The natural history of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 is extremely variable, ranging from asymptomatic infection, to pneumonia, and to complications eventually fatal. We propose here the first model, explaining how the outcome of first, crucial 10-15 days after infection, hangs on the balance between the cumulative dose of viral exposure and the efficacy of the local innate immune response (natural IgA and IgM antibodies, MBL). If SARS-CoV-2 runs the blockade of this innate immunity and spreads from the upper airways to the alveoli in the early phases of the infections, it can replicate with no local resistance, causing pneumonia and releasing high amounts of antigens. The delayed and strong adaptive immune response (high affinity IgM and IgG antibodies) that follows, causes severe inflammation and triggers mediator cascades (complement, coagulation, and cytokine storm) leading to complications often requiring intensive therapy and being, in some patients, fatal. Strenuous exercise and high flow air in the incubation days and early stages of COVID-19, facilitates direct penetration of the virus to the lower airways and the alveoli, without impacting on the airway’s mucosae covered by neutralizing antibodies. This allows the virus to bypass the efficient immune barrier of the upper airways mucosa in young and healthy athletes. In conclusion, whether the virus or the adaptative immune response reach the lungs first, is a crucial factor deciding the fate of the patient. This “quantitative and time-sequence dependent” model has several implications for prevention, diagnosis, and therapy of COVID-19.

Global severity maps of ongoing dengue epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic do not overlap. Countries with high dengue endemicity (>1.5 million cases/year) are observably less hit by COVID-19 in terms of infection, transmission and mortality. Based on non-overlap of dengue and COVID-19 severity maps and evidence of SARS-CoV-2 serological cross-reactions with dengue, we wonder whether immediate immunization of susceptible populations in Europe, North America and Asia (China, Iran) with available live-attenuated dengue vaccines, will cue the anti-viral immune response to thwart COVID-19 (viral interference). Risk of developing post-vaccination “Antibody-dependent Enhancement” is low as dengue is not endemic in the aforesaid regions.

This study aims to explain individual engagement in sustainable waste management behaviors (SWMBs) based on the application of protection motivation theory (PMT). SWMBs include waste avoidance, green purchasing behavior, reuse and recycle, and waste disposal behaviors. This study applies PMT to explore how individuals’ SWMBs are influenced by their perceived threats caused by environmental contamination from waste disposal and their perceived coping capability. The Bangkok metropolitan area was selected as a case study because it has faced serious waste management problems caused by massively increasing amounts of solid waste during the last ten years. Questionnaire surveys were conducted with 193 public and private officers residing in the city of Bangkok. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to justify the effect of individual threat appraisal and coping appraisal on the engagement in SWMBs. The results demonstrated that respondents’ self-efficacy highly influenced all types of SWMBs. The perceived probability of being impacted from pollutants influenced all of the SWMBs except green purchasing behaviors. Response efficacy did not influence all SWMBs; however, the perceived severity of adverse consequences caused by pollutants highly influenced reuse and recycle behaviors. It could be suggested that PMT is well suited for investigating low-cost and simple SWMBs. It could also be suggested that different communication campaigns should be established to enhance citizens’ engagement in each type of SWMB.

The chlorophyll is one of the most important natural pigments used extensively in the food industry. Two important factors for the production of chlorophyll are the use of plants rich in chlorophyll and efficiency of extraction method. Present investigation was performed to compare the extraction of photosynthetic pigments by using solvents of different chemical nature. The purslane plants with different growth behavior viz. Scrollable and standing were grown under shade and sunshine stress condition. Different solvents including diethyl ether, 5% ethanol, pure acetone, 20% acetone, pure methanol and 10% methanol were used to extract chlorophyll and carotenoids from the purslane plant. The results indicated that stress, growth type and different solvents had a significant effect on the extraction of chlorophyll and carotenoids. Different trend was observed in extraction rate for chlorophylls and carotenoids. Among the solvents, pure methanol was the best for extraction of chl a. Methanol and acetone were appropriate solvents to achieve the highest amount of chlorophyll from plant tissues. Among different solvents, pure methanol for chl a, pure acetone and methanol for carotenoids were best solvent for purslane plant with a growing type scrollable of under shade.

The concept of patient confidentiality is nearly as old as the practice of health professions and, has evolved and transformed over the years, from one jurisdiction to the other. Patient confidentiality can be a fundamental human right, an ethical duty or, a legal duty. The Saudi laws have evolved around its Shari’ah-based legal culture, its history and the international human right laws (IHRLs). These elements have moulded the Saudi Arabia’s unique perspective on patient confidentiality. Its confidentiality laws are found scattered in several legislations. Is the Saudi patient confidentiality law able to adequately deal with the contemporary challenges? The study reviewed the relevant Saudi laws in the light the International Humana Rights Laws. Findings suggest that there are issues bordering on the lack of quality comprehensive data protection laws, on clarity and foreseeability of the existing laws, and on the accessibility of the courts. Furthermore, the lack of a system of law reporting and stare decisis potentially gave the judges a wider latitude of discretion in interpreting the laws. Therefore, the study recommends for a comprehensive data protection law with a clear definition of “confidential information”, of data controllers and their role, and of specific safeguards against potential abuses. Others include defining legitimate purposes for using the patient’s data, and his role, and the extent to which he can control the use of his own data. Consistency in legal interpretations, and an improved law reporting system could positively enhance the overall outcome.

Surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) is one of the most versatile technique to modify the surface properties of material. Recent developed metal free SI-ATRP makes such technique more widely applicable. Herein photo-induced metal-free SI-ATRP of methacrylates, such as methyl methacrylate, N-isopropanyl acrylamide, and N,N- dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, on the surface of SBA-15 was reported to fabricate organic-inorganic hybrid materials. SBA-15 based polymeric composite with adjustable graft ratio was obtained. The structure evolution during the SI-ATRP modification of SBA-15 was monitored and verified by FT-IR, XPS, TGA, BET, and TEM. The obtained polymeric composite showed enhanced adsorption ability for the model compound toluene in aqueous. This procedure provides a low cost, ready availability, and facile modification way to synthesize the polymeric composites without the contamination of metal.

In this research paper a novel Ultra Violet Photo Catalyst Oxidation (UVPCO) sensor for air and surface sanitization using Common Source (CS) amplifier is presented. The ultra violet photo catalysis is the process in which the highly reactive radicals like H+, OH-and peroxides ions are produced from air in the presence of the ultra violet radiation and photo catalyst. In this process, the free radicals outbreaks the bio aerosols like bacteria, fungus and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and destroy them. The proposed system is relies on the fast operation of PCS which operates under sub-threshold conditions and reduced computation time. The properties of common source amplifier like very high voltage gain and input output resistance increased the sensitivity as well as stability of the circuit. The system is more user friendly and the outcomes of simulation are fairly in agreement with the theoretical estimation. Keywords: bio aerosol, Photo Catalytic Oxidation (PCO), hydroxyl, hydrogen peroxide, SPICE, surface sanitizer.

Applied electrostatic engineering can be used to construct greenhouses that prevent entry of insect pests. Two types of electric field screen were used to exclude pests from the greenhouse: single- and double-charged dipolar electric field screens (S- and D-screen, respectively). The S-screen consisted of iron insulated conductor wires (ICWs) arrayed in parallel (ICW-layer), a grounded metal net on either side of the ICW-layer, and a direct current voltage generator. S-screens were attached to the side windows of the greenhouse to repel whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) that approached the nets. The D-screen was installed in a small anteroom at the greenhouse entrance to capture whiteflies entering through it. The ICW-layers of the D-screen were oppositely charged with equal voltages and arrayed alternately, and an insulator board or grounded metal net was placed on one side of the ICW-layer. The ICW-layers captured whiteflies entering the electric field of the double-charged dipolar electric field. Three screens equipped with yellow or gray boards or a grounded metal net were installed in the anteroom based on the airflow inside the room, as most whiteflies were brought in by air when the door was opened. Two D-screens with boards were useful for directing the airflow toward the wall with the netted D-screen. This screen eliminated the insects and the pest-free air was circulated inside the greenhouse. The D-screen with the yellow board attracted the whiteflies and was effective for trapping them when there was no wind. Our method kept the greenhouse pest-free throughout the entire period of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivation.

National heatwave plans are aimed at reducing the avoidable human health consequences due to heatwaves, by providing warnings to and improving communication between relevant stakeholders. The aim of this study was to assess the perceptions of key stakeholders within plans in Belgium and the Netherlands on their responsibilities, the partnerships, and the effectiveness of the local implementation in Brussels and Amsterdam. Key informant interviews were held with stakeholders that had an important role in development of the heatwave plan in these countries, or its implementation in Brussels or Amsterdam. Care organisations, including hospitals and elderly care organisations, had a lack of familiarity with the national heatwave plan in both cities, and prioritised heat the lowest. Some groups of individuals, specifically socially isolated individuals, are not sufficiently addressed by the current national heatwave plans and most local plans. Stakeholders reported that responsibilities were not clearly described and that the national plan does not describe tasks on a local level. We recommend to urgently increase awareness on the impact of heat on health among care organisations. More emphasis needs to be given to the variety of heat risk groups. Stakeholders should be involved in the development of updates of the plans.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease has wreaked havoc on the world community in terms of every imaginable parameter. The research output on COVID-19 has been nothing short of phenomenal, especially in the medical and biomedical sciences, where the search for a potential vaccine is being conducted in earnest. Much of the advanced research has been distributed in the leading medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), where the latest research is distributed on a daily basis. The purpose of this paper is to provide some perspectives on 44 interesting and highly topical research papers that have been published in JAMA, at the time of writing, within the past two weeks. The diverse topics include public health, general medicine, internal medicine, oncology, paediatrics, geriatrics, and biostatistics.

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

This article presents the results of a cross-disciplinary applied study exploring investors’ protections in the context of distributed ledger technology (DLT) smart contracts. Fusing legal, business, and technical perspectives, we developed a framework for protection from non-commercial risks for stablecoins, taking advantage of DLT and AI. A key concept we propose is the monitoring of disinformation and fake news to prevent malicious parties from abusing our solution. Based on the similarities between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins, we propose scaling up our results to all future internet investments performed without face-to-face contact between the investor and the company.

Multi-microgrid has many new characteristics, such as bi-directional power flows, flexible operation modes and variable fault currents with different control strategy of inverter interfaced distributed generations (IIDGs). All these featuring aspects pose challenges to multi-microgrid protection. In this paper, current and voltage characteristics of different feeders are analyzed when fault occurs in different positions of multi-microgrid. Based on the voltage and current distribution characteristics of the line parameters, a new protection scheme for the internal fault of multi-microgrid is proposed, which takes the change of phase difference and amplitude of measured bus admittance as the criterion. This scheme with high sensitivity and reliability, has a simple principle and is easy to be adjusted. PSCAD/EMTDC is used in simulation analysis, and simulation results have verified the correctness and effectiveness of the protection scheme.

On 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)Article 17, the Right to Erasure (‘Right to be Forgotten’) came into force making it vital for organisations to identify, locate and delete all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) where a valid request is received from a data subject to erase their PII and the contractual period has expired. This must be done without undue delay and the organisation must be able to demonstrate reasonable measures were taken. Failure to comply may incur significant fines, not to mention impact to reputation. Many organisations do not understand their data, and the complexity of a hybrid cloud infrastructure means they do not have the resources to undertake this task. The variety of available tools are quite often unsuitable as they involve restructuring so there is one centralised data repository. This research aims to demonstrate compliance with GDPR’s Article 17 Right to Erasure (‘Right to be Forgotten’) is achievable in a Hybrid cloud environment by following a list of recommendations. However, 100% retrieval, 100% of time will not be possible, but we show that small organisations running an ad-hoc Hybrid cloud environment can demonstrate that reasonable measures were taken to be Right to Erasure (‘Right to be Forgotten’) compliant.

Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo) is a seasonal vegetable with high nutritional and medical value. Many useful properties of this fruit are attributed to its bioactive compounds. Zucchini fruits (“Yellow” and “Light Green” varieties) and four distinctive components (lutein, β-carotene, zeaxanthin and dehydroascorbic acid)were selected. Firstly it was determinated the lutein, β-carotene, zeaxanthin and dehydroascorbic acid content in these fruits and then, in order to measure the safety and suitability of their use different assays were carried out: (i) Genotoxicity and antigenotoxicity tests to determine the safety and DNA-protection against hydrogen peroxide; (ii) cytotoxicity and (iii) DNA fragmentation assay to evaluate the proapoptotic effect. Results showed that: (i) all the substances were non-genotoxic, (ii) all the substances were antigenotoxic except the highest concentration of lutein, (iii) “Yellow” Zucchini epicarp and mesocarp exhibited the highest cytotoxic activity (IC₅₀ > 0.1 mg/mL and 0.2 mg/mL, respectively) and iv) “Light Green” Zucchini skin and pulp induced internucleosomal DNA fragmentation . To sump up, Zucchini fruit could play a positive role in human health and nutrition due to this fruit and its components were safe, able to inhibit significantly the H₂O₂-induced damage and exhibit antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic properties toward HL60 tumour cells. The information generated from this research should take into account to select potential accessions for breeding programs purposes.

