I wish to suggest a physiological function for alpha-synuclein (a-syn) that has the potential to explain its role in pathology. Intraneuronal proteinaceous Lewy Bodies (LBs), the pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies, consist majorly of a-syn. Ample evidence suggests that LBs are not the result of simple amyloidosis of cytosolic a-syn. Benign soluble unstructured a-syn gets converted into toxic species which preferentially accumulates in LBs. But how these aberrant a-syn molecules are produced in the cytosol, is still not clear. The present hypothesis is an effort to relate a metabolic reaction specific to neuronal function, that is, phase transition, with the pathobiology of a-syn. During high frequency stimulation, which entails rapid phase transition reactions at the presynaptic compartment, aberrant interaction of a-syn with the membrane occasionally generates toxic a-syn molecules. My conjecture is that the physiological function of a-syn is to modulate membrane fluidity by a process wherein it goes through a conformation cycle driven by a flux of energy from mitochondria. It is the range of toxic a-syn produced during aberrant phase transition reaction that is responsible for pathology, not the normal a-syn that reenters the conformation cycle, thereby, resolving the paradox of the Janus-face of a-syn.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a fatal disease due to early metastatic spread, late diagnosis and the lack of efficient therapies. A major driver of cancer progression and hurdle to successful treatment is transforming growth factor (TGF)-β. Recent data from pancreatic cancer mouse models have shown that transcriptionally active p73 (TAp73), a p53 family member, inhibits tumor progression through promoting tumor suppressive canonical TGF-β/Smad signaling, while preventing non-canonical TGF-β signaling through extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK)1/2. Here, we have studied whether this mechanism also operates in human PDAC. Using the PDAC-derived tumor cell lines PANC-1 and HPAFII, we show that TAp73 induces the expression of the epithelial marker and invasion suppressor E-cadherin and the common-mediator Smad, SMAD4, while at the same time suppressing expression of the EMT master regulator SNAIL and basal and TGF-β1-induced activation of ERK1 and ERK2. Using dominant-negative and RNA interference-based inhibition of SMAD4 function we went on to show that inhibition of ERK activation by TAp73 is mediated through SMAD4. Intriguingly, both SMAD4 and the α isoform of TAp73 - but not the isoform - interfered with cell migration as shown by xCELLigence technology. Our findings highlight the role of TAp73-SMAD4 signaling in tumor suppression of human PDAC and identify direct inhibition of basal and TGF-β-stimulated pro-invasive ERK activation as an underlying mechanism.

Oral cancer ranks sixth among Taiwan's top 10 cancers, and most patients with poor prognosis acquire metastases. The essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) has been found to diminish many cancer properties. However, the anti-cancer activity of ALA in oral cancer has yet to be determined. Migration and invasion assays confirmed OSCC cells' EMT capabilities, whereas flow cytometry and Western blotting identified the molecular pathways. ALA dramatically reduced cell growth in a concentration dependent manner, according to the findings. Low concentrations of ALA (100 or 200 μM) inhibit colony formation, expression of Twist and EMT-related proteins, expression of MMP2/-9 proteins and enzyme activity, as well as cell migration and invasion. Treatment with high concentrations of ALA (200 or 400 μM) greatly increases JNK phosphorylation and c-jun nuclear accumulation, then upregulates the FasL/caspase8/caspase3 and Bid/cytochrome c/caspase9/caspase3 pathways, leading to cell death. Low concentrations of ALA inhibit SAS and GNM cell migration and invasion by suppressing Twist and downregulating EMT-related proteins, or by decreasing the protein expression and enzyme activity of MMP-2/-9, whereas high concentrations of ALA promote apoptosis by activating the JNK/FasL/caspase 8/caspase 3-extrinsic pathway and the Bid/cytochrome c/caspase 9 pathway. ALA demonstrates potential as a treatment for OSCC patients.

Characterization of cancer cells and neural stem cells indicates that tumorigenicity and pluripotency are coupled cell properties determined by neural stemness, and tumorigenesis represents a process of progressive loss of original cell identity and gain of neural stemness. This reminds of a most fundamental process required for the development of the nervous system and body axis during embryogenesis, i.e., embryonic neural induction. Neural induction is that, in response to extracellular signals that are secreted by the Spemann-Mangold organizer in amphibians or the node in mammals and inhibit epidermal fate in ectoderm, the ectodermal cells lose their epidermal fate and assume the neural default fate and consequently, turn into neuroectodermal cells. They further differentiate into the nervous system and also some non-neural cells via interaction with adjacent tissues. Failure in neural induction leads to failure of embryogenesis, and ectopic neural induction due to ectopic organizer or node activity or activation of embryonic neural genes causes a formation of secondary body axis or a conjoined twin. During tumorigenesis, cells progressively lose their original cell identity and gain of neural stemness, and consequently, gain of tumorigenicity and pluripotency, due to various intra-/extracellular insults in cells of a postnatal animal. Tumorigenic cells can be induced to differentiation into normal cells and integrate into normal embryonic development within an embryo. However, they form tumors and cannot integrate into animal tissues/organs in a postnatal animal because of lack of embryonic inducing signals. Combination of studies of developmental and cancer biology indicates that neural induction drives embryogenesis in gastrulating embryos but a similar process drives tumorigenesis in a postnatal animal. Tumorigenicity is the manifestation of aberrant occurrence of pluripotent state in a postnatal animal. Pluripotency and tumorigenicity are both but different manifestations of neural stemness in pre- and postnatal stage, respectively, of animal life. The unique property of neural stemness is derived from the evolutionary advantage of neural genes and the neural-biased state of the last common unicellular ancestors of metazoan. Based on these findings, I discuss about some confusion in cancer research, propose to distinguish the causality and associations and discriminate causal and supporting factors involved in tumorigenesis, and suggest revisiting the focus of cancer research.

In the process of climate change mitigation and adaptation, the focus on climate risk driven by transition innovations has received widespread attention from governments, regulators, and investors. Based on the identification of low-carbon patents through the Green and Low-carbon Technology Inventory in China, this study constructs low-carbon innovation measurements of listed firms in China from 2015 to 2021. Then, an empirical model is used to investigate the impact and mechanism of climate transition innovations on the default risk. The baseline regression model shows that low-carbon innovations can mitigate the default risk of listed firms. Moreover, our findings are supported by instrumental variable regressions that use the time costs of innovation. Finally, the mediation effect demonstrates that investor attention, total factor productivity, and technology spillovers are paths through which transition innovations can affect the default risk. This study reveals that low-carbon technological advances have a positive effect on climate transition risks.

Amplitudes of quantum transitions containing time zigzags are considered. The discussion is carried out in the framework of the Minkowski metric and the standard quantum mechanics without adding new postulates. We argue that time zigzags are not suppressed at the quantum level, but their contribution to the amplitude is zero. The result is valid for a single particle and a non-interacting scalar field.

A new polymorph of anhydrous β-cyclodextrin (polymorph III) was obtained and characterized for the first time using powder X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and thermal analysis. Solution enthalpy and time of dissolution in water were determined by solution calorimetry for this polymorph and compared with those of dried commercial form of β-cyclodextrin (polymorph I), its amorphous form and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin. Specific heat capacity of polymorphs I and III was determined by differential scanning calorimetry in the wide range of temperatures, which gives enthalpy and Gibbs energy of polymorphic transition at 298 K. Affinity of polymorph III and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin for water was characterized by determination of their hydration isotherms, which gives the values of hydration Gibbs energy. Being energy-rich, the found new polymorph of β-cyclodextrin has a significantly higher dissolution rate and an in-creased affinity for water compared with the dried commercial form of β-cyclodextrin. Such properties make the new polymorph promising in industrial applications for guest inclusion in aqueous solutions and pastes and may be a desirable alternative for water-soluble β-cyclodextrin derivatives.

Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a stochastic optimization algorithm inspired by the foraging behavior of ants. We investigate a simplified computational model of ACO, wherein ants sequentially engage in binary decision-making tasks, leaving pheromone trails contingent upon their choices. The quantity of pheromone left is the number of correct answers. We scrutinize the impact of a salient parameter in the ACO algorithm, specifically, the exponent $\alpha$ that governs the pheromone levels in the stochastic choice function. In the absence of pheromone evaporation, the system is accurately modeled as a multivariate nonlinear P\'{o}lya urn, undergoing a phase transition as $\alpha$ varies. The probability of selecting the correct answer for each question asymptotically approaches the stable fixed point of the nonlinear P\'{o}lya urn. The system exhibits dual stable fixed points for $\alpha\ge \alpha_c$ and a singular stable fixed point for $\alpha<\alpha_c$. When pheromone evaporates over a time scale $\tau$, the phase transition does not occur and leads to a bimodal stationary distribution of probabilities for $\alpha\ge \alpha_c$ and a monomodal distribution for $\alpha<\alpha_c$.

The cohesive energy of transition metal nanoparticles is crucial to understanding their stability and fundamental properties, which are essential for developing new technologies and applications in fields such as catalysis, electronics, energy storage, and biomedical engineering. In this study, we systematically investigate the size-dependent cohesive energies of all the 3d, 4d, and 5d transition-metal nanoparticles using first-principles density functional theory calculations. Our results show that the cohesive energies of nanoparticles decrease with decreasing size due to the increased surface-to-volume ratio and quantum confinement effects. We also find that the size-dependent cohesive energy trends are different for different transition metals, with some metals exhibiting stronger size effects than others. Our findings provide insights into the fundamental properties of transition-metal nanoparticles and have potential implications for their applications in various fields such as catalysis, electronics, and biomedical engineering.

We humans are natural-born engineers. As such, we model after machines not only isolated, naturally occurring systems, but also the basic laws of physics, sharing with machines a local-evolution-of-state `grammar'. However, previous work by the author casts doubt upon this mechanistic paradigm, suggesting that it is to blame for the stubbornness of many open problems in physics. Simple experiments are therefore proposed to identify `non-machines'. In one experiment, `non mechanistic correlations' in the spirit of Bell are sought in a pair of separated but previously coupled (macroscopic) chaotic systems. In another it is tested whether chaotic systems could fuzzily `remember their future' in the sense that a future binary perturbation applied to them could be inferred from their present behavior with probability>1/2. Chaotic systems are chosen as candidates because the long-time application of their (deterministic) mechanistic description is conceptually groundless: All scales are significant and mutually coupled in that regime, down to scales governed by QM, yet the quantum-classical transition remains inexplicable---if only due to the measurement problem. Similarly for so-called non-deterministic chaotic systems, modeled as such purely for defying a short-time deterministic mechanistic description. Should a non mechanistic signature be found in such simple systems, the implications for science as a whole and life sciences in particular cannot be overstated.

Novel genetic and epigenetic factors involved in the development and prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) have been identified. We previously observed that EPB41L3 increased in the lung fibroblasts of IPF patients. Thus, we investigated the role of EPB41L3 in IPF by comparing EPB41L3 mRNA and protein expression of lung fibroblast between patients with IPF and controls. We also investigated the regulation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in an epithelial cell line (A549), and the fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition (FMT) in a fibroblast cell line (MRC5), by overexpressing and silencing EPB41L3. EPB41L3 mRNA and protein levels, as measured by RT-PCR, real-time PCR, and western blot, were significantly higher in fibroblasts derived from 14 IPF patients than in those from 10 controls. The mRNA and protein expression of EPB41L3 was upregulated during transforming growth factor-β-induced EMT and FMT. Overexpression of EPB41L3 in A549 cells using lenti-EPB41L3 transfection suppressed the mRNA and protein expression of N-cadherin and COL1A1. Treatment with EPB41L3 siRNA upregulated mRNA and protein expression of N-cadherin. Overexpression of EPB41L3 in MRC5 cells using lenti-EPB41L3 transfection suppressed mRNA and protein expression of fibronectin and α-SMA. Finally, treatment with EPB41L3 siRNA upregulated mRNA and protein expression of FN1, COL1A1, and VIM. Overall, these data strongly support an inhibitory effect of EPB41L3 on the process of fibrosis and suggest therapeutic potential of EPB41L3 as an anti-fibrotic mediator.

Hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge (30-day readmission) is a high-priority quality measure and cost target. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility and efficacy of the Diabetes Transition of Hospital Care (DiaTOHC) Program on readmission risk in high-risk adults with diabetes. This was a non-blinded pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) that compared usual care (UC) to DiaTOHC at a safety-net hospital. The primary outcome was all-cause 30-day readmission. Between 10/16/2017 and 05/30/2019, 115 patients were randomized. In the intention-to-treat (ITT) population, 14 (31.1%) of 45 DiaTOHC subjects and 15 (32.6%) of 46 UC subjects had a 30-day readmission (p=0.88) while 35.6% DiaTOHC and 39.1% UC subjects had a 30-day readmission or ED visit (p=0.72). The Intervention:UC cost ratio was 0.33 (0.13-0.79)95%CI (p<0.01). Among the 69 subjects with baseline HbA1c >7.0% (53 mmol/mol), 30-day readmission rates were 23.5% (DiaTOHC) and 31.4% (UC, p=0.46) and composite 30-day readmission or ED visit rates were 26.5% (DiaTOHC) and 40.0% (UC, p=0.23). In this subgroup, the Intervention:UC cost ratio was 0.21 (0.08-0.58)95%CI (p=0.002). The DiaTOHC Program is feasible and may decrease combined 30-day readmission/ED visit risk as well as healthcare costs among patients with higher HbA1c levels.

While the scientific community has focused on documenting environmental degradation and developing scenarios that help identify the operational margins for system Earth, less attention has been given to the mental models of decision-makers that underpin environmental policies. We suggest that global efforts to stop deforestation and biodiversity loss are failing in part due to a critical blind spot in the analysis—human agency. To address this weakness, we propose to formulate mental models and translate them into strategy games. This will increase the representation of agency in scenario development and create spaces for deliberation between different worldviews. We claim that personal transformation can be achieved through transparent democratic dialogues that identify, challenge, and respond to the human and social limitations inherent to decision-making and we present empirical examples that validate that claim. Their transformation through gaming gives decision-makers access to the experience of consciousness: “what is it like being a stakeholder?”. Such experience will help to break free of established norms in science and political processes.

The origin of cancer remains one of the most important enigmas in modern biology. The prevailing paradigm has failed to grasp a comprehensive view of the disease. Naturally, therapies developed under the current assumptions are inadequate and cancer is practically an incurable disease. Meanwhile, descriptive studies continuously extend the molecular complexity of cancer without an equivalent advancement in its understanding. Furthermore, they tend to accumulate inconsistencies inexplicable under the classical view. This paper presents a compelling theory of the origin of carcinomas. By hypothesis, a series of generic events in epithelial tissues promoted by cellular aging and inflammation enables the reactivation of developmental programs. The origin of carcinomas in vivo is described as the time-ordered cell state transitions undergone by epithelial cells in the hyperplasia due to replicative senescence and inflammation towards a mesenchymal undifferentiated endogenous cell state with cancerous behavior. In support of the theory, the molecular, cellular, and histopathological evidence is critically reviewed. A plausible model for the origin of carcinomas is presented to explain the mechanism underlying carcinogenesis from an evolutive and developmental perspective. The implications of the hypothesis in the current strategies for cancer prevention and treatment are discussed along with rational alternatives and some predictions for possible experimental validation.

Leclère et al.¹ have outlined the possibility of a biodiversity transition for the 21^st century, a line of thinking equivalent to the Forest Transition theory and what it says about forest cover globally². The authors use a suite of global models to explore the impacts on global biodiversity of interventions on land-use, consumption and production patterns. They outline six strategies that have the potential to stop the downfall of global terrestrial biodiversity by 2050 and redress it to a pre-1970 level by 2100. Although robust, sophisticated and well-illustrated, the conclusions of this paper cannot alone be used to frame a post-2020 biodiversity strategy.

The purpose of this study is to estimate the mean transitioning probabilities from a Healthy state to malaria positive uncomplicated state or to malaria positive severe state. It also classifies the various transitioning probabilities of moving through the various states based on some baseline characteristics. Malaria test results for 2019 over a 12-month period were collected from the University of Ghana school clinic. An H-U model for the study was developed and the transition rates from the cross-sectional data are indicated. With two states Healthy (H) and Uncomplicated (U) forming a state space, there were four possible transitions. The results show that the probability of transitioning from a Healthy state to a malaria positive state is 0.03% while the probability that an individual will remain at Healthy state (H) after the test is 99.73%. It was found that if an individual is already positive and has taken medication the probability that its second test came out negative is 6.45% while the chances that it will remain positive but uncomplicated is 93.55%. The study also showed that in the long run, about 95.98% of persons who visited the student clinic with malaria symptoms recorded negative tests for malaria parasite while about 4% recorded positive for malaria. In terms of disaggregation by gender, it was realized that the number of reported negative test results were higher for females (97.08%) than for males (96.13%). However, the infection rate is higher for males (3.87%) than females (2.92%). It is recommended that in as much as the University of Ghana has two health centers (a clinic and hospital), there should be a centralized system to track students’ health so research done would not be biased.

Great Britain’s stocks of coal, natural gas, and petroleum have seen major changes to the levels of stored energy over the years 2005 to 2019, a reduction of 200 TWh (35%) from 570 TWh to 370 TWh. The transformation of its electrical system over this timeframe saw a reduction in coal generation, leading to a corresponding reduction of the levels of stockpiled coal of 85 TWh (68%), partially offset by an increase in the stocks of biomass for electrical generation. The reduction in natural gas storage of 24 TWh (44%) was primarily due to the closure of Britain’s only long-term seasonal natural gas storage facility in January 2018. This was partially offset by the construction of medium-term natural gas storage facilities and the use of LNG storage in the years preceding its closure. For stocks of crude oil and oil products the reduction was 35 TWh (21%), linked to the overall reduction in demand.

We investigate financial feasibility of a few thinning schedules for spruce stands. Some example stands have previously experienced commercial low thinning, whereas others young stand cleaning only. High thinning is combined with quality thinning, and further growth of trees is estimated using a Norwegian growth model. High capital return rates are gained by diameter-limit cutting to the transition diameter between pulpwood and sawlogs. Repeated thinnings lead to reduction in the capitalization during several decades, the system approaching a stationary state. The transient forest stands investigated shown a significant excess capital return, in relation to the stationary state, and this excess return is due to transient tree size distribution. Correspondingly, capital return rate gained in rotation forestry is somewhat higher than that of stationary continuous-cover forestry, and the volumetric yield is much higher. The productive capacity of stands previously thinned from below apparently has been ruined by that treatment.

A method for measuring the real part of the weak value of spin for non-zero rest mass atoms is presented using a variant on the original Stern-Gerlach apparatus. The experiment utilises helium in the metastable 2³S₁ state. A full simulation for observing the real part of the weak value using the impulsive approximation has been carried out and it predicts a displacement of the beam, Δ_w, that is within the resolution of our detector. It also indicates how this shift might be increased. The full analysis also indicated that there is a limit, L, to the applicability of the weak value approximation and has been evaluated for our apparatus. This experiment has the possibility to be expanded to utilise other nobal gas species such as neon and argon in the ³P₂ metastable state, but we shall restrict this paper to metastable helium only.

Large-scale integration of solar energy technologies in Rome’s built environment epitomizes the needed general adoption of distributed generation via functionalization of buildings of all size and end use across the world, to become active energy generators and no longer energy users only. This paper identifies selected technology solutions and critical policy and educational initiatives to effectively achieve within the next decade (2018-2027) the widespread uptake of decentralized solar energy systems in the built environment on a global scale.

Categorical variables are common in spatial data analysis. Traditional analytical methods for deriving probabilities of class occurrence, such as kriging-family algorithms, have been hindered by the discrete characteristics of categorical fields. This study introduces the theoretical backgrounds of linear Bayesian updating (LBU) approach for spatial classification through expert system. Transition probabilities are interpreted as expert opinions for updating the prior marginal probabilities of categorical response variables. The main objective of this paper is to present the solid theoretical foundations of LBU and provide a categorical random field prediction method which yields relatively higher classification accuracy compared with conventional Markov chain random field (MCRF) approach. A real-world case study has also been carried out to demonstrate the superiority of our method. Since the LBU idea is originated from aggregating expert opinions and not restricted to conditional independent assumption (CIA), it may prove to be reasonably adequate for analyzing complex geospatial data sets, like remote sensing images or area-class maps.

The diversification of life-histories is mediated by cooperation, innovations of biological information, modularity, and heterochrony in developmental processes. These processes are defined, contextualized, and exemplified, studying the evolution of coloniality (i.e. life-history involving modularization of the multicellular individual) in the family of benthic tunicates Styelidae. This study proposes that in these colonial tunicates there is an inter-generational division of labor, where one generation is feeding, a second is developing by morphogenetic processes, and a third is aging by programmed cell death and phagocytosis. The communication system developed in these colonies is mediated, by changes in proportion, location, and gene expression of specialized blood cells. Colonial life-history in animals is related to the reduction of individual size; development of extra-corporeal tissues to interconnect zooids; the inter-generational division of labor; and the reduction of zooid’s individuality. Processes analogous with the widely accepted major evolutionary transitions (METs), suggesting that coloniality could be studied as a MET. The understanding of colonial life-histories could provide information about key mechanisms for life diversification.

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive cancer associated to asbestos exposure. MPM pathogenesis has been related both to oxidative stress, evoked by and in response to asbestos fibers exposure, and the Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), an event induced by oxidative stress itself and related to cancer proliferation and metastasis. Asbestos related primary oxidative damage is counteracted in the lung by various redox-sensitive factors, often hyperactivated in some cancers. Among these redox-sensitive factors, Apurinic-apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE-1)/Redox effector factor 1 (Ref-1) has been demonstrated to be overexpressed in MPM and lung cancer, but the molecular mechanism has not yet fully understood. Moreover, asbestos exposure has been associated to induced EMT event, via some EMT transcription factors, such as Twist, Zeb-1 and Snail-1, in a possible crosstalk with oxidative stress and inflammation events. To demonstrate this hypothesis, we inhibited/silenced Ref-1 in MPM cells: as a consequence, both EMT (Twist, Zeb-1 and Snail-1) markers and cellular migration/proliferation were significantly inhibited. Take as a whole, these results show, for the first time, a crosstalk between oxidative stress and EMT in MPM carcinogenesis and invasiveness, so improving the knowledge to better address a preventive and therapeutic approach against this aggressive cancer.

The impact of the climate crisis on urban environments and life within them is evident. In the face of challenges like heatwaves, floodings and other extreme events, pollution, and declining quality of life in cities, there is a growing demand for the preservation and expansion of urban green spaces, often driven by citizen-led transformations. This paper examines 100 urban greening projects initiated or supported by citizens globally, categorizing them according to the type of greenery, the stakeholders involved, the mode of implementation and the use of smart technologies incorporated. We notice variations in green endeavors based on the stakeholders spearheading them, however most of entirely citizen-led initiatives aimed at the creation of urban farms and food growing, demonstrating the pressuring needs for food securing and self-determination in communities. More than half of the assessed initiatives that managed to scale up and multiply had public authorities providing a framework or a type of support for their development or an NGO or other organization providing expertise and mobilize citizens at various stages. In terms of technological use, we find mostly websites and social media platforms easing participatory endeavors and knowledge sharing of best practices, accelerating scaling efforts, while there is a low integration of more advanced digital technologies, which if used, could enable real-time monitoring of green spaces, inform evidence-based decision-making, and streamline processes in scaling up green initiatives.

Knowledge about the formation energies of compounds is essential to derive phase diagrams of multi-component phases with respect to elemental reservoirs. The determination of formation energies using common (semi-)local exchange-correlation approximations of density functional theory (DFT) exhibits well-known systematic errors if applied to oxide compounds containing transition metal elements. In this work, we generalize, reevaluate and discuss a set of approaches proposed and widely applied in the literature to correct for errors arising from the over-binding of the O2 molecule and from correlation effects of electrons in localized transition-metal orbitals. The DFT+U method is exemplarily applied to iron oxide compounds, and a procedure is presented to obtain U values, which lead to formation energies and electronic band gaps comparable to experimental values. Using such corrected formation energies, we derive the phase diagrams for LaFeO3, Li5FeO4 and NaFeO2, which are promising materials for energy conversion and storage devices. A scheme is presented to transform the variables of the phase diagrams from the chemical potentials of elemental phases to those of precursor compounds of a solid-state reaction, which represents the experimental synthesis process more appropriately. The discussed workflow of methods can directly be applied to other transition metal oxides.

The energy, momentum and the action associated with the time domain transition radiation fields are investigated. The results show that for a charged particle moving with speed $v$, the longitudinal momentum associated with the transition radiation is approximately equal to $E/c$ for values of $1-v/c$ smaller than about 10^-3 where $E$ is the total radiated energy and c is the speed of light in free space. The action of the transition radiation, defined as the product of the energy dissipated and the duration of the emission, increases as $1-v/c$ decreases and, for an electron, it becomes equal to $h/4\pi$ when $v=c-v_m$ where $v_m$ is the speed associated with the lowest energy state of a particle confined inside the universe and h is the Plank constant. Combining these results with Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, an expression for the electronic charge based on other fundamental physical constants is derived. The best agreement between the experimentally observed electronic charge and the theoretical prediction is obtained when one assumes that the actual size of the universe is about 250 times larger than the visible universe.

