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Robot manipulators play a critical role in several industrial applications by providing high precision and accuracy. To perform these tasks, manipulator robots require the effective computation of inverse kinematics. Conventional methods to solve IK often encounter significant challenges, such as singularities, non-linear equations, and poor generalization across different robotic configurations. In this work, we propose a novel approach to solve the inverse kinematics (IK) problem in robotic manipulators using a metaheuristic algorithm enhanced with a Jacobian step. Our method overcomes those limitations by selectively applying the Jacobian step to the differential evolution (DE) algorithm. The effectiveness and versatility of the proposed approach are demonstrated through simulations and real-world experimentation on a 5 DOF KUKA robotic arm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Medical nutrition therapy provides the opportunity to compensate for muscle wasting and immune response activation during stress and trauma. The objective of this systematic review is to assess the safety and effectiveness of early enteral nutrition (EEN) in adults with sepsis or septic shock. METHODS: The MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov, and ICTRP tools were searched from inception until July 2023. Conference proceedings, the reference lists of included studies, and expert content were queried to identify additional publications. Two review authors completed the study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment; disagreements were resolved through discussion. Inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies (NRSs) comparing the administration of EEN with no or delayed enteral nutrition (DEE) in adult populations with sepsis or septic shock. RESULTS: Five RCTs (n = 442 participants) and ten NRSs (n = 3724 participants) were included. Low-certainty evidence from RCTs and NRSs suggests that patients receiving EEN could require fewer days of mechanical ventilation (MD −2.65; 95% CI, −4.44–0.86; and MD −2.94; 95% CI, −3.64–−2.23, respectively) and may show lower SOFA scores during follow-up (MD −1.64 points; 95% CI, −2.60–−0.68; and MD −1.08 points; 95% CI, −1.90–−0.26, respectively), albeit with an increased frequency of diarrhea episodes (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.115–4.34). Even though the patients with EEN show a lower in-hospital mortality rate both in RCTs (OR 0.69; 95% CI, 0.39–1.23) and NRSs (OR 0.89; 95% CI, 0.69–1.13), this difference does not achieve statistical significance. There were no apparent differences for other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Low-quality evidence suggests that EEN may be a safe and effective intervention for the management of critically ill patients with sepsis or septic shock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport sector is under scrutiny because of its significant greenhouse gas emissions. Essential strategies, particularly the adoption of zero- and low-emission vehicles powered by electricity, are crucial for mitigating emissions in road transport. Pickups, which are integral to Mexico's fleet, contribute to such emissions. Thus, implementing effective policies targeting pickups is vital for reducing air pollution and aligning with Mexico's decarbonization objectives. This paper presents a simulation model based on system dynamics to represent the adoption process of zero- and low-emission vehicles, with a focus on pickups and utilizing data from the Mexican case. Three policy evaluation scenarios are proposed based on the simulation model: business as usual; disincentives for zero- and low-emission vehicles; and incentives for unconventional vehicles. One of the most significant findings from this study is that even in a scenario with a greater number of vehicles in circulation, if the technology is fully electric, the environmental impact in terms of emissions is lower. Additionally, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis spanning a wide spectrum is undertaken through an extensive computational process, yielding multiple policy scenarios. The analysis indicates that to achieve a maximal reduction in the country's emissions, promoting solely hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles is advisable, whereas internal combustion engines, vehicular natural gas, and battery electric vehicles should be discouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selection of starter cultures with different technological profiles and suitable microclimatic conditions is among the main tools used to improve the technological quality and safety of dry-cured salami. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of two different starter cultures [fast (SR) and medium (SM) acidification] during the process and on the quality of typical Italian dry-cured "Salame Napoli". The ripening process was evaluated in dry-cured salami made with different cultures: Euroferment Medium (Staphylococcus xylosus, Lactobacillus plantarum) in SM and Euroferment Rapid (Staphylococcus carnosus, Staphylococcus xylosus, Lactobacillus sakei) in SR. The salami was stuffed in artificial casings, dried for 5 days and then ripened for 28 days at a controlled temperature of 12–14 °C and 80–90% RH. During the ripening process, an evaluation of the appearance, the pH, and the weight loss of the salami were conducted. For each finished product, the physical–chemical, microbiological, rheological, and sensory characteristics were evaluated. The results showed that the different starter cultures influenced the pH descent, which was faster in SR, reaching a pH value of 4.80 in three days. This influenced the consistency profile of the SR salami, which showed higher hardness (46.04 ± 6.53 in SR vs. 35.60 ± 2.62 in SM; p < 0.05) and gumminess (19.21 ± 3.44 in SR vs. 11.89 ± 0.71 in SM; p < 0.05) values. SR salami revealed a higher count of yeasts and a lower malondialdehyde concentration than SM. The presence of the starter in SM has positively affected the intensity of the aroma. The outcomes indicated the importance of selecting starter cultures to not only ensure food safety but also to obtain the desired sensorial characteristics of the product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The total phenolic, flavonoid, and anthocyanin contents were evaluated in 11 cultivars of Argentinian roses of different colors. HPLC-ESI-QTOF/MS was used to identify the components where ellagic and quinic acids, quercetin, and kaempferol glycosylated derivatives were found. The phenolic contents ranged from 78.8 ± 3.2 to 203.4 ± 3.1 mg GAE/g dw, the flavonoid content ranged from 19.1 ± 3.8 to 125.9 ± 6.5 mg QE/g dw, and the anthocyanin content ranged from less than 0.01 to 5.8 ± 0.1 mg CE/g dw. The dark red cultivars exhibited the greatest levels of the analyzed compounds and of the antioxidant activities, even higher than those of certain plants known for their high phenolic contents and antioxidant activity. Moreover, the addition of these extracts decreased the population of L. innocua and P. aeruginosa to undetectable levels 24 h after inoculation. Rose petal extracts, mainly those with a dark red color, can be used as natural additives in food, feed, and cosmetics, as they contain a high proportion of bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, many efforts have provided remarkable contributions to construction planning and control processes during work execution. Nevertheless, frequent coordination issues among stakeholders and difficulties in dealing with unexpected events can be explained by the complexity featuring the construction sector. Several approaches to deal with this issue were investigated in the manufacturing area, among which this paper looks at the holonic approach as one of the most promising strategies. This study first analyzes the more fragmented and dynamic nature of the construction industry as compared with the manufacturing one. Secondly, it suggests developing a process-based holonic construction management system based on building information modeling (BIM) and a conceptual architecture for manufacturing control called Product Resource Order Staff Architecture (PROSA). The process-based paradigm ensures exploiting the benefits of BIM towards the development of sustainable and efficient regeneration methods of the built environment. Subsequently, a first management system prototype was developed and tested for the purpose of renovation works management. For the first time, results from an actual implementation of PROSA were applied to a real construction site, and its