Resveratrol is a phytoalexin produced by many plants as a defense mechanism against stress-inducing conditions. The richest dietary sources of resveratrol are berries and grapes, their juices and wines. Good bioavailability of resveratrol is not reflected in its high biological activity in vivo because of resveratrol isomerization and its poor solubility in aqueous solutions. Proteins, cyclodextrins and nanomaterials have been explored as innovative delivery vehicles for resveratrol to overcome this limitation. Numerous in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated beneficial effects of resveratrol in cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Main beneficial effects of resveratrol intake are cardioprotective, anti-hypertensive, vasodilatory, anti-diabetic, and improvement of lipid status. As resveratrol can alleviate the numerous factors associated with CVD, it has potential as a functional supplement to reduce COVID-19 illness severity in patients displaying poor prognosis due to cardio-vascular complications. Resveratrol was shown to mitigate the major pathways involved in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 including regulation of the renin-angiotensin system and expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, stimulation of immune system and downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines release. Therefore, several studies already have anticipated potential implementation of resveratrol in COVID-19 treatment. Regular intake of resveratrol rich diet, or resveratrol-based complementary medicaments, may contribute to a healthier cardio-vascular system, prevention and control of CVD, including COVID-19 disease related complications of CVD.

The hypothesis that consumption of Aronia melanocarpa berries (chokeberries) extract, recently reported by us to improve bone metabolism in female rats at low-level and moderate chronic exposure to cadmium (1 and 5 mg Cd/kg diet for up to 24 months), may increase the bone resistance to fracture was investigated. Biomechanical properties of the neck (bending test with vertical head loading) and diaphysis (three-point bending test) of the femur of rats administered 0.1% aqueous chokeberry extract (65.74% of polyphenols) or/and Cd in the diet (1 and 5 mg Cd/kg) for 3, 10, 17, and 24 months were evaluated. Moreover, procollagen I was assayed in the bone tissue. The low-level and moderate exposure to Cd decreased procollagen I concentration in the bone tissue and weakened biomechanical properties of the femoral neck and diaphysis. Chokeberry extract administration under the exposure to Cd improved the bone collagen biosynthesis and femur biomechanical properties. The results allow for the conclusion that consumption of chokeberry products under exposure to Cd may improve the bone biomechanical properties and protect from fracture. This study provides support for Aronia melanocarpa berries being a promising natural agent for the skeleton protection under low-level and moderate chronic exposure to Cd.

Reciprocal Personal/Public Protection (RPPP) featured with source control is introduced, Mask Discriminating Mouth and Nose (MDMN) is employed to serve the purpose, which includes polymer based mouth cover with optional nose cover. The new knowledge that mouth is a primary, active and dominant source of the virus has been well established, which is the base of MDMN. Source classification and related source control tools are discussed, mouth cover is recommended as the tool prioritized to use. Liquid droplets is identified as a hard issue related to mask, liquid droplets, mask fitting, comfort and facial recognition constitute real challenges of mask in addition to efficiency, All of these have been addressed with MDMN. Comparisons between MDMN and masks/face covering are taken on four aspects: efficiency and efficacy, tolerance and comfort, cost and waste, and civil rights and public interest. Mouth cover is recommended to replace the face covering and act as both a personal tool and a public utensil, mouth cover with nose cover can provide better protection than N95 etc. RPPP with MDMN, could be an alternative for lockdown, a parallel strategy to vaccine, and a collectively living way during the pandemic era. MDMN, featured with high efficiency protection, high degree comfort, easy wearing, tight-fitting, easy facial recognition & communication, reusability, cost-effective, environment friendly and scale manufacturing more readily and widely etc., is a simple and sustainable solution, which is essential for ordinary people to keep wearing it properly for protection.

STUDY QUESTION: Which are the main research interests among patients of assisted reproductive technologies (ART)? SUMMARY ANSWER: Patients identified as research priorities that deserve further investigation: success rates and risks of ART, side-effects of treatments, resources to cope with infertility, effectiveness of alternative therapies, lifestyle habits to protect fertility, oocyte quality and ovarian reserve, and causes of genetic or hereditary infertility. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: The involvement of patients and caregivers in setting research agendas in medicine has gathered significant momentum in the last decade. Patients’ involvement in setting research priorities offers several benefits: improved patient knowledge and awareness of their condition; greater understanding of the medical professionals of the impact of the condition on patients’ quality of life; reduced costs associated with redundant research activities. This is may be also applicable to research in infertility and ART, where patients’ interests have never been explored before. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This is a cross-sectional study that consists of an anonymous online survey, which was sent up to three times to 2112 patients from 11 fertility centers in 5 countries between January-December 2018. The study design was based on the James Lind Alliance priority setting partnership model, which comprises the identification of patients groups, the exploration of the research agenda, the analysis of collected data and identification of priorities. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Overall, 2112 patients were contacted, and 945 surveys were answered (RR: 44.7%). Patients were asked to identify research questions relevant to them in the areas of infertility causes and prevention, fertility treatments (medication and ART), and the emotional aspects of infertility. Answers were categorized in topics and ranked by frequency. A long list of the top-30 research topics was extracted from the aggregate results, from which, a short list of the top-10 research topics was created. At the end, 10 research questions related to each of the 10 research topics were constructed, based on the answers given by patients. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Female (845, 89.4%) and male (100, 10.6%) patients were included. The mean age of patients was 37.8 (SD 1.74). Most of the patients did not have children at the time of the survey (523, 59%), while 51 (5.7%) were pregnant. Sixty (6.3%) patients did not start treatment, 579 (61.3%) were performing a treatment with their own gametes and 304 (32.2%) were treated through gamete donation. Patients were mainly interested in the effectiveness of ART -especially per clinical profile-, side effects of drugs, protection of fertility and prevention of infertility –especially through diet and exercise-, and psychological aspects of the infertility journey. The top-10 research questions (and weight) obtained were: 1) What are the side-effects of ART treatments? (41.6%); 2) What are the most effective methods to cope with infertility from the psychological point of view? (37.2%); 3) What effects could diet have on fertility? (25.9%); 4) What are ART success rates per clinical profile? (25.9%); 5) Are there habits and lifestyle factors that could prevent infertility? (20.0%); 6) What are the long-term risks associated to ART? (18.5%); 7) Are alternative therapies such as acupuncture, yoga, and meditation effective to treat/prevent infertility? (18.5%); 8) What is the impact of exercise on fertility? (15.4%); 9) How does oocytes quantity and quality affect fertility? (9.5%); 10) What are the genetic patterns or hereditary conditions causing/related to infertility? (9.5%). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Although all respondents had attended a fertility center, not all of them were diagnosed as infertile (i.e. single women) and had started treatment at the time of response, while a few were pregnant; their priorities for research might have been influenced by their infertility journey. Also, all participants attended private fertility centers: areas of interest may be different in public settings. WIDER IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FINDINGS: Researchers and clinicians should keep in mind that, in addition to improvement of treatments’ success rates and side-effects, patients greatly value research on causes, prevention and emotional aspects of infertility. As their views might differ from those of medical professionals, patients’ voices should be incorporated in setting infertility research priorities.

Various studies indicate that vaccination, especially with pneumococcal vaccines, protects against symptomatic cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection and death. This paper explores the possibility that pneumococcal vaccines in particular, but perhaps other vaccines as well, contain antigens that might be cross-reactive with SARS-CoV-2 antigens. Comparison of the glycosylation structures of SARS-CoV-2 with the polysaccharide structures of pneumococcal vaccines yielded no obvious similarities. However, while pneumococcal vaccines are primarily composed of capsular polysaccharides, some are conjugated to CRM197, a modified diphtheria toxin, and all contain about three percent protein contaminants, including the pneumococcal surface proteins PsaA, PspA and probably PspC. All of these proteins have very high degrees of similarity, using very stringent criteria, with several SARS-CoV-2 proteins including the spike protein, membrane protein and replicase 1a. CRM197 is also present in Hib and meningitis vaccines. Equivalent similarities were found at lower rates, or were completely absent, among the proteins in diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, and poliovirus vaccines. Notably, PspA and PspC are highly antigenic and new pneumococcal vaccines based on them are currently in human clinical trials so that their effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 disease is easily testable.

The first two decades of the 21st-century have seen the emergence of the modern citizen science movement, increased demand for niche eco and wildlife tourism experiences, and the willingness of people to voluntarily share information and photographs online. To varying extents, the rapid growth of these three phenomena has been driven by the availability of portable smart devices, access to the Web 2.0 internet from almost anywhere on the planet, and the development of applications and services, including social media/networking sites (SNSs). In addition, the number of peer-reviewed publications that explore how text and images shared on SNSs can be data-mined for academic research has surged in recent years. This systematic quantitative review has two goals. The first goal is to provide an oversight of how the photographs that ecotourists share online are contributing to wildlife tourism research. The second goal is to promote the emerging photovoice technique as a theoretical context for social research based on the photographs and comments that ecotourists share on SNSs. From the perspectives of community benefits, conservation behaviours, and environmental education, there are many similarities between authentic ecotourism experiences and quality ecological citizen science programs. Much of the literature regarding the theory and practice of citizen science reports on the difficulties of attracting, training, motivating and retaining community members. The synthesis of this review is that crowdsourcing wildlife and tourism data from comments and photographs that ecotourists share on SNSs is a credible method of research that provides a self-replenishing pool of citizen scientists.

Alphaviruses, flaviviruses, measles viruses and rhabdoviruses are enveloped single-stranded RNA viruses, which have been engineered as expression vector systems for recombinant protein expression and vaccine development. Due to the presence of non-structural genes encoding the replicase complex, a 200,000-fold amplification of viral RNA occurs in the cytoplasm of infected cells providing extreme transgene expression levels, which is why they are named self-replicating RNA viruses. Expression of surface proteins of pathogens causing infectious disease and tumor antigens provide the basis for vaccine development against infectious diseases and cancer. The self-replicating RNA viral vectors can be administered as replicon RNA, recombinant viral particles, or layered DNA/RNA replicons. Self-replicating RNA viral vectors have been applied for vaccine development against influenza virus, HIV, hepatitis B virus, human papilloma virus, Ebola virus and recently coronaviruses, especially SARS-CoV-2 the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Measles virus and rhabdovirus vector-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates have been subjected to clinical trials. Moreover, RNA vaccine candidates based on self-amplifying alphaviruses have also been evaluated in clinical settings. Various cancers such as brain, breast, lung, ovarian, prostate cancer and melanoma have also been targeted for vaccine development. Robust immune responses and protection have been demonstrated in animal models. Clinical trials have shown good safety and target-specific immune responses. Ervebo, the VSV-based vaccine against Ebola virus disease has been approved for human use.

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in maize (Zea mays L.) is an important trait to maximize yield with minimal input of nitrogen (N) fertilizer. Expired Plant Variety Protection (ex-PVP) Act-certified germplasm may be an important genetic resource for public breeding sectors. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the genetic variation of N-use traits and to characterize maize ex-PVP inbreds adapted to the U.S. Corn Belt for NUE performance. Eighty-nine ex-PVP inbreds [36 stiff stalk synthetic (SSS), and 53 non-stiff stalk synthetic (NSSS)] were genotyped using 26,769 single-nucleotide polymorphisms, then 263 single-cross maize hybrids derived from these inbreds were grown in eight environments from 2011 to 2015 at two N fertilizer rates (0 and 252 kg N ha⁻¹) and three replications. Genetic utilization and the yield response to N fertilizer were stable across environments and were highly correlated with yield under low and high N conditions, respectively. Cluster analysis identified inbreds with desirable NUE performance. However, only one inbred (PHK56) was ranked in the top 10% for yield under both N-stress and high N conditions. Broad-sense heritability across 12 different N-use traits ranged from 0.11 to 0.77, but was not associated with breeding value accuracy. Nitrogen-stress tolerance was negatively correlated with the yield increase from N fertilizer.

The chemical industry is an integral part of the world economy and a substantial income source for developing countries. However, existing regulations or the enforcement of these regulations, on controlling atmospheric pollutants sometimes may be insufficient, leading to the deterioration of surrounding ecosystems and to a quality decrease of the atmospheric environment. Previous works in this domain fail to generate executable solutions for inspection agencies due to practical challenges. In addressing these challenges, we introduce a so-called Chemical Plant Environment Protection Game (CPEP) to generate reasonable schedules of high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations for inspection agencies. First, Stackelberg Security Games (SSGs) are incorporated together with source estimation methods into this research. Second, high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations as well as gas sensors are modeled into the CPEP. Third, simplified data analysis on the regularly discharging of chemical plants is utilized to construct the CPEP. Finally, an illustrative case study is used to investigate the effectiveness of the CPEP Game, and a realistic case study is conducted to illustrate how the models and algorithms being proposed in this paper, work. Results show that playing a CPEP Game can reduce operational costs of high-accuracy air quality monitoring stations; moreover, playing the game leads to more compliance from the chemical plants towards the inspection agencies.

