls for being overweight and thinness among boys. Female students and students from schools located in the central area of the city showed higher chances of developing ED symptoms, and the absence of symptoms of ED appeared to act as a protective factor against BID in schoolchildren. Results of this study show the need to reflect on these factors that influence the development of ED and non-acceptance of their own body in a population concerned with their physical appearance.

There are no studies that quantitatively compare life histories among scorpion species. Statistical procedures applied to 94 scorpion species indicate that those with larger bodies do not necessarily have larger litters or longer life cycles, opposite to some theoretical predictions.

Concretizing the mechanisms of Bergmann rule, we found saw-tooth pattern in body size variation in ground beetle Pterostichus oblongopunctatus. We sampled beetles in 2010 – 2018 at the forest undisturbed plots on the broad territory in Russia. Investigating regions covered territory, extending to 3 degrees latitude and 19 degrees longitude. We measured six traits in every of 3294 caught individual. ANOVA showed that latitude, and sex affected significantly body size of the species studied. Mean values of each trait changed significantly from one studied region to another in females and males as well. Sexual size dimorphism in species was female-biased. We performed models in R to estimate the steepness of body size variation in both sexes. In overwhelming majority of cases that parameter was equal in both sexes. So the hypothesis, that male′s variation is steeper in latitude gradient was not confirmed.

To predict how the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, we developed a systematic method for predicting disease outcomes. In the method, we evaluate how personal disease outcomes are mainly affected by viral concentration and exposure time and four defense mechanisms: human innate immunity/host response, acquired immune response, inflammation resolution and micro circulation, and the available space in the thorax cage. By considering how pandemic measures affect viral exposure and those mechanisms, we found many pandemic measures are misused or abused to deliver long-term adverse impacts. We noted that lifestyles have been changed as a result of movement restriction measures. By using the method, we found that altered lifestyles are predicted to raise infection rate, disability and death risks in the future. We show that a person can use personal, environmental, emotional factors to reduce infection rate and death risk. To prove the validity of this finding, we extensively examined medical research models, holistic and reductionist models, epidemiological models, disease risk factors, etc, and found that population methods are unfit for studying holistic health, statistical population does not exist in most clinical trials, mathematical models were misused for studying disease properties for a population, mathematical equations for modeling personal diseases are beyond human ability to solve, statistical models are misused, population-derived treatments are inherently dangerous to patients, vaccines have limited benefits due to unique lung structure and rapid RNA mutation, and immune system damage is caused by fast viral replication rate. We found that altering biological properties to improve the defense mechanisms could prevent a super majority of deaths and prevent the virus from reaching a point to damage the immune system. For vulnerable persons, such measure is a viable strategy for surviving from the pandemic. As a whole, holistic personalized medicine is more powerful than population-based reductionist treatment by one to several orders of magnitudes. We urge people do their parts to force the medical establishment to abandon population treatment models that are responsible for failure of medicine and dissemination of misleading and factually wrong information on the effectiveness of medical treatments.

Mexico shows a high prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents. Geographical location and cultural environment could play a role in the promotion of healthy lifestyles in terms of physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB) and nutrition. The purpose of this study was to assess rural and urban differences in body composition (BC), physical fitness (PF), PA and nutritional status of adolescents from the state of Jalisco (Mexico). The study involved 469 students aged 13-17 years (55.0% girls) from 8 high schools. BC was analyzed by bioimpedance, and PF by standardized field tests. Objective measurements of PA and SB were taken in a subsample (n=240). Energy intake (EI) was calculated from two 24h recalls. Rural residents presented a higher prevalence of overweight, waist circumference, trunk fat mass, regional fat free mass and muscle handgrip strength (all p<0.05, ηp2<0.06). Cardiorespiratory fitness was similar among participants, whereas urban adolescents showed higher muscle power, speed-agility and flexibility scores (all p<0.05, ηp2<0.07). Overall lifestyle behavior in urban adolescents was more sedentary (p<0.05, ηp2= 0.11). EI was similar in both locations. In conclusion, urban Mexican adolescents presented a generally higher sedentary behavior and better fitness and fatness profile than their rural peers.

The hybrid bond graph has been studied in depth for scalar bond graphs, but how does this translate to the multi-bond graph? Here, the controlled junction – used to model structural switching such as contact – is extended to the multi-bond case. This is a simple process, assuming that all bonds switch simultaneously (which makes physical sense). A controlled 0-junction is applied to multi-bond graph of a car, which can lose contact with the ground in cornering. Dynamic causality features, but this can be accommodated using an equational submodel in 20-Sim (in a manner similar to that used with scalar bond graphs). The junction is proposed for subsequent work to develop a validated multi-body dynamics car model in cornering.

The oral administration of (R)-3-hydroxybutyl-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate, allows inducing a beneficial level of blood ketone bodies without the adverse effects due to the adhesion to a ketogenic diet. Several studies documented the therapeutic effectiveness of the (R)-3-hydroxybutyl (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate in treating neurodegenerative diseases as well as its boosting activity of athletic and cognitive performances during prolonged physical exercises. Further studies considering this ketone body ester for therapy of other pathologies are also underway. In the present work, we describe the synthesis of (R)-3-hydroxybutyl-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate through the enantioselective transesterification of racemic ethyl 3-hydroxybutyrate with (R)-1,3-butanediol catalyzed by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (CAL-B). The enantiopure (R)-1,3-butanediol was in turn obtained from the kinetic resolution of the racemate by CAL-B catalyzed acetylation with vinyl acetate. The economy of the synthetic procedure has been improved by recycling the unreacted (S) enantiomers of the ethyl 3-hydroxybutyrate and 1,3-buatnediol after stereochemical inversion achieved by tosylation and SN2 with ammonium acetate. The overall procedure allows to incorporate up to 70% of the starting racemic reagents into the final product.

The bipolar mitotic spindle drives accurate chromosome segregation by capturing the kinetochore and pulling each set of sister chromatids to the opposite poles. In this review, we describe recent findings on the multiple pathways leading to bipolar spindle formation in fission yeast and discuss these results from a broader perspective. Roles of four mitotic kinesins (Kinesin-5, Kinesin-6, Kinesin-12 and Kinesin-14) in spindle assembly are depicted, and how a group of microtubule-associated proteins, sister chromatid cohesion and the kinetochore collaborates with these motors is shown. We have paid special attention to the molecular pathways that render otherwise essential Kinesin-5 to become non-essential: how cells build bipolar mitotic spindles without the need for Kinesin-5 and where the alternate forces come from are considered. We highlight the force balance for bipolar spindle assembly and explain how outward and inward forces are generated by various ways, in which the proper fine-tuning of microtubule dynamics plays a crucial role. Overall, these new pathways have illuminated remarkable plasticity and adaptability of spindle mechanics. Kinesin molecules are regarded as prospective targets for cancer chemotherapy and many specific inhibitors have been developed. However, several hurdles have arisen against their clinical implementation. This review provides insight into possible strategies to overcome these challenges.

Despite the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) being the gold standard in evaluating clinical presentations of arrythmias of various kinds, several notable limitations, namely in accuracy and localization, have recently garnered concern with respect to administering appropriate therapeutic measures. The following text puts these limitations under the spotlight, highlighting the difficulty and challenging nature of standard ECG analysis and therapeutic measures, while simultaneously showing a novel body surface electrocardiographic mapping system that utilizes 3D spatial imaging and pinpoint localization algorithms in order to compensate for the shortcomings of the standard ECG, thereby providing higher precision data collection. We provide a brief overview of the novel device in a selection of arrhythmic demographics, along with its validity and reliability, while illustrating the benefits and positive outcomes of its utility.

TThe passion of bodybuilding athletes for a symmetric, lean, heavily muscled body leads them to carry out exhausting exercise programs and restrictive eating regimens, sometimes resulting in disordered eating behaviors. This study investigates potential exacerbators on the development of disordered eating in bodybuilding and strength athletes. The study involved 103 Cypriot bodybuilding athletes of both sexes, performing at three levels: professional, recreational and strength athletes. The Eating Attitude Test 26 (EAT-26) and The Three Factor Eating Question-naire (TFEQ-R21) were used to evaluate disordered eating and eating behaviors respectively. The current study was performed under the auspices of the Hellenic Center of Education & Treatment of Eating Disorders (KEADD). The degree of deviation between the perceived ideal body weight and the actual body weight was associated with increased risk of eating disorder. Athletes who desired a lower body weight recorded higher scores on EAT-26 overall, (p=0.001), and the subscales of dieting (p=0.01) and bulimia. (p=0.001). Cognitive restraint and emotional eating scales of TFEQ-R21 were more pronounced in the non-professional athletes. (p=0.01). The emotional eating score was higher in women. There is a need for appropriate sport-specific, gender-specific preventive intervention to deescalate the risk of eating disorder, in both profes-sional and non-professional bodybuilding athletes.

This study is centred on Insecurity and Electoral Administration in Nigeria. Elections are the leading mechanism for selecting governments and a cardinal feature of democratisation. The quest for fair representation, development, good governance, inclusiveness and a true sense of belonging has been the driving force for election. The conduct of credible elections remains one of the thorny and fundamental issues in a democracy. The trajectory of electoral administration in Nigeria is long and tortuous; it precedes independence and is punctuated by the elite's scheming and cunning, electoral fraud, gimmicks and violence. Nigeria has had its fair share of insecurity from diverse sources such as banditry, insurgency, recurring violent religious crises, ethnic, resource and poverty-induced militancy, and crises occasioned by the clamour for self-determination. This has left the electoral management body in a quandary and has undoubtedly imperilled the administration of elections in Nigeria and equally accentuated the temerity for a holistic approach in reversing the trend and engendering the right atmosphere for the administration of elections. This study depends mainly on secondary sources and uses qualitative means in data analysis. It is revealed in this study that violence and various degrees of interruptions have taken the front burner in the democratisation process and are one of the dangerous dimensions in electoral administration; electoral politics remains one of the remarkable principal bases of clashes, political failure and social dislocation, Elections and their administration are some of the most complicated, time-sensitive activities undertaken by any country which will be exacerbated by insecurity. Democratic elections are successful when the electorate can make informed decisions; when faith in the process is sustained; when fraud is disincentivised, detected and punished. When insecurity is whittled down, mitigated or eradicated. The need for electoral security can never be overemphasised.

In this paper, I give readers an idea of what some scholars are interested in, what I found interesting, and what may be of future interest in the philosophy of emotion. I begin with a brief overview of the general topics of interests in the philosophy of emotion. I then discuss what I believe to be some of the most interesting topics in the contemporary discourse, including questions about how philosophy can inform the science of emotion, conceptions of the mind and the mind-body problem, concerns about perception, cognition, and emotion, along with questions about the place of 4E approaches and meta-semantic pluralist approaches in the embodied cognitive tradition. Finally, I discuss the emerging field of cultural evolution, the import of a dual-inheritance theory in this emerging field, and I propose a possible way to integrate the frameworks of dual-inheritance theory and meta-semantic pluralism to demonstrate at least one way in which the philosophy of emotion can contribute to the emerging field of cultural evolution.

In the present work we revise and extend the Characteristic Crystallographic Element (CCE) norm, an algorithm used to simultaneously detect radial and orientational similarity of computer-generated structures with respect to specific reference crystals and local symmetries. Based on the identification of point group symmetry elements, the CCE descriptor is able to gauge local structure with high precision and finely distinguish between competing morphologies. As test cases we use computer-generated monomeric and polymer systems of spherical particles interacting with the hard-sphere and square-well attractive potentials. We demonstrate that the CCE norm is able to detect and differentiate, between others, among: hexagonal close packed (HCP), face centered cubic (FCC), hexagonal (HEX) and body centered cubic (BCC) crystals as well as non-crystallographic fivefold (FIV) local symmetry in bulk 3-D systems; triangular (TRI), square (SQU) and honeycomb (HON) crystals, as well as pentagonal (PEN) local symmetry in thin films of one-layer thickness (2-D systems). The descriptor is general and can be applied to identify the symmetry elements of any point group for arbitrary atomic or particulate system in two or three dimensions, in the bulk or under confinement.

