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Deep learning methods for image analysis are attracting increasing interest for application in a wide range of different research fields. Here we aim to systematically analyze and discuss the most relevant examples for the energy sector. To this, we perform a comprehensive literature screening on applications of deep learning methods for image analysis, classify the results in application macro-areas, and discuss the emerging trends on the available energy-related cases. The results of the analysis show that, while the exploitation of these methods for energy applications still appears to be at an early stage, the interest during the last years, in terms of number of published works, has considerably grown. To provide a systematic overview on the available energy-related examples, we present a schematic correlation chart mapping algorithms, tasks, and applications. The reported analysis is intended to provide an up-to-date overview on the current application trends and potential developments for energy applications in the next future.

The cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley and papaya mealybug, Paracoccus marginatus Williams and Granara de Willink (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) are becoming major threats to the production of Gymnema sylvestre R. Br. (Asclepiadaceae) in India. Management mainly depends on chemical insecticides which cause a serious problem of pesticide residue and insecticide resistance. The use of biorational insecticides such as biopesticides, botanicals, insect growth regulators, and microbial insecticides is important components of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for successful management. We evaluated the bio-efficacy of twelve biorational insecticides, including entomopathogenic fungi (EPF), using the leaf spray method in laboratory conditions at 25 ± 1 °C, 70 % ± 5 % RH. The results revealed that the highest percent mortality was recorded by acetamiprid 20 % SP (100.00 %), followed by azadirachtin (98.27 %), Lecanicillium muscarium (2 × 109 spores/mL) (85.70 %) and Ocimum sanctum leaf extract (76.87 %) at 120 h after treatment (HAT) in P. solenopsis. In P. marginatus, 100.00 %, 96.39 % and 85.67 % and 74.90 % mortalities were achieved by acetamiprid 20 % SP, azadirachtin, L. muscarium (2 × 109 spores/mL) and O. sanctum leaf extract, respectively, at 120 HAT during the first spray. Various biorational insecticides showed a more or less similar trend of percent mortality in both species during the second spray. In both species, the lowest percent mortality was recorded by Andrographis paniculata leaf extract (46.29, 44.54) and (41.03, 46.39) at 120 Hours after treatment in the first and second spray, respectively. It was concluded that all the prescribed treatments are more effective than the control. Overall, azadirachtin recorded the highest percent mortality after acetamiprid and had the shortest LT50 (12.52 h) and (13.87 h) values in P. solenopsis and P. marginatus, respectively. Our study emphasizes that biopesticides like Azadirachtin 1 % EC (10000 ppm), L. muscarium (2 × 109 spores/mL) (5 mL/L) and O. sanctum leaf extract (5 %) may be recommended as alternatives to synthetic insecticides. Botanicals and EPF would be the most effective approach for sustainable integrated management of P. solenopsis and P. marginatus in the G. sylvestre ecosystem.

Summary: Methanogenesis allows methanogenic archaea to generate cellular energy for their growth while producing methane. Thermophilic hydrogenotrophic species of the genus Methanothermobacter have been recognized as robust biocatalysts for a circular carbon economy and are already applied in power-to-gas technology with biomethanation, which is a platform to store renewable energy and utilize captured carbon dioxide. Here, we generated curated genome-scale metabolic reconstructions for three Methanothermobacter strains and investigated differences in the growth performance of these same strains in chemostat bioreactor experiments with hydrogen and carbon dioxide or formate as substrates. Using an integrated systems biology approach, we identified differences in formate anabolism between the strains and revealed that formate anabolism influences the diversion of carbon between biomass and methane. This finding, together with the omics datasets and the metabolic models we generated, can be implemented for biotechnological applications of Methanothermobacter in power-to-gas technology, and as a perspective, for value-added chemical production.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are used to treat many infectious diseases. Nowadays, AMPs enjoy special attention due to their novel mode of action and kill various pathogens such as fungi, bacteria and viruses. Among insects, the ant genus can provide a potential antimicrobial peptide against various microorganisms. In the present study, AMPs compounds were isolated and purified from the ant species Trichomyrmex scabriceps using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The extract from abdomen showed the highest protein content (4.60 µg/µl) compared to head and thorax. The HPLC profile of the abdomen showed 14 different peaks, of which the peaks eluting at the 6th, 8th, 17th and 23rd minutes had a higher intensity. The number of peaks was comparatively lower in the extracts from the head and thorax. The antimicrobial activity of the head, thorax and abdomen extracts of ants was evaluated against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC 3160) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli (MTCC 2692) bacterial strains. Among the extracts tested, the abdomen alone exhibited a distinct zone of inhibition against E. coli (176.98 ± 3.36 mm2). However, the extracts of the head and thorax showed no zone of inhibition. In addition, none of the extracts showed a zone of inhibition against S. aureus. To our knowledge, this is the first report observed AMPs in T. scabriceps ant and their antimicrobial property against these bacterial strains.

