Partially automated driving functions (SAE Level 2) can control a vehicle's longitudinal and lateral movements. However, taking over the driving task involves automation risks that the driver must manage. In severe accidents, the driver's ability to avoid a collision must be assessed, considering their expected reaction behavior. The primary goal of this study is to generate essential data on driver reaction behavior in case of malfunctions in partially automated driving functions for use in legal affairs. A simulator study with two scenarios involving 32 subjects was conducted for this purpose. The first scenario investigated driver reactions to system limitations during cornering. The second scenario examined driver responses to phantom braking caused by the AEBS. As a result, the first scenario shows that none of the subjects could control the situation safely. Due to partial automation, we could also identify a new part of the reaction time, the hands-on time, which leads to increased steering reaction times of 1.18 to 1.74 seconds. In the second scenario, we found that 25 of the 32 subjects could not override the phantom braking by pressing the accelerator pedal, although 16 subjects were informed about the system analog to the actual vehicle manuals. Overall, the study suggests that the current legal perspective on vehicle control and the expected driver reaction behavior for accident avoidance should be reconsidered.

Electrocatalytic and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) provides a promising approach to clean energy generation. Bimetallic single-atom catalysts raised and have been explored to be advanced catalysts for HER. It is urgent to review and summarize the recent advances in developing bimetallic single-atom HER catalysts. Firstly, the fundamentals of bimetallic single-atom catalysts are presented, highlighting their unique configuration of two isolated metal atoms on supports and resultant synergistic effects. Secondly, recent advances in bimetallic single-atom catalysts for electrocatalytic HER under acidic/alkaline conditions are then reviewed, including W-Mo, Ru-Bi, Ni-Fe, Co-Ag, and other dual-atom systems on graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with enhanced HER activity versus monometallic analogs due to geometric and electronic synergies. Then, Photocatalytic bimetallic single-atom catalysts on semiconducting carbon nitrides for solar H2 production are also discussed. Finally, an outlook is provided on opportunities and challenges in precisely controlling bimetallic single-atom catalyst synthesis and gaining in-depth mechanistic insights into bimetallic interactions.

Information regarding physiological and molecular plant responses to the treatment with new biofertilizers is limited. In this study a fast-composting soil amendment (FCA), obtained from solid waste by means of a Fenton reaction, was tested to evaluate the effects on the growth of Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia seedlings. Growth rate, leaves and roots biomass, chlorophyll concentration and total soluble proteins of seedlings treated with the 2% FCA soil amendment showed significant increase in comparison with control seedlings. Leaf proteomic analysis revealed that the FCA soil amendment induced the up-regulation of proteins belonging to photosynthesis machinery, carbohydrate metabolism and promoted the up-regulation of the water stress response. Root proteomics indicated that FCA strongly induced the organs morphogenesis and developments; root cap development, lateral root formation, post-embryonic root morphogenesis were the main biological processes enriched by the treatment. Overall, our data suggest that addition of FCA formulation to the base soils might ameliorate plant growth by inducing carbohydrates primary metabolism and the differentiation of a robust root system.

The synthesis 2-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol is of great significance because of its widely application in industry, and the development of highly efficient catalyst is necessary to the alkylation of p-cresol and tert-butyl alcohol. Here, an efficient and mild method was established, caprolactam was chosen as hydrogen-bonding acceptor, p-toluenesulfonic acid was employed as hydrogen-bonding donor, and deep eutectic solvent (DES) was prepared to catalyze the alkylation reaction. The structure of the DES catalyst was characterized by 1H NMR spectra, thermogravimetric analysis and fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR). In addition, response surface design based on Box-Behnken method was employed to optimize the alkylation reaction process parameters, the study of reaction kinetics was also carried out subsequently. The recycle performance of the catalyst was evaluated by recovery experiments, and a good result was obtained. Comparing with the literature reported, we here provide a mild method to the synthesis of 2-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol.

Biomimetic N-acetylcysteamine thioesters are essential for the study of polyketide synthases, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases and fatty acid synthases. The chemistry for their preparation is however limited by their specific functionalization and their susceptibility to undesired side reactions. This is especially detrimental to transition metal-catalyzed reactions. Here we report a method for the rapid preparation of N-acetylcysteamine (SNAC) 7-hydroxy-2-enethioates, which are suitable for the study of various enzymatic domains of megasynthase enzymes, particularly oxygen heterocycle-forming cyclase domains. The method is based on a one-pot sequence of hy-droboration and Suzuki-Miyaura reaction. Optimization of the reaction conditions made it possi-ble to suppress potential side reactions and to introduce the highly functionalized SNAC meth-acrylate unit in high yield. The versatility of the sequence was demonstrated on a dienal precur-sor, which was subjected to Brown crotylation followed by the hydroboration-Suzuki-Miyaura reaction sequence and deprotection, finally giving a complex polyketide SNAC thioester. Back-bone extension by six carbons and a terminal SNAC enethioate was achieved, introducing an E-configured double bond and two adjacent stereocenters in a highly selective manner. The pre-sented method allows for the synthesis of the target motif in significantly fewer steps and with higher overall yield than previously described approaches, while maintaining higher flexibility and control over the stereogenic elements. It is also the first reported example of a transition met-al-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction in the presence of an SNAC thioester.

In this paper a combined Laplace transform (LT) and boundary element method (BEM) is used to find numerical solutions to problems of anisotropic functionally graded media which are governed by the transient diffusion-convection-reaction equation. First, the variable coefficients governing equation is reduced to a constant coefficients equation. Then, the Laplace-transformed constant coefficients equation is transformed a boundary-only integral equation. Using a BEM, the numerical solutions in the frame of Laplace transform may then be obtained from this integral equation. Then the solutions are inversely transformed numerically using the Stehfest formula. Some problems considered are those of compressible or incompressible flow, and of media which are quadratically, exponentially and trigonometrically graded materials. The results obtained show that the analysis used to transform the variable coefficients equation into the constant coefficients equation is valid, and the mixed LT-BEM is easy to implement for obtaining the numerical solutions. The numerical solutions are verified by showing their accuracy and steady state. For symmetric problems, the symmetry of solutions is also justified. Moreover, the effect of the anisotropy and inhomogeneity of the material on the solutions are also shown, as to suggest that it is important to take the anisotropy and inhomogeneity into account when doing experimental studies.

Controlling and understanding Cu-catalyzed homocoupling reaction is crucial to prompt the development of efficient Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. The presence of a coordinating base (hydroxide, methoxide) enables the B-to-Cu(II) transmetalation from aryl boronic acid to CuIICl2 in methanol, through formation of a mixed Cu-(μ-OH)-B intermediates. A second B-to-Cu transmetalation to form bis-aryl Cu(II) complexes is disfavored. Instead, organocopper(II) dimers undergo a coupled transmetalation-electron-transfer (TET) allowing the formation of a bis-organocopper(III) complexes readily promoting reductive elimination. Based on this mechanism some guidelines are suggested to control the undesired formation of homocoupling product in Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions.

There is a relationship between systemic sarcoidosis (SS) and malignancy. Sarcoidosis results from an exaggerated immune response in genetically susceptible individuals. In oncologic pa-tients with sarcoidosis, tumoral antigens and antineoplastic treatment are considered potential triggering factors. The observation of a patient with granulomas in a parotid carcinoma that later developed SS led us to review previous tumors of patients with SS. The aim of the study is to see if granulomas were already present in the tumors that preceded sarcoidosis. We identified 196 sarcoidosis patients, 47 of which had a previous tumor. We were able to review 29 cases 12 of which showed tumor associated granulomas (TAGs)(41.4%). This ratio is much higher than that of the normal population. We analyzed five control patients without sarcoidosis for each tumor. In conclusion, we have observed TAGs in patients who later develop SS. In our series, the ratio of TAGs in patients with SS was significantly greater than in the normal population. To prove our findings, we suggest reviewing the history of patients with SS in search of previous tumors. The histology of such tumors should be reviewed in an attempt to identify granulomas.

The steady-state multiplicity of the porous, non-isothermal, catalyst pellet when two parallel and consecutive chemical reactions take place was analysed in this work. The geometry selected for the catalyst pellet is finite hollow cylinder. A numerical multigrid continuation technique with the preconditioned conjugate gradient squared as coarse grid solver was used. The continuation parameter is the dimensionless adiabatic heat rise (Prater number) for the first chemical reaction. The effect of the other governing parameters was analysed and the results are compared to those provided by the single chemical reaction.

In this work, anchoring of cinchona derivatives to trifunctional cores (hub approach) was demonstrated to obtain size-enlarged organocatalysts. By modifying the cinchona skeleton in different positions, we prepared four C3-symmetric size-enlarged cinchona derivatives (hub-cinchonas), which were tested as organocatalysts and their catalytic activities were compared with the parent cinchona (hydroquinine) catalyst. We showed that in the hydroxyalkylation reaction of indole, hydroquinine provides good enantioselectivities (up to 73% ee), while the four new size-enlarged derivatives gave significantly lower values (up to 29% ee) in this reaction. Anchoring cinchonas to trifunctional cores was found to facilitate nanofiltration-supported catalyst recovery using PolarClean alternative solvent. The C3-symmetric size-enlarged organocatalysts were completely rejected by all the applied membranes, whereas the separation of hydroquinine was found to be insufficient using organic solvent nanofiltration. Furthermore, the asymmetric catalysis was successfully demonstrated in the case of Michael reaction of 1,3-diketones and trans-β-nitrostyrene using Hub3-cinchona (up to 96% ee) as a result of the positive effect of the C3-symmetric structure using a bulkier substrate. This means an increased selectivity of the catalyst in comparison to hydroquinine in the latter Michael reaction.

Background: drugs provide a significant benefit; however, their use implies an intrinsic potential danger, with the possibility to cause unwanted effects. These effects are known as adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Post-marketing drug safety surveillance detects unknown risks that have not been identified in clinical trials and it is necessary to monitor marketed medications under real-life practice. Due to the scarce information about fixed combination of ciprofloxacin 0.3% / dexamethasone 0.1% (SDO), we performed a drug safety surveillance study. (2) Methods: A prospective non-controlled drug safety surveillance study was conducted in Peruvian population. A total of 236 patients prescribed SDO were included derivates from 12 sites. Patients' standardized information was collected through two phone calls, including demographics, medical history, prescribing patterns of SDO, concomitant medication, and ADRs in detail. The ADRs were classified by causality and severity, followed by outcome measures to identify new risk. (3) Results: 236 patients prescribed with SDO participated in the study and 220 were included. A total of 82 ADRs/220 patients were reported after the use of SDO, presenting a ratio 0.37 ADR/patient. The most frequent ADR with SDO administration was eye irritation (30%). The totality of the ADR was classified as non-serious, and the 97.5% (n=80) was classified as mild and 2.5% as moderate (n=2). No cases under the severe category were identified. (4) Conclusion: No new risks were found in the population where this study was conducted.

Carbon dioxide has become a global challenge, where the emissions have become more than what could be handled. In this regard, conversion of CO2 to value added chemicals and thus recycling CO2 became a viable option. One of these options is the use of a process in strong development: oxycombustion. However, the gases resulting from this process contain some traces of impurities that can hinder the recovery of CO2 such as NO and CO. This work has therefore focused on the study of the reaction of NO reduction by CO in an oxidizing medium, using catalytic materials based on various supported noble metals. These materials were extensively characterized by a variety of methods including BET surface area measurements, hydrogen chemisorption, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and H2 temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR). The obtained results show that the catalytic behaviour of M/Al2O3 catalysts in CO oxidation and NO reduction with CO in oxidative conditions depends mainly on the nature of the metal. The best result for these both reactions is obtained with Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. The Pt nanoparticles existing in the metallic form (Pt°) showed by TPR could explain the activity.

Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is one of the most important reaction in electrochemistry. This is not only because it is the simplest way to produce high purity hydrogen and the fact that it is the side reaction in many other technologies. HER actually shaped current electrochemistry because it was in focus of active research for so many years (and it still is). The number of catalysts investigated for HER is immense, and it is impossible to overview them all. In fact, it seems that the complexity of the field overcomes the complexity of HER. The aim of this review is to point out some of the latest developments in HER catalysis, current directions and some of the missing links between a single crystal, nanosized supported catalysts and, recently emerging, single atom catalysts for HER

This work demonstrates that a plasmid can function as an efficient biocatalyst in mediating the nitroaldol (Henry) reaction at high temperatures in ultrapure water. Compared with ssDNA, the plasmid displayed a remarkable catalytic efficiency (97% yield within 20 min). Aromatic aldehydes which bear strong or moderate electron-withdrawing groups reacted satisfactorily with nitromethane, which afforded the corresponding β-nitroalcohols in good yields within 2 h (up to 98%). By contrast, aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes with electron-donating groups did not react. Moreover, the yield significantly dropped when the size of the carbanion increased, and the yield was only 10% when nitropropane was used as the donor.

