Understanding how the coronaviruses invade our body is an essential point, and the expression profile of coronaviruses receptor may help us to find where the coronavirus infects our body. We found that the coronavirus receptors, including angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) for SARS-CoV and SARS-Cov-2, are digestion-related enzymes in human enterocytes. Coronaviruses are continually altering the binding receptor and binding modes during their evolution, but the potential target cell in the small intestine is constant when in the lung is inconstant. Enterocytes may act as a conserved cell reservoir for coronaviruses, which may be partially explained by the Red Queen hypothesis. We also found that coronaviruses receptors could be elevated in the presence of both invasive bacteria and their counterpart, probiotics. We demonstrated here that enterocytes act as a conserved cell reservoir for coronaviruses during their evolutions, which should not be ignored in the investigation of coronavirus diagnosis and treatment strategies.

According to known laws of physics, chronic positive mass balance is the actual etiology of obesity, not positive energy balance. The relevant physical law in terms of body mass regulation is the Law of Conservation of Mass, not the Law of Conservation of Energy. A recently proposed mass balance model (MBM) describes the temporal evolution of body weight and body composition under a wide variety of feeding experiments, and it seems to provide a highly accurate description of the very best experimental human feeding data. By shifting to a mass balance paradigm of obesity, a deeper understanding of this disease may follow in the near future. The purpose of this living review is to present the core issues of the upcoming paradigm shift as well as some practical applications related to the topic.

Leigh Van Valen was an American evolutionary biologist who made major contributions to evolutionary theory and is particularly remembered by his groundbreaking paper "A New Evolutionary Law" (1973) where he provided evidence from fossil record data that this law maintains that the probability of extinction within any group remains es­sentially constant through time. In order to explain such unexpected result, Van Valen formulated a very influential idea that he dubbed the "Red Queen hypothesis". It states that the constant decay must be a consequence of evolutionary interactions among connected species within ecological networks. In Van Valen's picture, species do not merely evolve: they also coevolve with other species. As a consequence, when thinking in adaptation to an external environment, the other species must be considered as part (may be a major part) of such external world. Van Valen's law provided the first complex systems theory of coevolutionary dynamics and inspired a whole range of theoretical and experimental developments and scholars from very diverse fields, from economics to physics. In that respect, Leigh Van Valen's contribution percolated far beyond its original formulation. Red Queen arms races are nowadays considered a widespread feature of complex adaptive systems.

Multiple governmental agencies and private organisations have made commitments for the colonisation of Mars. Such colonisation requires complex systems and infrastructure that could be very costly to repair or replace in cases of cyber-attacks. This paper surveys deep learning algorithms, IoT cyber security and risk models, and established mathematical formulas to identify the best approach for developing a dynamic and self-adapting system for predictive cyber risk analytics supported with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and real-time intelligence in edge computing. The paper presents a new mathematical approach for integrating concepts for cognition engine design, edge computing and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to automate anomaly detection. This engine instigates a step change by applying Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning embedded at the edge of IoT networks, to deliver safe and functional real- time intelligence for predictive cyber risk analytics. This will enhance capacities for risk analytics and assists in the creation of a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the opportunities and threats that arise when edge computing nodes are deployed, and when Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies are migrated to the periphery of the internet and into local IoT networks.

A long standing problem in paleontology is the presence of giant arthropods during the so-called carboniferous era. The same difficulty occurs for the size of plants at the same period. We devise a possible answer to this question entirely different from the theories developed until now, based on the hypothesis that the size of atoms is decaying for very large times and the dimensions of polymers such as chitin and cellulose, containing expansible holes, are decreasing more slowly than rigid materials such as metals, alloys, composite materials and stone. Incidentally, this hypothesis might also give an alternative statement to the expansion of space.

In recent years, the focus of disease resistance and susceptibility studies in cattle have been on determining patterns in the innate immune response of key proteins, such as Toll-like receptors (TLR). In the bovine genome, there are 10 TLR family members and, of these, TLR2, TLR4 and TLR6 are specialized in recognition of bacterial ligands. Indigenous cattle breeds of Anatolia have been reported to show fewer signs of clinical bacterial infections, such as bovine tuberculosis and mastitis, and it is hypothesized that this might be due to a less stringent genetic selection during breeding. In contrast, Holstein-Friesian cattle have been under strong selection for milk production, which may have resulted in greater susceptibility to diseases. To test this hypothesis, we have compared the TLR2, TLR4 and TLR6 genes of Anatolian Black (AB), East Anatolian Red (EAR), South Anatolian Red (SAR), Turkish Grey (TG), and Holstein (HOL) cattle using Next Generation Sequencing. The SAR breed had the most variations overall, followed by EAR, AB, TG and HOL. TG had the most variations for TLR2 whereas SAR had the most variations in TLR4 and TLR6. We compared these variants with those associated with disease and susceptibility traits. We used exon variants to construct haplotypes, investigated shared haplotypes within breeds and determined candidate haplotypes for disease resistance phenotype in Anatolian cattle breeds.

Using coherent optical detection and digital signal processing, laser phase noise and equalization enhanced phase noise can be effectively mitigated using the feed-forward and feed-back carrier phase recovery approaches. In this paper, theoretical analyses of feed-back and feed-forward carrier phase recovery methods have been carried out in the long-haul high-speed n-level phase shift keying (n-PSK) optical fiber communication systems, involving a one-tap normalized least-mean-square (LMS) algorithm, a block-wise average algorithm, and a Viterbi-Viterbi algorithm. The analytical expressions for evaluating the estimated carrier phase and for predicting the bit-error-rate (BER) performance (such as the BER floors) have been presented and discussed in the n-PSK coherent optical transmission systems by considering both the laser phase noise and the equalization enhanced phase noise. The results indicate that the Viterbi-Viterbi carrier phase recovery algorithm outperforms the one-tap normalized LMS and the block-wise average algorithms for small phase noise variance (or effective phase noise variance), while the one-tap normalized LMS algorithm shows a better performance than the other two algorithms for large phase noise variance (or effective phase noise variance). In addition, the one-tap normalized LMS algorithm is more sensitive to the level of modulation formats.

In 2014, the International Union for Conservation of Nature adopted the Red List of Ecosystems (IUCN RLE) criteria as the global standard for assessing risks to terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. Identifying and quantifying the impacts of biodiversity assessments on the status of nature is key to justifying continued investment in assessments and enabling strategic planning to maximize future impact. In this policy perspective, we use an established impact evaluation framework to identify the impacts of the IUCN RLE since its inception. To date, 1,397 ecosystem units in 100 countries have been assessed following the IUCN RLE protocol. Systematic assessments are complete or underway in more than 25 countries and two continental regions (the Americas and Europe). Countries with established ecosystem red lists have already used them to inform legislation, land-use planning, protected area expansion, monitoring and reporting, and ecosystem management. IUCN RLE indices based on systematic assessments have high potential to inform global biodiversity reporting for the Aichi Targets and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Expanding the coverage of IUCN RLE assessments, building capacity to undertake them, and establishing stronger policy instruments to manage red-listed ecosystems will be key to maximizing conservation impacts over the coming decades.

The eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, currently inhabits previously glaciated regions of the northeastern U.S., as well as the unglaciated southern Appalachian Mountains and surrounding areas. We hypothesized that Pleistocene climatic fluctuations have influenced the distribution of R. flavipes, and thus the evolutionary history of the species. We estimated contemporary and historical geographic distributions of R. flavipes by constructing Species Distribution Models (SDM). We also inferred the evolutionary and demographic history of the species using mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I and II) and nuclear (endo-beta-1,4-glucanase) DNA sequence data. To do this, genetic populations were delineated using Bayesian spatial genetic clustering, competing hypotheses about population divergence were assessed using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), and changes in population size were estimated using Bayesian skyline plots. SDMs identified areas in the north with suitable habitat during the transition from the Last Interglacial to the Last Glacial Maximum, as well as an expanding distribution from the mid-Holocene to the present. Genetic analyses identified three geographically cohesive populations, corresponding with northern, central, and southern portions of the study region. Based on ABC analyses, divergence between the Northern and Southern populations was the oldest, estimated to have occurred 64.80 thousand years ago (kya), which corresponds with the timing of available habitat in the north. The Central and Northern populations diverged in the mid-Holocene, 8.63 kya, after which the Central population continued to expand. Accordingly, phylogeographic patterns of R. flavipes in the southern Appalachians appear to have been strongly influenced by glacial-interglacial climate change.

This study aims to determine the protective effects of red seaweed Eucheuma cottonii (EC) ethanol extract on acute colitis disease in mice. Male BALB/c mice used for acute colitis disease model by induced 2.5% (w/v) of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for 7 days for all groups, except control group. The DSS-induced mice then treated by three different doses of EC extracts (0.35, 0.70, 1.75 g/kg body weight), curcumin (as a positive control, 0.10 g/kg), and a group was orally only by water. In 8^th day, the mice sacrificed and collected the blood, then measured the body weight, colon weight, and colon length. Disease activity index (DAI), pro-inflammatory such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, as well as IL-10 as anti-inflammatory were measured. The results showed that after treatment for 7 days, EC extract protected the weight loss and decreased the colon weight per length ratio. In addition, EC extract also decreased the pro-inflammatory cytokines expression in serum and increased the IL-10. Moreover, EC extract protected the colonic tissue damage. According to this results, the EC ethanol extract might be can used for the treatment of colitis disease.

Sourced so far mostly from beet root juice, betanin is a red-violet natural colorant increasingly used by the food, beverage and nutraceutical industries. We provide an updated bioeconomy perspective into a valued betacyanin whose supply and applications, we argue in this study, will rapidly expand.

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles ubiquitously present in nucleated eukaryotic cells, subserving multiple metabolic functions, including cellular ATP generation by oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). The OXPHOS machinery comprises five transmembrane respiratory chain enzyme complexes (RC). Defective OXPHOS gives rise to mitochondrial diseases (mtD). The incredible phenotypic and genetic diversity of mtD can be attributed at least in part to the RC dual genetic control (nuclear DNA [nDNA] and mitochondrial DNA [mtDNA]) and the complex interaction between the two genomes. Despite the increasing use of next-generation-sequencing (NGS) and various -omics platforms in unraveling novel mtD genes and pathomechanisms, current clinical practice for investigating mtD essentially involves a multipronged approach including clinical assessment, metabolic screening, imaging, pathological, biochemical and functional testing to guide molecular genetic analysis. This review addresses the broad muscle pathology landscape including genotype-phenotype correlations in adult and paediatric mtD, the role of immunodiagnostics in understanding some of the pathomechanisms underpinning the canonical features of mtD, and recent diagnostic advances in the field.

This article discusses how, in today’s world of disruptive and dramatic social change (DSC), non-sports related coaching, which includes a wide range of services such as life coaching, career coaching, executive coaching, and team coaching, can inadvertently fuel undesirable social dynamics. There is little or no awareness of this risk among coaches and coachees. The global, fast-growing, multi-billion-dollar industry aimed at supporting people and organisations to perform better and increase wellbeing while managing and adapting to change has been developed with limited sociological input. The article is based on 15 years of social constructionist-informed reflective practice by a sociologist-turned-coach, and uses a multi-layered autoethnographic account to argue for a sociologically informed paradigm shift in coaching, as well as relevant sociological knowledge and social and human sciences research methodology in coaches’ education. It presents the rationale and key features of a new coaching approach that places DSC-relevant sociological concepts at the heart of the coaching process, helps people develop psycho-sociological awareness, and uses a learning-to-develop through research design. A new definition of coaching to address DSC is derived. Coaching practitioners will find DSC-relevant sociological concepts, critical reflections, coaching questions, and procedures to expand coaching effectiveness. Interdisciplinary research topics combining coaching sociology and coaching psychology are suggested.