Stimuli-responsive polymeric materials have attracted significant attentions in a variety of high-value-added and industrial applications during the past decade. Among various stimuli, light is of particular interest as a stimulus due to its unique advantages such as precisely spatiotemporal control, mild conditions, ease of use, and tunability. In recent years, a lot of effort toward synthesis of biocompatible and biodegradable polypeptide has resulted in many examples of photo-responsive nanoparticles. Depending on the specific photochemistry, those polypeptide derived nano-assemblies are capable of crosslinking, disassembling, or morphing into other shapes upon light irradiation. In this mini-review, we aim to assess the current state of photo-responsive polypeptide based nanomaterials. First, those “smart” nanomaterials will be categorized by their photo-triggered events (i.e., crosslinking, degradation, and isomerization) which are inherently governed by photo-sensitive functionalities including o-nitrobenzyl, coumarin, azobenzene, cinnamyl, and spiropyran. In addition, the properties and applications of those polypeptide nanomaterials will be highlighted as well. Finally, the current challenges and future directions of this subject will be evaluated.

In a world where conventional sources of energy are fast depleting, the quest for alternative energy sources may hold the key for the survival of humanity. In the present work, emphasis has been given to the idea of producing energy from perovskite based solar cells. In order to bring this idea into fruition, a unique and novel nano structured perovskite material n-propyl ammonium lead chloride (C₃H₇NH₃⁺PbCl₃⁻) was prepared through a unique co-precipitation route using n-propyl amine (n-C₃H₇NH₂) and hydrochloric acid as the starting precursors with aqueous solution of Pb(CH₃COO)₂3H₂O. Finally acetic acid was added to the solution and this solution was allowed to concentrate and then gradually cooled down to room temperature. After math, the synthesized material was spin-coated on TiO₂ film to fabricate the solar cell. The device was then undergone systematic analysis using XRD, SEM, UV and Photo Conversion to get a transparent idea regarding its structural, electrical and optical properties. When experimentally applied, this perovskite-based solar cell has shown energy conversion efficiency (η) of around 6.01 % which is noticeably good. Thus it can be concluded that this material is promising for fabrication of vastly efficient solar cells. This technology can be tried in large scale as an alternative of conventional energy in the near future.

Globally, anthropogenic sound and artificial light pollution have increased to alarming levels. Evidence suggests that these can disrupt critical processes that impact ecosystems and human health. However, limited focus has been given to the potential effects of sound and artificial light pollution on microbiomes. Microbial communities are the foundations of our ecosystems. They are essential for human health and provide myriad ecosystem services. Therefore, disruption to microbiomes by anthropogenic sound and artificial light could have important ecological and human health implications. In this mini-review, we provide a critical appraisal of available scientific literature on the effects of anthropogenic sound and light exposure on microorganisms and discuss the potential ecological and human health implications. Our mini-review shows that a limited number of studies have been carried out to investigate the effects of anthropogenic sound and light pollution on microbiomes. However, based on these studies, it is evident that anthropogenic sound and light pollution have the potential to significantly influence ecosystems and human health via microbial interactions. Many of the studies suffered from modest sample sizes, suboptimal experiments designs, and some of the bioinformatics approaches used are now outdated. These factors should be improved in future studies. This is an emerging and severely underexplored area of research that could have important implications for global ecosystems and public health. Finally, we also propose the photo-sonic restoration hypothesis: does restoring natural levels of light and sound help to restore microbiomes and ecosystem stability?

Structural perturbations in the Mn4CaO5 cluster site, an oxygen-evolving complex of photosystem II, such as those induced by Ca2+/Sr2+ exchanges or Ca/Mn-removal have been known to induce long-range positive shifts (+30 mV to +150 mV) in the redox potential of the primary quinone electron acceptor plastoquinone A (QA) located 40 Å distant from the OEC. Here, we reanalyzed the crystal structure of Sr-PSII solved at 2.1 Å and compare it with the native Ca-PSII of 1.9 Å with focus on the acceptor site and report on the possible long-range interactions between the donor, Mn4Ca(Sr)O5 cluster, and acceptor sites.

In this research work, an adaptive scheme for the coordinated protection of AC Microgrids using directional overcurrent (DOCR) relays is presented. Protection of AC MGs is a complex and challenging issue due to the dynamic nature of the network including, a) its capability to reconfigure the modes of operation ranging from grid-connected to the islanded mode, c) bidirectional-power flow capability, and c) integration of intermittent renewable energy resources with real-time variations in the resource availability. Consequently, the fault current contributions may largely vary depending upon the incident conditions on the network. Conventional protection schemes, generally designed for radial networks, and unidirectional power flow from the source end to the load may either mal-operate or exhibit very poor performance, if not adapted according to the dynamic conditions of the network. To address this issue, a communication-based adaptive protection scheme capable to adapt its settings according to the generation resource availability and network configuration is presented in this work. The proposed scheme consists of an intelligent central protection unit (ICPU) capable to update the settings and communicate it to the individual relays based on the pre-calculated offline settings. The directional overcurrent relays employed in the scheme use two-stage settings, i.e. definite time and inverse definite minimum time characteristics for the effective coordination among the downstream and upstream relays. An adaptive algorithm for ICPU operation is presented and a case study is implemented for a modified IEEE 9-bus system using DigSilent Power factory. The results for various scenarios including, a) grid-connected mode of operation, b) islanded mode of operation, and c) variable distributed generation mode are obtained and compared to the static scheme, which validates the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Microgrids of varying size and applications are regarded as a key feature of modernizing the power system. The protection of those systems, however, has become a major challenge and a popular research topic for the reason that it involves greater complexity than traditional distribution systems. This paper addresses the issue through a novel approach which utilizes detailed analysis of current and voltage waveforms through windowed fast Fourier and wavelet transforms. The fault detection scheme involves bagged decision trees which use input features extracted from the signal processing stage and selected by correlation analysis. The technique was tested on a microgrid model developed using PSCAD/EMTDS, which is inspired from an operational microgrid in Goldwind Sc. Tech. Co. Ltd, in Beijing, China. The results showed great level of effectiveness to accurately identify faults from other non-fault disturbances, precisely locate the fault and trigger opening of the right circuit breaker/s under different operation modes, fault resistances and other system disturbances.

This article sets out to deconstruct and challenge the psychologised and pathologising approach that has come to dominate child protection practice in Aotearoa-New Zealand and comparable societies in neoliberal times. Within a risk and protection focused paradigm circumstances and behaviours associated with material deprivation are construed as indicators of heightened danger and harm as opposed to a means of better understanding family life. In this way, although poverty may be classified as an issue that is worthy of attention in the realm of broader economic and social policy, structural inequality is rendered largely irrelevant to the practice of statutory child protection. This article sets out to trouble this construction. It will be argued that understandings of how the effects of material inequality are played out in the lives of children and their families are critical to the development of more effective child protection social work. This ‘life-world’ is generally populated by young women parenting in poverty. Poverty exacerbates the everyday struggle of parenting - it shames and dis-empowers; reducing confidence and perceptions of competence (Gupta, 2015). A paradigm shift is needed. Child protection policy and practice needs to re-engage with the every-day struggles that accompany the lives of socially marginalised families in increasingly stratified late capitalist society. The future of social work in child protection depends on it.

Land degradation monitoring and assessment in the Sahel zone has relied substantially on temporal trends of remote sensing-based vegetation indices, which are proxies for the bioproductivity of the land. However, prior studies have shown that negative or positive trends in bioproductivity are not necessarily associated with degradation or improvement of land condition. In this short communication, while acknowledging the contributions of remote sensing-based indices and global-scale datasets to dismantling an outdated desertification narrative, we argue that local land users have much to contribute to our understanding of land degradation, and particularly to ensuring that scientific assessments of degradation capture variables relevant to them. We used the participatory photo elicitation method in three sites in the Senegalese Ferlo in order to elicit local pastoralists’ perspectives on land degradation and identify the indicators that they use to characterize pasture quality, while empowering them to lead the discussion. The discussion revealed indicators far beyond bioproductivity, including livestock performance as well as composition and quality of the herbaceous and woody vegetative cover, invasive species, soil quality and water availability. We found that the pastoralists’ knowledge and interest in the issue could potentially be harnessed more systematically, and at larger scales, in order to build a spatially explicit field-based knowledge base of land degradation complementary to remote sensing-based maps of trends in bioproductivity. Such a dataset could serve as a standalone product or as a reference dataset for development and validation of remote sensing-based indicators.

This paper presents a method for a decentralised peer-to-peer software license validation system using cryptocurrency blockchain technology to ameliorate software piracy, and to provide a mechanism for software developers to protect copyrighted works. Protecting software copyright has been an issue since the late 1970's and software license validation has been a primary method employed in an attempt to minimise software piracy and protect software copyright. The method described creates an ecosystem in which the rights and privileges of participants are observed.

Avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is the causative agent of infectious bronchitis, which causes considerable economic losses to the poultry industry worldwide. It is imperative to develop safe and efficient candidate vaccines to control IBV infection. In the current study, recombinant baculoviruses co-expressing S1 and N proteins, mono-expressing S1 or N proteins alone of IBV were constructed and prepared into subunit vaccines rHBM-S1-N, rHBM-S1 and rHBM-N. The levels of immune protection of these subunit vaccines were evaluated by inoculating specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens at 14 days of age, boosting with the same dose 14 days later, and following challenge with a virulent GX-YL5 strain of IBV 14 days post-booster (dpb). The commercial vaccine strain H120 was used as a control. The IBV-specific antibody levels as well as the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes were detected within 28 days post-vaccination (dpv). The morbidity, mortality, and re-isolation of virus from the tracheas and kidneys of challenged birds were evaluated at 5 days post-challenge (dpc). The results showed that the IBV-specific antibody levels and the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte in rHBM-S1-N group were higher than those of rHBM-S1 and rHBM-N groups, especially the cellular immunity response. At 5 dpc, the mortality, morbidity and virus re-isolation rate of rHBM-S1-N were slightly higher than those of H120 group, but were lower than those of rHBM-S1 group and rHBM-N group. The present study demonstrated that the protection of recombinant baculovirus co-expressing S1 and N proteins was better than that of recombinant baculoviruses mono-expressing S1 or N protein alone. Thus, the recombinant baculovirus co-expressing S1 and N proteins could serve as a potential IBV vaccine and this demonstrates that the bivalent subunit vaccine including the S1 and N proteins might be a strategy for the development of an IBV subunit vaccine.

Traditional phase change composites usually suffer poor mechanical property and easy collapsing in the phase changing process. Herein, a highly flexible phase change composite is fabricated using thermoplastic elastomer as the basic gel and the expanded graphite/paraffin as the filler. This new phase change composite shows a tensile strength of 2.1 MPa and a breaking elongation of 220%. It has a melting enthalpy of 145.4 J•g^-1 and a thermal conductivity of 2.2 W•m^-1•K^-1 with 70% of expanded graphite/paraffin. The thermoplastic elastomer based phase change composite exhibits great reversible property after 200 heating/cooling cycles. This flexible phase change composite demonstrates good photo-thermal energy charging/discharging property and shows great potential to be applied in the solar thermal energy systems.

Many agricultural water uses crowd the river ecology of the river water, thus leading to irreversible habitat damage. This paper presents an agricultural economic loss calculation model that is based on river ecological basic flow (REBF) protection by introducing a typical crop water requirement coefficient. First, the water balance equation is used according to a set of REBF protection values to compute the agricultural water shortage that results in the REBF. Second, the agricultural water shortage that results in REBF protection and a typical crop water requirement coefficient are used to determine the food production generated by REBF protection. Finally, the loss of food production and the food market prices are used to determine the agricultural economic loss caused by the different protection levels of REBF. A case study of the Weihe River in China is conducted. The calculation model is used to compute the agricultural economic loss on the basis of REBF protection in the Baoji section of the Weihe River, and the change law of the agricultural economic loss that results in different levels of the REBF is discussed. In addition, changes in the canal water use coefficient and the crop structure that affect agricultural economic loss are analyzed. Results show that the spatial and temporal variations in the runoff affect the changes in time and space of the agricultural economic loss. The higher the REBF protection level, the higher the agricultural economic loss. In addition, agricultural economic loss can provide a quantitative basis for reasonable REBF protection. The size of agricultural economic loss helps the government sector in decision-making on REBF protection.