(1) Background: Reduced magnesium (Mg) levels may be associated with a faster de-cline in renal function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of serum and uri-nary Mg levels with body composition and inflammatory markers; (2) Methods: Lon-gitudinal study with patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing non-dialysis treatment in stages 3A, 3B and 4. Venous samples were collected after a 12-hour night fast. Body composition was evaluated by Double X-Ray Emission Absorptiometry and Air Displacement Plethysmog-raphy; (3) Results: The sample consisted of 134 patients. In the adjusted linear regression model, uric acid, percentage of lean mass and ali-mentar intake of Mg were positively associated with the sergic Mg. Triglyceride levels, WC and fat mass percentage were negatively associated with serum Mg. For the Mg urinal, in the adjusted model, the eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate), IL (interleukin 6), food intake of Mg and the percentage of lean mass showed a positive correlation.; (4) Conclusions: Serum Mg levels were positively associated with lean mass and negatively with total and central body fat and urinary Mg was positively associated with IL6 and lean mass.

In this work, we analytically describe a superconducting transition in a non-equilibrium state taking into account many-body interactions; the obtained transition temperatures indicate the presence of superconductivity at room temperatures.First, we consider many-body interactions and discuss the case of locally thermal equilibrium with many-body interactions; in this section, we derive statistical equations that describe many-body interactions at locally thermal equilibrium state. Then, the same theory is used to derive a many-body statistical equation that is expanded to include the case of non-equilibrium states; in this case a transition temperature is derived. Moreover, a wave function of an Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen pair (EPR pair) is calculated according to the Lorentz conservation, and a specific condensation is observed and the Meissner effect is found to be present.Furthermore, considering the Lorentz conservations, relativistic energy, and Boltzmann statistics, algorithms are presented to calculate charge density, current density, and internal local energy. We note that these calculations do not require a specific code but instead utilize the software Microsoft Excel.We present plots showing the charge density and current density vs. the applied electric potential, which demonstrate the practical applicability of the theory. Moreover, internal local energy was found to be close to zero for sufficiently large electric potentials at room temperature.In the discussion section, the universally induced superconducting current is derived, which can be employed as the renewable energy.This paper describes non-equilibrium and EPR-pair type superconductivity, with the complete consideration of many-body interactions.

This article aims to systematically review the available evidence concerning the relationship between basal metabolism (BM), body composition (BC), and physical activity (PA) with central obesity. The search strategy was carried out using Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, and SciELO following the PRISMA guidelines. The STROBE checklist and the Jadad scale for quality assessment were also used. A total of 1382 studies were initially identified being 25 publications eligible for systematic data extraction. Individual studies showed that adults with waist circumference (WC) above 88 cm in women and above 102 in men had a higher risk of metabolic alterations related to high absolute energy expenditure and less maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max). Participants with central obesity presented a high percentage of body fat (BF%) between 30.6% and 41.6%. Most of the PA intervention studies reported reductions in WC between 1.3 and 5.8 cm. In conclusion, there is a direct relationship between the components of BM with central obesity and a direct association between central obesity and BF%. PA is a protective factor that needs to be promoted to reduce WC and control central obesity as a public health problem. PROSPERO ID registration: CRD42021232917.

The part of this article dealing with topological insulators and topological superconductors was first written about two years ago - the ideas in the part about the topological universe originated six years ago or more. It’s rather strange that I never put the two parts together in writing before. My belief in unification is unshakeable - I’ve been convinced for years that the universe must be composed of topology. Since Earth is part of the cosmos, entanglement means it must have topological materials. The reverse is also true: topological materials on Earth are well known to science - so in a unification, space and time inevitably possess topological composition. Topological materials (topological insulators, topological superconductors) can be less mystifying if they’re related to the paradigm-shifting deterministic view of quantum mechanics which is described in the universal topology (the “rubber-sheet geometry” of the cosmos): see my previous submission “Hypothesis of Quantum Gravity - Resulting from a Static, Topological Universe Resulting from the Positives and Negatives of the Steady State and Big Bang Theories" at https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202105.0239/v1 (the first section of this present article is a quick summary of the relevant parts).

The lordosis of the haemal part of the vertebral column is a frequent abnormality in reared fish. Haemal lordosis develops during the late larval and early juvenile period, mainly due to the high swimming activity of the fish in the rearing tanks. In the present study we examined whether haemal lordosis recovers during the growth of European sea bass. Furthermore, we aimed to develop simple morphometric indices (PrAn1 and PrAn2) that could link the severity of lordosis at the juvenile stage with fish morphological quality at harvesting. At 111 days post-hatching (dph, 53±4 mm standard length, SL), 600 seabass juveniles with lordotic (L, 200 fish) or normal (N, 400 fish) external morphology were selected and introduced in a common tank. At 150 dph (75±7 mm SL), 350 fish were randomly selected, pit-tagged and transferred in a sea cage for on-growing up to 502 dph (234±16 mm SL). The morphological examination of the fish at 150 and 502 dph revealed that the 60% (46 out of 77) of L juveniles turned into normal phenotype by the end of on-growing period. Interestingly, 56% of the fish with recovered external morphology (N-Rec) presented either a completely normal vertebral column (31%) or minor abnormalities of individual vertebrae (25%). Following the results of geometric morphometric analysis, the differences in the body shape between N-Rec and N fish were not significant (p>0.05, canonical variate analysis). The examined morphometric indices were effective in discriminating the normal fish from the 58% (PrAn1) to 65% (PrAn2) of lordotic juveniles. Results are discussed with respect to the mechanism of lordosis recovery, as well as to their application for the quality control and cull out of the abnormal fish in the commercial hatcheries.

Three body systems in which one of the bodies is ejected without escaping the binary system have previously been studied in various restricted forms. However, none of these studies dwells on the problem in a general setting. Thus, to study this phenomenon qualitatively, we try to expand this problem's scope to unequal mass systems and generalize them by considering various configurations of fixed initial points with precisely calculated initial velocities, some zero velocity models and some optimized models. We will see the use of terminology similar to the previous studies done in this domain but incorporate different analytical and evaluation methods.

This paper presents the experimental implementations of the mathematical models and algorithms developed in Part I. Two experiments are carried out. The first experiment aims at the determinations of the correction coefficients of the mathematical model. The dot grid target is measured and the measurement data are processed by our developed and validated algorithms introduced in Part I. The values of the coefficients are indicated and analysed. Uncertainties are evaluated with implementation of the Monte Carlo method. The second experiment measures a different area of the dot grid target. The measurement results are corrected according to the coefficients determined in the first experiment. The mean residual between the measured points and their corresponding certified values reduced 29.6% after the correction. The sum of squared errors reduced 47.7%. The methods and the algorithms for raw data processing, such as data partition, fittings of dots’ centres, K-means clustering, etc., are the same for both two experiments. The experimental results demonstrate that our method for the correction of the errors produced by the movement of lateral stage of confocal microscope is meaningful and practicable.

Introduction: Body size is correlated with many aspects of an animal species' natural history, such as life span, abundance, dispersal capacity and diet breadth. However, contrasting trends have been reported for the relationship between body size and these ecological traits. Methods: Butterfly species from fruit-feeding guilds were used to investigate whether body size correlates with species abundances, dispersal, permanence, and diet breadth in a Neotropical savanna in Brazil (Cerrado). We used Blomberg’s K and Phylogenetic Generalized Least Squares models (PGLS) to measure phylogenetic signal strength in species traits, and to estimate size-dispersal-diet breadth associations while taking shared ancestry into account. Results: 539 individuals from 27 species were captured, and 190 individuals were recaptured, representing a 35% recapture rate. We found that body size negatively influenced butterfly abundance. In contrast, body size was positively associated with dispersal levels, distance traveled, number of traps visited, individual permanence, and diet breadth. These results indicate that larger butterflies have a greater proportion of dispersing individuals over longer distances, as they permanence were detected over longer periods than their smaller relatives. Moreover, larger butterflies are more generalized, based on the number of host plant families and genera they consume. Smaller butterflies demand fewer resources, which is reflected in their higher survival in small patches, and may explain their lower dispersal ability, and higher diet specialization. Nevertheless, lower dispersal ability, if not compensated by large population sizes, may threaten small-bodied species inhabiting environments with intense deforestation rates, such as the Cerrado. Conclusions: Body size positively influences dispersal and diet breadth in the fruit-feeding butterflies collected in this study.

The paper is a kind of a small guide book through the textures and structures of river deposits in valleys. It presents principles of the flument systems with morphological river terraces and fluments (terrace bodies), different stages of the morphological terraces, structure of the flument, texture of terrace flights, terrace stacks and terrace rows. Special topics deal with flument overlaps and insight into the valley ground.

Background and objectives: Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have many potential factors (spasticity, immobilization, glucocorticoids use) which can deteriorate the anthropometrical status and body composition and may have the potential impact on the functional mobility and basic motor skills improvement after physiotherapy. The aim of the study was to assess the functional mobility and basic motor skills in patients with MS and to correlate them with disability and anthropometrical status and body composition parameters. Materials and Methods: Timed Up-and-Go test (TUG), and six-minute walk test (6MWT) were performed in 36 patients with MS before and after 4 weeks of physiotherapy. Body mass index (BMI), waist to height ratio (W/HtR), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were assessed in this group. Body composition was evaluated by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and fat mass (FAT), fat free mass (FFM), total body water (TBW) and predicted muscle mass (PMM) were expressed as percentage of body mass. Clinical status was assessed by EDSS and AI scales. Results: After physiotherapy, there was a significant improvement in functional mobility and basic motor skills assessed by total distance in 6MWT (p<0.001) and in TUG trials (p<0.001). Positive significant correlations were found between the results obtained in both tests (either before and after physiotherapy) vs. FFM, TBW and PMM, whilst worse results in functional mobility and basic motor skills correlated significantly with higher WHtR, WHR and FAT (p<0.05). Clinical status (EDSS) were significantly related to the WHtR and body composition parameters with the same manner as the results in the either 6MWT and TUG. However, there were no significant relationships between BMI vs. either clinical status (EDSS, AI) and functional mobility tests results in patients with MS. Conclusions: Functional mobility and basic motor skills may be significantly improved during the physiotherapy, but they are related to the anthropometrical status and body composition of MS patients. Moreover, disability status is also significantly related to this parameters. Body composition deterioration seems to be the important target for the therapeutic intervention in MS patients. For proper nutritional status assessment in patients with MS, body composition analysis or WHtR instead BMI should to be used.

Proper bipolar spindle assembly underlies accurate chromosome segregation. A cohort of microtubule-associated proteins orchestrates spindle microtubule formation in a spatiotemporally coordinated manner. Among them, the conserved XMAP215/TOG family of microtubule polymerase plays a central role in spindle assembly. In fission yeast, two XMAP215/TOG members, Alp14 and Dis1, share essential roles in cell viability; however how these two proteins functionally collaborate remains undetermined. Here we show the functional interplay and specification of Alp14 and Dis1. Creation of new mutant alleles of alp14, which display temperature sensitivity in the absence of Dis1, enabled us to conduct detailed analyses of a double mutant. We have found that simultaneous inactivation of Alp14 and Dis1 results in early mitotic arrest with very short, fragile spindles. Intriguingly, these cells often undergo spindle collapse, leading to a lethal “cut” phenotype. By implementing an artificial targetting system, we have shown that Alp14 and Dis1 are not functionally exchangeable and as such are not merely redundant paralogues. Intriguingly, while Alp14 promotes microtubule nucleation, Dis1 does not. Our results uncover that the intrinsic specification, not the spatial regulation, between Alp14 and Dis1 underlies the collaborative actions of these two XMAP215/TOG members in mitotic progression, spindle integrity and genome stability.

