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Mountain regions are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Yet, little is known about local adaptation responses in African mountain regions, especially if these are incremental or transformational. First, using household questionnaires, we interviewed 1,500 farmers across ten African mountain regions to investigate perceived climate change impacts and adaptation responses. Second, through a reflective process involving all co-authors, we identified: (1) main constraints and opportunities for adaptation, and (2) if adaptation was incremental or transformational. Questionnaire data show that farmers in all sites perceive multiple impacts, and that they mostly respond by intensifying farming practices and using off-farm labour. We established that, while several constraints were shared across sites, others were context specific; and that adaptation was mostly incremental, but that certain attributes (for example, social capital) made three sites in East Africa slightly more transformational.

Monkeypox virus clade I is endemic in several central African countries and characterised by an increase in disease severity and mortality. Since October, 2023, a large-scale mpox outbreak has emerged in DR Congo, and in March, 2024, the first individuals with mpox were reported outside the endemic areas in Republic of the Congo. We aimed to provide insight into the epidemic by sequencing samples obtained from individuals with mpox in Republic of the Congo.

Influenza A virus (IAV) spreads through exhaled aerosol particles and larger droplets. Estimating the stability of IAV is challenging and depends on factors such as the respiratory matrix and drying kinetics. Here, we combine kinetic experiments on millimeter-sized saline droplets with a biophysical aerosol model to quantify the impact of NaCl on IAV stability. We show that IAV inactivation is determined by NaCl concentration, which increases during water evaporation and then decreases again when efflorescence occurs. When drying in air with relative humidity RH = 30%, inactivation follows an inverted sigmoidal curve, with inactivation occurring most rapidly when the NaCl concentration exceeds 20 mol/(kg H2O) immediately prior to efflorescence. Efflorescence reduces the NaCl molality to saturated conditions, resulting in a significantly reduced inactivation rate. We demonstrate that the inactivation rate kdepends exponentially on NaCl molality, and after the solution reaches equilibrium, the inactivation proceeds at a first-order rate. Introducing sucrose, an organic cosolute, attenuates IAV inactivation via two mechanisms: first by decreasing the NaCl molality during the drying phase and second by a protective effect against the NaCl-induced inactivation. For both pure saline and sucrose-containing droplets, our biophysical model ResAM accurately simulates the inactivation when NaCl molality is used as the only inactivating factor. This study highlights the role of NaCl molality in IAV inactivation and provides a mechanistic basis for the observed inactivation rates.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses an important global health challenge in the 21st century. A previous study has quantified the global and regional burden of AMR for 2019, followed with additional publications that provided more detailed estimates for several WHO regions by country. To date, there have been no studies that produce comprehensive estimates of AMR burden across locations that encompass historical trends and future forecasts.

The surface of Antarctica is continuously shaped by erosion, blowing snow and deposition, resulting in diverse aeolian bedforms akin to those observed in subtropical sand deserts. However, although dunes are universally recognized as a climate and environmental proxy, the properties of snow dunes are not well understood. Here, using satellite images covering most of Antarctica, we report the widespread occurrence (>95% of the area studied) of linear dunes that are between 100 and 1,000 m in length and aligned with the local resultant snow drift direction (61% are longitudinal dunes). On the basis of sand dune theory, we suggest that these snow dunes grow by elongation, often under unidirectional wind regimes. The predominance of the elongating mode indicates a low availability of mobile snow particles. This limited availability prevails at the continental scale due to a subtle balance between snow sintering, which limits erosion, and strong winds, which rapidly remove snowfall. These characteristics result from specific meteorological conditions that distinguish Antarctica from other snow-covered regions, and may shift with future climate changes. We suggest that snow sintering not only influences Antarctic aeolian landform evolution but also regulates the amount of snow sublimated during transport, an uncertain term in the ice-sheet mass balance.

In this work, the catalytic activity of a zirconia nanocatalyst supported on the ZSM-5 zeolite (ZSM-5@ZrO2), which was produced and then thermally treated at three different temperatures (300, 500, and 700 °C) was examined. The ZSM-5@ZrO2catalyst was investigated using TGA/DTA, EDX, FT-IR, MAS NMR, XRD, BET, SEM, and XPS techniques to assess Its textural characteristics, surface shape, crystallographic structure, surface functional groups, elementary composition, and thermal stability. The alcohol/PFO molar ratio, catalyst load, temperature, and reaction time were all optimized for biodiesel production using a central composite design approach. Due to its high activity for the conversion of Podocarpus falcatusoil (PFO), the tetragonal ZSM-5@ZrO2-500 compound calcined at 500 °C was chosen as a representative catalyst. Under optimal conditions, with a methanol/PFO ratio of 18.67 %, a catalytic load of 1.73 %, a reaction temperature of 214.8 °C and a response time of 4.48 h resulted in a maximum biodiesel efficiency of 91.88 ± 0.02 %. FT-IR NMR, and GC-MS analyses revealed that the biodiesel produced was rich in methyl esters. Additionally, ASTM D6751 standards are met by its physicochemical qualities. Additionally, the ZSM-5@ZrO2-500 catalyst was employed five times a row after regeneration.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) exists on a spectrum of disease represented by a combination of risk factors and pathogenic processes. An in silico score for CAD built using machine learning and clinical data in electronic health records captures disease progression, severity and underdiagnosis on this spectrum and could enhance genetic discovery efforts for CAD. Here we tested associations of rare and ultrarare coding variants with the in silico score for CAD in the UK Biobank, All of Us Research Program and BioMeBiobank. We identified associations in 17 genes; of these, 14 show at least moderate levels of prior genetic, biological and/or clinical support for CAD. We also observed an excess of ultrarare coding variants in 321 aggregated CAD genes, suggesting more ultrarare variant associations await discovery. These results expand our understanding of the genetic etiology of CAD and illustrate how digital markers can enhance genetic association investigations for complex diseases.

