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Tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa), as a popular ornamental plant worldwide, has a unique floral fragrance, and it is important in the pollination, ornamental, food, and fragrance product industries. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms for the synthesis of floral fragrance terpenoids in tree peony are not well understood, constraining their exploitation. P. suffruticosa 'Oukan' produces strong floral fragrance terpenoids with high ornamental value and excellent stress resistance and is considered a valuable model for studying tree peony floral fragrance formation. Based on transcriptome data analysis, the PsHMGR1 and PsTPS1 genes associated with floral terpene synthesis were cloned. Then, PsHMGR1 and PsTPS1 were functionally characterized by amino acid sequence analysis, multiple sequence alignment, phylogenetic tree construction, qRT-PCR, and transgenic assay. PsHMGR1 contains two transmembrane structures and a conserved HMG-CoA_reductase_class I domain, and PsTPS1 belongs to TPS-a subfamily. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that the expression levels of PsHMGR1 and PsTPS1 increased and then decreased at different flower development stages, and both were significantly higher in flowers than in roots, stems, and leaves. In addition, the linalool content in PsHMGR1 transgenic lines was significantly higher than that of WT. Germacrene D, which was not found in WT, was detected in the flowers of PsTPS1 transgenic lines. These results indicate that PsHMGR1 and PsTPS1 promote terpene synthesis in plants and provide ideas for the molecular mechanism of enhancing terpene synthesis in tree peony floral fragrance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarath S Nair,1 Jyothi Nagesh,1 Shambhavi C,2 Anshul Singh,1 Shirley Lewis,1 Umesh Velu,1 Deepika Chenna3 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Kasturba Medical College Manipal MAHE, Manipal, Karnataka, India; 2Department of Medical Radiation Physics Program, MCHP Manipal, MAHE, Manipal, Karanataka, India; 3Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Kasturba Medical College Manipal MAHE, Manipal, Karnataka, IndiaCorrespondence: Jyothi Nagesh, Email jyothi.nagesh@manipal.eduObjective: To identify a suitable approach for blood irradiation other than the commonly used water medium and to study the impact of different algorithm dose computations.Methods: Water is the commonly used medium for blood irradiation. In this study computed tomography scans were taken with locally made blood irradiation phantoms other than water, by using air, rice powder and thermocole using parallel beam for 25 Gy. Plans were recalculated for different algorithms such as collapsed cone (CC), Monte Carlo (MC) and pencil beam (PB). The dose–volume parameters and measured doses were collected and analyzed for each medium and algorithm.Findings: The monitor unit (MU) for rice powder and water are close (2461± 57 and 2469± 61, respectively), with a maximum dose of 28.0± 1.8 and 28.0± 1.9 Gy. The PB algorithm resulted in lower monitor unit values regardless of the medium used, generating values of 2418, 2406, 2382, and 2362 for water, rice powder, air, and Thermocol, respectively. A significant increase in dose was observed irrespective of the medium used when the MC algorithm was employed, with a maximum of 30.26 Gy in rice powder; a smaller dose was used when the CC algorithm was employed, with 26.3 Gy in water medium. The average maximum doses of all groups were equal using the one-way Anova statistical test. Regarding the impact of field size, rice powder appears to have consistent doses across various field sizes, with slight increases as field size grows, which is similar to water.Novelty/Applications: While water is the conventional medium, this study highlights the potential benefits of rice powder, such as eliminating the risks associated with bubble formation and water spillage, which can lead to equipment malfunction and safety hazards. Although previous studies have explored rice powder as a bolus and tissue-equivalent material, this study uniquely applies this knowledge to blood irradiation, an area where rice powder has not been thoroughly investigated.Keywords: computed tomography, collapsed cone, Monte Carlo, pencil beam, monitor units, MU, treatment planning station.

