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Structural Fe in phyllosilicates represents a crucial and potentially renewable reservoir of electron equivalents for contaminants reduction in aquatic and soil systems. However, it remains unclear how in-situ modification of Fe redox states within Fe-bearing phyllosilicates, induced by electron shuttles such as naturally occurring organics, influences the fate of contaminants. Herein, this study investigated the processes and mechanism of Cr(VI) reduction on two typical Fe(II/III)-bearing phyllosilicates, biotite and chlorite, in the presence of cysteine (Cys) at circumneutral pH. The experimental results demonstrated that Cys markedly enhanced the rate and extent of Cr(VI) reduction by biotite/chlorite, likely because of the formation of Cr(V)-organic complexes and consequent electron transfer from Cys to Cr(V). The concomitant production of non-structural Fe(II) (including aqueous Fe(II), surface bound Fe(II), and Cys-Fe(II) complex) cascaded transferring electrons from Cys to surface Fe(III), which further contributed to Cr(VI) reduction. Notably, structural Fe(II) in phyllosilicates also facilitated Cr(VI) reduction by mediating electron transfer from Cys to structural Fe(III) and then to edge-sorbed Cr(VI). 57 Fe Mössbauer analysis revealed that cis-coordinated Fe(II) in biotite and chlorite exhibits higher reductivity compared to trans-coordinated Fe(II). The Cr end-products were insoluble Cr(III)-organic complex and sub-nanometer Cr 2 O 3 /Cr(OH) 3 , associated with residual minerals as micro-aggregates. These findings highlight the significance of in-situ produced Fe(II) from Fe(II/III)-bearing phyllosilicates in the cycling of redox-sensitive contaminants in the environment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objectives: To assess feasibility and safety of second-generation left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) Ultraseal device in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF)., Background: LAAC with first-generation Ultraseal device (Cardia, Eagan, Minnesota) has been shown to be a feasible therapeutic option in patients with NVAF. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the novel second-generation Ultraseal device., Methods: All patients with NVAF undergoing second-generation Ultraseal device implantation between February 2018 and September 2020 were included in a multicenter international registry. Periprocedural and post-discharge events were collected through 6-month follow-up. Co-primary efficacy endpoints were device success and technical success while primary safety endpoint was in-hospital major adverse event (MAE) occurrence., Results: A total of 52 patients were included: mean age 75 ± 8, 30.8% women, mean HAS-BLED 3 ± 1. The device was successfully implanted in all patients. Technical success was achieved in 50 patients (96.1%). In-hospital MAEs occurred in three patients (5.8%). The incidence of 6-month all-cause death and major bleeding was 11.6% and 2.1%, respectively. No strokes, transient ischemic attacks, systemic embolisms, or device embolization were reported after discharge., Conclusions: Second-generation Ultraseal device implantation was associated with high success rates and a low incidence of peri-procedural complications. Larger studies with longer follow-up are warranted to further evaluate the safety and the efficacy of this device, especially at long-term follow-up., (© 2022 The Authors. Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Sepsis and septic shock remain global healthcare problems associated with high mortality rates despite best therapy efforts. Circulating biomarkers may identify those patients at risk for poor outcomes, however, current biomarkers, most prominently lactate, are non-specific and have an inconsistent impact on prognosis and/or disease management. Activation of the renin-angiotensin- system (RAS) is an early event in sepsis patients and elevated levels of circulating renin are more predictive of worse outcomes than lactate. The precursor protein Angiotensinogen is another key component of the circulating RAS; it is the only known substrate for renin and the ultimate source of the vasopressor Angiotensin II (Ang II). We postulate that lower Angiotensinogen concentrations may reflect a dysfunctional RAS characterized by high renin concentrations but attenuated Ang II generation, which is disproportionate to the high renin response and may compromise adequate support of blood pressure and tissue perfusion in septic patients. The current study compared the association between serum Angiotensinogen with mortality to that of lactate and renin in the VICTAS cohort of sepsis patients at baseline (day 0) by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and Kaplan–Meier curve analyses. Serum concentration of Angiotensinogen was more strongly associated with 30-day mortality than either the serum concentrations of renin or lactate in sepsis patients. Moreover, the clinical assessment of Angiotensinogen may have distinct advantages over the typical measures of renin. The assessment of intact Angiotensinogen may potentially facilitate more precise therapeutic approaches (including exogenous angiotensin II) to restore a dysfunctional RAS and improve patient outcomes. Additional prospective validation studies are clearly required for this biomarker in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to explain the consequences of the occurrence of enthalpy–entropy compensation (EEC) and isoequilibrium relationship during slow pyrolysis of cigarette butt filters (CBFs), consisting cellulose acetate (AC) as the main component. By using model-free and model-based kinetic methods and