Red djulis (Chenopodium formosanum) is a native cereal plant in Taiwan; it contains abundant polyphenols, betalian and dietary fiber. The appearance of red djulis is bright red. Therefore, it is also called the “ruby of cereals”. The antioxidative activity of red djulis extract is well-understood. However, the antiaging function still remains unclear. This study examined the potential of red djulis extract for enhancing collagen secretion and preventing cutaneous aging using red djulis extracts. The red djulis extracts are comprised of an abundant active component that can effectively enhance the ability of collagen secretion of dermal fibroblasts, prevent the glycation of collagen and resist the damage of ultraviolet light exposure. After fibroblast treatment with red djulis extracts, TGM1, KRT1, KRT10 and SOD2 genes were up-regulated significantly by 2.3, 4.3, 4.4 and 27.3 times, respectively, compared to those of the control group. Additionally, it can increase COL1A2 gene expression by 43% and decrease MMP9 gene expression 33%. Therefore, it was demonstrated that red djulis extracts affect gene expressions related to the skin barrier, antioxidation and collagen. Moreover, we found positive effects on skin barrier integrity, endogenous antioxidant activity and skin collagen-preservation. The preparation of the red djulis extracts is environmental friendly and can promote the economic value of Chenopodium formosanum; thus, the proposed extract is suitable for applications in the development of food products, especially beverages, skin care and cosmetic products.

The purpose of present work was to provide mineralogical insight in the rare earth element (REE) phases in bauxite residue to improve REE recovering technologies. Experimental work was performed by electron probe microanalysis with energy dispersive as well as wavelength dispersive spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. REEs are found as discrete mineral particles in bauxite residue. Their sizes range from < 1 μm to about 40 μm. In bauxite residue, the most abundant REE bearing phases are light REE (LREE) ferrotitanates, that form a solid solution between the phases with major compositions (REE,Ca,Na)(Ti,Fe)O3 and (Ca,Na)(Ti,Fe)O3. These are secondary phases formed during the Bayer process by an in-situ transformation of the precursor bauxite LREE phases. Comparing to natural systems, the indicated solid solution resembles loparite-perovskite series. LREE particles often have a calcium ferrotitanate shell surrounding them, that probably hinders their solubility. Minor amount of LREE carbonate and phosphate minerals as well as manganese-associated LREE phases are also present in bauxite residue. Heavy REEs occur in the same form as in bauxites, namely as yttrium phosphates. These results show that Bayer process has an impact on the initial REE mineralogy contained in bauxite. Bauxite residue as well as selected bauxites are potentially good sources of REEs.

Observed sea surface Ka-band normalized radar backscatter cross section (NRCS) and Doppler velocity (DV) exhibit energy at low frequencies (LF) below the surface wave range. It is shown that non-linearity in NRCS-wave slope Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) and inherent NRCS averaging within the footprint account for the NRCS and DV LF variance with the exception of VV NRCS for which almost half of the LF variance is attributable to wind fluctuations. Although the distribution of radar DV is quasi-Gaussian suggesting virtually little impact of non-linearity, the LF DV variations arise due to footprint averaging of correlated local DV and non-linear NRCS. Numerical simulations demonstrate that MTF non-linearity weakly affects traditional linear MTF estimate (less than 10% for |MTF|< 20). Thus the linear MTF is a good approximation to evaluate the DV averaged over large footprints typical of satellite observations.

Information molecules of DNA and RNA should obey principles of quantum mechanics where unitary operators in form of unitary matrices have key meanings. Unitary matrices are the basis of calculations in quantum computers. This article presents some author's results, which show that matrix forms of the representation of structured systems of molecular-genetic alphabets can be considered as sets of sparse unitary matrices related with phenomenologic features of the degeneracy of the genetic code. These sparse unitary matrices have orthogonal systems of functions in their rows and columns. A complementarity exists among some unitary genetic matrices in relation each other. Decompositions of numeric genetic matrices into sets of sparse unitary matrices are connected with the logical operation of modulo-2 addition used in quantum computers as well. Tensor (or Kronecker) families of unitary genetic matrices with their fractal-like properties are also considered. The described results are discussed in the frame of development of quantum-information approaches for modeling genetic systems.

Some wind farms have implemented automated camera\textendash based monitoring systems e.g. IdentiFlight to mitigate the impact of wind turbines on protected raptors. These systems have effectuated the collection of large amounts of data that can be used to describe flight behavior in a novel way. This data uniquely provides both flight trajectories and images of individual birds throughout their flight trajectories. The aim of this study was to evaluate how this unique data could be used to create a robust quantitative behavioral analysis, that could be used to identify risk prone flight behavior and avoidance behavior thereby in the future assess collision risk. This was attained through a case study at a wind farm on the Swedish island Gotland, where golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla), and red kites (Milvus milvus), were chosen as the selected bird species. The results demonstrate that flight trajectories and bird images can be used to identify high risk flight behavior and thereby also used to evaluate collision risk and avoidance behavior. This study presents a promising framework for future research, demonstrating how data from camera\textendash based monitoring systems can be utilized to quantitatively describe risk prone behavior and thereby assess collision risk and avoidance behavior.

Abstract: Predation of eggs and emerging hatchlings of olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) by wild animals and feral dogs are known. They reduce the hatching success rate considerably affecting the conservation management of this vulnerable species. Hatchery management is practised in India to overcome predation. Ant predation is a serious threat to turtle nest protected by ex situ or in situ erected hatchery. This article reports the first direct evidence of turtle eggs predation by Dorylus orientalis Westwood, 1835 commonly called red ants. Native to India, Oriental, Indo Australian and Palearctic regions they are notorious as an agricultural pest. Chlorpyrifos pesticides recommended for their control could become fatal for the developing embryos of turtles if applied near the hatchery. In the turtle nesting site of the west coast of India, D. orientalis has more of an ecological role than as a pest. Natural pesticide such as Neem powder (Azadirachta indica) shows promising results for preventing their infestation.

The experiment was conducted to determine the effects of different substrate on the survival, growth and total number of moulting in juvenile red claw, Cherax quadricarinatus for aquaculture purposes. In the present study, there is a problem in culturing juvenile stage of C. quadricarinatus especially for survival and growth. Thus, a substrate was used to improve the survival and growth of C. quadricarinatus especially for the intensive system due C. quadricarinatus need a large space to survive. C. quadricarinatus with initial body weight from 1.10 to 2.90 g, total length 2.82 to 4.36 cm were placed in tanks (80 L in volume capacity) with 55L in water and there are eight juveniles in each tank. Treatment tanks were introduced with coral as treatment 2 and pipe as treatment 3. While, tank without shelters was set as control (treatment 1). Black nets were installed on top of each for circumventing foreign objects enter the tank and protect from direct sunlight. Besides, C. quadricarinatus were acclimatized for seven days before started the experiment. The experiment was done in duplicate and conducted for 60 days and C. quadricarinatus were fed twice daily (morning and evening) based on 5% of body weight. From the total of two replications, C. quadricarinatus for treatment 2 (coral) were significantly in survival (81.25±8.84%), weight gain (347.36 ±6.04%), specific growth rate (2.50±0.02%), carapace length (32.93 ± 0.93 %) and total number of moulting (55.00±2.93%) compared to other treatments. Besides, the control treatment (treatment 1) has a lower percentage in survival (37.50±8.84%) weight gain (122.60±20.51%) specific growth rate (1.33±0.15%), carapace length (25.84±0.33 %) and total number of molting (29.00±0.71%). As a conclusion, usage of coral as the substrate in the rearing tank showed improvement in survival, weight gain, specific growth rate, carapace length and total number of molting in C. quadricarinatus. The coral can use in rearing tank for increase the growth and survival for a small scale and not for commercial. In addition, in the environmental aspect, the present study showed the benefit of replacing the use of PVC pipes with the natural structure of dead coral.

Freshwater fish represent half of all fish species and are the most threatened vertebrate group. Given their considerable passion and knowledge, aquarium hobbyists can play a vital role in their conservation. CARES is made up of many hobbyist organizations, whose purpose is to encourage aquarium hobbyists to the most endangered or extinct-in-the-wild freshwater fish to help ensure their survival. We found the CARES priority list contains nearly six hundred species from twenty families and two dozen species extinct-in-the-wild. The major families were typically the ones with largest hobbyist affiliations such as killifish, livebearers, and cichlids; which alone were half of CARES species. CARES contained every IUCN threatened species of Pseudomugilidae and Valenciidae, but only one percent of threatened Characidae, Cobitidae, and Gobiidae species. No Loricariidae in CARES were in the IUCN red list as they were not scientifically described. Tanzania and Mexico contained the largest amount of species, with the latter containing the most endemics. A large percent of species were classified differently than the IUCN, including a third of extinct-in-the-wild species classified as least concern by the IUCN. The vast disconnect exemplifies the importance of collaboration and information exchange required between hobbyists, the scientific community, and conservation organizations.

Clustering, or otherwise known as cluster analysis, is a learning problem that takes place without any human supervision. This technique has often been utilized, much efficiently, in data analysis, and serves for observing and identifying interesting, useful, or desired patterns in the said data. The clustering technique functions by performing a structured division of the data involved, in similar objects based on the characteristics that it identifies. This process results in the formation of groups, and each group that is formed, is called a cluster. A single said cluster consists of objects from the data, that have similarities among other objects found in the same cluster, and resemble differences when compared to objects identified from the data that now exist in other clusters. The process of clustering is very significant in various aspects of data analysis, as it determines and presents the intrinsic grouping of objects present in the data, based on their attributes, in a batch of unlabeled raw data. A textbook or otherwise said, good criteria, does not exist in this method of cluster analysis. That is because this process is so different and so customizable for every user, that needs it in his/her various and different needs. There is no outright best clustering algorithm, as it massively depends on the user’s scenario and needs. This paper is intended to compare and study two different clustering algorithms. The algorithms under investigation are k-mean and mean shift. These algorithms are compared according to the following factors: time complexity, training, prediction performance and accuracy of the clustering algorithms.

This paper investigates existing mathematical morphology based techniques applied for performing malaria parasites detection and identification in both Giemsa and Leishman stained blood smears images. Malaria is an epidemic health disease and a rapid, accurate diagnosis is necessary for proper intervention. Generally, pathologists visually examine blood stained slides for malaria diagnosis; this kind of visual inspection is subjective, errorprone and time consuming. In order to cope with such issues, computer-aided methods have been increasingly evolved for abnormal erythrocyte and/or parasites detection, segmentation and semi/fully automated classification. The aim of this paper is to present a review of recent mathematical morphology based methods for malaria parasite detection.

Red mud is a hazardous waste of alumina industry that contains high amounts of iron, aluminum, titanium and REEs. One of the promising methods for the extraction of iron from red mud is car-bothermic reduction with the addition of sodium salts. This research focuses on the process of hy-drochloric high-pressure acid leaching using 10–20% HCl of two samples of non-magnetic tailings obtained by 60-minute carbothermic roasting of red mud at 1300 °C and the mixture of 84.6 wt. % of red mud and 15.4 wt. % Na2SO4 at 1150 °C, respectively, with subsequent magnetic separation of metallic iron. An influence of temperature, leaching duration, solid-to-liquid-ratio and acid con-centration on dissolution behavior of Al, Ti, Mg, Ca, Si, Fe, Na, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sc, Zr were studied. Based on the investigation of the obtained residues, mechanism of passing of valuable elements into the solution was proposed. It has shown that 90% Al, 91% Sc and above 80% of other REEs can be dissolved under optimal conditions; Ti can be extracted into the solution or the residue depending on the leaching temperature and acid concentration. Based on the research results, novel flowsheets for red mud treatment were developed.

We present the generation and nonlinear frequency conversion of nanosecond cylindrical vector beams (CVBs) in two-mode fiber (TMF). Based on the polarized dependence vector mode coupling characteristic and the precise wavelength tunability of an acoustically-induced fiber grating (AIFG), the nanosecond cylindrical vector beams (CVBs, 1064 nm, 10 ns) is directly generated in a TMF with convenient switching characteristics between the radial and azimuthal vector beams. Furthermore, the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is produced based on the transmission of the nanosecond CVBs in the 100-meters long TMF, and the spatial intensity and polarization distributions characteristics the 1st-order Stokes shifted component is consistent with the nanosecond CVBs pump pulse. This work provides a method for achieving wavelength conversion of the CVBs in optical fiber.