Summary: Cananga odorata is known as a natural perfume tree of the Annonaceae family in Magnoliales. However, its phylogenetic position and the molecular mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis of the floral volatile organic compounds (VOCs) remain unclear.Here, by combining a variety of sequencing platforms, we present a telomere‐to‐telomere (T2T) genome of C. odorata with 735.83 Mb, which represents the highest integrity and assembly quality of genome in magnoliid plants reported to date. Phylogenetic analysis based on multiple datasets and approaches showed that C. odorata, as a member of magnoliids, is sister to eudicots, after their divergence from monocots.Metabolomic of VOCs in the essential oil and flowers scent showed that sesquiterpenes, especially β‐caryophyllene, were the major compounds. Two CoTPS21 homologues derived from tandem duplication events were highly expressed during flower development and were identified as the key sesquiterpene synthases for the production of β‐caryophyllene. In addition, CoSPL3 and CoSPL9 were considered as potential transcription factors for activating the expression of CoTPS21 homologues.Our results shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis of the unique floral fragrance in C. odorata and provide new insights into the phylogenetic position of magnoliids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dementia in Alzheimer's disease is a disorder that poses a significant public health problem, currently lacking both effective preventive methods and curative treatments that can genuinely slow its progression. In this context, numerous global studies are underway aimed at identifying and certifying superior therapeutic approaches for this pathology. This paper presents a synthesis of the specialized literature, outlining some of the latest treatments that have either been approved or are in the process of being approved based on the results of extensive clinical trials, focusing on the control of symptoms and progression of dementia in Alzheimer's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Rose myrtle (Rhodomyrtus tomentosa (Ait.) Hassk), is an evergreen shrub species belonging to the family Myrtaceae, which is enriched with bioactive volatiles (α-pinene and β-caryophyllene) with medicinal and industrial applications. However, the mechanism underlying the volatile accumulation in the rose myrtle is still unclear. Results Here, we present a chromosome-level genomic assembly of rose myrtle (genome size = 466 Mb, scaffold N50 = 43.7 Mb) with 35,554 protein-coding genes predicted. Through comparative genomic analysis, we found that gene expansion and duplication had a potential contribution to the accumulation of volatile substances. We proposed that the action of positive selection was significantly involved in volatile accumulation. We identified 43 TPS genes in R. tomentosa. Further transcriptomic and TPS gene family analyses demonstrated that the distinct gene subgroups of TPS may contribute greatly to the biosynthesis and accumulation of different volatiles in the Myrtle family of shrubs and trees. The results suggested that the diversity of TPS-a subgroups led to the accumulation of special sesquiterpenes in different plants of the Myrtaceae family. Conclusions The high quality chromosome-level rose myrtle genome and the comparative analysis of TPS gene family open new avenues for obtaining a higher commercial value of essential oils in medical plants.

Background: Rose myrtle (Rhodomyrtus tomentosa (Ait.) Hassk), is an evergreen shrub species belonging to the family Myrtaceae, which is enriched with bioactive volatiles (α-pinene and β-caryophyllene) with medicinal and industrial applications. However, the mechanism underlying the volatile accumulation in the rose myrtle is still unclear. Results: Here, we present a chromosome-level genomic assembly of rose myrtle (genome size = 466 Mb, scaffold N50 = 43.7 Mb) with 35,554 protein-coding genes predicted. Through comparative genomic analysis, we found that gene expansion and duplication had a potential contribution to the accumulation of volatile substances. We proposed that the action of positive selection was significantly involved in volatile accumulation. We identified 43 TPS genes in R. tomentosa. Further transcriptomic and TPS gene family analyses demonstrated that the distinct gene subgroups of TPS may contribute greatly to the biosynthesis and accumulation of different volatiles in the Myrtle family of shrubs and trees. The results suggested that the diversity of TPS-a subgroups led to the accumulation of special sesquiterpenes in different plants of the Myrtaceae family. Conclusions: The high quality chromosome-level rose myrtle genome and the comparative analysis of TPS gene family open new avenues for obtaining a higher commercial value of essential oils in medical plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in the building sector towards more sustainable, resource efficient, and renewable materials. Bio-based insulation derived from renewable resources, such as plant or animal fibres, is one promising group of such materials. Compared to