Abstract: Global population growth, climatic extremes, and rising resource pressures necessitate innovative agricultural methods to boost food, feed, fibre and fuel production sustainably. Seed enhancement technologies (SETs), such as seed coating and priming, have emerged as effective strategies to improve seed viability and vigour, seedling establishment and overall crop yield. Conventional seed treatments, including film coating, encrusting, pelleting, and various seed priming techniques, offer advantages such as improved seed handling, uniform germination, and promotion of early growth. However, they also have significant drawbacks, such as the harmful effects of re-drying seeds after treatment, uneven distribution of active ingredients, environmental pollution, reduced seed longevity and decreased soil microbial health. To tackle these issues, new non-traditional SETs are being investigated, including nanotechnology and novel biodegradable coatings, which help to lessen the negative effects of traditional SETs. These innovative methods demonstrate great promise in enhancing seed performance, minimising environmental impact, and ensuring cost-effective scalability across diverse agricultural settings. This review critically examines both conventional and novel SETs, discusses their pros and cons, and outlines strategic research and industry directions to enhance agricultural sustainability and productivity in light of global food and resource security challenges.

Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) show considerable promise for mental health dialogue systems, yet their deployment raises pressing concerns around safety, hallucination, reproducibility, and clinical reliability (Ji et al., 2023; Bommasani et al., 2021). We present a deterministic architecture for AI-assisted counseling that combines retrieval-augmented response generation, structured dialogue management, rule-based risk routing, and a cryptographically verifiable evaluation pipeline. The system was evaluated on two independent datasets spanning 1,895 counseling scenarios in English and Chinese. On 783 English counseling cases, the system achieved mean scores of 4.33/5 for empathy, 3.55/5 for clinical fidelity, and 4.45/5 for safety. On 1,112 Chinese cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) scenarios, the corresponding scores were 4.85/5, 4.73/5, and 4.77/5. No system failures or unintended diagnostic outputs were observed across either evaluation. Ablation experiments demonstrate that retrieval grounding and deterministic safety routing each contribute significantly to overall performance, with the former driving clinical fidelity and the latter driving safety. These results suggest that deterministic, retrieval-grounded LLM architectures can serve as a viable foundation for scalable and safe psychological support systems.

Abstract: Does Geographic Economy matter in forestalling Crimes? This study tried to answer this question by analyzing the spatial impact of education and employment on violence within the state of West Bengal. This research aims to create a Crime Severity Index to compare with the Crime Rate for the districts of West Bengal. To make the index more justified, the weights are generated based on the individual crime’s respective imprisonment years and the likelihood of that incident. To identify the determinants of crime at a micro-level we considered a panel data structure of 19 cross-sections for 5 time points (from 2000 to 2020). The rank correlation coefficient among different crimes indicates the pattern of crimes has changed over time. A high & positive Moran’s I score suggests that crime rates and the degree of violence are closely linked across different locations, especially at the border regions within the state. The spatial panel analysis outcome shows that factors like higher education among females, stable job placements, and unit of police stations have a substantial influence on regional crimes as well as the severity level over space.

Abstract:

In recent years, the poultry industry has actively sought more sustainable feed additives to address the various challenges of intensive production. To evaluate the oral effect with Lactobacillus reuteri CLP4 on performance, carcass traits, organ weights, cecal microbiology, tibial mineralization, blood indicators, and nitrogen and phosphorus excretion in broilers, 800 one-day-old unsexed Ross 308^® chicks were randomly assigned to two treatments: a basal diet (T0; BD) without additives and BD+Lactobacillus reuteri CLP4 (T1) in the drinking water during the period from 0 to 21 days old. T1 decreased feed intake and feed conversion ratio without affecting body weight or viability of broilers. Likewise, it diminished abdominal fat and improved breast protein content. The probiotic also increased the relative weights of the thymus, spleen, liver, and pancreas, decreased the population of Salmonella spp. and cecal pH, and promoted the growth of lactic acid bacteria. Moreover, T1 improved serum immunoglobulin concentrations and decreased harmful serum lipids and nitrogen excretion, although without modifying the moisture, calcium, and phosphorus content of the tibia or phosphorus excretion. Oral supplementation with Lactobacillus reuteri CLP4 enhances productivity, breast protein, immune function, atherogenic index, cecal competitive exclusion, and reduces the environmental nitrogen load in broiler production.