In this study, lithium reaction distributions, dependent on charge-discharge rate, were nondestructively visualized for a commercial lithium-ion battery, using the Compton scattering imaging technique. By comparing lithium reaction distributions obtained from two different charge-discharge speeds, residual lithium ions were detected at the center of the negative electrode on a fully discharged state, by relatively high-speed discharge rate. Moreover, we confirmed that inhomogeneous reactions were facilitated on a relatively high-speed charge-discharge rate, in both the negative and positive electrodes. A feature of our technique is that it can be applied to commercially used lithium-ion batteries, because it uses high-energy X-rays with a high penetration power. Our technique thus opens a novel analyzing pathway for developing advanced batteries.

Furfuryl alcohol (FA) is a biobased monomer derived from lignocellulosic biomass. The present work describes its polymerization in presence of protic polar solvents, i.e. water or isopropyl alcohol (IPA), using maleic anhydride (MA) as acidic initiator. The polymerization was followed from the liquid to the rubbery state by combining DSC and DMA data. In the liquid state, IPA disrupts the expected reactions during all the FA polymerization due to a stabilization of the furfuryl carbenium center. This causes the initiation of the polymerization at higher temperature, which is also reflected by higher activation energy. In water system, the MA opening allows to start the reaction at lower temperature. A higher pre-exponential factor value is obtained in that case. The DMA study of final branching reaction occurring in the rubbery state has highlighted continuous increase of elastic modulus until 290 °C. This increasing tendency of modulus was exploited to obtain activation energy dependences (Eα) of FA polymerization in the rubbery state.

A new synthetic approach to polyfunctional hexahydropyrrolo[3,4-b]pyrroles was developed based on cyclization of N-arylbromomaleimides with aminocrotonic acid esters. A highly chemo- and stereoselective reaction is a Hantzsch-type domino process, involving the steps of initial nucleophilic C-addition or substitution and subsequent intramolecular nucleophilic addition without recyclyzation of imide cycle.

Water electrolysis provides efficient and cost-effective production of hydrogen from renewable energy. Currently, the oxidation half-cell reaction relies on noble-metal catalysts, impeding widespread application. In order to adopt water electrolyzers as the main hydrogen production systems, it is critical to develop inexpensive and earth-abundant catalysts. This review discusses the proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis (WE) and the progress in replacing the noble-metal catalysts with earth-abundant ones. Researchers within this field are aiming to improve the efficiency and stability of earth-abundant catalysts (EACs), as well as to discover new ones. The latter is particularly important for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under acidic media, where the only stable and efficient catalysts are noble-metal oxides, such as IrO_x and RuO_x. On the other hand, there is significant progress on EACs for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic conditions, but how many of these EACs have been used in PEM WEs and tested under realistic conditions? What is the current status on the development of EACs for the OER? These are the two main questions this review addresses.

Background/Objectives: Population aging is rapidly increasing, and the importance of preventive medicine has been stressed. Health checkup, diet, and exercise are of paramount importance. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a personalized dual-task intervention that combined exercise with cognitive tasks in improving physical and cognitive functions among independently living elderly individuals. Methods: Participants were aged >65 years who were mostly independent in their activities of daily living, divided into 2 groups. The group receiving the 20-min robot-assisted session was compared to the group receiving traditional functional restoration training. This randomized trial assessed the impact of this intervention on the 30-s chair stand test score and Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Japanese version score of the participants. Results: Both scores significantly improved in the intervention group, indicating enhanced lower-limb function and cognitive capabilities. Conclusions: These findings suggest that integrating cognitive tasks with physical exercise can be a potent strategy to improve overall well-being in the elderly, offering valuable insights for designing comprehensive preventive health programs tailored to this demographic.

Opportunistic networks, an evolution of mobile Ad Hoc networks (MANETs), offer decentralized communication without relying on preinstalled infrastructure, enabling nodes to route packets through different mobile nodes dynamically. However, due to the absence of complete paths and rapidly changing connectivity, routing in opportunistic networks presents unique challenges. This paper proposes a novel probabilistic routing model for opportunistic networks, leveraging nodes' meeting probabilities to route packets towards their destinations. The model dynamically builds routes based on the likelihood of encountering the destination node, considering factors such as last meeting time and acknowledgment tables to manage network overload. Additionally, an efficient message detection scheme is introduced to alleviate high overhead by selectively deleting messages from buffers during congestion. Furthermore, the proposed model incorporates cross-layer optimization techniques, integrating optimization strategies across multiple protocol layers to maximize energy efficiency, adaptability, and message delivery reliability. Through extensive simulations, the effectiveness of the proposed model is demonstrated, showing improved message delivery probability while maintaining reasonable overhead and latency. This research contributes to the advancement of opportunistic networks, particularly in enhancing connectivity and efficiency for Internet of Things (IoT) applications deployed in challenging environments.

The satellite Earth observation (EO) sector is burgeoning with hundreds of commercial satellites being launched each year, delivering a rich source of data that could be exploited for societal benefit. Data streams from the growing constellation of commercial satellites are of variable quality, limiting the potential for their combined use in science applications that need long time-series data from multiple sources. The quality of calibration performed on optical sensors onboard many satellite systems is highly variable due to calibration methods, sensor design, mission objective, budget, or other operational constraints. A small number of currently operating well-characterised satellite systems with onboard calibration, such as Landsat-8/9, Sentinel-2, and planned future missions like the NASA Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Pathfinder, the European Space Agency (ESA) Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial and Helio Studies (TRUTHS), and LIBRA from China, are considered benchmarks for optical data quality due to their traceability to international measurement standards. This paper describes the concept of a space-based transfer calibration radiometer called the Satellite Cross-Calibration Radiometer (SCR) that would enable the calibration parameters from satellites such as Landsat-8/9, Sentinel-2, or other benchmark systems to be transferred to a range of commercial optical EO satellite systems while in orbit. A description of the key characteristics of the SCR to successfully operate in orbit and transfer calibration from Reference systems to Client systems is presented. A system like the SCR in orbit could complement SI-Traceable satellites (SITSats) to improve data quality and consistency and facilitate the interoperable use of data from multiple optical sensor systems for delivering higher returns on the global investment in EO.

Financial stress can have significant implications for individuals, businesses, asset prices and the economy as a whole. This study examines the nonlinear structure and dynamic changes in the multifractal behavior of cross-correlation between the financial stress index (FSI) and four well-known commodity indices, namely Commodity Research Bureau Index (CRBI), Baltic Dry Index (BDI), London Metal Index (LME) and Brent Oil prices (BROIL), using multifractal detrended cross correlation analysis (MFDCCA). For analysis, we utilized daily values of FSI and commodity index prices from 16th June 2016 to 9th July 2023. The following are the most important empirical findings: (I) All of the chosen commodity market indices show cross correlations with the FSI and have notable multifractal characteristics. (II) The presence of power law cross-correlation implies that a noteworthy shift in FSI is likely to coincide with a considerable shift in the commodity indices. (III) The multifractal cross-correlation is highest between FSI and Brent Oil (BROIL) and lowest with LME. (IV) The rolling windows analysis reveals a varying degree of persistency between FSI and commodity markets. The findings of this study have a number of important implications for commodity market investors and policymakers.

The cost effective design of tidal turbines requires a good estimation of the loading cycles and their extrema that are related to the unsteady fluctuations of the current velocity. Apart from the ambient turbulence, the main source of velocity fluctuations is the presence of surface waves. In the present study, we analyse the effect of waves propagating against the current on the performance and the loads of a twin vertical axis tidal turbine by an experimental approach at a 1/20 scale. Overall, the results show little or no effect of the waves on the average power and loads compared to the condition with current only, but a significant impact on their standard deviation that rises linearly with the waves amplitude. The drag, lift and pitching moment show extended ranges up to 7.5 times higher and extreme values exceedance by 60 to 100 % with irregular waves compared to the condition without waves. Those load and power fluctuation increase are fully due to the presence of waves as the coherence function between the rotor torque or the loads and the velocity spectra exceed 0.5 on the whole wave frequency bandwidth. The results also reveal a rotational sampling of the waves by the rotors that had also been observed on horizontal axis turbines. From a structural design point of view, the authors recommand to conduct tests in irregular wave conditions as the loads range and extreme values are 1.5 to 2 times higher than those encountered with regular waves of the same significant height and period.

(1) Background: We aimed to identify factors associated with the presence of apical lesions (AL) on panoramic radiographs and to evaluate the predictive value of the identified factors. (2) Methodology: Panoramic radiographs from 1071 patients (age: 11-93 a, mean: 50.6 a ± 19.7 a) with 27532 teeth were included. Each radiograph was independently assessed by five experienced dentists for AL. A range of shallow machine learning algorithms (logistic regression, k-nearest neighbor, decision tree, random forest, support vector machine, adaptive and gradient boosting) were employed to identify factors on patient and tooth level associated with AL and to predict AL. (3) Results: AL were detected in 522 patients (48.7%) and 1133 teeth (4.1%), whereas males showed a significantly higher prevalence than females (52.5%/44.8%; p<0.05). Logistic regression found that an existing root canal treatment was the most important risk factor (adjusted Odds Ratio 16.89; 95% CI: 13.98-20.41), followed by the tooth type ‘molar’ (2.54; 2.1-3.08) and the restoration with a crown (2.1; 1.67-2.63). Associations between factors and AL were stronger and accuracy higher when using less complex models like decision tree (F1 score: 0.9 (0.89-0.9)). (4) Conclusions: The presence of AL was higher in root-canal treated teeth, those with crowns and molars. More complex machine learning models did not outperform less complex ones.

Chaphamaparvovirus (ChPV) is an ancient virus that has been detected in a variety of hosts. In this study, based on the phylogenetic analysis and the adaptability of ChPV to multiple hosts, we evaluated the potential of feline (FeChPV) and canine ChPV (CaChPV) for cross-species transmis-sion. Phylogenetic analysis showed that FeChPV and CaChPV were closely related. Notably, two strains of ChPVs isolated from domestic cats and 2 from dogs clustered together with CaChPVs and FeChPVs, respectively, suggesting the stringent boundaries between canine and feline ChPV may be broken. Further analysis revealed that CaChPV and FeChPV were more adapted to dogs than to cats, strongly suggesting the possibility of unidirectional or bidirectional transmission be-tween dogs and cats. Mutation analysis identified several shared mutations in cross-species-transmissible strains that were not located within immune epitopes. Furthermore, the VP struc-tures of FeChPV and CaChPV exhibited a high degree of similarity across both cross-species-transmissible and non-cross-species-transmissible strains. However, definitive experimental evi-dence is lacking, and its capacity for cross-species transmission should be approached with cau-tion and elucidated in further studies.

In today's world, news events are emerging incessantly. Classifying the same event reported by different countries is of significant importance for public opinion control and intelligence gathering. Due to the diverse types of news, relying solely on translators would be costly and inefficient, while depending solely on translation systems would incur considerable performance overheads in invoking translation interfaces and storing translated texts. To address this issue, we mainly focus on the clustering problem of cross-lingual news. To be specific, we use a combination of sentence vector representations of news headlines in a mixed semantic space and the topic probability distributions of news content to represent a news article. In the training of cross-lingual models, we employ knowledge distillation techniques to fit two semantic spaces into a mixed semantic space. We abandon traditional static clustering methods like K-Means and AGNES in favor of the incremental clustering algorithm Single-Pass, which we further modify to better suit cross-lingual news clustering scenarios. Our main contributions are as follows: (1) We adopt the English standard BERT as the teacher model and XLM-Roberta as the student model, training a cross-lingual model through knowledge distillation that can represent sentence-level bilingual texts in both Chinese and English. (2) We use the LDA topic model to represent news as a combination of cross-lingual vectors for headlines and topic probability distributions for content, introducing concepts such as topic similarity to address the cross-lingual issue in news content representation. (3) We adapt the Single-Pass clustering algorithm for the news context to make it more applicable. Our optimizations of Single-Pass include adjusting the distance algorithm between samples and clusters, adding cluster merging operations, and incorporating a news time parameter.