This research pursued the effect of various calcination temperatures (300–1000 °C) on developing structural phases and the optical, dielectric, and photodegradation characteristics of cobalt-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs). The prepared NPs were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis, ultraviolet–visible light (UV–VIS) spectroscopy, and photodegradation of methylene blue in the presence of visible light. XRD analysis revealed the formation of a tetragonal anatase phase for the samples calcined at 300–600 °C, while the Co-doped samples calcined at 800 °C and 1000 °C displayed a tetragonal rutile phase. The optical band gap analysis indicated that doping in the host matrix produced lower band gap energy for all the prepared samples. Dielectric measurements showed that the rutile phase heated at 800 °C had a larger dielectric constant and dielectric loss than the un-doped TiO2 and the other cobalt-doped samples. Finally, the anatase Co-doped TiO2 exhibited a maximum MB degradation of 93 % in 90 min compared to un-doped TiO2, which only degraded 14 % and rutile-TiO2 NPs (62 % degradation). The underlying mechanism responsible for the diverse photodegradation performance displayed by the anatase and rutile phases of TiO2 NPs is discussed. Overall, these results demonstrate that cobalt doping and the crystalline phase of TiO2 NPs are vital parameters involved in optimizing the photocatalytic activity of TiO2.

The aim of this study focuses on the possibility of producing biogas from brewery spent grains through an anaerobic digestion (AD) process. Beer, in fact, is one of the most consumed drinks all over the world and its highly impactful production process releases a large quantity of wastes, such as spent grains (BSG). In the first part of this work, an energetic characterization of raw BSG has been carried out to define moisture, ashes and volatile solids contents. Then, two pre-treatments of BSG have been analysed, in order to establish how to improve the energetic characteristics of this biomass for an anaerobic conversion process. The first pre-treatment has consisted in a low temperature process, while the second one is an alkali pre-treatment. After the raw biomass has been subjected to each pre-treatment, the energetic characterization has been repeated to evaluate the change of the BSG’s properties. The obtained results show that the raw BSG is a suitable biomass for AD application, because of the high content of volatile solids (around 90.9%) and the low percentage of ash on dry basis (about 3.53%). These characteristics has been bettered through the low temperature pre-treatment (volatile solids percentage near 92.7% and ash content approximately equal to 3.59 %) in terms of digestibility by anaerobic digestion reaction, while the alkali one has worsened the volatile solids content (around 73.8%) and increased the ash percentage (near 38.61%).

Abstract Background We compared cardiovascular magnetic resonance segmental native T1 against T2* values for the detection of myocardial iron overload (MIO) in thalassaemia major and we evaluated the clinical correlates of native T1 measurements. Methods We considered 146 patients (87 females, 38.7 ± 11.1 years) consecutively enrolled in the Extension-Myocardial Iron Overload in Thalassaemia Network. T1 and T2* values were obtained in the 16 left ventricular (LV) segments. LV function parameters were quantified by cine images. Post-contrast late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and T1 images were acquired. Results 64.1% of segments had normal T2* and T1 values while 10.1% had pathologic T2* and T1 values. In 526 (23.0%) segments, there was a pathologic T1 and a normal T2* value while 65 (2.8%) segments had a pathologic T2* value but a normal T1 and an extracellular volume (ECV) ≥ 25% was detected in 16 of 19 segments where ECV was quantified. Global native T1 was independent from gender or LV function but decreased with increasing age. Patients with replacement myocardial fibrosis had significantly lower native global T1. Patients with cardiac complications had significantly lower native global T1. Conclusions The combined use of both segmental native T1 and T2* values could improve the sensitivity for detecting MIO. Native T1 is associated with cardiac complications in thalassaemia major.