Abstract: This research explores the impact of ownership structure on the financial performance of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in North African markets, a key emerging region that remains insufficiently examined in the academic literature. Drawing on agency theory (Jensen & Meckling, 1976), signalling theory (Leland & Pyle, 1977; Rock, 1986), and liquidity theory (Amihud & Mendelson, 1986), the study investigates how different shareholder configurations; particularly managerial shareholding, ownership concentration, institutional investor presence, and float; influence both initial underpricing and long-run market performance. Based on a sample of 228 IPO transactions conducted between 2005 and 2023 across six countries (Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, and Mauritania), the research adopts a quantitative methodology grounded in a hypothetico-deductive approach. The findings support the signalling theory premise that managerial retention constitutes a credible quality signal, showing a strong positive relationship between post-IPO managerial shareholding (MOWN) and long-run performance measured by the 36-month Buy-and-Hold Abnormal Return (BHAR). Ownership concentration (CONC) reduces underpricing while improving long-term performance, reflecting stronger governance discipline. Institutional investor presence (INST) exerts a significant moderating role on both performance dimensions. Conversely, firm size shows no direct significant effect, a result consistent with the institutional specificities of North African markets. These findings underscore the complex mechanisms behind IPO success in this context and offer practical and theoretical implications regarding governance practices and institutional frameworks. The study also outlines avenues for future research, including a deeper examination of regional governance dynamics.

Abstract: Aim: Conventional free-fall kinematic models applied to plyometric push-up assessment treat the upper body as a vertically translating point mass, a simplification that ignores the curvilinear, arc-like trajectory imposed by the ankle pivot and systematically biases flight-time and height estimates. This study developed and analytically validated a novel rigid-body pendulum model to quantify plyometric push-up performance, deriving closed-form expressions for flight time, arc displacement, maximum height, and mean mechanical power at both the hand and whole-body center-of-mass reference levels. Methods: A planar rigid pendulum pivoting about the ankle axis was formulated using two independent derivation pathways, static moment equilibrium and a gravitational-torque center-of-mass coordinate approach, yielding the effective pendulum length L=(MW/M)×LOS. All performance indices were derived analytically from conservation of mechanical energy. Numerical simulations were conducted in R across seven pendulum arm lengths (LOW=0.50–2.00 m) and 500 uniformly spaced initial hand velocities per length, using adaptive Gauss-Kronrod quadrature with relative tolerance 10-10 and independent ODE cross-validation (maximum inter-method discrepancy <2.5×10-7 s). Free-fall and pendulum model predictions were compared parametrically across the full physiologically admissible parameter space. Results: Both derivation pathways operationalize identical static rotational equilibrium conditions and yield the effective pendulum length (below); the geometric deviation between dOG and L remains below 4% for θ₀ ≤ 16°. Flight time equivalence between hands and center of mass (tH=tG) was formally established. The free-fall model systematically overestimated flight time by up to 18.82% (Δt=0.096 s at LOW= 0.50 m, VH,0=2.50 m/s) and maximum height by up to 28.43% (Δh=0.087 m at LOW= 0.50 m, t=0.50 s), with both errors increasing nonlinearly with initial velocity and flight time. Overestimation in height was proportionally greater at shorter pendulum arm lengths, reaching 18.18% at t=0.30 s for LOW=0.50 m versus 10.91% for LOW=1.00 m under identical conditions. Conclusion: The pendulum model provides a physically consistent, analytically tractable, and computationally validated framework for plyometric push-up performance assessment. It resolves the structural overestimation errors of the free-fall simplification, requires only four anthropometric measurements obtainable in field conditions, and supplies geometry-adjusted performance indices that improve measurement accuracy, particularly for athletes with shorter effective arm lengths or high take-off velocities.