Abstract: The spectral and dynamic properties of 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO)

The present study describes the development and application of a computer model of the national electricity system for the Caribbean dual-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda to investigate the cost-optimal mix of solar photovoltaics (PV), wind, and in the most novel contribution, concentrating solar power (CSP). These technologies, together with battery and hydrogen energy storage, can enable the aim of achieving 100% renewable electricity and zero carbon emissions. The motivation for this study was that while most nations in the Caribbean rely largely on diesel fuel or heavy fuel oil for grid electricity generation, many countries have renewable resources beyond wind and solar energy. Antigua and Barbuda generates 93% of its electricity from diesel-fueled generators and has set targets of becoming a net-zero nation by 2040 and having 86% renewable energy generation in the electricity sector by 2030, but the nation has no hydroelectric or geothermal resources. The modeled, optimal mix of renewable energy technologies presented here was found for Antigua and Barbuda by assessing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for systems comprising various combinations of energy technologies and storage. Other factors were also considered, such as land use and job creation. It was found that 100% renewable electricity systems are viable and significantly less costly than current power systems, and that there is no single defined pathway towards a 100% renewable energy grid, but several options are available.

In this paper, we synthesized MC(BeA-co-MMA) copolymer microcapsules through suspension polymerization. The pendent n-behenyl group of BeA is highly crystalline, and it acts as the side-chain in the structure of BeA-co-MMA copolymer. The highly crystalline n-behenyl side-chain provides BeA-co-MMA copolymer thermal-energy-storage capacity. In order to investigate the correlation between thermal properties and crystal structure of BeA-co-MMA copolymer, the effects of monomer ratio, temperature changing and changing rate, as well as synthesis method were discussed. The monomer ratio influenced crystal transition behavior and thermal properties greatly. The DSC results proved that when the monomer ratio of BeA and MMA was 3:1, MC(BeA-co-MMA)3 showed the highest average phase change enthalpy ΔH (105.1 J·g–1). It indicated that the n-behenyl side-chain formed relatively perfect crystal region, which ensured a high energy storage capacity of copolymer. All the DSC and SAXS results proved that the amount of BeA had a strong effect on the thermal-energy-storage capacity of copolymer and the long spacing of crystals, but barely on the crystal lamella. It was found that MMA units worked like defects in the n-behenyl side-chain crystal structure of BeA-co-MMA copolymer. Therefore, a lower fraction of MMA, that is, a higher fraction of BeA contributed to a higher crystallinity of BeA-co-MMA copolymer for providing a better energy storage capacity and thermoregulation property. ST(BeA-co-MMA) copolymer sheets with the same ingredients as microcapsules were also prepared through light-induced polymerization aiming at clarifying the effect of synthesis method. The results proved that synthesis method mainly influenced the copolymer chemical component, but lightly on the crystal packing of n-behenyl side-chain.

In addition to the canonical loss-of-function mutations, mutations in proteins may additionally result in gain-of-function through the binary activation of cryptic ‘structural capacitance elements’. Our previous bioinformatic analysis allowed us to propose a new mechanism of protein evolution - structural capacitance – that arises via the generation of new elements of microstructure upon mutations that cause a disorder-to-order (DO) transition in previously disordered regions of proteins. Here we propose that the DO transition is a necessary follow-on from expected early codon-anticodon and tRNA acceptor stem-amino acid usage, via the accumulation of structural capacitance elements - reservoirs of disorder in proteins. We develop this argument further to posit that structural capacitance is an inherent consequence of the evolution of the genetic code.

The classification of tumors in subtypes, characterized by phenotypes determined by specific differentiation pathways, aids diagnosis and directs therapy towards targeted approaches. However, with the advent and explosion of next-generation sequencing, cancer phenotypes are turning out to be far more heterogenous than initially thought, and the classification is continually being updated to include more subtypes. Tumors are indeed highly dynamic and they can evolve and undergo various changes in their characteristics during disease progression. The picture becomes even more complex when tumor responds to a therapy. In all these cases, cancer cells acquire the ability to trans-differentiate, changing subtype, and adapt to changing microenvironments. These modifications affect the tumor's growth rate, invasiveness, response to treatment, and overall clinical behavior. Studying tumor subtype transitions is crucial for understanding tumor evolution, predicting disease outcomes, and developing personalized treatment strategies. We discuss this emerging hallmark of cancer and the molecular mechanisms involved at the crossroads between tumor cells and their microenvironment, focusing on four different human cancers in which tissue plasticity causes a subtype switch: breast cancer, prostate cancer, glioblastoma and pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Vibrational overtones in deeply bound molecules are sensitive probes for variation of the proton-to-electron mass ratio μ. In nonpolar molecules, these overtones may be driven as two-photon transitions. Here, we present procedures for experiments with O₂⁺, including state-preparation through photoionization, a two-photon probe, and detection. We calculate transition dipole moments between all X²П_g vibrational levels and those of the A²П_u excited electronic state. Using these dipole moments, we calculate two-photon transition rates and AC-Stark-shift systematics for the overtones. We estimate other systematic effects and statistical precision. Two-photon vibrational transitions in O₂⁺ provide multiple routes to improved searches for μ variation.

A new Pd(II) complex of the previously reported ligand N,N′-bis[(2,2′-dihydroxybiphen-3-yl)methyl]-N,N′-dimethylethylenediamine (L) was obtained from a DMF/H2O mixture. It differs from a Pd(II) complex of L previously obtained by sole DMF. The roles in the solid state assembly of solvent molecules and molecular conformation (driven by specific transition metal ions) were studied by comparing six complexes of L containing different metal centers (Ni(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), Pd(II)). Hirshfeld surface analysis, 2D fingerprint plots and energy frameworks calculations were used to investigate the intermolecular interactions within the crystal packing of the six complexes. As suggested by interaction energies, Pd(II) and Ni(II) complexes arrange to form ribbons, while Cd(II) and Cu(II) complexes form 3D networks. Interactions between complexes and solvent molecules in the previous Pd(II) complex are replaced by complex-complex interactions in the new Pd(II) complex, while BuOH and MeOH are interchangeable in the interactions within the crystal packing of the two Ni(II) complexes. Finally, solvent molecules are not involved in the crystal packing of the Cu(II) complex. The present study suggested that the solid state assembly of these systems is mainly driven by the molecular conformation, that depends in turn by the metal ion involved, while the solvent only plays a minor role.

The energy transition requires integration of different energy carriers, including electricity, heat, and transport sectors. Energy modeling methods and tools are essential to provide a clear insight into the energy transition. However, the methodologies often overlook the details of small-scale energy systems. The study states an innovative approach to facilitate sub-national energy systems with 100% renewable penetration and sectoral integration. An optimization model, OSeEM-SN, is developed under the Oemof framework. The model is validated using the case study of Schleswig-Holstein. The study assumes three scenarios representing 25%, 50%, and 100% of the total available biomass potentials. OSeEM-SN reaches feasible solutions without additional offshore wind investment, indicating that they can be reserved for supplying other states’ energy demand. The annual investment cost varies between 1.02 bn – 1.44 bn €/yr for the three scenarios. The electricity generation decreases by 17%, indicating that with high biomass-based combined heat and power plants, the curtailment from other renewable plants can be decreased. Ground source heat pumps dominate the heat mix; however, their installation decreases by 28% as the biomass penetrates fully into the energy mix. The validation confirms OSeEM-SN as a beneficial tool to examine different scenarios for sub-national energy systems.

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have attracted a great interest in nanomedical research. MNPs exhibit many important properties, particularly, magnetic hyperthermia for selective killing of cancer cells is one of them. In hyperthermia treatment, MNPs act as nano-heaters when they are under the influence of an alternating magnetic field (AMF). In this work, micromagnetic simulations have been used to investigate the magnetization dynamics of a single-domain nanoparticle of magnetite in an external AMF. Special attention is paid to the circumstances dealing with a dynamic phase transition (DPT). Besides, we focus on the influence of the orientation of the magnetic easy-axis of the MNP on the dynamic magnetic properties. For amplitudes of the external AMF above certain critical value, the system is not able to follow the magnetic field and it is found in a dynamically ordered phase; whereas for larger amplitudes, the state corresponds to a dynamically disordered phase and the magnetization follows the external AMF. Our results suggest that the way how the order-disorder DPT takes place, and both the metastable lifetime as well as the specific loss power (SLP), are strongly dependent on the interplay between the orientation of the magnetic easy-axis and the amplitude of the external AMF.

Positive Health (PH) has been described as a promising transformative innovation to address the challenges of promoting well-being and reducing the burden of disease. The aim of this study is to review the current state of knowledge about PH as introduced by Huber et al. (2016) within the available scientific literature. A rapid review of the literature following the Cochrane Rapid Review recommendations. Three databases were searched (PubMed, Google Scholar, and CINAHL). Data were extracted and synthesized using a narrative approach. A total of 55 articles were included. Initial evaluation studies reveal promising results both at individual and collective levels. However, a need is expressed in several articles for further refinement of the conceptualization of PH and ways to make the effects of the PH approach more measurable. Professionals also expressed a desire for a more informed application and elaboration of the PH method across various settings and populations to enhance its effectiveness in practice. This rapid review highlights the transformative potential of PH in shifting from a disease-focused to a health-oriented paradigm of healthcare. It underscores the need for continued research regarding further development of the concept and its practical method, along with the necessity for methodological innovation.

Land use and land cover (LULC) datasets for Jinan in 1992, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2017, and 2022 were developed from Landsat images using the Random Forest (RF) classification approach. The relationships between social-economic, political factors and time-series LULC data were exam-ined for the periods between 1992 and 2022. The results showed the effectiveness of using the RF classification method for LULC classification with time series of Landsat images. Combined with driving forces analysis, our research can effectively explain the detailed LULC change tra-jectories corresponding to different stages and give new insights into Jinan LULC change pat-terns. The results show a significant increase in impervious surface which opposite change to bare land which experienced a huge decline declined by 95%, due to urbanization and rapid in-crease of population. The driving forces behind these changes are related to population growth, economic development, and climate change. Moreover, the present research employed Principal Components Analysis (PCA) methodology in order to understand the relative significance of disparate driving factors. The analysis results prove that the economy (population, GDP) and climate change were the primary factors that have an obvious impact on land use/land cover changes and that the driving factors for impervious surface, bare land, woodland, farmland, and water were distinct. Government policies also have a substantial impact on LULC change as well, such as the Construction of Harmonious Jinan (COHJ). The results were helpful for better understanding the mechanisms of LULC change and can provide useful knowledge for effective land resource management and planning.

This work proposes a physics-based identification technique based on genetic algorithms. The main objective is to obtain a parametric matrix A that describes the time-invariant linear model of the longitudinal dynamics of an aircraft. This is achieved by proposing a fitness function based on the properties of the transition matrix and taking advantage of some of the capabilities of the genetic algorithm, mainly those of restricting the search ranges of the unknowns. In this case, such unknowns are related to the type of aircraft and flight conditions that are considered during the identification process. The proposed identification method is validated with a reliable nonlinear model that can be found in the literature, as well as with the calculation of the trim condition and linearization generally used in aircraft dynamics. In summary, this study suggests the genetic algorithm provided with the adequate fitness function, could be an appealing alternative for aircraft model identification, even when only a limited amount of data is available. Furthermore, in some cases, linearization using genetic algorithm can be more efficient than classical methods.

The phenomenon of ordered self-assembly on solid substrates is a topic of interest in both fundamental surface science research and its applications in nanotechnology. The regulation and control of two-dimensional (2D) self-assembled supra-molecular structures on surfaces have been realized through applying external stimuli. By utilizing scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), researchers can investigate detailed phase transition process about self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), providing insight into the interplay between intermolecular weak interactions and substrate-molecule interactions, which govern the formation of molecular self-assembly. This review will discuss the structural transition of self-assembly probed by STM in response to external stimuli and provide state-of-art methods such as tip induced confinement for the alignment of SAM domains and selective chirality. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities in the field of self-assembly and STM.

The idealized rhombohedral unit cell of boron carbide is formed by a 12-atom icosahedron and a 3-atom linear chain. Phase transitions are second order and caused by the exchange of B and C sites or by vacancies in the structure. Nevertheless, the impact of such minimal structural changes on the properties can be significant. As the X-ray scattering cross sections of B and C atoms are very similar, the capability of X-ray fine structure investigation is restricted. Phonon spectroscopy helps closing this gap. Phase transitions known to date have been identified due to significant changes of properties: (1) The phase transition near the chemical composition B8C by clear change of the electronic structure; (2) The endothermic temperature-dependent phase transition at 712 K by the according change of specific heat; (3) The high-pressure phase transition at 33.2 GPa by the drastic change of optical appearance from opacity to transparency. These phase transitions affect IR- and Raman-active phonons and other solid-state properties. The phase transitions at B~8C and 712 K mean that a well-defined distorted structure is converted into another one each. In the high-pressure phase transition, an apparently well-defined distorted structure changes into a highly ordered one. In all these cases, the distribution of polar C atoms in the icosahedra plays a crucial role.