thermodynamic calculations, the complete reaction mechanism and extrathermodynamic issues about investigated process are completely resolved. It was established that compensation phenomenon where isoequilibrium temperature occurs is a consequence of formation of low-entropy molecular structure (cellulose II) and breaking of hydrogen bonds. Consequently, it was concluded that mechanisms which include a formation of low-entropy molecular structure and H-bonds breakage enter the changes in both enthalpy and entropy, which compensate each other. For the cellulose II generation, it was necessary to invest energy which represents use up energy. This "wasted" energy turns into work for creation of cellulose II molecular structures, whereby additional energy was provided from "local" decomposition reactions (which were identified in the established process mechanism) that arise from pyrolysis of starting material. Therefore, it was concluded that for "local reactions", a negative ΔS° value was identified, but for the global process, the entropy change retained a positive value. Considering thermodynamic effects manifested through compensation temperature found below glass transition temperature (Tg) in the undercooling conditions, it was concluded that small amounts of plasticizers affect reduction of free volume in the glassy state. Obtained results indicated a decrease in β-relaxation mode of cellulose acetate by an abatement of the polymer free volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Onkologija is the property of Institute of Oncology Ljubljana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aims Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common cardiac arrhythmia favouring ischemic stroke and heart failure involves left atrial remodelling, fibrosis and a complex interplay between cardiovascular risk factors. This study examined whether activated factor X (FXa) induces pro-remodelling and pro-fibrotic responses in atrial endothelial cells (AECs) and human atrial tissues and determined the underlying mechanisms. Methods and results AECs collected from porcine hearts and human right atrial appendages (RAA) from patients undergoing heart surgery. Protein expression levels were assessed by Western blot and immunofluorescence staining, mRNA levels by RT-qPCR, formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and NO using fluorescent probes, thrombin and angiotensin II generation by specific assays, fibrosis by Sirius red staining and senescence by senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity. In AECs, FXa increased ROS formation, senescence (SA-β-gal activity, p53, p21), angiotensin II generation and the expression of pro-inflammatory (VCAM-1, MCP-1), pro-thrombotic (tissue factor), pro-fibrotic (TGF-β and collagen-1/3a) and pro-remodelling (MMP-2/9) markers whereas eNOS levels and NO formation were reduced. These effects were prevented by inhibitors of FXa but not thrombin, protease-activated receptors antagonists (PAR-1/2) and inhibitors of NADPH oxidases, ACE, AT1R, SGLT1/SGLT2. FXa also increased expression levels of ACE1, AT1R, SGLT1/2 proteins which were prevented by SGLT1/2 inhibitors. Human RAA showed tissue factor mRNA levels that correlated with markers of endothelial activation, pro-remodelling and pro-fibrotic responses and SGLT1/2 mRNA levels. They also showed protein expression levels of ACE1, AT1R, p22phox, SGLT1/2, and immunofluorescence signals of nitrotyrosine and SGLT1/2 colocalized with those of CD31. FXa increased oxidative stress levels which were prevented by inhibitors of the AT1R/NADPH oxidases/SGLT1/2 pathway. Conclusion FXa promotes oxidative stress triggering premature endothelial senescence and dysfunction associated with pro-thrombotic, pro-remodelling and pro-fibrotic responses in AECs and human RAA involving the AT1R/NADPH oxidases/SGLT1/2 pro-oxidant pathway. Targeting this pathway may be of interest to prevent atrial remodelling and the progression of atrial fibrillation substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA), or indoor agriculture, encompasses non-traditional farming methods that occur inside climate-controlled structures (e.g., greenhouses, warehouses, high tunnels) allowing for year-round production of fresh produce such as leaf lettuce. However, recent outbreaks and recalls associated with hydroponically grown lettuce contaminated with human pathogens have raised concerns. Few studies exist on the food safety risks during hydroponic cultivation of leaf lettuce; thus, it is important to identify contributing risk factors and potential mitigation strategies to prevent foodborne transmission via hydroponically grown produce. In this study, the concentration of infectious Tulane virus (TV), a human norovirus surrogate, in hydroponic nutrient solution at 15 °C, 25 °C, 30 °C, and 37 °C was determined over a duration of 21 days to mimic the time from seedling to mature lettuce. The mean log PFU reduction for TV was 0.86, 1.80, 2.87, and ≥ 3.77 log10 at 15 °C, 25 °C, 30 °C, and 37 °C, respectively, at the end of the 21-day period. Similarly, average decimal reduction values (D-values) of TV at 15 °C, 25 °C, 30 °C, and 37 °C were 48.0, 11.3, 8.57, and 7.02 days, respectively. This study aids in the (i) identification of possible food safety risks associated with hydroponic systems specifically related to nutrient solution temperature and (ii) generation of data to perform risk assessments within CEA leaf lettuce operations to inform risk management strategies for the reduction of foodborne outbreaks, fresh produce recalls, and economic losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, using calibrated 2-D TCAD simulations we report a trench Bipolar I-MOS