Prescribed burning and other active forest management treatments have been proven to be essential for maintaining suitable habitat conditions for many wildlife species, including the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW). This study examines the perception of forest management treatments of recreation users participating in various activities (hunting, hiking/backpacking, camping, off-highway vehicle riding, and canoeing/kayaking) in terms of scenic beauty and recreation satisfaction. We used photographic images to capture various forest management treatments of different intensity levels and times after treatments, and assessed users’ perception of scenic beauty and recreation satisfaction. Results indicated variation among users participating in different recreation activities, but that good quality RCW habitat offered both higher scenic beauty and higher recreation satisfaction than poor quality habitat for most user groups. Finally, recreation satisfaction was statistically equal to perceived scenic beauty from both good and poor-quality RCW habitats for most of the user groups, thus suggesting the importance of scenic beauty on forest sites in determining recreation users’ attainment of visit satisfaction. Findings conclude that forest sites developed as good quality RCW habitat in the present state also offer quality experience to recreation users, thus supporting multi-objective forestry practices in public forests.

Otolith morphology analysis is one of the main tools used for fish or fish stock identification. Moreover, otolith shape can also be used in fish dietary studies (stomach content) for the identification of prey fishes and their size according to the relationship between fish and otolith sizes. In the present study, the relationship between fish length and otolith morphological dimensions was investigated for the sabre squirrelfish, Sargocentron spiniferum (Forsskål, 1775) (family: Holocentridae). Samples of 185 fish were collected from the coast of the Red Sea, Egypt. To analyze the relationship between fish and otolith, otolith morphometric measurements (length, width, area, perimeter, weight, sulcus, and ostium) and shape factors (aspect ratio, compactness, form factor, rectangularity, roundness, ellipticity, squareness) describing outline shape were extracted using image analysis. Generalized linear models were applied for the relationship between body length and each otolith morphology feature. From the relationships between the total length of fish and fourteen morphology features, only otolith length, caudal length, and squareness were significantly correlated with fish size. Our results provide more information for the relationship between fish length and otolith morphometric features.

Thyroid nodules (TNs) are common thyroid lesions in older population. Few studies focused on the prevalence of TNs and its relationship to lifestyle characteristics and dietary habits in centenarians. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of TNs in Chinese centenarians using high-resolution ultrasound equipment and investigate its relationship to lifestyles and dietary habits. The current study was part of China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study (CHCCS) which conducted in Hainan, an iodine sufficient region in China. A total of 874 permanent residents aged 100 years or older (mean age, 102.8 ± 2.8 years) without any missing data were included in the analysis. Among the participants, 649 of them were detected at least one thyroid nodule under the ultrasound examinations. The overall prevalence rate of TNs was 74.3%. The prevalence of TNs was higher in participants who were females, hypertension, diabetes, and underweight than their counterparts. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that being female, hypertension, diabetes, betel quid consumption, red meat consumption were independent risk factors, while being underweight, and nut consumption were independent protective factors for TNs. Our findings indicate that the presence of thyroid nodules was highly prevalent in Chinese centenarians, particularly in females. In addition to gender, hypertension, diabetes, and underweight, the presence of TNs was independently associated with betel quid, red meat, and nut consumptions. Further prospective studies are warranted to verify these associations in population from different age strata, races, cultures, and iodine backgrounds.

In this study, rheological properties of the bread wheat flour dough from 6 wheat genotypes were determined. For the pereparation of flour, 3 red bread (Pandas, Sagitorya, Pehlivan) and 3 white bread (Kaşifbey, Göktan, Ceyhan-99) were selected as wheat genotype. To determine the rheological properties of the wheat flour dough, farinograph, extensograph, mixolab and glutograph devices were used. According to the results of the Farinograph analysis, the average development time of wheat White and red genotypes were 1.95 minutes and 8.96 minutes, respectively. According to the extensograph results of the flour samples, the most extended stability value was determined with 7.47 min in Ceyhan-99 cultivar. As a result of the research, it was determined that flour yields of red bread varieties were higher other genotypes, gas retention capacities of white bread flours were showed high result in extensograph application and resistance of dough to elongation was higher. In the Mixolab analysis, it determined that white bread wheat varieties have higher values in terms of kneading properties and gluten properties, and red bread wheat varieties have higher values in values of viscosity, amylase value and starch retrogradation.

Food consumption in Europe is changing. Red meat consumption has been steadily decreasing in the past decades. The rising interest of consumers for healthier and more sustainable meat products provide red meat producers with the opportunity to differentiate their offers by ecolabels, origin and health claims. This international study analyses the European consumer preferences for red meat (beef, lamb and goat) in seven countries: Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Through a choice experiment, 2.900 responses were collected. Mixed multinomial logit models were estimated to identify heterogeneous preferences among consumers at the country level. Results indicate substantial differences between the most relevant attributes for the average consumers, as well as their willingness to pay for them in each country. Nevertheless, national origin and organic labels were highly valued in most countries.

Animals in human care are affected by stressors that can ultimately reduce fitness. When reproduction is affected, endangered species’ conservation programmes can be severely compromised. Thus, understanding factors related to stress and reproduction, and measures of related hormones, are important to ensure captive breeding success. Red pandas are endangered and populations in the wild are threatened with extinction. A global captive breeding programme has been launched to conserve the species with the goal of reintroduction. However there is little informaiton on how stressors impact reproductive aspects of the species. This study measured fecal glucocorticoid (fGCM), fecal progestagen (fPM) and fecal androgen (fAM) metabolite concentrations in 12 female and 8 male red pandas (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) at three zoos in northeastern India to determine predictors of adrenal and gonadal steroid activity and the influence of fGCM on reproduction. Results indicated that fGCM concentrations were higher in males than females, and positively correlated with number of visitors, while negatively related to frequency of feedings and enclosure area. Sex, visitor number, frequency of feeding, and enclosure area explained 67% of the variations in fGCM concentrations in the study population. Concentrations of fPM were positively associated with tree density in the enclosure, explaining 47% of the variation among females. For fAM, positive associations were found with frequency of feeding, but concentrations were negatively related to age and number of visitors; these three covariates explained 45% of the variation in fAM concentration among males. Comparison of fGCM with fPM showed a negative trend, indicating increasing adrenal hormones may decrease reproductive function among female red pandas. The study thus suggests that zoo management should consider increasing feeding frequency, providing larger enclosures with more trees, and regulating visitor numbers to reduce stress and increase reproductive fitness among red pandas.

Within the fields of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Research Publication Purposes (ERPP), there is an unquestioned orthodoxy that scholars with English as an Additional Language (EAL) are particularly disadvantaged by the pressure to publish in English (though see Kuteeva 2015 and debate between Hyland 2016a, 2016b and Politzer-Ahlesa et al. 2016). In this paper, I challenge this orthodoxy, raising questions about the evidence upon which it is based. Within a framework of ‘verbal hygiene’ (Cameron 1995, 2012), I will argue that the attention accorded to ‘non-nativeness’ may be disproportionate to its significance for publication success. I conclude by proposing some reorientations for researchers and practitioners in the field that centre on broadening the scope to encompass non-linguistic structures of inequity.

Arabic is present in the Arab world and beyond. It is used as an official (or co-official) language in the Arab World (this refers to the twenty-two member states of the Arab League). Also, Arabic has the status of a national language in Mali, Niger, and Senegal. Besides, it is spoken in linguistic enclaves in Nigeria, Cyprus, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. In addition, it is employed as the liturgical language in Muslim countries and countries with a Muslim minority all over Africa and Asia. As a result of the migration to Western countries since the end of the nineteenth century, Arabs and Arabic has been present in such countries. The presence of Arabs in Western countries raises the following question: Are these Arabs language maintainers or language shifters? The present article is an attempt to answer this question through reviewing a number of studies that have dealt with Arabic language maintenance among the Arabs living in Western countries (namely the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Greece, and France), deducing from these studies the major trends in Arabic language maintenance among these Arabs, and providing a critique of the studies.

Confidence in intermodal transport has not yet been defined. There are many different approaches to the concept of trust. However, the authors embedded them in the light of the challenges of sustainability, linking with the shift paradigm. The objective of the article is to indicate the directions and criteria for the implementation of the shift paradigm, inscribed in the idea of sustainable transport. The auxiliary objective is to predict which countries in a given year will have the TRUST status, i.e. implement the shift paradigm, and which will not implement it (DISTRESS). The article uses taxonometric techniques and built a model using General Discriminant Analysis. On their basis, the utility function was approximated, including the directions of implementation of the shift paradigm depending on the scale of the environmental load of transport. In the course of the research, an original and innovative econometric model was constructed, pointing to three variables, which had the greatest impact on trust. Thanks to the cognitive value of the model, it is possible to identify individuals who deserve the trust, i.e. it will implement the shift paradigm, with 93% probability. In the future, it is worth expanding the research by models for each country.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) of pharmaceutical drugs that contain paracetamol is investigated in air and argon atmospheres. Characteristic neutral and ionic spectral lines of various elements and molecular signatures of CN violet and C₂ Swan band systems are observed. The relative hardness of all drug samples is measured as well. Principal component analysis, a multivariate method, is applied in data analysis for demarcation purposes of the drug samples. The CN violet and C₂ Swan spectral radiances are investigated for evaluation of possible correlation of the chemical and molecular structures of the pharmaceuticals. Complementary Raman and Fourier-transform-infra-red spectroscopies are used record molecular spectra of the drug samples. The applicationof the above techniques for the drug screening are important for identification and mitigation of drugs that reveal additives that may cause adverse side-effects.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a vaccine preventable disease caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), which is primarily prevalent in Asia. JEV is a Flavivirus, classified into a single serotype with five genetically distinct genotypes (I, II, III, IV, and V). JEV genotype III (GIII) had been the most dominant strain and caused numerous out breaks in the JEV endemic countries until 1990. However, recent data shows the emergence of genotype I (GI) as a dominant genotype and it is gradually displacing GIII. The exact mechanism of this genotype displacement is still unclear. The virus can replicate in mosquito vectors and vertebrate hosts to maintain its zoonotic life cycle; pigs and aquatic wading birds act as an amplifying/reservoir hosts, and humans and equines are the dead end hosts. The important role of pigs as an amplifying host for JEV is well known. However, the influence of other domestic animals especially birds that live in high abundance and close proximity to human is not well studied. Here, we strive to briefly highlight the role of birds in JEV zoonotic transmission, discovery of birds as a natural reservoirs and amplifying host for JEV, species of birds susceptible to JEV infection, and the proposed effect of JEV on poultry industry in future perspective which have been neglected for a long times. We also discussed the recent in vitro and in vivo studies which show that the newly emerged GI viruses replicated more efficiently in bird-derived cells and ducklings/chicks than GIII, and an important role of birds in the JEV genotype shift from GIII to GI.

Restricted feeding is well known to affect expression profiles of both clock and metabolic genes. However, it is unknown whether these changes in metabolic gene expression result from changes in the molecular clock or in feeding behavior. Here we eliminated the daily rhythm in feeding behavior by providing 6-meals evenly distributed over the light/dark-cycle. Animals on this 6-meals-a-day feeding schedule retained the normal day/night difference in physiological parameters including body temperature and locomotor activity. The daily rhythm in respiratory exchange ratio (RER), however, was significantly phase-shifted through increased utilization of carbohydrates during the light phase and increased lipid oxidation during the dark phase. This 6-meals-a-day feeding schedule did not have a major impact on the clock gene expression rhythms in the master clock but did have mild effects on peripheral clocks. By contrast, genes involved in glucose and lipid metabolism showed differential expression. Concluding, eliminating the daily rhythm in feeding behavior in rats does not affect the master clock and only mildly affects peripheral clocks, but disturbs metabolic rhythms in liver, skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue in a tissue-dependent manner. Thereby a clear daily rhythm in feeding behavior strongly regulates timing of peripheral metabolism, separately from circadian clocks.