In the last 20 years, the share of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity in the European Union has doubled, from about 15% to almost 35%. The main driver of this development has been the increase in the share of wind energy and solar photovoltaic energy. The authors aim to analyze the influencing factors that affect the energy transition process applied to nautical tourism, from polluting energy to renewable solar energy. The authors' research approach consists in using the framework offered by the energy transition process from the perspective of the socio-technical and economic approach, by applying the qualitative research method with a deductive approach. The tool used to achieve the objective was the semi-structured interview. The research unitarily, holistically, and specifically approaches the problem of energy transition from polluting sources to renewable ones offered by solar energy, in the case of nautical tourism with direct implications on the specific industry in the Netherlands. The research results are structured in the fields of technology, governance, economics, and user preferences. This research has the potential to provide support to find optimal solutions that encourage users to accelerate the energy transition process by adopting sustainable solutions for nautical tourism.

It is widely reported that the mitochondrial membrane potential, ∆Ψm, is reduced in aging animals. It was recently suggested that the lower ∆Ψm in aged animals modulate mitochondrial bioenergetics and that this effect is a major cause of aging since artificially increased ∆Ψm in C. elegans increased lifespan. Here I review, critically, studies that reported reduction of ∆Ψm in aged animals, including worms, and conclude that many of these observations are best interpreted as evidence that the fraction of depolarized mitochondria is increased in aged cells because of the enhanced activation of the mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore, mPTP. Activation of the voltage-gated mPTP depolarizes the mitochondria, inhibits oxidative phosphorylation, releases large amounts of calcium and mROS, and depletes cellular NAD+, thus accelerating degenerative diseases and aging. Since the inhibition of mPTP was shown to restore ∆Ψm and retard aging, the reported lifespan extension by artificially generated ∆Ψm in C. elegans is best explained by inhibition of the voltage-gated mPTP. Similarly, the reported activation of the mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response by reduction of ∆Ψm, and the reported preservation of ∆Ψm in dietary restriction treatment in C. elegans are best explained as a resulting from activation or inhibition of the voltage-gated mPTP, respectively.

2-(4-Benzyloxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-5-(carbethoxyethylene)-7-methoxy-benzofuran (BMBF), a benzofuran derivative, is an intermediate found in the process of total synthesis of ailanthoidol. Benzofuran derivatives are a class of compounds that possess various biological and pharmacological activities. The present study explored the anti-metastasis effects in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our preliminary findings indicate that BMBF suppresses the proliferation and changes the morphology of Huh7, an HCC cell line with a mutated p53 gene (Y220C). According to scratching motility assay, noncytotoxic concentrations of BMBF significantly inhibited the motility and migration in Huh7 cells. BMBF upregulated the expression of E-cadherin and downregulated the expression of vimentin, Slug, and MMP9, which are associated with epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) and metastasis in Huh7 cells. BMBF decreased the expression of integrin α7 and deactivated its downstream signal FAK/AKT and inhibited p53 protein levels. Cell transfection with p53 siRNA resulted in prevention of cell invasion because of the reduced expression of integrin α7, Slug, and MMP-9 in Huh7 cells. BMBF had anti-metastatic effects in PLC/PRF/5, an HCC cell line with R249S, a mutated p53 gene. Our findings indicate that BMBF has anti-metastatic effects in that it downregulates p53 and mediates the suppression of integrin α7, EMT, and MMP-9 in HCC cells with mutated p53 gene.

Co-doped SnO2 nanocrystals with tetragonal rutile-type (space group P42/mnm) structure have been investigated using in-situ high-pressure synchrotron angle dis-persive X-ray diffraction till 20.9 GPa at ambient temperature. The analysis of ex-perimental results based on Rietveld refinements suggest that rutile-type SnO2 un-dergoes a structural phase transition at 14.2 GPa to an orthorhombic CaCl2-type phase (space group Pnnm) with no coexistence during the phase transition. No further phase transition is observed till 20.9 GPa. The low-pressure and high-pressure phases are related via a group/subgroup relationship. However, as a discontinuous change in the unit-cell volume is detected at the phase transition, thus, the phase transition can be classified as first-order type. On decompression the transition is found to be re-versible. The results are compared with previous high-pressure studies on SnO2.

In this article, we analyze the thermodynamics, thermal fluctuations and quasi-normal modes of a torus-like charge AdS black hole. The parameters of a torus-like charged AdS black hole are its mass, electric charge, and cosmological constant. We used a torus-like charge AdS black hole to evaluate thermodynamics through thermal fluctuations and found that it significantly affected the corrected thermodynamic potentials. Black holes of larger radii are more stable and significant. The effect of thermal fluctuation has been investigated on the other thermodynamic potentials such as the Hemohltz free energy, Gibbs free energy, enthalpy, and specific heat, using the concept of corrected entropy. Finally, we use null geodesics to deal with quasi-normal modes. The null geodesics provide the photon sphere angular velocity and Lyapunov exponent, which are the real and imaginary components of the quasi-normal modes in the eikonal limit. With inceasing charge and photon radius, angular velocity reaches its maximum, similar to Lyapunov's exponent.

Background: The first few minutes after birth are the most dangerous for the survival of an infant. Babies in neonatal intensive care units are either under heated or overheated, and hypothermic infants remain hypothermic or develop a fever. As a result, special attention must be paid to monitoring and maintaining the time of recovery from hypothermia states. Despite numerous studies, only a few have examined the transition from neonatal hypothermia and associated risk factors in depth. Method: A retrospective observational study was conducted to track axillary temperatures taken at the time of neonatal intensive care unit admission, which were then tracked every 30 minutes until the newborn's temperature stabilized. All hypothermic neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit between January 2018 and December 2020 was included in the study. Temperature data were available at birth and within the first three hours of admission for 391 eligible hypothermic neonates. The effect of factors on the transition rate in different states of hypothermia was estimated using a multi-state Markov model. Result: The likelihood of progressing from mild to severe hypothermia was 5%, while the likelihood of progressing to normal was 34%. The average time spent in a severe hypothermia state was 48, 35, and 24 minutes for three different levels of birth weight, and 53, 41, and 31 minutes for low, moderate, and normal Apgar scores, respectively. Furthermore, the mean sojourn time in a severe hypothermia state was 48, 39, and 31 minutes for three different levels of high, normal, and low pulse rate, respectively. Conclusion: For hypothermic survivors within the first three hours of life, very low birth weight, low Apgar, and high pulse rate had the strongest association with hypothermia and took the longest time to improve/recover. As a result, there is an urgent need to train all levels of staff dealing with maintaining the time of recovery from neonatal hypothermia.

The transition of people from paediatric to adult diabetes services is associated with worsening glycaemia and increased diabetes-related hospitalisation. This study compared the clinical characteristics of those with and without mental health conditions among attenders at a diabetes young adult clinic diabetes before and after changes in service delivery. Retrospective review of 200 people with diabetes attending a Sydney public hospital over eight years corresponding to the period before (2012-2016) and after (2017-2018) restructuring of a clinic for young adults aged 16-25 years. Characteristics of those with and without mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, diabetes related distress, eating disorders), were compared. Among clinic attenders (type 1 diabetes n=184, 83.2%), 40.5% (n=89) had a mental health condition particularly, depression (n=57, 64%), which was higher among Indigenous than non-Indigenous people (5.6% vs 0.8% p=0.031) but similar between diabetes type. Over eight years, those with, compared with those without a mental health condition had higher HbA1c at the last visit (9.4%[79 mmol/mol] vs 8.7% [71 mmol/mol], p=0.027), the proportion with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA 60.7% vs 42.7%,p=0.009), smoking (38.4 vs 13.6%,p=0.009), retinopathy (9.0 vs 2.3%,p=0.025), multiple DKAs (28.4 vs 16.0%,p=0.031) were significantly higher. Having a mental health condition was associated with 2.02 (95% Confidence intervals 1.1-3.7) fold increased risk of HbA1c ≥ 9.0%[75mmol/mol]. Changes to the clinic were not associated with improvements in mental health condition (39.0% vs 32.4%, p=0.096). In conclusion, we found that mental health conditions, particularly depression, are common in this population and are associated with diabetes complications. Diabetes type and clinic changes did not affect the reported mental health conditions. Additional strategies are required to reduce complication risks among those with mental health conditions. .

Capacitance measurements have been extensively used to measure the anchoring extrapolation length L at a nematic-substrate interface. These measurements are extremely delicate because the value found for L often critically depends on the sample thickness and the voltage range chosen to perform the measurements. Several reasons have been proposed to explain this observation, such as the presence of inhomogeneities in the director distribution on the bounding plates or the variation with the electric field of the dielectric constants. In this paper I propose a new method to measure Lp that takes into account this second effect. This method is more general than that proposed in Murauski et al. Phys. Rev. E 71, 061707 (2005) because it does not assume that the anchoring angle is small and that the anchoring energy is of the Rapini-Papoular form. This method is applied to a cell of 8CB treated for planar unidirectional anchoring by photoalignment with the azobenzene dye Brilliant Yellow. The role of flexoelectric effects and the shape of the anchoring potential are discussed.

To sample from complex, high-dimensional distributions, one may choose algorithms based on the Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) method. HMC-based algorithms generate nonlocal moves alleviating diffusive behavior. Here, I build on an already defined HMC framework, Hybrid Monte Carlo on Hilbert spaces [A. Beskos, F.J. Pinski, J.-M. Sanz-Serna and A.M. Stuart, Stoch. Proc. Applic. 121, 2201 - 2230 (2011); doi:10.1016/j.spa.2011.06.003] that provides finite-dimensional approximations of measures π which have density with respect to a Gaussian measure on an infinite-dimensional Hilbert (path) space. In all HMC algorithms, one has some freedom to choose the mass operator. The novel feature of the algorithm described in this article lies in the choice of this operator. This new choice defines a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method which is well defined on the Hilbert space itself. As before, the algorithm described herein uses an enlarged phase space Π having the target π as a marginal, together with a Hamiltonian flow that preserves Π. In the previous method, the phase space π was augmented with Brownian bridges. With the new choice for the mass operator, π is augmented with Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) bridges. The covariance of Brownian bridges grows with its length, which has negative effects on the Metropolis-Hasting acceptance rate. This contrasts with the covariance of OU bridges which is independent of the path length. The ingredients of the new algorithm include the definition of the mass operator, the equations for the Hamiltonian flow, the (approximate) numerical integration of the evolution equations, and finally the Metropolis-Hastings acceptance rule. Taken together, these constitute a robust method for sampling the target distribution in an almost dimension-free manner. The behavior of this novel algorithm is demonstrated by computer experiments for a particle moving in two dimensions, between two free-energy basins separated by an entropic barrier.

Intratumoral heterogeneity is a major ongoing challenge in the effective therapeutic targeting of cancer. Accumulating evidence suggests that a fraction of cells within a tumor termed Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) are primarily responsible for this diversity resulting in therapeutic resistance and metastasis. Adding to this complexity, recent studies have shown that there can be different subpopulations of CSCs with varying biochemical and biophysical traits resulting in varied dissemination and drug-resistance potential. Moreover, cancer cells can exhibit a high level of plasticity or the ability to dynamically switch between CSC and non-CSC states or among different subsets of CSCs. The molecular mechanisms underlying such plasticity has been under extensive investigation and the trans-differentiation process of Epithelial to Mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been identified as a major contributing factor. Besides genetic and epigenetic factors, CSC plasticity is also shaped by non-cell-autonomous effects such as the tumor microenvironment. In this review, we discuss the recent developments in understanding CSC plasticity in tumor progression at biochemical and biophysical levels, and the latest in silico approaches being taken for characterizing cancer cell plasticity with implications in improving existing therapeutic approaches.

We use a random gap model to describe a metal-insulator transition in three-dimensional semiconductors due to doping and find a conventional phase transition, where the effective scattering rate is the order parameter. Spontaneous symmetry breaking results in metallic behavior, whereas the insulating regime is characterized by the absence of spontaneous symmetry breaking. The transition is continuous for the average conductivity with critical exponent equal to 1. Away from the critical point the exponent is roughly 0.6, which may explain experimental observations of a crossover of the exponent from 1 to 0.5 by going away from the critical point.