for the realization of a spiking neural network. We demonstrated that the proposed trench Bipolar I-MOS LIF neuron can emulate the biological neuronal nature and exhibits a low threshold voltage (−0.16 V), which is ∼|400 mV| lower than the past reported LBIMOS LIF neuron. Moreover, the trench Bipolar I-MOS neuron consumes 0.35 pJ energy per spike, which is ∼100x lower in comparison to the PDSOI LIF neuron. Further, the proposed LIF neuron shows ∼10x reduction in energy per spike than the recently published Ge MOSFET and JLFET based LIF neurons. In addition, the proposed trench Bipolar I-MOS LIF neuron exhibits ∼6 orders high spiking frequency than the biological neuron. Also, the proposed device shows a ∼1.1x reduction in the breakdown voltage as compared to the conventional Bipolar I-MOS. This is due to the crowding of the electric field near the gate edges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Using global navigation satellite system(GNSS) reflectometry(GNSS-R) signal to do remote sensing research has become a hotspot in recent years. We has simulated Fengyun 3 E the Ⅱ generation of GNSS occultation sounder(GNOSⅡ) GNSS-R parameters, which includes the average number of specular points, the maximum number of specular points,the average distance of specular point(SP)- GNSS, the average distance of SP-low Earth orbit(LEO),the average path lost, the average incident angle on LEO and the average reflected angle on SP. Methods: The relationships between these simulated parameters and antenna parameters (antenna angle, beam width, and inclination direction) are analyzed, and the corresponding results are demonstrated using snow flake method. Results: Through the statistical analysis results, It can be easily learned the conclusion that the beam width has the maximum influence on all of these antenna observations, the antenna angle is the second, and the inclination direction has the minimum influence. Conclusions: The snow flake method mentioned is able to provide a new method for data analysis of GNSS-R especially space-borned ones, and may help to clear some obstacles which obstruct the successful development of corresponding payloads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a crucial metabolic health problem. The renin–angiotensin system (RAS) is well known to play an important role in DN. Abnormal RAS activity can cause the over-accumulation of angiotensin II (Ang II). Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) administration has been proposed as a therapy, but previous studies have also indicated that chymase, the enzyme that hydrolyzes angiotensin I to Ang II in an ACE-independent pathway, may play an important role in the progression of DN. Therefore, this study established a model of severe DN progression in a db/db and ACE2 KO mouse model (db and ACE2 double-gene-knockout mice) to explore the roles of RAS factors in DNA and changes in their activity after short-term (only 4 weeks) feeding of a high-fat diet (HFD) to 8-week-old mice. The results indicate that FD-fed db/db and ACE2 KO mice fed an HFD represent a good model for investigating the role of RAS in DN. An HFD promotes the activation of MAPK, including p-JNK and p-p38, as well as the RAS signaling pathway, leading to renal damage in mice. Blocking Ang II/AT1R could alleviate the progression of DN after administration of ACEI or chymase inhibitor (CI). Both ACE and chymase are highly involved in Ang II generation in HFD-induced DN; therefore, ACEI and CI are potential treatments for DN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Elektronik Industrie is the property of Hüthig GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We consider a toy model for a damped water waves system in a domain Ω t ⊂ × ℝ. The toy model is based on the paradifferential formulation of the water waves system derived in the work of Alazard–Burq–Zuily [On the water-waves equations with surface tension, Duke Math. J.158 (2011) 413–499]. The form of damping we consider is a modified sponge layer proposed for the 3 d water waves system by Clamond et al. in [An efficient model for three-dimensional surface wave simulations. Part II: Generation and absorption, J. Comput. Phys.205 (2005) 686–705]. We show that, in the case of small Cauchy data, solutions to the toy model exhibit a quadratic lifespan. This is done via proving energy estimates with Klainerman vector fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of this study is to understand the characteristics of the common spectrum of pathogen and the resistance of Mycoplasma in Sialidase-positive bacterial vaginosis. Methods: The vaginal secretion specimens collected from August 2018 to October 2018 for the analysis of bacterial vaginosis (BV) were subjected to various techniques. These included routine leukorrhea examination, bacterial vaginosis sialidase testing, routine culture for common pathogens, mass spectrometry identification, and Mycoplasma resistance testing. Results: A total of 238 patients with BV were identified. The cleanliness grading was mostly clean (+) and clean (2+), accounting for 38.24% and 30.67%, respectively. The bacterial vaginosis test for vaginal secretions showed leukocyte esterase positivity in 220 cases, resulting in a positivity rate of 92.44%. The spectrum of routine culture was analyzed and divided into four groups: A, B, C, and D. Group A consisted of Candidal vaginitis (13.45%); group B consisted of Gardnerella vaginalis vaginitis (32.77%); group C consisted of gram-negative bacillus vaginitis (46.22%); and group D consisted of Streptococcus agalactiae vaginitis (7.56%). The identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing results for Mycoplasma showed a high detection