One of the major challenges in the post-genomic era is elucidating the genetic basis of human diseases. In recent years, studies have shown that polygenic risk scores (PRS), based on aggregated information from millions of variants across the human genome, can estimate individual risk for common diseases. In practice, the current medical practice still predominantly relies on physiological and clinical indicators to assess personal disease risk. For example, caregivers mark individuals with high body mass index (BMI) as having an increased risk to develop type 2 diabetes (T2D). An important question is whether combining PRS with clinical metrics can increase the power of disease prediction in particular from early life. In this work we examined this question, focusing on T2D. We show that an integrated approach combining adult BMI and PRS achieves considerably better prediction than each of the measures on unrelated Caucasians in the UK Biobank (UKB, n=290,584). Likewise, integrating PRS with self-reports on birth weight (n=172,239) and comparative body size at age ten (n=287,203) also substantially enhance prediction as compared to each of its components. While the integration of PRS with BMI achieved better results as compared to the other measurements, the latter are early-life measurements that can be integrated already at childhood, to allow preemptive intervention for those at high risk to develop T2D. Our integrated approach can be easily generalized to other diseases, with the relevant early-life measurements.

Background: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation with imagined defects in appearance. Optical illusions induce illusory effects that distort the presented stimulus thus leading to ambiguous percepts. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we investigated whether BDD is related to differentiated perception during illusory percepts. Methods: 18 BDD patients and 18 controls were presented with 39 optical illusions together with a statement testing whether or not they perceived the illusion. After a delay period, they were prompted to answer whether the statement is right/wrong and their degree of confidence for their answer. We investigated differences of BDD on task performance and self-reported confidence and analysed the brain oscillations during decision-making using nonparametric cluster statistics. Results: Behaviorally, the BDD group exhibited reduced confidence when responding incorrectly, potentially attributed to higher levels of doubt. Electrophysiologically, the BDD group showed significantly reduced alpha power at mid-central scalp areas, suggesting impaired allocation of attention. Interestingly, the lower the alpha power of the identified cluster, the higher the BDD severity, as assessed by BDD psychometrics. Conclusions: Results evidenced that alpha power during illusory processing might serve as a quantitative EEG biomarker of BDD, potentially associated with reduced inhibition of task-irrelevant areas.

Purpose: To derive and provide analytic formulas for accommodative gain of presbyopia eyes. via sclera ablation and/or thermal shrinkage such that lens is reshaped an/or its positon is shifted. New mechanisms are also proposed. Study Design: To increased accommodation of presbyopia. Place and Duration of Study: New Taipei City, Taiwan, between June, 2021 and July, 2021. Methodology: Accommodation gain is calculated by a 4-component theory, in which the rate functions are derived by an effective eye model for the change of anterior curvature of the lens and its anterior shift. The measured data of accommodative response of the lens versus the lens curvature change and anterior shift are analyzed. The measured net change of the posterior vitreal zonules (PVZ) length and the space between the ciliary body and lens (CLS) during the accommodation are also analyzed. Results: The accommodative gain (AG) is mainly due the change of lens anterior curvature and its anterior shift. The AG per diopter change of the reshaped lens is 0.62 to 0.68 by our formulas, comparing to the measured average value M'=0.69. The efficacy of LASA (or AG) is proportional to the amount of scleral tissue removed (or shrinkaged), such that more space is produced for the change of PVZ and CLS from a UCS to AS for accommodation. Conclusion: The AG is proportional to the amount of scleral tissue removed (or shrinkaged), such that more space is produced for the change of PVZ and CLS from a UCS to AS for accommodation.

This paper presents a compact on-chip antenna architecture for 5G body centric networks (BCNs) applications. A dual meander line (DML) integrated antenna consists of two stacked layers of two turns of meander lines and a ground metal layer. The DML structure decreases the resonant frequency, increases tuning bands and broadens the operating bandwidth to be a suitable choice for high data rate biomedical applications. The antenna’s performance is evaluated in both scenarios inside and outside the human body. The proposed antenna is fabricated using UMC180 nm CMOS technology with a total area of 1150µm×200µm, and operates at bands 22 GHz, 34 GHz, 44 GHz and 58 GHz with an operating bandwidth up to 2 GHz at impedance bandwidth ≤ 7.5 dB (VSWR≤2.5). The proposed antenna is simulated using high frequency structure simulator (HFSS) and shows good agreement between measured and simulated results.

Novel model of biodegradable PHA copolymer films preparation was applied to evaluate biodegradability of various PHA copolymers and discuss its biomedical applicability. In this study, we illustrate the potential biomaterial degradation rate affectability by manipulation of monomer composition via controlling biosynthetic strategies. Within the experimental investigation, we have prepared two different copolymers of 3-hydroxybutyrate and 4-hydroxybutyrate – P(3HB-co-36 mol.% 4HB) and P(3HB-co-66 mol.% 4HB), by cultivating thermophilic bacterial strain Aneurinibacillus sp. H1 and further investigated its degradability in simulated body fluids (SBFs). Both copolymers revealed faster weight reduction in synthetic gastric juice (SGJ) and artificial colonic fluid (ACF) than simple homopolymer P3HB. In addition, degradation mechanisms differed across tested polymers, according to SEM micrographs. While incubated in SGJ, samples were fragmented due to fast hydrolysis sourcing from substantially low pH, which suggest abiotic degradation as the major degradation mechanism. On the contrary, ACF incubation indicated obvious enzymatic hydrolysis. Further, no cytotoxicity of the waste fluids was observed on CaCO-2 cell line. Based on these results in combination with high production flexibility, we suggest P(3HB-co-4HB) copolymers produced by Aneurinibacillus sp. H1 as very auspicious polymers for intestinal in vivo treatments.

Background Although high-density lipoprotein has cardioprotective effects, the association between serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and hypertension is poorly understood. Objective We investigated whether low and high concentrations of HDL-C are associated with hypertension using a large healthcare dataset. Methods In a community-based cross-sectional study of 1,493,152 Japanese people aged 40–74 years who underwent a health checkup, blood pressures and clinical parameters, including nine HDL-C concentrations (20–110 mg/dL or over) were investigated. Results A crude U-shaped relationship was observed between the nine HDL-C concentrations and blood pressure in males (n = 830,669), while a left-to-right inverted J-shaped relationship was observed in females(n = 662,483). An age-adjusted logistic regression analysis showed J-shaped relationships (left-to-right inversion in females) between HDL-C and odds ratios for hypertension (≥140/90 mmHg), with lower limits of 60–79 mg/dL in males and 90–99 mg/dL in females, which were unchanged after adjusting for smoking, habitual exercise, alcohol consumption, and pharmacotherapy for hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. However, further adjustment for body mass index and serum triglyceride concentration revealed latent positive linear associations between HDL-C and hypertension, although the association between extremely high HDL-C (≥100 mg/dL) and hypertension was attenuated in non-alcohol drinkers. Conclusion Both low and extremely high HDL-C concentrations are associated with hypertension. The former association may be dependent on excess fat mass, which is often concomitant with low HDL-C, whereas the latter association may be dependent on frequent alcohol consumption.

Background: Vitamin D was studied in regards to its possible impact on body mass reduction and metabolic changes in adults and children with obesity yet there were no studies assessing the impact of vitamin D supplementation during a weight management programme in children and adolescence. The aim of our study was to assess the influence of 26 weeks of vitamin D supplementation in overweight and obese children undergoing an integrated 12-months’ long weight loss programme on body mass reduction, body composition and bone mineral density. Methods: A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial. Vitamin D deficient patients ( <30 ng/ml level of vitamin D) aged 6-14, participating in multidisciplinary weight management programme were randomly allocated to receiving vitamin D (1200 IU) or placebo for the first 26 weeks of the intervention. Results: Out of the 152 qualified patients, 109 (72%) completed a full cycle of four visits scheduled in the programme. There were no difference in the level of BMI change. Although the reduction was greater in the vitamin D vs. placebo group (-4.28 ± 8.43 vs. -2.53 ±6.10) the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.319). Similarly the reduction in fat mass – assessed both using bioimpedance and DEXa was achieved, yet the differences between the groups were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Our study ads substantial results to support the thesis on no effect of vitamin D supplementation on body weight reduction in children and adolescents with vitamin D insufficiency undergoing a weight management programme. Trial registration no: NCT 02828228; trial registration date: 8 June 2016 registered in: ClinicalTrials.gov.

Overweight/obesity is one of the most important health problem worldwide. Birth by cesarean section has been shown to influence long-term health outcome including obesity. The aim of this systematic review-meta-analysis is to examine whether cesarean section increases the risk of offspring’ s overweight/obesity. The study follows the PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines. A systematic literature search was con-ducted on Scopus, PubMed, and WoS until December 2020. For inclusion, studies must have re-ported either (I) both Birth by cesarean section and adult (≥ 18 years) offspring BMI, (II) cohort or case–control study design and (III) a risk estimate. Heterogeneity testing was performed using Cochran's Q and I2 statistics. Publication bias was assessed by Egger’s test and Begg’s test. Me-ta-analysis was performed through a random effect model. Eleven studies with a combined population of 180.408 subjects were included in the meta-analysis. The overall analysis (n = 18) yielded a combined risk estimate for overweight/obesity of 1.19 (95% CI 1.08-1.31) and the test of heterogeneity resulted Q=53,37 (I2 = 70,37 %, P≤0•0001). The risk of offspring obesity is 1.23 (95% CI 1.09-1.39) and the test of heterogeneity resulted Q=39.50 (I2= 72,15%, P≤0•0001). Children born by cesarean section have an increased risk of developing obesity in adulthood

Propagation of electromagnetic (EM) waves inside and on the surface of the human body is the subject of active research in area of biomedical applications. This research area is the basis for wireless monitoring of biological object parameters and characteristics. Much attention has been paid to radio-frequency identification systems, which are intended for biomedical applications. Solutions to the following problems are crucial to achieve the stated goals in the area of wireless monitoring: EM wave propagation inside regular and multilayer biological media, through the interface between different media, and on-body surface wave propagation. The biological object monitoring is based on a consideration of the followingprocesses: a) propagation of the EM wave in a biological medium considered as the dielectric with a high dielectric permittivity and substantial conductivity; b) penetration of the EM wave through the biological medium–air interface (wave reflection and refraction); c) propagation of the EM wave in a multi-layer biological medium; d) propagation of the EM wave along the plane or curved surface of biological objects.

Lung transplantation offers patients with end stage lung disease an opportunity for a better quality of life, but with limited organ availability it is paramount that selected patients have the best opportunity for successful outcomes. Nutrition plays a central role in post-surgical outcomes and historically, body mass index (BMI) has been used as the de facto method of assessing a lung transplant candidate’s nutritional status. Here we review the historical origins of BMI in lung transplantation, summarize the current BMI literature, and review studies of alternative/complementary body composition assessment tools, including lean psoas area, creatinine-height index, leptin, and dual x-ray absorptometry. These body composition measures quantify lean body mass versus fat mass and may provide a more comprehensive analysis of a patient’s nutritional state than BMI alone.