This study investigates the applications of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) in heterogeneous downlink networks (HetNet). Due to the network densification, the small cell base station (SBS) interferes with the macrocell users (MUE). In this paper, we utilize RIS to mitigate cross-tier interference in an HetNet via directional beamforming by adjusting the phase shift of the RIS. We consider an RIS-assisted HetNet consisting of multiple SBS nodes and MUEs that utilize both direct paths and reflected paths. Therefore, the aim of this study is to maximize the sum rate of all MUEs by jointly optimizing the transmit beamforming of the macrocell base station (MBS) and the phase shift of the RIS. An efficient RIS reflecting coefficients-based optimization (RCO) is proposed based on a successive convex approximation approach. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in terms of its sum rate in comparison with the scheme HetNet without RIS and the scheme HetNet with RIS but with random phase shifts.

This research was conducted with the aim of knowing how to compare the financial performance of the oil and gas trading industry with cross-sectional analysis techniques. The type of research conducted in this research is qualitative research with research objects at several companies, namely PT Radiant Utama Interinsco Tbk, PT Elnusa Tbk, PT AKR Corporindo Tbk, and PT Aneka Gas Industri Tbk. The data used in this study comes from secondary data, namely the internet in the form of company financial reports for the 2019-2021 period obtained from the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The results of this study indicate that PT Radiant Utama Interinsco Tbk has the best financial performance on inventory turnover ratio and average age, PT Elnusa Tbk has good inventory performance on current ratio, quick ratio, DAR, and DER., PT AKR. Corporindo Tbk has performed well on the ratios of TIE, FCC, Dividend Payout, Dividend Yield, and PER. PT Aneka Gas Industri Tbk has performed well on the ratio of Receivables Turnover Ratio and Average Age of Receivables.

Introduction: This study explores exposure to misinformation, COVID-19 risk perception, and confidence towards the government as predictors to negative attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out from 30 June to 30 August 2021 involving 775 respondents. The survey instrument for the questionnaire is an adaptation from various different studies consisting of five main variables: 1) misinformation about vaccination; 2) risk perception toward COVID-19; 3) attitudes toward the vaccination programme; 4) intention to get vaccinated; and 5) public confidence in the government in executing the vaccination programme. Results: The results of this study indicate that higher exposure to misinformation led to higher levels of negative attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. When the perceived risk of COVID-19 infection was high, mistrust of vaccine benefits was low but there were also higher worries about the future effects of the vaccine. Confidence in government was associated with lower negative attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion: The results of this study may help develop an understanding of negative attitudes toward vaccinations in Malaysia and its contributing factors.

Objective: The aim of this study was to provide a new machine learning method to determine temporal events and inner-cycle parameters (e.g., cycle, poles and skis contact and swing time) in cross-country roller ski skating on the field, using a single deported inertial measurement unit (IMU). Methods: The developed method is based on long short-term memory neural networks to detect poles and skis initial and final contact with the ground during the cyclic movements. Eleven athletes skied four laps of 2.5 km at low and high intensity using skis with two different rolling coefficients. They were equipped with IMUs attached to the upper back, lower back and to the sternum. Data from force insoles and force poles were used as reference system. Results: The IMU placed on the upper back provided the best results, as the LSTM network was able to determine the temporal events with an accuracy ranging from 49 to 55 ms and the corresponding inner-cycles parameters were calculated with a precision of 63 to 68 ms. The method detected 95% of the events for the poles and 87% of the events for the skis. Conclusion: The proposed LSTM method provides a promising tool for assessing temporal events and inner-cycle phases in roller ski skating showing the potential of using a deported IMU to estimate different spatio-temporal parameters of human locomotion.

This article aims to identify the current development of cross-border tourism between Vietnam and China. The paper analyzes the perception and strategy of cross-border tourism development in the two countries, especially in the context of China’s implementation of the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI). The article emphasizes that Vietnam and China have recently made efforts to promote cross-border tourism development. At the same time, Vietnam and China see cross-border tourism development as a significant part of comprehensive border cooperation between the two countries. However, the development plans for cross-border tourism between the two countries are still mainly on the desk, not yet implemented effectively. Thus, its achievements are relatively modest. Besides, the article emphasizes that the interests of the people living in the border area, especially the Vietnam side, are almost “forgotten” in the development of cross-border travel between the two countries. Besides, the article also analyzes the challenges that the two sides are facing, especially the Vietnam side, in promoting the development of cross-border tourism between the two countries.

Background: Dengue is the most common arthropod-borne sickness worldwide, impacting at least 50 million people each year. The dengue virus has four primary serotypes. Infection with one serotype confers homotypic immunity but not heterologous immunity, and secondary infections may be more severe. Although blood transfusions and organ donations have also been observed, the Aedes aegypti mosquito is the primary vector for the transmission of dengue. Infection causes a continuum of clinical illness, from asymptomatic infection to dengue fever, DHF, and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).Aim: To assess the presence of anti DENV IgG and anti DENV IgM antibodies specific to the four dengue serotypes in blood donor service donors and the importance of pre-donation screening in routine blood collection procedures.Method: 3 mL of peripheral venous blood from 507 blood donors was collected in tubes with BD vacutainer gel tube for serum separation after epidemiological records were reviewed. After that, serum was separated and tests were performed by SD Bioline Dengue Duo. Participants in the study completed a social and epidemiological questionnaire that contained information such as age, gender, and dengue diagnosis.Result: Out of the 507 blood samples that were taken, 473 (93.3%) came from male blood donors, while the remaining 34 (6.7%) belonged to female blood donors. The ratio of males to females is 13.91 to 1. The age range is 18–60 years, and the mean and standard deviation are both 27.7 and 6.5. 183 of the 507 samples produced anti DENV IgG positivity, while 324 did not. The ratio of positive to negative was 1.25:2.Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, quantitative methods for determining the presence of anti-dengue antibodies or detecting the dengue virus in blood donors in endemic areas should be devised in order to ensure the quality of blood transfusions.

Having valid and reliable tools that help health professionals to assess fear in children undergoing medical procedures is essential to offer humanized and quality of care in the paediatric population. The aim of this study was to develop the cross-cultural adaptation and the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the “Child Medical Fear Scale” in its shortened version (CMFS-R). The design consisted of two phases, first of cross-cultural adaptation and second of the psychometric validation of the CMFS-R with a sample of 262 children from Spain. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess construct validity and the Cronbach alpha and the adjusted item-total score correlation coefficients were performed to study reliability. The results confirmed internal consistency and construct validity of the Spanish version of the CMFS-R, indicating that the scale has an acceptable level of validity and reliability. Therefore, this study brings a new version of the scale to assess fear related to medical procedures for use in the Spanish paediatric population.

The uptake of buildings employing cross-laminated timber (CLT) assemblies and designed to Passivhaus standard has accelerated internationally over the past two decades due to several factors including design responses to the climate crisis by decarbonising the building stock. Structural CLT technology and the voluntary Passivhaus certification both show measurable benefits in reducing energy consumption, while contributing to durability and indoor comfort. However, there is a general lack of evidence to support a fast uptake of these technologies in Australia. This paper responds to the compelling need of providing quantitative data and adoption strategies, it explores their combined application as a potential pathway for climate-appropriate design of energy-efficient and durable mass timber envelope solutions for subtropical and tropical Australian climates. Hygrothermal risk assessments of interstitial condensation and mould growth of CLT wall assemblies inform best-practice design of mass timber buildings in hot and humid climates. This research found that the durability of mass timber buildings located in hot and humid climates may benefit from implementing the Passivhaus standard to manage interior conditions. The findings also suggested that climate-specific design of the wall assembly is critical for mass timber buildings, in conjunction with excellent stormwater management practices during construction and corrosion protection for metallic fasteners.

Two ligands, 1, 3-bis(4-carboxyphenyl)imidazolium chloride and 4, 4՛-bipyridine, were employed to prepare nickel and zinc azolium based MOFs, 1 and 2 by the mixed ligand solvothermal approach. The positively charged azolium moieties in the imidazolium linker resulted in a charged environment in the as-synthesized frameworks. As a result, 1 and 2 demonstrated preferential adsorption of CO2 over methane molecules in the gas phase adsorption due to the higher quadruple moment of CO2, which interacts more with the positively charged frameworks. Besides, in aqueous media, 1 and 2 exhibited incredible adsorption efficiency for anionic dyes. In the following, MOF 1 was metallated at the carbene site of the azolium linker to generate the novel heterogeneous catalyst 1-Pd, which was successfully applied for Sonogashira and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions without losing its activity after three cycles.

We report on the successful preparation of wet dressings hydrogels based on Chitosan-Poly(N-Vinyl-Pyrrolidone)-Poly(ethylene glycol)-Poly(acrylic acid) and Poly(ethylene oxide) by e-beam cross-linking in weakly acidic media, to be used for rapid healing and pain release of infected skin wounds. The structure and compositions of hydrogels investigated according to sol-gel and swelling studies, network parameters, as well as FTIR and XPS analyses showed the efficient interaction of the hydrogel components upon irradiation, maintaining the bonding environment while the cross-linking degree increasing with the irradiation dose and the formation of a structure with the mesh size in the range 11-67 nm. Hydrogels with gel fraction above 85% and the best-swelling properties in different pH solutions were obtained for hydrogels produced with 15 kGy. The hydrogels are stable in the simulated physiological condition of an infected wound and show appropriate moisture retention capability and the water vapor transmission rate up to 272.67 g m-2 day-1, to ensure fast healing. The hydrogels proved to have a significant loading capacity of ibuprofen (IBU), being able to incorporate a therapeutic dose for the treatment of severe pains. Simultaneously, IBU was released up to 25% in the first 2h, having a release maximum after 8h.

Mass crises are disruptive to people's mental health. The study aimed to explore mental distress during COVID-19 quarantine in a sample of university workers in Brazil. The survey included sets of questions about demographics, health, and support, an open question about major concerns, and the Clinical Outcome Routine Evaluation (CORE-OM), a measure of mental distress. 407 professionals participated in the study: mean age of 40 years (SD = 11.2), mostly female (67.8%), married (64.8%) and fulfilling social distancing to avoid COVID-19 infection (99%). Using the Consensual Qualitative Research for simple qualitative data (CQR-M) the main areas of concern were grouped into six domains, as follows: Work, Health, Isolation, Personal life and routine, Social environment, and Future. Many responses were multiple. They form categories indicating specific concerns within these domains. Quantitative data were analyzed by identifying the simple effects of potential predictors of mental distress. The results indicated medium effects of help with household chores, psychiatric treatment, age and physical exercise. Having someone available to listen was the only variable with a large effect in reducing mental suffering. The hybrid approach showed that the psychological experience during the pandemic is quite multifaceted and complex pointing new clues for public mental health.

This paper examined the multifractal properties of six acknowledged agro-meteorological parameters, such as reference evapotranspiration (ET0), wind speed (U), incoming solar radiation (SR), air temperature (T), air pressure (P), and relative air humidity (RH) of five stations in California, USA. The investigation of multifractality of datasets from stations with differing terrain conditions: Dagget, Bakersfield, Santa Maria, Los Angeles and San Diego using the Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis showed the existence of a long term persistence and multifractality irrespective of the location. The scaling exponents of SR and ET0 time series are found to be higher for stations with higher altitudes. Subsequently, this study proposed using the novel multifractal cross correlation (MFCCA) method to examine the multiscale-multifractal correlations properties between ET0 and other investigated variables. MFCCA could successfully capture the scale dependent association of different variables and the dynamics in the nature of their associations from seasonal to multi-annual time scale. The multifractal exponents of pressure and relative air humidity are consistently lower than the exponents of ET0, irrespective of station location. This study found that joint scaling exponent was nearly the average of scaling exponents of individual series in different pairs of variables. Additionally, the α-values of joint multifractal spectrum were lower than the α values of both of the individual spectra, validating two universal properties in the mutifractal cross correlation studies for agro-meteorological time series. The temporal evolution of cross-correlation showed similar pattern for all pair-wise associations involving ET0, except for the RH-ET0 link.

In this project, we use a statistical multiple regression to study the impact of eight various predictors (relative compactness, surface area, wall area, roof area, overall height, orientation, glazing area, glazing area distribution) to estimate the cooling load energy efficiency of residential buildings. We try to analyze and visualize the effect of each predictor with each of the response variable using different classical statistical analysis tools used in describing linear models, in such a way so that we can find out the most strongly related predictor variables. Before starting all of this, we use the idea of model selection by stepwise regression technique and compare the AIC of these models and identified a better model between all of them. Then, we compare a classical linear regression approach by simulations on 768 diverse residential buildings show that we can predict CL with low mean absolute error. By using ANOVA we determine variation in the different residuals. Also, we use non constant variance test to verify it. Furthermore, we check leverage and influence points as well as outliers as well as determined cook distance for influential points. By taking box cox transformation and weights, we also introduce WLS technique to fit the model for better results and did all type of important analysis to understand the energy efficiency. Finally, we show 5-fold cross validation to verify our model.