This study aims to better understand students who attend the Basic Vocational Training Cycles (FPB) regarding the measures to ensure diversity. This quantitative research project approximates the perception of students concerning their passage through their previous studies and their satisfaction and goals after finishing the school year. The sample con-sists of 352 students from Cordoba (Spain). A questionnaire has been used which follows the CIPP model. After the exploratory factor analysis was completed with the different groups of items and their descriptive analysis, various tests were carried out to consider the hypotheses (Pearson's correlation (r), one-factor analysis of variance and repeated ANOVA measures). The results indicate that the educational interest of the students is ac-ademic and professional. Likewise, there is no relationship detected between the appear-ance of socio-professional goals and average academic levels and the attributions with re-spect to repetitions of previous courses, although these goals vary depending on the satis-faction shown by the students with respect to the cycles. We conclude that the course of the FPB influences the adoption of decisions regarding academic-professional projects.

Transitioning to clean cooking fuels is not only part of achieving SDG7, but also makes a significant contribution to mitigating climate change by reducing carbon emissions. The paper contradicts the conventional wisdom that electricity is too expensive to cook with. The paper explores the energy required to cook dishes using different technologies and fuels by analysing data from Cooking Diaries and Controlled Cooking tests conducted under the MECS programme. Electric pressure cookers (EPCs) use least energy when compared with electric hotplates, and a detailed description of how the EPC works explains why this should be. The paper draws out distinctions between African and Asian dishes, notably the impact of energy intensive dishes prepared mostly in Africa. Standard efficiency based approaches to comparing the performance of stoves are not appropriate to modern electric cooking devices so an alternative approach based on specific energy consumptions is proposed e.g. charcoal stoves use 15 times as much energy as EPCs to cook African dishes. Energy ratios provide a basis for estimating carbon emission reductions associated with transitioning to modern cooking fuels. Historical costs show that the cost of cooking with an EPC can be only 20% of the cost of cooking with charcoal, which highlights the potential for modern, energy efficient electric cooking devices to defy the conventional wisdom of the energy ladder.

Reductive amination is a powerful tool in sustainable organic synthesis that allows chemists to access a wide range of valuable amine products using renewable feedstocks, mild reaction con-ditions, and with minimal waste generation. Practical applications can be found in various fields, including pharmaceuticals, contributing to greener and more sustainable chemical processes. In this work we present a heterogeneous (Rh and Pt) catalysed protocol for the fast and efficient synthesis of ractopamine hydrochloride (-adrenergic drug) under MW-assisted reductive ami-nation protocol starting from raspberry ketone and octapamine. Microwave (MW) successfully accelerated the hydrogenation reaction and reduced the reaction time from 13 hours to only 3 hours under mild conditions (50°C at 10 bar). The best catalysts were Pt/C and Rh/C, which led to high conversion and selectivity towards ractopamine:HCl. The solvent has a significant effect on the reaction outcome. The replacement of methanol with other solvents had a negative impact on the reaction yield. We also replaced the raspberry ketone with other ketone substrates, especially cyclohexanone. These preliminary experiments may be useful for further process improvements in the synthesis of β-adrenergic agonists and related structures.

Sub-Saharan social-ecological systems are undergoing changes in environmental conditions, including modifications in rainfall pattern and biodiversity loss. Consequences of such changes depend on complex causal chains which call for integrated management strategies whose efficiency could benefit from ecosystem dynamic modelling. However, ecosystem models often require lots of quantitative information for estimating parameters, which is often unavailable. Alternatively, qualitative modelling frameworks have proved useful for explaining ecosystem response to perturbations, while requiring fewer information and providing more general predictions. However, current qualitative methods have some shortcomings which may limit their utility for specific issues. In this paper, we propose the Ecological Discrete-Event Network (EDEN), an innovative qualitative dynamic modelling framework based on "if-then" rules which generates many alternative event sequences (trajectories). Based on expert knowledge, observations and literature, we use this framework to assess the effect of permanent changes in surface water and herbivores diversity on vegetation and socio-economic transitions in an East African savanna. Results show that water availability drives changes in vegetation and socio-economic transitions, while herbivore functional groups had highly contrasted effects depending on the group. This first use of EDEN in a savanna context is promising for bridging expert knowledge and ecosystem modelling.

Melting, solidification and viscosity properties of a multicomponent Fe-Cu-Nb-Mo-Si-B alloys with low aluminum addition up to 0.42 at.% Al were studied using an oscillating cup viscometer. It is shown that melting and solidification are divided into two stages with a knee point at 1461 K. The temperature dependences of the liquid fraction between the liquidus and solidus temperatures during melting and solidification are calculated. It has been proven that aluminum accelerates the processes of melting and solidification and leads to an increase in liquidus and solidus temperatures. In the liquid state at temperatures above 1700 K in an alloy with a low aluminum content, the activation energy of viscous flow increases. This growth was associated with the liquid – liquid structure transition caused by the formation of large clusters based on the metastable Fe23B6 phase. Aluminum atoms attract iron and boron atoms and contribute to the formation of clusters based on the Fe2AlB2 phase and metastable phases of a higher order.

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

Green Infrastructure promotes the use of natural functions and processes as potential solutions to reduce negative effects derived from anthropocentric interventions such as urbanization. In cities of Latin America, for example, the need for more nature-sound infrastructure is evident due to its degree of urbanization and degradation of ecosystems, as well as the alteration of the local water cycle. In this study, an experimental approach for implementation of a prototype is presented. The experiment took place in a highly urbanized watershed located in the Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica. Initially, understanding the characteristics of the study area at different scales was achieved by applying the Urban Water System Transition Framework to identify the existing level of development of the urban water infrastructure, and potential future stages. Subsequently, preferences related to spatial locations and technologies were identified from different local decision-makers. Those insights were adopted to identify a potential area for implementation of the prototype. The experiment consisted on an adaptation of the local sewer to act as a temporal reservoir to reduce the effects derived from rapid generation of stormwater runoff. Unexpected events, not considered initially in the design, are reported in this study as a means to identify necessary adaptations of the methodology. Our study shows from an experimental learning-experience that the relation between different actors advocating for such technologies influences the implementation and operation of non-conventional technologies. Furthermore, the perception of security associated to green spaces was found as a key driver to increase the willingness of residents to modify their urban environments. In consequence, those aspects should be carefully considered as factors of designs of engineering elements when they are related to complex socio-ecological urban systems.

The draconian regulation required by the inherent instability of cognitive phenomena -- gene expression, immune function, cancer suppression, wound healing, animal consciousness, machine intelligence, network stabilization, institutional cognition, and their many and varied composites -- can be viewed through the lens of the asymptotic limit theorems of both information and control theories. Here, we explore the dynamics and sometimes highly punctuated failures of the regulation of cognition under increasing `noise'. The approach parallels, and indeed generalizes, the Data Rate Theorem of control theory, extending the theorem's requirement of a minimum channel capacity necessary for stabilization of an inherently unstable system. Various models are explored across different basic underlying probability distributions characteristic of the system under study, and across different hierarchical scales, finding the addition of adaptive -- learned -- regulation greatly extends the reach of innate -- e.g., AI-driven or otherwise pre-programmed -- regulation. This work points toward the construction of new statistical tools for the analysis of observational and empirical data across a wide spectrum of inherent pathologies and adversarial challenges afflicting a wide variety of cognitive processes.

Lifetime cancer risk characterization of ambient PM-bound carcinogenic metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were examined in the cities of Los Angeles (USA), Thessaloniki (Greece) and Milan (Italy), which share similar Mediterranean climates but are different in their urban emission sources and governing air quality regulations. The samples in Milan and Thessaloniki were mostly dominated by biomass burning activities whereas the particles collected in Los Angeles were primary impacted by traffic emissions. We analyzed the ambient PM2.5 mass concentration of Cadmium (Cd), Hexavalent Chromium (Cr(VI)), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb), as well as 13 PAH compounds in the PM samples, collected during both cold and warm periods at each location. The Pb exhibited the highest annual-average concentration in all 3 cities, followed by Ni, As, Cr(VI), Cd and PAHs, respectively. The cancer risk assessment based on outdoor pollutants was performed based on three different scenarios, with each scenario corresponding to a different level of infiltration of outdoor pollutants into the indoor environment. Thessaloniki exhibited rather high risk value associated with lifetime inhalation of As, Cr(VI) and PAHs. The highest cancer risk values were calculated in Milan where the lifetime risk of exposure to As, Cr(VI) and PAHs exceeded the US EPA standard across all scenarios by a considerable margin. The risk associated with Cr(VI) in Milan, which was the most significant among the investigated elements, ranged from (6.08±0.36)×10-6 to (9.82±0.58) ×10-6. In contrast, the estimated risks associated with metal and PAHs in Los Angeles were mostly comparable to the guideline value, even when the infiltration factor was assumed to be at peak. This observation highlights the impact of local air quality measures in improving the air quality and lowering the cancer risks in Los Angeles compared to the other two cities.

Endothelial function is regulated by a myriad of complex pathways. In our previous study, the expression of miR-378a-3p was shown to inhibit endothelial autophagy and impair endothelial function. However, the mechanism underlying the effect of miR-378a-3p in endothelial cells remains to be elucidated. By employing an in silico approach, Protein Disulfide Isomerase 4 (PDIA-4) was identified as a target of miR-378-3p; however, its’ role in endothelial cells is not known. We here report that endothelial cell-specific loss of PDIA-4 leads to impaired autophagic flux accompanied by loss of endothelial function and apoptosis. Endothelial cell-specific loss of PDIA-4 also induced marked changes in endothelial cells’ architecture, accompanied with the loss of endothelial markers and gain of mesenchymal markers consistent with endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT). Loss of PDIA-4 activates TGF-signaling, and inhibition of TGF-signaling inhibits EndMT in PDIA-4 silenced endothelial cells in vitro. Our findings help elucidate the role of PDIA-4 in endothelial autophagy and endothelial function and provide a potential target to modulate and/or limit autophagy and EndMT in (patho-)physiological conditions.

This paper aims at addressing the exploitation of solid-state carriers for hydrogen storage, with attention paid both to the technical aspects, through a wide review of the available integrated systems, and to the social aspects, through a preliminary overview of the connected impacts from a gender perspective. As for the technical perspective, carriers to be used for solid-state hydrogen storage for various applications can be classified into two classes: metal and complex hydrides. Related crystal structures and corresponding hydrogen sorption properties are reviewed and discussed. Fundamentals of thermodynamics of hydrogen sorption evidences the key role of the enthalpy of reaction, which determines the operating conditions (i.e. temperatures and pressures). In addition, it rules the heat to be removed from the tank during hydrogen absorption and to be delivered to the tank during hydrogen desorption. Suitable values for the enthalpy of hydrogen sorption reaction for operating conditions close to ambient (i.e. room temperature and 1-10 bar of hydrogen) are close to 30 kJ·molH2 1. The kinetics of hydrogen sorption reaction is strongly related to the microstructure and to the morphology (i.e. loose powder or pellets) of the carriers. Usually, kinetics of hydrogen sorption reaction is rather fast, and the thermal management of the tank is the rate determining step of the processes. As for the social perspective, various scenarios for the applications in different socio-economic contexts of solid-state hydrogen storage technologies are described. As it occurs with the exploitation of other renewables innovative technologies, a wide consideration of the social factors connected to these processes is needed to assess the extent to which a specific innovation might produce positive or negative impacts in the recipient socio-economic system and to explore the potential role of the social components and dynamics in fostering the diffusion of the innovation itself. Attention has been addressed to the gender perspective, in view of the enhancement of hydrogen-related energy storage systems, intended both in terms of the role of women in triggering the exploitation of hydrogen-based storage as well as to the impact of this innovation in their current conditions, at work and in daily life.

In this work, effects of 20 transition element additives on the interfacial adhesion energy and electronic structure of Al (111)/6H-SiC (0001) interfaces have been studied by first principles method. For clean Al (111)/6H–SiC (0001) interfaces, both Si-terminated and C-terminated interfaces have covalent bond characteristics. The C-terminated interface has stronger binding energy, which is mainly due to the stronger covalent bond formed by the larger charge transfer between C and Al. The results show that the introduction of many transition elements, such as 3d transitional group Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and 4d transitional group Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, can improve the interfacial adhesion energy of the Si-terminated Al (111)/6H-SiC (0001) interface. However, for the C-terminated Al (111)/6H-SiC (0001) interface, only the addition of Co element can improve the interfacial adhesion energy. Bader charge analysis shows that the increase of interfacial binding energy is mainly attributed to more charge transfer.