Abstract Background: Small Cajal body-specific RNAs (scaRNAs) are a specific subset of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) that have recently been emerged as pivotal contributors in diverse physiological and pathological processes. However, their defined roles in carcinogenesis remain largely elusive. This study aims to explore the potential function and mechanism of SCARNA12 in bladder cancer (BLCA) and to provide a theoretical basis for further investigations into the biological functionalities of scaRNAs. Materials and Methods: TCGA, GEO and GTEx data sets were used to analyze the expression of SCARNA12 and its clinicopathological significance in BLCA. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and in situ hybridization were applied to validate the expression of SCARNA12 in both BLCA cell lines and tissues. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) combined with bioinformatics analyses were conducted to reveal the changes of gene expression patterns and functional pathways in BLCA patients with different expression of SCARNA12 and T24 cell lines upon SCARNA12 knockdown. Single-cell mass cytometry (CyTOF) was then used to evaluate the tumor-related cell cluster affected by SCARNA12. Moreover, SCARNA12 was stably knocked down in T24 and UMUC3 cell lines by lentivirus-mediated CRISPR/Cas9 approach. The biological effects of SCARNA12 on the proliferation, clonogenic, migration, invasion, cell apoptosis, cell cycle and tumor growth were assessed by in vitro MTT, colony formation, wound healing, transwell, flow cytometry assays and in vivo nude mice xenograft models, respectively. Finally, chromatin isolation by RNA purification (ChIRP) experiment were further conducted to delineate the potential mechanisms of SCARNA12 in BLCA. Results: The expression of SCARNA12 was significantly up-regulated in both BLCA tissues and cell lines. RNA-seq data elucidated that SCARAN12 may play a potential role in cell adhesion and extracellular matrix (ECM) related signaling pathways. CyTOF results further showed that an ECM-related cell cluster with vimentin+, CD13+, CD44+, CD47+ was enriched in BLCA patients with high SCARNA12 expression. Additionally, SCARNA12 knockdown significantly inhibited the proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion abilities in T24 and UMUC3 cell lines. SCARNA12 knockdown prompted cell arrest in the G0/G1 and G2/M phase, and promoted the apoptosis in T24 and UMUC3 cell lines. Furthermore, SCARNA12 knockdown could suppress the in vivo tumor growth in nude mice. ChIRP experiment further suggested that SCARNA12 may combine transcription factors H2AFZ to modulate transcription program and then affect BLCA progression. Conclusion: Our study is the first to propose aberrant alteration of SCARNA12 and elucidate its potential oncogenic roles in BLCA via the modulation of ECM signaling. The interaction of SCARNA12 with the transcriptional factor H2AFZ emerges as a key contributor to the carcinogenesis and progression of BLCA. These findings suggest SCARNA12 may serve as a diagnostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for the treatment of BLCA.

A right frontoparietal neoplastic lesion was found in a young-aged patient with analgesic refractory headache. Surgical resection was performed, and the pathologist analysis turned out a cellular ependymoma with signs of anaplasia. In the follow-up, a MRI showed a suspicious lesion, so a [18F]Fluorocholine PET/CT was performed. An increased uptake was described in the right parietal region on the margin of residual cystic lesion. The patient got a complete resection which was confirmed later by MR. In the pathology analysis, a focally congestive cerebral parenchyma with a central histiocytic reaction to foreign body area was described. Foreign body reaction in brain tissue is a very rare immune response that has not been well studied. Haemostatic material has been reported as a possible trigger of this response in other organs and could be detected by [18F]FDG PET/CT. Following the experience of the current case report, [18F]Fluorocholine PET/CT could also show a false positive related to foreign body reaction.

Motor impairments are among the most relevant, evident, and disabling symptoms of Parkinson’s disease that adversely affect quality of life, resulting in limited autonomy, independence, and safety. Recent studies have demonstrated the benefits of physiotherapy and rehabilitation programs specifically targeted to the needs of Parkinsonian patients in supporting drug treatments and improving motor control and coordination. However, due to the expected increase of patients in the coming years, traditional rehabilitation pathways in healthcare facilities could become unsustainable. Consequently, new strategies are needed, in which technologies play a key role in enabling more frequent, comprehensive, and out-of-hospital follow-up. The paper proposes a vision-based solution using the new Azure Kinect DK sensor to implement an integrated approach for remote assessment, monitoring, and rehabilitation of Parkinsonian patients, exploiting non-invasive 3D tracking of body movements to objectively and automatically characterize both standard evaluative motor tasks and virtual exergames. Preliminary results show the system’s ability to quantify specific features of motor performance, easily monitor changes and disease progression over time, and the possibility of using exergames to support motor condition assessment and training. The main innovation relies precisely on the integration of evaluative and rehabilitative aspects, which could be used as a closed loop to design new protocols for remote management of patients tailored to their actual conditions.

This study examined the association between pressure injuries and complexity of abdominal temperature measured in residents of a nursing facility. The temperature served as a proxy measure for skin thermoregulation. Refined multiscale sample entropy and bubble entropy were used to measure the complexity of the temperature time series measured over two days at 1-minute intervals. Robust summary measures were derived for the multiscale entropies and used in predictive models for pressure injuries that were built with adaptive lasso regression and neural networks. Both types of entropies were lower in the group of participants with pressure injuries (n=11) relative to the group of non-injured participants (n=15). This was generally true at the longer temporal scales, with the effect peaking at scale τ=23 minutes. Predictive models for pressure injury on the basis of refined multiscale sample entropy and bubble entropy yielded 92% accuracy, outperforming predictions based on any single measure of entropy. Combining entropy measures with a widely used risk assessment score led to the best prediction accuracy. Complexity of abdominal temperature series could therefore serve as an indicator of risk of pressure injury.

Within the oligometastatic state, oligo-recurrent lymph node disease in prostate cancer represents an interesting clinical entity characterized by a relatively indolent biology that makes it unique: it can be treated radically, and its treatment is usually associated with a long period of control and excellent survival. Additionally it is an emergent situation that we are facing more frequently, mainly due to: a) the incorporation into clinical practice of the PSMA PET that provides strikingly increase superior images in comparison to conventional imaging, with higher sensitivity and specificity; b) the higher detection rates of bone and node disease with extremely low levels of PSA; and c) the availability of high-precision technology in radiotherapy treatments with the incorporation of stereotaxic body radiotherapy (SBRT) or stereotaxic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) technology that allows the safe administration of high doses of radiation in a very limited number of fractions with low toxicity and excellent tolerance. This approach of new image-guided patient management is compelling for doctors and patients since it can potentially contribute to improve the clinical outcome. In this work we discuss the available evidence, areas of debate, and potential future directions concerning the utilization of new imaging guided SBRT for the treatment of nodal recurrence in prostate cancer.

Body Expression (BE) has been defined in the past decades as a discipline within Physical Education (PE) with very particular characteristics and a strong emotional component. In this study, a programme of this discipline was applied to university Physical Activity and Sports Sciences (PASS) students from six consecutive academic years: three prior to and three during the pandemic. A pre-post design was used to determine how the BE programme affected the university students' self-concept (SC). To do so, a questionnaire with a multidimensional approach to this construct was administered, whose dimensions were closely related to the BE programme's characteristics. The results revealed significant improvements in the final SC, compared to the initial SC. Men reported lower SC values than women before the programme implementation, but higher at the end. Therefore, the change was larger in men, so the programme may have had an equalising effect between groups. It was also verified that the pandemic had particularly affected women.

In quantum many-body systems, a Hamiltonian is called an ``extensive entropy generator'' if starting from a random product state the entanglement entropy obeys a volume law at long times with overwhelming probability. We prove that (i) any Hamiltonian whose spectrum has non-degenerate gaps is an extensive entropy generator; (ii) in the space of (geometrically) local Hamiltonians, the non-degenerate gap condition is satisfied almost everywhere. Specializing to many-body localized systems, these results imply the observation stated in the title of Bardarson et al. [PRL 109, 017202 (2012)].

Abstract: Wireless body area networks (WBANs) have strong potential in the field of health monitoring. However, the energy consumption required for accurate monitoring limits the time between battery charges of the wearable sensors, which is a key performance factor (and can be critical in the case of implantable devices). In this paper, we study the inherent trade-off between the power consumption of the sensors and the probability of misclassifying a patient’s health state. We formulate this trade-off as a dynamic problem, in which at each step we can choose to activate a subset of sensors that provide noisy measurements of the patient’s health state. We assume that the (unknown) health state follows a Markov chain, so our problem is formulated as a partially observable Markov decision problem (POMDP). We show that all the past measurements can be summarized as a belief state on the true health state of the patient, which allows tackling the POMDP problem as an MDP on the belief state. We then empirically study the performance of a greedy one-step look-ahead policy compared to the optimal policy obtained by solving the dynamic program. For that purpose, we use an open-source Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) data set of 232 patients over six months and extract the transition matrix and sensor accuracies from the data. We find that the greedy policy saves ~50% of the energy costs while reducing the misclassification costs by less than 2% compared to the most accurate policy possible that always activates all sensors. Our sensitivity analysis reveals that the greedy policy remains nearly optimal across different cost parameters and a varying number of sensors. The results also have practical importance, because while the optimal policy is too complicated, a greedy one-step look-ahead policy can be easily implemented in WBAN systems.

Crossbreeding in dairy cattle with exotic breeds continues to be an appealing practice to the dairy farmers of Bangladesh. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the impact of crossbreeding on both the physical attributes and milk quality traits of crossbred cattle in Bangladesh. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of crossbreeding Bangladeshi local cattle with the exotic Holstein breed on their body characteristics and milk quality. To achieve the goal, data pertaining to body traits and milk samples were gathered from a total of 981 cows from 19 dairy farms located in the northwestern region of Bangladesh. A trained evaluator measured body condition score (BCS), udder score, locomotion score, and body conformation traits. Milk yield information was acquired from official records, while milk composition details were determined through milk analysis. The average measurements for body traits were as follows: wither height (WH) at 138 cm, body length (BL) at 155 cm, and heart girth (HG) at 203 cm. Notably, crossbred cows (Holstein x Local cattle) exhibited greater values for WH, BL, HG, BCS, and udder score than their Bangladeshi local counterparts. Furthermore, the average daily milk yield of sampled cows was recorded at 8.7 kg, with fat and protein contents of 3.78% and 3.67%, respectively. It is worth noting that crossbred cows produced a higher volume of milk compared to Bangladeshi local cattle. However, milk from crossbred cows displayed lower fat and protein content, although their somatic cell score (SCS) remained similar. Additionally, milk from crossbred cows exhibited a longer coagulation time when compared to that of Bangladeshi local cattle. A more comprehensive assessment of the crossbreeding scheme, particularly in comparison to Holstein, would necessitate further research, including an examination of its impact on cheese yield traits, health, fertility, and longevity.

: Background: The thymus gland is the first lymphoid organ formed to regulate a newborn's immunity. It reaches its maximum size during puberty, after which it undergoes an atrophic procedure called involution, but its ability to grow again in response to some stresses, such as infections, neoplasia, surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy is maintained. There is not any comprehensive study on computed tomographic features of thymus gland in dogs. So, the goal of the present study is to achieve some information about thymus gland using computed tomography as a non-invasive method. Methods: One hundred and fifty dogs classified in 5 age groups and 2 breed groups were entered to this study and the thymus gland was evaluated using 2-slice computed tomography machine. The inclusion criteria for the present study were having normal complete blood count, plain and post-contrast CT scan examination of thoracic region and no history of neoplasia, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The visibility, density, enhancement, grade, size, volume, shape, borders and lateralization of the thymus were evaluated and statistical analysis were performed. The effect of obesity on thymic grade and volume were also investigated. Results: The visibility, density, dorsal length, volume and grade decreased with increasing age. The thymic shape and lateralization were mostly wedge-shaped and left sided respectively. The borders became concave with aging and increasing body fat content caused to increase fatty degeneration of thymus. Conclusions: Declining of thymic density, grade, size and volume with aging was related to thymic involution and fatty degeneration was accelerated by increasing body fat content. Females and Males were different only in thymic shape and small and large breeds were different only in thymic volume. The thymus was visible in some geriatric dogs with no underlying disease. We hope that the present work can be used by radiologists in reading thoracic computed tomography but investigation of thymic characteristics in dogs with neoplasia and history of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and thoracic surgeries can complete this study.

It is one of the central goals of cognitive neuroscience to understand how structure and function relate in the brain. We review how cognitive function characterization has been approached in the past. In addition, we examine the ongoing efforts, as well as the implications for the future. Clinical studies on patients with lesions have provided key insights into the relationship between brain areas and behavior over the past century. We describe cognitive function according to localization considering these early efforts for characterization. We chose a perceptual-cognitive function, namely body perception, to describe our current efforts. Using body perception as an example, we summarize contemporary techniques. Finally, we outline the trajectory of current progress into the future and discuss the implications for clinical and basic neuroscience.