feasibility was assessed using the data on the field. Key performance indicators (KPIs) evaluated during the onsite demonstration confirmed a good performance of PROSA and the presented holonic approach, which contributed to the overall success of the energy efficient refurbishment project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon (C) in gaseous form is a component of several greenhouse gases emitted during the combustion of fossil fuels. C movement between the atmosphere, land (biosphere and lithosphere), and ocean (hydrosphere) alters the total amount in each pool. Human activities accelerate C movement into the atmosphere, causing increases in temperature. This shift from terrestrial and oceanic C pools to the atmosphere causes an increase in the intensity, frequency, and duration of catastrophic climate disturbances. Although society hears and reads about C emissions, there is a lack of understanding of its importance and the need to decrease it in the atmospheric pool to avoid exacerbating climate change. Forests and biochar are two biological methods to retain C in the terrestrial pool for a long time and at a very low cost. However, forest harvesting, the use of woody biomass as a source of renewable C for different applications, and the relationship with decreasing C emissions have created a highly controversial topic among governments, the scientific community, society in general, and social groups. The main objective of this review is to highlight the importance of C, forests, and biochar, including the benefits of C sequestration to decrease the impacts of climate change and promote sustainable forests and healthy soils in the future. The main findings show strong evidence that climate-smart forest management practices are an efficient option for managing C and increasing C stocks. This review suggests that forest management mitigation actions are another efficient C management approach with high potential. The findings show that biochar is a climate-smart tool that contributes to climate change mitigation by increasing soil carbon sequestration and reducing soil GHG emissions, including other associated benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in adults. Prevention of the ischaemic risk with oral anticoagulants (OACs) is widely recommended, and current clinical guidelines recommend direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) as preference therapy for stroke prevention. However, there are currently no clinical practice guidelines or recommendation documents on the optimal management of OACs in patients with AF that specifically address and adapt to the Central American and Caribbean context. The aim of this Delphi-like study is to respond to doubts that may arise in the management of OACs in patients with non-valvular AF in this geographical area. A consensus project was performed on the basis of a systematic review of the literature, a recommended ADOLOPMENT-like approach, and the application of a two-round Delphi survey. In the first round, 31 recommendations were evaluated and 30 reached consensus, of which, 10 unanimously agreed. The study assessed expert opinions in a wide variety of contextualized recommendations for the optimal management of DOACs in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). There is a broad consensus on the clinical practice guideline (CPG) statements used related to anticoagulation indication, patient follow-up, anticoagulation therapy complications, COVID-19 management and prevention, and cardiac interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrolysis is a combustion process of woody biomass conducted under low or no oxygen conditions. It converts any kind of biomass into biochar, bio-oil, or biogas. Hence plants' woody material can also be converted into bioenergy products. Valorization of woody biomass in the form of energy-rich compound biochar is a more sustainable technique as compared to conventional burning which leads to toxicity to the environment. Innovations and the need to limit open burning have resulted in numerous mobile and fixed plant pyrolysis methods that burn a variety of woody residues. Production technologies that reduce the need for open burning, the main source of potential pollutants, fall under the regulations in the Clean Air Act of 1990. This Act is the legal instrument to regulate air pollution at its source across the United States of America and it is implemented and enforced through the Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with sister agencies. One newer innovation for reducing wood residues and emissions is an air curtain incinerator. Currently, the Clean Air Act regulates stationary solid waste incinerators, and this is also applied to mobile air curtain incinerators burning woody biomass. However, other woody biochar production methods (e.g., flame cap kilns) are not subjected to these regulations. Discrepancies in the interpretation of definitions related to incineration and pyrolysis and the myriad of differences related to stationary and mobile air curtain incinerators, type of waste wood from construction activities, forest residues, and other types of clean wood make the permit regulations confusing as permits can vary by jurisdiction. This review summarizes the current policies, regulations, and directives related to in-woods biochar production and the required permits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, many artificial intelligence (AI) techniques have been used to solve various problems in sustainable energy (SE). Consequently, an increasing volume of research has been devoted to this topic, making it difficult for researchers to keep abreast of its developments. This paper analyzes 18,715 articles—about AI techniques used for SE—indexed in Scopus and published from 2013 to 2022, which were retrieved and selected following a novel iterative methodology. Besides calculating basic bibliometric indicators, we used clustering techniques and a co-occurrence analysis of author keywords to discover and characterize dominant themes in the literature. As a result, we found eight dominant themes in SE (solar energy, smart grids and microgrids, fuel cells, hydrogen, electric vehicles, biofuels, wind energy, and energy planning) and nine dominant techniques in AI (genetic algorithms, support vector machines, particle swarm optimization, differential evolution, classical neural networks, fuzzy logic controllers, reinforcement learning, deep learning, and multi-objective optimization). Each dominant theme is discussed in detail, highlighting the most relevant work and contributions. Finally, we identified the AI techniques most widely used in each SE area to solve its specific problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate and quantify, in vitro, the extent of coronal discoloration induced by bioceramic materials over time. In total, 44 human monoradicular teeth were divided into four groups (n = 11), according to the applied material: Negative control (NC); White MTA ProRoot® (WMTAP); Biodentine™ (BD); and TotalFill® BC RRM™ Putty (TF). Teeth were immersed in saline solution and incubated at 37 °C; the following periods of time were defined: before incubation: [t0]—without bioceramic material, t1—immediately after the bioceramic material placement; after incubation: t24h—24 h, t7d—7 days, and 30d—30 days. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis were performed. Cochran's Q test was used to evaluate coronal discoloration across the different groups, while the Kruskal–Wallis test was employed to determine differences in discoloration among the groups at each time interval. Additionally, the Friedman test was applied to analyze the variations in discoloration within each group over time. A significance level of 5% was set. All experimental groups revealed coronal discoloration over time: NC (p = 0.001), WMTAP (p < 0.001), BD (p = 0.001), and TF (p = 0.006). No significant differences were observed between groups for each time interval (p > 0.05). The WMTAP group varied the most considering the intervals [t0—t1] and [t24h—t7d] (p = 0.037) compared to the remaining experimental groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well-known that part of the neural networks capacity is determined by their topology and the employed training process. How a neural network should be designed and how it should be updated every time that new data is acquired, is an issue that remains open since it its usually limited to a process of trial and error, based mainly on the experience of the designer. To address this issue, an algorithm that provides plasticity to recurrent neural networks (RNN) applied to