Abstract: Existing global indices of digital development – the Global Innovation Index (GII), the Network Readiness Index (NRI), and the ICT Development Index (IDI) – measure innovation potential, network readiness, and connectivity coverage, respectively, yet none captures the speed at which economies absorb and convert technologies into economic output. This paper introduces the Technology Metabolism Index (TMI), a parsimonious composite indicator comprising seven openly available sub-indicators from World Bank WDI and UN DESA, structured into three components: Readiness (R), Absorption (A), and Output (O). Grounded in cybernetic feedback-loop theory (Ashby, Beer, Forrester), TMI measures the velocity of technological signal propagation through the R→A→O cycle. A pilot calculation for 10 economies – spanning leaders (Korea, Singapore, Estonia), major economies (USA, EU-5, Japan, China), and developing economies (Uzbekistan, Brazil, Nigeria) – reveals three diagnostic metabolic patterns: "metabolic gap" (Uzbekistan: R >> A >> O ≈ 0), "balanced weakness" (Brazil: R ≈ A > O), and "systemic deficit" (Nigeria: R ≈ A ≈ O ≈ 0). Robustness analysis based on weight differentiation across three scenarios confirms rank stability for all 10 economies without exception. An open-source software implementation (TME_INDEX_CALCULATOR, registered certificate DGU 61047) and a four-sheet Excel model ensure full reproducibility. The TMI fills an unoccupied measurement niche in the global digital monitoring ecosystem and offers policymakers a diagnostic tool with arithmetically verifiable targets for accelerating technology metabolism.

Abstract: Elastic couplings and flexible joints introduce lightly damped vibration modes that significantly complicate stabilization of nonlinear, underactuated systems. This paper studies a spring-coupled cart–inverted-pendulum benchmark inspired by the Quanser Linear Flexible Joint with Inverted Pendulum platform, where a motor-driven cart excites a passive cart through a spring–damper connection and the pendulum is mounted on the passive cart. The control objective is to stabilize the pendulum near the upright equilibrium while simultaneously regulating spring deflection and suppressing vibration. To avoid manual derivation of high-order analytical dynamics for this coupled system, we adopt a model-based reinforcement learning framework that learns task-oriented latent dynamics and performs online receding-horizon planning. Concretely, we implement Task-Oriented Latent Dynamics (TOLD) for learning a compact latent model and Temporal- Difference Model Predictive Control (TD-MPC) for MPPI-style trajectory optimization in latent space. We evaluate TD-MPC in a high-fidelity Isaac Sim / Isaac Lab simulation and compare it against a model-free PPO baseline under the same observation and action interfaces. Training curves of physical variables and returns show that TD-MPC learns coordinated balancing and spring regulation with stable convergence behavior, while PPO achieves competitive balancing performance with more pronounced non-monotonic training dynamics and transient regressions. The study highlights when online planning with learned latent models is advantageous for elastically coupled mechanisms.

Abstract: The method of X-ray Footprinting and Mass Spectrometry (XFMS) using high brightness synchrotron X-ray sources has become an established method in structural biology and is based on the radiolytic production of hydroxyl radicals which oxidatively modify protein sidechains. While other methods of producing hydroxyl radicals are available, one benefit of using high flux density sources is that hydroxyl radical scavenging reactions can be minimized, and exposure times kept short to minimize secondary reactions. Here we present an application of the XFMS method using low dose rate X-rays from a commercial instrument. We demonstrate the feasibility of the approach using short peptides, characterizing the oxidative modifications +14, +16, and +32 Da under both aerated and low-oxygen conditions, and we additionally quantify the hydrogen peroxide production for various doses using the low dose rate source. These results provide fundamental information on the oxidative damage to peptides due to hydroxyl radicals using a low dose rate X-ray source.

Abstract: Biological systems display phenomena—particularly in enzymatic catalysis, excitonic coherence, and protein folding—that appear to exploit selective stabilisation of microstates beyond what standard quantum mechanics typically predicts for warm, noisy environments. We propose that these deviations can be interpreted as signatures of an informational reservoir: a hidden, aperiodic layer of structured information accessible only to sufficiently complex biological systems. Standard quantum mechanics then emerges as a limiting, coarse‑grained description in which the reservoir term vanishes. The proposed reservoir is not reducible to any finite set of underlying parameters; instead, it functions as a high‑complexity information landscape that can be “read” only by finely organised biomolecular architectures. We outline empirically testable predictions and discuss implications for biological stability, functional directionality, and the physical foundations of living systems.