The orexin/hypocretin neuropeptide family has emerged as a focal point of neuroscientific research following the discovery that this family plays a crucial role in a variety of physiological and behavioral processes. These neuropeptides serve as powerful neuromodulators, intricately shaping autonomic, endocrine, and behavioral responses across species. Notably, they serve as master regulators of vigilance and stress responses; however, their role in complex processes such as food intake, metabolism, and thermoregulation warrant further investigation. This narrative review provides a journey through the evolution of our understanding of the orexin system, from its initial discovery to the promising progress made in developing orexin derivatives. It goes beyond conventional boundaries, striving to synthesize the multifaceted activities of orexins. Special emphasis is placed on domains such as stress response, fear, anxiety, and learning, in which the authors contributed to the literature with original publications. This article demonstrates the orchestrating role of the orexins in several intricate and integrative physiological processes. It also overviews the advancement of orexin pharmacology, which has already yielded some promising successes, particularly in the treatment of sleep disorders. This interdisciplinary approach to studying neuropeptides unveils their significance as vital connectors between transient functional changes and lasting structural adaptations. Ultimately, it advances our understanding of the intricate physiological and behavioral contributions of the orexin/hypocretin neuropeptide family.

In this article, we introduce a new approach to human movement by defining the movement as a static object or a super object in one two-dimensional image. This method can allow researchers to label and describe the total movement as an object isolated from a reference video. This ap-proach allows us to perform various tasks, including finding similar movements in a video, measuring, and comparing movements, generating new similar movements, and defining chore-ography by controlling specific parameters in the human body skeleton. As a result of the pre-sented approach, we can eliminate the need to label images manually, disregard the problem of finding the beginning and the end of a movement, overcome synchronization issues between movements, and perform any deep learning network-based operation that processes super objects in images in general. As part of this article, we will demonstrate two application use cases: one il-lustrates how to verify and score a requested movement. In contrast, the other illustrates how to generate similar movements in the human skeleton space by addressing the challenge of supply-ing sufficient training data for deep learning applications (DL). A Variational Auto Encoder (VAE) simulator and an EfficientNet-B7 classifier architecture embedded within a Siamese twin neural network are presented in this paper in order to demonstrate two use cases. These use cases demonstrated the versatility of our innovative concept in measuring, categorizing, inferring hu-man behavior, and generating gestures for other researchers.

Many neonates undergoing whole body hypothermia (WBH) following moderate to severe perinatal asphyxia suffer from renal impairment. While recent data suggest a WBH-related reno-protection, the differences in serum creatinine (Scr) patterns to reference patterns were not yet reported. We therefore aimed to document Scr trends and patterns in asphyxiated neonates undergoing WBH, and compared these to centiles reference Scr dataset of non-asphyia neonates. Using a systematic review strategy, reports on Scr trends (mean ± SD, or median and range) were collected (day 1-7) in WBH cohorts, and compared to centiles of an earlier reported reference cohort of non-asphyxia cases. Based on 13 papers on asphyxia+WBH cases, a pattern on postnatal Scr trends in asphyxia+WBH cases was constructed. Compared to the reference cohort, mean or median Scr values at birth (>90th centile) and the first two days of WBH (>75th centile) remained clinical relevantly higher in asphyxia+WBH cases, with a subsequent decline to reach at best high or high normal creatinine values (all >50th centile, but mainly >75th centile) from day 4 onwards. Such patterns are valuable to anticipate average changes in renal clearance capacity relevant for pharmacotherapy, but do not yet cover the relevant inter-patient variability observed in WBH cases.

Background: Elevated fasting plasma glucose and visceral fat area (VFA) is highly prevalent in obese adults. This study investigated the associations between systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) and laboratory, anthropometric, heart rate variability (HRV), and obstructive sleep apnea markers. Methods: Cross-sectional study with 95 obese patients treated at Obesity Treatment and Surgery Center, located in Salvador, BA, Brazil. SAH data were obtained from electronic medical records of patients. To evaluate the association of SAH with the predictor variables, the sample was stratified in Normotense Group (NG) and Hypertensive Group (HG), and laboratory markers, body composition, polysomnography data, and HRV were measured. Results: The average age of the NG was 36.3 ± 10.1 and HG 40.4 ± 10.6 years, 73.7% were women in the NG and 57.9% in HG; 82.4% in HG had insulin resistance. In the multivarious logistics regression model with adjustments age, sex, height, and oxyhemoglobin saturation, SAH was inversely associated with fasting plasma glucose mg/dL (odds ratio [OR] = 0.96; 95% interval confidence [CI] = 0.92 - 0.99) and VFA cm² (OR = 0.98; 95% CI = 0.97 - 0.99). The area under curve the VFA was 0.728; CI 95% (0.620 - 0.836) and fasting plasma glucose 0.693; CI 95% (0.582 - 0.804). Conclusions: Lower VFA and fasting plasma glucose concentrations were inversely associated with SAH. These results indicate opportunities to improve the outcome in obese patients through counseling and clinical interventions.

Obesity is a serious problem of our society. A long-term positive trend in body weight gain continues to persist. Paediatric obesity arises from a changed lifestyle of children, characterised by an important restriction of their spontaneous physical activity. A lack of physical activity is one of the most important causes of paediatric obesity associated with a number of serious disorders. The paper evaluates the effect of physical activity on obesity in second stage pupils of elementary schools in the region of Ústí nad Labem. In their research survey, the authors determine the incidence of obesity and overweight as well as the relationship between physical activity and obesity in second stage pupils of elementary schools in the region of Ústí nad Labem. The data collection was based on questions of the CAV 2001 questionnaire and BMI-for-age. As revealed by the research survey, problems with obesity and overweight are present particularly in boys. Only a third of boys and girls engage in sufficient physical activity. At the same time, differences were shown in the study group where groups with higher BMI values had lower values of physical activity. Subsequently, a relationship was shown between those who use their bicycle as a means of transport and spend their leisure time bicycling at the same time. More than two thirds of the study subjects reported using a bicycle as a means of transport and using their bicycle in their leisure time as a means of being active; 93% of these subjects had normal body weight. Our results confirm the continued pandemic prevalence of obesity and indicate that appropriate physical activity should be included in the everyday life of children both at school and outside of school.

Accurate estimation of body fat percentage is essential for various health and fitness applications. Traditional methods for measuring body fat, such as underwater weighing, can be costly and inconvenient. In this study, we apply machine learning techniques to predict body fat percentage using easily accessible body measurements and data. The results highlight the effectiveness of regression models in estimating body fat, with Linear Regression, Ridge Regression, and Bayesian Ridge models achieving R-squared scores of approximately 74%, 73%, and 73%, respectively. These models provide a practical and cost-effective solution for individuals and professionals seeking reliable body fat estimates.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the intensity of the annual sexual behavior (SB) of Boer bucks under tropical conditions in southern Mexico. For one year, 16 extensively grazing males were evaluated for SB individually with estrogenized goats. From the beginning of the experiment and every 30 days, body weight (BW), body condition (BC), testicular circumference (TC), odor intensity (OI) and SB (nudging, ano-genital sniffing, flehmen, mounting attempts, mounts with intromission, and self-urination) were recorded. The bucks showed a more intense SB during the months of November to May than during the months of June to October (p < 0.05). Greater frequency was found for nudging, ano-genital sniffing, mounting attempts, and self-urination in the months of November to May (p < 0.001). BW was lower during the months of January to August than in the months of September to December (p < 0.05). On the other hand, TC increased from October to December (p < 0.05). Similarly, the OI in males varied over time (time effect; p < 0.001). In fact, an increased odor was found from October to December. The conclusions were that breed male goats from the tropics of Guerrero have a more intense SB during the months of November to May, which corresponds to the time of the year when forage availability is the greatest.

The etiology of exaggerated fibrous capsule formation around silicone mammary implants (SMI) is multifactorial but primarily induced by immune mechanisms toward the foreign material silicone. The aim of this work was to enlighten the disease progression from implant insertion and immediate tissue damage response reflected in (a) the acute wound proteome, and (b) the adsorption of chronic inflammatory wound proteins at implant surfaces. An intra-individual absolute quantitation TMT-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry approach was applied to profile wound proteome formed around SMI the first five days post-implantation. Compared to plasma, the acute wound profile resembled a more complex composition comprising plasma-derived and locally differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). DEPs were subjected to functional enrichment analysis, which revealed the dysregulation of signaling pathways mainly involved in immediate inflammation response and ECM turnover. Moreover, we found time-course variations in protein enrichment immediately post-implantation and adsorbed to SMI surfaces after 6-8 months. Characterization of the expander-adhesive proteome by label-free approach uncovered a long-term adsorbed acute wound and the fibrosis-associated proteome. Our findings propose a wound biomarker panel for the early detection and diagnosis of excessive fibrosis that could potentially broaden insights into the characteristics of fibrotic implant encapsulation.

Solid particles immersed in a fluid can be found in many engineering, environmental or medical fields. Applications are suspensions, sedimentation processes or procedural processes in the production of medication, food or construction materials. While homogenized behavior of these applications is well understood, contributions in the field of pore-scale fully resolved numerical simulations with non-spherical particles are rare. Using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) as a simulation framework, we therefore present a modelling approach for Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of single-phase fluid containing non-spherically formed solid aggregates. Notable and discussed model specifications are the surface-coupled fluid-solid interaction forces as well as the contact forces between solid aggregates. The focus of this contribution is the numerical modelling approach and its implementation in SPH. Since SPH presents a fully resolved approach, the construction of arbitrary shaped particles is conveniently realizable. After validating our model for single non-spherical particles, we therefore investigate the motion of solid bodies in a Newtonian fluid and their interaction with the surrounding fluid by analyzing velocity fields of shear flow with respect to hydromechanical and contact forces. Results show a dependency of the motion and interaction of solid particles on their form and orientation. While spherical particles move to the centerline region, ellipsoidal particles move and rotate due to vortexes formation in the fluid flow in between.

Background: Students in the United States gain weight significantly during their first year of university, however limited data are available for Australian students. Methods: This 12-month observational study was conducted to monitor monthly body weight and composition, as well as quarterly eating behaviours, dietary intake, physical activity, sedentary behaviours, and basal metabolic rate changes amongst first-year Australian university students. Participants were first-year university students over 18 years. Results: Twenty-two first-year university students (5 males and 17 females) completed the study. Female students gained weight significantly at two, three, and four-months (+0.9 kg; +1.5 kg; +1.1 kg, p <0.05). Female waist circumference (2.5 cm increase at three-months, p = 0.012), and body fat also increased (+0.9%, p = 0.026 at three-months). Intakes of sugar, saturated fat (both >10% of total energy), and sodium exceeded recommended levels (>2000 mg) at 12-months. Greater sedentary behaviours were observed amongst male students throughout the study (p <0.05). Conclusions: Female students are at risk of unfavourable changes in body composition during the first year of university, while males are at risk of increased sedentary behaviours. High intakes of saturated fat, sugars, and sodium warrant future interventions in such a vulnerable group.

To understand the mechanisms involved in the anti-obesity effects Centella asi-atica (CA), we examined body weight, serum levels, white adipose tissue (WAT) weight, histological analysis, and the expression of cholesterol homeostasis- and lipid metabolism-related genes in mice with high-fat, high-sugar diet (HFHSD)-induced obesity that were orally treated with CA for 12 weeks. Eight-week-old, male C57BL/6J mice were assigned to the following four groups (eight mice/group): NOR, normal diet; Control, HFHSD; CA-L, HFHSD+CA 300 mg/kg; CA-H, HFHSD+CA 600 mg/kg. CA treatment signifi-cantly attenuated HFHSD-induced increase in body weight gain, serum glucose, serum triacylglycerol, and WAT weight (p < 0.05). Compared to that in Control group, adipocyte diameter and macrovesicular area of epididymal WAT signif-icantly decreased with CA treatment (p < 0.05). The mRNA expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), fatty acid synthase (FAS), cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36), 3- hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase (HMGCR), and stearoyl CoA desaturase 1 (SCD 1) were significantly downregulated in the CA-H group compared to the Control group (p < 0.05). CA exerts anti-obesity effects by lowering body fat accumulation via regulat-ing gene expression in the liver and thus, is a potential lipid-lowering agent.