The absolute absorption cross section of the ethyl peroxy radical, C2H5O2, in the Ã←X ̃ electronic transition with the peak wavelength at 7596 cm-1, has been determined by the method of dual wavelengths time resolved continuous wave cavity ring down spectroscopy. C2H5O2 radicals were generated from pulsed 351 nm photolysis of C2H6/Cl2 mixture in presence of O2 and detected on one of the CRDS paths. Two methods have been applied for the determination of the C2H5O2 absorption cross section: (i) based on Cl-atoms being converted alternatively to either C2H5O2 by adding C2H6 or to hydro peroxy radicals, HO2, by adding CH3OH to the mixture, whereby HO2 was reliably quantified on the second CRDS path in the 21 vibrational overtone at 6638.2 cm-1 (ii) based on the reaction of C2H5O2 with HO2, measured under either excess HO2 or under excess C2H5O2 concentration. Both methods lead to the same peak absorption cross section of C2H5O2,7596 cm-1 = (1.0±0.2) × 10-20 cm2. The rate constant for the cross reaction between of C2H5O2 and HO2 has been measured to be (6.5±1.6) × 10-12 cm3 molecule-1 s-1.

The COST Action ‘PED-EU-NET’, JPI Urban Europe, IEA EBC Annex 83 and EERA JP Smart Cities can be considered as the main promoters and pioneer initiatives of the research on Positive Energy Districts (PEDs), that collaborated to develop a tool called 'PED Database'. The tool aims to map, filter, sort, and compare PED experiences, providing a balanced overview of the technological and non-technological solutions adopted in different PED projects and case studies around Europe and beyond. The paper aims to present the collaborative step-by-step process leading to the PED DB implementation, describing the adopted methodology, the current results and potentials of the online version platform and introducing its future possible developments towards a more user-friendly and stakeholders-tailored tool.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) networks are essential in acquiring the drug resistance and cancer malignant features in cancer stem cells (CSCs). In this regard, gene expression profiles in diffuse- and intestinal-type gastric cancer (GC) have been analyzed to reveal the network pathways in EMT and CSCs, since the diffuse-type GC has much more mesenchymal features than intestinal-type GC that has the intestinal features. The study results revealed that the activation state of several canonical pathways related to cell cycle regulation was altered. The canonical pathway on Cell cycle: G1/S checkpoint regulation was activated in diffuse-type GC, and canonical pathways on Cell cycle control of chromosomal replication and Cyclins and cell cycle regulation were activated in intestinal-type GC. Canonical pathway related to Role of BRCA1 in DNA damage response was activated in intestinal-type GC, where BRCA1, which is related to G1/S phase transition was up-regulated in intestinal-type GC. Several microRNAs (miRNAs), including mir-10, mir-17, mir-19, mir-194, mir-224, mir-25, mir-34, mir-451, and mir-605, were identified to have direct relationships of RNA-RNA interaction in Cell cycle: G1/S checkpoint regulation pathway. Additionally, cell cycle regulation may be altered in EMT conditions. The alterations in activation states of the pathways related to cell cycle regulation in diffuse- and intestinal-type GC would indicate the significance of cell cycle regulation in EMT.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a fatal disease due to early metastatic spread, late diagnosis and the lack of efficient therapies. A major driver of cancer progression and hurdle to successful treatment is the desmoplastic reaction of the tumor stroma, the formation of which is orchestrated by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β. Recent data from pancreatic cancer mouse models have shown that the TGF-β pathway is controlled by transcriptionally active p73 (TAp73) through secretion of biglycan (Bgn) via intermittent expression of the TGF-β signaling intermediates, Smad3 and Smad4. Genetic knockout of TP73, and, as a consequence, deficient induction of Smad3/Dpc4 and secretion of Bgn led to activation of TGF-β signaling through a (Smad-independent) ERK pathway, favoring epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell motility. Except for BGN, these functions of TAp73 have recently been shown to also operate in human PDAC cells and are reminiscent of what we previously observed for the small GTPase, RAC1b. This prompted us to hypothesize that TAp73 and RAC1b are part of the same tumor-suppressive pathway in human PDAC cells. The two objectives of this study, therefore, were to reveal i) if the regulatory interactions between TAp73 and Bgn previously discovered in murine PDAC-derived cells also operate in their human counterparts, and ii) if RAC1b collaborates with TAp73 in these tumor-suppressive activities in human PDAC cells. Using a variety of experimental approaches, including mutual rescue experiments, we were able to show that the previously proposed tumor-suppressive TAp73-Smad4-Bgn signaling also operates in human cells and that RAC1b is as an upstream activator of this pathway. Our findings highlight the complex role of TGF-β in pancreatic tumorigenesis and might have implications for therapeutic approaches targeting this growth factor for inhibition.

A quite energetic seismic excitation consisting of one main and additional three distinctive earthquake clusters that occurred in the transition area between the Kefalonia Transform Fault Zone (KTFZ) and the continental collision between Adriatic and Aegean microplates, is thoroughly studied after high–precision aftershocks’ relocation. The activated fault segments are in an area where historical and instrumental data have never claimed the occurrence of a catastrophic (M>6.0) earthquake. The relocated seismicity initially defines an activated structure extending from the northern segment of the Lefkada branch of KTFZ with the same NNE–SSW orientation and dextral strike-slip faulting and then keeping the same sense of motion its strike becomes NE–SW and its dip direction NW. This provides unprecedented information on the link between the KTFZ and the Collision front and sheds more light on the regional geodynamics. The earthquake catalog, which is specially compiled for this study, starts one year before the occurrence of the Mw5.4 mainshock and adequately provides the proper data source for investigating the temporal variation of the b–value, which might be used for discriminating foreshock and aftershock behavior.

This study aims to determine the Antecedent of employee engagement among police officers in Tanjung Perak Police Station. The approach used in this research is quantitative with survey and correlation methods. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling which obtained by respondents as many as 146 employees of Police officers in Tanjung Perak Police Station which include all the population. The data analysis technique used in this research is descriptive statistics and inferential statistical analysis. Inferential statistical analysis using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach using Smart PLS application. Furthermore, the measurement of the model (outer model). The test findings suggest that internal and external job transitions improve capital mobility. Movement capital boosts internal employability. Movement capital boosts external employability. Employee engagement and participation are negatively impacted by perceived external employability.

Mass transfer and phase transition have important effect on the velocity of bubble migration in deepwater wellbore, and accurate prediction of bubble migration velocity is crucial for calculating the safe shut-in period of deepwater oil and gas well. Therefore, the effect of bubble dissolution mass transfer and hydrate phase transition on bubble migration behavior in deepwater environment have attracted extensive attention from researchers in the fields of energy, marine chemistry, and marine engineering safety. In this work, a new model of bubble migration velocity in deepwater is developed, which considers the effect of hydrate phase transition and gas-water bidirectional cross-shell mass transfer during bubble migration. Based on the observation data of bubble migration in deepwater, the reliability of the model in predicting bubble migration velocity is verified. Then, the model is used to calculate and analyze the bubble migration velocity and bubble migration cycle under different initial bubble size, different annular fluid viscosity and density. The results show that the initial size of bubble and the viscosity of annulus fluid are the main factors affecting the migration velocity of bubble, but the density of annulus fluid has little effect on the migration velocity of hydrated bubble and clean bubble. In addition, the migration velocity of clean bubble gradually increases during the migration process from the bottom to the wellhead, while the migration velocity of hydrated bubble is divided into gradually decreasing stage and slowly increasing stage. The gas consumption and the thickening of hydrate shell in the gradually decreasing stage play a dominant role, and the increase of bubble volume caused by the decrease of pressure in the slowly increasing stage is the most important factor. The formation of hydrated bubble can significantly reduce the migration velocity of bubble and effectively prolong the safe shut-in period. This study provides a reference for quantitative description and characterization of complex bubble migration behavior with phase change and mass transfer in deepwater environment.

The direct measurements of the magnetocaloric effect were performed in Heusler Ni44.4Mn36.2Sn14.9Cu4.5 alloy at cryogenic temperatures in magnetic fields up to 10 T. The maximum value of the inverse magnetocaloric effect in a field of 10 T was observed ∆Tad = –2.7 K in the vicinity of the 1st order magnetostructural phase transition at T0 = 117 K. The ab initio and Monte Carlo calculations were performed to discuss the effect Cu doping into Ni-Mn-Sn compound on the ground state structural and magnetic properties. It is shown that with increasing Cu content the martensitic transition temperature decreases and the Curie temperature of austenite slightly increases. In general, calculated transition temperatures, magnetization values are correlated well with the experimental ones.

Water conflicts have been a significant issue in Brazil, especially in the Sao Francisco River basin. Subseasonal forecasts, up to a 60-day forecast range, can provide information to support decision-makers in managing water resources in the river basin, especially before drought events. Predictability in the subseasonal forecasts range is a research topic as this range contains mixed dependence on weather and seasonal phenomena. Numerical models may inherit this mixed dependence on their skills. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the Eta Model simulations to reproduce the drought events between the years 2011 and 2016. Two sets of 60-day simulations were produced; one started in September (SO) and the other in January (JF) each year. These months were chosen to evaluate the model skill to reproduce the onset and the middle of the rainy seasons in Central Brazil, where the Upper Sao Francisco River is located. The SO simulations reproduced the observed spatial distribution of precipitation but underestimated the amounts. Precipitation errors exhibit large variability across the subbasins. The JF simulations also reproduced the observed precipitation distribution but overestimated it in the Upper and Lower subbasins. The JF simulations better captured the interannual variability of precipitation. The 60-day simulations were discretized in six 10-day accumulations to assess the intra-monthly variability. They showed that simulations can capture the onset of the rainy season and the small amounts of the rainy months that occurred in these severe drought years.

Canine mammary tumors represent one of the leading malignant pathology in female dogs, displaying the importance of efficient therapeutic findings, beside the golden standard surgery, able to limit the development of the disease. Studies in human cancers demonstrated that Doxorubicin presents a good effect in different biological processes like apoptosis, autophagy, cell cycle, cell invasion and epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Our study following the effects of Doxorubicin on two canine mammary cancer cell lines P114 and CMT-U27, showing an inhibitory effect in cell proliferation and an expression alteration of the EMT related genes.

Offshore grids can have a key role in the transition of the energy system to sustainability. Although they require extensive infrastructure investments, they open up for the exploitation of additional resources and may be important to provide for part of the increasing electricity demand driven by sector coupling. This paper quantifies the socio-economic value of offshore grids and identifies their major drivers, performing energy system optimization in a model application of the Northern-central European energy system and the North Sea offshore grid towards 2050. The increasing wake loss with the size of hub-connected wind farms is integrated in the modelling. We find that without sector coupling no offshore grid may develop, and that the higher the level of sector coupling, the higher the value of offshore grids. Therefore, it can be strongly stated that offshore grid infrastructure development should not be discussed as a separate political topic, but seen in connection to sector coupling.

The article is devoted to a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications reflecting trends in scientific publications related to the energy transition of leading universities in Saudi Arabia. The universities were selected based on the presence of joint publications with the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, they are: King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, and King Saud University. The importance of studying the experience of Saudi Arabia for Russia in the context of the energy transition was highlighted. The analysis was based on Scopus platform data related to Subject Areas: Physical Sciences. Scientists from Saudi Arabian universities are increasingly publishing with co-authors from China, India, Egypt, Pakistan, and Malaysia, while maintaining high interaction with co-authors from the United States, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Authors from the Russian Federation publish poorly with co-authors from Saudi Arabia. The trends in the topics of scientific publications were investigated, and their connection with the renewable energy topic was shown. The VOSviewer software was used to determine the main research areas using the cluster analysis method based on the co-occurrence of key terms. The analysis was done for both Author's keywords and Index keywords of the Scopus system. Graphical representation of the final choice of terms to describe research trends was proposed. TRANSLATE with x English ArabicHebrewPolish BulgarianHindiPortuguese CatalanHmong DawRomanian Chinese SimplifiedHungarianRussian Chinese TraditionalIndonesianSlovak CzechItalianSlovenian DanishJapaneseSpanish DutchKlingonSwedish EnglishKoreanThai EstonianLatvianTurkish FinnishLithuanianUkrainian FrenchMalayUrdu GermanMalteseVietnamese GreekNorwegianWelsh Haitian CreolePersian TRANSLATE with COPY THE URL BELOW Back EMBED THE SNIPPET BELOW IN YOUR SITE Enable collaborative features and customize widget: Bing Webmaster Portal Back

One of the key geophysical technologies for the energy industry during energy transition to zero footprint is fluid imaging. Knowledge of fluid distribution allows better, more optimized production reducing thus CO2 footprint per barrel produced and for CO2 storage the knowledge of where stored fluids go is mandatory to monitor reservoir seals. Electromagnetic is the preferred way to image fluid due to its strong coupling to the fluid resistivity. Unfortunately, acquiring and interpreting the data takes too long to contribute significantly to field operation and cost optimization. Using artificial intelligence and Cloud based data acquisition we can reduce the operational feedback to near real time and for the interpretation to close to 24 h. This then opens new door for the usefulness of this technology from exploration, monitoring and allows the application envelope to be enlarged to much noisier environment where real time acquisition can be optimized based on the acquired data.