Abstract Background Hospitalized patients with COVID‐19 suffered initially from high rates of venous thromboembolism (VTE), with possible associations between therapeutic anticoagulation and better clinical outcomes in observational studies. Objective To test whether therapeutic anticoagulation improves clinical outcomes in severe COVID‐19. Patients/Methods In this multicenter, open‐label, randomized controlled trial, we recruited acutely ill medical COVID‐19 patients with D‐dimer >1000 ng/ml or critically ill COVID‐19 patients in four Swiss hospitals, from April 2020 until June 2021, with a 30‐day follow‐up. Participants were randomized to in‐hospital therapeutic anticoagulation versus low‐dose anticoagulation in acutely ill participants/intermediate‐dose anticoagulation in critically ill participants, with enoxaparin or unfractionated heparins. The primary outcome was a centrally adjudicated composite of 30‐day all‐cause mortality, VTE, arterial thrombosis, and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC), with screening for proximal deep vein thrombosis. Results Among 159 participants, 55.3% were critically ill and 94.3% received corticosteroids. Before study inclusion, pulmonary embolism had been excluded in 71.7%. The primary outcome occurred in 4/79 participants randomized to therapeutic anticoagulation and 4/80 to low/intermediate anticoagulation (5.4% vs. 5.0%; risk difference +0.4%; adjusted hazard ratio 0.76, 95% confidence interval 0.18–3.21), including three deaths in each group. All primary outcomes and major bleeding (n = 3) occurred in critically ill participants. There was no asymptomatic proximal deep vein thrombosis and no difference in major bleeding. Conclusions Among patients with severe COVID‐19 treated with corticosteroids and with exclusion of pulmonary embolism at hospital admission for most, risks of mortality, thrombotic outcomes, and DIC were low at 30 days. The lack of benefit of therapeutic anticoagulation was too imprecise for definite conclusions.

With the “many-headed” slime mold Physarum polycelphalum having been voted the unicellular organism of the year 2021 by the German Society of Protozoology, we are reminded that a large part of nature's huge variety of life forms is easily overlooked – both by the general public and researchers alike. Indeed, whereas several animals such as mussels or spiders have already inspired many scientists to create novel materials with glue-like properties, there is much more to discover in the flora and fauna. Here, we provide an overview of naturally occurring slimy substances with adhesive properties and categorize them in terms of the main chemical motifs that convey their stickiness, i.e., carbohydrate-, protein-, and glycoprotein-based biological glues. Furthermore, we highlight selected recent developments in the area of material design and functionalization that aim at making use of such biological compounds for novel applications in medicine – either by conjugating adhesive motifs found in nature to biological or synthetic macromolecules or by synthetically creating (multi-)functional materials, which combine adhesive properties with additional, problem-specific (and sometimes tunable) features.

Summary: hTERT-RPE1 cells are genetically stable near diploid cells widely used to model cell division, DNA repair, or ciliogenesis in a non-transformed context. However, poor transfectability and limited homology-directed repair capacity hamper their amenability to gene editing. Here, we describe a protocol for rapid and efficient generation of diverse homozygous knockins. In contrast to other approaches, this strategy bypasses the need for molecular cloning. Our approach can also be applied to a variety of cell types including cancer and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

The discrete choice experiment is a widely used methodology in consumer studies. However, applying this method to investigate the market of products sold in a wide price range could present issues as to the quality of the estimate of preferences. In fact, for this type of product, frequently consumers may have different behaviours when faced with different price levels. For example, some market segments may refrain from purchasing products below certain price thresholds, considering them of an unacceptable quality, while others choose only below certain prices. To work around this problem area, we propose a methodology in which each respondent declares his own price interval of reference and consequently participates in a choice experiment with a price vector coherent with his habits. In this manner, we are able to grasp and include in the estimations the heterogeneity of consumers with respect to price and thus obtain more accurate willingness to pay estimates. • The method describes a procedure to bypass issues related to identifying the price vector in discrete choice experiments that involve products sold in a wide price range. • We propose a discrete choice experiment with different price vectors for consumer segments with different price preferences. Method name: Discrete choice experiments with multiple price vectors, Keywords: Price preference heterogeneity, Wine, Experimental design, Willingness to pay, Quality cue