Background: Some studies have shown that an increase in visceral fat is associated with postoperative clinical and oncologic outcomes. However, no studies have used bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to determine the effects of visceral fat on the oncologic outcomes of colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between visceral fat area (VFA) and clinical, and oncologic outcomes in CRC. Methods: This study included 203 patients who underwent anthropometric measurements by BIA before surgical treatment for CRC between January 2016 and June 2020. Results: According to the cutoff level of VFA by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, 85 (40.5%) patients had a low VFA, and 119 (59.5%) had a high VFA. Multivariate analysis found that preoperative CRP (hazard ratio [HR], 3.882; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.001–15.051; p=0.050) and nodal stage (HR, 7.996; 95% CI, 1.414–45.209; p=0.019) were independent prognostic factors for overall survival, while sex (HR, 0.110; 95% CI, 0.013–0.905; p=0.040), lymphovascular invasion (HR, 3.560; 95% CI, 1.098–11.544; p=0.034), and VFA (HR, 4.263; 95% CI, 1.280–14.196; p=0.040) were independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival (DFS). Conclusion: High VFA preoperatively measured by BIA was associated with inflammations and was an independent prognostic factor for DFS.

Chemotherapy for lung cancer has made remarkable progress, and its selection has been subdivided by genetic analysis. Although response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) is a simple and highly objective evaluation method, it has been pointed out that it has the disadvantage of not being able to accurately evaluate the therapeutic effect of molecularly targeted drugs and immune checkpoint inhibitors. The purpose of this study is to determine whether quantitative evaluation of DWIBS is useful in determining the effectiveness of treatment for lung cancer. There were 31 patients with lung cancer and 56 patterns were obtained. First, the determination of treatment effect (PD, SD, PR) based on RECIST was performed on CT. Second, tDV and ADC (median) were measured using BD score from DWI images taken at the same time, and the rate of change was calculated. Then, we compared and examined the correlation between RECIST and the rate of change in tDV. There were correlations between RECIST and the rate of change in tDV in PD and PR cases respectively. Compared RECIST on CT, DWIBS using BD score would be more accurate for response evaluation of treatment. There was a tendency that tDV decreased with increasing ADC values, but some of the cases had a dissociated response with increasing ADC values and increasing tDV. Thus, since the color display of ADC values allows us to infer their contents, it would be useful for the evaluation of cases such as dissociated response and pseudoprogression, which are suspected to be atypical responses that are difficult to evaluate with RECIST and other methods.

(1) Background: This study aimed to explore how prolonged mask use during the COVID-19 pandemic affected appearance anxiety; (2) Methods: It implemented a quantitative–qualitative mixed-research approach based on a convenience sample of young people in Taiwan; (3) Results: A total of 1,118 participants completed the online questionnaire. A total of 49 participants reached the 55-point threshold of Appearance Anxiety Scale. Higher score of appearance anxiety was correlated to higher state anxiety statistically (r = 0.4, p < 0.001). Ten participants were interviewed and qualitative content analysis revealed 5 main themes and 16 subthemes. Three of the main themes were related to the positive effects of wearing masks for pandemic prevention and reducing appearance anxiety: “Wearing masks indicates compliance with the epidemic prevention requirement,” “Wearing masks functions as protection against lack of confidence in appearance,” and “Wearing masks helps mitigate the fear of being judged by others.” The remaining two “Wearing masks shifts attention from appearance to figure” and “Prolonged mask wearing exacerbates the anxiety about taking it off” were related to the impacts of long-term mask use; (4) Conclusions: results enhance understanding of negative emotional experiences and anxiety related to physical appearance.

In order to reduce the large damage caused by train derailment, protective facilities of various shapes and conditions can be installed on railroad tracks. These protective facilities are referred to as derailment containment provisions (DCPs) and three different types are used worldwide. However, there are no clear standards for DCPs design such as installation location, size, and design load, and performance verification of DCPs installed in the actual railway field is not sufficiently performed. In this paper, the functionality of DCPs is analyzed through the full-scale derailment test. In order to propose a method for estimating the collision load acting on the DCP type I after derailment, the experimental results and simulation results are compared. The function of DCP type I according to the change of the vehicle's center of gravity is identified through comparative analysis of the post derailment behavior.

This article deals primarily with the problem of determining the cutting force when machining hardened steels. Secondary issues are focused on the evaluation of surface quality on machined samples and the recommendation of cutting conditions. A wide variety of components are used in engineering, the final heat treatment of which is hardening. These components are usually critical in a particular product. The quality of these components determines the correct functioning of the entire technical equipment and ultimately its service life. In our case, these are the core parts of thrust bearings, specifically the rolling elements. The subject of the experiment is machining these components in the hardened state with cubic boron nitride tools and continuous measurement of the cutting force using a dynamometer. The following evaluation assesses the surface quality by both touch and non-touch methods. A structural equation with appropriate constant and exponents was then constructed from the data obtained using the dynamometer.

Precise association of serum leptin with body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP; both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) is not well known for understanding their involvement in health and disease. Hence, the present study was planned to be conducted for investigating the association of BP, BMI and serum leptin levels in young normal weight (NW) and overweight (OW) male Saudi students. The NW (n: 198) and OW male subjects (n: 192) in the age range of 18-20 years were consulted. Blood pressure (BP) was measured with a mercury sphygmomanometer. Leptin Human ELISA Kits were employed for the determination of the serum leptin levels. The mean ± SD values of BMI (kg/m2), serum leptin (ng/ml), SBP (mmHg), and DBP (mmHg) all showed significant difference for young OW vs. NW male university students as: 27.52± 1.42 vs. 21.49± 2.03; 10.70± 4.67 vs. 4.68± 1.91; 121.37±2.59 vs.118.51±1.54 and 81.44±1.97 vs. 78.79±1.44 respectively. All associations (among BMI, leptin, SBP and DBP) showed positive linear and significant correlation except nonsignificant correlation of BMI and SBP for NW group. The present study in the young Saudi male students, presents significant variations for BP and serum leptin levels and significant positive linear association among serum leptin, BMI and BP.

Background: Affective states play a role in dietary behaviors. Yet, little research has studied within-subjects associations between affect and diet during pregnancy. We examined the acute bidirectional relationships between affect and food intake and moderation by pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) in low-income, Hispanic pregnant women using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Methods: Women (N=57) completed four days of EMA during their first trimester. Women responded to five random prompts per day about their current affect and past two-hour food intake. Results: Higher positive affect (PA) or lower negative affect (NA) predicted greater likelihood of fruit/vegetable consumption in the next two hours in women with lower pre-pregnancy BMI and lower likelihood in women with higher pre-pregnancy BMI. Higher PA predicted less likelihood of fast food consumption in the next two hours in women with lower pre-pregnancy BMI and slightly higher likelihood in women with higher pre-pregnancy BMI. Women with lower pre-pregnancy BMI had higher PA when they reported consuming chips/fries in the past two hours, and women with higher pre-pregnancy BMI had lower PA when they reported consumption of chips/fries in the past two hours. Conclusions: Results showed differential relationships between affect and food intake as a function of pre-pregnancy BMI.

Upper limb control depends on accurate internal models of limb position relative to the head and neck, accurate sensory inputs, and accurate cortical processing. Transient alterations in neck afferent feedback induced by muscle vibration may impact upper limb proprioception. This research aimed to determine the effects of neck muscle vibration on upper limb proprioception using a novel elbow repositioning task (ERT). 26 right-handed participants aged 22.21 2.64 performed the ERT consisting of three target angles between 80-90 (T1), 90-100 (T2) and 100-110 (T3). Controls (CONT) (n=13, 6F) received 10 minutes of rest and the vibration group (VIB) (n=13, 6F) received 10 minutes of 60Hz vibration over the right sternocleidomastoid and left cervical extensor muscles. Task performance was reassessed following experimental manipulation. Significant time by group interactions occurred for T1: (F1,24 = 25.330, p &lt; 0.001, p2 = 0.513) where CONT improved by 26.08% and VIB worsened by 134.27%, T2: (F1,24 = 16.157, p &lt; 0.001, p2 = 0.402) where CONT improved by 20.39% and VIB worsened by 109.54%, and T3: (F1,24 = 21.923, p &lt; 0.001, p2 = 0.447) where CONT improved by 37.11% and VIB worsened by 54.39%. Improvements in repositioning accuracy indicates improved proprioceptive ability with practice in controls. Decreased accuracy following vibration suggests that vibration altered proprioceptive inputs used to construct body schema, leading to inaccurate joint position sense and the observed changes in elbow repositioning accuracy.

The link between scoliotic deformity and bone metabolism in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) has not been well researched. Moreover, the data concerning the cross-talk between fat tissue content/hormonal activity and bone markers in this group of patients are lacking. The objective of this study was to correlate the extent of scoliotic-curve severity with the bone turnover vs. leptin level and nutritional status in girls with AIS. The study encompassed 77 AIS girls, aged 14.7 ± 2.17 years. Scoliotic curve severity assessed by Cobb’s angle was categorized as mild (10-19o) moderate (20-39º) or severe (≥40º). Corrected height, weight, waist and hip circumferences were measured and body mass index (BMI), corrected height Z-score, BMI Z-score and waist/height ratio (WHtR) were calculated for the entire group. Body composition parameters: fat mass (FAT), fat-free mass (FFM) and predicted muscle mass (PMM) were determined using a bioelectrical impedance analyzer. Bone turnover markers (osteocalcin (OC) and amino terminal of collagen cross-links NTx) and leptin levels were assessed in serum. Multiple regression analysis showed that, OC, NTx (negatively with p<0.05) and leptin (positively with p<0.01) were significantly associated with curve severity in AIS girls. Moreover, Cobb’s angle was positively correlated with W/HtR (p<0.01)and FAT (p<0.05). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant differences in leptin (p<0.05 vs. mild only), OC (p<0.05 vs. mild and moderate)) and W/HtR (p<0.01 and p<0.05 vs. mild and moderate respectively) between the three AIS severity subgroups. OC was significantly lower in the severe AIS subgroup, while leptin and W/HtR were significantly higher. Significant correlations between leptin and anthropometrical parameters as BMI z-score and W/HtR were shown. Leptin level correlated also significantly with BMI z score (p<0.001), W/HtR (p<0.0001) and body composition parameters (p<0.000001). Moreover, there was a significant negative correlation between NTx and leptin level (p<0.05). Bone metabolism in AIS girls seems to be altered and significantly related to the scoliotic curve severity. Leptin may be a crucial link in the cross-talk between bone turnover and body composition in this group of patients. Further studies concerning this topic are needed.

Environmental and occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), causes female reproductive failures and infertility. Cr(VI) is used in more than 50 industries and is a group-A carcinogen, mutagenic and teratogenic, and a male and female reproductive toxicant. Our previous findings indicate that Cr(VI) causes follicular atresia, trophoblast cell apoptosis, and mitochondrial dysfunction in metaphase II (MII) oocytes. However, the integrated molecular mechanism of Cr(VI)-induced oocyte defects are not understood. The current study investigates the mechanism of Cr(VI) in causing meiotic disruption of MII oocytes, leading to infertility in superovulated rats. Postnatal day (PND)-22 rats were treated with potassium dichromate (1 and 5 ppm) in drinking water from PND 22-29 and superovulated. MII oocytes were analyzed by immunofluorescence, and images were captured by confocal microscopy and quantified by Image Pro Plus software. Our data showed that Cr(VI) increased microtubule misalignment, missegregation of chromosomes, a bulged and folded actin cap, oxidative DNA and protein damage, increased DNA double-strand break, and DNA repair protein RAD51. Cr(VI) also induced incomplete cytokinesis and delayed polar body extrusion. Our study indicates that exposure to environmentally relevant doses of Cr(VI) caused severe DNA damage, distorted oocyte cytoskeletal proteins, and caused oxidative DNA and protein damage leading to infertility.