ABSTRACTNewspaper organisations have seen their models overturned, largely due to the digitisation of formats. While the existing literature on media management has identified the economic and strategic consequences of this creeping digitalisation, there is a need for more in-depth analysis. How can digitalisation provide an opportunity for traditional news media organisations to regain their lost social legitimacy by enhancing the human development of societies? In this exploratory article, we study the recent “humanistic turn” in business ethics to draw theoretical insights for the newspaper sector. We then present a concrete example of an original digital project illustrating this possible shift, allowing us to discuss some of its theoretical and managerial implications.

Herein, Raphia viniferais explored as an excellent potential feedstock. This study focused on exploring the potential of Raphia viniferaoil (RVO) as a viable feedstock for biodiesel production. Due to the high free fatty acid content in RVO (6.76% FFA), pretreatment was performed. Then, the actual conversion to biodiesel was predicted and optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) based on a Box Benhken design (BBD). Using an oil/methanol molar ratio of 6:1, H2SO4at 1% wt/wt, a reaction period of 60 min, and a temperature of 65 °C after previous esterification of free fatty acids, the acid value of RVO was significantly reduced to 1.54 mg KOH/g. Four operating conditions were investigated to optimize the %yield of Raphia viniferaoil biodiesel (RVO_B). The operating conditions were methanol/RVO ratio 6:1–12 :1 (mol/mol), catalyst concentration 0.7–1.7 (Wt.%), reaction temperature 48–62 (°C) and reaction time 50–90 (min) for transesterification. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the linear and non-linear parameters that were derived from the models. A molar methanol/RVO ratio of 8.82:1, a catalyst concentration of 1.22% (by oil weight), a reaction time of 87.26 min, and a temperature of 62 °C allowed a maximum conversion of 96.13%. The model’s determination coefficient (R2) was found to be 0.9153, indicating its relevance and accuracy in the forecast of results. The methyl esters obtained were analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance (1H, 13C NMR), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermal gravimetry (TG), Elemental analysis CHNS, and Gas Mass Chromatography (GC-MS). The fuel characteristics of RVO_B were also determined, and the measured values were found to comply with the requirements of ASTM D6751 for biodiesel.

Dans notre établissement, une sensibilisation à l’activité physique adaptée est réalisée auprès de patients dans le cadre d’un parcours holistique de soins des cancers des voies aérodigestives supérieures. L’objectif principal de cette étude était de montrer que la sensibilisation à l’activité physique adaptée permet d’augmenter le niveau d’activité physique déclaré évalué par questionnaire.

Many patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) do not achieve complete control of their symptoms with current available treatments. In a dose-finding phase 2b study, ligelizumab improved urticaria symptoms in patients with H1-antihistamine (H1-AH) refractory CSU. Here, we report the efficacy and safety outcomes from two ligelizumab phase 3 studies.

This work aimed to elucidate the influence of pretreatment by a steam explosion in an alkaline condition of coffee pulps (CP) waste material during the thermal degradation on the kinetic, physicochemical, and thermodynamic parameters. Characterizations such as thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and Raman spectroscopies were performed on untreated and treated materials (CP@B). Thermal degradations occurred in the 25–800 °C temperature range at heating rates of 10, 15, and 20 K/min in a nitrogen atmosphere. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were evaluated using Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), and Starink models. The most probable mechanism for the thermal degradation of both materials was determined using the Coats–Redfern model. The activation energy was estimated between 66.58 and 69.84 kJ/mol (FWO), 57.31 and 67.76 kJ/mol (KAS), and 58.02 and 68.56 kJ/mol (Starink) for untreated and treated material, respectively. The Gibbs free energy obtained was 146.95 and 153.17 kJ/mol for the FWO model, 135.79 and 152.18 kJ/mol using the KAS model, and 134.6 and 142.08 for the Starink model corresponding to untreated and treated coffee pulps, respectively. Through thermal analysis, this work showed the bioenergetic potential of coffee pulps subjected to pretreatment by steam explosion in an alkaline condition for the production of second-generation biofuel.