Abstract: Water scarcity compels wastewater reuse, but lax discharge standards generate a regulatory mirage, misleading the public about safety. Despite formal compliance, treated effluent severely harms Iran’s effluent‑dependent Kashaf River, driving eutrophication, salinization, and the downstream transport of unregulated contaminants of emerging concern, including PFAS and pharmaceuticals. These pressures extend beyond the river channel to adjacent natural wetlands, which act as de facto nature‑based treatment systems yet are progressively transformed into sacrificial sinks for excess nutrients, salts, heavy metals, and micropollutants. By benchmarking the Iranian Wastewater Discharge Standards (IWDS) against international guidelines (WHO, EU, FAO), this study quantifies a “Permissibility Gap” frequently greater than 10 for key parameters such as BOD₅, nutrients, and trace metals, revealing how concentration‑based limits ignore cumulative mass load and mixture toxicity at the basin scale. The Kashaf River case demonstrates that current end‑of‑pipe regulation undermines both natural wetlands and planned nature‑based solutions, including constructed wetlands, in arid regions where effluent reuse is unavoidable. The study argues that aligning discharge standards with global benchmarks, adopting mass‑based permits, and explicitly regulating contaminants of emerging concern are prerequisites for truly safe wastewater reuse and for protecting wetland ecosystems in effluent‑dependent basins.

Abstract: This paper presents the structural and safety design of a low-cost electric three-wheeler intended for use in the densely populated urban environment of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The goal of this project was to improve currently available informally manufactured or unregulated motorised vehicles, which often have unsafe structural features, such as a high centre of gravity and inadequate braking systems. The vehicle is designed to accommodate five people (one driver and four passengers), reach a maximum speed of 30 km/h, and be manufactured locally at an estimated cost of 1200–1400 EUR. The vertical centre of gravity was determined to be 0,642 m above ground level, resulting in a static stability factor of 1,09. Structural performance was evaluated using ANSYS Mechanical under combined static loading conditions and a simulated frontal impact at 30 km/h. The redesigned tubular frame reduced maximum upward deflection by 15,6% and increased energy absorption during frontal collision by 37,3% compared to previous designs. Braking performance analysis showed that the vehicle can stop within 10 metres from 25 km/h, while rotor temperatures maintained a 108 °C margin below the fade threshold for brake fade during repeated emergency braking. The results demonstrate that substantial improvements in structural safety and thermal performance can be achieved in low-cost electric three-wheelers using locally available manufacturing resources.

Abstract: Early diagnosis of post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) is crucial for timely intervention. However, it is hampered by the lack of reliable biomarkers. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of current advances in PTE biomarker research covering (i) neuroimaging, including CT, MRI, and EEG/qEEG, which reveal structural and functional alterations associated with epileptogenesis; (ii) molecular biomarkers, including RNAs, proteins, metabolites, and extracellular vesicle (EV)–derived molecules that reflect neuroinflammation, blood–brain barrier dysfunction, neuronal injury, and synaptic remodeling; and (iii) artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted approaches, which integrate multimodal datasets to identify complex predictive patterns. While individual modalities offer valuable but incomplete prognostic information, AI-driven analytics hold the greatest promise for early predictive power when combining multimodal data. Future progress will depend on the combination of high-resolution imaging, multi-omics profiling, and rigorous validation to deliver clinically actionable biomarker panels and ultimately reduce the burden of PTE.