rate of BV, with a positivity rate of 86.13%. There was a high sensitivity to tetracyclines for Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis, but a high resistance to macrolides and quinolones. Conclusions: Bacterial vaginosis existed in various complex forms, including Candida, Gardnerella vaginalis, Gram-negative bacillus, and Streptococcus agalactiae types. Moreover, there was an increasing trend of multidrug resistance in Mycoplasma hominis. Therefore, it is crucial to pay attention to this condition and make accurate judgments based on the etiological characteristics and common antimicrobial susceptibility tests. This will enable the implementation of effective therapeutic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Cientifica de la Facultade de Veterinaria is the property of Universidad del Zulia, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This study aims to develop a synthetic knowledge repository consisted of interrelated Web Ontology Language. Design/methodology/approach: The ontology composes the main framework to categorize data of product life cycle with eco-design mode (PLC-EDM) and automatically infer specialists' knowledge for data confirmation, eventually assisting the utilizations and generation of strategies toward decision-making Findings: (i) utilization of a novel model with ontology mode for information reuse cross the different eco-design applications; (ii) generation of a sound platform toward life cycle evaluation; and (iii) implementation of the PLC-EDM model along the product generation process. Research limitations/implications: It cannot substitute an evaluation tool of life cycle. Certainly, this model does not predict the "target and range" and/or the depiction of the "utility module" that are basic activities in life cycle assessments as characterized through the international organization for standardization regulations. Practical implications: As portion of this framework, a prototype Web application is presented which is applied to produce, reuse and verify knowledge of product life cycle. Social implications: By counting upon the ontology, the information conducted by the utilization is certainly semantically represented to promote the data sharing among various participants and tools. Besides, the data can be verified against possible faults by inferring over the ontology. Hence, a feasible way to a popular topic in the domain of eco-design applications extension in the industry. Originality/value: The goals are: to lean on rigid modeling principles; and to promote the interoperability and diffusion of the ontology toward particular utilization demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three objectives, maximization of resilience, minimization of cost, and minimization of leakages, were considered in the Water Distribution Network (WDN) framework for a benchmark problem of Hanoi WDN and a real-world problem, Pamapur WDN, Telangana, India. Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) is employed to generate Non-dominated WDN Strategies (NWDNS). In order to simplify the decision-making process of engineers, Fuzzy Cluster Analysis (FCA) is employed to categorize NWDNS into groups. An optimum number of clusters are based on the Elbow method. Representative NWDNS, i.e. RNWDNS for each sub-cluster, is based on the membership values. Ranking of RNWDNS is performed with two decision-making algorithms, namely, Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment of Evaluations-2 (PROMETHEE-2) and VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR). The additive ranking rule is also applied to obtain ranks in a group decision-making environment to arrive at the optimal WDN. It is observed that 1020 NWDNSH (H represents Hanoi) generated for the Hanoi are optimally classified into 18 clusters based on the Elbow method, and A13 representing RNWDNSH 37 (cost, resilience, and leakages, respectively, are 7.8818 × 106 $, 0.3194, 0.2024 × 10−3 m3/s) is preferable, respectively. Whereas 272 NWDNSP (P represents Pamapur) generated for the Pamapur are classified into 9 clusters where S6 representing RNWDNSP 203 (cost, resilience, and leakages, respectively, are 3.5159 × 106 Rs., 0.8367, 0.5317 × 10−3 m3/s) is preferred, respectively. The present study facilitated seamless integration of NSGA-II (generation of Pareto front), FCA (reducing to manageable set) and MCDM methods (to rank the reduced manageable set) in a robust manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In pediatric surgery, acute appendicitis is considered one of the most common problems requiring surgical intervention. Among the causes of this disease, microorganisms are of primary importance. The specificity of postoperative treatment depends both on the degree of virulence of the pathogen and on the microbial load that caused the inflammatory process. The increase in the use of antimicrobial agents is of great concern because of the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Therefore, the issue of rational postoperative antibiotic therapy remains relevant, as excessive, often unjustified use and incorrect dosage of drugs have become the cause of many medical problems. The aim of the research was to determine the species structure and analyze antibiotic resistance of microorganisms in biomaterial obtained from children after appendectomy for acute appendicitis. Methods. We studied biomaterial obtained from 74 patients aged 2—18 years who were treated at the MNCE Ternopil Regional Children Clinical Hospital TRC in the period from September 2021 to March 2022. After appendectomy, the samples were placed in a transport medium for further laboratory research, which involved staining smears according to the Gram method, sowing microorganisms on nutrient media such as blood agar, salt agar, sugar broth and serum agar, and Endo medium for enterobacteria as well as for anaerobic pathogens — thioglycolic medium and Kitta-Tarozzi medium, and identifying by morphological, tinctorial, cultural and biochemical properties. The sensitivity of selected pathogenic microorganisms to antibiotics was determined using the Kirby-Bauer method. Statistical processing of digital data was carried out using Excel software (Microsoft, USA) and the Statistical 10.0 program. Results. 