Port-Hamiltonian systems were recently extended to include implicitly defined energy and energy ports thanks to a (Stokes-)Lagrange subspace. Here, we study the equivalent port-Hamiltonian representations of two systems with damping, written using either a classical Hamiltonian or a Stokes-Lagrange subspace. Then, we study the Timoshenko beam and Euler-Bernoulli models, the latter being the flow-constrained version of the former, and show how they can be written using either a Stokes-Dirac or Stokes-Lagrange subspace related by a transformation operator. Finally, it is proven that these transformations commute with the flow-constraint projection operator.

The Python package SCRIMP (Simulation and ContRol of Interactions in Multi-Physics) is presented through a collection of port-Hamiltonian systems (pHs) of increasing complexity, stemming from mechanics and thermodynamics. A focus is made on the syntax of SCRIMP allowing the user to easily describe a distributed pHs and its discretization method using the Partitioned Finite Element Method (PFEM) in space, together with the Differential Algebraic Equation (DAE) solver to use. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) is presented.

This article deals with an experimental investigation of the flashover voltage occurring at the end of the propagation of creeping discharges on some solid insulators immersed in mineral oil (MO) and palm kernel oil methyl ester (PKOME). The solid insulators investigated are: hardened glass (HG), porcelain (PO), and simple glass (SG). The experiments are conducted under positive lightning impulse voltage. The analysis methods are based on a statistical and probabilistic approach. The normality test of the flashover voltage is done by the Anderson–Darling (AD) statistic, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) test, and the Ryan–Joiner (RJ) statistic. The statistical analysis of the radial coverage of discharges is presented. Quantification of the ionization rate generated by the discharges is also assessed using a pixel-counting method. The experimental results show that the flashover voltage follows the normal distribution. The Weibull distribution at 1% risk shows that for a square solid insulator of 5-mm thickness and 120-mm sides, the flashover voltage is 45 kV for HG, 56 kV for PO, and 60 kV for SG when immersed in PKOME. These results are 48, 58, and 61 kV, respectively, when immersed in MO. It is also shown that the radial coverage of the discharge is greater on HG than on PO and SG. Similarly, it is greater on PO than on SG. The results also show an increase in the ionization rate of 9.4%, 24.6%, and 25.9%, respectively, for solid insulators with permittivities of 5, 5.7, and 7.3.

The effectiveness of activated carbons in the adsorptive removal of 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) in aqueous solutions was evaluated both theoretically and experimentally after they were made from coconut shells. Coconut shell was subjected to pyrolysis (600 °C) and chemically activated with various solutions containing phosphoric acid (H3PO4); H3PO4+and iron (II) salt solution; and H3PO4+and iron (III) salt solution. Physicochemical analysis: iodine number, pH, pHPZC, bulk density, BET, and surface groups of samples obtained were determined. Some aqueous solution parameters, such as pH, contact time, and absorbent quantity, that have an impact on 2,4-DNP adsorption have been studied. The favorable pH for the adsorption process was found to be 2.0–3.0. The maximum adsorption of 8.0, 10.6, and 14.9 mg/g of 2,4-DNP onto activated carbon was observed at pH 3.0 for CAHP, CAHP@FeII, and CAHP@FeIII, respectively, 120 min contact time for all activated carbon samples. After fitting adsorption data to various kinetic models, it was clear that nonlinear Elovich kinetics was better suited to describe adsorption compared to the linear models with the correlation coefficient R2greater than 0.96. The DFT results further demonstrated that the compounds under investigation were adsorbed by the process of chemical bonding, and the negative values of the interaction energy confirmed this conclusion. Additionally, the negative adsorption energy values imply that all chemicals have significantly adsorbed to the activated carbon surface by physisorption (electrostatic interactions), chemisorption (n-π bonds), and diffusion into the pores. The exothermic and spontaneous nature of 2,4-DNP adsorption was found, as demonstrated by the increase in adsorption energies and the proximity of the molecules being studied to the activated carbon surface.

Focusing on the regeneration of damaged knee meniscus, we propose a hybrid scaffold made of poly(ester-urethane) (PEU) and collagen that combines suitable mechanical properties with enhanced biological integration. To ensure biocompatibility and degradability, the degradable PEU was prepared from a poly(-caprolactone), l-lysine diisocyanate prepolymer (PCL di-NCO) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) diol (PLGA). The resulting PEU (Mn= 52 000 g mol−1) was used to prepare porous scaffolds using the solvent casting (SC)/particle leaching (PL) method at an optimized salt/PEU weight ratio of 5 : 1. The morphology, pore size and porosity of the scaffolds were evaluated by SEM showing interconnected pores with a uniform size of around 170 μm. Mechanical properties were found to be close to those of the human meniscus (Ey∼ 0.6 MPa at 37 °C). To enhance the biological properties, incorporation of collagen type 1 (Col) was then performed viasoaking, injection or forced infiltration. The latter yielded the best results as shown by SEM-EDX and X-ray tomography analyses that confirmed the morphology and highlighted the efficient pore Col-coating with an average of 0.3 wt% Col in the scaffolds. Finally, in vitroL929 cell assays confirmed higher cell proliferation and an improved cellular affinity towards the proposed scaffolds compared to culture plates and a gold standard commercial meniscal implant.