Recently deep cross-modal hashing networks have received increasing interests due to its superior query efficiency and low storage cost. However, most of existing methods concentrate less on hash representations learning part, which means the semantic information of data cannot be fully used. Furthermore, they may neglect the high-ranking relevance and consistency of hash codes. To solve these problems, we propose a Self-Attention and Adversary Guided Hashing Network (SAAGHN). Specifically, it employs self-attention mechanism in hash representations learning part to extract rich semantic relevance information. Meanwhile, in order to keep invariability of hash codes, adversarial learning is adopted in the hash codes learning part. In addition, to generate higher-ranking hash codes and avoid local minima early, a new batch semi-hard cosine triplet loss and a cosine quantization loss are proposed. Extensive experiments on two benchmark datasets have shown that SAAGHN outperforms other baselines and achieves the state-of-the-art performance.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that originated in Africa but emerged in Latin America in 2015. In this region, other flaviviruses such as Dengue (DENV), West Nile, and Yellow Fever Virus (YFV) also circulate, allowing for possible antigenic cross-reactivity to impact viral infections and immune responses. Studies have found antibody mediated enhancement between DENV and ZIKV, but the impact of YFV antibodies on ZIKV infection has not been fully explored. ZIKV infections cause congenital syndromes, such as microcephaly, necessitating further research into ZIKV vertical transmission through the placental barrier. Recent advancements in biomedical engineering have generated co-culture methods that allow for in vitro recapitulation of the maternal: fetal interface. This study utilized a transwell assay, which is a co-culture model utilizing human placental syncytiotrophoblasts, fetal umbilical cells, and a differentiating embryoid body to replicate the maternal: fetal axis. To determine if cross reactive YFV vaccine antibodies impact the pathogenesis of ZIKV across the maternal fetal axis, maternal syncytiotrophoblasts were inoculated with ZIKV or ZIKV incubated with YFV vaccine anti-sera, and viral load was measured 72 hours post inoculation. The data show that the impact of YFV on ZIKV replication is cell line dependent. In differentiating embryoids, the presence of YFV antibodies enhanced ZIKV infection. Since viral pathogenesis, and the impact of antigenic cross-reactive antibodies, is cell line specific at the maternal-fetal axis, this suggests there may be discreet mechanisms that impact congenital ZIKV infections.

Background: Public misconception and demand for the indication of antibiotics could lead to inappropriate prescribing and consumption. Successful treatment can only be achieved when the public and industrial users have knowledge on antibiotic use and resistance. This survey is aimed to assess antibiotic usage and knowledge regarding antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among undergraduate students of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), public university located in Brunei Darussalam. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO) Antibiotic Resistance, Multi-country public awareness survey distributed online. Students at UBD were invited to participate in the online survey through internal email. The questionnaire consisted of 5 sections: demographic information, antibiotic usage, knowledge on antibiotics, antibiotic resistance (AMR) and use of antibiotics in agriculture. Data were analyzed descriptively and appropriate inferential statistics was used accordingly. Cronbach’s alpha was also done to determine the internal consistency. The section on antibiotic use and knowledge showed good internal consistency of Cronbach’s alpha 0.66 and 0.86 respectively. Research ethics approval was obtained from the PAPRSB Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). Results: A total of 145 students returned the complete questionnaire. The result of the study found that 50% of the students had good level of knowledge of antibiotic and antimicrobial resistance with a mean total knowledge score of 11.4 out of 14. Respondents reported the use of antibiotic in the past (69%). Many of the students could identify the use of antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial infection. However, there were also students who incorrectly thought that antibiotics can be used for cold and flu (43%) and fever (41%). Moreover, 76% of the respondents mistakenly believed that antibiotic resistance is the result of the body becoming resistant to antibiotics. Only 12% of the respondents were found to have poor knowledge in the study. Conclusions: Misconceptions in regards to the use of antibiotics for conditions related to viral illnesses was noticed among the respondents in our study. Thus, improving knowledge on antibiotics is crucial to address those beliefs.

Since the COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 break out in Wuhan China from Dec. 2019, it has spread to hundreds of countries up to now. Scientists from all over the world have paid tremendous efforts to research and try to control the disease. Previous studies suggested that some of the wild animals could be intermediate hosts between humans and origination of SARS-CoV-2, and some companion animals of humans can be infected by SARS-CoV-2, which raised our curiosity about cross-infection of SARS-CoV-2 between animals and humans. Thus, we select some kinds of animals that might have contact with humans to estimate the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 in different animals by evolutionary analysis of their receptors for SARS-CoV-2. The results show that some companion animals of the Felidae family like the cat has a higher infection possibility while the species of the Rodent family like the rat and mouse having close contact with humans show an opposite result, which consist with recent animal experiments and researches. These should raise concerns about cross-infection between human and companion animals or animals having close contact with humans which might turn animals into depositaries of the coronavirus even after control of SARS-CoV-2 spreading and cause second or more waves of infections after social reopening. Another side of our results stands by the opinion that bioinformatic analysis can be consistent with experiments in some respects so that we can prevent unnecessary sacrifice of laboratory animals in future experiments.

With the rapid development of Internet and the widely usage of smart devices, massive multimedia data are generated, collected, stored and shared on the Internet. This trend makes cross-modal retrieval problem become a hot issue in this years. Many existing works pay attentions on correlation learning to generate a common subspace for cross-modal correlation measurement, and others uses adversarial learning technique to abate the heterogeneity of multi-modal data. However, very few works combine correlation learning and adversarial learning to bridge the inter-modal semantic gap and diminish cross-modal heterogeneity. This paper propose a novel cross-modal retrieval method, named ALSCOR, which is an end-to-end framework to integrate cross-modal representation learning, correlation learning and adversarial. CCA model, accompanied by two representation model, VisNet and TxtNet is proposed to capture non-linear correlation. Beside, intra-modal classifier and modality classifier are used to learn intra-modal discrimination and minimize the inter-modal heterogeneity. Comprehensive experiments are conducted on three benchmark datasets. The results demonstrate that the proposed ALSCOR has better performance than the state-of-the-arts.

An appearance model plays a crucial rule in multi-target tracking. In traditional approaches, the two steps of appearance modeling i.e visual representation and statistically similarity measure are modeled separately. Visual representation is achieved either through hand-crafted features or deep features and statically similarity is measure through a cross entropy loss function. A loss function based on cross-entropy (KL-divergence, mutual information) find closely related probability distribution for the targets. However, if the targets have similar visual representation, it ends up mixing the targets. To tackle this problem, we come up with a synergetic appearance model named Single Shot Appearance Model based on Siamese neural network. The network is trained with a contrastive loss function for finding the similarity between different targets in a single shot. The input to the network is two target patches and based on their similarity, a contrastive score is output by the network. The proposed model is evaluated on accumulative dissimilarity metric on three datasets. Quantitatively, promising results are achieved against three baseline methods.

Abstract Optimal targeting of nanoparticles (NP) to dendritic cells (DCs) receptors to deliver cancer-specific antigens is key to an efficient induction of anti-tumor immune responses. Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles containing tètanus toxoid and gp100 melanoma-associated antigen, toll-like receptor adjuvants were targeted to the DC-SIGN receptor in DCs by specific humanized antibodies or by ICAM3-Fc fusion proteins mimicking natural ligand. Despite higher binding and uptake efficacy of anti-DC-SIGN antibody-targeted NP vaccines than ICAM3-Fc ligand, no difference were observed in DC activation markers CD80, CD83, CD86 and CCR7 induced. DCs loaded with NP coated with ICAM3-Fc appeared more potent in activating T cells via cross-presentation than antibody-coated NP vaccines. This fact could be very crucial in the design of new cancer vaccines.

Multi-task Gaussian processes (MTGPs) are a powerful approach for modeling structured dependencies among multiple tasks. Researchers on MTGPs have contributed to enhance this approach in various ways. Current MTGP methods, however, cannot model nonlinear task correlations in a general way. In this paper we address this problem. We focus on spectral mixture (SM) based kernels and propose an enhancement of this type of kernels, called multi-task generalized convolution spectral mixture (MT-GCSM) kernel. The MT-GCSM kernel can model nonlinear task correlations and mixtures dependency, including time and phase delay, not only between different tasks but also within a task at the spectral mixture level. Each task in MT-GCSM has its own generalized convolution spectral mixture kernel (GCSM) with a different number of convolution structures and all spectral mixtures from different tasks are dependent. Furthermore, the proposed kernel uses inner and outer full cross convolution between base spectral mixtures, so that the base spectral mixtures in the tasks are not necessarily aligned. Extensive experiments on synthetic and real-life datasets illustrate the difference between MT-GCSM and other kernels as well as the practical effectiveness of MT-GCSM.

New class of biologically active and non-active compounds can be synthesized via transition metal mediated Suzuki cross coupling reaction that has a great impact on the advancement of organic chemistry. These resulted products can lend a helping hand in pharmaceutical and polymer chemistry for the betterment of mankind. Suzuki-Miyaura cross coupling reaction is one of the best tools through which many natural and non-natural compounds can be synthesized.

Drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHR) to platinum-based compounds (PC) are on the rise, and their personalized and safe management is essential to enable first-line treatment of these cancer patients. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of basophil activation test by flow cytometry (BAT-FC) and the newly developed sIgE-microarray and BAT-microarray in diagnosing IgE-mediated hypersensitivity reactions to PC. 24 patients with DHR to PC (20 oxaliplatin and four carboplatin) were evaluated: 13 patients diagnosed as allergic with positive skin tests (STs) or drug provocation tests (DPTs), six patients diagnosed as non-allergic with negative STs and DPTs, and five patients classified as suspected allergic because DPTs could not be performed. In addition, four carboplatin-tolerant patients were included as controls. BAT-FC was positive in 2 of 13 allergic patients, with a sensitivity of 15.4% and specificity of 100%. However, the sIgE- and BAT-microarrays were positive in 11 of 13 DHR patients, giving a sensitivity of over 84.6% and a specificity of 90%. Except for one patient, all samples from the non-allergic and control group were negative for the sIgE- and BAT-microarrays. Our experience indicates that sIgE- and BAT-microarray could be helpful in the endophenotyping of IgE-mediated hypersensitivity reactions to PC and may provide an advance in decision-making for drug provocation testing.

Silybin is a natural compound extensively studied for its hepatoprotective, neuroprotective and anti-cancer properties. Envisioning the enhancement of silybin potential by suitable modifications in its chemical structure, here, a series of new 7-O alkyl silybins derivatives were synthesized by Mitsunobu reaction starting from the silybins and tyrosol-based phenols, such as tyrosol (TYR, 3), 3-methoxytyrosol (MTYR, 4) and 3-hydroxytyrosol (HTYR, 5). This research sought to explore the antioxidant and anticancer properties of new eighteen derivatives and their mechanisms. In particular, the antioxidant properties of new derivatives outlined by DPPH assay, showed a very pronounced activity depending on the tyrosyl moiety (HTYR&gt;MTYR&gt;&gt;TYR). A significant contribution of the HTYR moiety was observed for silybins and 2,3-dehydro-silybin based derivatives. According to the very potent antioxidant activity, 2,3-dehydro-silybin derivatives 15ab, 15a and 15b exerted the most potent anticancer activity in human prostate cancer PC-3 cells. Furthermore, flow cytometric analysis for cell cycle and apoptosis revealed that 15ab, 15a and 15b induce strong G1 phase arrest and increase late apoptotic population in PC-3 cells. Additionally, western blotting for apoptotic marker cleaved caspase-3 confirmed apoptosis induction by these silybin derivatives in PC-3 cells. These findings hold significant importance in the investigation of anticancer properties of silybin derivatives and strongly encourage swift investigation in pre-clinical models and clinical trials.