It has recently been shown that, contrary to the wide belief that a shift-enabled condition (necessary for any shift-invariant filter to be representable by a graph shift matrix) can be ignored because any non-shift-enabled matrix can be converted to a shift-enabled matrix, such a conversion in general may not hold for a directed graph with non-symmetric shift matrix. This paper extends this prior work, focusing on undirected graphs where the shift matrix is generally symmetric. We show that while, in this case, the shift matrix can be converted to satisfy the original shift-enabled condition, the converted matrix is not associated with the original graph, that is, it does not capture anymore the structure of the graph signal. We show via a counterexample, that a non-shift-enabled matrix cannot be converted to a shift-enabled one and still maintain the topological structure of the underlying graph, which is necessary to facilitate localized signal processing.

The Batch process of Adsorption were conducted using Congo red (CR) as the adsorbate and Jatropha curcas seed (chaff) as the adsorbent material. Adsorption kinetics and isotherms analysis were conducted and results obtained confirmed the adsorption process as highly dependent on effects such as; contact time, adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration and the particle sizes of adsorbate. However, the sorption equilibrium for Congo red dye unto jatropha curcas seed (chaff) was reached within 180 minutes, more so, the Adsorption efficiency was recorded at 82.05%. The process of the experimental sorption kinetics followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model while Freundlich isotherm model was best applicable for obtaining the equilibrium of the parameters. These is an effective confirmation and validation of jatropha curcas seed (chaff) application as environmentally friendly and low-cost biomaterial for dye removal from aqueous solutions and industrial effluents.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is the key regulator of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) plasma levels. We previously observed that treatment of dyslipidemic subjects with nutraceutical combination containing red yeast rice (monacolin K 3.3 mg), Berberis aristata cortex extract (Berberine 531.25 mg) and Morus alba leaves extract (1-deoxynojirimycin 4 mg) (LopiGLIK®) did not alter the plasma PCSK9 levels. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of these three components on PCSK9 expression in HepG2 cell line in relationship to their effects on LDL-C cellular uptake. HepG2 cell line were incubated with Berberis aristata cortex extract (BCE), red yeast rice (RYR) and Morus alba leaves extract (MLE) alone or in combination for 24 h. RYR (50 µg/mL) increased PCSK9 protein expression (WB and ELISA assays), PCSK9 mRNA and its promoter activity. BCE (40 µg/mL) reduced PCSK9 expression, mRNA levels and promoter activity. MLE determined a concentration-dependent inhibition of PCSK9 at mRNA and protein levels, with a maximal reduction at 1 mg/mL; no significant changes in PCSK9 promoter activity were found. MLE also downregulates the expression of fatty acid synthase and HMG-CoA reductase mRNA levels. The combination of RYR, BCE and MLE reduced PCSK9 at mRNA, protein, and promoter activity. Finally, this combination induced the LDL receptor and LDL-C uptake by HepG2 cells. In conclusion, the positive effect of MLE on PCSK9 supports the rational of using this nutraceutical combination to control hyperlipidemic conditions.

This study focused on hydrolysis of cosmetic fillers hyaluronic acid (HA) and kinetics of the HA hydrolysis using the homogenate of the red king crab hepatopancreas. Turbidimetric analysis of the reaction mixture revealed a bell-shaped time dependence of aggregation formation. It was shown that the obtained homogenate has the similar activity to the commercially available hyaluronidase. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) examination found that the HA fillers were represented by spherical-like structures. These structures were destroyed under the action of the homogenate of the red king crab hepatopancreas. NMR of the reaction mixture showed that HA degradation lasts for some days, but a maximum rate of the reaction is detected in the first hours of incubation. The preparation with hyaluronidase activity obtained from the red king crab hepatopancreas could be used as potentially safe product for treating filler complications.

The halotolerant photoautotrophic marine microalga Dunaliella salina is one of the richest sources of natural carotenoids. Here we investigated the effects of high intensity blue, red and white light from light emitting diodes (LED) on the production of carotenoids by strains of D. salina under nutrient sufficiency and strict temperature control favouring growth. Growth in high intensity red light was associated with carotenoid accumulation and a high rate of oxygen uptake. On transfer to blue light, a massive drop in carotenoid content was recorded along with very high rates of photo-oxidation. In high intensity blue light, growth was maintained at the same rate as in red or white light, but without carotenoid accumulation; transfer to red light stimulated a small increase in carotenoid content. The data support chlorophyll absorption of red light photons to reduce plastoquinone in photosystem II, coupled to phytoene desaturation by plastoquinol:oxygen oxidoreductase, with oxygen as electron acceptor. Partitioning of electrons between photosynthesis and carotenoid biosynthesis would depend on both red photon flux intensity and phytoene synthase upregulation by the red light photoreceptor, phytochrome. Red light control of carotenoid biosynthesis and accumulation reduces the rate of formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as increases the pool size of anti-oxidant.

The present study analyzed the efficiency of a naturally derived fenugreek powder for removal of Congo red dye from the aqueous solution. The flocculation Studies on Congo Red (CR) a hazardous, textile dye onto Fenugreek Powder and its adsorption was analyzed. Fenugreek Powder is Eco-friendly, biodegradable and locally available in the market. The dye adsorption process was performed in different batches at varying pH, dye concentration, adsorbent concentration and contact time to get the best results. The result showed that the maximum removal of dye was 42.4% with 10mg/l of Fenugreek powder at pH 4.

The members of the Liliaceae family have been regarded as an excellent source of biologically active compounds. However, the work on antimicrobial potential and characterization of the bioactive fractions of Lilium philadelphicum flower is limited and needs to be explored. The present study reports the antimicrobial potential, anti-inflammatory and anticancer potential of the bioactive fraction extracted from the flower of L. philadelphicum (Red Lily) and characterization of these bioactive compounds. The antimicrobial activity was tested against nine different Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of methanolic extract of L. philadelphicum flower against Acinetobacter bouvetii, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, Bacillus subtilis MTCC 121, Candida albicans MTCC 183, Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 3384, and Salmonella typhi MTCC 537 were 25, 50, 12.5, 50, 100 and 50 μg mL-1, respectively. The phytochemical analysis of the extract reveals the presence of phenols, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, glycosides, coumarins, and quinones. The cytotoxicity of the partially purified compound against the HepG2 cell line in MTT assay demonstrates up to 90% cell viability with a bioactive compound concentration of 50 μg/ml. However, with the increase in bioactive compound concentration up to 1000 μg/ml results into nearly 80% cell viability, just a minor decline in cell viability suggests the importance of bioactive compounds for suitable therapeutic applications. Spectroscopic studies of the bioactive compound by UV-Visible spectroscopy, FT-Infra Red spectroscopy, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) as well as its phytochemical analysis suggests the presence of terpenoids moiety, responsible for the antimicrobial property of L. philadelphicum flower.

Reef-dwelling calcifiers face numerous environmental stresses associated with anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, including ocean acidification and warming. Photosymbiont-bearing calcifiers, such as large benthic foraminifera, are particularly sensitive. To gain insight into their resistance and adaptive mechanisms to climate change, Amphistegina lobifera from the Gulf of Aqaba were cultured under elevated pCO2 (492, 963, and 3182 ppm) fully-crossed with elevated temperature (28°C and 31°C) for two months. Differential protein abundances in host and photosymbionts amongst treatments were investigated alongside physiological responses and microenvironmental pH variations. Over 1000 proteins were identified, of which one-third varied significantly between treatments. Thermal stress induced protein depletions, along with reduced holobiont growth. Elevated pCO2 caused only minor proteomic alterations and color changes. However, combined stressors reduced pore sizes and increased microenvironmental pH, indicating adaptive modifications to gas exchange. Notably, substantial proteomic variations at moderate-pCO2 and 31°C indicate cellular stress, while stable physiological performance at high-pCO2 and 31°C is scrutinized by putative decreases in test stability. Our experiment shows that the effects of climate change can be missed when stressors are assessed in isolation, and that physiological responses should be assessed across organismal levels to make more realistic predictions for the fate of reef calcifiers.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common hereditary disorder of hemoglobin (Hb) that affects approximately a millions people worldwide. It is characterized by a single nucleotide substitution on the β-globin gene, leading to the production of abnormal sickle hemoglobin with multi-system consequences. Mutated Hb leads to profound changes in: i) red blood cell metabolism and physiology; ii) endothelial signaling; and iii) immune response. Oxidative stress is an important hallmark of SCD. It plays a key role in the pathophysiology of hemolysis, vessel occlusion and the following organ damage in sickle cell patients. For this reason, reactive oxidizing species and the (end)-products of their oxidative reactions have been proposed as markers of both tissue pro-oxidant status and disease severity. Although more studies are needed to clarify their role, antioxidant agents have been shown to be effective in reducing pathological consequences of the disease by preventing oxidative damage in SCD, i.e. by decreasing the oxidant formation or repairing the induced damage. An improved understanding of oxidative stress will lead to targeted antioxidant therapies that should prevent or delay the development of organ complications in this patient population.

Study of perihelion shift of Mercury and deflection angle are important aspects for the verification of general relativity. For Schwarzschild geometry both the perihelion shift and weak deflection angle were independent of charge whereas for ReissnerNordstrom space-time charge should effect on both the perihelion shift and deflection angle. This paper shows the perihelion shift decreases with the increases of charge. Effect of other parameters like angular momentum, mass parameter, distance of closest approach on perihelion precession and deflection angle has also discussed. This paper also includes the graphical behavior which verifes our theoretical calculations.

Environmental conditions, such as temperature, carbon dioxide, and nutrient availability, are altered by urban conditions at regional scales with potential for impact on tree leaf structure. Our goal was to compare leaf morphological characteristics driven by physiological acclimation in red maple (Acer rubrum L.) trees in deciduous forests embedded in a small (Newark, DE) and a large (Philadelphia, PA) city. The study was conducted in six urban forests on eighteen mature red maple trees in a long-term urban forest network. We hypothesized that red maples in Philadelphia forests compared to Newark forests will have a thicker upper epidermal layer, spongy palisade and mesophyll layer, longer and wider stomates, and lower stomate density. Additionally, we hypothesized that red maples in Philadelphia forests compared to Newark forests will have lower leaf water content and specific leaf area, and greater leaf thickness, fresh leaf weight, dry leaf weight, and leaf dry matter content. Our results for stomate length and stomate width supported our predictions; red maple leaves had longer and wider stomates in Philadelphia forests than in Newark forests. The increased stomate size in red maple trees suggests potential altered gas exchange behavior and mutual abiotic stress mitigation responses in red maple to greater urbanization impacts in Philadelphia forests. This supports previous findings of possible physiological and biochemical acclimation of red maple trees to urban conditions. Furthermore, the findings from this study suggest red maple trees may be a good biomonitor of regional scale impacts in urban environments.

Since the early 1980s, a large number of research works on enzymes from the red king crab hepatopancreas have been conducted. These studies have been relevant both from a fundamental point of view for studying the enzymes of marine organisms and in terms of the rational management of nature to obtain new and valuable products from the processing of crab fishing waste. Most of these works were performed by Russian scientists due to the area and amount of waste of red king crab processing in Russia (or the Soviet Union). However, the close phylogenetic kinship and the similar ecological niches of commercial crab species and the production scale of the catch provide the bases for the successful transfer of experience in the processing of red king crab hepatopancreas to other commercial crab species mined worldwide. This review describes the value of recycled commercial crab species, discusses processing problems, and suggests possible solutions to these problems. The main emphasis is placed on the enzymes of the hepatopancreas as the most highly salubrious product of waste processed from red king crab fishing.