Vitamin C status is known to be associated with several demographic and lifestyle factors. These include gender, age, ethnicity, pregnancy/lactation, body weight, smoking status and dietary habits. In the present study, our aim was to interrogate the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2018 datasets to assess the impact of these factors on vitamin C dose-concentration relationships to establish if there are higher requirements for vitamin C in certain subpopulations and the possible extent of these additional requirements. The relevant data were extracted from the NHANES 2017-2018 datasets, the final cohort of which comprised 2828 non-supplementing adult males and females (aged 18 – 80+ years) with both vitamin C serum concentrations and dietary intake data available. The data was subsequently stratified by gender, age tertiles (≤36, 37-58, ≥59 years), ethnicity (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and total Hispanic), socioeconomic tertiles (poverty income ratios: &gt;3.0, 1.36 – 3.0, ≤1.35), weight tertiles (≤72, 72-91, ≥91 kg), BMI tertiles (≤26, 26-32, ≥32 kg/m2) and smoking status. Sigmoidal (four parameter logistic) curves with asymmetrical 95% confidence intervals were fitted to the dose-concentration data. We found that males required vitamin C intakes ~1.2-fold higher than females to reach ‘adequate’ serum concentrations of 50 µmol/L. Males had both higher body weight and a higher prevalence of smoking than females. Smokers required vitamin C intakes ~2.0-fold higher than non-smokers to reach adequate vitamin C concentrations. Relative to adults in the lighter weight tertile, adults in the heaver weight tertile required ~2.0-fold higher dietary intakes of vitamin C to reach adequate serum concentrations. We did not observe any impact of ethnicity or socioeconomic status on the vitamin C dose-concentration relationship, and although no significant difference between younger and older adults was observed at vitamin C intakes &gt; 75 mg/day, at intakes &lt; 75 mg/day, older adults had an attenuated serum response to vitamin C intake. In conclusion, certain demographic and lifestyle factors, specifically gender, smoking and body weight, have a significant impact on vitamin C requirements. Overall, the data indicate that the general population must consume ~110 mg/day of vitamin C to attain adequate serum concentrations, smokers require ~165 mg/day relative to non-smokers, and heavier people (100+ kg) require ~155 mg/day to reach the same vitamin C concentrations. These findings have important implications for global vitamin C dietary recommendations.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between weight-bias internalization and eat-ing-disorder psychopathology in treatment-seeking patients with severe obesity using a network approach. Two thousand, one hundred and thirteen patients with obesity consecutively admitted to a specialist clinical unit for obesity were recruited from January 2016 to February 2023. Body mass index was measured, and each patient completed the Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBSI) and the Eating Disorder Examination Interview (EDE). Network analysis showed that the most central and highly interconnected nodes in the network were related to the EDE items exposure avoidance, dissatisfaction with shape, and wanting an empty stomach. Bridge nodes were found, but the bootstrap difference test on expected bridge influence indicated non-significant centrality differences. Nevertheless, the eating-disorder psychopathology and weight-bias internalization network structure in patients seeking treatment for obesity indicate the prominent role of body dissatisfaction and control of eating and weight in these psychological constructs. This finding, if replicated, could pave the way for a new understanding of the psychological mechanisms operating in patients with obesity.

The acquisition of regional, 1 metre resolution LIDAR in the PNG Highlands combined with 3D modelling in MoveTM has revolutionized our understanding of the evolution of the Porgera gold mine and areas of new potential. The new 3D model demonstrates active pull-apart basins along a regional transfer during ongoing fold and thrust deformation. When overlain on regional aeromagnetic data, new potential is revealed. The Porgera gold mine is one of the richest in the world and lies in a wide valley at an elevation of 2800m surrounded by mountains up to 4000m high in the middle of the PNG Highlands. It lies along a major lineament, the Porgera Transfer Zone (PTZ), cutting across the orogen that is associated with a 50 km offset of the ophiolite belt. To the NW of the mine there is an extensive belt of low- to high-grade metasediments that formed in deep water during Jurassic rifting, but were metamorphosed during Eocene subduction to the north. Subduction ceased due to accretion of the Sepik Terrane which caused inversion and mild erosion of the Porgera area. The Late Oligocene onset of wrenching in the Mobile Belt to the north placed that area into extension, emplacing metamorphic core complexes, and led to regional subsidence in the Early Miocene. Collision of the margin with the Melanesian Arc in the Middle Miocene caused Late Miocene to Pliocene orogenesis creating the broad mountain belt that we see today, that is still active, as shown by the 2018 MW 7.5 earthquake. Regional mapping of the area using high resolution LIDAR in association with limited field mapping, analysis of gravity and magnetics data and drilling of 300-500m deep core-holes has allowed development of a detailed 3D structural model. The Porgera valley is constrained laterally by the Eastern Boundary and Western Boundary dextral strike-slip faults that lie along the PTZ cutting across the orogeny. However, whilst the position and nature of the faults is clear, due to bending, fracturing and offset of major synclines and anticlines, the faults do not crop-out as significant through-going features. Rather, the dextral offset of basement is soft-linked to the Tertiary limestones at surface due to intervening thick, ductile Cretaceous shales. Fold and thrust structures are ubiquitous in the Tertiary limestones, but the youngest structural features are large extensional faults, particularly around the Porgera valley. The intrusive underlying the Porgera ore-body was emplaced at 6.0+-0.3 Ma, the time of maximum compression during orogenesis. At this time the Eastern Boundary fault and Western Boundary fault were both active allowing a pull-apart basin to form locally along the PTZ at the south-eastern boundary of the Jurassic metasediments. This enabled emplacement of the intrusive. The gold-bearing fluids from the intrusive and metasediments were brought up through the Mesozoic muds to the contact with the Paleogene carbonates where the Porgera ore body was emplaced.

The aim of the study was to identify the existence of positive relationships between certain psychomotor behaviors, which we consider specific to swimming, and learning the execution technique of some styles (front crawl and backstroke). The study was carried out during 10 months, including 76 children (40 boys and 36 girls) aged between 6-9 years who practice recreational swimming in a Romanian city. Several tests were used: Tapping test for manual dexterity and laterality, the Goudenough test for body schema, the Flamingo test for static balance, the horizontal buoyancy test for body balance on the water. Results indicated better ratings on all psychomotor behaviors analyzed by gender (in favor of girls compared to boys), except for laterality. The levels of all analyzed psychomotor behaviors are directly proportional to the age of the subjects. Also, moderate positive correlations of manual dexterity (rs = 0.63 in front crawl; rs = 0.57 in backstroke) and strong correlations were identified for body scheme, laterality, static balance and buoyancy, coordination with the learning of the two styles of swimming (r or rs between 0.77 and 0.85). In conclusion, psychomotor behaviors can be predictors for learning swimming styles.

Player’s performance in an intense sport such as basketball is known to be related to attributes like speed, agility, and power. This study presents a comparative analysis of associations between anthropometric assessment and physical performance in different age-group elite youth basketball players, while simultaneously identifying the predictors for speed and agility in these players. U14 (n=44), U15 (n=45) and U16 (n=51) players were tested for anthropometry, lower body power, speed, and agility. U16 players were found to be taller, heavier, more muscular than U14 and U15 players. Also, the U16 group showed better performance in all performance tests. Age had a significant positive correlation with countermovement (CMJ) and drop jump (DJ) performance in U14 players, and a significant negative correlation with 10m and 20m sprint times in U15 group. CMJ and DJ emerged as the most significant predictors for sprint and agility variables, respectively. Body fat percentage was found to be a significant predictor for the speed and agility tests in all age groups, but a negative lower-body power predictor. Therefore, besides all sport-specific and fitness tests, it is essential to place emphasis on the percentage of body fat when designing players’ individualized training programs, and during team selection.

The demand for dietary supplements containing collagen has been growing for years. The speciality and uniqueness of the dietary supplement (DS) examined in our study is the presence of L-arginine and hyaluronic acid alongside collagen and vitamin C. The individual mechanisms of action and physiological role of these compounds are understood, but they have not yet been tested in the combination and amounts of the dietary supplement used in this study. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of the DS in elderly patients with musculoskeletal complaints. Somatometric, body composition, physiotherapy and laboratory tests were performed at the beginning and at the end of the study. The two-month study involved 30 people, randomly divided into two groups: a control group (CG) and an experimental group (EG). All subjects consumed 25 ml DS per day and EG members also participated in physiotherapy 3 times a week. Alongside the DS, blood lipid levels changed: LDL decreased, HDL increased, LDL/HDL ratio significantly decreased in both groups. For EG, the results improved more markedly. In 3 items of the body composition test, there was a significant improvement in both groups, which was attributed to the use of the dietary supplement. For the EG, there were significant changes in 5 additional test items, which we attribute to the addition of regular physical activity. Knee and hip joint range of motion (ROM) showed significant improvements in the study group, while in the CG the DS can cause significant improvements in joint range of motion in a passive condition as well.

This study was first time designed to investigate the effect of oxidation on protein digestion and transport properties in boiled sea cucumber body wall (BSCBW) via simulated digestion combine with everted-rat-gut-sac models. Boiling heat treatments led to protein oxidation in SCBW, manifested by increases in free radical intensity, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, carbonyl groups, disulfide bonds, dityrosine bonds, advanced glycation end products, protein hydrophobicity and aggregation, declines in free sulfhydryl group, and secondary structure transition from α-helix to β-sheet. Boiling for 2 h caused the anti-digestion collagen unfolding, provided the action site for protease, and improved the protein digestion and transport levels. On the contrary, excessive oxidative modification of 4 h-BSCBW resulted in decreased protein digestion and transport levels. From the perspective of texture, digestion and transport properties, boiling for 2 h can obtain sea cucumber products with better edible and digestible properties, which is considered to be a better processing condition.

It is widely acknowledged that adolescent females are particularly at risk of low body-esteem. Low body-esteem is associated with poor mental health and other negative outcomes. Interventions to help raise body-image could have considerable impact, especially if the intervention is low-cost, easy to implement and scalable. We investigated the efficacy of an intervention where participnants could chose their own clothes to wear during a Physical Education (PE lesson) on changes in body-esteem. We hypothesized that body-esteem would improve with choice. To show that body-esteem is not a transient construct, we tested its stability when assessed in a test-retest design when completed in a classroom setting, hypothesizing body-esteem would be stable. Participants (N =110; Mage =14.9; SDage = 0.68) females completed a 14-item body-esteem scale 4 times; a) wearing school uniform in an assembly, b) during a PE lesson separated by a 2-week gap. The intervention was implemented where students got a choice of PE kit and could wear their own clothes. Findings indicate that body-esteem was stable in the classroom setting where clothes and context were stable, but improved significantly when participants were given a free choice of kit to wear during PE. We argue that this low-cost and scalable intervention represents a useful start point for helping support low body-esteem among a potentially vulnerable population.

Routing quantum information among different nodes in a network is a fundamental prerequisite for a quantum internet. While single-qubit routing has been largely addressed, many-qubit routing protocols have not been intensively investigated so far. Building on the many-excitation transfer protocol in Ref. , we apply the perturbative transfer scheme to a two-excitation routing protocol on a network where multiple two-receivers block are coupled to a linear chain. We address both the case of switchable and permanent couplings between the receivers and the chain. We find that the protocol allows for efficient two-excitation routing on a fermionic network, although for a spin-12 network only a limited region of the network is suitable for high-quality routing.

Emollients are valued ingredients of many cosmetic products and medical devices used to support the treatment and prevention of many skin diseases. Despite the fact that they are one of the oldest cosmetic ingredients, raw materials as well as new recipe solutions are constantly being sought, the main goal of which is to obtain products with the most favorable physicochemical properties while improving the hydration of the stratum corneum and softening and smoothing the skin. This article presents the results of physicochemical tests of selected emollients: natural [Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil, Ricinus Communis Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil], semi-synthetic Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride and synthetic (Octyldodecanol, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Dibutyl Adipate). Then, recipes for cosmetic oils were developed, differing in the type and concentration of emollients used. The obtained formulations were subjected to physicochemical tests (dynamic viscosity, surface tension, wetting angle, color assessment) and selected parameters of the epidermal barrier function (skin hydration and lubrication) were assessed. By appropriately selecting the type and concentration of emollients in the cosmetic oil recipe, it is possible to obtain products with the appropriate ability to spread on the skin, form a uniform protective layer on the skin and remain on the skin for a sufficiently long time. The observed improvement in skin hydration and the level of lubrication after using formulations containing mixtures of natural and semi-synthetic/synthetic emollients confirms that both groups of these raw materials can be components of cosmetic body oil recipes with an emollient effect, and the products themselves constitute an important element of the care of skin affected by the disease process.