There is currently much interest in avoiding precious metals in Catalysis. The devel-opment of nickel catalysts to replace palladium in the Mizoroki-Heck reaction is a relevant case in this line of research since both elements share many chemical features. This contri-bution focuses on -Phenyl elimination in alkylnickel complexes. This is the microscopic reverse of olefin insertion (or carbometallation), a fundamental step of the Heck cycle that is usually considered irreversible and selectivity-determining. However, the potential reversibil-ity of carbometallation is generally concealed by the facile beta-hydrogen elimination that follows. Where -hydrogen elimination is hindered, beta-aryl elimination may ensue. We have previously shown that cationic 2-methyl-2-phenylpropyl (neophyl) palladium com-plexes supported by bidentate ligands experience -Ph elimination, which can be seen as an example of olefin de-insertion. In this contribution, we report that -phenyl elimination can also occur in their nickel analogs, in which case fast hydrolyses of the resulting phenyl product can follow the reaction. We investigated the mechanism of these processes and compared their feasibility for nickel and palladium catalysts using DFT calculations. These results are relevant information for the design of nickel-based catalysts for the Heck reac-tion.

In order to study the feasibility of copper-nickel smelting slag（CNSS） and palygorskite for large-scale consumption and utilization in the field of mine filling, gellable composite materials were prepared from copper-nickel smelting slag ,cement and palygorskite. The effects of palygorskite addition and curing time on the mechanical properties and microstructure of copper-nickel smelting slag-based cementitious materials were studied in detail. The results showed that the addition of palygorskite had a positive effect on the curing of the cemented filler of the non-ferrous smelting slag by promoting the early hydration reaction. palygorskite also affected the mechanical properties of the cementitious materials with different maintenance times and the ability to cure heavy metals. The strength of gellable composite materials reaches 23.05MPa when 1% palygorskite, 50% of copper-nickel smelting slag and 48% cement were used, which meet the standards requirements of filling materials for mine goaf. The addition of 1% palygorskite can improve the ability of cementitious materials to solidify heavy metals to realize the economic utilization of solid waste in mining areas.

The performance analysis of the internal/external flows around a high speed vehicle in near-space is fundamental and critical to the configuration and structure design for high speed aircraft. In this paper, the two-dimensional coupled implicit Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver and RNG k–ε turbulence model is employed to numerically simulate the flow field of an integrated high speed vehicle. The flow field are divided three parts to solve separately and compared with that solved by integrated simulation. The flow field are decomposed to save computer storage and simulation time. The first part is inlet/isolator, the second part is combustion chamber and the third is nozzle. In the computation process, the outlet condition of isolator is endowed to the inlet boundary of combustion chamber and the outlet boundary of combustion chamber is endowed to the inlet boundary of nozzle, then the whole flow field of integrated high speed vehicle is solved. Aerodynamic characteristic of fragment-computation and integration-computation is comparatively analyzed at different angles of attack, the results show that the maximum deviation of lift coefficient obtained by fragment-computation is less than 3% compared with that by integration, the maximum deviation of drag coefficient fragment-computation is less than 5% compared with that by integration, while pitching moment coefficient deviation less than 12%. However, for simulation time-consumption, the time used by fragment-computation reduces 45% compared with integration-computation. Meanwhile, by components force analysis, it can be concluded that the aerodynamic property of inlet/isolator can been obtained separately and hardly effected by other parts.

Global warming and the global energy crisis are two major challenges humanity is currently confronting that are pressuring the scientific community to find efficient, low cost and environmentally sustainable solutions. Within this context, hydrogen has emerged as a clean and efficient energy carrier promising to replace the environmentally hazardous fossil fuels. The present study, of relevance to the water splitting domain, concerns the synthesis of two novel hybrid structures, based on perovskite materials functionalized with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The water electrolysis catalytic activity of these new materials was evaluated in a strongly alkaline medium. Perovskite-based modified electrodes were manufactured through four different procedures. The samples displayed electrocatalytic activity for the O2 evolution reaction and the most active electrode was the one obtained by drop-casting a mixture of LaMnO3:Ag/PVP, Carbon Black and Nafion on graphite support. The study is aimed at and succeeds in increasing the scientific database concerning the role of perovskite oxides in the water splitting field.

Aqueous Zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) possess significant potential in large energy storage systems due to their cost-effectiveness and environmental protection. However, the limited voltage window and poor reaction kinetics of the cathode material are still bottlenecks, restricting the further development of ZIBs. In this work, we rationally design Ni-doped V2O5@3D Ni core/shell composite on carbon cloth electrode (Ni-V2O5@3D Ni@CC) by growing Ni-V2O5 on the free-standing 3D Ni metal nanonets for high-voltage and high-capacity ZIBs. Impressively, the embedded Ni doping increases the interlayer spacing of V2O5, extending the working voltage and improving the Zn2+ kinetics reaction of the cathode materials, at the same time the 3D structure with high specific surface area and superior electronic conductivity benefits to fast Zn2+ transport. Consequently, the as-designed Ni-V2O5@3D Ni@CC cathodes can operate within a wide voltage window from 0.3 to 1.8 V vs. Zn/Zn2+ and deliver a high capacity of 270 mAh g-1 at a high current density of 0.8 A g-1. In addition, the reversible Zn2+ (de)-incorporation reaction mechanisms in the Ni-V2O5@3D Ni@CC cathodes are investigated by multiple characterization methods. As a result, we achieve a big step toward the practical applications of commercial ZIBs.

Water electrolysis is a highly efficient route to produce ideally clean H2 fuel with excellent energy conversion efficiency and high gravimetric energy density, without producing carbon trace unlike steam methane reforming, and resolves the issues of environmental contamination via replacing the conventional fossil fuel. Of special importance lies in the advancement of highly effective non-precious catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The electrocatalytic activity of an active catalyst mainly depends on the material conductivity, accessible catalytically active sites, and intrinsic OER reaction kinetics, which can be tuned via introducing heteroatom N in the catalyst stricture. Herein, an efficacious nitrogenation of CuS has been accomplished, which was synthesized using hydrothermal procedure, and characterized for their electrocatalytic activity towards OER. The nitrogen-doped CuO@CuS (N,CuO@CuS) electrocatalyst exhibits superior OER activity than pristine CuS (268 and 602 mV), achieving the low overpotential of 240 and 392 mV at a current density of 10 and 100 mA/cm2, respectively, ascribed to the favorable electronic structural modification triggered by nitrogen incorporation. The N,CuO@CuS also exhibits excellent endurance under varied current rates and a static potential response over 25 h stability measured at 10 and 100 mA/cm2.

A single geological carbon dioxide (CO2) storage within salinity aquifer as a paramount stratagem in the context of forthcoming CO2 sequestration initiatives. Within the expansive tapestry of terrestrial salinity aquifers in China, replete with nuances in mineral composition and structural diversity, a paradigm distinct from the marine sedimentary basins of North America, a labyrinthine stratigraphic environment of elevated complexity unfolds. Consequently, conspicuous lacunae and insufficiencies manifest within the existing knowledge reservoir pertaining to CO2-water-rock (mineral) reaction mechanisms. Notably, a conspicuous dearth of insights prevails concerning the dissolution kinetics inherent to individual minerals embroiled in these reactions. The present investigation undertakes a scrupulous exploration into the dissolution and erosive processes manifest within four emblematic terrestrial minerals in conjunction with CO2. Furthermore, the study meticulously scrutinizes the evolution of ionic composition and pH within the formation water throughout the trajectory of the geochemical reactions. To accomplish this, a simulation apparatus is configured to emulate conditions germane to temperature, pressure, and mineralization characteristics characteristic of a prototypical salinity aquifer reminiscent of the Daqing oilfield in China. The findings that emerge from this scrutiny reveal that the erosive action of CO2 fluid begets varying degrees of dissolution within the four minerals under investigation. Moreover, our meticulous inquiry lays bare that, in the terminal phases of the reaction process, feldspar precipitates secondary minerals, characterized primarily by dawsonite, in response to the aquatic milieu typifying the profound salinity stratum of terrestrial sedimentation. This milieu is notably enriched with Na+ ions and NaHCO3. This phenomenon suggests that feldspar, under these specific conditions, assumes the mantle of a mineral amenable to carbon sequestration, thus enriching the reservoir for CO2 mineralization within the salinity stratum of terrestrial sedimentation.

The work presents a mathematical model of a thermogravimetric curve for the growth and simultaneous sublimation of scale on a metal or alloy surface. Reduction of the reaction area as a result of the formation of oxides of alloying elements (for obtaining the basic oxide) is considered for the alloy. For metals, the case where this area is increased as a result of powder metal crushing is also considered. The equations that were obtained are employed to explain the kinetic curves of the mass change of the samples.

In this paper, we analyze the convergence of a finite difference method with the implicit forward time central space (FTCS) scheme for solving the three-dimensional advection-diffusion-reaction equation (ADRE). It is proved that the method is unconditionally convergent. We apply the scheme to obtain numerical solutions for the transport of pollutants in street tunnel problems with various reaction coefficients and various rates of change of concentrations of sources or sinks of pollution.

The development of biosensors for target detection plays a crucial role in advancing various fields of bioscience. This work presents the development of a genosensor that exploits the colorimetric phenol-sulfuric acid sugar reaction for the detection of DNA, and RNA as specific targets, and DNA intercalator molecules. The biosensor combines simplicity and reliability to create a novel bio-assay for accurate and rapid analysis. A 96-well microplate based on polystyrene polymer was used as the platform for an unmodified capture DNA immobilization via a silanization process and with (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES). After that, a hybridization step was carried out to catch the target molecule, followed by adding phenol and sulfuric acid to quantify the amount of DNA or RNA sugar backbone. This reaction generates a yellow-orange color on the wells measured at 490 nm that was proportional to the target concentration. Under the optimum conditions, a calibration curve was obtained for each target. The developed biosensor demonstrated high sensitivity, good selectivity, and linear response over a wide concentration range for DNA and RNA targets. Additionally, the biosensor was successfully employed for the detection of DNA intercalator agents that inhibit the hybridization of DNA complementary to the immobilized capture DNA. The developed biosensor offers a potential tool for sensitive and selective detection in various applications, including virus diagnosis, genetic analysis, pathogenic bacteria monitoring, and drug discovery.

The ozonation reaction in a bubble column reactor (BCR) has been widely used in the removal of phenol from wastewater, but the phenol removal efficiency in this type of reactor is limited because of low ozone solubility and reactivity in the system. In the present study, the phenol degradation was enhanced using α-Al2O3 as a packing material and a ZnO nanocatalyst in the BCR. The reactor diameter and height were 8 cm and 180 cm, respectively. The gas distributor was designed to include 52 holes of 0.5-mm diameter. Also, the gas holdup, pressure drop, and bubble size were measured as a function of the superficial gas velocity (i.e., 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 cm/s). The evaluation of the hydrodynamic parameters provided a deep understanding of the ozonation process to select the optimal operating parameters in the reactor. It was found that the best superficial gas velocity was 2.5 cm/s. A complete (100%) phenol removal was achieved for phenol concentrations of 15, 20, and 25 ppm at reaction times of 80, 90, and 100 min, respectively, using α-Al2O3 packing material and a ZnO nanocatalyst in the BCR. Additionally, the results provided a clear reaction mechanism describing the ozonized BCR. Finally, the applied treatment method can be used efficiently to remove phenol from wastewater at a low cost, with little consumed energy, and a simple operation.

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) nanosheets have shown extensive applications due to their excellent physical and chemical properties. However, the low light absorption efficiency limits their application in optoelectronics. By rolling up 2D TMDCs nanosheets, the one-dimensional (1D) TMDCs nanoscrolls are formed with spiral tubular structure, tunable interlayer spacing and opening ends. Due to their increased thickness of scroll structure, the light absorption is enhanced. Meanwhile, the rapid electron transportation is confined along the 1D structure. Therefore, the TMDCs nanoscrolls show improved optoelectronic performance compared to 2D nanosheets. In addition, the high specific surface area and active edge site from bending strain of basal plane make them promising materials for catalytic reaction. Thus, the TMDCs nanoscrolls have attracted intensive attention in recent years. In this review, the structure of TMDCs nanoscrolls is firstly demonstrated and followed by various preparation methods of the TMDCs nanoscrolls. Afterwards, the applications of TMDCs nanoscrolls in the fields of photodetection, hydrogen evolution reaction, and gas sensing are discussed.