mineral wool and polystyrene-based insulation materials, these bio-based insulation materials generally have a slightly higher thermal conductivity, and they are significantly more hygroscopic, two factors that need to be considered when using these bio-based insulation materials. This study assesses the hygrothermal properties of three bio-based insulation materials: eelgrass, grass, and wood fibre. All three have the potential to be locally sourced in Sweden. Mineral wool (stone wool) was used as a reference material. Hygrothermal material properties were measured with dynamic vapour sorption (DVS), transient plane source (TPS), and sorption calorimetry. Moisture buffering of the insulation materials was assessed, and their thermal insulation capacity was tested on a building component level in a hot box that exposed the materials to a steady-state climate, simulating in-use conditions in, e.g., an external wall. The tested bio-based insulation materials have significantly different sorption properties to stone wool and have higher thermal conductivity than what the manufacturers declared. The hot-box experiments showed that the insulating capacity of the bio-based insulators cannot be reliably calculated from the measured thermal conductivity alone. The results of this study could be used as input data for numerical simulations and analyses of the thermal and hygroscopic behaviour of these bio-based insulation materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodegradable blends based on plasticized poly(lactic acid) PLA and thermoplastic starch (TPS) have been obtained. The influence of the PLA plasticizer as a compatibility agent has been studied by using two different plasticizers such as neat oligomeric lactic acid (OLA) and functionalized with maleic acid (mOLA). In particular, the morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties have been studied as well as the shape memory ability of the melt-processed materials. Therefore, the influence of the interaction between different plasticizers and the PLA matrix as well as the compatibility between the two polymeric phases on the thermally-activated shape memory properties have been studied. It is very interesting to use the same additive able to act as both plasticizer and compatibilizer, decreasing the glass transition temperature of PLA to a temperature close to the physiological one, obtaining a material suitable for potential biomedical applications. In particular, we obtain that OLA-plasticized blend (oPLA/TPS) show very good thermally-activated capability at 45 °C and 50% deformation, while the blend obtained by using maleic OLA (moPLA/TPS) did not show shape memory behavior at 45 °C and 50% deformation. This fact is due to their morphological changes and the loss of two well-distinguished phases, one acting as fixed phase and the other one acting as switching phase to typically obtain shape memory response. Therefore, the thermally-activated shape memory results show that it is very important to make a balance between plasticizer and compatibilizer, considering the need of two well-established phases to obtain shape memory response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate whether there is a relationship between the quality management method and the supplier performance measurement system. The results indicate that in some cases, organizations that had implemented lean management or TPS used supplier assessment measures more often and perceived them as more important ones. Moreover, according to the study, the most popular supplier measures are within the scope of process ones, such as timeliness of deliveries and completeness of deliveries. From the product measures, the most important one is the defectiveness level. The environmental measures' importance is, on an average level, much lower than the core-business ones. The most critical environmental supplier measure is using hazardous substances in production.

Atmospheric turbulence will degrade the shooting effect of remote imaging equipment in a variety of scenes, because the distortion caused by turbulence involves changes in spatial blur, distortion of geometry, and interference from sensor noise. To mitigate distortion and blurring, this paper proposes a new solution based on the fusion of mathematical interpolation and deep learning. Firstly, TPS (Thin Plate Spline) is used to reduce the distortion of turbulence imaging. Secondly, a simple convolutional neural network containing a lightweight feature extraction residual module was used for deblurring. We have conducted sufficient experiments on different types of turbulence data that the proposed framework can mitigate the motion blur and geometric distortion caused by atmospheric turbulence, thus resulting in a dramatic improvement in visual quality. The proposed network improves the PSNR of image restoration by 0.73-3.50 dB on the algorithm simulation dataset, by 0.23-2.67 dB on the physical simulation dataset, and has a good mitigation effect in real turbulence scenes. Furthermore, an ablation study is conducted to illustrate the enhancements achieved by the various modules in the proposed method.