The emission of mercury (II) from coal combustion and other industrial processes continues to be a concern and have local impact on water resources. The detection of these ions in water with sensitive but rapid testing methods is desirable for environmental screening and fieldwork. Nanoparticles of various chemistries have shown promise for this purpose, as they can be used in simple colorimetric analyses. Silver nanoprisms were chemically synthesized resulting in a blue reagent solution, that transitioned towards yellow and colorless solutions when exposed to Hg²⁺ ions at various concentrations. A rapid galvanic reduction of Hg²⁺ onto the nanoprism surfaces is apparently responsible for a change in shape towards spherical nanoparticles, leading to the change in color. There were no interferences by other metal ions in solution, and pH had minimal effect in the range of 6.5 to 9.8. The silver nanoprism reagent provided a detection limit of approximately 0.5 µM (100 µg/L) for mercury (II), which compares favorably with other nanoparticle-based techniques. Further optimization may reduce this detection limit.

In 2010, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 to address the loss and degradation of nature. Subsequently, most biodiversity indicators continued to decline. Nevertheless, conservation actions can make a positive difference for biodiversity. The emerging Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework has potential to catalyze efforts to ‘bend the curve’ of biodiversity loss. Thus, the inclusion of a goal on species, articulated as Goal B in the Zero Draft of the Post-2020 Framework, is essential. However, as currently formulated, this goal is inadequate for preventing extinctions, and reversing population declines; both of which are required to achieve the CBD’s 2030 mission. We contend it is unacceptable that Goal B could be met while most threatened species deteriorated in status and many avoidable species extinctions occurred. We examine the limitations of the current wording and propose an articulation with robust scientific basis. A goal for species that strives to end extinctions and recover populations of all species that have experienced population declines, and especially those at risk of extinction, would help to align actors towards the transformative actions and interventions needed for humans to live in harmony with nature.

TThe number of supermarkets offering a grocery delivery has been increasing during the last years. Many studies deduce CO₂ emission savings using this concept. Since the delivery of groceries also consumes energy and produces emissions, break-even points can be calculated, from where the delivery has environmental advantages compared to the customer pickup. In this paper, influences of differing vehicle use on break-even points for savings of energy and CO₂ emissions are analyzed for the case of Haidhausen Süd, a city district of Munich in Germany. Internal combustion engine and electric vehicles are investigated to depict current as well as future trends. After an introduction to the used methodology, the potential to save energy and CO₂ emissions related to the delivery of groceries in the chosen district of Munich is evaluated. Afterwards, influences on the break even points are presented and discussed. As the results show, a delivery of groceries leads to energy and carbon dioxide savings in a wide range of private vehicle use for grocery shopping trips. Nevertheless, if the complete customer vehicle fleet is electrified, the use of delivery vehicles with an internal combustion engine can cause an additional environmental impact at the current modal split for shopping trips in Germany.

The current study investigated the impacts of light quality and different levels of fertility on mineral nutrient concentrations in shoot and root tissues of Chinese kale (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra). ‘Green Lance’ Chinese kale were grown under: 1) fluorescent/incandescent light; 2) 10% blue (447 ± 5 nm) / 90% red (627 ± 5 nm) LED light; 3) 20% blue / 80% red LED light; and 4) 40% blue / 60% red LED light as sole-source lighting at two different levels of fertility. All plants were harvested 30 d after seeding, and shoot and root tissues were analyzed for mineral nutrients. Lighting and fertility interacted to influence kale shoot and root mineral nutrient concentrations. Results indicate sole-source LED lighting used in production can impact mineral nutritional values of baby leafy greens now popular for the packaged market.

In the context of all-digital radar systems, phase-modulated continuous wave (PMCW) based on pseudorandom binary sequences (PRBSs) appears a prominent candidate modulation scheme for applications such as autonomous driving. Among the reasons for that are its simplified transmitter architecture and lower linearity requirements, e.g., compared to orthogonal-frequency division multiplexing radars, as well as its high velocity unambiguity and multiple-input multiple-output operation capability that are characteristic of digital radars. For appropriate operation of a PMCW radar, choosing a PRBS whose periodic autocorrelation function (PACF) has low sidelobes and high robustness to Doppler shifts is paramount. In this sense, this article performs an analysis of Doppler shift tolerance of the PACFs of typically adopted PRBSs in PMCW radar systems supported by simulation and measurement results. To accurately measure the Doppler-shift-induced degradation of PACFs, peak power loss ratio (PPLR), peak sidelobe level ratio (PSLR), and integrated-sidelobe level ratio (ISLR) were used as metrics. Furthermore, to account for effects on targets whose ranges are not multiples of the range resolution, oversampled PACFs are analyzed.

Genes that affect adaptive traits have been identified, but our knowledge of the genetic basis of adaptation in a more general sense (across multiple traits) remains limited. We combined population-genomic analyses of evolve and resequence experiments, genome-wide association mapping of performance traits, and analyses of gene expression to fill this knowledge gap, and shed light on the genomics of adaptation to a marginal host (lentil) by the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Using population-genomic approaches, we detected modest parallelism in allele frequency change across replicate lines during adaptation to lentil. Mapping populations derived from each lentil-adapted line revealed a polygenic basis for two host-specific performance traits (weight and development time), which had low to modest heritabilities. We found less evidence of parallelism in genotype-phenotype associations across these lines than in allele frequency changes during the experiments. Differential gene expression caused by differences in recent evolutionary history exceeded that caused by immediate rearing host. Together, the three genomic data sets suggest that genes affecting traits other than weight and development time are likely to be the main causes of parallel evolution, and that detoxification genes (especially cytochrome P450s and beta-glucosidase) could be especially important for colonization of lentil by C. maculatus.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic and allergic skin disease, however, there is no cure for the disease. Many studies have shown anti-AD potentials of red ginseng, while red ginseng marc (RGM) remained after the ginseng extraction is discarded as industrial waste. However, it is recently reported that RGM, particularly fermented RGM (fRGM), still contains the bioactive properties. Thus, anti-allergic effects of fRGM were examined in 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene-induced AD-like mice model. The model was topically treated with distilled water (control), dexamethasone, or fRGM for six weeks. The treatments of fRGM alleviated the skin lesions and reduced serum IgE levels, compared with the control. The fRGM also reduced skin levels of lipid peroxidation and superoxide anion, however, increased glutathione contents, with down-regulated gene expressions for inflammatory mediators. The histopathological analyses demonstrated that fRGM suppressed the epidermal thickening, collagen deposition, and inflammatory cell and mast cell infiltration, which involved the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-apoptotic effects. Further, fRGM suppressed hypertrophic changes and inflammatory responses in the spleen and lymph node. The beneficial effects were observed in the dexamethasone and fRGM groups, however, the antioxidant effects were evident only in the fRGM treatments. These provide useful information for developing fRGM as therapeutic sources for AD.

The energy loss of photons due to the cosmological red shift is interpreted, here, as a periodical process of transferring electromagnetic field energy into the space. The transferred energy portions are independent on photon energy if this transfer occurs with their frequency. The amounts of periodically released energy are so small that the related ultra-long wave length photons have to be understood as perfectly delocalized. Thus, the described point of view bridges the quantum micro cosmos with the macro cosmos. It is proposed to regard this energy exchange as a typical property of universal time arrow and to interpret the “large numbers”, in particular the dimensionless reciprocal of product of Hubbles constant and Planck time as the fundamental parameter describing cosmic evolution.

Fresh Ag nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed on a transparent SiO2 exhibit an intense optical extinction band originating in localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in visible range. The intensity of LSPR band weakened when the Ag NPs was stored in ambient air for two weeks. The rate of the weakening and the LSPR wavelength shift, corresponding to visual chromatic changes, strongly depended on the environment in which Ag NPs were set. The origin of a chromatic change was discussed along with both compositional and morphological changes. In one case, bluish coloring followed by a prompt discoloring was observed for Ag NPs placed near the ventilation fan in our laboratory, resulted from adsorption of large amounts of S and Cl on Ag NP surfaces as well as particle coarsening. Such color changes deduce the presence of significant amounts of S and Cl in the environment. In other case, a remarkably blue-shift of LSPR band was observed for the Ag NPs stored in the desiccator made of stainless steel, originated in the formation of CN and/or HCN compounds and surface roughening. Their color changed from maroon to reddish, suggesting that such molecules were present inside the desiccator.

Dunaliella salina is a rich source of 9-cis β-carotene, which has been identified as important in the treatment of retinal dystrophies and other diseases. We previously showed that chlorophyll absorption of red light photons in D. salina is coupled to oxygen reduction and phytoene desaturation and increases the pool size of β-carotene [1]. Here we show for the first time that growth under red light also controls conversion of extant all-trans β-carotene to 9-cis β-carotene by β-carotene isomerases. Cells illuminated with red light from a light emitting diode (LED) during cultivation contained a higher 9-cis β-carotene content compared to cells illuminated with white or blue LED light. The 9-cis/all-trans β-carotene ratio in red light treated cultures reached >2.5:1 within 48 hours and was independent of light intensity. Illumination using red light filters that eliminated blue wavelength light also increased the 9-cis/all-trans β-carotene ratio. With norflurazon, a phytoene desaturase inhibitor which blocked downstream biosynthesis of β-carotene, extant all-trans β-carotene was converted to 9-cis β-carotene during growth with red light and the 9-cis/all-trans β-carotene ratio was ~2:1. With blue light under the same conditions, 9-cis β-carotene was likely destroyed at a greater rate than all-trans β-carotene (9-cis/all-trans ratio 0.5:1). Red light perception by the red light photoreceptor, phytochrome, may increase the pool size of anti-oxidant, specifically 9-cis β-carotene, both by upregulating phytoene synthase to increase the rate of biosynthesis of β-carotene and to reduce the rate of formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and by upregulating β-carotene isomerases to convert extant all-trans β-carotene to 9-cis β-carotene.

Carbon dots (C-dots) represent an emerging class of non-toxic nano-emitters that show excitation wavelength dependent photoluminescence (PL) with high quantum yield (QY) and minimal photobleaching. The vast majority of studies focus on C-dots that exhibit the strongest PL emission in the blue/green region of the spectrum, while longer wavelength emissions are ideal for applications such as bioimaging, photothermal and photodynamic therapy and light emitting diodes. Effective strategies to modulate the PL emission of C-dot based systems towards the red end of the spectrum rely on extensive conjugation of sp2 domains, heteroatom doping, solvatochromism, surface functionalization and passivation. Those approaches are systematically presented in this review, while emphasis is given on important applications of red-emissive suspensions, nanopowders and polymer nanocomposites.

By modifying the basic definition of cosmic red shift, considering ‘speed of light’ as an absolute cosmic expansion rate and adopting ‘Planck mass’ as the basic seed of the observed large scale universe, it is certainly possible to review and revise the basic picture of ‘standard cosmology’ and in near future, a perfect model of ‘white hole cosmology’ can be developed. In this context we have developed five assumptions. First three assumptions are based on ‘time reversed’ black holes and seem to be well connected with General theory of relativity as well as Quantum mechanics. 4^th and 5^th assumptions are helpful in understanding current galactic dark matter and flat rotation speeds. It may be noted that, considering our first three assumptions and considering the Planck Legacy 2018 data’s enhanced lensing amplitude in cosmic microwave background power spectra - conceptually, a closed universe having a positive curvature seems to be a best fit for the observed universe. With reference to our recent publication [26], for clarity on the subject, in this short communication, we make an attempt to review and explain our proposed assumptions at fundamental level. Our aim is to see that, professional and non-professional cosmologists must understand the basics of workable quantum cosmology.

The synergistic efficacy of combined treatment mild heat (MH) and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma in Bacillus cereus-contaminated red pepper powder was tested. A cocktail of three strains of B. cereus (NCCP 10623, NCCP 14579, ATCC 11778) was inoculated onto red pepper powder and then treated with MH (60 ℃ for 5-20 min) and DBD plasma (5-20 min). Treatment with MH and DBD plasma alone for 5~20 min resulted in reductions of 0.23~1.43 and 0.12~0.96 log CFU/g, respectively. Combined treatment with MH and DBD plasma was the most effective at reducing B. cereus counts on red pepper powder and resulted in log-reductions of ≥ 6.0 log CFU/g. The largest synergistic values (4.24-4.42 log) against B. cereus in red pepper powder were obtained by the combination of 20 min MH and 5~15 min DBD plasma. Hunter color ‘‘L’’, ‘‘a’’, and ‘‘b’’ values of the combination-treated samples were not significantly different from those of non-treated samples. Also, no significant (p > 0.05) differences in pH values between samples were observed. Therefore, these results suggest that the combination of MH treatment and DBD plasma can be potentially utilized in the food industry to effectively inactivate B. cereus without incurring quality deterioration of red pepper powder.

The Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) plays an important role in LTE and LTE-A systems. It is through the PRACH channel that the user equipment (UE), based on eNodeB's timing estimates, aligns its uplink transmissions to the eNodeB's uplink and gain access to the network. One of the initial operations executed by the PRACH receiver at eNodeB side is the translation of the PRACH signal back to base band, $i.e.$, center the PRACH signal around DC. This operation is a necessary step for preamble detection and can be carried out through a time-domain frequency shift operation. Therefore, in this paper we present the hardware architecture and implementation details of a configurable and optimized FPGA-based time-domain frequency shifter. It is a hardware-efficient and accurate architecture for converting the relevant received PRACH signal into base band before further signal processing. The architecture is manly based on a customized Numerically Controlled Oscillator (NCO), which is used for generating complex exponentials employing only adders, a Look-Up Table (LUT) and plain logic resources. The main advantage of the proposed hardware architecture is that it completely eliminates the need for storing a large number of long complex exponential sequences by employing a single LUT and exploiting quarter wave symmetry of the basis waveform. Our simulation results show that the proposed customized NCO architecture provides high Spurious Free Dynamic Range (SFDR) signals using a minimal amount of FPGA resources. Moreover, the proposed architecture exhibits spur-suppression ranging from 62.13 to 153.58 dB without using Taylor Series correction.

This study seeks to understand, from a gender perspective, the experiences of mining couples in Antofagasta, Chile, especially the negotiation between their intimate lives and the absences of their partners due to the shift work modality. We analyzed testimonies from men and women living in Antofagasta, considered one of the three largest mining regions in the world. Among the main findings, power relations based on the hegemonic gender model supported by the sexual division of labor are identified, which persist in this mining area, despite progress in equity issues in Chile. We propose that, although there are differences between the discourses of men and women and their subjective positioning, both actively collaborate with the reproduction of social gender relations marked by male domination. We observe that this way of living as a couple is associated with the organization of mining work, which is central to the reproduction of the gender order with a hetero-patriarchal tone.

The Big Bang model is based on vague interpretations of experimental data. Direct interpretation of the data opens a new vision of the universe in a permanent dynamic equilibrium without beginning and without end. In the universe as the main system, the evolution of life on planet Earth is a consistent part of the universal process that operates in the entire universe. The origin of life as a consistent part of universal dynamics is in higher dimensions of the multidimensional dynamic quantum vacuum.

Red plum apricot is the best apricot over the world. Since having been introduced into Guyuan county in 1987 from Shaanxi province, red plum apricot grows well and then has been selected as good varieties to popularize in semirid loess hilly regions because the color of red plum apricot is beautiful, aroma fragrant , and taste is the mix of sour and sweet and nutrition is rich. Since 1995, the yield, benefits and planting area of red plum apricot increase doubly, and the distribution range of red plum apricot increased from Guyuan to the whole Ningxia, and then to Gansu province and so on in the water-limited regions, China. However, there are still some problems in the sustainable produce of red plum apricot. In order to promote the development of red plum apricot and meet people's increasing demand, we should do intensive study of the relationship between red plum apricot and environment and the comparison of possible methods to reduce the bad influence of drought, low temperature and frost on quality and production of red plum apricot, and determine the soil water resources use limit by red plum apricot and the suitable leaf amount of red plum apricot when the planting density equal soil water carrying capacity for red plum apricot and select the best method to reduce or evade the bad influence of soil drought, low temperature, frost and soil drought on red plum apricot to ensure the sustainable produce of red plum apricot in Sustainable Produce of red plum apricot in water-limited regions.

We report on the application of time-resolved inline digital holography to study the nonlinear optical properties of quantum dots deposited onto the sample glass. Fresnel diffraction patterns of the probe pulse due to noncollinear degenerate phase modulation induced by the femtosecond pump pulse were extracted from the set of inline digital holograms and analyzed. Absolute values of the nonlinear refractive index of both sample glass substrate and the deposited layer of quantum dots were evaluated using the proposed technique. To characterize the inhomogeneous distribution of samples’ nonlinear optical properties we proposed to plot an optical nonlinearity map calculated as a local standard deviation of diffraction patterns intensity induced by noncollinear degenerate phase modulation.

Leaves of Rubus idaeus are a raw material, ingredients of herbal blend and a source of antioxidants. There are no data concerning histochemistry of trichomes and little is known about the leaves structure of this species. The aim of this study was to determine the histochemistry of active compounds and the structure of glandular trichomes, micromorphology, anatomy and ultrastructure of leaves as well as content of elements. To determine the histochemistry of glandular trichomes different chemical compounds were used. The leaves structure was analysed using light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopes. The content of elements was determined with atomic absorption spectrometry and the microanalysis of the epidermis ultrastructure was carried out with transmission electron microscope equipped with a digital X-ray analyser. In glandular trichomes: polyphenols, terpenes, lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates were identified. The main elements in the ultrastructure of the epidermis were: Na, S, Ca, Mg, B, Mo, and Se. In dry matter of leaves K, Mg, Ca, P, and Fe were dominant. Infusions from leaves are safe for health in terms of the Cd and Pb concentrations. Leaves can be a valuable raw material. Non-glandular trichomes prevent clumping of mixed raw materials in herbal mixtures.

The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) processing wastes are massive and unutilized in the Murmansk region of Russia. The samples of skin-containing waste of Atlantic cod fillets production were hydrolyzed using enzyme preparations derived from red king crab hepatopancreases, porcine pancreases and Bacillus subtilis bacteria. The activity of enzymes from crab hepatopancreases was significantly higher than the activity of enzymes derived from other sources. The optimal conditions of the hydrolysis process have been figured out. The samples of cod processing waste hydrolysate were analyzed for amino acid composition and molecular weight distribution. The samples of hydrolysate were used as core components for bacterial culture medium samples. The efficiency of the medium samples was tested for Escherichia coli growth rate; the most efficient sample had efficiency 95.3% of that of a commercially available medium based on fish meal. Substitution of medium components with those derived from industrial by-products is one of the ways to decrease a cost of a culture medium in biopharmaceutical drug production.

The red seaweed Asparagopsis armata exhibits a strong invasive behaviour and is included in the list of the “Worst invasive alien species threatening biodiversity in Europe”. This seaweed has been shown to produce a large diversity of halogenated compounds with effective biological effects, deeply affecting rockpool species. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the biochemical responses to sublethal concentrations of Asparagopsis armata exudate on two coastal organisms, the marine snail Gibbula umbilicalis and the rockpool shrimp Palaemon elegans. Antioxidant defences superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), oxidative damage endpoints lipid peroxidation (LPO) and DNA damage, the neuronal parameter acetylcholinesterase (AChE), as well as the fatty acid profile were evaluated. Results revealed different metabolic responses between species, indicating that A. armata exudate affected the organisms through different pathways. Despite previous studies indicating that the exudate effected G. umbilicalis’ survival and behaviour, this does not seem to result from oxidative stress or addressed neurotoxicity. On the other hand, for P. elegans, an inhibition of AChE and the decrease of antioxidant capacity concomitant with the increase of LPO, suggests neurotoxicity and oxidative stress as mechanisms of exudate toxicity for this species. For fatty acids, there were different profile changes between species, also more pronounced for P. elegans with a general increase in PUFA with exudate exposure, which commonly means a defence mechanism protecting from membrane disruption. Nonetheless, the omega-3 PUFAs ARA and DPA were increased in both invertebrates, indicating a common mechanism regulation of inflammation and immunity responses to this stress. This work provides further insight on the mechanisms of invertebrate response and tolerance to an expanding coastal environmental stress as is the marine invader A. armata.

Currently, there is increasing industrial demand for rare earth elements (REE) as these elements are now integral to the manufacture of many carbon-neutral technologies. The depleting REE ores and increasing mining costs are prompting to look for alternative sources for these valuable metals, particularly from waste streams. Although REE concentrations in most of the alternate resources are lower than current REE ores, some sources such as marine sediments, coal ash, and industrial wastes like red mud are looking promising with significant concentrations of REE in them. This review focuses on the alternative resources for REE such as ocean bottom sediments, continental shelf sediments, river sediments, stream sediments, lake sediments, phosphorites deposits, industrial waste products like red mud, and phosphogypsum, coal, coal fly ash, and related materials, waste rock sources from old and closed mines, acid mine drainage, and recycling of e-waste. Possible future Moon exploration and mining for REE and other valuable minerals are also discussed. It is evident that REE extractions from both primary and secondary ores alone are not adequate to meet the current demand, and sustainable REE recovery from the alternative resources described here is also necessary to meet the growing REE demand. An attempt is made to identify the potential of these alternative resources and sustainability challenges, benefits, and possible environmental hazards to meet the growing challenges in meeting the future REE requirements.

Numerous in vitro studies on isolated cells have been conducted to uncover the molecular mechanisms of action of Panax ginseng Meyer root extracts and purified ginsenosides. However, the concentrations of ginsenosides and the extracts used in these studies were much higher than detected in pharmacokinetic studies in humans and animals orally administered with ginseng preparations at therapeutic doses. Our study aimed to assess: (a) the effects of ginsenoside Rg5, the major "rare" ginsenoside of Red Ginseng, on gene expression in the murine neuronal cell line HT22 in a wide range of concentrations, from 10-4 to 10-18 M, and (b) the effects of differentially expressed genes on cellular and physiological functions in organismal disorders and diseases. Gene expression profiling was performed by transcriptome-wide mRNA microarray analyses in HT22 cells after treatment with ginsenoside Rg5. Ginsenoside Rg5 exhibits soft-acting effects on gene expression of neuronal cells in a wide range of physiological concentrations and strong reversal impact at high (toxic) concentration: significant up- or downregulation of expression of about 300 genes at concentrations from 10-6 M to 10-18 M, and dramatically increased both the number of differentially expressed target genes (up to 1670) and the extent of their expression (fold changes compared to unexposed cells) at a toxic concentration of 10-4 M. Network pharmacology analyses of genes expression profiles using Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) software showed that at low physiological concentrations, ginsenoside Rg5 has the potential to activate the biosynthesis of cholesterol and to exhibit predictable effects in senescence, neuroinflammation, apoptosis, and immune response, suggesting soft-acting, beneficial effects on organismal death, movement disorders, and cancer.

Panax ginseng C.A.Mey. is an adaptogenic plant traditionally used to enhance mental and physical capacities in cases of weakness, exhaustion, tiredness, loss of concentration, and during recovery. According to ancient records, Red Ginseng root preparations enhance longevity with long-term intake. Recent pharmacokinetic studies of ginsenosides in humans and our in vitro study in neuronal cells suggest that ginsenosides are effective when their level in blood is shallow - at concentrations from 10-6 to 10-18 M. In the present study, we compared the effects of Red Ginseng root preparation HRG80TM(HRG) at concentrations from 0.01 to 10,000 ng/ml with effects of White Ginseng (WG) and purified ginsenosides Rb1, Rg3, Rg5 and Rk1 on gene expression of isolated hippocampal neurons. The aim of this study was to predict the effects of differently expressed genes on cellular and physiological functions in organismal disorders and diseases. Gene expression profiling was performed by transcriptome-wide mRNA microarray analyses in murine HT22 cells after treatment with ginseng preparations. Ingenuity pathway downstream/upstream analysis (IPA) was performed with datasets of significantly up-or downregulated genes, and expected effects on cellular function and disease were identified by IPA software. Ginsenosides Rb1, Rg3, Rg5, and Rk1 have substantially various effects on gene expression profiles (signatures) and are different from signatures of HRG and WG. Furthermore, the signature of HRG is changed significantly with dilution from 10000 to 0.01 ng/ml. Network pharmacological analyses of gene expression profiles showed that HRG exhibits predictable positive effects in neuroinflammation, senescence, apoptosis, and immune response, suggesting beneficial soft-acting effects in cancer, gastrointestinal, and endocrine systems diseases and disorders in a wide range of low concentrations in blood.