Although floods, as well as other natural disasters, can be considered relevant causes of intra-generational inequalities, the frequent catastrophes and the resulting damages to territory reflect the generalized indifference about inter-generational justice. Societal concerns, such as land protection, typically involve the administrative system performing proactive policies in the perspective of inter-generational solidarity, but subsidiarity has made more and more independent the local communities. As a consequence, the attention toward the long run effects – typically concerning the territorial system, as a whole, at the geographical scale – has been dispersed, and the proactive policies coming from the central government has became more ineffective. Regarding the case of the flood happened in 2009 in the Fiumedinisi-Capo Peloro hydraulic basin, in the northeastern part of Sicily, Italy, we propose an economic valuation – carried out by performing the method of the imputed preferences – in order to compare the expenses incurred by the public authorities responsible for protecting the territory to the costs of the rehabilitation of the damaged areas. Some considerations about the economic significance of the proactive policies for the arrangement of territory are addressed according to the role played by the social discount rate in the inter-temporal economic calculation.

In this paper a protection scheme is provided to protect microgrid by considering the problems that are generated by addition of distributed generators to distribution networks and change these networks from passive to active. At first, changes in microgrid conditions that can affect short-circuit current is explained. Then Based on these changes, an algorithm is proposed to update relays settings. The algorithm can be used for both instantaneous and inverse time relays. In this protection scheme, central unit has no place and relays are responsible for monitoring microgrid and update their settings. In other words, this protection scheme is an adaptive and decentralized microgrid protection scheme. Instantaneous overcurrent relays are used in this paper. To avoid storing large amounts of setting data in relays memory, a method for calculating pickup current of instantaneous relay is provided. Since digital relays used, a new characteristic curve for instantaneous relay for better performance in the field of backup protection is defined. This new characteristic curve has two peakup currents: one of them for main protection and the other one for backup protection. Then coordination of instantaneous relay using the new characteristic curve is explained. At the end, this protection scheme is implemented on a microgrid.

This review examines the categorization of Essentially Derived Varieties (EDV) introduced in the 1991 revision of the Convention of the Union internationale pour la protection des obtentions végétales (UPOV). Challenges in the implementation of the concept and progress made on a crop-by-crop basis to provide greater clarity and more efficient implementation are reviewed. The current approach to EDV remains valid provided i) clarity on thresholds can be achieved including through resource intensive research on an individual crop species basis and ii) that threshold clarity does not lead to perverse incentives to avoid detection of essential derivation. However, technological advances leading to new varieties resulting from the simultaneous introduction or change in expression of more than “a few” genes will so challenge the concept to require a new Convention. Revision could include deletion of the concept of essential derivation and revision on a crop-by-crop basis of the breeder exception. Countries that allow utility patents for individual plant varieties per se should consider removing that possibility unless plant breeders utilize those encouragements for risk taking and investment to broaden the germplasm base upon which the long-term sustainability of plant breeding resides.

This data descriptor summarizes the process applied and data gathered from 50 publications/papers reporting on the use of photography generated by tourists, tour operators and members of the public, with a particular focus on the crowdsourcing of photographs through online platforms and social networking sites (SNSs) as a method of research for wildlife conservation and ecotourism. The papers were collected in a systematic literature review to inform a pilot study of the feasibility of using SNSs to crowdsource georeferenced photographs of endangered Bornean Pygmy Elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis) taken by ecotourists along the Lower Kinabatangan River region of Sabah, Malaysia. Papers were sourced using the Murdoch University Findit online-search tool to search over 100 databases, including Proquest, Scopus and Web of Science. The criteria for a paper to be included in the review (and shared via the dataset attached to this this data descriptor) were that it was peer-reviewed, published in English, between 1997 and the 31 December 2017, had the full text accessible online and reported on a study or studies that utilized photographs that tourists, tour operators and/or members of the public generated and shared via SNSs or online platforms.

Children’s right to participation in child protection decision-making is supported by moral imperatives and international conventions. The fragmented implementation of this right reflects an already-conflicted discursive terrain that attempts to incorporate both children’s agency and their need for protection. This article uses two key theoretical lenses to further examine this terrain: child welfare inequalities and cultural capital. These theories draw attention to how social inequities and cultural capital relating to culture and class affect how participation plays out. An unintended consequence of constructing children within a traditional liberal account of rights, within neoliberal and ‘child focussed’ policy paradigms, is the reduction of an acknowledgment of the culturally contested nature of an individualistic construction of children, excising children from their social backgrounds and promoting the notion of a ‘universal child’. With a particular focus on class, culture and professional paradigms, I argue that the ways children’s views are elicited, the content of those views and how they are interpreted, become subject to a set of professional assumptions that tend to take little cognisance of the social backround of children, including norms relating to class, ethinicity and the oppressive structural relations relating to those two factors. This process is shored up with concepts such as attachment theory, the ‘adultification’ of children of colour, the diminishing of Indigenous concepts of children and childhood, and the pre-eminence of the ‘concerted cultivation’ middle class parenting style. The child’s cultural worldview and manner of expressing it may clash with professional cultures that emphasise an ability for verbal expression, independence, and entitlement when negotiating preferences with representatives of powerful social institutions such as child protection systems. Many children may not comply with this expectation due to both cultural and class socialisation processes, and the histories of the oppressive functions of child protection systems. The unspoken power of child protection organisations that must engage in constant translation of children’s cultural capital to ensure participation, may instead better serve children’s participation aims by devolving authority to affected communities. Communities reflecting children’s own, may be better able to offer recognition to children and enable their participation more effectively.

Ischemic neuron loss contributes to brain dysfunction in patients with cardiac arrest (CA). Histidine–tryptophan–ketoglutarate (HTK) solution is a preservative used during organ transplantation. Can HTK also protect neurons from severe hypoxia (SH) following CA? We isolated rat primary cortical neurons and induced SH with or without HTK. Changes in caspase-3, hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α), and NADPH oxidase-4 (NOX4) expression were evaluated at different time points till 72 h. Using a rat asphyxia model, we induced CA-mediated brain damage and then completed resuscitation. HTK or sterile saline was administered into the left carotid artery. Neurological deficit scoring and mortality were evaluated for 3 days. Then the rats were sacrificed for evaluating NOX4 and H2O2 level in blood and brain. In the in vitro study, HTK attenuated SH- and H2O2-mediated cytotoxicity in a volume- and time-dependent manner, associated with persisted HIF-1α expression, reductions in procaspase-3 activation and NOX4 expression. The inhibition of HIF-1α abrogated HTK’s effect on NOX4. In the in vivo study, neurological scores were significantly improved by HTK. H2O2 level, NOX4 activity and NOX4 gene expression were all decreased in the brain specimen of HTK-treated rats. Our results suggest that HTK acts as an effective neuroprotective solution.

In experimental physics, we understand time as the duration of material changes that run into space. This fact is the standpoint for our model of time-invariant space in which causality is only a principle and not a physical actuality, and entropy runs only in space and not in time. Time is merely a duration of entropy that is increasing in time-invariant space. Time is entering existence when measured by the observer. In time-invariant space, motion happens only in space and not in time which means that also in open timelike curves motion happens only in space and not in time.

Road alleys, especially on areas of Warmia (north-east Poland), are multifunctional features in open landscapes. They serve as ecological corridors connecting habitats and play an important role in sustaining ecological stability. However, multiple road authorities claim that tree-lined routes are a threat for traffic safety and therefore should be removed. The aspect of safety seems to be crucial to them, significantly overwhelming alley benefits. The vitality problems of the trees (which are mainly mature and aging) deliver arguments to cutting them down. The aim of this paper is examination of environmental and natural value of the road alleys (based on a 14 km long-distance of the Gamerki – Jonkowo road), and verification of the degree of hazard posed by trees designated for cutting because of safety reasons. The six-examination framework for the research was developed. Tree risk assessment and vitality evaluation, pulling tests, examination of protected beetle species - hermit beetle, the lichens species, and examination of bat fauna were performed. The results revealed no trees in the resignation phase and confirmed that the alley is a unique natural and landscape habitat with protected species of lichens, a few bats species and valuable insect species, among others hermit beetle (Osmoderma barnabita) existing there. The environmental value of the alley is, therefore, hard to overestimate and cannot be perceived only as a component of the road infrastructure. The maintenance of the trees seems to be essential when taking into account environmental stability of the region.

In recent years extensive studies have been continuously undertaken on the design of bioactive and biomimetic dental implant surfaces due to the need for improvement of the implant-bone interface properties. In this paper, the titanium dental implant surface was modified by a bioactive vitamin D3 coating prepared by self-assembly process. Surface characterization of the modified implant was performed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and contact angle measurements (CA). Implant’s electrochemical stability during exposure to an artificial saliva solution was monitored in situ by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Experimental results obtained were corroborated by means of quantum chemical calculations at the density functional theory level (DFT). The formation mechanism of the coating onto the titanium implant surface was proposed. During a prolonged immersion period, the bioactive vitamin D3 coating effectively prevented the underlying titanium from corrosive attack (polarization resistance in order of 10⁷ Ω cm²) with ~95% protection effectiveness.

The success of source protection in ensuring safe drinking water is centered around being able to understand the hazards present in the catchment then plan and implement control measures to manage water quality risk to levels which can be controlled through downstream barriers. The programs in place to manage source protection are complex sociotechnical systems involving policy, standards, regulators, technology, human factors and so on. This study uses System Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) to analyze the operational hazards of a typical drinking water source protection (DWSP) program and identify control measures to ensure safe operations. To validate the results a questionnaire was developed and distributed to specialists in DWSP in Taiwan, Australia and Greece. Using Principle Components Analysis (PCA) of the questionnaire responses, the study identified four critical success factors (CSFs) for DWSP. The four factors identified are ‘Policy and Government Agency Support of Source Protection’, ‘Catchment Risk Monitoring and Information’, ‘Support of Operational Field Activities’ and ‘Response to Water Quality Threats’. The results of this study provide insight into the approach of grouping of source protection measures to identify a series of targeted CSF for operational source protection programs. Using CSF can aide catchment management agencies in ensuring that the risk level in the catchment is managed effectively and that threats to public health from drinking water are managed appropriately.

In recent years, the nanoparticles applications have been well recognized in various fields. It is known that nanoparticles as an active ingredient in sunscreens are widely used. Zinc oxide and titanium oxide nanoparticles are common nanoparticles utilized in sunscreens. In this study, we aimed to suggest new nanoparticles for this purpose. Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2-NPs) were synthesized by using Musa sapientum fruit peel extract. Synthesized nanoparticles were identified through Raman, Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Field Energy Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDX). The results showed that size of synthesized nanoparticles are in range 4-13 nm. The cytotoxic activity of synthesized nanoparticles on lung (A549) cancer cell line was performed through MTT assay. The results showed that synthesized nanoparticles are non-toxicity against A549 cell line to below 500 μg/mL of nanoparticles concentration. The Sun protection factor (SPF) was estimated ~ 40 for synthesized CeO2-NPs. So, synthesized nanoparticles can be a good option for use in the cosmetics industry.

Waste recovery is an important aspect towards human and environmental health protection. Unfortunately, proper food waste management is among the serious challenges in the field of solid waste management worldwide. Therefore, it is of great importance to conduct studies towards achieving efficient and cost-effective approaches for food waste management. This study investigated the potential of recovering food waste through maggots’ production as animal feed. The influence of fly attractant application on maggot production was also investigated. The study also investigated the potential of maggot production for waste recovery and reduction. Four different types of food waste (starch food leftovers, rotten bananas and peels, rotten pineapple and peels, and rotten oranges) were used in the investigation process. From the results, it was observed that the application of fly attractants had a significant effect on the production of maggots as determined by the weights after harvesting. Average weight of 94 g/kg of maggot was achieved from banana materials with an application of fly attractant during the 8th day of the cultivation; which is equivalent to a 32.4% increase from the same day when the material was cultured without applying fly attractant. Also, from the starch materials, about 77 g/kg of maggot weight was achieved; which is a 54.6% increase from the same day and the same material but without application of fly attractant. Moreover, the relative dry weight reduction in the trials varied from 52.5% to 82.4%.

Rich biodiversity is one of the Philippines’ greatest assets. Unfortunately, there is a continuous decline in the diversity of flora and fauna across the world. This calls for the need to educate people, especially younger generations, to value and protect biodiversity and natural resources. The study aimed to assess the students’ extent of knowledge and identify their perspectives towards biodiversity and its protection and conservation. A total of 268 randomly selected students at Aurora State College of Technology Zabali Campus were involved in the study. Survey questionnaires were used to obtain data and information which were subjected to statistical tests. The students had a moderate knowledge level on biodiversity with a mean score of 6.65 out of 10 items (SD = 1.50). Their perspective on biodiversity was leaning toward its protection and conservation, with a mean score of 7.2 out of 10 items (SD = 1.29). Factors affecting the students’ knowledge were gender (p = .003) and academic department (p = 0.003). Females and those associated with the Department of Forestry and Environmental Sciences and Department of Industrial technology were found to have more knowledge than the others. Males, on the other hand, were found to have a more positive perspective towards biodiversity. Knowledge and perspective had a weak correlation with r = 0.39. Students were not well-aware, but were in support of the Philippines’ biodiversity-related laws, which could help shape their mindset and actions towards biodiversity conservation and protection. As an implication, the college administration must revisit the curricula of all degree programs and ensure that students from each degree program are environmentally educated, emphasizing biodiversity conservation.