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In recent years, Bitcoin and Ethereum have witnessed a surge in trading activity, driven by venture capital investment and funding through initial coin offerings (ICOs) and initial exchange offerings (IEOs). This heightened interest has led to kickstarting a vibrant ecosystem for blockchain development. The total number of cryptocurrencies listed on CoinMarketCap.com has reached 2,274 highlights how dynamic and wide blockchain development landscape has grown. In blockchain development, new blockchain projects are being created by forking blockchains inspired by major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. These projects aim to address the perceived shortcomings and improve existing technologies. Altcoins, representing these alternative cryptocurrencies, are an ongoing industry effort to improve performance and security with enhancement proposals such as Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIP), Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIP), and EOSIO Enhancement Proposals (EEP). With competitive attempts to improve blockchain performance and security, an ongoing performance race between various blockchains has taken shape, each claiming its own performance advantages. In this paper, we describe the transactions contained in the blocks of each representative blockchain, and find the factors that affect the transactions per second (TPS) through transaction processing and block generation processes, and suggest their relationship with scalability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) is essential for plant growth and development, linking trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) to carbon metabolism. However, little is known about the TPS gene family in peaches and their potential roles in regulating carbohydrates in peach fruit. In this study, nine TPS genes were identified in the peach genome and named according to the homologous genes in Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis showed that three subfamilies were identified, including TPSI, TPSII-1, and TPSII-2, which were also consistent with gene structure analysis. Considerable cis-elements were enriched in the promoters, including plant hormone-related elements. Tissue-specific analysis showed that these TPS genes were mainly expressed in leaves, stems, and fruit, showing different expression patterns for each gene. In addition, during fruit development, the content of trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) was positively correlated with the expression of PpTPS7a and negatively with sucrose non-fermenting-1-related kinase 1 (SnRK1) activity. Transient overexpression and silencing of PpTPS7a in peach fruit validated its function in regulating T6P content and SnRK1 activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate whether there is a relationship between the quality management method and the supplier performance measurement system. The results indicate that in some cases, organizations that had implemented lean management or TPS used supplier assessment measures more often and perceived them as more important ones. Moreover, according to the study, the most popular supplier measures are within the scope of process ones, such as timeliness of deliveries and completeness of deliveries. From the product measures, the most important one is the defectiveness level. The environmental measures' importance is, on an average level, much lower than the corebusiness ones. The most critical environmental supplier measure is using hazardous substances in production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to find out that the average learning outcomes of students who study using the Think Pair Share (TPS) learning model are higher than the average learning outcomes of students who study using the Direct Instruction (DI) learning model. The population of this study were all class VII students at Garuda Manado Middle School. The samples taken in this research were class VIIA as the experimental class and class VIIB as the control class. Data analysis to test the hypothesis that the average learning outcomes of students studying algebraic material who studied using the TPS learning model were higher than the average learning outcomes of students who studied using the DI learning model, was carried out using the t-test with a significance level of α = 0.05. The value obtained is t_count = 3.75 > t_table = 1,729, thus it can be concluded that the average learning outcomes of students who study using the TPS learning model are higher than the average learning outcomes of students who study using using the DI learning model

Purpose of the following text is to compare three production systems,: Toyota Production System, World Class Manufacturing and Nissan Production Way. For it purpose, a comparative study was carried out based on three categories: system, design, popularity and versatility. For each of the comparison categories, a method was adjusted. System design: comparison of assumptions and system construction schemes according to the authors of a given solution. Popularity: analysis of search engine results from Google, Google Scholar, Bing and Yahoo! obtained from searches for the phrases "Toyota Production System," "World Class Manufacturing" and "Nissan Production Way". Versality: case studies of system implementations by other organisations than authoring automotive corporations. As a result of the comparison, it can be seen that the most complex and elaborate system is WCM, which has a multi-element structure as well as predetermined levels of sophistication. Relatively the simplest of the compared solutions turned out to be NPW. In the case of popularity, the leader is TPS in Google’s search engines, WCM in Bing and Yahoo!, while the least popular solution in the Internet’s space is the system by Nissan Motor Corporation. The versatility category indicates that the TPS and WCM systems have similar implementation capabilities, while NPW turns out to be a specific and exclusive solution for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and has no external implementations. The results provide an overall picture of the situation regarding production systems in the automotive industry and can provide a starting point for more advanced analysis of existing solutions and allow the design of other systems.