time series forecasting is proposed. A decision-making grow and prune paradigm is created, based on the calculation of the data's order, indicating in which situations during the re-training process (when new data is received), should the network increase or decrease its connections, giving as a result a dynamic architecture that can facilitate the design and implementation of the network, as well as improve its behavior. The proposed algorithm was tested with some time series of the M4 forecasting competition, using Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) models. Better results were obtained for most of the tests, with new models both larger and smaller than their static versions, showing an average improvement of up to 18%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Survival of patients with multiple myeloma continues to improve over time in parallel with the development of new treatments. The combination of novel agents in the first-line setting appears to be the main factor driving improvement, resulting in overall survival (OS) of more than 12 and 8 years in patients aged ≤ 70 and >70 years, respectively. In addition, different baseline characteristics have been identified that favorably affected the probability of long-term survival (≥10 years) compared with early death (≤2 years). Therefore, we could conclude that multiple myeloma has become a chronic and even curable disease, in a subset of patients with the current therapeutic approaches. (1) Background: New therapeutic strategies have improved the prognosis of multiple myeloma (MM), changing the accepted view of this disease from being incurable to treatable. (2) Methods: We studied 1001 patients with MM between 1980 and 2020, grouping patients into ten-year periods by diagnosis 1980–1990, 1991–2000, 2001–2010 and 2011–2020. (3) Results: After 65.1 months of follow-up, the median OS of the cohort was 60.3 months, and OS increased significantly over time: 22.4 months in 1980–1990, 37.4 months in 1991–2000, 61.8 months in 2001–2010 and 103.6 months in 2011–2020 (p < 0.001). Using novel agents in the front-line setting for myeloma patients yielded a significantly better OS than in those treated with conventional therapies, especially when combinations of at least two novel agents were used. The median OS of patients treated with the combination of at least two novel agents in induction was significantly prolonged compared to those treated with a single novel agent or conventional therapy in induction: 143.3 vs. 61.0 vs. 42.2 months (p < 0.001). The improvement was apparent in all patients regardless of age at diagnosis. In addition, 132 (13.2%) patients were long-term survivors (median OS ≥ 10 years). Some independent clinical predictors of long-term survival were identified: ECOG < 1, age at diagnosis ≤ 65 years, non-IgA subtype, ISS-1 and standard-risk cytogenetic. Achieving CR and undergoing ASCT were positively associated with >10 years of survival. (4) Conclusions: The combination of novel agents appears to be the main factor for the improvement in survival in MM, which is becoming a chronic and even curable disease in a subtype of patients without high-risk features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Veterinary drugs are frequently employed to treat and prevent diseases in food-producing animals to improve animal health and to avoid the introduction of microorganisms into the food chain. The analysis of the presence of pharmaceutical residues in animal manure could help to evaluate the legal and illegal practices during food production without harming the animals and to correctly manage manure when it is going to be applied as a fertilizer. This article describes a method for the simultaneous analysis of 29 active substances, mostly antibiotics and antiparasitic agents. Substances were extracted from lyophilized manure with a methanol:McIlvaine solution and analyzed with HPLC–ESI-MS/MS and a C18 HPLC column. The method was validated following European guidelines, the achieved trueness was between 63 and 128% (depending on the analytes), and the linearity was between 100 and 1500 µg/kg. The applicability of the method was demonstrated in 40 manure samples collected from pig farms where tetracycline was quantified in 7.5% of the samples. These results show the viability of this non-invasive method for the control of the legal and illegal administration of pharmaceuticals in food-producing animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents an approach to solving the inverse kinematics of mobile dual-arm robots based on metaheuristic optimization algorithms. First, a kinematic analysis of a mobile dual-arm robot is presented. Second, an objective function is formulated based on the forward kinematics equations. The kinematic analysis does not require using any Jacobian matrix nor its estimation; for this reason, the proposed approach does not suffer from singularities, which is a common problem with conventional inverse kinematics algorithms. Moreover, the proposed method solves cooperative manipulation tasks, especially in the case of coordinated manipulation. Simulation and real-world experiments were performed to verify the proposal's effectiveness under coordinated inverse kinematics and trajectory tracking tasks. The experimental setup considered a mobile dual-arm system based on the KUKA® Youbot® robot. The solution of the inverse kinematics showed precise and accurate results. Although the proposed approach focuses on coordinated manipulation, it can be implemented to solve non-coordinated tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Somatotropin is a species-specific polypeptide hormone produced in the pituitary gland of vertebrates. When administered exogenously to cattle, it can increase milk yield. However, the trade and administration of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) to farm animals have been banned in the European Union (EU). Aside from food safety issues, very little is known about the effects of this hormone on milk composition and quality. In this work, a wide profile of fatty acids (the so-called fatty acidome) was determined by GC-FID in raw milk collected from control and rbST-treated lactating cows in a multidose longitudinal study. Milk composition (lactose, protein, fat, dry matter), including minerals (Ca, K, Mg, Na, P), was also determined, and milk yield was recorded. A tendency toward a less saturated profile was observed in the milk collected from animals treated with rbST, with higher concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids. In addition, less calcium and potassium and more lactose and protein content were observed in milk from treated animals than in regular milk. As a result of this multicomponent profiling of milk, a clear impact of somatotropin treatment on milk quality was observed. The obtained results should be particularly interesting for those countries that permit the use of this hormone in dairy production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to a sustainable construction design management approach to increase the successful renovation rate of existing residential building stock. Indeed, coupling BIM with mixed reality can speed up and improve the quality of the renovation design processes, because it can display virtual models of alternative design scenarios superimposed over the existing physical facility. To this purpose, a sample of technicians was enrolled to test the reliability of this technology. A prototype was developed that enables cooperation among stakeholders and the implementation of an efficient workflow. The volunteers carried out real-life tests in a building demonstrator in Caceres (Spain) and filled in two questionnaires with their feedback. The results showed that an MR-based platform can involve interested stakeholders in the assessment of renovation design projects, that speeds up the decision-making process and increases the quality of those projects. Moreover, technicians can master the technology quickly, provided that it is included in the current renovation workflow and some technology gaps are covered. However, the main limitations of this study are that these findings are valid for building renovation design only, and the tests were performed in a controlled, yet full scale, experimental environment. Finally, this paper deals with a few open technical issues, such as the efficient alignment of holograms, transformation of BIM models into a format suitable for mixed reality applications and sharing feedbacks in an on-line repository to foster collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using woody biomass from public lands could