Beyond the usual ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases present in spin systems, the usual q-state clock model, presents an intermediate vortex state when the number of possible orientations q for the system is equal to 5 or larger. Such vortex states give rise to the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase present up to the XY model in the limit q→∞. Based on information theory, we present here an analysis of the classical order parameters plus new short-range parameters defined here. Thus, we show that even using the first nearest neighbors spin-spin correlations only, it is possible to distinguish the two transitions presented by this system for q greater than or equal to 5. Moreover, the appearance at relatively low temperature and disappearance of the BKT phase at a rather fix higher temperature is univocally determined by the short-range interactions recognized by the information content of classical and new parameters.

Indonesia is an interesting case study for students of sustainable development and sustainable energy due to its ability to connect the multiple “worlds” it has become part of. Indonesia is an important bridge to Muslim countries, the voice of the Global South in the G20 and a main pillar of the 134-country-strong G77. Indonesia’s development trajectory is also key to the achievement of the Paris Climate Agreement as well as of the 2030 Agenda. Students can learn from how Indo-nesia address contradictions that would have been unsurmountable for other countries. Indone-sia’s energy transition offers helpful lessons, because of its aspiration to become a developed country by 2045. This goal is only possible when a country is able to effectively address barriers and caveats to sustainable energy. It is interesting how Indonesia focuses on silver linings and come up with pragmatic solutions to energy-related issues. This is followed by the “teaching guide,” which provides recommendations how the lessons from Indonesia can be embedded into a learning experience. The “learning activation approach” is introduced, which encourages stu-dents to systematically reflect on the complexity of selected contexts and understand this com-plexity by looking at the technical issues and processes that allow decision-making.

Particle layers employing conductive transition metal nitrides have been proposed as possible alternative plasmonic materials for photovoltaic applications due to their reduced losses compared to metal nanostructures. We critically compare the photocurrent gain due to an additional layer made of nanopillars of nitrides with other material classes obtained in an already highly optimized doped c-Si baseline solar cell with accurate doping profile from measurements. A relative photocurrent gain with respect to the baseline cell of on average 5% to 10% is observed, with a few cases achieving around 30% gain. While the local field enhancement is moderate resonances for nitrides spread over the whole UV-VIS range. For some nitrides, the shading effect remains a problem similar as for metals, but others behave more like dielectric scatterers with high photocurrent gain.

There is considerable interest in delineating the molecular mechanisms of action of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), considered as central player in a plethora of human conditions, including cancer, fibrosis and autoimmune disease. TGF-β elicits its biological effects through membrane bound serine/threonine kinase receptors which transmit their signals via downstream signalling molecules, SMADs, which regulate the transcription of target genes in collaboration with various co-activators and co-repressors. Until now, therapeutic strategy for primary Sjӧgren’s syndrome (pSS) has been focused on inflammation, but, recently, the involvement of TGF-β/SMADs signalling has been demonstrated in pSS, although TGFβ family members seems to have ambiguous effects on the function of pSS salivary glands. Based on these premises, this review highlights recent advances in unravelling the molecular basis for the multi-faceted functions of TGF-β in pSS that are dictated by orchestrations of SMADs, and describe TGF-β/SMADs value as both disease markers and/or therapeutic target for pSS.

：Sleep stage on the whole night is not steady. Sleepers generally pass through three to five cycles. In each cycle, there are occur four typical sleep stages, such as wake stage (WS), light stage (LS), deep sleep (DS), rapid eye movement sleep stage (REM). According to the natural routine, in this paper, we investigate the stage transition and analyze the feature of stage transition using the local cluster Algorithm (LCA). Two-cycle sleep model (TCSM) is proposed to automatically classify sleep stages using over-night continuous heart rate variability (HRV) data. The generated model is based on the characteristics of the nested cycle's sleep stage distribution and the transition probabilities of sleep stages. Experiments were conducted using a public data set including 400 healthy subjects (female 239, male 161) and the model’s classification accuracy was evaluated for four sleep stages: WS, LS, DS, REM. The experimental results showed that based on the TCSM model, the segmentation classification of pure sleep is 5.2% higher than that of the traditional method, and the accuracy of segmentation classification is 11.2% higher than the traditional sleep staging accuracy. The experimental performance is promising in terms of the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity rates compared with the ones of the state-of-the-art methods. The study contributes to improve the quality of sleep monitoring in daily life using easy-to-wear HRV sensors.

Reliable information on transition matrix elements of various property operators between molecular electronic states is of crucial importance for predicting spectroscopic, electric, magnetic and radiative properties of molecules. The finite-field technique is a simple and rather accurate tool for evaluating transition matrix elements of first-order properties in the frames of the Fock space relativistic coupled cluster approach. We formulate and discuss the extension of this technique to the case of transitions between the electronic states associated with different sectors of the Fock space. Pilot applications to the evaluation of transition dipole moments between the closed-shell-like states (vacuum sector) and those dominated by single excitations of the Fermi vacuum (the $1h1p$ sector) in heavy atoms (Xe, Hg) and simple molecules of heavy element compounds (I${}_2$, TlF) are reported.

Phenotypic switching in cancer cells has been found to be present across tumor types. Recent studies on Glioblastoma report a remarkably common architecture of four well-defined phenotypes coexisting within high levels of intra-tumour genetic heterogeneity. Tumours grown from any cell type recapitulate the original phenotypic composition. Similar dynamics have been shown to occur in breast cancer, melanoma and likely across further cancer types. Given the adaptive potential of phenotypic switching (PHS) strategies, understanding how it drives tumour evolution and how to break down these architectures is a major priority. Here we model the ecological dynamics behind PHS. The model is able to reproduce experimental results, and specific conditions for cancer progression and clearance reveal novel features of plastic tumours and its direct consequences on therapy resistance. Following our results we discuss \textit{transition} therapy as a novel scheme to target not only combined cytotoxicity but also the rates of phenotypic switching.

The measures for tackling the COVID-19 may shrink the global GDP by approximately 6% in 2020, the deepest post-war recession. As a result, the global energy demand declined by 3.8% in the first quarter of 2020. Concerning fossil fuels, this conjuncture reduced the demand drastically and collapsed the prices to historic levels. Despite the general market disruptions, renewable energy sources (RES) seem to be more resilient to the crisis because they are the only sources that will grow in demand in 2020, driven by priority dispatch. The RES´s significant growth in cumulative installed capacity in the last two decades and the significant cost reductions of RES and energy storage technologies are positive signs towards better market conditions for the global energy transition. Currently, the crisis is seen by international agencies and transition scholars as an opportunity to advance a renewable-based energy transformation. Nevertheless, this article aims at caution about another possibility: if societal changes are not urgently implemented, the crisis may weaken the global energy transition. This article examines this last possibility from a three-level perspective: 1) post-COVID economic recovery, 2) low oil and natural gas prices and competitiveness of alternative sources and, 3) reorganization of the world energy market and the OPEC+. This paper exists to stimulate debate.

Forests across the world stand at the crossroad with climate and land use changes shaping their future. Despite the demonstration of political will and global efforts, forest loss, fragmentation and land degradation continue unabated. No clear evidence exists that these initiatives are working. Why are policies designed to halt deforestation and increase restoration of forest landscapes failing? A key reason for this apparent ineffectiveness lies in the failure to recognize the agency of the stakeholders involved and the adaptive capacities of the systems we seek to steer. Landscapes do not happen. We make them. They are the result of the sum of individual actions and decisions made by all stakeholders, and the interactions between these and biophysical processes. Likewise, forest transitions are not ecological, but social and behavioral. They are a product of the way humans manage ecosystems. Decision-makers need to integrate better representations of people’s agency in their mental models. We suggest possible solution pathways to overcome this key current barrier. These involve eliciting mental models behind policy decision, changing perspectives to better understand divergent points of view and refining strategies through explicit theories of change. Games designed to represent the constraints and opportunities that exist in the landscapes can help decision makers in these task.

In this study, a parameter of volume stability was proposed for the first time to design polymorph zirconia ceramics used for special components. A series of heterogeneous polymorph zirconia ceramics with various amounts of monoclinic (M) phase were fabricated by two-step sintering. Samples with about 27%, 31%, and 51% M phase content were selected to study the properties. The thermal shock durability was found to be associated with thermal expansion behavior and noncritical micro cracks, which both based on M phase initial content. In good agreement with experimental results, the correlation of normalized K versus M phase initial content was established. It could provide a repeatable reference to prepare special zirconia components without loss of density.

The unsustainability of the services related to water, sanitation and hygiene in informal settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa services is deeply embedded in current societal and governance structures, cultures and practices; it is context-dependent and involves numerous actors with different interests. The field of sustainability transitions research addresses such persistent and large scale societal challenges, with transition management being one of its widely applied governance approach. By drawing on an analysis of the root causes of unsustainability and unreliability of WASH services in three case studies in Sub-Saharan Africa (Arusha-Tanzania, Dodowa-Ghana, Kampala-Uganda), we explore how a transition management approach can be designed to support a transition towards sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Sub-Saharan Africa. We distinguish the following contextual dimensions related to the unsustainability of WASH services: a) Multiplicity of WASH practices, structures and arrangements, b) Governance capacities for WASH services and maintenance, c) Landownership for sustainable access to WASH, d) Public participation in decision-making related to WASH, e) socio-economic structures governing access to WASH. These dimensions prompt the identification of conceptual and application challenges for transition management. Based on these challenges, recommendations were formulated for the design of a prescriptive transition management process that is not only functional but also emancipatory of character.

In our previous works we have proposed design equations that can predict with reasonable accuracy the transition point from homogeneous to heterogeneous regime as well as the gas holdup and the mean Sauter diameter at the homogeneous regime. The validity of the proposed correlations was checked with data obtained using different geometrical configurations and several Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids as well as the addition of surfactants. However, in all the experiments the gas phase was atmospheric air. This work investigates the effect of gas phase properties by conducting experiments employing various gases (i.e., air, CO₂, He) that cover a wide range of physical property values. Experiments revealed that only the use of low-density gas (He) has a measurable effect on bubble column performance. More precisely, when the low-density gas (He) is employed, the transition point shifts to higher gas flow rates and the gas holdup decreases, a fact attributed to the lower momentum force exerted by the gas. In view of the new data, the proposed correlations have been slightly modified to include the effect of gas phase properties and it is found that they can predict the aforementioned quantities with an accuracy of ±15%. It has been also proved that CFD simulations are an accurate means for assessing the flow characteristics inside a bubble column.

Two novel inorganic–organic hybrid supramolecular assemblies, namely, (4-HNA)(18-crown-6)(HSO₄) (1) and (4-HNA)₂(18-crown-6)₂(PF₆)₂(CH₃OH) (2) (4-HNA = 4-nitroanilinium), were synthesized and characterized by infrared spectroscopy, single X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and temperature-dependent dielectric measurements. The two compounds underwent reversible phase transitions at about 255 K and 265 K, respectively. These phase transitions were revealed and confirmed by the thermal anomalies in DSC measurements and abrupt dielectric anomalies during heating. The phase transition may have originated from the [(4-HNA)(18-crown-6)]⁺ supramolecular cation. The inorganic anions tuned the crystal packings and thus influenced the phase-transition points and types. The variable-temperature X-ray diffraction data for crystal 1 revealed the occurrence of a phase transition in the high-temperature phase with the space group of P2₁/c and in the low-temperature phase with the space group of P2₁/n. Crystal 2 exhibited the same space group P2₁/c at different temperatures. The results indicated that crystals 1 and 2 both underwent an iso-structural phase transition.

Migraine is a common condition that affects children as they develop into adults. Transition of care from pediatric to adult care has becoming an increasingly popular topic in the medical literature. It has been suggested that discussions between patients, their families and providers should be initiated as early as age 13. Patients who are un or underprepared have poorer outcomes due to increased morbidity and worsening of their medical condition. Many children continue to have migraine into adulthood and if efforts are taken to ensure patients receive appropriate transfer of care, the results can significantly decrease the economic burden of this disease.