The plastic deformation behavior of 3Y-TZP with weak electric current in oxygen-lean atmosphere was investigated. An electrochemical reduction reaction, induced by the electric current, can significantly promote the plastic deformation of 3Y-TZP at furnace temperature of 1200 °C and a strain rate of 6.67 × 10−4 s−1. Especially, a remarkable variation of the electrical property and grain growth were observed in 3Y-TZP during the deformation. The stress exponent ranging within 2~3 indicated that the deformation was dominated by grain boundary sliding. The applied electric current decreased the apparent activation energy Q of the deformation from 465 kJ mol-1 to 315 kJ mol-1, resulting in a transition of the diffusion mechanism from the lattice diffusion to the grain boundary diffusion. These phenomena were mainly attributed to the enhancement of the cation diffusion caused by the electrochemical reduction reaction, which induced by the electric current in oxygen-lean atmosphere.

This study involved the fabrication of a set of Aluminum ion-grafted SBA-15 utilizing ethylene-diamine and trimethylamine ionic liquids. The primary objective was to examine the impact of the fabrication environment on the physicochemical characteristics of the catalysts. Comprehensive characterization of the Al-SBA-15 catalysts was conducted using various techniques, including XRD, FTIR, surface area, pyridine FTIR, 27Al-NMR, TGA, HRTEM, and FESEM, to analyze their physicochemical characteristics. Furthermore, the acidic characteristics were examined by con-ducting potentiometric titration in a nonaqueous solvent and employing FTIR spectroscopy to an-alyze the chemisorbed pyridine. The effectiveness of the fabricated acid materials was evaluated by testing their performance in the acetic acid esterification with butanol. The findings obtained reveal that the mesostructured of SBA-15 remains intact following the successful inclusion of Al3+ ions into the silica frameworks. Additionally, a remarkable enhancement in the existence of both Bronsted and Lewis acid centers is noted due to the grafting process of Al3+ ions. At temperatures of 80°C and 100°C, the reaction in Al-SBA-15(T-120) proceeds swiftly, reaching approximately 32% and 38% conversion, respectively, within a span of 110 minutes. The excellent catalytic performance observed in the esterification reaction can be attributed to two factors: the homogeneous distribution of Al3+ ions within the SBA-15 frameworks and the acidic character of Al-SBA-15. The findings further indicate that the grafting process for incorporating Al3+ ions into the silica matrix is more efficient.

In the first wave of COVID-19, up to 20% of patients had skin lesions with variable characteristics. There is no clear evidence of the involvement of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in all the cases; some of these lesions may be secondary to drug hypersensitivity. To analyze the possible cause of the skin lesions, we performed a complete allergology study on 11 patients. One year after recovery from COVID-19, we performed a lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) and Th1/Th2 cytokine secretion assays of PBMC. We included 5 nonallergic patients treated with the same drugs without lesions. Except for one patient who had an immediate reaction to azithromycin, all patients had a positive LTT to at least one of the drugs tested (azithromycin, clavulanic acid, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, and ritonavir). None of the nonallergic patients had a positive LTT. We found mixed Th1/Th2 cytokine secretion (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and IFN-γ) in patients with skin lesions corresponding to mixed drug hypersensitivity type IVa and IVb. In all cases, we identified a candidate drug as the culprit for skin lesions during SARS-CoV-2 infection, although only three patients had a positive drug challenge. Therefore, it would be reasonable to recommend avoiding the drug in question in all cases.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely used technique in the biosciences and has become increasingly popular in recent years. One of the key elements of this technique is the use of a DNA polymerase that is heat-stable and retains fidelity during the process. To this end, archaeal Fam-ily-B DNA polymerases are preferred due to their high thermostability and fidelity. In particular, the DNA polymerase from Thermus aquaticus (Taq DNApol) is widely utilized in PCR procedures. In this work, a novel in-silico structure-based methodology was employed to examine the most heat-tolerant DNA polymerase available. In spite of this, Thermococcus kodakarensis and Geobacillus stearothermophilus DNApol are more stable and heat-tolerant DNApols due to their high number of intra-protein interactions. Variations in the content of polar amino acids also played a significant role in the increase in heat stability. A further factor contributing to the stability of proteins is the stabilization of helix in secondary structure through the use of charged amino acids. DNApol from these organisms has been shown to be suitable for use in PCR, as well as in other biological processes able to withstand high temperatures. In this study, it has been demonstrated that im-provements in PCR performance can be easily obtained by blending elements from closely related archaeal polymerases, a strategy that may, in the future, be extended to other archaeal polymer-ases. This approach allowed for a comprehensive analysis of the enzyme's thermal stability and fidelity, leading to an improved understanding of the polymerase's properties and potential ap-plications

The hydrogenation of CO2 is a reaction of key technological and environmental importance, as it contributes to the sustainable production of fuels while assisting in the reduction of a major greenhouse gas. The reaction has been studied extensively in the literature, with noble metal catalysts receiving significant attention within the catalysis and electrocatalysis communities. In this respect, the Electrochemical Promotion of Catalysis (EPOC) has been applied successfully to the CO2 hydrogenation reaction to improve the catalytic activity and selectivity of conductive films supported on solid electrolytes. However, designing an effective electrocatalytic reactor remains a challenge due to the connections required between the electrodes and the external potentiostat/galvanostat. This drawback could be alleviated if the catalytic reaction occurs in a reactor that simultaneously operates as a power generator. In this work, the Electrochemical Promotion of the CO2 hydrogenation reaction in a low temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) reactor is studied using yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and a platinum (Pt) catalyst. The system has been studied in two distinct operation modes: (i) when the necessary energy for the electrochemical promotion is produced through the parallel reaction of H2 oxidation (galvanic operation) and (ii) when a galvanostat/potentiostat is used to impose the necessary potential (electrolytic operation).

It is at the chemistry-biology interface that this work that we have carried out takes place. Indeed, the expected goal is to develop simple molecules, capable of activating the catalytic action of certain metalloenzymes such as tyrosinase. The official name of an enzyme includes the type of reaction catalyzed, the name of the substrates involved. In this work, we carried out the study of the catalytic activity of the complexes of organotin carboxylates synthesized vis-à-vis the oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcatecchol. The results obtained show that the various complexes exhibit good catalytic activity for the oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcatecchol under mild conditions. The complexes that showed good catalytic activity are the compounds C1 and C2.

The host-guest inclusion strategy has potential to surpass the limitations of energy density and suboptimal performances of single explosives. The guest molecules can not only enhance the detonation performance of host explosives but can also enhance their stability. Therefore, the deeply analysis the role of guest influence on the pyrolysis decomposition of the host-guest explosive is necessary. The whole decomposition reaction stage of CL-20/H2O, CL-20/CO2, CL-20/N2O, CL-20/NH2OH was calculated by ReaxFF-MD. The incorporation of CO2, N2O and NH2OH significantly increase the energy levels of CL-20. However, different guest has little influence on the initial decomposition paths of CL-20. The Ea1 and Ea2 values of CL-20/CO2, CL-20/N2O, CL-20/NH2OH systems are higher than the CL-20/H2O system. Clearly, incorporation of CO2, N2O, NH2OH can inhibit the initial decomposition and intermediate decomposition stage of CL-20/H2O. Guest molecules get heavily involved in the reaction and influence on the reaction rate. k1 of CL-20/N2O and CL-20/NH2OH systems are significantly larger than that of CL-20/H2O at high temperatures. k1 of CL-20/CO2 system is much complex, which can be affected deeply by temperatures. k2 of CL-20/CO2, CL-20/N2O system is significantly smaller than that of CL-20/H2O at high temperatures. k2 of CL-20/NH2OH system is little difference at high temperatures. For the CL-20/CO2 system, the k3 value of CO2 is slight higher than that for CL-20/H2O, CL-20/N2O, CL-20/NH2OH systems, while the k3 values of N2 and H2O are slight smaller than that for CL-20/H2O, CL-20/N2O, CL-20/NH2OH systems. For the CL-20/N2O system, the k3 value of CO2 is slight smaller than that for CL-20/H2O, CL-20/CO2, CL-20/NH2OH systems. For the CL-20/NH2OH system, the k3 value of H2O is slight larger than that for CL-20/H2O, CL-20/CO2, CL-20/N2O systems. These mechanisms revealed that CO2, N2O and NH2OH molecules inhibit the early stages of the initial decomposition of CL-20, and play an important role for the decomposition subsequently.

This work presents a methodology that seeks to be a new standard in modeling identification in anaerobic digestion reactors. Because it is not possible to measure all variables with reliable and cost-efficient real-time methods, a specific structure composed of an asymptotic observer for the concentration of state variables; acidogenic and methanogenic bacterias, unlock the use of new types of raw sludges for industrial control and monitoring purposes. New yield parameters were included in the reduced anaerobic digestion model (ADM2) used as the core, precisely two terms in total alkalinity, to bring about the modeling of additional organic materials at inlet containing proteins or amino acids. The fermentation of these substances introduces ammonium, providing variations in the amount of alkalinity available inside the reaction. The new model is used to solve an optimization problem that calculates the parameters that best fit the dynamics of state variables with the same information taken on the experimental data. The adjustment process started with the genetic algorithm; however, to improve the performance, a novel method is proposed called step-ahead. Together, including the design of an asymptotic observer, numerical simulations demonstrate the strengths of the structure, which constitutes a significant step in paving the way further to implement feasible, cost-effective control and monitoring systems in the industry.

Purpose of the study was to explore the association of cognition with hazardous drinking, binge drinking and alcohol use disorder in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Cognitive deficits are common in schizophrenia. Alcohol might be associated with additional cognitive impairment in schizophrenia patients. The study population included 3362 schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder patients in Finland. Hazardous drinking was screened with the AUDIT-C (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test for Consumption) screening tool. Binge drinking was obtained from the AUDIT-C. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnoses were obtained from the national registrar data. Participants performed two computerized tasks from the Cambridge automated neuropsychological test battery (CANTAB) on tablet computer: the 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT), or, reaction time (RT) test and the Paired Associative Learning (PAL) test. Association of alcohol use with RT test and PAL test was analyzed with log-linear regression and logistic regression, respectively. After adjustment for age, education and age at first psychotic episode, hazardous drinking in females was associated with lower median RT. Compared to never binge drinkers, male and female participants drinking 6 or more doses of alcohol monthly or less had lower median RT. In the PAL test both first trial memory score (FTMS) and total errors adjusted score (TEAS) were associated with better performance in males drinking 6 or more doses of alcohol weekly or more and in females drinking 6 or more doses monthly or less. Higher PAL TEAS was associated with AUD in females Some positive associations between alcohol and cognition were found in male and female schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder patients with hazardous drinking and binge drinking.

The efficiency of performance in various sports has the development of certain specific skills at its core. In ice hockey, both the technical aspects (techniques, stance) and the cognitive ones (keeping attention on the puck, game strategy, etc.) are highly important. This study is aimed at the identification of specific features that determine the performance efficiency of professional hockey players. We used virtual reality (VR) to study the differences between professional ice hockey players and novices in terms of motor responses to the puck’s presentation on different levels of difficulty. The study involved 22 participants, 13 of them being professional ice hockey players (M_age=20±2.9; mean age of training experience М=14.18±3.8) and 9 being not experienced participants (M_age=20±1.4). The study showed that the stick response time of professional hockey players is significantly higher (0.98 ms vs 1.5 ms, p≤0.05) in more difficult situations close to a real game. Moreover, professionals proved to have more stable movement patterns of the knee and hip joints. They also make fewer head movements as a response to stimuli during all runs (0.66 vs 1.25, p≤0.05). Therefore, the results indicate specific spatial-temporal, technical and tactical, and energetic determinants, that ensure higher performance efficiency in hockey players

Significant progress has been made in understanding the computational and neural architecture that mediates eye and hand movements made in isolation. However, less is known about the mechanisms that control these movements when they are coordinated. Here, we outline our computational approaches using accumulation-to-threshold and race-to-threshold models to elucidate the mechanisms that initiate and inhibit these movements. We suggest that, depending on the behavioral context, the initiation and inhibition of coordinated eye-hand movements can operate in two modes- coupled and decoupled. The coupled-mode operates when the task context requires a tight coupling between the effectors; a common command initiates both effectors, and a unitary inhibitory process is responsible for stopping them. Conversely, the decoupled mode operates when the task context demands weaker coupling between the effectors; separate commands initiate the eye and hand, and separate inhibitory processes are responsible for stopping them. We hypothesize that higher-order control processes assess the behavioral context and choose the most appropriate mode. This computational architecture can explain heterogeneous results observed across many studies that have investigated the control of coordinated eye-hand movements and may also serve as a general framework to understand the control of complex multi-effector movements.