Abstract: “PostDock”, a new visualization tool for the analysis and comparison of molecular docking results is described. It processes a docking results database and displays an interactive pseudo-3D snapshot of multiple ligand docking poses such that their docking energies and docking poses are visually encoded for rapid assessment. The docking energies are represented by a transparency scale whereas the docking poses are encoded by a color scale. The applications of PostDock for ligand–protein docking and for a novel molecular design approach termed “reverse-docking” are presented.

The influence of steam explosion pretreatment in a basic medium on spectroscopic, morphological, and structural characterization on the thermal degradation of watermelon peels was investigated. Therefore, proximate, ultimate, thermo gravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, N2adsorption/desorption, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analyses of the treated and untreated watermelon peels were carried out. Subsequently, the thermal degradation experiments of the both materials were carried out from 25 to 1000 °C at heating rates of 10, 20, and 30 K/min in the presence of nitrogen. Pyrolysis data from thermogravimetric analysis were analyzed using iso-conversional models Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) and Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), and the mechanism of reaction was predicted using Coats-Redfern model and multiple heating scan rate method. The results showed that the pretreatment leads to an increase in fixed carbon and volatile matter content and a decrease in the ash content compared to the untreated material. The activation energy obtained from the iterative procedure was estimated to be 103.75 and 199.60 kJ/mol using KAS model; 103.75 and 199.61 kJ/mol using FWO model for untreated and treated watermelon peels respectively. Gibbs free energy were 161.72 kJ/mol and 216.83 kJ/mol from KAS model, and 147.2 kJ/mol and 214.93 kJ/mol from FWO model for untreated and treated watermelon peels, respectively. This study by thermal analyses coupled with structural analyses has revealed the bioenergy potential of watermelon subject to steam explosion in basic condition.

The Arctic snowpack, characterized mainly by a dense wind slab (WS) layer overlaying less dense and porous depth hoar (DH), generates large uncertainties in microwave radiative transfer models (RTM) used to interpret satellite observations. In this work, we tested two improvements recently implemented in the snow microwave radiative transfer (SMRT) model. First, an improvement of the snow microstructure parametrizations introduces a polydispersity geometrical parameter (K) related to the grain shape and microstructural arrangement. Second, the new electromagnetic model (EM) based on the strong contrast expansion (SCE) allows a continuous formulation of the scattering coefficient as a function of the density between low-density snow and hard and icy snow. The SCE model was compared with in situ observations to the commonly used improve Born approximation (IBA) EM. Results show improved brightness temperature simulations at 19, 37, and 89 GHz compared to surface-based and satellite microwave radiometric measurements using polydispersity values ( $K_{\text {WS}} = 0.80$ and $K_{\text {DH}} = 1.33$ ) for scaling the measured optical grain size of the different snow layers with IBA. The finding is that the polydispersity values found in this study are of general applicability for Polar-layered snowpack. The SCE model yields results similar to IBA for snow densities up to $500 \; \text {kg}\,\text {m}^{-3}$ but no analysis was investigated for the range of 500–700 kgm3 (firn). These improvements in snow microstructure and the new SCE RTM allow better simulations of Polar snow and therefore better Polar snowpack monitoring by satellite.

This article investigates the propagation of creeping discharges on pressboard immersed in ZnO-based nanofluid of monoesters of palm kernel oil (PKOME) and castor oil (COME). The experiment was conducted for three concentrations of nanoparticles (NPs): 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20 wt.%. The tests are conducted under positive lightning impulse voltage. The analysis is based on the calculation of the radial occupancy density of the discharge and on the calculation of their maximum extension. The results show that although the propagation of discharges is less in COME than in PKOME, the addition of NPs produces a better regression of the impact of discharges with PKOME. For an applied voltage of 60 kV for example, the regressions of the discharge occupancy densities are 46.16%, 69.22%, and 42.88%, respectively, for the concentrations 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20 wt.% in PKOME compared with 37.94%, 53.03%, and 31.18%, respectively, in COME. For the maximum extension of discharges at the same voltage and concentrations, these results are 16.87%, 20.60%, and 8.19%, respectively, in PKOME compared with 15.74%, 17.17%, and 6.62% in COME. On the basis of the results obtained and those of previous work, it was concluded that the addition of NPs to the monoesters studied gives them a discharge attenuation capacity at least equal to that of mineral oil (MO), if not better.

Studies have shown that drug targets with human genetic support are more likely to succeed in clinical trials. Hence, a tool integrating genetic evidence to prioritize drug target genes is beneficial for drug discovery. We built a genetic priority score (GPS) by integrating eight genetic features with drug indications from the Open Targets and SIDER databases. The top 0.83%, 0.28% and 0.19% of the GPS conferred a 5.3-, 9.9- and 11.0-fold increased effect of having an indication, respectively. In addition, we observed that targets in the top 0.28% of the score were 1.7-, 3.7- and 8.8-fold more likely to advance from phase I to phases II, III and IV, respectively. Complementary to the GPS, we incorporated the direction of genetic effect and drug mechanism into a directional version of the score called the GPS with direction of effect. We applied our method to 19,365 protein-coding genes and 399 drug indications and made all results available through a web portal.