Abstract: After decades of in vivo isotope tracing, human solid tumors have not been shown to derive the majority of their carbon from circulating glucose. Despite this, glucose uptake by tumors continues to be widely interpreted as evidence of glucose dependence for growth. In contrast, mounting clinical and metabolic evidence indicates that glucose and glutamine are consumed primarily as regulatory and competitive substrates rather than as dominant carbon sources, with tumor biomass supplied largely by lactate, glutamine, and host-derived amino acids and lipids.Cachexia is commonly described as a secondary complication of advanced cancer, yet this metabolic behavior suggests it functions instead as a tumor-maintained systemic state that favors malignant survival at the expense of host tissues. By consuming glucose and glutamine at high rates, tumors restructure host metabolism, suppress immune function through substrate deprivation, and induce a catabolic shift that mobilizes host tissues as the tumor’s true nutrient reservoir. Dietary deprivation strategies therefore fail in solid tumors not because tumors adapt to starvation, but because restriction accelerates host metabolic collapse rather than depriving the tumor.Central to this argument is a newly proposed construct: homeostatic deception via dissociated catabolic ketosis, a tumor-orchestrated state in which physiological ketogenesis is genuinely present but decoupled from its normal protein-sparing function. Circulating ketones satisfy central energy-sensing mechanisms, silencing counter-regulatory alarms while unrestrained muscle proteolysis and lipolysis proceed. The resulting catabolic loop supplies tumors with substrates released from host tissues while the host’s regulatory systems interpret the state as normal adaptive fasting. Cachexia persists as long as the tumor driver remains active and reverses primarily when tumor burden and inflammatory signaling are controlled. A case of metastatic NSCLC, with photographic documentation, serves as the observational origin of this framework (Johnson CL, 2026, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18988466). This manuscript integrates metabolic tracing, immunometabolism, and clinical observation to propose a mechanistic hypothesis reframing cachexia as a tumor-maintained state. The framework identifies multiple targets for companion therapeutic intervention and explains the failure of diet-based strategies.

Abstract: Because of the recent urbanization and exponential population growth there has come significant pressure on urban transportation systems. Therefore, people encounter many traffic challenges now a days like traffic congestion, environmental pollution, inefficient public transport, and safety concerns. Smar transportation has been talked about recently in this regard which has emerged as a promising solution for addressing all the mentioned challenges. It integrates advanced technologies such as machine learning, internet of things (IoT) and big data analytics into transportation infrastructure. In this research we aim to explore the role of big data in enhancing smart transportation systems and improving urban mobility. In this research we discuss key challenges that are associated with urban mobility and introduce the concept of smart transportation as solution which is technology driven and automated. We also examine later in this research the characteristics and applications of big data in transportation optimization, including traffic congestion management, public transport route optimization, accident prevention, environmental sustainability, ride-sharing services, and multimodal transportation systems. We also discuss in detail a case study of data-driven ride-sharing platforms such as Uber to show how real-time data analytics can improve mobility efficiency and service reliability.

Abstract: The aim of this work is to demonstrate that, for spacetimes with sufficient symmetry, spin coefficient conditions may reduce to compact metric-component identities that are useful for practical metric analysis. This idea is illustrated using the symmetries of the Kerr spacetime. For a vacuum Petrov Type D spacetime admitting geodesic, shear-free null congruences, as characterised by the Goldberg–Sachs theorem, the shear spin coefficient, $\lambda = 0$, can be reformulated using a principal-null-aligned (Kinnersley) tetrad. The resulting relation can be expressed solely in terms of metric components and their radial derivatives within a Kerr-like coordinate gauge.To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is one of the first explicit, coordinate-dependent metric identities corresponding to the vanishing of a Newman–Penrose spin coefficient. The resulting condition eliminates explicit tetrad dependence, yielding a purely metric-level identity that can be evaluated once a Kerr-like Boyer–Lindquist gauge is fixed.This reformulation provides a practical diagnostic for verifying the shear-free property of principal null congruences directly from the metric, without constructing a tetrad or imposing a specific ansatz. As such, it offers a useful tool for constraining or partially reconstructing stationary, axisymmetric spacetimes under appropriate symmetry and geometric assumptions. The expression has been validated numerically for several Kerr-like spacetimes, including Kerr, Kerr–Newman, Schwarzschild, and static de Sitter metrics. This points toward a bridge between tetrad-based geometric characterisations and coordinate-level analyses of spacetime structure.