74 children aged from 2 to 18 years were involved in the study. E. coli (28.4% of all examined), S. aureus (21.6%), and P. aeruginosa (14.9%) were found during the laboratory study of biomaterial. E. faecalis, Klebsiella spp., S. epidermidis, and S.viridans occurred much less often (from 9.4% to 4.5%). The study of antibiotic resistance showed that the isolated microorganisms differed significantly in their sensitivity both to different groups of antimicrobial agents and to generations of drugs within the same group. Ceftriaxone was the most effective inhibitor of all detected microorganisms. E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and S. epidermidis showed 100% sensitivity to it, and the others — within 75—50%. Bacteria Klebsiella spp. and S. epidermidis were sensitive to amikacin, strains of E. coli — 90.5%, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus — 81.8% and 81.2%, respectively. Amoxiclav and ampisulbin had weak inhibitory activity, except for 100% of Klebsiella spp. and 75% of E. faecalis, which were inhibited only by amoxiclav. However, almost all studied microorganisms were partially sensitive to azithromycin. The activity of this antibiotic ranged from 100—81.8% (S. epidermidis, S. aureus) to 36.4% (P. aeruginosa). Conclusions. The most common causative agents of acute appendicitis among children are the following microorganisms: E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and sporadically — S. saprophyticus, Micrococcus spp., S. viridians, and Candida spp. Among the antibiotics used for the treatment of postoperative complications in various forms of appendicitis, the most effective were ceftriaxone — cephalosporins of the III generation — 100—66.7%, amikacin — aminoglycosides — 100—57.1%, and furagin — nitrofuran derivatives — 100—60%. The studied microorganisms were the least sensitive to penicillin's and antibiotics of the II generation of the fluoroquinolone group. Resistance of microorganisms to certain antibiotics was also found, in particular: P. aeruginosa and E. faecalis — to cefuroxime and cefazolin; E. coli and S. aureus — to tobramycin, S. epidermidis — to ofloxacin and amoxiclav. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploitation of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a feedstock for the chemical processes has been an evasive venture due to its thermodynamic stability. The synthesis of highly functionalized metastable δ‐lactone (3‐ethylidene‐6‐vinyltetrahydro‐2H‐pyran‐2‐one) was reported in 1970s which is formed by the condensation of CO2 and 1,3‐butadiene in the presence of palladium catalyst. Several attempts have been made to utilize the intermediate for the polymerization processes, however, only a few have been successful. Here, we report a novel mechanism of metathesis polymerization of the metastable monomer by the action of a transition metal carbene complex (Hoveyda Grubb's II generation catalyst) to yield a new class of materials. The reaction mechanism for the polymerization has been proposed and substantiated by nuclear magnetic spectroscopic analysis. The obtained polymeric species consist of a complex unit structure where the cyclic lactone groups are connected by the olefin groups in different combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Al-Adab / Al-ādāb is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this study was to present clinically significant poisonings with selected rodenticides in animals: anticoagulant rodenticides I and II generation, bromethalin and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3). These agents pose a serious risk to the environment and to public health. The most dangerous for the nontarget wildlife, also for pets and people are second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. Since mechanism of action differs in groups of rodenticides, in case of animal poisoning the treatment strategy is also different. Rodenticides widespread harm to many kinds of life requires that in case of poisoning, the knowledge on the toxic action, treatment and prognosis for animals of various species is broaden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review article provides a wide overview of important developments and applications of capillary electromigration methods in the area of peptide mapping of proteins in the period 1997–mid‐2022, including review articles on this topic. It deals with all major aspects of peptide mapping by capillary electromigration methods: i) precleavage sample preparation involving purification, preconcentration, denaturation, reduction and alkylation of protein(s) to be analyzed, ii) generation of peptide fragments by off‐line or on‐line enzymatic and/or chemical cleavage of protein(s), iii) postcleavage preparation of the generated peptide mixture for capillary electromigration separation, iv) separation of the complex peptide mixtures by one‐, two‐ and multidimensional capillary electromigration methods coupled with mass spectrometry detection, and v) a large application of peptide mapping for variable purposes, such as qualitative analysis of monoclonal antibodies and other protein biopharmaceuticals, monitoring of posttranslational modifications, determination of primary structure and investigation of function of proteins in biochemical and clinical research, characterization of proteins of variable origin as well as for protein and peptide identification in proteomic and peptidomic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud storage represents a cloud delivered-service model which draws the attention of organizations and individuals due to its uncounted attractive advantages. Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) supply storage facilities while the cloud user has the ability to manage and migrate its own data towards remote cloud servers in ubiquitous and cost-effective manner. However, security and data integrity brake the evolution and scalability of such delivered-service because of data corruption and policy violation. Hence, data auditing and Proof-of-Retrievability (PoR) have been introduced to ensure the user data integrity verification in cloud storage nearby a Trusted Third Party (TTP) without downloading the entire file. Numerous related researches have been involved to enhance the computational cost of dynamic data integrity signature schemes based on PoR for corruption correctness and encoding outsourced data. However, the proposed schemes still foggy regarding computational cost complexity and data integrity issues. Thus, data corruption remains an inhibitor of the growth of cloud storage. The purpose of this paper is to establish an efficient public auditing scheme ensuring dynamic data privacy-preserving along with PoR. Thus, the proposed auditing scheme consists of ensuring the integrity of user outsourced data file by performing various functionalities such as: i) Encoding outsourced file based on Goppa codes generator matrix. ii) Generation of BLS-HVT signatures for data integrity. iii) data recovery where TTP (i.e. Verifier) has the capability to challenge the CSP (i.e. Prover) for detecting whether the stored data has been tampered or kept intact. iv) Dynamic data processing with low-computational cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Folia Pharmaceutica Cassoviensia is the property of University of Veterinary Medicine & Pharmacy in Kosice and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Fuel cells are one of the zero-emission elements of modern automotive drive systems. This article presents theoretical identification of the component parameters of indicators for the fuel cell operating conditions. Activation, ohmic, and mass transport losses were identified. Current–voltage characteristics were provided along with an analysis of typical cell losses. The actual performance characteristics of fuel cells were analyzed for Toyota Mirai I and II generation vehicles. The fuel cells operating conditions were derived and analyzed in the context of real driving conditions. Therefore, urban, rural, and motorway conditions were used. The vehicles were equipped with PEM fuel cells supplying power equal to 114 kW (1st gen.) or 128 kW (2nd gen.). The average fuel cell stack power values depend on the driving conditions: urban (about 10 kW), rural (20 kW) and motorway (about 30–40 kW) driving modes. The different power ratings of fuel cells combined with different battery generations resulted in a variation in the cells operating conditions. Analyses conducted in various traffic conditions indicated the possibility of determining losses related to the fuel cells. The analysis of fuel cell losses shows the greatest values for activation losses when the cells are under high load (for both generations)—i.e., in motorway driving conditions. The voltage of resistive losses reached its maximum in urban driving conditions when the load on the fuel cells was small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying plausible mechanisms for compartmentalization and accumulation of the organic intermediates of early metabolic cycles in primitive cells has been a major challenge in theories of life's origins. Here, we propose a mechanism, where positive membrane potentials elevate the concentration of the organic intermediates. Positive membrane potentials are generated by positively charged surfaces of protocell membranes due to accumulation of transition metals. We find that (i) positive membrane potentials comparable in magnitude to those of modern cells can increase the concentration of the organic intermediates by several orders of magnitude; (ii) generation of large membrane potentials destabilize ion distributions; (iii) violation of electroneutrality is necessary to induce nonzero membrane potentials; and (iv) violation of electroneutrality enhances osmotic pressure and diminishes reaction efficiency, resulting in an evolutionary driving force for the formation of lipid membranes, specialized ion channels, and active transport systems. Author summary: The building blocks of life are constantly synthesized and broken down through concurrent cycles of chemical transformations. Tracing these reactions back 4 billion years to their origins has been a long-standing goal of evolutionary biology. The first metabolic cycles at the origin of life must have overcome several obstacles to spontaneously start and sustain their nonequilibrium states. Notably, maintaining the concentration of organic intermediates at high levels to support their continued operation and evolution would have been challenging in abiotic cells lacking evolutionarily tuned lipid membranes and enzymes. We propose a mechanism, by which the concentrations of organic intermediates are elevated to drive early metabolic cycles in abiotic cells and demonstrate its feasibility in a protocell model from first principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kinetics and the conversion features of two 3-component systems (A/B/N), based on the proposed new kinetic schemes of Mokbel and Mau et al, in which a visible LED is used to excite a copper complex to its excited triplet state (G*). The coupling of G* with iodonium salt and ethyl 4-(dimethylamino)benzoate (EDB) produces both free radical polymerization (FRP) of acrylates and the free radical promoted cationic polymerization (CP) of epoxides using various new copper complex as the initiator. Higher FRP and CP conversion can be achieved by co-additive of [B] and N, via the dual function of (i) regeneration [A], and (ii) generation of extra radicals. The interpenetrated polymer network (IPN) capable of initiating both FRP and CP in a blend of TMPTA and EPOX. The synergic effects due to CP include: (i) CP can increase viscosity limiting the diffusional oxygen replenishment; (ii) the cation also acts as a diluting agent for the IPN network, and (iii) the exothermic property of the CP. The catalytic cycle, synergic effects, and the oxygen inhibition are theoretically confirmed to support the experimental hypothesis. The measured results of Mokbel and Mau et al are well analyzed and matching the predicted features of our modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Recent studies report doubling numbers of deaths due to dementia. With such an escalating mortality rate related to cognitive decline diseases, like dementia, timely information on contributing factors and knowledge discovery from evidence-based repositories is warranted. A large amount of scholarly knowledge extracted from research findings on dementia can be understood only using human intelligence for arriving at quality inferences. Due to the unstructured data presented in such a massive dataset of scientific articles available online, gaining insights from the knowledge hidden in the literature is complex and time-consuming. Hence, there is a need for developing a knowledge management model to create, query and maintain a knowledge repository of key elements and their relationships extracted from scholarly articles in a structured manner. In this paper, an innovative knowledge discovery computing model to process key findings from unstructured data from scholarly articles by using the design science research (DSR) methodology is proposed. The solution caters to a novel composition of the cognitive script of crucial knowledge related to dementia and its subsequent transformation from unstructured into a structured format using graph-based next-generation infrastructures. The computing model contains three phases to assist the research community to have a better understanding of the related knowledge in the existing unstructured research articles: (i) article collection and construction of cognitive script, (ii) generation of Cypher statements (a knowledge graph query language) and (iii) creation of graph-based repository and visualization. The performance of the computing model is demonstrated by visualizing the outcome of various search criteria in the form of nodes and their relationships. Our results also demonstrate the effectiveness of visual query and navigation highlighting its usability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the significant growth of the world population, the accelerated growth of economic industries in various countries, and improved living conditions, freshwater consumption has increased dramatically and is currently under critical pressure. Its good use and rationing are essential. Even though mining is an industry that consumes much less water than other industries, such as agriculture, surrounding communities are constantly questioned. This occurs mainly because mining deposits are generally found in arid areas where freshwater is scarce, forcing government authorities to regulate water use in mining processes more severely. Faced with this scenario, the mining industry has innovated the use of seawater and wastewater from processes for its production processes. In addition, various projects are under development to construct desalination plants and water impulsion systems of the sea; therefore, it is expected that seawater and/or wastewater in mining will continue to grow in the coming years. Among the main challenges faced in the use of these water resources in mining is: (i) the close relationship that exists between the use of seawater and energy consumption, transferring the problem of water scarcity to a problem of energy cost overruns; (ii) generation of greater integration between the use of water and sustainable energy; and (iii) brine management is economically expensive and technically challenging and, therefore, most desalination plants discharge untreated brine directly into the sea, causing an environmental impact. On the other hand, regarding the use of these water resources in leaching processes, there are very positive results for the dissolution of copper from sulfide minerals, where the wastewater from desalination plants presents better results than seawater due to its higher concentration of chloride ions, allowing it to work at higher redox potential values in order to increase copper dissolution. This manuscript is a bibliographic review in which finally, it is concluded that it is feasible to incorporate wastewater from water desalination plants in heap leaching processes for copper sulfide ores, as long as the cost of transfer from water desalination plants to mining sites can be supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We combine Japanese Population Census, Prefectural Accounts Calculations and other Japanese government data sources to create a panel database covering 47 