attract private investments, increase carbon dioxide emission reductions from sustainably harvested low-grade wood to mitigate climate change, provide benefits for the environment, and support rural community economies. Available for use are about 210 million oven dry tons (in the western U.S. alone) of small-diameter wood and harvest residues that could be removed through hazard-fuel treatments and used for bioenergy and bioproducts; representing an economic value of approximately USD 5.97 billion (109). Reaching that utilization goal requires an assessment of current U.S. policies, regulations and directives influencing the use of forest biomass and identification of barriers, challenges, and potential opportunities associated with the use of woody biomass from public lands. One objective of this review is to support the implementation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USDA-FS) new effort called "Confronting the Wildfire Crisis: A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving Resilience in America's Forests", but greater coordination of public policies (regulatory legislation, government subsidies, support programs) at different government levels could increase adoption of forest biomass for bioenergy and bioproducts while also promoting different supply chains for long-term biomass supplies and industry investments. Harmonizing the definition of key biomass terms used by different programs that support using forest biomass for bioenergy and other bioproducts, including the Renewable Fuel Standard, may increase forest biomass use from public lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functionality of breast milk in terms of immunity is well-known. Despite this, a significant proportion of breastfed infants exhibit sensitization to different potentially allergenic proteins and clinical reactivity (including anaphylaxis) early in life and before the introduction of complementary feeding for the first time. The potential induction of early oral tolerance to overcome early allergic sensitization through exposure to allergens in breast milk also remains controversial and not yet well-established. The objective of this scoping review is to provide a critical appraisal of knowledge about the content of cow's milk antigens in human milk. The amount of dietary derived milk antigens found in human milk and the analytical methodologies used to detect and quantify these antigens, the allergic status of the mother, the stage of lactation, the time of sampling (before or after ingestion of food), and the impact of human milk allergen on the infant were the outcomes that were assessed. Allergy risk was explored in all reviewed studies and could help to better elucidate its role in the context of allergic disease development. According to the included literature, we can conclude that there are mainly fragments derived from bovine proteins in human milk, and the presence of potentially allergenic molecules is greater in the milk of mothers with an allergic tendency. A clear relationship between maternal diet and allergen content in breast milk could not be firmly concluded though. Also, infants receiving milk from human milk banks, where donor milk is pasteurized for preservation, may be subject to greater risk of allergy development, especially for β-lactoglobulin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study is to develop a novel green-nanofluid from Sapindus Saponaria for its application in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. The bio-nanofluid is composed of a green active compound (AGC), bio-ethanol, and commercial surfactant (SB) at a low concentration. The AGC was obtained from soapberry "Sapindus Saponaria" using the alcoholic extraction method and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and critical micellar concentration (CMC) to verify the content of saponins as active agents with surface-active behavior. Three types of silica-based nanoparticles were used and characterized by FTIR, TGA, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. Two commercial nanoparticles (SiO2-C1 and SiO2-C2) were evaluated, and a third one (SiO2-RH) was synthesized from rice husks as an ecological nanomaterial alternative. The performance of the adjusted systems was evaluated by capillary number (effective interfacial tension ( σ e ), wettability and viscosity) and finally with coreflooding tests under reservoir conditions. The FTIR results confirm the presence of saponins in the AGC. In addition, according to the TGA, the AGC is stable under the reservoir temperature of interest. Regarding nanoparticles, siloxane and silanol groups were observed in all samples. For SiO2-C1 and SiO2-C2 samples, the weight loss was lower than 5% for temperatures up to 700 °C. Meanwhile, SiO2-RH had a weight loss of 12% at 800 °C, and 8% at reservoir temperature. Results show a decrease in the interfacial tension (IFT) of up to 83% of the tuned system with only 100 mg·L−1 of rice husk nanoparticles compared to the system without nanoparticles, reaching values of 1.60 × 10−1 mN·m−1. In the coreflooding test, increases of up to 13% of additional crude oil were obtained using the best bio-nanofluid. This work presents an excellent opportunity to include green alternatives to improve conventional techniques with added value during the injection of chemicals in chemical-enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new pruning strategy based on the neuroplasticity of biological neural networks is presented. The novel pruning algorithm proposed is inspired by the knowledge remapping ability after injuries in the cerebral cortex. Thus, it is proposed to simulate induced injuries into the network by pruning full convolutional layers or entire blocks, assuming that the knowledge from the removed segments of the network may be remapped and compressed during the recovery (retraining) process. To reconnect the remaining segments of the network, a translator block is introduced. The translator is composed of a pooling layer and a convolutional layer. The pooling layer is optional and placed to ensure that the spatial dimension of the feature maps matches across the pruned segments. After that, a convolutional layer (simulating the intact cortex) is placed to ensure that the depth of the feature maps matches and is used to remap the removed knowledge. As a result, lightweight, efficient and accurate sub-networks are created from the base models. Comparison analysis shows that in our approach is not necessary to define a threshold or metric as the criterion to prune the network in contrast to other pruning methods. Instead, only the origin and destination of the prune and reconnection points must be determined for the translator connection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the complexity of manipulator robots, the trajectory tracking task is very challenging. Most of the current algorithms depend on the robot structure or its number of degrees of freedom (DOF). Furthermore, the most popular methods use a Jacobian matrix that suffers from singularities. In this work, the authors propose a general method to solve the trajectory tracking of robot manipulators using metaheuristic optimization methods. The proposed method can be used to find the best joint configuration to minimize the end-effector position and orientation in 3D, for robots with any number of DOF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The robotic mapping problem, which consists in providing a spatial model of the environment to a robot, is a research topic with a wide range of applications. One important challenge of this problem is to obtain a map that is information-rich (i.e., a map that preserves main structures of the environment and object shapes) yet still has a low memory cost. Point clouds offer a highly descriptive and information-rich environmental representation; accordingly, many algorithms have been developed to approximate point clouds and lower the memory cost. In recent years, approaches using basic and "simple" (i.e., using only planes or spheres) geometric entities for approximating point clouds have been shown to provide accurate representations at low memory cost. However, a better approximation can be implemented if more complex geometric entities are used. In the present paper, a new object-mapping algorithm is introduced for approximating point clouds with multiple ellipsoids and other quadratic surfaces. We show that this algorithm creates maps that are rich in information yet low in memory cost and have features suitable for other robotics problems such as navigation and pose estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) in