Inhibiting the activity of fatty-acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the enzyme that deactivates the endocannabinoid anandamide, enhances anandamide-mediated signaling and holds promise as a molecular target for the treatment of human pathologies such as anxiety and pain. We have previously shown that the peripherally restricted FAAH inhibitor, URB937, prevents nitroglycerin-induced hyperalgesia – an animal model of migraine - and attenuates the activation of brain areas that are relevant for migraine pain, e.g. trigeminal nucleus caudalis and locus coeruleus. The current study is aimed at profiling the behavioral and biochemical effects of URB937 in animal models of acute and chronic migraine. We evaluated the effects of URB937 in two rat models that capture aspects of acute and chronic migraine, and are based on single or repeated administration of the vasodilating drug, nitroglycerin (NTG). In addition to nocifensive behavior, in trigeminal ganglia and medulla, we measured mRNA levels of neuropeptides and pro-inflammatory cytokines along with tissue levels of anandamide and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), an endogenous agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor type-a (PPAR-a), which is also a FAAH substrate. In the acute migraine model, we also investigated the effect of subtype-selective antagonist for cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (AM251 and AM630, respectively) on nocifensive behavior and on levels of neuropeptides and pro-inflammatory cytokines. In the acute migraine paradigm, URB937 significantly reduced hyperalgesia in the orofacial formalin test when administered either before or after NTG. This effect was accompanied by an increase in anandamide and PEA levels in target neural tissue, depended upon CB1 receptor activation, and was associated with a decrease in calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), substance P and cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-6 mRNA. Similar effects were observed in the chronic migraine paradigm, where URB937 counteracted NTG-induced trigeminal hyperalgesia and prevented the increase in neuropeptide and cytokine transcription.The results show that peripheral FAAH inhibition by URB937 effectively reduces both acute and chronic NTG-induced trigeminal hyperalgesia, likely via augmented anandamide-mediated CB1 receptor activation. These effects are associated with inhibition of neuropeptidergic and inflammatory pathways.

The honeybee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), a keystone pollinator of wild plant species and agricultural crops, is disappearing globally due to parasites and diseases, habitat loss, genetic constraints, beekeeper management issues and to the widespread use of pesticides. Besides insecticides, widely studied in this species, honeybees are also exposed to herbicides and fungicides and heavy metals whose lethal and sublethal effects need to be investigated. In this context, our study aimed to evaluate the effects of fungicides and of heavy metals on honeybees and to develop and apply a multi-biomarker approach that include an Integrated Biological Index (IBRv2) to assess the toxicological status of this species. Biomarkers of neurotoxicity (AChE and CaE), metabolic alteration (ALP, and GST) and immune system (LYS, granulocytes) were measured, following honeybees’ exposure to cadmium or to a crop fungicide, using the genotoxic compound EMS as positive control. A biomarker of genotoxicity (NA assay) was developed and applied for the first time in honeybees. At the doses tested, all the contaminants showed sublethal toxicity to the bees, highlighting in particular genotoxic effects. The data collected were analyzed by an IBRv2 index, which integrated the seven biomarkers used in this study. IBRv2 index increased with increasing cadmium or fungicide concentrations. The IBRv2 represents a simple tool for a general description of honeybees ecotoxicological health status. Results highlight the need for more in-depth investigations on the effects of fungicides on non-target organisms, such as honeybees, using sensitive methods for the determination of sublethal effects. This study contributes to the development of a multi-biomarker approach to be used for a more accurate ecotoxicological environmental monitoring of these animals.