The research carried out concerned the laboratory assessment of the applicability of the Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) as a practical tool for assessing the risk of desiccation for selected wetland habitats: transition mires and quaking bogs as well as alkaline fens. The analysis was carried out on 3 soil samples with a vegetation cover (with the dimensions of 40×40×30 cm) collected during the full vegetation season for each mentioned habitat, with a characteristic species composition. Experimental research was carried out between 17^th May 2018 and 19^th June 2018. Thermal, RGB and multispectral images, chlorophyll content, volumetric soil moisture, air temperature and relative humidity measurements were taken for each sample every two days. The obtained results clearly indicate the dependence between CWSI and plant condition parameters in the first phase of desiccation. At the same time, as a result of the observations taken, thresholds have been set, indicating different desiccation phases.

In this paper, first the Self-Written Waveguide (SWW) process in wet photopolymer media (liquid solutions), are examined for three examples: single-, counter-, and co-fibers exposure. Then the SWWs formed inside solid material are examined including the effects of manipulating the alignment of the fibers. In all cases high precision measurements are used to position the fiber optic cables (FOCs) before exposure using a microscope. The self-writing process is indirectly monitored by observing (imaging) the light emerging from the side of the material sample during SWW formation. In this way the optical waveguide trajectories formed in an Acrylamide/Polyvinyl Alcohol (AA/PVA) a photopolymer material (sensitized at 532 nm) are examined. First the transmission of light by this material is characterized. Then the bending and merging of the waveguides which occur are investigated. The predictions of our model are shown to qualitatively agree with the observed trajectories. The largest index changes taking place at any time during the exposure, i.e. during SWW formation, are shown to take place at the positions where the largest exposure light intensity is present. Typically, such maxima exist close to the input face and the first maximum is referred to as the location of the Primary Eye. Other local maxima also appear further along the SWW and are referred to as Secondary Eyes, i.e. deeper within the material.

This study evaluates the production of biohydrogen from agro industrial waste. The worldwide energy demand is increasing exponentially and the reserves of fossil fuels are depleting, the combustion of fossil fuels has the effect on environment because of CO2 emission. Hydrogen generation market size is forecast to cross 180 billion by 2024, according to a new research report by global market. For the production of biohydrogen. we had chosen groundnut shell as our source, using Tween80 as a surfactant we had undergone pre-treatment studies for (10min,20min,30min,40min,50min) we had estimated the content of cellulose, protein, carbohydrates at (1%,2%,3%,4%,5%) and obtained the optimum value in the form of graph. The production of hydrogen is done by using the rumen fluid of the cow and the quantity of the hydrogen produced by this process is identified by using the analytical instrument Gas Chromatography.

The rate of technical innovation, system interconnection, and advanced communications undoubtedly boost distributed energy networks' efficiency. However, when an additional attack surface is made available, the possibility of an increase in attacks is an unavoidable result. The energy ecosystem's significant variety draws attackers with various goals, making any critical infrastructure a threat, regardless of scale. Outdated technology and other antiquated countermeasures that worked years ago cannot address the complexity of current threats. As a result, robust artificial intelligence cyber-defense solutions are more important than ever. Based on the above challenge, this paper proposes an ensemble transfer learning spiking immune system for adaptive smart grid protection. It is an innovative Artificial Immune System (AIS) that uses a swarm of Evolving Izhikevich Neural Networks (EINN) in an Ensemble architecture, which optimally integrates Transfer Learning methodologies. The effectiveness of the proposed innovative system is demonstrated experimentally in multiple complex scenarios that optimally simulate the modern energy environment. In this way, the proposed system fully automates the strategic security planning of energy networks with computational intelligence methods. It allows the complete control of the digital strategies of the potential infrastructure that frames it, thus contributing to the timely and valid decision-making during cyber-attacks.

Environmental monitoring systems play a crucial role in assessing environmental quality, detecting limits exceedances, and predicting potential ecological episodes. These systems rely on the measurement of various variables at specific locations and time intervals over an extended period. The concept of environmental monitoring encompasses the assessment of health and safety issues for public and environmental health purposes. Pollution of the atmosphere and water, climate change, and natural disasters are among the consequences of continuous industrial and municipal development and human interference in natural ecosystems. To address these challenges and to protect human lives and the environment, with a special concern on mitigating the ecological effects of industrial development, advanced technical solutions, including the technologies associated with artificial intelligence (artificial neural networks ANNs, machine learning ML) have been developed. These technologies offer powerful tools for analysing the vast amount of data collected by monitoring systems and extracting valuable insights. By applying ANNs and machine learning algorithms, environmental monitoring systems can effectively process and interpret the measured variables to assess environmental quality. Despite challenges and limitations, such as data quality and interpretability of AI models, ongoing research and interdisciplinary collaboration are paving the way for the successful implementation of AI in environmental monitoring, ultimately supporting informed decision-making and sustainable resource management.While several review papers have explored the theory of artificial intelligence (AI), here I aim to review the application of ANNs and ML, in environmental aspects, specifically in automotive and industrial emissions toxicity measurements, as well as atmospheric pollution prevention. By examining the potential of AI in these domains, the paper contributes to understanding the role of advanced technologies in environmental monitoring and protection.

With the introduction of the IEC 61850 standard, the path is set for a single communication topology covering all substation levels. The standard has the potential to change the way substations are designed, build, tested and maintained. This means that the key segment of the substation, its protection system, will go through a transition period with the end goal of having a digitalized substation where all information exchange is performed over an Ethernet communication bus. The goal of this paper is to analyse the performance impact of the IEC 61850-9-2LE on the protection system. To do this, a laboratory hardware-in-the-loop test setup is developed representing traditional, hybrid and digital substation topology. This setup served to simulate faults and create transient waveforms in an extended IEEE 123 node test system, which were then used to detect the reaction times of protection relay devices. To verify protection relay results significant number of tests are performed clearly showing benefits which can be gained by distribution system digitalization.

Due to an increase of the monocrystalline PV systems installations, for a drive towards the sustainable smart cities in the hot arid developing country such as Pakistan, pose challenges of the performance and degradation issues. Monocrystalline PV module efficiencies are declining and damaging under the continuous exposure to higher surface day-time temperatures in the different parts of the country. A MATLAB simulations were performed based on the validated mathematical approach. This paper investigates the hot arid surface temperature impacts on the performance of PV modules during the summer and winter seasons in Pakistan. The investigations are performed examining the power generating efficiency of the PV system. This paper also investigates the influence of installations of PV-system in the North, South, East and West regions of Pakistan. It was examined that the northern areas of Pakistan are more suitable for maintaining the long-term durability of the PV system. Investigations are performed for the peak summer and peak winter days. During summer months, cooling strategies have to be implemented to overcome the heating effects whilst reducing degradation effect on installed PV-system.

Introduction: The SARS-CoV2 pandemic has led to an worldwide shortage of Personal Protection Devices (PPD) for medical and paramedical personnel. Adaptation of commercially available snorkel masks to serve as full face masks has been proposed. Even not formally approved as PPD, they are publicized on social media as suitable for this use. Concerns about actual protection levels and risk of carbon dioxide (CO₂) accumulation while wearing them for extended periods made us perform a systematic testing of various brands, in order to verify whether they are as safe and effective as claimed. Methods: A ‘fit’ test was performed, analogous to gas mask testing. Respiratory safety was evaluated by measuring end-tidal CO₂ and oxygen saturation while wearing the masks in rest and during physical exercise. Masks were tested with 3D adaptors to mount regular bacterial-viral ventilator filters when available, or with snorkel openings covered with N95/FFP2 cloth. Results: Modified masks performed reasonably well on the fit test, comparable to regular N95/FFP2 masks. Not all ventilator filters are equally protective. For all masks, a small initial increase in end-tidal CO₂ was noted, remaining within physiological limits. Masks with specific adaptors (3D printed or provided by the manufacturer) are safer, have more flexibility and reliability than makeshift adaptations. Conclusions: These masks can offer benefit as a substitute for complete protective gear as they are easier to don and remove and offer full-face protection. They may be more comfortable to wear for extended periods. Proper selection of mask size, fit testing, quality of 3D printed parts and choice of filter are important.

In this work, the solar light-induced redox photoactivity of the ZnO semiconductor material was used to prepare at room temperature CuxO-ZnO composite catalysts with a control of the chemical state of the copper oxide phase. The preparation of Cu2(I)O-ZnO and Cu(II)O-ZnO composite catalysts was achieved by using Cu(acac)2 in THF-water and Cu(NO3)2 in water as metallic precursor, respectively. Prior to the implementation of the photo-assisted synthesis method, the most efficient photoactive ZnO material was selected among different ZnO materials prepared by the low temperature polyol method and through the precipitation method with carbonates and carbamates as precipitation agent, by taking the photocatalytic degradation of the 4-chlorophenol compound in water under simulated solar light as model reaction. The ZnO support materials were characterized by XRD, BET, TGA, SEM and TEM, and the synthesis method was strongly influencing their photoactivity in terms of 4-chlorophenol degradation and of total organic carbon removal. The most photoactive ZnO material was prepared by precipitation with carbonates and calcined at 300°C, and was taking advantage of a high specific surface area and a small mean crystallite size for achieving a complete 4-chlorophenol mineralization within 70 min of reaction, with a minimum Zn2+ released to the solution due to surface photocorrosion. Beside thermal catalysis applications, this work opened a new route for the facile synthesis of Cu2O-ZnO heterojunction photocatalysts, that could take advantage under solar light of the heterojunction built between the p-type semi-conductor Cu2O with direct visible light band gap and the ZnO semiconductor phase.

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the apicomplexa protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. This disease is a health burden, mainly in pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) has proved to be an important molecule that could drive resistance against a variety of infections, including intracellular parasites such as Plasmodium falciparum and Trypanozoma cruzi, among others. However, to date it has not been explored the role of DHEA on T. gondii. In here, we demonstrated for the first time the toxoplasmicidal effect of DHEA on extracellular tachyzoites. Ultrastructural analysis of treated parasites showed that DHEA alters the cytoskeleton structures, leading to the loss of the organelle structure and organization, as well as the loss of the cellular shape. In vitro treatment with DHEA reduces the viability of extracellular tachyzoites and passive invasion process. 2D SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that in the presence of the hormone a progesterone receptor membrane component (PGRMC) with a cytochrome b5 family heme/steroid binding domain-containing protein was expressed, while the expression of proteins that are essential for motility and virulence was highly reduced. Finally, in vivo DHEA treatment induced a reduction of parasitic load in male, but not in female mice.

Adenine nucleotide (AN) 2^nd messengers such as 3’,5’-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) are central elements of intracellular signaling, but many details of underlying processes remain still elusive. Like all nucleotides, cyclic nucleotide monophosphates (cNMPs) are net-negatively charged at physiologic pH which limits their applicability in cell-based settings. Thus, many cellular assays rely on sophisticated techniques like microinjection or electroporation. This setup is not feasible for medium- to high-throughput formats, and the mechanic stress that cells are exposed to raises the probability of interfering artefacts or false-positives. Here, we present a short and flexible chemical route yielding membrane-permeable, bio-reversibly masked cNMPs for which we employed the octanoyloxybenzyl (OB) group. We further show hydrolysis studies on chemical stability and enzymatic activation, and present results of real-time assays, where we used cAMP and Ca²⁺ live cell imaging to demonstrate high permeability and prompt intracellular conversion of some selected masked cNMPs. Consequently, our novel OB-masked cNMPs constitute valuable precursor-tools for non-invasive studies on intracellular signaling.

COVID-19 pandemic provoked a number of restrictive measures, such as the closure or severe restriction of border transit for international trading traffic, quarantines and self-isolation. This caused a series of interrelated consequences that not only prevent or slow down the spread of disease, but also impact the medical systems’ capability to treat the patients and help their recovery. In particular, steeply growing demand for medical safety goods cannot be satisfied by regular suppliers due to the shortage of raw materials originating from other countries or remotely located national sources, under conditions of quarantined manpower. The current context inevitably brings back memories (and records!) of the situation 80 years ago, when WWII necessitated major effort directed at the rapid build-up of low cost mass production to satisfy all aspects of war-time need. In the present short report we document a successful case of fast mass-production of light transparent medical safety face shields (thousands per day) realized in Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) fabrication laboratory (FabLab). The demand for safety face shields by tens of hospitals in Moscow City and Region rapidly ramped up due to the need to protect medical staff during patient collection and transportation to hospitals, and within both the infected (“red”) and uninfected (“green”) zones. Materials selection for sterilizable transparent materials was conducted based on the analysis of merit indices, namely, minimal weight at given stiffness and minimal cost at given stiffness. Due to the need for permanent wear, design was motivated by low weight and comfortable head fixation, along with high production efficiency. The selection of minimal tooling in University fabrication workshops and the use of distributed volunteer labor are discussed.