Abstract: Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects approximately 1-2% of childrenworldwide, yet its etiology remains incompletely understood. Emerging evidence suggeststhat offspring of parents with autoimmune diseases show elevated autism prevalence.Notably, children of parents with psoriasis (OR 1.59), type 1 diabetes (OR 1.49-2.36), andrheumatoid arthritis (OR 1.51) demonstrate particularly strong associations. Hypothesis: I propose that autism may be conceptualized as an immune-metabolic disorderin which TNF-α-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to cerebral energydeficiency. This energy deficit impairs three critical processes: (1) synaptic pruning duringneurodevelopment, (2) real-time social cognition including gaze processing and emotionrecognition, and (3) protein synthesis of critical synaptic scaffolding molecules.The proposed mechanism is TNF-α pathway dysregulation arising from inheritedinflammatory susceptibility and/or direct fetal exposure to elevated maternal TNF-α duringpregnancy.I further propose that the well-documented “firstborn effect” in autism reflects maternalimmune maladaptation during primigravid pregnancies. Additionally, for cases withoutparental autoimmune history, a speculative secondary mechanism is proposed: mitonuclearimmune conflict, where paternal immune genes may partially recognize maternalmitochondria as non-self, generating endogenous TNF-α.

Abstract: We study the canonical string-based Assembly Index (ASI), defined as the minimum number of binary concatenations needed to construct a target word under full reuse. NP-completeness of ASI-DEC over general finite alphabets and an equivalence between ASI plans and straight-line programs (SLPs) under the same size convention has been established. We emphasize that all transfers between decision variants are effected by explicit polynomial-time mappings and (where needed) an explicit reparameterization of the threshold by an absolute constant or a simple affine function. The remaining technical obstacle for the binary alphabet is that a naive encoding reduction may allow an optimizer to exploit “cross-boundary” substrings created by overlaps of codewords. We give a fully self-contained binary-alphabet proof: we construct an explicit self-synchronizing (comma-free) codebook of 17 fixed-length binary codewords and prove a boundary-normalization lemma showing that optimal plans can be assumed aligned to codeword boundaries. This yields a polynomial reduction from fixed-alphabet ASI-DEC to binary ASI-DEC, proving NP-completeness over {0, 1}. Using the recalled ASI–SLP equivalence (with a short proof for completeness), we obtain NP-completeness of binary SLP-DEC. We additionally provide an explicit, fully formal translation between our binary-rule counting convention and the standard SGP size measure (sum of right-hand side lengths), showing that the NP-completeness classification transfers to common one-string SGP/SLP decision variants over {0, 1}.

Abstract: In the current paper, the nonlinear absorption characteristics and laser modulation performance of the ternary anisotropic semiconductor material ZrGeTe₄ were successfully explored. The recovery time of the ZrGeTe₄-PVA thin film was measured to be 5.74 ps by pump-probe technology. By employing ZrGeTe₄ as a saturable absorber, a passive mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser was demonstrated for the first time. In the 1 µm mode-locked operation, the central wavelength is 1031.29 nm, the pulse repetition rate is 24.85 MHz, and the pulse width is 786.3 ps. In an Er-doped fiber laser operating at the wavelength of 1561.10 nm, the pulse width as short as 1.26 ps with a repetition rate of 4.38 MHz. The results show that ZrGeTe₄ has excellent broadband nonlinear optical characteristics.

Abstract: We introduce a divergence-based framework for structural normalization and constrained reconstruction in generative models for poetic translation. The central hypothesis is that a text admits a contextualized, language-independent structural representation capturing semantic, prosodic, rhetorical, cultural, and aective invariants independently of surface linguistic form. A normalization operator embeds each text into a domain-dependent structural manifold conditional on a contextual knowledge state Kt. Reconstruction in a target language is formulated as divergence-minimizing projection under explicit constraint functionals. Structural preservation is quantied through domain-dependent divergence between probability measures induced by structural representations. Cross-linguistic transfer is interpreted as analogical alignment between contextualized structural states. Because structural representation depends on the contextual knowledge state, epistemic updates modify the geometry of structural comparison and may induce time-indexed optimal realizations. The proposed formulation establishes a mathematical perspective on translation as constrained structural projection in contextualized measure spaces, separating relational invariants from surface realization and enabling controllable generative reconstruction under explicit structural validation.