With the aim of profitable conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) in an efficient, economical and sustainable manner, we developed a CuBr/ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate) catalytic system which could efficiently catalyze the three-component reactions of propargylic alcohols, 2-aminoethanols, and CO2 to produce 2-oxazolidinones and α-hydroxy ketones. Remarkably, this catalytic system employed lower metal loading (0.0125-0.5 mol%) but exhibited the highest turnover number (2960) ever reported, demonstrating its excellent activity and sustainability. Moreover, our catalytic system could efficiently work under 1 atm of CO2 pressure and recycle among the metal-catalyzed systems.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of healthcare professionals regarding adverse drug reaction [ADR] monitoring and pharmacovigilance [PV] in India. Materials and Methods: It was a questionnaire based cross sectional observational study. Data was collected with the help of data collection Google form that included the demographics and twenty two survey based questions. Data were analysed by using Microsoft Excel sheet, further analysed for results, including frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Result: The questionnaire was filled by two hundred ten healthcare professionals in which 52.9 % were male and 47.10% of female. Most of the respondents were pharm d students (50.47%). Out of the total 91.4% responded to the definition of pharmacovigilance correctly. 87.6% participants said all ADR should be reported. 86.20% participants think Pharmacovigilance should be taught in detail to healthcare professionals. Most of the respondents (43.8%) always informed the patients about ADR while prescribing the medicines. Conclusion: Study revealed most of the participants have good knowledge about ADR and pharmacovigilance. Difficult to decide whether ADR occur or not and extra work load being major factors responsible for under reporting.

A new class of tetrasubstituted imidazole based compounds was synthesized using a multicomponent one-pot synthesis scheme through a cyclo condensation reaction of benzil, aromatic primary amines, aldehydes and ammonium acetate in glacial acetic acid. The synthesized compounds have been analyzed and characterized by melting point, color, conductivity method, CHN analysis, FT-IR, and UV-Visible. The reaction proceeding was examined by TLC after regular intervals of period. To test biological activity, the synthesized compounds have been examined against various bacterial strains. From the analysis of the antibacterial activity of these synthesized compounds demonstrated that all three imidazole compounds have considerable to significant activity against the strains, and compound K2 was found potent comparatively.

This review describes major advances in the use of functionalized molecular metal oxides (polyoxometalates, POMs) as water oxidation catalysts under electrochemical conditions. The fundamentals of POM-based water oxidation are described together with a brief overview of general approaches to designing POM water oxidation catalysts. Next, the use of POMs for homogeneous, solution-phase water oxidation is described together with a summary of theoretical studies shedding light on the POM-WOC mechanism. This is followed by a discussion of heterogenization of POMs on electrically conductive substrates for technologically more relevant application studies. Stability of POM water oxidation catalysts are discussed on selected examples where detailed data is already available. The review finishes with an outlook on future perspective and emerging themes in electrocatalytic polyoxometalate-based water oxidation research.

Killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) 2DL4 (CD158d) was previously thought to be a human NK-cell-specific protein but its expression has also been demonstrated in human mast cells. Mast cells are involved in allergic reactions via their KIT-mediated and IgE receptor-mediated responses. We recently detected the expression of KIR2DL4 in human cultured mast cells established from peripheral blood derived from healthy volunteers (PB-mast), a human mast cell line (LAD2), and non-neoplastic mast cells, including pathological specimens. An agonistic antibody against KIR2DL4 negatively regulates the KIT- and IgE-receptor-mediated responses of PB-mast and LAD2 cells. In addition, agonistic antibodies and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-G, a natural ligand for KIR2DL4, induce the secretion from these cells of leukemia inhibitory factor and serine proteases, which have been implicated in pregnancy establishment and cancer metastasis. Therefore, KIR2DL4 stimulation with agonistic antibodies and recombinant HLA-G protein may enhance both processes, in addition to suppressing mast-cell-mediated allergic reactions.

The theoretical limits of water sorbate based chemical sorption heat storage are investigated in this study. First, a classification of \textit{thermochemical heat storage} is proposed based on bonding typology. Then, thermodynamics of chemical solid/gas sorption is introduced. The analysis of the reaction enthalpy from the literature indicates that this value is only slightly varying for one mole of water. Using this observation, and with the help of thermodynamical considerations, it is possible to derive conclusions on energy efficiency of closed and open heat storage systems. Whatever the salt, the main results are 1) the energy required for evaporation of water is, at least, 65% of the available energy of reaction and 2) the maximum theoretical energy efficiency of the system is about 1.8.

Silicon-based photoelectrochemical (PEC) conversion system has recently gained attention with its ability to provide cost-efficient and superior photoresponsive behavior in regard to other various semiconductor photoelectrodes. Carbon-based co-catalysts have always shared the spotlight for being rendered as alternative metal-free electrocatalysts intended for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In particular, a representative carbon-derived material, reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) has attracted much attention as a non-metal catalyst for efficient and durable HER. Herein, we have deposited rGO on silicon nanowire (SiNW) structure which shows the highest reduction in the overpotential for HER up to date. This could be attributed to the synergistic effects of rGO and SiNW with unique anisotropic morphology, facile tuning capabilities, and scalable fabrication methods. Combined with nanostructured photocathode, rGO deposited SiNW showed better applied bias photon to current conversion efficiency of 3.16%, which is 158 times higher than that of bare planar Si system. In regard to this development we believe that rGO-SiNW photoelectrodes would pave the way for state-of-the-art highly efficient non-metal catalysts for energy conversion technologies.

In this work, we present some results related with the issue of the Loop Quantum Black Holes (LQBH) thermodynamics by the use of the tunneling radiation formalism. The information loss paradox is also discussed in this context, where we have considered the influence of back reaction effects.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of psychological pressure on corticospinal excitability, the spinal reflex, lower limb muscular activity, and reaction times during a task involving dominant leg movements. Ten healthy participants performed a simple reaction time task by raising the heel of their dominant foot from a switch. After 20 practice trials, participants performed 20 non-pressure and 20 pressure trials in a counterbalanced order. Stress responses were successfully induced, as indexed by significant increases in state anxiety, mental effort, and heart rates under pressure. Significant increases in motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitude of the tibialis anterior muscle (TA) occurred under pressure. In terms of task-related EMG amplitude, the co-contraction rate between the soleus (SOL) and TA muscles significantly increased along with SOL and TA EMG amplitudes under pressure. Hoffmann reflexes for SOL and reaction times did not change under pressure. These results indicate that corticospinal excitability and leg muscle-related EMG activity increase homogeneously during lower limb movements that are performed under psychological pressure.

The stiffness of the myosin cross-bridges is a key factor in analysing possible scenarios to explain myosin head changes during force generation in active muscles. The seminal study of Huxley and Simmons (1971: Nature 233: 533) suggested that most of the observed half-sarcomere instantaneous compliance (=1/stiffness) resides in the myosin heads. They showed with a so-called T₁ plot that, after a very fast release, the half-sarcomere tension reduced to zero after a step size of about 60Å (later with improved experiments reduced to 40Å). However, later X-ray diffraction studies showed that myosin and actin filaments themselves stretch slightly under tension, which means that most (at least two-thirds) of the half sarcomere compliance comes from the filaments and not from cross-bridges. Here we have used a different approach, namely to model the compliances in a virtual half sarcomere structure in silico. We confirm that the T₁ curve comes almost entirely from length changes in the myosin and actin filaments, because the calculated cross-bridge stiffness (probably greater than 0.4 pN/Å) is higher than previous studies have suggested. In the light of this, we present a plausible modified scenario to describe aspects of the myosin cross-bridge cycle in active muscle. In particular, we suggest that, apart from the filament compliances, most of the cross-bridge contribution to the instantaneous T₁ response comes from weakly-bound myosin heads, not myosin heads in strongly attached states. The strongly attached heads would still contribute to the T₁ curve, but only in a very minor way, with a stiffness that we postulate could be around 0.1 pN/Å, a value which would generate a working stroke close to 100 Å from the hydrolysis of one ATP molecule. The new program can serve as a tool to calculate sarcomere elastic properties for any vertebrate striated muscle once various parameters have been determined (e.g. tension, T₁ intercept, temperature, X-ray diffraction spacing results).

The quinoline derivative, N-(7-chloro-4-morpholinoquinolin-2-yl)benzamide, was synthesized in a conventional three-step procedure from 4,7-dichloroquinoline using N-oxidation reaction/C2-amidation reaction/C4 SNAr reaction sequence. The structure of the compound was fully characterized by FT-IR, 1H‐, 13C-NMR, DEPT-135°, and ESI-MS techniques. Its physicochemical parameters (Lipinski’s descriptors) were also calculated using the online SwissADME database. Such derivatives are relevant therapeutic agents exhibiting potent anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties.

In an effort to enhance the efficiency and safety of open-pit mines, this study explores the optimization of end slope road parameters and slope structures, specifically focusing on unmanned driving lanes.A significant aspect of the study is the development of a truck trajectory offset model, which considers the different reaction times between automated sensors and human drivers in adapting to environmental changes. To test these concepts, the study uses numerical simulations to confirm the stability of the proposed end slope designs. Using Victory West Mine No. 1 as a case study, the research determines the optimized width for unmanned driving lanes and the maximum angle for safe steepening of end slopes. The findings indicate that the optimized unmanned lane width for NTE240 mining dump trucks is 1743 mm, allowing for a 2-degree increase in the slope angle at the south end slope. This optimization leads to a steep mining stripping volume of 3.2735 million m³ and a coal output of 2.49628 million tons, maintaining a stripping ratio of 1.31m³/t. These results demonstrate that the unmanned driving road width optimization not only ensures slope safety but also significantly boosts the economic benefits of steep mining in open-pit mines.

Amid global energy challenges, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is gaining traction for green hydrogen production. While catalyst research is ongoing, recognizing electrolyte effects remains crucial for sustainable hydrogen production via renewable-powered water electrolysis. This review delves into the intricate effects of electrolytes on the kinetics of HER. It examines key factors, including pH, cations, anions, impurities, and electrolyte concentration. It is discussed that electrolyte pH alters catalyst-electrolyte interactions and proton concentrations, thereby influencing factors such as hydrogen binding energy, water adsorption, and the overall reaction kinetics. Moreover, it is briefed that electrolyte cations, such as Li+, can impact HER positively or negatively, offering opportunities for improvement based on the metal substrate. Interestingly, there is a potential that HER can be tuned using Li+ ions to modify M-H bond energy, demonstrating flexibility beyond pH levels and counter ions. Varied adsorption energies of metal cations on metal electrodes are also found to influence HER kinetics. The effects of electrolyte anions and impurities are also discussed, emphasizing both positive and negative impacts on HER kinetics. Moreover, it is pointed out that the electrolyte engineering approach enhances the HER kinetics of both metal and carbon-based electrodes without permanent catalyst surface modifications. This review underscores the importance of electrolyte composition, highlighting both challenges and potential solutions in advancing HER research for sustainable energy production.

Cannabidiol, is the first cannabis-derived drug approved for the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), Dravet syndrome (DS), and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC). The current study performed a descriptive analysis followed by a disproportionality analysis of potential adverse events caused by CBD extracted from the database VigiBase®. Further, biological plausibility of the association between CBD and the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor, as possible cause of adverse events was analyzed and discussed. Data were extracted from VigiBase® database using VigiLyze® signal detection and signal management tool. Adverse events in VigiBase® reports were coded using MedDRA, version 19 of Preferred Terms (PTs). Data were uploaded into SPSS software and analyzed via disproportionality analysis. Statistically significant disproportionality signals for CBD were found for “weight decreased” 5.19 (95% CI: 4.54 - 5.70), “hypophagia” 3.68 (95% CI: 3.22 - 5.27), and “insomnia” 1.6 (95% CI: 1.40 - 1.83). Positive IC025 values were found for “weight decreased” (2.2), “hypophagia” (1.3), and “insomnia” (0.5), indicating a surplus of reported cases. CBD’s interactions with 5-HT1A serotonin receptors may offer a potential biological explanation for the occurrence of insomnia in patients. It is noteworthy that the risk profiles mentioned in the prescribing information for CBD as antiepileptic agent by regulatory agencies showed disparities specifically related to the adverse event “insomnia”.

The design and fabrication of low-cost catalysts for highly efficient oxygen reduction is of paramount importance for various renewable energy-related technologies, such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Herein, we report the in situ growth of Fe3N nanoparticles encapsulated N-doped carbon nanotubes on the surface of flexible biomass-derived carbon cloth (Fe3N@CNTs/CC) via a simple one-step carbonization process. Taking advantage of its unique structure, Fe3N@CNTs/CC was employed as a self-standing electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and possessed high activity as well as excellent long-term stability and methanol resistance in alkaline media. Remarkably, Fe3N@CNT/CC can directly play the role of both gas diffusion layer and electrocatalytic cathode in a zinc-air battery without additional means of catalyst loading, and display higher open circuit voltage, power density, and specific capacity in comparison with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. This work is anticipated to inspire the design of cost-effective, easy-preparation, and high-performance air electrodes for advanced electrochemical applications.