We characterise the symplectic Weyl group elements such that the FFLV basis is compatible with the PBW filtration on symplectic Demazure modules, extending type A results by the second author. Surprisingly, the number of such elements depends not on the type A or C of the Lie algebra but on the rank only.

Interest in natural esters has grown rapidly over the last four decades, due to environmental concerns and sustainability. Various vegetable oils have been proposed, and various natural esters are already produced industrially. However, it would be worth using locally available inedible natural esters. In tropical regions, the methyl esters of castor oil and palm kernel oil suit such a fate. Thus, this work presents the results of the dielectric, physicochemical, and thermofluidic characterization of these two monoesters after thermal aging. After thermal aging, the paper breakdown voltage (BDV) when dipped in methyl esters was greater than the BDV of paper dipped in mineral oil (MO). The oils’ dissipation factor and dielectric constant ranged in the order castor highest, followed by palm kernel and finally MO. UV absorbance and neutralization number revealed that castor oil better reacted to long-term thermal aging than palm kernel oil. As compared with MOs, natural monoesters produced fewer decay products than MO from 500 h of thermal aging. The observed behaviors were commented on with the evolution of the functional links through Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.

A growing body of research on energy harvesting has revealed the need for effective tools, models, and methods for designing indoor light harvesting systems. In general, PV modules are represented electrically by circuits which include Single Diode Models (SDM), Double Diode Models (DDM), and Triple Diode Models (TDM). PV modules' performance can be understood by appropriately determining the parameters of these models. In order to estimate these parameters, datasets are usually measured experimentally by electrically lighting PV modules or placing them under artificial light. The main goal of this study is to analyse the effects of the nature of light source and illumination level on different model parameters of PV modules. Three PV modules of same power and different cell technology are placed under three commonly used lamps at same illumination levels. The data measured under these conditions is used with the Grey Wolf Optimization algorithm to estimate different model parameters. The results indicate that different values are obtained for shunt and series resistances for the same PV module placed under different lamps and at same illumination level. These parameters are equally seen to vary differently when the illumination level is changed.

This article presents a new isolated topology of dc–dc converter based on piezoelectric resonators. Contrary to most existing topologies, the proposed one uses the natural isolation of piezoelectric resonators to isolate the converter's output from the input and vice-versa. Considering the resonators’ constraints, our study focuses on the most efficient isolated conversion cycle with zero-voltage switching (ZVS) operations. The case studied is a highly efficient step-down isolated dc–dc converter with a gain ranging from 0 to 1 and an input voltage up to 360 V. The converter uses two piezoelectric resonators working in series. The conversion principle is validated thanks to a prototype operating at a frequency around 95 kHz. Experimental measurements are made on a wide range of input voltage from 12 to 360 V with a conversion ratio of 0.0165 to 0.95. The output power reaches either 179.1 W with an 89% efficiency at 360 V input voltage and 346 V output voltage, or 4.5 W with a 97.2% peak efficiency for a 48 to 45.8 V conversion, using a 25 mm piezoelectric disc with a thickness of 2 and 1 mm, respectively. An efficiency higher than 80% is measured over a wide range of operating points.

ABSTRACTAbout a third of New Caledonia is covered with ultramafic soils (UM) which hosts a rich flora (endemism > 85%) threatened by mining activities. This combination makes the ultramafic vegetation a floristic hotspot within a biodiversity hotspot. UM soils are distributed from sea level to 1618 m elevation with about two-thirds forming a large continuous unit while the remaining forms numerous relatively small isolated units. Here, we provide a synthesis of the distribution of forest and tree species across 22 UM units. We compiled an extensive tree occurrence dataset (109,896 occurrences and 1,065 species) and a new expert-based forest map at a 1:3000 spatial resolution. Only 10% of these species represented more than 50% of the occurrences, while 10% of the species had only one or two occurrences. A quarter of the UM area did not contain any occurrences, and we estimated that on average a quarter of the species remained to be inventoried in the 22 units. Forest covers about one-third of the UM areas with forest coverage ranging from 1.7% to 72.3% in the different UM units. Forest coverage increased from 14.6% on sea level to 93.3% at 1,200 m of elevation. About 30% of the forest and 90% of the species were located within mining concessions, while 14.5% and 73%, respectively, were located within protected areas. We recommend setting up new protected areas on ultramafic substrate, specially in the Northern province, to protect more forest and the diversity it harbours.