dairy cattle is forbidden in the European Union. Due to the very low circulating concentration of rbST in treated animals, its direct detection is still a challenge. Therefore, the use of indirect methods to detect the ab(use) of rbST in dairy cattle appears as a good alternative. In the past few years, gene expression demonstrated its utility in screening the use of illicit substances in both humans and animals. In this study, a comparison of three types of matrices (milk somatic cells, blood, and hair follicles) was carried out to evaluate their potential use for routine control of rbST using 15 gene-expression profiles. A total of six rbST-treated cows and three control cows were included in the study. A subcutaneous injection containing 500 mg of rbST was administered to the treated group. Samples of the three matrices were collected before rbST administration, and at three and nine days after treatment. The quality of RNA extracted was higher in the blood and hair-follicle samples than in the milk somatic cells. In the three matrices, there were significant differences in the expression of some genes, with milk somatic cells and blood presenting the the best matrices. On this note, the cyclin D1 (CCND1), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1b), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) genes showed potential as biomarkers of rbST treatment. Therefore, blood, somatic cells, and follicle hair should be considered as promising sources of RNA, and can be used in gene-expression assays to routinely control the illicit use of rbST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: This work presents a time-efficient and parallel encryption algorithm that is suitable for encrypting a significant amount of data, and that could be used to encrypt Hyperspectral Images and Hyperspectral video in real-time for remote sensing, classification, object recognition, earth monitoring, security and medical applications. Hyperspectral images (HI) collect information from across the electromagnetic spectrum, and they are an essential tool for identifying materials, recognizing processes and finding objects. However, the information on an HI could be sensitive and must to be protected. Although there are many encryption schemes for images and raw data, there are not specific schemes for HI. In this paper, we introduce the idea of crossed chaotic systems and we present an ad hoc parallel crossed chaotic encryption algorithm for HI, in which we take advantage of the multidimensionality nature of the HI. Consequently, we obtain a faster encryption algorithm and with a higher entropy result than others state of the art chaotic schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, there are several meta-heuristics algorithms which offer solutions for multi-variate optimization problems. These algorithms use a population of candidate solutions which explore the search space, where the leadership plays a big role in the exploration-exploitation equilibrium. In this work, we propose to use a Germinal Center Optimization algorithm (GCO) which implements temporal leadership through modeling a non-uniform competitive-based distribution for particle selection. GCO is used to find an optimal set of parameters for a neural inverse optimal control applied to all-terrain tracked robot. In the Neural Inverse Optimal Control (NIOC) scheme, a neural identifier, based on Recurrent High Orden Neural Network (RHONN) trained with an extended kalman filter algorithm, is used to obtain a model of the system, then, a control law is design using such model with the inverse optimal control approach. The RHONN identifier is developed without knowledge of the plant model or its parameters, on the other hand, the inverse optimal control is designed for tracking velocity references. Applicability of the proposed scheme is illustrated using simulations results as well as real-time experimental results with an all-terrain tracked robot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmonella spp. is a major food-borne pathogen around the world. The ability of Salmonella to produce biofilm is one of the main obstacles in reducing the prevalence of these bacteria in the food chain. Most of Salmonella biofilm studies found in the literature used laboratory growth media. However, in the food chain, food residues are the principal source of nutrients of Salmonella. In this study, the biofilm formation, morphotype, and motility of 13 Salmonella strains belonging to three different subspecies and isolated from poultry houses was evaluated. To simulate food chain conditions, four different growth media (Tryptic Soy Broth at 1/20 dilution, milk at 1/20 dilution, tomato juice, and chicken meat juice), two different surfaces (stainless steel and polystyrene) and two temperatures (6 °C and 22 °C) were used to evaluate the biofilm formation. The morphotype, motility, and biofilm formation of Salmonella was temperature-dependent. Biofilm formation was significantly higher with 1/20 Tryptic Soy Broth in all the surfaces and temperatures tested, in comparison with the other growth media. The laboratory growth medium 1/20 Tryptic Soy Broth enhanced biofilm formation in Salmonella. This could explain the great differences in biofilm formation found between this growth medium and food residues. However, Salmonella strains were able to produce biofilm on the presence of food residues in all the conditions tested. Therefore, the Salmonella strain can use food residues to produce biofilm on common surfaces of the food chain. More studies combining more strains and food residues are necessary to fully understand the mechanism used by Salmonella to produce biofilm on the presence of these sources of nutrients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have gained significant attention. However, we face two major drawbacks when working with UAVs: high nonlinearities and unknown position in 3D space since it is not provided with on-board sensors that can measure its position with respect to a global coordinate system. In this paper, we present a real-time implementation of a servo control, integrating vision sensors, with a neural proportional integral derivative (PID), in order to develop an hexarotor image based visual servo control (IBVS) that knows the position of the robot by using a velocity vector as a reference to control the hexarotor position. This integration requires a tight coordination between control algorithms, models of the system to be controlled, sensors, hardware and software platforms and well-defined interfaces, to allow the real-time implementation, as well as the design of different processing stages with their respective communication architecture. All of these issues and others provoke the idea that real-time implementations can be considered as a difficult task. For the purpose of showing the effectiveness of the sensor integration and control algorithm to address these issues on a high nonlinear system with noisy sensors as cameras, experiments were performed on the Asctec Firefly on-board computer, including both simulation and experimenta results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of medicated feed is a common practice in animal food production to improve animal health. Tetracyclines and β-Lactams are the groups that are most frequently added to this type of feed. The measurement of the concentration of the analytes in these types of samples is sometimes due to the matrix characteristic, and manufacturers are demanding fast, precise and reproducible methods. A rapid confirmatory method based on a simple extraction protocol using acidified methanol and followed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer for the quantification of four tetracyclines in feed is presented. Validation was performed following the guidelines of Decision 2002/657/EC. Results indicated that the four tetracyclines can be identified and quantified in a concentration range between 50 and 500 mg/kg with recoveries between 84% and 109% and RSD for precision under reproducible conditions between 12% and 16%. Satisfactory results were also obtained with interlaboratory studies and by comparing the method with an HPLC-Fluorescent method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New studies are emerging to reduce energy costs and become a more sustainable society. One of the processes where the greatest savings can be made is in cooking, due to its large-scale global use. In this vein, this study aims to analyse the influence of the vessel in the thermal efficiency at the cooking process. For that purpose, a numerical model of a cooking vessel was designed and validated with three