The leaves and stems of Bauhinia guianensis Aubl. are used in traditional Amazonian phytotherapy for the treatment of pain and inflammation. This study investigates the anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of hydroethanolic extracts from B. guianensis Aubl. leaves and stems (HELBg and HESBg, respectively) in in vivo models of inflammation and hyperalgesia. Danio rerio experimental animals were submitted to the acute inflammation test, induced by intraperitoneal (ip.) administration of carrageenan 20 μg / animal (abdominal edema), the groups were previously treated orally with saline solution 2 μl / animal (SS), Dimethyl sulfoxide 2 μl / animal (DMSO), Indomethacin 10 mg/Kg, HELBg 100 mg/Kg and HESBg 100 mg/Kg, n = 12 per experimental group, to evaluate inhibition of edema and alterations histopathology of the liver, intestine and kidney of these animals. The antinociceptive effect was observed from the body curvature index and the behavioral responses of Danio rerio, after an experimental protocol for the induction of hyperalgesia, by ip administration. of 10 μl / animal of 2.5% acetic acid, the animals were previously orally treated with saline solution 2 μl/animal (SS), dimethyl sulfoxide 2 μl/animal (DMSO), morphine 2.5 mg/Kg, HELBg 100 mg/Kg and HESBg 100 mg/Kg, n = 5 per experimental group. In carrageenan-induced edema, the group treated with HESBg inhibited edema formation over the 3 hours of the experiment. Maximum edema was inhibited by 54% (p &lt; 0.05) when compared to the control group. Both HELBg and HESBg prevented body curvature index changes (t (df = 3 8) =, 6.96 and t (df = 3, 8) = 6.61, respectively, both p &lt; 0.0001). In the behavioral parameters sensitive to antinociceptive pharmacological modulation, due to the abdominal constriction induced by acetic acid, the administration of HELBg and HESBg resulted in an improvement in swimming activity, by increasing the distance covered (F (df = 3, 16) = 6.50 and F (df = 3, 16)  = 7.72, respectively, both p &lt; 0.0001), decrease in freezing time (F (df = 3, 16)  = 2.04 and F (df = 3, 16)  = 1.28, respectively, both p &lt; 0.0059), increase in the number of ascents to the upper area of the tank (F (df = 3, 16)  = 33.02 and F (df = 3, 16)  = 35.62, respectively, both p &lt; 0.0009 ) and decreased time spent in that area (F (df = 3, 16)  = 101.19 and F (df = 3, 16)  = 103.59, respectively, both p &lt; 0.0038). It is reasonable to suppose that both extracts modulated the variations induced by carrageenan and acetic acid through the inhibition of prostaglandin biosynthesis, decreasing the release of inflammatory mediators and the sensitization of peripheral nociceptors and, consequently, the perception of pain. These results suggest that HELBg and HESBg have anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities, probably of peripheral origin and linked to the inhibition of prosta-glandin biosynthesis

Each year in March, adherents of the Bahá’í faith abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset for 19 days. Thus, Bahá’í fasting (BF) can be considered as a form of daytime dry fasting. We tested if BF decreases energy expenditure after a meal and improves anthropometric measures, and systemic and tissue-level metabolic parameters. This was a self-controlled cohort study with 11 healthy men. We measured anthropometric parameters, metabolic markers in venous blood, and pre- and postprandial energy metabolism at systemic (indirect calorimetry) and tissue (adipose tissue and skeletal muscle microdialysis) level, both before and during BF. During BF, we found reduced body weight, body mass index, body fat and blood glucose. Postprandial increase in energy expenditure was lower, diet-induced thermogenesis tended to be lower. In adipose tissue, perfusion, glucose supply and lipolysis were increased. In skeletal muscle, tissue perfusion did not change. Glucose supply and lipolysis were decreased. Glucose oxidation was increased, indicating an improved insulin sensitivity. BF may be a promising approach to losing weight and improving metabolism and health. However, outside the context of religiously-motivated fasting, skipping a meal rather in the evening (dinner cancelling) might be recommended, as metabolism appears to be reduced in the evening.

Light is an electromagnetic radiation that has visible and invisible wavelength spectrum. The visible light can only be detected by the eyes through the optic pathways. With the presence of scalp, cranium and meninges, the brain is seen as being protected from direct exposure to light. For that reason, the brain can be viewed as a black body lying inside a black box. In physics, a black body tends to be in thermal equilibrium with its environment and can tightly regulate its temperature via thermodynamics principles. Therefore, a healthy brain inside a black box should not get exposed to light. On the contrary, photobiomodulation, a form of light therapy to the brain has been shown to have beneficial effects for some neurological conditions. The proposed underlying mechanisms are multiple. Herein we present our intraoperative findings of rapid electrocorticographic brainwave changes when the brain was shone directly with different wavelengths of light during awake brain surgery. Our findings provide literature proof on light’s ability to influence human brain energy and function. Our proposed mechanism for these rapid changes is the presence of plasma-like energy inside the brain which causes fast brain activities that are akin to lightning strikes.

This study aims to investigate the impact of body heat loss on the thermal and aerodynamic conditions in a whole-body cryotherapy chamber. The underlying hypothesis is that the heat generated by the human body alters the thermal and aerodynamic environment inside the cabin. A numerical study was conducted to test this hypothesis to analyze the thermodynamic exchanges between the human body and the cabin during a 3-minute whole-body cryotherapy session. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach was used to study the unsteady heat transfer between the human body and the interior of the cryotherapy cabin. A thermal boundary condition, based on a mathematical model developed from experimental data, was applied to simulate skin cooling kinetics over time. The post-processing of the 3D results, including temperature, velocity fields, and thermal flux maps at the body surface, provided insight into the thermo-convective mechanisms involved in a whole-body cryotherapy session. The study found that body heat loss significantly affects the temperature fields inside the cabin, leading to global modifications of the aeraulic and thermal conditions. These findings suggest that cryotherapy protocols may need to be adjusted or the cabin set temperature optimized to enhance the therapeutic benefits.

A method for generating fluoroscopic (time-varying) volumetric images using patient-specific motion models derived from 4-dimensional cone-beam CT (4D-CBCT) images is developed. 4D-CBCT images acquired immediately prior to treatment have the potential to accurately represent patient anatomy and respiration during treatment. Fluoroscopic 3D image estimation is done in two steps: 1) deriving motion models and 2) optimization. To derive motion models, every phase in a 4D-CBCT set is registered to a reference phase chosen from the same set using deformable image registration (DIR). Principal components analysis (PCA) is used to reduce the dimensionality of the displacement vector fields (DVFs) resulting from DIR into a few vectors representing organ motion found in the DVFs. The PCA motion models are optimized iteratively by comparing a cone-beam CT (CBCT) projection to a simulated projection computed from both the motion model and a reference 4D-CBCT phase, resulting in a sequence of fluoroscopic 3D images. Patient datasets were used to evaluate the method by estimating the tumor location in the generated images compared to manually defined ground truth positions. Experimental results showed that the average tumor mean absolute error (MAE) along the superior-inferior (SI) direction and the 95th percentile in two patient datasets were (2.29 mm and 5.79 mm) for patient 1 and (1.89 mm and 4.82 mm) for patient 2. This study has demonstrated the feasibility of deriving 4D-CBCT-based PCA motion models that have the potential to account for the 3D non-rigid patient motion and localize tumors and other patient anatomical structures on the day of treatment.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of fluorinated, organic, man-made chemicals; they do not occur naturally in the environment. This study aimed to determine the profile and content of PFASs in volunteers’ blood plasma and urine after fermented red beetroot juice consumption and correlated it with the blood parameters. During 42 days, 24 healthy volunteers intake 200 mL/60 kg of body weight fermented red beetroot juice. PFASs were analyzed using micro-HPLC-MS/MS method. Five perfluoroalkyl substances were found in human body fluids. After juice consumption, PFASs, due to the consumption of food contaminated with them, was discovered that for perfluorocarboxylic acids, a downward trend was observed, while for perfluoroalkane sulfonates, their plasma content showed a statistically significant upward trend. Analysis of the hematology parameters indicated that the intake the fermented red beetroot juice showed a significant decrease in mean corpuscular volume (MCV), platelets concentration, mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet large cell ratio (P-LCR) at the significance level p < 0.01, and he-matocrit (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the dietary intervention also indicated a significant (p < 0.01) increase corpuscular/ cellular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). In the case of blood biochemi-stry, no significant change in blood samples after intake the fermented beetroot juice was observed. However, a decreasing tendency of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein concentration (LDL-C) were observed. Based on the presented results, there is a need to analyze and monitor health-promoting food regarding undesirable substances and their impact on consumer health.

Chronic gastroduodenal symptoms are prevalent worldwide, and there is a need for new diagnostic and treatment approaches. Several overlapping processes may contribute to these symptoms, including gastric dysmotility, hypersensitivity, gut-brain axis disorders, gastric outflow resistance, and duodenal inflammation. Gastric Alimetry® (Alimetry, New Zealand) is a non-invasive test for evaluating gastric function that combines body surface gastric mapping (high-resolution electrophysiology) with validated symptom profiling. Together, these complementary data streams enable important new clinical insights into gastric disorders and their symptom correlations, with emerging therapeutic implications. A comprehensive database has been established, currently comprising >2,000 Gastric Alimetry tests, including both controls and patients with various gastroduodenal disorders. From studies employing this database, this pa-per presents a systematic methodology for Gastric Alimetry test interpretation, together with an extensive supporting literature review. Reporting is grouped into four sections: Test Quality, Spectral Analysis, Symptoms, and Conclusions. This review compiles, assesses, and evaluates each of these aspects of test assessment, with discussion of relevant evidence, example cases, limitations, and areas for future work. The resultant interpretation methodology is recommended for use in clinical practice and research to assist clinicians in their use of Gastric Alimetry as a diagnostic aid, and is expected to continue to evolve with further development.

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Understanding the binding behavior and conformational dynamics of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is crucial for unraveling their regulatory roles in biological processes. However, their lack of stable 3D structures poses challenges for analysis. To address this, we propose an algorithm that explores IDP binding behavior with protein complexes by extracting topological and geometric features from the protein surface model. Our algorithm identifies a geometrically favorable binding pose for the IDP and plans a feasible trajectory to evaluate its transition to the docking position. We focus on IDPs from Homo sapiens and Mus-musculus, investigating their interaction with the Plasmodium Falciparum (PF) pathogen associated with malaria-related deaths. We compare our algorithm with HawkDock and HDOCK docking tools for quantitative (computation time) and qualitative (binding affinity) measures. Our results indicate that our method outperforms the compared methods in computation performance and binding affinity of experimental conformations.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy of reproductive-aged women characterized by hyperandrogenism, oligo-anovulation and insulin resistance closely linked with preferential abdominal fat accumulation. As an ancestral primate trait, PCOS was likely further selected in humans when scarcity of food in hunter-gatherers of the late Pleistocene additionally programmed for enhanced fat storage to meet the metabolic demands of reproduction in later life. As an evolutional model for PCOS, healthy normal-weight women with hyperandrogenic PCOS have subcutaneous (SC) abdominal adipose stem cells that favor fat storage through exaggerated lipid accumulation during development to adipocytes in vitro. In turn, fat storage is counterbalanced by reduced insulin sensitivity and preferential accumulation of highly-lipolytic intra-abdominal fat in vivo. This metabolic adaptation in PCOS balances energy storage with glucose availability and fatty acid oxidation for optimal energy use during reproduction; its accompanying oligo-anovulation allowed PCOS women from antiquity sufficient time and strength for childrearing of fewer offspring with a greater likelihood of childhood survival. Heritable PCOS characteristics are now affected by today’s contemporary environment through epigenetic events that predispose to lipotoxicity with excess weight gain and pregnancy complications, calling for an emphasis on preventive healthcare to optimize the long-term, endocrine-metabolic health of PCOS women in today’s obesogenic environment.