This article presents, for the first time, the kinetics and the general conversion features of free radical polymerization (FRP) in a 3-component system (A/B/N), with [A] being the initiator, and [B] and [N] are additives, based on the proposed mechanism of Rahal et al. Higher FRP can be achieved by additives [B] and [N], via the dual function of (i) regeneration [A], and (ii) generation of extra radicals (R) via the radicals (S' and S) produced by N.The initiator (coumarin) shows a dual photo-oxidation and photo-reduction character for high efficacy. The FRP conversion efficacy (CE) depends not only on the property of the initiator [A], the additives [B] and [N}, but also the types of monomers. For example, when [A]=CoumC, [A]/NPG is more efficient than [A]/Iod, but revserse trend occurs in some monomers. However, 2-component systems (with CE=0% to 80%) are always less efficient than that of 3-component systems (with CE=70% to 86%, in TMPTA). Specific systems with [A]=coumarins, [B]=Iodonium salt, and N=NPG are analyzed. Analytical formulas for the role of each component concentration, light intensity and coupling rates on the conversion efficacy are derived.

The kinetics and optimal efficacy conditions of photoinitiated polymerization are theoretically presented. Analytic formulas are derived for the crosslink time, crosslink depth and efficacy function. The roles of photosensitizer (PS) concentration, diffusion depth and light intensity on the polymerization spatial and temporal profiles, for both uniform and non-uniform cases, are presented . For optimal efficacy, a strategy via controlled PS concentration is proposed, where re-supply of PS in high light intensity may achieve a combined-efficacy similar to low light intensity, but has a much faster procedure. A new criterion of efficacy based on the polymerization (crosslink) [strength] and [depth] is introduced.

Shenzhen is China’s top ten clean air city and the cleanest air megacity. Even so, epidemiologic studies have shown ambient air pollution had significant adverse impacts on human health in this less polluted city. In this study, the concentrations of six criteria air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO) from 2014 to 2017 were analyzed and compared to thresholds of both national and international air quality standards. The results showed concentrations of all air pollutants were below target values of current national air quality standard, but levels of particulate matter (PM) and O3 were still much higher than the recommended levels by the World Health Organization. Within national air quality standards, the number of over-limit days was rare with few variations between highly polluted and low pollution areas. The air quality improvement was slowing down recently. Our results suggest annual and daily thresholds for PM are too loose for air quality improvement in Shenzhen. Hence, we call for evaluation and establishment of tougher air quality standard.

Groundwater contamination by nitrate and organic chemicals (e.g. 1,4-dioxane) is a growing worldwide concern. This work presents a new approach for simultaneously treating nitrate and 1,4-dioxane, which is based on UV sensitization of nitrate and sulfite, and the production of reactive species. Specifically, water contaminated with nitrate and 1,4-dioxane is irradiated by a UV source (< 250 nm) at relatively high doses, to sensitize in-situ nitrate and generate HO•. This leads to the oxidation of 1,4-dioxane (and other organics), and the (undesired) production of nitrite as an intermediate. Subsequently, sulfite is added at an optimized time-point, and its UV sensitization produces hydrated electrons which reacts and reduces nitrite. Our results confirmed the effectivity of the proposed treatment: UV irradiation of nitrate (at > 5 mg N/L) efficiently degraded 1,4-dioxane, while producing nitrite at levels higher than 1 mg N/L (its MCL in drinking water). Adding sulfite to the process after 10 minutes of irradiation reduced the concentration of nitrite, without affecting the degradation rate of 1,4-dioxane. The treated water contained elevated levels of sulfate; albeit at much lower concentration than its MCL. Treating water contaminated with nitrate and organic chemicals (often detected concomitantly) typically requires several (expensive) treatment processes. The proposed approach may present a cost-effective alternative, employing a single system for the treatment of nitrate and organic contaminants

We live in extraordinary times, where COVID-19 pandemic has brought the whole world to a screeching halt. Tensions and contradictions that surround the pandemic ridden world include the availability, and the lack thereof, various facial protection measures to mitigate the viral spread. Here, we comprehensively explore the different type of facial protection measures, including masks, needed both for the pubic and the health care workers (HCW). We discuss the anatomy, the critical issues of disinfection and reusability of masks, the alternative equipment available for the protection of the facial region from airborne diseases, such as face shields and powered air purifying respirators (PAPR), and the skin-health impact of prolonged wearing of facial protection by HCW. Clearly, facial protection, either in the form of masks or alternates, appears to have mitigated the pandemic as seen from the minimal COVID-19 spread in countries where public mask wearing is strictly enforced. On the contrary, the healthcare systems, that appear to have been unprepared for emergencies of this nature, should be appropriately geared to handle the imbalance of supply and demand of personal protective equipment including face masks. These are two crucial lessons we can learn from this tragic experience.

During the past two decades of e-commerce growth, the concept of a business model has become increasingly popular. More recently, the research on this realm has grown rapidly, with diverse research activity covering a wide range of application areas. Considering the sustainable development goals, the innovative business models have brought a competitive advantage to improve the sustainability performance of organizations. The concept of the sustainable business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value, in economic, social, cultural, or other contexts, in a sustainable way. The process of sustainable business model construction forms an innovative part of a business strategy. Different industries and businesses have utilized sustainable business models’ concept to satisfy their economic, environmental, and social goals simultaneously. However, the success, popularity, and progress of sustainable business models in different application domains are not clear. To explore this issue, this research provides a comprehensive review of sustainable business models literature in various application areas. Notable sustainable business models are identified and further classified in fourteen unique categories, and in every category, the progress -either failure or success- has been reviewed, and the research gaps are discussed. Taxonomy of the applications includes innovation, management and marketing, entrepreneurship, energy, fashion, healthcare, agri-food, supply chain management, circular economy, developing countries, engineering, construction and real estate, mobility and transportation, and hospitality. The key contribution of this study is that it provides an insight into the state of the art of sustainable business models in various application areas and future research directions. This paper concludes that popularity and the success rate of sustainable business models in all application domains have been increased along with the increasing use of advanced technologies.

There have been several cases of large-scale wind generators (WGs) tripping off caused by untimely fault removing in recent years. Currently, the discoordination between the box-type transformer fuse protection (BTFP) and two-section collecting line current protection (CLCP) brings a security risk to wind farm. In order to ensure the selectivity, the first section (Sec-I) CLCP should be set a enough interval that is longer than the fuse melting time, and another interval is set for the Sec-II CLCP, which weakens the speed of the CLCP. When a fault occurs on the collecting line, there is no doubt that WGs cannot work too long in abnormal operation, which may cause WGs to be placed off the grid. For a power system with high penetration of wind power, large-scale WGs tripping off will cause a great power shortage, and affect the stability of the power system. The selectivity and sensitivity of the CLCP is analyzed in detail to make the CLCP speed better. Considering the fault ride-through ability of WGs, the fault clear time is an important factor to lead to large-scale WGs tripping off. Two main works are done in this paper. The first is to accelerate the speed of the Sec-I CLCP though reducing the protection zone. Another one is introduce the risk assessment module into the CLCP, which not only improve the speed of the CLCP but also ensure the safety of the wind farm during faults. According to the deference in trip-off causes of WGs, the matching functions are created to assess the trip-off risk of WGs on the spot. In the case of fault, the trip-off risk indicators of WGs are timely updated to data sharing center and open to the CLCPs. The set of risk indicators is divided into several subsets according to the risk range. The dynamic changes of the subsets during fault help to improved CLCP scheme. This scheme can accelerate protection speed based on the increasing risk of large-scale WGs tripping off in wind farms. Compared with traditional CLCP, this approach can make the CLCP combines selectivity and speed better based on the analysis of the ride- through ability of WGs.

BODIPY dyes have recently raised attention as potential photosensitizers. In this work, commercial and novel photosensitizers (PSs) based on BODIPY chromophores (haloBODIPYs and orthogonal dimers strategically designed with intense bands in the blue, green or red region of the Visible spectra and high singlet oxygen production) were covalently linked to mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) further functionalized with PEG and folic acid (FA). MSNs of approximately 50 nm in size with different functional groups were synthesized to allow multiple alternatives of PS-PEG-FA decoration of their external surface. Different combinations varying the type of PS (commercial Rose Bengal, Thionine and Chlorine e6 or custom-made BODIPY-based), the linkage design and the length of PEG are detailed. All the nanosystems were physicochemically characterized (morphology, diameter, size distribution and PS loaded amount) and photophysically studied (absorption capacity, fluorescence efficiency, and singlet oxygen production) in suspension. For the most promising PS-PEG-FA silica nanoplatforms, the biocompatibility in dark conditions and the phototoxicity under suitable irradiation wavelengths (blue, green, or red) at regulated light doses (10-15 J/cm2) were compared with PSs free in solution in HeLa cells in vitro.

Chronology unprotected mechanisms are considered with a very low gravitational polarization to make the wormhole traversal with positive energy density everywhere. No need of exotic matter has been considered with the assumption of the Einstein-Dirac-Maxwell Fields, encountering above the non-zero stress-energy-momentum tensor through spacelike hypersurfaces by a hyperbolic coordinate shift.

This study aimed to compare three different extracts of Saco sweet cherry, namely non-coloured fraction, coloured fraction and total extract concerning phenolic composition, antioxidant and antidiabetic potential, erythrocytes’ protection and effects on Caco-2 cells. A total of 22 phenolic compounds were identified by LC-DAD. Hydroxycinnamic acids were the most predominant in both non-coloured fraction and total extract, while cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside was the main anthocyanin found in the coloured fraction. The total extract was the most effective against DPPH, nitric oxide and superoxide radicals, and in the inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme. Finally, the protective effect of the extracts to prevent oxidative damage in human erythrocytes was assessed. The coloured fraction revealed the best activity against hemoglobin oxidation and hemolysis. Regarding to Caco-2 cells, the coloured extract exhibited the most cytotoxic effects, while the total extract was the most efficient in protecting these cells against oxidative damage induced by t-BHP.

Based on the topology of wide area protection system (WAPS), after studying the reliability of hardware system and information flow in the WAPS and establishing the reliability assessment model, the multi-service reliability analysis method with multi monitoring and protection tasks in WAPS was proposed. In the model, the impact of network quality of service (QoS) such as information flow loss and delay, is studied. On the base of the model, the multi-service reliability evaluation method is employed to analyze the reliability of a WAPS of IEEE14 node power system, and the key nodes of the WAPS is given, which provides a basis for improving the reliability of the WAPS.

Starting from the fact that the units of local self-government of the Republic of Serbia are not sufficiently oriented towards innovations related to human resources and the environment, the application of quantitative research tradition examines the positioning and understanding of certain procedures and decisions of human resources management regarding the functioning of the environmental protection system, on the one hand, and future strategies for changing the given system, on the other. A series of 105 face-to-face interviews were conducted during the whole of 2016 in 105 of the 191 municipalities in the Republic of Serbia. Examination of the attitudes of the local self-government was carried out using a specially designed closed electronic questionnaire. The results of the multivariate regressions show that the most important predictor of the possible improvement of the environment is the size of the municipality. The remaining variables (e.g., human resources policy, human resources service) did not have significant effects on the ability to improve the environment. In more than half of local self-governments, there was no clearly defined human resources strategy in the field of environmental protection, an environmental protection service, an Environmental Action Plan, as well as an employment plan for waste management in local governments, etc. The research has shown that top managers of local governments agree that the management of human resources in environmental protection represents a significant opportunity to improve the quality of the environment. The results of the research can be used to improve the organization of human resource competence in environmental protection and the quality of a working and sustainable environment in the area of local self-government.

The diffusion coefficients of ions are measured in a microchip filled with a cationic charged 3D hydrogel in order to study the effect of cationic charged 3D hydrogel on the diffusivity of ions. In this study, poly-diallyl-dimethyl-ammoniumchloride (poly-DADMAC) is used to produce a 3D hydrogel. Four different fluorophores are used in the 3D hydrogel rhodamine 6G, rhodamine-BSA, fluorescein isothio-cyanate (FITC) and FITC-BSA. The rhodamine 6G and rhodamine-BSA are positively charged (cations), while fluorescein isothio-cyanate (FITC) and FITC-BSA are negatively charged (anions). Two widely used techniques which are short time diffusivity measurement technique and long time diffusivity measurement techniques are used to measure the diffusion coefficients. For the short time measurement, Fluorescence recovery after photo-bleaching (FRAP) is used by a 3D confocal microscope. For the long time measurement, fluorescence images are taken for 11 days to observe a pure diffusivity without any convective movement. As a result, the diffusivity of the cations was found to be lower than that of the anions in the cationic charged hydrogel.