The present study reports on the performance of activated carbons derived from cocoa pods impregnated with H3PO4(CCCP) and ZnCl2(CCCZn) on the removal of Reactive blue 19 from a simulated wastewater. Central composite design, including three factors namely temperature (X1), concentration of the activating agent (X2) and time (X3) of calcination were used to optimize the production conditions. From the analysis of variance, the most significant variable was the calcination temperature. For CCCP activated carbon, optimum conditions were found as follows: X1: 600°C, X2: 0.3 M and X3: 88 min and for CCCZn, they were 600°C, 0.5 M, and 120 min. The experimental values of iodine number for the both activated carbons were 476.25 and 495.53 mg/g for CCCZn and CCCP, respectively. It was observed that the experimental values obtained were much closer to those predicted by the model. The functional groups on the prepared activated carbons were determined from Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and confirmed using Boehm’s titration. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the presence of amorphous phases in both activated carbons. The scanning electron microscopy images of both activated carbons showed that the activation stage produced extensive external surfaces with quite irregular cavities and pores. CCCP and CCCZn showed a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 435.32 and 430.66 m2/g, respectively. Non-linear regression analysis showed that, equilibrium data were best described by the Freundlich model for CCCP and Dubinin–Radushkevich for CCCZn. Kinetic studies showed that the adsorption of Reactive blue 19 was better described by the pseudo-second-order model for CCCP, and the Elovich models CCCZn.

Le psoriasis altère profondément l’état social, émotionnel, fonctionnel et physique des patients affectant ainsi leur bien-être général. Pour autant, aucune étude n’a évalué l’impact du psoriasis sur l’index de bien-être de l’organisation mondiale de la santé à 5 items (WHO-5). Une gestion et un contrôle efficaces de la maladie peuvent aider à récupérer et maintenir un bien-être à long terme.

Le psoriasis est une maladie chronique qui affecte profondément les composantes sociales, émotionnelle, fonctionnelle et physique de la qualité de vie des patients, ce qui a un impact sur leur bien-être général. Le prurit, la douleur cutanée, articulaire et la fatigue sont des symptômes importants chez les patients atteints de psoriasis. Le tildrakizumab est un inhibiteur de l’interleukine-23p19 indiqué dans le traitement du psoriasis en plaques modéré à sévère et dont l’efficacité et la sécurité à long terme ont été démontrées.

Le psoriasis est une maladie chronique qui affecte profondément les composantes sociales, émotionnelle, fonctionnelle et physique de la qualité de vie des patients, ce qui a un impact sur leur bien-être général. Le psoriasis peut toucher des localisations spécifiques, telles que le cuir chevelu, les zones palmoplantaires ou encore les ongles. Le tildrakizumab est un inhibiteur de l’interleukine-23p19 indiqué dans le traitement du psoriasis en plaques modéré à sévère et dont l’efficacité et la sécurité à long terme ont été démontrées.

Research at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) started with humble beginnings by G. W. Carver at Tuskegee Institute AL, the nation’s first HBCU. He is now remembered as the man who transformed one crop, peanuts to more than 300 useful products such as food, beverages, medicines, cosmetics, and chemicals. However, research was not the focus of most of the newly founded HBCUs to provide, primarily, liberal arts education and training in agriculture for the black minority. HBCUs remained segregated, lacking facilities such as libraries and scientific/research equipment comparable to those at traditionally white institutions. While the Civil Rights Act of 1964 heralded the dawn of “equal opportunity” and progressive desegregation in the South, many public HBCUs had to close or merge with white institutions due to loss of funding and/or students. In order to remain competitive in enrollment and financial support of the best talents, HBCUs have been expanding their research and federal contracts by working in collaboration with research-intensive institutions and/or minority-serving institutions (MSIs). Albany State University (ASU), an HBCU with a great tradition of in-house and extramural undergraduate research, has partnered with the laboratory of Dr. John Miller at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to offer the best training and mentorship to our undergraduates. Students synthesized and performed conductivity measurements on a new generation of ion-pair salts. One of these constitutes, potentially, a nonaqueous electrolyte for the next generation of high-energy-density batteries owing to its electrochemical properties.

It is essential to analyse the dielectric performance in a humid environment of insulating liquids of plant origin, considered as alternatives to mineral oil (MO) which is not environmentally friendly. This paper focuses on the effects of different moisture levels on the dielectric strength and partial discharge initiation voltage of two natural monoesters, based on castor oil (CO) and palm kernel oil (PKO), and MO. The different samples were moistened with a glycerol solution, then sealed and stored for 12 days to allow further diffusion of moisture into the samples. Dielectric strength was statistically evaluated from IEC 60156. Partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) experiment was performed in conformity with a modified IEC 61294 purpose at ambient temperature. Based on the experimental observations, the moisture has different behavior on dielectric strength and PDIV of insulating oils. Monoesters have a better withstand to water contamination than MOs in power transformers.