different experimental heating tests. One of the key factors of the process is the contact between the vessel and the glass, therefore, two new approaches to model the thermal contact between the vessel and the cooktop were explored. Once the numerical models were calibrated, a full factorial analysis was performed to quantify the influence of the key parameters of the vessel in the heating process during cooking (thermal conductivity, specific heat, convection and radiation coefficients, and vessel concavity). Two of the most influential parameters in the heating process are the conductivity and the thermal contact between the vessel and the glass. Higher cooking efficiency can be achieved both with a low thermal conductivity vessel and with a high concavity, i.e., increasing the isolation between the vessel and the glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work analyzes the response of the electricity market to varied renewable and nonrenewable installed capacity scenarios while taking into account the variability of renewables due to seasonality and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) episodes. A hybrid system dynamics/dynamic systems (SD/DS) model was developed by first deriving an SD hypothesis and stock-flow structure from the Colombian electricity supply and demand dynamics. The model's dynamic behavior was then transformed into a Simulink model and analyzed using the DS tools of bifurcation and control theory to provide deeper insights into the system, both from a Colombian perspective and from the perspective of other market scenarios. Applying the developed hybrid model to the Colombian electricity market provided a detailed description of its dynamics under a broad range of permanent (fossil fuel) and variable (renewable) installed capacity scenarios, including a number of counterintuitive insights. Greater shares of permanent capacity were found to guarantee the security of supply and system robustness in the short-term (2021–2029), whereas greater shares of variable capacity make the system more vulnerable to increased prices and blackouts, especially in the long-term (2040–2050). These critical situations can be avoided only if additional capacity from either conventional or non-conventional generation is quickly installed. Overall, the methodology proposed for building the hybrid SD/DS model was found to provide deeper insights and a broader spectrum of analysis than traditional SD model analysis, and thus can be exploited by policy makers to suggest improvements in their respective market structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimicrobial resistance has become one of the major global public health concerns, and it is indispensable to search for alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Recently, antimicrobial peptides have received great attention because of their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity at relatively low concentrations, even against pathogens such as Salmonella enterica, which is responsible for most food-borne illnesses. This work aimed at evaluating the antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity of the innate defense peptide, named 1018-K6, against S. enterica. A total of 42 strains, belonging to three different subspecies and 32 serotypes, were included in this study. The antibiotic resistance profile of all the strains and the cytotoxic effects of 1018-K6 on mammalian fibroblast cells were also investigated. Results revealed that MIC (minimum inhibitory concentrations) and MBC (minimum bactericidal concentrations) values were in the ranges of 8–64 μg/mL and 16–128 μg/mL, respectively, although most strains (97%) showed MICs between 16 and 32 μg/mL. Moreover, sub-inhibitory concentrations of 1018-K6 strongly reduced the biofilm formation in several S. enterica strains, whatever the initial inoculum size. Our results demonstrated that 1018-K6 is able to control and manage S. enterica growth with a large potential for applications in the fields of active packaging and water disinfectants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infections caused by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii would benefit from the development of novel treatment approaches. Compounds that interfere with bacterial iron metabolism, such as iron chelators and gallium nitrate, have previously been shown to have antimicrobial activity against A. baumannii. In this study, we characterize the effect of LpxC inhibitors on the antimicrobial activity of previously characterized iron chelators, 2,2′-bipyridyl (BIP) and deferiprone (DFP), and gallium nitrate (Ga(NO3)3) against A. baumannii reference strains and multidrug-resistant clinical isolates. The LpxC inhibitor LpxC-2 was synergistic with BIP for 30% of strains tested (FICI values: 0.38–1.02), whereas inhibition with LpxC-4 was synergistic with BIP for 60% of strains tested (FICI values: 0.09–0.75). In time–kill assays, combinations of BIP with both LpxC inhibitors demonstrated synergistic activity, with a more than 3 log10 reduction in bacterial counts compared to BIP alone. LpxC-2 was synergistic with Ga(NO3)3 for 50% of strains tested (FICI values: 0.27–1.0), whereas LpxC-4 was synergistic with Ga(NO3)3 for all strains tested (FICI values: 0.08–≤0.50). In time–kill assays, combinations of Ga(NO3)3 with LpxC-2 and LpxC-4 decreased the growth of both strains compared to each compound separately; however, only the combination with LpxC-4 met the defined criteria for synergy. These results identify a novel synergy between two antimicrobial classes against A. baumannii strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are two main strategies for antibiotic discovery: target-based and phenotypic screening. The latter has been much more successful in delivering first-in-class antibiotics, despite the major bottleneck of delayed Mechanism-of-Action (MOA) identification. Although finding new antimicrobial compounds is a very challenging task, identifying their MOA has proven equally challenging. MOA identification is important because it is a great facilitator of lead optimization and improves the chances of commercialization. Moreover, the ability to rapidly detect MOA could enable a shift from an activity-based discovery paradigm towards a mechanism-based approach. This would allow to probe the grey chemical matter, an underexplored source of structural novelty. In this study we review techniques with throughput suitable to screen large libraries and sufficient sensitivity to distinguish MOA. In particular, the techniques used in chemical genetics (e.g., based on overexpression and knockout/knockdown collections), promoter-reporter libraries, transcriptomics (e.g., using microarrays and RNA sequencing), proteomics (e.g., either gel-based or gel-free techniques), metabolomics (e.g., resourcing to nuclear magnetic resonance or mass spectrometry techniques), bacterial cytological profiling, and vibrational spectroscopy (e.g., Fourier-transform infrared or Raman scattering spectroscopy) were discussed. Ultimately, new and reinvigorated phenotypic assays bring renewed hope in the discovery of a new generation of antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in 2019, it has remained a significant global threat, especially with the newly evolved variants. Despite the presence of different COVID-19 vaccines, the discovery of proper antiviral therapeutics is an urgent necessity. Nature is considered as a historical trove for drug discovery, especially in global crises. During our efforts to discover potential anti-SARS CoV-2 natural therapeutics, screening our in-house natural products and plant crude extracts library led to the identification of C. benedictus extract as a promising candidate. To find out the main chemical constituents responsible for the extract's antiviral activity, we utilized recently reported SARS CoV-2 structural information in comprehensive in silico investigations (e.g., ensemble docking and physics-based molecular modeling). As a result, we constructed protein–protein and protein–compound interaction networks that suggest cnicin as the most promising anti-SARS CoV-2 hit that might inhibit viral multi-targets. The subsequent in vitro validation confirmed that cnicin could impede the viral replication of SARS CoV-2 in a dose-dependent manner, with an IC50 value of 1.18 µg/mL. Furthermore, drug-like property calculations strongly recommended cnicin for further in vivo and clinical experiments. The present investigation highlighted natural products as crucial and readily available sources for developing antiviral therapeutics. Additionally, it revealed the key contributions of