prefectures over the 2001 to 2014 period. We then used this data to investigate the role of societal and generational aging on national economic growth in Japan. Specifically, we estimate the impacts of multiple Japanese generations that are distinct in characteristics, tastes and experiences, and explore the trajectories of their economic impacts. Our findings suggest that as Generation Z, our base generation, ages, gross domestic product increases at a decreasing rate, peaking at age 39. This is conditional upon the distributions of other generations and their ages. Additional and differential growth effects of aging are attributed to the Baby boomer II, Generation Y, Baby boomer I and Generation X and the Yutori generations, vis-à-vis Generation Z. However, the aging of the Before baby boomer generation leads to slower growth than that of the Generation Z. Our results challenge the use of average societal aging variables and suggest the efficacy of models accounting for the aging of different generations. These results are useful in national policies to promote economic growth through age-specific strategies that target individual generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses multiprocessor scheduling of modular jobs while taking into account a balance requirements for each time interval. First, a brief description of just-in-time (JIT) planning approach is described. Further, the problem statement of the examined scheduling problem is suggested. A numerical example from planning in house-building illustrates the proposed problem and heuristic solving scheme. This scheme involves (i) clustering of the initial set of building blocks/details to obtain eight typical groups which correspond to manufacturing conveyers, (ii) generation of an initial plan for building assembly, (iii) detection of time intervals with disbalance by a basic building block/detail, and (iv) modification of the plan (by a multiple choice problem). A possible application of the proposed problem in information transmission is very briefly described as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Latino Studies is the property of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Folia Pharmaceutica Cassoviensia is the property of University of Veterinary Medicine & Pharmacy in Kosice and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: During the process of waste incineration, co-incineration and cement production, various emissions are released into the environment containing different pollutants. The aim was to assess a possible association between exposure to pollutants emitted from co-/incinerators and cement plants and cancer in occupationally exposed persons and residents living near these plants. Methods: Inclusion criteria for the umbrella review were meta-analyses and systematic literature reviews, English, period 1980– 2023. Searches were performed in 4 databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Reviews). The quality of documents was assessed by AMSTAR-2 (methodology) and GRADE (evidence) tools. Results: Of 7 701 documents, 14 were finally included (5 meta- -analyses, 9 systematic reviews). There is some low to moderate evidence of an association between soft tissue sarcomas and non-Hodgkin lymphomas in population exposed to dioxins near I. generation incinerators, but there is no evidence for next generation incinerators. To date, there is no evidence for co-incinerators. There is moderate evidence for an association between incidence of all cancers, lung, prostate, stomach and oropharyngeal cancer and exposure to chromium in occupationally exposed persons at I.-II. generation cement plants. Most of the evidence is limited due to mixed results, differences in questionˊ technique, heterogeneity, and potential bias. Conclusions: There is limited evidence for an association between cancer and exposure to pollutants emitted from I. generation incinerators and I.-II. generation cement plants. To evaluate the possible association between pollutant emissions from the most modern co-incinerators, it seems reasonable to plan targeted epidemiological studies and human biomonitoring studies.

We considered three events on 4 November 2015, 22 December 2016, and 12 November 2018, when the signals travelling in the polar winter mesosphere with high horizontal velocities above 300 m/s were measured by the atmospheric radar ESRAD (Chilson et al., 1999) located at Esrange, near Kiruna in northern Sweden. We proposed four mechanisms of generation of such special cases of polar mesosphere echoes, e.g. high-speed PMWE, that involve microbaroms, i.e. infrasound waves at 0.1–––0.35 Hz frequencies created by ocean swell. These mechanisms are (i) generation of viscous waves, (ii) generation of thermal waves, (iii) direct contributions of infrasound, and (iv) generation of secondary waves at sound dissipation. These processes necessarily accompany sound propagation in inhomogeneous, thermally conducting and viscous fluid (air). The four models were theoretically analysed and their efficiency was estimated. The infrasound measurements at the IS37 station (Gibbons et al., 2019) located about 170 km north-west from the ESRAD radar, modelled maps of the microbarom sources, infrasound propagation conditions and ionospheric conditions for these three PMWE events support the proposed models. Infrasound-generated thermal waves are suggested to be the most probable specific cause of the observed high-speed, high-aspect-ratio PMWE events. However, absence of in-situ infrasound and plasma measurements did not allow us to quantify contributions of individual physical mechanisms to the fast-travelling echoes generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]