To gain insight into the differences between onshore and offshore atmospheric turbulence, 2 pressure fluctuations were measured for offshore wind under different environmental conditions. 3 A durable piezo-electric sensor was used to sample turbulent pressure data at 50 kHz. Offshore 4 measurements were performed at 100 m height on Germany’s FINO3 offshore platform in the 5 German Bight together with additional meteorological data provided by Deutscher Wetterdienst 6 (DWD). The statistical evaluation revealed that the stability state in the atmospheric boundary has a 7 large impact on turbulent fluctuations. Therefore, we used higher statistical properties (described 8 by so-called shape factors) to the stability state. Data was classified to be either within the unstable, 9 neutral or stable stratification. We found that in case of stable stratification, the shape factor is 10 mostly close to zero, indicating that a thermally stable environment produces closer-to Gaussian 11 distributions. Non-Gaussian distributions were found in unstable and neutral boundary layer states 12 and an occurrence probability was estimated. Possible impact on laminar-turbulent transition on the 13 blade is discussed with application of so-called laminar aerofoils on wind turbine blades. Use of a 14 cut-off frequency to separate load and aerodynamic turbulence is proposed.

We investigate the evolution of gravitational waves through discontinuous evolution (transition) of the Hubble expansion rate H(z) at a sudden cosmological singularity which may be due to a transition of the value of the gravitational constant. We find the evolution of the scale factor and the gravitational wave waveform through the singularity by imposing the proper boundary conditions. We also use existing cosmological data and mock data of future gravitational wave experiments (the ET) to impose current and anticipated constraints on the magnitude of such a transition. We show that mock data of the Einstein Telescope can reduce the uncertainties by up to a factor of 3 depending on the cosmological parameter considered.

Three-Dimensional mesoporous TiO2 scaffolds of anatase phase possess inherent eximious optical behavior that are beneficial in designing photoelectrodes for solar energy conversion applications. However, substantial efforts have been devoted in maximizing the UV and/or visible light absorption efficiency, and suppressing the annihilation of photogenerated charged species in pristine mesoporous TiO2 structure for improved solar illumination conversion efficiencies. This study provides the fundamental insights into Mxene functionalized mesoporous TiO2 as photoelectrode for the first time. This novel combination of Mxene functionalized TiO2 electrodes with and without TiCl4 treatments have been successfully optimized to intensify the process of photon absorption, charge segregation and photocurrent, resulting in superior photoelectrode performance. The photocurrent measurements of prepared photoelectrodes are significantly enhanced upon increased contents of Mxene due to improved absorption efficiency within the visible region as verified by UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy. Moreover, as evident through structural analysis, the anatase phase of TiO2 is well grown due to increased contents of Mxene and post-deposition heat treatments. Consequently, an appreciable coverage of well-developed grains on FTO surface observed in SEM images. Thereby, the newly fabricated conductive mesoporous TiO2 photoelectrodes are potential candidates for photoinduced energy conversion and storage purposes.

The Heisenberg {\it ab initio} theory of magnetization is developed to apply for multilayer nanoparticles. The theory is based on distribution and partition functions modification with account the difference between exchange integral and closest neighbour numbers, that change the system of resulting transcendental equation for magnetization and its reversal to form either a paramagnetic type curve or hysteresis loops patterns. The equations are obtained within the Heisenberg partition function construction by Heitler diagonalization of energy matrix via irreducible representations of permutation symmetry group. A combination with the Gauss distribution gives the explicit expression for the partition function in the asymptotic limit] at large spin range in terms of transcendent function. The exchange integral, as a parameter of the equation of state (material equation) is evaluated from Curie temperature value by means of a formula derived within the presented theory. Methods of data processing from the simultaneous solution of the material equation system are proposed. The multi-valued function of hysteresis loop is found by combination of graphical approach and special procedure for elimination of mistaken peaks and prolapses of the patterns. The theory and computation methods are applied to spherical particles with separate surface layers consideration. The contribution of the surface layers, that are specified by number of closest neighbors and exchange integrals into overall magnetization, is studied for two-layer and three-layer models, that are discussed and compared graphically.

Family Phyllanthaceae is one of the largest segregates of the eudicot order Malpighiales and its species are herb, shrub, and tree, which are mostly distributed in tropical regions. Certain taxonomic discrepancies exist at genus and family level. Here, we report chloroplast genomes of three Phyllanthaceae species—Phyllanthus emblica, Flueggea virosa, and Leptopus cordifolius— and compare them with six others previously reported Phyllanthaceae chloroplast genomes. The species of Phyllanthaceae displayed quadripartite structure, comprising inverted repeat regions (IRa and IRb) that separate large single copy (LSC) and small single copy (SSC) regions. The length of complete chloroplast genome ranged from 154,707 bp to 161,093 bp; LSC from 83,627 bp to 89,932 bp; IRs from 23,921 bp to 27,128 bp; and SSC from 17,424 bp to 19,441 bp. Chloroplast genomes contained 111 to 112 unique genes, including 77 to 78 protein-coding, 30 transfer RNA (tRNA), and 4 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) that showed similarities in arrangement. The number of protein-coding genes varied due to deletion/pseudogenization of rps16 genes in Baccaurea ramiflora and Leptopus cordifolius. High variability was seen in number of oligonucleotide repeats while analysis of guanine-cytosine (GC) content, codon usage, amino acid frequency, simple sequence repeats analysis, synonymous and non-synonymous substitutions, and transition and transversion substitutions showed similarities in all Phyllanthaceae species. We detected a higher number of transition substitutions in the coding sequences than non-coding sequences. Moreover, the high number of transition substitutions was determined among the distantly related species in comparison to closely related species. Phylogenetic analysis shows the polyphyletic nature of the genus Phyllanthus which requires further verification. We also determined suitable polymorphic coding genes, including rpl22, ycf1, matK, ndhF, and rps15 which may be helpful for the reconstruction of the high-resolution phylogenetic tree of the family Phyllanthaceae using a large number of species in the future. Overall, the current study provides insight into chloroplast genome evolution in Phyllanthaceae.

The term sustainable energy is very familiar to all of us yet its exact definition or meaning has so far been vague. To date the widely adopted definition of sustainable energy has been inspired by the definition of sustainable development formulated more than 30 years ago in the Our Common Future - the UN’s Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. The current definition conceals the true spirit of the Report and this has some ramifications. It raises the question as to whether we have put too much emphasis on attaining the future dimension of sustainability in the middle of the situation where the energy survivability is in fact the real issue in many parts of the world. In this paper the role of energy in sustaining livelihoods of low income communities is discussed. Existing definition of sustainable energy that the whole world seems to have embraced is looked at critically and its downsides exposed. The identified pillars of sustainable energy and the associated issues is discussed and the need for an additional pillar, i.e. affordability is discussed and called for. This paper will argue that global definition of sustainable energy seems inappropriate and should be jettisoned and a more realistic definition should be formulated, adopted and embraced at local (i.e. national or regional) level taking into account local attributes and factors. The current push for a transition from the reliance on conventional energy sources to ‘cleaner’ energy sources (generally associated with renewable energy) has further exacerbated the issue of energy affordability that has made the conditions even more dire for so many groups of the world population. In the midst of this situation, those who push for a rushed energy transition seem to be those who also produce unsustainably high carbon footprint but who can easily offset their carbon foot-print through the ‘net-zero’ concept.

Inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution was used to determine the surface thermodynamic properties of silica particles and PMMA adsorbed on silica, and more particularly, to quantify the London dispersive energy γsd, the Lewis acid γs+ and base γs- polar surface energies of PMMA/silica composites as a function of the temperature and the recovery fraction θ of PMMA. The polar acid–base surface energy γsAB and the total surface energy of the different composites were then deduced as a function of the temperature. In this paper, the Hamieh thermal model was used to quantify the surface thermodynamic energy of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) adsorbed on silica particles at different recovery fractions. A comparison of the new results was carried out with those obtained by applying other molecular models of the surface areas of organic molecules adsorbed on the different solid substrates. An important deviation of these molecular models from the thermal model was proved. The determination of γsd, γs+, γs-, and γsAB of PMMA in both bulk and adsorbed phases showed an important non-linearity variation of these surface parameters as a function of the temperature. The presence of maxima in the curves of γsd(T) highlighted the second order transition temperatures in PMMA showing beta-relaxation, glass transition and liquid-liquid temperatures. These three transition temperatures depended on the adsorption rate of PMMA on silica. The proposed method gave a new relation between the recovery fraction of PMMA and its London dispersive energy showing an important effect of the temperature on the surface energy parameters of adsorption of PMMA on silica. A universal equation relating γsd(T,θ) of the systems PMMA/silica to the recovery fraction and the temperature was proposed.

In this study, we considered the structural stability, electronic properties, and phonon dispersion of the cubic (c-ZrO₂), tetragonal (t-ZrO₂), and monoclinic (m-ZrO₂) phases of ZrO₂. We found that the monoclinic phase of zirconium dioxide is the most stable among the three phases in terms of total energy, lowest enthalpy, highest entropy, and other thermodynamic properties. The smallest negative modes were found for m-ZrO₂. Our analysis of the electronic properties showed that during the m–t phase transformation of ZrO₂, the Fermi level first shifts by 0.125 eV toward higher energies and then decreases by 0.08 eV in the t–c cross-section. The band gaps for c-ZrO₂, t-ZrO₂, and m-ZrO₂ are 5.140 eV, 5.898 eV, and 5.288 eV, respectively. Calculations based on the analysis of the influence of doping 3.23, 6.67, 10.35, and 16.15 mol. %Y₂O₃ onto the m-ZrO₂ structure showed that the enthalpy of m-YSZ decreases linearly, which accompanies further stabilization of monoclinic ZrO₂ and an increase in its defectiveness. In this case, the position of the Fermi level changes abruptly, and the energy gap decreases. It has been established that, not only for pure systems but including those doped with Y₂O₃, the main contribution to the formation of the conduction band is made by the p-states of electrons. The t-ZrO₂ (101) and t-YSZ (101) surface models were selected as optimal surfaces for water adsorption based on a comparison of their surface energies. An analysis of the mechanism of water adsorption on the surface of t-ZrO₂ (101) and t-YSZ (101) showed that H₂O on unstabilized t-ZrO₂ (101) is adsorbed dissociatively with an energy of -1.22 eV, as well as by the method of molecular chemisorption with an energy of - 0.69 eV and the formation of a hydrogen bond with a bond length of 1.01 Å. In the case of t-YSZ (101), water is molecularly adsorbed onto the surface with an energy of -1.84 eV. Dissociative adsorption of water occurs at an energy of -1.23 eV, near the yttrium atom. The obtained results complement the database of research works carried out in the field of the application of biocompatible zirconium dioxide crystals and ceramics in green energy generation and can be used in designing humidity-to-electricity converters and creating solid oxide fuel cells based on ZrO₂.

The activity of the mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore, mPTP, a highly regulated multi-component mega-channel, is enhanced in aging and in aging-driven degenerative diseases. mPTP activity accelerates aging by releasing large amounts of cell-damaging Reactive Oxygen Species, Ca2+ and NAD+. The various pathways that control the channel activity, directly or indirectly, can therefore either, inhibit, or accelerate aging, retards, or enhance the progression of aging-driven degenerative diseases, and determine lifespan and healthspan. Autophagy, a catabolic process that removes and digests damaged proteins and organelles protects the cell against aging and disease. However, the protective effect of autophagy depends on mTORC2/SKG1 inhibition of mPTP. Autophagy is inhibited in aging cells. Mitophagy, a specialized form of autophagy, which retards aging by removing mitochondrial fragments with activated mPTP, is also inhibited in aging cells, and this inhibition leads to increased mPTP activation, which is a major contributor to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases. The Increased activity of mPTP in aging turns autophagy/mitophagy into a destructive process leading to cell aging and death. Several drugs and lifestyle modifications that enhance healthspan and lifespan enhance autophagy and inhibit the activation of mPTP. Therefore, elucidating the intricate connections between pathways that activate and inhibit mPTP, in the context of aging and degenerative diseases, could enhance the discovery of new drugs and lifestyle modifications that slow aging and degenerative disease.

Transition metal alloys have emerged as promising electrocatalysts due to their ability to modulate key parameters such as d-band electron filling, Fermi level energy, and interatomic spacing, thereby influencing their affinity towards reaction intermediates. However, the structural stability of alloy electrocatalysts during alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remains a subject of debate. In this study, we systematically investigate the structural evolution and catalytic activity of the c-Co/Co3Mo electrocatalyst under alkaline HER conditions. We reveal that the instability of the Co3Mo alloy and H0.9MoO3 during alkaline HER leads to the destruction of the crystal structure, resulting in the formation of hexagonal cobalt (h-Co) from hexagonal Co(OH)2 as an intermediate species. Furthermore, we explore the re-adsorption and surface coordination of the Mo element, which enhances the catalytic activity for alkaline HER. This work provides valuable insights into the dynamic behavior of alloy-based electrocatalysts, shedding light on their structural stability and catalytic activity during electrochemical reduction processes