Low serum level of vitamin D has been linked to numerous diseases. The Akita breed of dog shows a high incidence of immune-mediated diseases such as uveodermatologic (UVD) syndrome and sebaceous adenitis (SA). Furthermore, in Japanese Akita dogs, skin depigmentation often appears after birth at different ages, in healthy dogs, and without any other symptoms. In humans poliosis is associated to low vitamin D level. The aim of this survey was to evaluate serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels in Japanese Akita dogs. One hundred and three Akita blood samples were collected for the 25(OH)D evaluation. Age, sex, current disease, presence and location of skin depigmentation, and diet were reported on a medical record. Based on history and clinical examination, dogs were classified according their health status as healthy (HE) or pathological (PA). The overall mean of 25(OH)D concentration was 82.42 ± 26.14 ng/mL, whereas the concentrations in the healthy dogs were significantly higher (84.90 ± 3.36 ng/mL) in comparison with the dogs with diseases (72.13 ± 4.09 ng/mL) (P

The method of delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 into target cells is a strong determinant of efficacy and specificity in genome editing. Even though high efficiency of Cas9 delivery is necessary for optimal editing, its long-term and high levels of expression correlate with increased off-target activity. We developed vesicles (VEsiCas) carrying CRISPR-SpCas9 ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs) that are efficiently delivered into target cells through the fusogenic glycoprotein of the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV-G). A crucial step for VEsiCas production is the synthesis of the single guide RNA (sgRNA) mediated by the T7 RNA polymerase in the cytoplasm of producing cells as opposed to canonical U6-driven Pol III nuclear transcription. In VEsiCas, the absence of DNA encoding SpCas9 and sgRNA allows rapid clearance of the nuclease components in target cells, which correlates with reduced genome-wide off-target cleavages. Compared with SpCas9 RNPs electroporation, which is currently the method of choice to obtain transient SpCas9 activity, VEsiCas deliver the nuclease with higher efficiency and lower toxicity. We show that a wide variety of cells can be edited through VEsiCas, including a variety of transformed cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and cardiomyocytes, in vivo. VEsiCas is a traceless CRISPR-Cas9 delivery tool for efficient and safe genome editing that represents a further advancement toward the therapeutic use of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Keywords: CRISPR-Cas9, VEsiCas, RNPs, genome editing, VLPs, nuclease, ribonucleoprotein complex, viral-like particles, SpCas9, GUIDE-seq

The World Health Organization has recently introduced molecular prognostic-diagnostic biomarkers in the classification of Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors. In order to characterize subclasses of tumors that cannot find a precise location in the current classification, and, or cannot be tested because of scant material, it is important to find new molecular biomarkers in tissue and, or biological fluid samples. In this study, we identified serum microRNAs that could serve as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with tumors of glial origin. We retrospectively analyzed microRNA expression in the serum extracellular vesicles of patients with tumors of glial origin. Extracellular vesicles RNA was analyzed by Nanostring. qRT-PCR confirmed 6 overexpressed microRNAs: hsa-miR-4443, hsa-miR-422a, hsa-miR-494-3p, hsa-miR-502-5p, hsa-miR-520f-3p, and hsa-miR-549a. Hsa-miR-4443 was the only microRNA that showed significant differences in most comparisons. In situ hybridization (ISH), confirmed that our signature was mostly expressed in cancer cells.Importantly, hsa-miR-549a and hsa-miR-502-5p expression predicted prognosis in patients with tumors of glial origin. Although more studies are needed, we demonstrated that serum vesicles microRNA profiles are promising diagnostic and prognostic molecular biomarkers that will find an actual application in the clinical practice of CNS tumors. Keywords: microRNA, CNS tumors, Serum, Biomarkers, Diagnosis, Prognosis

Background: Ewing Sarcoma (ES) and Neuroblastoma (NB) belong to a family of tumours of primitive neuroectodermal origin (PNET) that occurs in both bone and soft tissue. Notwithstanding ES and NB are two distinct malignant tumours, sometimes there could be a link between them. Case report: We describe a case of an extraosseous ES localized in the retrosternal region and the upper lobe of the right lung, which had been previously treated for NB in a 6 years old female. We treated this case with a clamshell approach which allows, in a one-step surgery, a complete excision of the mass reconstructing the hemysternectomy with a non-crosslinked matrix. Conclusion: the clamshell approach is therefore useful to achieve the retrosternal space and the lung with a single surgical access. According to our experience, we consider appropriate to use a non-crosslinked matrix for sternal reconstruction.