In sub-Saharan Africa, groundwater is the most important component of the water cycle, meeting local industry needs due to climate change affecting surface water. In Cameroon, particularly in the Adamawa region, groundwater is stored in crystalline rocks and undergoes irregular utilization. The Adamawa region relies on wells and boreholes for water needs, making up for shortfalls caused by drying surface water and inadequate supply from the state-owned water distribution company. This paper aims to (i) critically analyze the legal and institutional framework governing the groundwater sector, with a focus on the current situation of groundwater supply in the Adamawa region; (ii) identify drivers and mitigating strategies for its development; and (iii) suggest ways to improve the current framework for building a unified and adaptive national groundwater (NGS) database. To this end, keywords from published articles and government documents in Adamawa and Cameroon, respectively, were analyzed using bibliometric approaches. It is found that the main challenges to developing water resources are poor water governance, inadequate infrastructure and expertise, a lack of comprehensive, updated, and harmonized hydrogeological data, a growing population, financial constraints, and a lack of coordination between relevant sectors and stakeholders. Moreover, failing policy enforcement in the sector has greatly contributed over time to project failures, low investment efficiency in both urban and rural water supply and sanitation, and low levels of local community participation. Drawing on policy examples from other countries, this paper makes recommendations such as creating an NGS database to standardize groundwater data collection, management, transmission, and sharing, and establishing a special water and sanitation fund committee within MINEE and funding mechanisms. Adopting these recommendations could help develop sustainable and effective water management policies that address all sector challenges and reduce water-related deaths.

A ferromagnetic activated carbon, CA-HP@FeII was used as a heterogeneous catalyst in the Fenton oxidation process for the removal of Bezaktiv Brilliant Blue dye from contaminated water. It was prepared by optimizing the activation of rubber seed hull with phosphoric acid, modified with iron(II) sulfate. The ferromagnetic activated carbon was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and pore-size distribution. The characterized activated carbon was used to study the degradation of the Bezaktiv Brilliant Blue dye by varying several parameters, namely the pH of the solution, the concentration of H2O2solution, the mass of the catalyst, and the concentration of the pollutant. The results of the characterization showed that ferromagnetite was deposited on the activated carbon during the modification process and the obtained ferromagnetic activated carbon have a cubic spinel structure and a specific area of 110.53 m2^g-1. The elimination of the dye was favorable at the acid pH of 3. The removal of the pollutant was favorable when the concentration of H2O2, the mass of the catalyst and the concentration of the pollutant were increased. The final elimination percentage was greater than 75%, whatever the condition and the parameter varied. The second-order kinetic model better described the degradation of Bezaktiv Brilliant Blue pollutant on CA-HP@FeII. An analysis of the ferromagnetic material after degradation showed that it had undergone very little changes, and hence could be reused several times. The change in the percentage of carbon from 46.54% to 54.86% in the ferromagnetic activated after degradation can be attributed to the mineralization of the carbon atoms of Bezaktiv Brilliant Blue.

Polyclonal antisera from patients have been at the basis of the description of autoimmune diseases and today monoclonal antibodies are widely used in the therapy of cancer and many inflammatory diseases. How antisera and antibodies in combination with traditional in vitroand in vivobiological test systems have been instrumental reagents for the discovery of new cytokines is illustrated here for interleukin-1, -6 and -8. Furthermore, widely used immunological detection/quantification systems, such as ELISAs and multiplex assays, based on the use of either polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies, are often fraught with misinterpretations, because the results are affected by the possible occurrence of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) of the analytes. Cytokines and chemokines are present in vivoas mixtures of proteoforms with different amino- or carboxytermini or carrying heterogeneous glycan chains and possibly also being subject to citrullination, pyroglutamination and other PTMs. Increased knowledge about the specificities of antibody (cross)reactivities with cytokine ligands have improved diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, with inflammatory processes, including cancer-associated inflammation, at the frontline.

We suggest to look at quantum measurement outcomes not through the lens of probability theory, but instead through decision theory. We introduce an original game-theoretical framework, model and algorithmic procedure where measurement scenarios are multiplayer games with a structure all observers agree on. Measurement axes and, newly, measurement outcomes are modeled as decisions with nature being an action-minimizing economic agent. We translate physical notions of causality, correlation, counterfactuals, and contextuality to particular aspects of game theory. We investigate the causal consistency of dynamic games with imperfect information from the quantum perspective and conclude that counterfactual dependencies should be distinguished from causation and correlation as a separate phenomenon of its own. Most significantly, we observe that game theory based on Nash equilibria stands in contradiction with a violation of Bell inequalities. Hence, we propose that quantum physics should be analyzed with non-Nashian game theory, the inner workings of which we demonstrate using our proposed model.

Several recent studies have proposed the utilization of emerging technology devices, such as ReRAM, spintronic, and phase change memory in hardware-implemented neural network designs. However, the current poor maturity of the manufacturing process of memristive devices limits the implementation of synapses to low precision weights and to smaller size crossbars, which could be an issue for complex, higher dimensions machine vector learning tasks (e.g., object recognition, classifications, etc). Face to these challenges, efficient hardware implementations use binarization for weights and activation functions in the attempt to reach better energy efficiency, reduce the utilization of memory and the execution time. Moreover, to compensate the immaturity of the emerging devices technology and achieve better convergence, accuracy, and speed for learning and inference process, the neural network has to be designed either with an increased degree of redundancy, or with error correction capabilities. To avoid the inherent hardware cost of the redundancy and counteract the aforementioned issues, we propose an approach combining the concept of Ensemble Neural Networks paradigm with analog in-memory hardware implementation with spin-orbit torque (SOT) spintronic devices. These devices are among the most power-efficient emerging technologies. The architectural performances, power, and accuracy are verified on several datasets, showing that these combined approaches allow not only a very good resilience to high bit error rates but also a great reduction in execution time and number of memory accesses with a further reduction of $\times 100$ for the energy consumption thanks to the SOT spintronic-based device.

