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Abstract Males of the olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae vibrate and stridulate their wings at dusk producing sounds different from flight sounds with no confirmed behavior role. We recorded and performed a temporal-spectral analysis of this sound. Sound produced by male wing vibration/stridulation consists of intermittent pulses of highly variable duration and of fundamental frequency of around 350 Hz. Flight sound has a much lower fundamental frequency of approximately 180 Hz. Males begin to display wing vibration and sound production at the beginning of their sexual maturity at the 5th day of their age. This behavior is more pronounced in the presence of another conspecific male and observed less in male–female pairs or in solitary males. Broadcasts of the recorded sound did not attract flies of either sex. The highest fundamental frequency was found in association with wing vibrations emitted by male–male pairs, followed by those emitted by male–female pairs and then solitary males, which showed the lowest frequency values. The mean pulse duration and interpulse interval were shorter in male–male pairs than in male–female pairs. We assume that the male wing vibration and the produced signal, apart from its possible role in the courtship of the females, could also be associated with male–male interactions for territorial and rival activities, for which further experiments are required.

A system for low-frequency noise control in small, enclosed sound fields is proposed, using compound sound sources optimized by a genetic algorithm (GA). It is the integration of the developed low-Bl driver compound sources with a GA computer program in the Python language, aiming to control the modal field. The lack of appropriate free space in small rooms is critical for positioning the secondary sound sources; therefore, the proposed system has been designed to adapt to any available position. Two quadrupole topologies of the secondary compound source are applied and examined in a room. The convergence of the algorithm to the optimal solutions is attained through parametric configuration. The spatial radiation of the compound source at a single fixed position is adapted to couple with the modal noise field and attenuate it. The experimental results indicate that the proposed system can successfully control resonances of different low frequencies down to 50 Hz at multiple positions. The tonal noise attenuation reaches up to 32 dB at 100 Hz, confirming the applicability of the small subwoofer loudspeaker configurations for low-frequency control. This new method offers a practical and effective alternative to the typical abatement techniques that use distributed monopole sources in limited spaces.

Abstract Background We describe our experience from a multi-national application of a European Union-funded research-driven paediatric trial (DEEP-2, EudraCT 2012-000353-31; NCT01825512). This paper aims to evaluate the impact of the local and national rules on the trial authorisation process in European and non-European countries. National/local provisions and procedures, number of Ethics Committees and Competent Authorities to be addressed, documentation required, special provisions for the paediatric population, timelines for completing the authorisation process and queries received were collected; compliance with the European provisions were evaluated. Descriptive analysis, Wilcoxon Rank-Sum test and General Linear Model analysis were used to determine factors potentially influencing the timelines. The Cluster Analysis procedure was used to identify homogenous groups of cases. Result The authorisation process was completed in 7.7 to 53.8 months in European countries and in 17.1 to 27.1 months in non-European countries. The main factors influencing these timelines were the requests for changes/clarifications in European countries and the different national legislations in non-European countries. Conclusion This work confirms that the procedures and requirements for the clinical trial application of a paediatric trial are different. In the European Union, the timeframes for submission were generally harmonised but longer. In non-European countries, delays were caused by national dispositions but the entire authorisation process resulted faster with less requests from ECs/CAs. The upcoming application of Regulation (EU) 536/2014 is expected to harmonise practices in Europe and possibly outside. Networks on paediatric research acting at international level will be crucial in this effort.

In recent years, the area of financial forecasting has attracted high interest due to the emergence of huge data volumes (big data) and the advent of more powerful modeling techniques such as deep learning. To generate the financial forecasts, systems are developed that combine methods from various scientific fields, such as information retrieval, natural language processing and deep learning. In this paper, we present ASPENDYS, a supportive platform for investors that combines various methods from the aforementioned scientific fields aiming to facilitate the management and the decision making of investment actions through personalized recommendations. To accomplish that, the system takes into account both financial data and textual data from news websites and the social networks Twitter and Stocktwits. The financial data are processed using methods of technical analysis and machine learning, while the textual data are analyzed regarding their reliability and then their sentiments towards an investment. As an outcome, investment signals are generated based on the financial data analysis and the sensing of the general sentiment towards a certain investment and are finally recommended to the investors.

Male-pattern baldness is a common condition in which hair is progressively lost from the scalp. Here, the authors find 23 new genetic variants associated with this condition and suggest that it is not an isolated trait but may share an underlying biological basis with various diseases.

AIM: The present study was aimed at determining the effect of two different types of exercise (elite athletes playing football and ultramarathon runners on iron metabolism and, especially, the role of hepcidin in iron homeostasis. MATERIAL & METHOD: Two groups of athletes were investigated. The first group consisted of 19 male elite football athletes and the second group of 41 ultramarathon runners. In both cases, blood samples were taken pre-race (t1), immediately post-race (t2), and 24 hours post-race for football athletes or 36-48 hours post-race for ultramarathon athletes (t3). RESULTS: The iron levels in time t3 were found to have statistically significant decreases compared with the iron levels in pre-race and post-race period. Moreover, ferritin levels increased significantly in times t2 and t3. Hepcidin levels increased in time t2 in football players (from 27.45 ± 12.98 to 37.42 ± 13.74 ng/mL) and decreased in time t3. However, in ultramarathon runners, hepcidin levels significantly increased in time t2 (from 29.16 ± 10.92 to 58.81 ± 16.97 ng/mL) and remained increased in time t3 (37.69 ± 16.38 ng/mL), despite a trend for decrease. In football players, sTfR levels did not change, contrary to ultramarathon runners, where sTfR levels were found decreased in times t2 and t3. CONCLUSIONS: Iron metabolism in athletes can be impacted by the type of exercise. Ferritin is not a reliable marker for iron balance because, in the present study, it is more likely an acute-phase protein. The main regulator of iron homeostasis, hepcidin, increased, showing the body’s response to inflammation, by trapping iron in the macrophages and by altering iron absorption. Finally, a strenuous and prolonged exercise can lead to sports anemia.

BACKGROUND: Hepcidin is a 25-aminoacid cysteine-rich iron regulating peptide. Increased hepcidin concentrations lead to iron sequestration in macrophages, contributing to the pathogenesis of anaemia of chronic disease whereas decreased hepcidin is observed in iron deficiency and primary iron overload diseases such as hereditary hemochromatosis. Hepcidin quantification in human blood or urine may provide further insights for the pathogenesis of disorders of iron homeostasis and might prove a valuable tool for clinicians for the differential diagnosis of anaemia. This study describes a specific and non-operator demanding immunoassay for hepcidin quantification in human sera. METHODS AND FINDINGS: An ELISA assay was developed for measuring hepcidin serum concentration using a recombinant hepcidin25-His peptide and a polyclonal antibody against this peptide, which was able to identify native hepcidin. The ELISA assay had a detection range of 10-1500 microg/L and a detection limit of 5.4 microg/L. The intra- and interassay coefficients of variance ranged from 8-15% and 5-16%, respectively. Mean linearity and recovery were 101% and 107%, respectively. Mean hepcidin levels were significantly lower in 7 patients with juvenile hemochromatosis (12.8 microg/L) and 10 patients with iron deficiency anemia (15.7 microg/L) and higher in 7 patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (116.7 microg/L) compared to 32 age-matched healthy controls (42.7 microg/L). CONCLUSIONS: We describe a new simple ELISA assay for measuring hepcidin in human serum with sufficient accuracy and reproducibility.