bioinformatics and computer-aided modeling tools in accelerating the discovery rate of potential therapeutics, particularly in emergency times like the current COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this randomized, controlled clinical trial was to isolate and identify viable microorganisms in the saliva of study participants that continuously used a stannous and fluoride ion (F/Sn)-containing toothpaste and mouth rinse over a period of three years in comparison to a control group that used stannous ion free preparations (noF/Sn) over the same time period. Each group (F/Sn and noF/Sn) included 16 participants that used the respective oral hygiene products over a 36-month period. Stimulated saliva samples were collected at baseline (T0) and after 36 months (T1) from all participants for microbiological examination. The microbial composition of the samples was analyzed using culture technique, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight (MALDI–TOF) mass spectrometry, and 16S rDNA Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). There were only minor differences between both groups when comparing the absolute values of viable microbiota and bacterial composition. The treatment with F/Sn led to a slight decrease in disease-associated and a slight increase in health-associated bacteria. It was shown that the use of stannous ions had no negative effects on physiological oral microbiota even after prolonged use. In fact, a stabilizing effect of the oral hygiene products containing stannous ions on the health-associated oral microbiota could be expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The insect gut is home to a wide range of microorganisms, including several bacterial species. Such bacterial symbionts provide various benefits to their insect hosts. One of such services is providing metabolites that resist infections. Little data are available about gut-inhabiting bacteria for several insect groups. Through the present work, the gut bacteria associated with the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana L.) were isolated, identified, and studied for their potential antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) human pathogens. The cockroaches were collected from three different environmental sites. Gut bacteria were isolated, and sixteen species of bacteria were identified using Vitek MALDI-TOF MS. The antagonistic activity of the identified bacteria was tested against a panel of multidrug-resistant bacteria and fungi, namely: methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (clinical isolate), Streptococcus mutans Clarke (RCMB 017(1) ATCC ® 25175™) (Gram-positive bacteria), Enterobacter cloacae (RCMB 001(1) ATCC® 23355™) and Salmonella enterica (ATCC® 25566™) (Gram-negative bacteria). The isolates were also tested against human pathogenic fungi such as Candida albicans (RCMB005003(1) ATCC® 10231™), Aspergillus niger (RCMB002005), Aspergillus fumigatus (RCMB002008), Aspergillus flavus (RCMB002002), and Penicillium italicum (RCMB 001018(1) IMI193019). The results indicated that some bacterial species from the cockroach gut could antagonize the growth activity of all the tested pathogens. Such antimicrobial properties could ultimately lead to the future development of therapeutic drugs. The evaluation and mode of action of antagonistic gut bacteria against the most affected MDR pathogens were demonstrated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this randomized, controlled, double-blinded clinical trial was to examine the additional healing effect of transgingival visible light and water-filtered infrared-A (VIS + wIRA) in the treatment of periodontitis patients compared with the standard therapy by subgingival instrumentation (SI). Therefore, forty patients with untreated periodontitis received a non-surgical periodontal treatment. Using a split-mouth study design, one quadrant of the upper jaw was randomly either exposed to VIS + wIRA four times for 20 min within two weeks in addition to SI or received only SI. Three and 6 months after intervention, clinical parameters (probing depths (PDs), clinical attachment level, bleeding on probing (BOP), furcation, tooth mobility, plaque control record, and papilla bleeding index) were re-evaluated. In the presence of PD of 4 mm and positive BOP or PD > 4 mm, SI was performed again. Moreover, the patients were asked about their discomfort using a visual analog scale from 1 to 10 for each side of the maxilla. Statistical analysis demonstrated no differences between quadrants at re-evaluation for clinical parameters (p > 0.05) after 3 and 6 months. Concerning pain perception, patients described less pain on the irradiated side (p = 0.016). In the treatment of patients with periodontitis, VIS + wIRA did not show an additional effect on the clinical outcome after 3 and 6 months. Patients described less pain on the irradiated quadrant after treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New strategies to eradicate endodontic biofilms are needed. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of high-purity nisin alone and in combination with D-amino acids (D-AAs) or chlorhexidine (CHX) against an "endodontic-like" biofilm model. Biofilms were grown on hydroxyapatite discs for 64 h and treated with nisin, eight D-AAs mixture, nisin + eight D-AAs, 2% CHX, and nisin + 2% CHX. After the 5 min and 24 h treatments, biofilm cells were harvested and total colony-forming units were counted. Differences between groups were tested by two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's multiple comparisons test (p < 0.05). Nisin and D-AAs, alone or in combination, were not effective in reducing bacteria after short or long exposure times. After 5 min, treatment with 2% CHX and nisin + 2% CHX resulted in 2 and 2.4-log cell reduction, respectively, compared with the no treatment control (p < 0.001). After 24 h, 2% CHX and nisin + 2% CHX drastically reduced bacterial counts. In conclusion, high-purity nisin alone or in combination with D-AAs did not show antibacterial activity against multispecies biofilms. Moreover, combined treatment using nisin and CHX showed similar antibiofilm activity compared with the use of CHX alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nine new complexes with camphor imine or camphor sulfonimine ligands were synthesized and analytically and spectroscopically characterized, aiming to identify the key parameters that drive the antibacterial activity of the complexes with metal cores and imine substituents with distinct electronic and steric characteristics. The antimicrobial activity of all complexes was evaluated by determining their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against the Gram-negative Escherichia coli ATCC25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa 477, and Burkholderia contaminans IST408, and the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus Newman. Camphor imine complexes based on the hydroxyl silver center ({Ag(OH)}) typically perform better than those based on the nitrate silver center ({Ag(NO3)}), while ligands prone to establish hydrogen bonding facilitate interactions with the bacterial cell surface structures. A different trend is observed for the silver camphor sulfonimine complexes that are almost non-sensitive to the nature of the metal cores {Ag(OH)} or {Ag(NO3)} and display low sensitivity to the Y substituent. The antibacterial activities of the Ag(I) camphor sulfonimine complexes are higher than those of the camphor imine analogues. All the complexes display higher activity towards Gram-negative strains than towards the Gram-positive strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Based on our previous single-center study on optimization of treatment of chronic otitis media with effusion (COME) and adenoid hypertrophy (AH) in children using a noninvasive system approach to lower the necessity of antibiotics, analgesic use, and surgical interventions, we proceeded to perform a multicenter investigation in an outpatient setting. The purpose of the previous prospective study in 2013–2015 was to compare outcomes in the treatment of COME and AH using the noninvasive multimodal integrative method (IM) versus conventional treatment practice (COM). Materials and Methods: In this paper, we retrospectively analyze the data of patients treated with the integrative method between 2017 and 2020 in a multicenter setting and compared the outcomes with data from 2013–2015 in order to evaluate generalizability. In both periods, all eligible and willing participants were included and treated with the IM protocol under real-life conditions. The treatment involved pneumatization