A workflow for the numerical prediction of in-flight ice accretion on 3D structures is presented. The method is based on the predictor–corrector approach, which has been so far mainly developed in 2D codes and assessed in straight-wing test cases. The adaptations made for the 3D implementation are thus described. Among other developments, a remeshing technique based on the Dragon method is presented. The new methods are verified against reference numerical data. The whole workflow is validated using several test cases for which experimental measurements of ice shapes are available. Both straight and swept wings are therefore investigated. The numerical results are encouraging for low-sweep angles. Some recommendations are made for improving the results, including the need for new ice-density models. The predictor–corrector method is poorly adapted for cases exhibiting large scallop-like structures, which tends to be reinforced by high sweep angles. In this article, the test cases with highest sweep angle are effectively calculated less accurately. Costly multi-step ice-accretion simulations should be preferred for such conditions, unless a special ice bulk density model is developed.

A structure-preserving partitioned finite element method (PFEM), for the semi-discretization of infinite-dimensional explicit port-Hamiltonian systems (pHs), is extended to those pHs of implicit type, leading to port-Hamiltonian differential Algebraic Equations (pH-DAE). Two examples are dealt with: the nonlocal vibrations in a viscoelastic nanorod in 1D, and the dynamics of a fluid filtration model, the Dzektser seepage model in 2D, for which illustrative numerical simulations are provided.

ABSTRACTLate blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, is the most devastating disease in potato production. Here, we show full late blight resistance in a location with a genetically diverse pathogen population with the use of GM potato stacked with three resistance (R) genes over three seasons. In addition, using this field trials, we demonstrate that in-the-field intervention among consumers led to change for more favorable attitude generally toward GM crops.

Lefo and Santa-Mbu calderas are located on the Bamenda Mountains. They are two geological structures that accompanied the construction of the Bamenda Mountains. The geological processes that accompanied their collapse gave them a significant number of geological features. These elements, known as geodiversity components, constitute real assets for ecosystem services in these more or less populated volcanic environments. The present work aims to highlight the ecosystem services of these two calderas in relation to the socio-economic activities they govern. To this end, field and laboratory work was carried out. They revealed that the ecosystem services of the two calderas include: (1) regulation services because the calderas are covered in places by forest reserves, notably that of Bali Ngemba and Bafut Ngemba, and by a grassland with trees that play a crucial role in climate regulation. In addition, these areas are subject to natural hazards such as mass movements and volcanic eruptions; (2) supporting services as they provide a base for human activities, a habitat for wildlife species; (3) provisioning services because the calderas have fairly fertile soils that favour a fairly diversified agricultural activity, making the floor of the Lefo caldera a coffee growing area. These calderas are covered by a herbaceous grassland that favours pastoral activity in the region. In addition, the rocks of these calderas are used in construction, especially in the foundations and walls of houses; (4) cultural services as they provide a setting for traditional ritual practices and plants with therapeutic properties. In addition, it has several geomorphosites whose scientific and additional values favour the implementation of geotourism and offer geological features that are indispensable for the understanding and functioning of the Volcanic Line of Cameroon. These calderas are undeniable assets for the balance of the ecosystem.

Making the environment “smart” requires intelligent sensors which must be equipped with self-power supply systems that are sustainable and environmentally friendly but presents low maintenance cost. Photovoltaic modules demonstrate a remarkable energy harvesting technology that can meet up to most of the requirements of these sensors. Inside buildings, natural solar light is not available therefore if PV modules are used in buildings, they must function with artificial light. This piece of work consists of investigating the performances of available PV modules under artificial light sources. Four PV modules based on the monocrystalline; m-Si and polycrystalline; p-Si technologies (m-Si PV1, p-Si PV2, p-Si PV3 and m-Si PV4) are measured under four artificial light sources and at varying illumination levels from 100 lx to 2000 lx. The representation and analysis of the characteristics show that best performances were recorded for the module m-Si PV4 reaching power densities of up to 555.83 μW/cm2, 382.96 μW/cm2and 1065.69μW/cm2at 2000 lx under the incandescent lamp, lamp combination (LED, CFL, and Incandescent) and the halogen lamp respectively. On the other hand, worst performances of modules were observed under the LED lamp and the CFL with power densities ranging from only 0.16μW/cm2at 100 lx recorded for p-Si PV3 to 23.63μW/cm 2at 2000 lx recorded for m-Si PV4 and 0.22μW/cm 2at 100 lx for p-Si PV3 to 27.37μW/cm2at 2000 lx recorded for m-Si PV4 respectively for the LED lamp and CFL. The m-Si based PV modules therefore perform better than the p-Si based modules under artificial light.