In this paper, we consider the zero distributions of q-shift monomi-als and difference polynomials of meromorphic functions with zero order, that extends the classical Hayman results on the zeros of differential poly-nomials to q-shift difference polynomials. We also investigate problem of q-shift difference polynomials that share a common value.

One of the potential sources of rare-earth elements (REEs) is the solid waste from alumina industry - bauxite residue, known as “red mud” (RM). The main REEs from the raw bauxite are concentrated in RM after the Bayer leaching process. The earlier worldwide studies were focused on the scandium (Sc) extraction from RM by concentrated acids to enhance the extraction degree. This leads to the dissolution of major oxides (Fe2O3 and Al2O3) from RM. This article studies the possibility of selective Sc extraction from alkali fusion red mud (RMF) by diluted nitric acid (HNO3) leaching at pH ≥ 2 to prevent co-dissolution of Fe2O3. RMF samples have been analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Sc extraction has been found to be 71.2 % at RMF leaching by HNO3 at pH=2 and at 80 °C during 90 min. The kinetic analysis of experimental data by the shrinking core model has shown that Sc leaching process is limited by the interfacial diffusion and the diffusion through the product layer. The apparent activation energy (Ea) was 19.5 kJ/mol. We have established that according to EPMA of RMF, Sc is associated with iron minerals; it could act as the product layer. The linear dependence of Sc extraction of magnesium (Mg) extraction has been revealed. This fact indicates that Mg can act as a leaching agent of Sc presented in RMF by ion-exchangeable phase.

To elucidate dynamic developmental processes in plants, live tissues and organs have to be visualized frequently and for long time periods. The development of roots is studied in depth at a cellular resolution not only to comprehend the basic processes fundamental to maintenance and pattern formation but also study stress tolerance adaptation in plants. Despite technological advancements, maintaining continuous access to samples and simultaneously preserving their morphological structures and physiological conditions without causing damage presents hindrances in the measurement, visualization and analyses of growing organs including plant roots. We propose a preliminary system which integrates the optical real-time visualization through light microscopy with a liquid culture which enables us to image at the tissue and cellular level horizontally growing Brachypodium roots every few minutes and up to 24 hours. We describe a simple setup which can be used to track the growth of the root as it grows including the root tip growth and osmotic stress dynamics. We demonstrate the system’s capability to scale down the PEG-mediated osmotic stress analysis and collected data on gene expression under osmotic stress.

Glycosylation is a complex post-translational modification that conveys functional diversity to glycoconjugates. Cell surface glycosylation mediates several biological activities such as induction of intracellular signaling pathway and pathogen recognition. Red blood cell (RBC) membrane N-glycans determine blood type and influence cell lifespan. Although several proteomic studies were carried out, glycosylation of RBC membrane proteins has not been systematically investigated. This work aims at exploring the human RBC N-glycome by high-sensitivity MALDI-MS techniques to outline a fingerprint of RBC N-glycans. To this purpose, MALDI-TOF spectra of healthy subjects harboring different blood groups were acquired. Results showed the predominant occurrence of neutral and sialylated complex N-glycans with bisected N-acetylglucosamine, core- and/or an-tennary fucosylation. In the higher mass region these species presented with multiple N-acetyllactosamine repeating units. Amongst the detected glycoforms, the presence of glycans bearing ABO(H) antigens allowed us to define a distinctive spectrum for each blood group. For the first time, advanced glycomic techniques have been applied to a comprehensive exploration of human RBC N-glycosylation, providing a new tool for the early detection of distinct glycome changes associated with disease conditions as well as to understand pathogens molecular recognition.

An improved FSM method is used in geophysical and environmental corrections to enhance the final product of the along track Jason-2 SLA data and extend it near the Red Sea borders. In this study the ionospheric correction range, wet tropospheric correction range, sea state bias correction range and dry tropospheric correction range are enhanced and improved using FSM01, which helped to retrieve three more tracks (106, 170 and 234), earlier neglected by the distribution centers, and extend the tracks towards the coast. The FSM01 SLA is compared with Jason-2 SLA and AVISO SLA for the available 5 tracks, in which the FSM01 SLA show a good agreement and higher correlation with the Jason-2 SLA compared with that of AVISO, in addition to that it fills the gaps in the times series of all tracks. The new retrieved tracks also compared with those retrieved by AVISO, both data show similar variability, with FSM01 SLA show no gaps in the time series. The FSM01 SLA also extended towards the coast and show high correlation with the coastal tide measurements.

The effects of acidic electrolyzed water (AEW) on the microbiological and physicochemical properties of fresh-cut red cabbages were studied. The fresh-cut red cabbages and artificially inoculated red cabbages with Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 were washed with distilled water (DW) and different available chlorine concentration (ACC) of AEW for different times. AEW treatments significantly reduced the populations of native aerobic bacteria, molds and yeasts, and artificially inoculated S. Typhimurium DT104 compared to the DW treated and untreated red cabbage samples. The effectiveness of AEW treatments was greatly enhanced with increasing ACC and treatment times. S. Typhimurium DT104 were not detected in the washing water after the red cabbages treated by AEW. The surface color, pH, and total phenolic contents were did not significantly change when the red cabbages were washed with DW and 100 ppm AEW for 3 min. The anthocyanin contents and antioxidant activities of red cabbage were significantly reduced by 18.5% for cyanidin, 22.1% for pelargonidin, and 11.2% for DPPH radical scavenging activity, the impacts on the nutritional benefits of red cabbage were considered as limited and acceptable. The optimal process condition of AEW for washing red cabbage was 100 ppm for 3 min. In these conditions, most of the native microflora were inactivated, and artificial inoculated S. Typhimurium DT104 on the red cabbage were reduced by 40.2% (3.67 log CFU/g) and with minimal losses of nutrients and antioxidant activity, as well as no requirement of discontinuation treatment on the washing water.

The aim of this work was to study the production of kefir-like beverage by fed-batch fermentation of red table grape juice at initial pHs of 3.99 (fermentation A) and 5.99 (fermentation B) with kefir grains during four repeated 24-h fed-batch subcultures. However, all kefir-like beverages (KLB) were characterized by low alcoholic grade (≤ 3.6%, v/v) and lactic and acetic acid concentrations. The beverages obtained from fermentation B had lower concentrations of sugars and higher microbial counts than the KLB obtained in fermentation A. In addition, the KLB from fermentation B were the most aromatic and had the highest contents in alcohols, esters, aldehydes and organic acids compared to the non-fermented juice and KLB from fermentation A. These results indicate the possibility of obtaining red table grapes KLB with their own distinctive aromatic characteristics and a high content in probiotic viable cells, contributing to the valorization of this fruit.

Keywords: Red meat; Processed meat; poultry; dairy; mortality

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

This research presents the design and characteristics of new wideband polarizer based on the square waveguide with irises. Matching and polarization characteristics of the polarizer have been simulated and optimized. Frequency dependences of the characteristics are presented. Developed polarizer can be applied in satellite information systems.

Otolith morphology analysis is one of the main tools used for fish or fish stock identification. Moreover, otolith shape can also be used in fish dietary studies (stomach content) for the identi-fication of prey fishes and their size according to the relationship between fish and otolith sizes. In the present study, the relationship between fish length and otolith morphological dimensions was investigated for the sabre squirrelfish, Sargocentron spiniferum (Forsskål, 1775) (family: Hol-ocentridae). Samples of 185 fish were collected from the coast of the Red Sea, Egypt. To analyze the relationship between fish and otolith, otolith morphometric measurements (length, width, area, perimeter, weight, sulcus, and ostium) and shape factors (aspect ratio, compactness, form factor, rectangularity, roundness, ellipticity, squareness) describing outline shape were extracted using image analysis. Generalized linear models were applied for the relationship between body length and each otolith morphology feature. From the relationships between the total length of fish and fourteen morphology features, only otolith length, caudal length, and squareness were significantly correlated with fish size. Our results provide more information for the relationship between fish length and otolith morphometric features.

This conceptual article is aimed at evaluating the COVID19 impacts on the global economy and to postulating an ‘economic paradigm shift’. We argue that the existing economic, political, and trade principles have been challenged due to the global pandemic issue. We also compare the COVID19 impact on Western countries and Eastern countries with their control mechanisms. The emerging of new economies is due to the travel restrictions and disrupt of the global economies are discussed that pave a gateway to the economic paradigm shift. The article finally assesses the advent of 5G technology and its implications to face any future health threats that will lead to the next economic paradigm shift in the modern world.

In this review, special emphasis will be placed on red grape polyphenols for their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, their capacity to inhibit major pathways responsible for activation of oxidative systems and expression and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines will be discussed. Furthermore, regulation of immune cells by polyphenols will be illustrated with special reference to the activation of T regulatory cells which support a tolerogenic pathway at intestinal level. Furthermore, the effects of red grape polyphenols will be analyzed in obesity, as a low grade systemic inflammation. Also, possible modifications of inflammatory bowel disease biomarkers and clinical course have been studied upon polyphenol administration, either in animal models or in clinical trials. Moreover, the ability of polyphenols to cross the blood-brain barrier has been exploited to investigate their neuroprotective properties. In cancer, polyphenols seem to exert several beneficial effects, even if conflicting data are reported about their influence on T regulatory cells. Finally, the effects of polyphenols have been evaluated in experimental models of allergy and autoimmune diseases. Conclusively, red grape polyphenols are endowed with a great anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory potential but some issues, such as polyphenol bioavailability, activity of metabolites and interaction with microbiota, deserve deeper studies.

This work aims to investigate the effect of catalyst content and reaction time by catalytic upgrading from pyrolysis vapors of residual fat at 450 °C and 1.0 atmosphere, on the yields of reaction products, physicochemical properties (density, kinematic viscosity, refractive index, and acid value) and chemical composition of organic liquid products (OLP), over a catalyst fixed bed reactor, in semi pilot scale. Pellets of Red Mud chemically activated with 1.0 M HCl were used as catalysts. The experiments were carried out at 450 °C and 1.0 atmosphere, using a process schema consisting of a thermal cracking reactor of 2.0 L coupled to a catalyst fixed bed reactor of 53 mL, without catalyst and using 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0% (wt.) Red Mud pellets activated with 1.0 M HCl, in batch mode. Samples of liquid phase products were withdrawn during the course of reaction at 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 min in order to analyze the process kinetics. The physicochemical properties (density, kinematic viscosity, acid value, and refractive index) of OLP were determined by official methods. The chemical functions present in OLP determined by FT-IR and the chemical composition by GC-MS. The thermal catalytic cracking of residual fat show OLP yields from 54.4 to 84.88 (wt.%), aqueous phase yields between 2.21 and 2.80 (wt.%), solid phase yields (coke) between 1.30 and 8.60 (wt.%), and gas yields from 11.61 to 34.22 (wt.%). The yields of OLP increases with increasing catalyst content while those of aqueous, gaseous and solid phase decreases. For all the thermal and thermal catalytic cracking experiments, the density, kinematic viscosity, and acid value of OLP decreases with increasing reaction time. The GC-MS of liquid reaction products identified the presence of hydrocarbons (alkanes, alkenes, cycloalkanes, and aromatics) and oxygenates (carboxylic acids, ketones, esters, alcohols, and aldehydes). For all the thermal and thermal catalytic cracking experiments, the hydrocarbon content within OLP increases with reaction time, while those of oxygenates decrease, reaching concentrations of hydrocarbons up to 95.35% (area.). The best results for the physicochemical properties (density, kinematic viscosity, and acid value) and the maximum hydrocarbon content of OLP were obtained at 450 °C and 1.0 atmosphere, using a catalyst fixed bed reactor, with 5.0% (wt.) Red Mud pellets activated with 1.0 M HCl as catalyst.