exercises, education, an antiallergic diet, nasal hygiene, useful constitutional therapy, and thermal interventions (P.E.A.N.U.T.). A total of 48 versus 28 patients, aged 1–8, were assessed, presenting with COME and AH, with moderate to severe hearing impairment at entry. Results: The significant improvement found in both audiometric measures (intact hearing) and tympanometric measures (normal A-type curve) was similar in both datasets with respect to conventional treatment. The new data confirms that the P.E.A.N.U.T. method results in a significant reduction of antibiotics, analgesic use, and surgical interventions. Conclusion: In this multicenter trial, we confirm the effectiveness of the noninvasive system approach for the treatment of COME in lowering the need for antibiotics and analgesic use and elective surgery. This could be especially important with respect to a generally observed increase in antibiotic resistance. The method is easy to perform in different clinical settings and is effective, safe, and well-tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococci, like Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis, are common colonizers of the human microbiota. While being harmless in many cases, many virulence factors result in them being opportunistic pathogens and one of the major causes of hospital-acquired infections worldwide. One of these virulence factors is the ability to form biofilms—three-dimensional communities of microorganisms embedded in an extracellular polymeric matrix (EPS). The EPS is composed of polysaccharides, proteins and extracellular DNA, and is finely regulated in response to environmental conditions. This structured environment protects the embedded bacteria from the human immune system and decreases their susceptibility to antimicrobials, making infections caused by staphylococci particularly difficult to treat. With the rise of antibiotic-resistant staphylococci, together with difficulty in removing biofilms, there is a great need for new treatment strategies. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of our current knowledge of the stages of biofilm development and what difficulties may arise when trying to eradicate staphylococcal biofilms. Furthermore, we look into promising targets and therapeutic methods, including bacteriocins and phage-derived antibiofilm approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We asked whether transient Staphylococcus aureus in the oral environment synergistically interacts with orally associated bacterial species such as Actinomyces oris, Candida albicans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus mutans, and Veillonella dispar (six-species control biofilm 6S). For this purpose, four modified biofilms with seven species that contain either the wild type strain of the S. aureus genotype (USA300-MRSA WT), its isogenic mutant with MSCRAMM deficiency (USA300-MRSA ΔMSCRAMM), a methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (ST72-MSSA-) or a methicillin-resistant S. aureus (USA800-MRSA) grown on hydroxyapatite disks were examined. Culture analyses, confocal-laser-scanning microscopy and proteome analyses were performed. S. aureus strains affected the amount of supragingival biofilm-associated species differently. The deletion of MSCRAMM genes disrupted the growth of S. aureus and the distribution of S. mutans and S. oralis within the biofilms. In addition, S. aureus caused shifts in the number of detectable proteins of other species in the 6S biofilm. S. aureus (USA300-MRSA WT), aggregated together with early colonizers such as Actinomyces and streptococci, influenced the number of secondary colonizers such as Fusobacterium nucleatum and was involved in structuring the biofilm architecture that triggered the change from a homeostatic biofilm to a dysbiotic biofilm to the development of oral diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review aimed to gather the available literature investigating the effects of probiotics against the most common viral infections using in vitro trials in cell lines and in vivo clinical trials in both experimental animals and humans. Probiotics were employed to prevent and reduce symptoms of infections caused by common viruses, especially respiratory tract viruses, but also for viral digestive infections (such as rotavirus, coronavirus, or norovirus) and other viral infections (such as viruses that cause hepatitis, human papillomavirus, human immunodeficiency virus, and herpes simplex virus). Different probiotics have been studied to see their possible effect against the abovementioned viruses, among which different Lactobacillus species, Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, Enterococcus, and Streptococcus can be highlighted. In many cases, mixtures of various probiotic strains were used. Although the results obtained did not show similar results, in most cases, probiotic supplementation improved both barrier and biochemical immune responses, decreased susceptibility to viral infections, and enhanced the effects of concomitant vaccines. Works collected in this review show a beneficial effect of probiotics in the prevention and treatment of different viral infections. We found interesting results related to the prevention of viral infections, reduction of the duration of diseases, and decrease of symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile robots commonly have to traverse rough terrains. One way to find the easiest traversable path is by determining the types of terrains in the environment. The result of this process can be used by the path planning algorithms to find the best traversable path. In this work, we present an approach for terrain classification from aerial images while using a Convolutional Neural Networks at the pixel level. The segmented images can be used in robot mapping and navigation tasks. The performance of two different Convolutional Neural Networks is analyzed in order to choose the best architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this study is to develop a novel experimental nanofluid based on surfactant–nanoparticle–brine tuning, subsequently evaluate its performance in the laboratory under reservoir conditions, then upscale the design for a field trial of the nanotechnology-enhanced surfactant injection process. Two different mixtures of commercial anionic surfactants (SA and SB) were characterized by their critical micelle concentration (CMC), density, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. Two types of commercial nanoparticles (CNA and CNB) were utilized, and they were characterized by SBET, FTIR spectra, hydrodynamic mean sizes (dp50), isoelectric points (pHIEP), and functional groups. The evaluation of both surfactant–nanoparticle systems demonstrated that the best performance was obtained with a total dissolved solid (TDS) of 0.75% with the SA surfactant and the CNA nanoparticles. A nanofluid formulation with 100 mg·L−1 of CNA provided suitable interfacial tension (IFT) values between 0.18 and 0.15 mN·m−1 for a surfactant dosage range of 750–1000 mg·L−1. Results obtained from adsorption tests indicated that the surfactant adsorption on the rock would be reduced by at least 40% under static and dynamic conditions due to nanoparticle addition. Moreover, during core flooding tests, it was observed that the recovery factor was increased by 22% for the nanofluid usage in contrast with a 17% increase with only the use of the surfactant. These results are related to the estimated capillary number of 3 × 10−5, 3 × 10−4, and 5 × 10−4 for the brine, the surfactant, and the nanofluid, respectively, as well as to the reduction in the surfactant adsorption on the rock which enhances the efficiency of the process. The field trial application was performed with the same nanofluid formulation in the two different injection patterns of a Colombian oil field and represented the first application worldwide of nanoparticles/nanofluids in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. The cumulative incremental oil production was nearly 30,035 Bbls for both injection patterns by May 19, 2020. The decline rate was estimated through an exponential model to be −0.104 month−1 before the intervention, to −0.016 month−1 after the nanofluid injection. The pilot was designed based on a production increment of 3.5%, which was successfully surpassed with this field test with an increment of 27.3%. This application is the first, worldwide, to demonstrate surfactant flooding assisted by nanotechnology in a chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) process in a low interfacial tension region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]