A Smart Home is characterized by the presence of a huge number of small, low power devices, along with more classical devices. According to the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm, all of them are expected to be always connected to the Internet in order to provide enhanced services. In this scenario, an attacker can undermine both the network security and the user’s security/privacy. Traditional security measures are not sufficient, because they are too difficult to setup and are either too weak to effectively protect the user or too limiting for the new services effectiveness. The paper suggests to dynamically adapt the security level of the smart home network according to the user perceived risk level what we have called network sentiment analysis. The security level is not fixed, established by a central system (usually by the Internet Service Provider) but can be changed with the users cooperation. The security of the smart home network is improved by a distributed firewalling and Intrusion Detection Systems both to the smart home side as to the Internet Service Provider side. These two parts must cooperate and integrate their actions for reacting dynamically to new and ongoing threats. Moreover, the level of network sentiment detected can be propagate to nearby home networks (e.g. the smart home networks of the apartments inside a building) to increase/decrease their level of security, thus creating a true in-line Intrusion Prevention System (IPS). The paper also presents a test bed for Smart Home to detect and counteract to different attacks against the IoT devices,,Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections .

The so-called “Chinese pyramids” are huge burial mounds covering the tombs of the Emperors of the Western Han dynasty. If we include also the mounds of the members of the royal families, these monuments sum up to more than 40, scattered throughout the western and the southern outskirts of modern Xi'an. They are mostly unexcavated and poorly known although, taken together, they form a fascinating sacred landscape, which was conceived as a perennial witness of one of the most magnificent Chinese dynasties. This sacred landscape is today encroached by the frenetic urban development of the Xi’an urban area. We discuss and elaborate here some of the results of a recent, new satellite-imagery survey of these monuments, highlighting the aspects which may contribute to solutions for a sustainable and compatible development within this important ancient landscape.

Italian floriculture is facing structural changes. Possible options to maintain competitiveness of the involved companies include promotion of added values, from local productions to environmental sustainability. To quantify value and benefits of cleaner production processes and choices, a holistic view is necessary, and could be provided by life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Previous studies on ornamental products generally focused on data from one company or a small sample. The aim of this study was a gate-to-gate life cycle assessment of two ornamental species (Cyclamen persicum Mill. and Pelargonium ×hortorum Bailey) using data from a sample of 20 companies belonging to a floriculture district in Treviso, Veneto region. We also assessed the potential benefits for the environmental impact of the selected species of alternative management choices regarding plant protection and reuse of composted waste biomass. Life cycle impact assessment showed the higher impact scores for the zonal geranium, mainly as a consequence of greenhouse heating with fossil fuels. This factor, along with higher uniformity of production practices and technological level of equipment, translated in lower variability observed in comparison with cyclamen production, which shows a wider results range, in particular for eutrophication, acidification and human toxicity potentials. The application of integrated pest management had significant benefits in terms of impact reduction for acidification and human toxicity of cyclamen, while reduced use of mineral nutrients through compost amendment of growing media resulted in a reduced eutrophication potential. The achievable benefits for zonal geranium were not observable because of the dominant contribution of energy inputs.

Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2) vaccines are based on either inactivated whole virion, or recombinant ORF2 capsid protein assembled into Virus-like Particles (VLPs). No data are available instead about the immunizing properties of free, non-assembled capsid protein. To investigate this issue, ORF2 of a reference PCV2b strain was expressed in a Baculovirus-based expression system without assembly into VLPs. The free purified protein was formulated into an oil vaccine at three distinct Ag payloads: 10.8 / 3.6 / 1.2 micrograms /dose. Each dose was injected intramuscularly into five, 37-day old piglets, carefully matched for maternally-derived antibody. Five control piglets were injected with sterile PBS in oil adjuvant. Twenty-eight days later, all the pigs were challenged intranasally with 200,000 TCID50 of PCV2b strain DV6503. After challenge infection, all the pigs remained in good clinical conditions. The recombinant vaccine did not induce significant antibody and PCV2-specific IFN-gamma responses. ELISPOT and lymphocyte proliferation data confirmed poor induction of cell-mediated immunity. In terms of PCV2 viremia, there was no significant difference between vaccinated and control animals. The histological data indicated the absence of a detectable viral load and of PCVAD lesions in both vaccinated and control animals, as well as of histiocytes and multi-nucleated giant cells. We conclude that free, non-assembled ORF2 capsid protein does not induce protective immunity.

The goal of Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme is to support sustainable development through effective management, innovative technologies, policy suggestion and governance. Today, the concept of Biosphere Reserves plays an important role in scientific investigations, generating knowledge, and experiences to link socio-economic development and biodiversity conservation for human well-being. This research, through an independent study which takes place in the Hungarian Biosphere Reserves of Pilis and Kiskunság aims at identifying practical sustainable business models which are suitable for supporting livelihood of locals. In this research, the two Biosphere Reserves serve as the learning sites under the light of global principles and state-of-the-art-of knowledge on sustainable development and sustainable business models. To do so, the state-of-the-art-of sustainable business model has been investigated through a comprehensive academic research. The lessons that learned from this investigation are used to support the data gathering method and planning the field trips to identify the sustainable business models currently in use at the Biosphere Reserves. This research particularly had been interested in small-sized sustainable business models practiced by small communities or families in various zones of Biosphere Reserves. First set of interviews and questionnaires designed to identify the business models in practice. The results identify foraging the wild plants in the buffer zone and transition areas as a potential sustainable business model in practice. Further interviews and surveys were conducted with foragers shows the beneficial of their practice on the local ecosystem and in increasing awareness on the deep connection with the ecosystems. The sustainable business model of foraging in addition to providing a sustainable livelihood for the locals maintains a spiritual connection between people and land. The identified sustainable business model can further be educational and practical for other 685 biosphere reserves.

A single paragraph of about 200 words maximum. For research articles, abstracts should give a pertinent overview of the work. We strongly encourage authors to use the following style of structured abstracts, but without headings: (1) Background: Place the question addressed in a broad context and highlight the purpose of the study; (2) Methods: briefly describe the main methods or treatments applied; (3) Results: summarize the article's main findings; (4) Conclusions: indicate the main conclusions or interpretations. The abstract should be an objective representation of the article and it must not contain results that are not presented and substantiated in the main text and should not exaggerate the main conclusions.

Following the occurrence of a typhoon, quick damage assessment related to residents can facilitate quick dispatch of house repair and disaster insurance works. Employing a deep learning method, this study used aerial photos of the Chiba prefecture obtained following the Typhoon Faxai in 2019 to automatically detect and evaluate the roof damage. This study comprised three parts: training deep learning model, detecting the roof damage using trained model, and classifying the level of roof damage. The detection object comprised roof outline, blue tarps, and roof completely destroyed. The roofs were divided into three categories: roof without damage, roof with blue tarps and roof completely destroyed. the F value obtained using the proposed method was higher than those obtained using other methods. In addition, it can be further divided into 5 levels from level 0 to 4. Finally, the spatial distribution of the roof damage was analyzed using ArcGIS tools. The proposed method is expected to provide certain reference for the real-time detection of the roof damage after the occurrence of a typhoon.

This paper takes the VR animation display of the Ming Xiao Mausoleum General stone statue life as an example to study the advantages of VR animation in the display of material heritage. Combined with literature and pictures, the digital restoration of the Ming Xiao Mausoleum stone statue is carried out in MAYA and Z brush, and the construction of the scene and the output of the final effect are realized in UE4.

We present the results on photothermal (PT) and heat conductive properties of nanogranular silicon (Si) films synthesized by evaporation of colloidal droplets (drop-casting) of 100 ± 50 nm sized crystalline Si nanoparticles (NP) deposited on glass substrates. Finite difference time domain (FDTD) and finite element mesh (FEM) modeling of absorbed light intensity and photo-induced spatial temperature distribution across the Si NP films were well correlated with the local temperatures measured by micro-Raman spectroscopy and used for determination of heat conductivities in the films of various thicknesses. Cubic-to-hexagonal phase transition in these films caused by laser heating was found to be heavily influenced by the film thickness and heat conductive properties of glass substrate, on which the films were deposited. Heat conductivities across the drop-casted Si nanogranular films were found to be in the range of lowest heat conductivities of other types of nanostructurely voided Si films due to enhanced phonon scattering across inherently voided topology, weak NP-NP and NP-substrate interface bonding within nanogranular Si films.

The report describes organizational and occupational strategies adopted by Lody Public Hospital (the first epicentre of Covid-19 outbreak in Italy) in order to face pandemic. Occupational Safety System (OSH) introduced infection prevention and control strategies (IPC) for the protection of healthcare workers (HCWs, while a reorganization of whole hospital based on the level of intensity of care for COVID-19 patients was estabilished. Screening on HCWs (N= 248) by nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 and comparison between HCWs and local population (N=1123) are shown. These preliminary data, collected from 25^th February till 25^th March 2020, confirms that measures adopted mitigate the effects of virus transmission within the hospital and reduced the HCW component of the transmission of the infection. Additional studies in depth are currently underway.

Radon gas represents the major contributor to human health risk from environmental radiological exposure. In confined spaces radon can accumulate to relatively high levels so that mitigation actions are necessary. The Italian legislation on radiation protection has set a reference value for the activity concentration of radon at 300 Bq/m3. In this study, measurements of the annual radon concentration in 62 bank buildings, spread on Campania region (Southern Italy), were carried out. Using CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors, radon level was assessed in 136 confined spaces (127 at underground and 9 at ground floors), frequented by workers and/or the public. The survey parameters considered in the analysis of the results were: floor types, wall cladding materials, number of openings, door/window opening duration for air exchange. Radon levels were found to be between 17 and 680 Bq/m3, with an average value of 130 Bq/m3 and a standard deviation of 120 Bq/m3. About 7% of the results gave a radon activity concentration above 300 Bq/m3. The analysis showed that the floor level and air exchange have the most significant influence. This study highlighted the importance to assess the indoor radon levels, even in particular environments, to protect public and workers by radon-induced effects on health.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a spore-forming bacterium that produces insecticidal proteins and other virulence factors and is considered one of the most successful bioinsecticides available to control pests in agriculture. Bt strains have been reported as endophyte or rhizospheric bacteria, but little is known about the implications of this property of Bt in crop protection. Here, we review if Bt can establish as an endophyte/rhizobacterium and evaluate if Bt as an endophyte/rhizobacterium can simultaneously act against different phytopathogens (fungi, bacteria, insects and viruses) plus promote plant growth. The implications of the proposed review will broaden our understanding of Bt as a versatile entomopathogen by exhibiting differential behavior depending on context.

Ensuring a protection scheme in DC distribution is more difficult to achieve against pole-to-ground fault than in AC distribution system because of the absence of zero crossing points and low line impedance. To complement the major obstacle of limiting the fault current, several compositions have been proposed related to mechanical switching and solid-state switching. Among them, solid-state circuit breakers(SSCBs) are considered a possible solution to limit fast fault current. However, they may cause problems in circuit complexity, reliability and cost-related troubles due to the use of multiple power semiconductor devices and additional circuit configuration to commutate current. This paper proposes the SSCB with a coupled inductor(SSCB-CI) which has symmetrical configuration. The circuit is comprised of passive components like commutation capacitors, a CI and damping resistors. Thus, proposed SSCB-CI offers the advantages of simple circuit configuration and fewer utilized power semiconductor devices than another typical SSCBs in LVDC microgrid. For analysis, six operation states are described for the voltage across main switches and fault current. The effectiveness of the SSCB-CI against a short-circuit fault is proved via simulation and experimental results in a lab-scale prototype.

Since 2015, outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the Middle East have been caused by a new emerging viral lineage, A/ASIA/G-VII. In-vitro vaccine matching data indicated that this virus poorly matched (low r1-value) with vaccines that were being used in the region as well as most other commercially available vaccines. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of two candidate vaccines against challenge with a representative field virus from the A/ASIA/G-VII lineage. The results from an initial full dose protection study provided encouraging data for the A/MAY/97 vaccine, while the A22/IRQ/64 vaccine only protected 2/7 vaccinated animals. In view of these promising results, this vaccine was tested in a potency test (PD50) experiment in which 5 cattle were vaccinated with a full dose, 5 cattle with a 1/3 dose and 5 cattle with a 1/9 dose of vaccine. Vaccines were prepared as would be done during an emergency vaccination campaign using a double oil emulsion adjuvant. At 21 days post vaccination these vaccinated cattle and 3 control cattle were subsequently challenged intradermolingually with a field isolate from the A/ASIA/G-VII lineage. All cattle from the full vaccine dose, 4 cattle from the 1/3 vaccine dose and 2 cattle from the 1/9 vaccine dose were clinically protected against challenge with FMDV A/ASIA/G-VII, resulting in a heterologous potency of 6.5 PD50/dose. These data support previous studies showing that a high potency emergency vaccine can protect against clinical disease when challenged with a heterologous strain of the same serotype. Not only the r1-value of the vaccine, but also the homologous potency of a vaccine should be taken into account when advising vaccines to control an outbreak.