The article shows materials to the question on algebraic features of the genetic code. Presented results testify in favor that the genetic code is an algebraic code related with a wide class of algebraic codes, which are a basis of noise-immune coding of information in communication technologies. Algebraic features of the genetic code are associated with hypercomplex double (or hyperbolic) numbers. The article also presents data on structural relations of some genetically inherited macrobiological phenomena with double numbers and with their algebraic extentions. The received results confirm that multidimensional numerical systems is effective for modeling and revealing the interconnections of structures of biological bodies at various levels of their organization. This allows one to think that living organisms are algebraically encoded entities.

Background: Strong indicators of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), hypersensitive CRP (hs-CRP), and a series of hematological indices, including platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), hematocrit (HCT) and red blood cell distribution width (RDW), are regarded related with the incidence of contrast induced nephropathy (CIN) closely. Whereas, it remains unclear whether they can function as predictors of CIN onset. The objective of this meta-analysis was to determine the relationship between above indicators and CIN incidence among patients receiving coronary intervention. Methods: Clinical studies were retrieved from the electronic databases of PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Clinical Trials, and science direct from their inception to June 3rd, 2020. Meta-analysis was performed on pool eligible studies. Two reviewers screened all titles and abstracts and independently assessed all articles. Results: A total of 26 studies involving 29,454 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled analysis results revealed that patients with higher CRP (odds ratio [OR]=1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01–1.12, P=0.02), hs-CRP (OR=1.03, 95% CI: 1.01–1.06, P=0.004), NLR (OR=1.11, 95% CI: 1.01–1.20, P=0.02), RDW (OR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.19–1.53, P<0.00001), and lower HCT (OR=0.94, 95% CI: 0.92–0.97, P=0.0003) all exhibited significantly higher CIN rates, but there was no significant association between PLR and CIN risk (OR=1.12, 95% CI: 0.99–1.26, P=0.07). Conclusion: The meta-analysis reported here demonstrates that pre-angiography CRP/hs-CRP and some hematological indices are associated with CIN.

The redefined vacuum approach, which is frequently employed in the many-body perturbation theory, proved to be a powerful tool for formula derivation. Here, we elaborate this approach within the bound-state QED perturbation theory. In addition to general formulation, we consider the particular example of a single particle (electron or vacancy) excitation with respect to the redefined vacuum. Starting with simple one-electron QED diagrams, we deduce first- and second-order many-electron contributions: screened self-energy, screened vacuum polarization, one-photon exchange, and two-photon exchange. The redefined vacuum approach provides a straightforward and streamlined derivation and facilitates its application to any electronic configuration. Moreover, based on the gauge invariance of the one-electron diagrams, we can identify various gauge-invariant subsets within derived many-electron QED contributions.

Electron can tunnel between cofactor molecules positioned along biological electron transport chains up to the distance of ≃20 Å on the millisecond time scale of enzymatic turnover. This tunneling range mostly determines the design of biological energy chains facilitating cross-membrane transport of electrons. Tunneling distance and cofactors’ redox potentials become main physical parameters of this design. The protein identity, flexibility, or dynamics are missing from this picture assigning universal charge-transport properties to all proteins. This paradigm is challenged by dynamical models of electron transfer showing that the hopping rate is constant within the crossover distance R*≃12 Å, followed with an exponential tunneling falloff at longer distances. In this view, energy chains for electron transport are best designed by placing redox cofactors near the crossover distance R*. Protein flexibility and dynamics affect the magnitude of the maximum hopping rate within the crossover radius. Protein charge transport is not driven by universal parameters anymore and protein identity matters.

Evaluating the integrity of structures is an important issue in engineering applications. The use of vibration-based techniques has become a common approach to assessing cracks, which are the most often occurring damage in structural elements. When involving an inverse method, it is necessary to know the influence of the position and the geometry of the crack on the modal parameter changes. The geometry of the crack, both in size and shape, defines the damage severity (DS). In this study, we present a method (DS-SHC) used for estimating the DS for closed and open transverse cracks in beam-like structures by using the intact and damaged beam deflections under its weight and a Stochastic Hill Climbing (SHC) algorithm. After describing the procedure of applying DS-SHC, we calculate for a prismatic cantilever beam the severities for different crack types and depths. The results are tested by comparing the DS obtained with DS-SHC with those acquired from dynamic tests made using professional simulation software. We obtained a good fit between the severities determined in these two ways. Afterward, we performed laboratory experiments and find out that the severities obtained with the DS-SHC method can accurately predict the frequency changes due to the crack. Hence, these severities are a valuable tool for damage detection.

Phytoene is a colourless natural carotenoid that absorbs UV light and provides antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities as well as protection against photodamage. It is therefore valued for its skin health and aesthetic benefits by the cosmetic industry, as well as by the health food sector. The halotolerant green microalga Dunaliella salina is one of the richest sources of natural carotenoids. We have previously investigated over-production of phytoene in D. salina after cultivation with the well-characterised mitosis inhibitor, chlorpropham. In this study, 15 herbicides with different modes of action were tested for their potential to promote phytoene accumulation. All herbicides showed different levels of capabilities to support phytoene over-production in D. salina. Most significantly, the two mitosis inhibitors tested in this study, propyzamide and chlorpropham, showed similar capacities to support over-production of phytoene by D. salina cultures, as phytoene desaturase inhibitors. The cellular content of phytoene increased by over 10-fold within 48 h after treatment with the mitosis inhibitors compared to untreated cultures. Results indicate a general effect of mitosis inhibitors on phytoene accumulation in D. salina. Furthermore, red light was found to significantly enhance the phytoene yield when used in combination with effective inhibitor treatments. Red light can be applied to maximize the production of phytoene from D. salina.

The purpose of the research is to investigate the unique solvability of a nonlocal boundary value problem for a loaded equation of parabolic-hyperbolic type in a special domain. Methods: Using representations of a general regular solution, the existence and uniqueness of the problem posed is proved. Results: A new method for proving the unique solvability of nonlocal boundary value problems for one loaded equation of mixed type in a special domain has been formed and developed. Conclusions: The obtained results make it possible to solve some problems of genetics, immunology, transonic gas dynamics and thermal physics, which are associated with displacement.

Existing rammed earth construction methods have disadvantages such as increased initial costs for manufacturing the large formwork and increased labor costs owing to the labor-intensive construction techniques involved. To address the limitations of existing rammed earth construction methods, an autonomous rammed earth construction method is introduced herein. As this autonomous rammed earth construction method uses a modular formwork, alternative materials must be used in the construction to satisfy the requirements for the early-age binder performance. Accordingly, this study evaluates the use of an epoxy emulsion composed of epoxy and a hardener to enhance the performance of the binder. Preliminary experiments were conducted to determine the optimal formulation of the epoxy emulsion, following which the compressive strength, water loosening, shrinkage, rate of mass change, and microstructure of several red clay binder specimens with and without epoxy emulsion were analyzed at early ages. The results confirmed that the epoxy emulsion can be applied to satisfy the performance requirements for autonomous rammed earth construction by improving the durability and strength of the binder at early ages.

Recent years have seen a proliferation of platform-based “shared mobility services” (SMS) such as car-, bike-, and e-scootersharing in many cities in Germany and around the world. At the same time, these services have become the subject of intense debates: Are they replacing private car travel, thus contributing to sustainable mobility in cities? Or are they drawing users away from public transit and cycling while obstructing public space? From the perspective of sustainable mobility politics it seems far from clear which role these new services could play in transitioning to a less car-centric mobility system. While a number of potential effects and ensuing governance issues of shared mobility services (e.g. regarding questions of equitable access, data governance, the role of public versus private actors) have already been studied this article explores the role of shared mobility services (SMS) in triggering system dynamics and feedback loops in the context of sustainability transitions. The article connects questions regarding the sustainability effects of “shared mobility services” with the role of “push” measures to reduce private car traffic in cities. Using a theoretical framework from socio-technical transitions research and from the sociology of technology it describes the recent growth of shared mobility services in Berlin as an example of the upscaling dynamics of socio-technical niche innovations. Drawing on a series of workshops with mobility service providers and representatives of public authorities it analyses the potential for conflict as well as for coalition building between service providers and public authorities. Based on the theoretical concept of the role of feedback loops and windows of opportunity for transitions it shows how the market growth of shared mobility services added momentum to an already ongoing political debate over the legitimate use of public space in Berlin. Against this backdrop the article shows how growing numbers of car-, bike-, and e-scootersharing vehicles could open up windows of opportunity for re-distributing space away from private cars. The article concludes that supporting and regulating SMS will be key to steering their growth into the direction of sustainability.

The river Teign in Devon has come under scrutiny for failing to meet Environmental Quality Standards for ecotoxic metals due to past mining operations. A disused mine known as Bridford Barytes mine, has been found to contribute a significant source of Zn, Cd and Pb to the river. Recently, studies have been focused on the remediation of such mine sites using low-cost treatment methods to help reduce metal loads to the river downstream. Red mud is a waste product from the aluminium industry, the utilization of this resource has proven an attractive low-cost treatment method for adsorbing toxic metals. Adsorption kinetics and capacity experiments reveal metal removal efficiencies of up to 70% within the first 2 hours when red mud is applied in pelletized form. Biochar is another effective adsorbent with the potential to remove >90% Zn using agricultural feedstock. Compliance of the Teign has been investigated by analysing dissolved metal concentrations and bioavailable fractions of Zn to assess if levels are of environmental concern. By applying a Real-World Application Model, this study reveals that compressed pellets and agricultural biochar offer an effective, low-cost option to reducing metal concentrations and thus improving the quality of the river Teign.

Highly reactive decomposition products of (deuterated) chloroform can deteriorate samples dissolved in this commonly used NMR solvent. For sensitive samples (such as peptides, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins), this can lead to abnormal NMR spectra (e.g. signal shifts depending on pH, attenuation of signals over time due to chemical changes of analytes, new signals from reaction products). Such irreproducibly influenced spectra are especially problematic for non-targeted analysis methods. To prevent these artefacts, chlorine, phosgene and hydrochloric acid need to be eliminated from deuterated chloroform prior to its use. Since the common stabilization methods have proven insufficient for sensitive NMR samples, another purging method has been tested: Mitigation is easily and reliably achieved by washing the deuterated chloroform with concentrated Na2CO3-solution and subsequent desiccation with oven-dried Na2CO3.

Threat assessment is important to prioritize species conservation projects and planning. The taxonomic resolution regarding the status of the “Dryophytes immaculatus group” and the description of a new species in the Republic of Korea resulted in a shift in ranges and population sizes. Thus, reviewing the IUCN Red List status of the three species from the group: D. immaculatus, D. suweonensis and D. flaviventris and recommending an update is needed. While the three species have similar ecological requirements and are distributed around the Yellow sea, they are under contrasting anthropological pressure and threats. Here, based on the literature available, I have applied all IUCN Red List criteria and tested the fit of each species in each criteria to recommend listing under the adequate threat level. This resulted in the recommendation of the following categories: Near Threatened for D. immaculatus, Endangered following the criteria C2a(i)b for D. suweonensis and Critically Endangered following the criteria E for D. flaviventris. All three species are declining, mostly because of landscape changes as a result of human activities, but the differences in range, population dynamics and already extirpated sub-populations result in different threat levels for each species. Dryophytes flaviventris is under the highest threat category mostly because of its limited range, segregated into two sub-populations and several known historical sub-populations are now extirpated. Immediate actions for the conservation of this species are required. Dryophytes suweonensis is present in both the Republic of Korea and the Democratic Republic of Korea and is under lower ecological pressure in DPR Korea. Dryophytes immaculatus is present in the People’s Republic of China, on a very large range despite a marked decline. I recommend joint efforts for the conservation of these species.

As education continues to evolve in response to technological advancements, the concept of Education 5.0 has gained prominence. However, it is crucial to critically analyze the limitations and challenges of this model. This article presents a comprehensive examination of Education 5.0, identifies its drawbacks, and proposes a vision for Education 6.0. Through insightful case studies and discussions, this article aims to provide a nuanced perspective on the future of education.