High surface area carbon was obtained from -carrageenan – urea cryogels doped with 1.25 – 5 wt% graphene oxide (GO). Incorporation of GO resulted in multifaceted modification in the textural and chemical properties of the carbon cryogel. The thermal decomposition of GO facilitated the formation of micropores resulted in a substantial increase in the apparent surface area (up to 1780 m2/g). The annealing at 1000 °C removed part of the heteroatoms but left behind a high number of defects. While the volatile thermal degradation products of GO affected the porous texture and the surface chemistry in a complex way, its reduced residue resulted in a gradually increasing electrical conductivity. The influence of GO was studied in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and in Li-ion storage application. GO affected the electron transfer mechanism in the ORR tests and challenged the stability of the electrodes. Even if the electrode has been stabilized under oxygen-free conditions, later may undergo destabilization processes during the ORR. The 5 wt% GO doped sample was the most sensitive under oxidative conditions, but finally it exhibited the highest capacitance. In the Li-ion battery tests the coulombic efficiency of all the samples was consistently above 98 %, indicating the great potential of such carbons for efficient Li-ion insertion and reinsertion during the charge – discharge process, thereby providing a promising alternative for graphite-based anodes. The cell from the 1.25% sample showed an initial discharge capacity of 313 mAh/g, 95.1 % capacity retention and 99.3 % coulombic efficiency after 50 charge – discharge cycles.

Coffee is not only a delicious beverage but also an important dietary source of natural antioxidants. We live in an oxidative world where it is impossible to avoid pollution, stress, food additives, radiation, and other sources of oxidants that eventually lead to severe health disorders. Fortunately, there are chemicals in our diet that counteract the hazards posed by the reactive species that trigger oxidative stress. They are usually referred to as antioxidants; some of them can be versatile compounds that exert such a role in various ways. This review summarizes, from a chemical point of view, the antioxidant effects of relevant molecules found in coffee. Their ways of action and trends in activity are analyzed, considering the data gathered so far from both theory and experiments. The influence of the media and pH in aqueous solution, and structure-activity relationships are discussed. The protective role of the explored compounds is examined. A particular section is devoted to derivatives of some coffee components, and another one to their bioactivity. The data used in the analysis come from theoretical anc computational protocols, which have been proven to be very usefull in this context. Hopefully, the information provided here will promote further investigations into the amazing chemistry contained in our morning cup.

Coffee is not only a delicious beverage but also an important dietary source of natural antioxidants. We live in an oxidative world where it is impossible to avoid pollution, stress, food additives, radiation, and other sources of oxidants that eventually lead to severe health disorders. Fortunately, there are chemicals in our diet that counteract the hazards posed by the reactive species that trigger oxidative stress. They are usually referred to as antioxidants; some of them can be versatile compounds that exert such a role in various ways. This review summarizes, from a chemical point of view, the antioxidant effects of relevant molecules found in coffee. Their ways of action and trends in activity are analyzed, considering the data gathered so far from both theory and experiments. The influence of the media and pH in aqueous solution, and structure-activity relationships are discussed. The protective role of the explored compounds is examined. A particular section is devoted to derivatives of some coffee components, and another one to their bioactivity. Hopefully, the information provided here will promote further investigations into the amazing chemistry contained in our morning cup.

To realize the energy recovery of wheat straw, the pyrolysis behavior of wheat straw was studied at three heating rates (10, 20, and 30 K/min) based on thermogravimetric analysis (TG–DTG). Kinetics and thermodynamics were analyzed using Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO) and Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) model-free methods, and reaction mechanism was determined using Coats–Redfern (CR) model-fitting method. The results show that there are three weightlessness stages in the pyrolysis process, of which the second stage was the main weightlessness stage and two distinct peaks of weightlessness were observed in this stage. With increasing heating rate, the main pyrolytic weightlessness peaks of DTG curve shifts to higher temperature. The pyrolysis activation energy calculated by FWO and KAS methods are 165.17–440.02 kJ/mol and 163.72–452.07 kJ/mol, and the pre-exponential factor vary in the range of 2.58×1012–7.45×1036 s-1 and 1.91×1012–8.66×1037 s-1, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters indicates that wheat straw has the favorable conditions for product formation and containes potential energy to be utilized for bioenergy production, its pyrolysis reaction was non-spontaneous and the energy output is stable. CR method analysis shows that the A1/3 random nucleation model is the most suitable mechanism to characterize the pyrolysis process, and random nucleation may be in charge of the main pyrolysis stage. This study can provide a theoretical basis for the thermochemical conversion and utilization of wheat straw.

The present work aims to explain the aluminum hydrolysis reaction kinetics based on properly chosen theoretical model with machined aluminum waste chips and alkali solutions up to 1M as a promoter, and to estimate overall reaction profit. In order to obtain results of better accuracy, we work with flat Al waste chips because a flat surface is preferable to maximally increase the time for created hydrogen bubbles to reach the critical gas pressure. At describing the reaction kinetics, flat shape allows using a planar one-dimensional shrinking core model instead of much complicated polydisperse spheric shrinking core model. We analyze the surface chemical reaction and mass transfer rate steps to obtain the first order rate constant for surface reaction and the diffusion coefficient of aqueous reactant in the byproduct layer, respectively. With our reactor we achieved H2 yield of 1145 mL per 1 g Al with 1M NaOH, which is 92% of the theoretical maximum. At estimation of the profit, we pay much attention to the loss of alkaline and find a crucial dependence on its price. Nevertheless, in terms of consumed and originated materials for sale, conversion of the aluminum waste material into green hydrogen by properly chosen reaction parameters has a positive profit even by consuming alkali of chemical grade.

As the global energy crisis continues, efficient hydrogen production is one of the hottest topics these days. In this sense, establishing catalytic trends for hydrogen production is essential for choosing proper H2 generation technology and catalytic material. Volcano plots for hydrogen evolution in acidic media are well-known, while volcano plot in alkaline media was constructed ten years ago using theoretically calculated hydrogen binding energies. Here we show for the first time that the volcano-type relationships are largely maintained in a wide range of pH values, from acidic to neutral and alkaline solutions, using theoretically calculated hydrogen binding energies on clean metallic surfaces and experimentally measured hydrogen evolution overpotentials. If metallic surfaces are exposed to high anodic potentials, hydrogen evolution can be boosted or significantly impeded, depending on the metal and the electrolyte in which the reaction occurs. Such effects are discussed here and can be used to properly tailor catalytic materials for hydrogen production via different water electrolysis technologies.

3,4-Dihydro-2(1H)-pyridones (3,4-DHPo) and their derivatives are privileged structures present in natural products, which has been increased its relevance due to its biological activity in front of a broad range of targets, but especially for its importance as synthetic precursors of a variety of compounds with marked biological activity. Taking into account the large number of contributions published over the years regarding this kind of heterocycle, here we presented a current view of 3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-pyridones (3,4-DHPo), which include general aspects such as those related to nomenclature, synthesis, and biological activity; but also highlighting the importance of DHPo as building blocks of other relevance structures.

There was a question on “how lanthanides doping in iron oxide affects cure kinetics of epoxy-based nanocomposites?” To answer, we synthesized samarium (Sm)-doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles via electrochemical method and characterized it using FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, EDX, TEM, and XPS analyses. The magnetic particles were uniformly dispersed in epoxy resin to increase the curability of the epoxy/amine system. The effect of the lanthanide dopant on the curing reaction of epoxy with amine was explored by modeling DSC experimental data based on model-free methodology. It was found that Sm3+ in the structure of Fe3O4 crystal participates in cross-linking of epoxy by catalyzing the reaction between epoxide rings and amine groups of curing agents. In addition, the etherification reaction of active OH groups on the surface of nanoparticles reacts with epoxy rings which prolongs the reaction time at the late stage of reaction where diffusion is the dominant mechanism.

Background: Every year, millions of people are hospitalized, and thousands die from influenza A virus (FLUAV) infection. Most cases of hospitalizations and death occur among elderly. Many of these elderly patients are reliant on medical treatment of underlying chronic diseases, such as arthritis, diabetes, and hypertension. We hypothesized that the commonly prescribed medicines for treatment of underlying chronic diseases can affect host responses to FLUAV infection, and thus contribute to morbidity and mortality associated with influenza. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether commonly prescribed medicines could affect host responses to virus infection in vitro. Methods: We first identified 45 active compounds of medicines commonly prescribed in Central Norway. Then we constructed a drug-target interaction network and identified potential implication of these interactions for FLUAV-host cell interplay. Finally, we tested the effect of 45 drugs on viability, transcription and metabolism of mock- and A/WSN/33(H1N1)-infected human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Results: In silico drug-target interaction analysis revealed that many drugs, such as acetylsalicylic acid, atorvastatin, candesartan, and hydroxocobalam, could target and modulate FLUAV-host cell interaction. In vitro experiments showed that these and other compounds at non-cytotoxic concentrations differently affected transcription and metabolism of mock- and FLUAV-infected cells. Conclusion: Many commonly prescribed drugs modulate FLUAV-host cell interactions in vitro and therefore could affect their interplay in vivo, thus, contributing to morbidity and mortality of patients with influenza virus infections.

Abstract: An efficient and environmentally Pumice as a new catalyst for designing of 3,4- dihydropyrimidin-2(1H) ones / thiones via one-pot multi component condensation of aromatic aldehydes, urea/ thiourea and ethyl acetoacetate or acetyl acetone in excellent yields (96-99 %). The advantages using of this new catalyst is very cheap, available, non-toxic, stable under thermal conditions, easy work-up, improved yields, the product of reaction is very pure without using chromatographic methods and solvent free conditions.

Objectives: This meta-analysis was designed to assess the effect of addition of a bead-beating step during DNA extraction to effectively isolate Trichuris trichura DNA for quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR)-based diagnosis. Abstract was reported according to PRISMA-DTA abstract checklist. Methods: Eligibility criteria: qPCR-based molecular studies comparing the inclusion of bead-beating step during the DNA extraction from stool samples with extraction without the step were included in the analysis. Information sources: Studies using real patient samples in community settings were included. PubMed and Google search engine were searched in December 2019. Risk of bias and applicability: Risk of bias and applicability were assessed using QUADAS-2 checklist. Synthesis of results: Odds ratio for individual studies were combined to estimate Random Effects Model odds ratio. Additional literature were searched to discuss biochemical nature of helminth eggs. Results:Included studies: A total of six independent sub-studies were gathered from two published original articles. Division of the two major studies into six sub-studies was indispensable due to natures of the study carried. 128 of total 192 samples (in all studies) were positive for Trichiuris trichiura when bead-beating was used during DNA extraction compared to 108/192 when bead-beating was excluded. Combined odds ratio was 1.66 (95% CI: 1.059 to 2.602). Biochemical nature of helminth eggs was discussed. Discussions: Strengths and limitations: Though only two article were included in the study, six exclusive individual sub-studies were analyzed. Inherent differences in the background prevalence of helminth in study population could impact sensitivity of qPCR. Interpretation: It was found that the inclusion of the bead-beating step during DNA extraction significantly increased the sensitivity of the test.

Smartphones have become an integral part of our everyday lives and keep us busy while doing other primary activities such as driving, cycling or walking in traffic. The problem of digital distraction among drivers has been largely addressed, and interest is growing also on vulnerable road users as well: In fact, high percentages of pedestrians and cyclists are accustomed to checking their devices while moving in traffic. This research links to the presented theme and aims to investigate the extent to which digital distraction in the form of social media app checking influences pedestrian behavior. The focus of the study is specifically on signalized intersections. An outdoor, eye-tracking experiment was conducted on a specific route consisting of various elements typical of urban areas. Participants were asked to walk the predefined route twice, en-countering three signalized intersections: the first time they were asked to walk with their smartphone in hand, the second time without. The recordings of each participant's route were then analyzed, examining reaction time, crossing time and speed, fixations, and gaze paths. The results show a clear impact of digital devices on pedestrians' attention by increasing their reaction and crossing times and decreasing crossing speeds. In addition, the analysis of fixations found that 82.54% of the time was devoted to the smartphone, while interest in other street ele-ments decreased from 16.64% to 4.03%.