This article presents, for the first time, the efficacy and curing depth analysis of photo-thermal dual polymerization in metal (Fe) polymer composites for 3D printing of a 3-component (A/B/M) system based on the proposed mechanism of our group, in which the co initiators A and B are Irgacure-369, and charge-transfer complexes (CTC), respectively; and the monomer M is filled by Fe. Our formulas show the depth of curing (Zc) is an increasing function of the light intensity, but a decreasing function of the Fe and photoinitiator concentrations. Zc is enhanced by the additive [B] which produces extra thermal radical for polymerization under high temperature. The heat (or temperature) increase in the system has two components : (i) due to the light absorption of Fe filler, and (ii) heat released from the exothermic photopolymerization of the monomer. The heat is transported to the additive (or co-initiator) [B] to produce extra radical R' and enhance the monomer conversion function (CF). The Fe filler leads to temperature increase, but also limits the light penetration leading to lower CF and Zc, which could be overcome by the additive initiator [B] in thick polymers. Optimal Fe for maximal CF and Zc are explored theoretically.

The study investigated, in a rat model of low-level and moderate environmental exposure to cadmium (Cd; 1 or 5 mg Cd/kg diet, respectively, for 3-24 months), whether the co-administration of 0.1% extract from Aronia melanocarpa L. berries (AE) may protect against oxidative stress in the liver. The intoxication with Cd, dose- and duration-dependently, weakened the enzymatic antioxidative barrier (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione S-transferase), decreased the concentrations of non-enzymatic antioxidants (reduced glutathione and total thiol groups), and increased the concentrations of oxidized glutathione, hydrogen peroxide, xanthine oxidase, and myeloperoxidase in this organ. These resulted in a decrease in the total antioxidative status (TAS), an increase in the total oxidative status (TOS), and development of oxidative stress in the liver (evaluated based on the index of oxidative stress calculated as the ratio of TOS and TAS). The administration of AE at both levels of Cd treatment significantly improved the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidative barrier, decreased the concentration of pro-oxidants, and protected from the development of oxidative stress in the liver. In conclusion, consumption of aronia products may prevent Cd-induced destroying the oxidative/antioxidative balance and development of oxidative stress in the liver protecting against this organ damage.

Over the past decade, wireless communication technologies have developed significantly for intelligent applications in road transport. This paper provides an overview of telecommunications-based intelligent transport systems with a focus on ensuring system safety and resilience. In vehicle-to-everything, these problems are extremely acute due to the specifics of the operation of transport networks, which requires the use of special protection mechanisms. In this regard, it was decided to use blockchain as a system platform to support the needs of transport systems for secure information exchange. This paper describes the technological aspects of implementing blockchain technology in vehicle-to-network; the features of such technology are presented, as well as the features of their interaction.

With the continuous development of urbanization and industrialization in the world, concrete is widely used in various engineering constructions as an engineering material. However, the consequent problem of durability of concrete structures is also becoming increasingly prominent. As an important additional measures, protective coating can effectively improve the durability of concrete performance. Moreover, the uniformity of the concrete surface coating will directly affect its protective effect. Therefore, we propose a nondestructive inspection and evaluation method of coating uniformity based on infrared imaging and cluster analysis for concrete surface coating uniformity detection and evaluation. Based on the obtained infrared images, a series of processing and analysis of the images were carried out using MATLAB software to obtain the characteristics of the infrared images of concrete surface. Finally, by extracting the temperature distribution data of the pixel points on the concrete surface, an evaluation method of concrete surface coating uniformity based on a combination of cluster analysis and hierarchical analysis was established. The evaluation results show that the determination results obtained by this method are consistent with the actual situation. This study has a positive contribution to the testing of concrete surface coating uniformity and its evaluation.

Recently the use of food by products as natural sources of biologically active substances has been extensively investigated especially for the development of functional foods fortified with natural antioxidants. Due to their content of bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids, flavonoids and limonoids, Citrus peels could be suitable to formulate enriched olive oils able to boost a healthy nutrition. The aim of this study was: (i) to determine the compositional and sensory profiles of the Citrus olive oil and (ii) to evaluate its nutraceutical properties in rats with high fat diet-induced-metabolic syndrome and oxidative stress. The results obtained show the potential of using the Citrus peels as a source of bioactive compounds to improve the sensory profile as well as the phytochemical composition of olive oil. We demonstrated that the production system of C. aurantium olive oil and C. limon olive oil improves their organoleptic properties without altering their beneficial effects, which, like control extra virgin olive oil, showed protective effects on glucose and serum lipid levels, metabolic activity of adipocytes, myocardial tissue functionality, oxidative stress markers and endothelial function at blood vessel level.

Carbon nanotubes have been attracting considerable interest among material scientists, physicists, chemists and engineers for almost 30 years. Owing to their high aspect ratio, coupled with remarkable mechanical, electronic and thermal properties, carbon nanotubes have found application in diverse fields. In this review, we will cover the work on carbon nanotubes used for sensing applications. In particular, we will see examples where carbon nanotubes act as main players in devices sensing biomolecules, gas, light or pressure changes. Furthermore, we will discuss how to improve the performance of carbon nanotube-based sensors after proper modification.

For its microtubule-binding properties, the expression level of the neurodegeneration-associated protein Tau is pondered as a potential modifier of cancer resistance to chemotherapy since decades. Indeed, Tau binds microtubules at the same site as taxanes, a class of chemotherapeutic drugs designed to stabilize the microtubule network in order to stall cell division and to induce tumor cell death. Whilst independent studies report the association between low Tau expression and superior taxane response, the data were refused by a meta-analysis, suggesting interference of other parameters. Unpredictably, Tau expression level was identified as a prognostic cancer marker, whereby its positive or negative predictive value for survival depended on the cancer type. With recent experimental evidence linking Tau to P53 signaling, DNA stability and protection and to the implication of Tau in cancer is strengthened. The identification of a role of Tau at the interface between two major aging-related disorder families, neurodegeneration and cancer, offers clues for the epidemiological observation inversely correlating these disorders. Elucidating how Tau is mechanistically implicated in cellular pathways common to these devastating illnesses may extend the Tau-targeting therapeutic opportunities to cancer.

The nature of Artisanal mining in Ghana exposes its workers to various levels of health, safety and environmental (HSE) threats. These miners are mostly liable for their own HSE state at work. In an attempt to understand the HSE dynamics of artisanal miners, this study sought to assess the effect of HSE conditions on self-protection at work by artisanal goldminers in Ghana. A nested binary logistic regression model was fitted to a cross sectional survey of 500 artisanal goldminers while controlling for compositional and contextual factors. Of the HSE conditions, only health (OR= 1.653, p<0.001) and safety conditions (OR= 1.935, p<0.001) were robust in predicting self-protection in all three models. Goldminers who reported good health and safety conditions were more likely to fully protect themselves at work as compared to their counterparts who reported poor health and safety conditions. For compositional factors, female goldminers were 84% less likely to protect themselves. Miners who had senior high (OR= 1.759, p<0.001) or tertiary education (OR= 1.875, p<0.001) were more likely to protect themselves at work as compared to those with no formal education. Likewise, miners who undertook routine medical checkups (OR= 2.533, p<0.001) and the most experienced miners (OR= 2.734, p<0.001) were more likely to protect themselves at work. Counterintuitively, miners who earned more monthly income ($174 and above) were less likely to protect themselves. At the contextual level, miners who worked in non-production departments (OR= 2.001, p<0.001) and miners who worked in the medium scale subsector (OR= 5.311, p<0.001) were more likely to protect themselves at work. To increase consciousness of self-protection in artisanal mining, there is the need for a national dialogue on how to improve HSE conditions and in the absence of legislation, the complexities in managing HSE in the sector needs to be decoupled to achieve fair and standard HSE conditions as championed by the World Health Organization.

To understand the enhanced protection mechanism of CoCrNiAlY-YSZ-LaMgAl11O19 dou-ble-layer ceramic coating with aluminum plating, a finite element simulation method was used to simulate the distribution of thermal stress in the coating in all directions. The results show that in the air exposure of the un-aluminized coating, high temperature causes a large radial thermal stress on the surface of the LaMgAl11O19 (LMA) layer, and it increases with the increase in temperature, which is the main reason for the initiation of axial cracks. After arc aluminum plating, the aluminum plating layer effectively inhibited the volume shrinkage of the coating through good adhesion to the coating and internal diffusion, the thermal stress of the coating was considerably reduced, and the CoCrNiAlY-YSZ-LMA coating had an effective enhancement and protection effect; however, there was still a certain amount of shear thermal stress inside the LMA layer, the top of the crack, and the bottom of the crack. This thermal stress caused the initi-ation of radial microcracks in the LMA layer, which also becomes a risk point for the failure of the aluminum coating.

Currently, there are several challenges that Cloud-based health-care Systems, around the world, are facing. The most important issue is to ensure security and privacy or in other words to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the data. Although the main provisions for data security and privacy were present in the former legal framework for the protection of personal data, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduces new concepts and new requirements. In this paper, we present the main changes and the key challenges of the General Data Protection Regulation, and also at the same time we present how the Cloud-based Security Policy methodology proposed in [1] could be modified in order to be compliant with the GDPR and how Cloud environments can assist developers to build secure and GDPR compliant Cloud-based health Systems. The major concept of this paper is, primarily, to facilitate Cloud Providers in comprehending the framework of the new General Data Protection Regulation and secondly, to identify security measures and security policy rules for the protection of sensitive data in a Cloud-based Health System, following our risk-based Security Policy Methodology that assesses the associated security risks and takes into account different requirements from patients, hospitals, and various other professional and organizational actors.

Coastal areas are influenced by natural coastal hazards such as hurricanes, storm surges and tsunamis. For centuries coastal structures such as seawalls, detached breakwaters, groins, and revetments have been constructed to protect coastal properties. However, their effectiveness diminishes with time, and they are not adaptable to changing coastal conditions. Ecosystem-based approaches offer protection against erosion and the creation or restoration of coastal habitats. However, the protection properties and the sustainability provided by these systems are not well understood. Salt marshes have been known as one of the ecosystem-based protection systems. They protect coasts and lands by dissipating energy, stabilizing sediments and producing organic matter through blow ground production. Stems of plants dissipate waves propagating over salt marsh and plant roots stabilize soils and sediments. The dissipation rate varies with wave frequency; the low-frequency swell wave is dissipated less on the edge of the marsh than wind-sea waves. Salt and wetlands can also be used for reducing coastal flooding and storm surges, but a wetland is required to successfully attenuate storm surges. A salt marsh can be resilient to sea-level rise in certain conditions. Large sediment supply and gentle upland slope increase salt marsh resiliency to relative sea-level rise. Connecticut marshes, like other marshes in the world, are vulnerable to anthropogenic and climate change effects. However, an assessment of current sea level rise and average marsh accretion rates in Connecticut demonstrates sea level rise is not the main vulnerable factor for salt marshes loss. The study on the feasibility of developing an ecosystem based on two coastlines in Connecticut, Guilford and Stratford, shows that both coastlines, like other coastlines in Connecticut, have limited wave energy, which is a positive factor for marsh growth. The available data assessment represents that sediment supply is the most important parameter to guarantee the resilience and sustainability of a newly developed salt marsh system in Connecticut. In Stratford, conditions for establishing a new ecosystem seem to be better, as the fetch length is pretty small, and there is some sediment supply for the ecosystem. In Guilford, wave energy is limited, but it is more than in Stratford case. In addition, sediment availability is low and the coastline experienced a large erosion during Hurricane Sandy and has not recovered yet.

The radial distribution networks are designed for unidirectional power flows and are passive in nature. However, with the penetration of Distributed Generation (DG), the power flow becomes bidirectional and the network becomes active. The integration of DGs into distribution network creates many issues with: system stability, protection coordination, power quality, islanding, proper placement and sizing etc. Among these issues, the two most significant are optimal sizing and placement of DGs and their protection coordination in utility network. The proper coordination of relays with high penetration of DGs placed at optimal location increases the availability and reliability of the network during abnormal operating conditions.This research addresses most of the available methods for efficient sizing and placement of DGs in distribution system (numerical, analytical and heuristic) as well as the developed protection coordination techniques for utility networks in the presence of DGs (Artificial Intelligence (AI), adaptive and non-adaptive, multi-agent, hybrid). This paper indicates the possible research gaps and highlights the applications possibilities and methods’ limitations in the area of DGs.