Biocomposites have gained attention in the packaging industry due to their potential as sustainable alternatives to conventional synthetic materials. In this study, novel cotton incorporated poly(lactic acid)/thermoplastic starch biocomposites were developed for packaging applications using in short shelf life products the extrusion method. Pelletized samples obtained by extrusion were stamped from plates obtained by compression and were characterized through measurement of density, hardness, contact angle and water absorption, as well as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). No significant changes in the density results were observed. A slight increase in the hardness of formulations in relation to the PLA was associated with the presence of cotton fiber in biocomposites. The FTIR results revealed physical interaction of PLA, TPS and cotton fiber. By DSC analysis, for all formulations the melting exhibited only one peak, suggesting good homogeneity and interaction among the components, as observed by TG/DTG results, and corroborating SEM analysis. The biocomposite PLA/TPS/Cotton 85/10/5 wt.% displayed greater increase in water absorption than both 95/5/0 and 90/5/5 wt.% formulations, which can be attributed to the increase in starch proportion, confirming the contact angle results. The hydrophilic tendency corroborated the biodegradation process in the packaging end-of-life.

Due to technological limitations and budget constraints, spatiotemporal image fusion uses the complementarity of high temporal–low spatial resolution (HTLS) and high spatial–low temporal resolution (HSLT) data to obtain high temporal and spatial resolution (HTHS) fusion data, which can effectively satisfy the demand for HTHS data. However, some existing spatiotemporal image fusion models ignore the large difference in spatial resolution, which yields worse results for spatial information under the same conditions. Based on the flexible spatiotemporal data fusion (FSDAF) framework, this paper proposes a multilevel single-image super-resolution (SISR) method to solve this issue under the large difference in spatial resolution. The following are the advantages of the proposed method. First, multilevel super-resolution (SR) can effectively avoid the limitation of a single SR method for a large spatial resolution difference. In addition, the issue of noise accumulation caused by multilevel SR can be alleviated by learning-based SR (the cross-scale internal graph neural network (IGNN)) and then interpolation-based SR (the thin plate spline (TPS)). Finally, we add the reference information to the super-resolution, which can effectively control the noise generation. This method has been subjected to comprehensive experimentation using two authentic datasets, affirming that our proposed method surpasses the current state-of-the-art spatiotemporal image fusion methodologies in terms of performance and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precision of the dose delivery in radiation therapy with high-field MR-linacs is challenging due to the substantial variation in the beam attenuation of the patient positioning system (PPS) (the couch and coils) as a function of the gantry angle. This work aimed to compare the attenuation of two PPSs located at two different MR-linac sites through measurements and calculations in the treatment planning system (TPS). Attenuation measurements were performed at every 1° gantry angle at the two sites with a cylindrical water phantom with a Farmer chamber inserted along the rotational axis of the phantom. The phantom was positioned with the chamber reference point (CRP) at the MR-linac isocentre. A compensation strategy was applied to minimise sinusoidal measurement errors due to, e.g. air cavity or setup. A series of tests were performed to assess the sensitivity to measurement uncertainties. The dose to a model of the cylindrical water phantom with the PPS added was calculated in the TPS (Monaco v5.4 as well as in a development version Dev of an upcoming release), for the same gantry angles as for the measurements. The TPS PPS model dependency of the dose calculation voxelisation resolution was also investigated. A comparison of the measured attenuation of the two PPSs yielded differences of less than 0.5% for most gantry angles. The maximum deviation between the attenuation measurements for the two different PPSs exceeded ±1% at two specific gantry angles 115° and 245°, where the beam traverses the most complex PPS structures. The attenuation increases from 0% to 25% in 15° intervals around these angles. The measured and calculated attenuation, as calculated in v5.4, was generally within 1-2% with a systematic overestimation of the attenuation for gantry angles around 180°, as well as a maximum error of 4-5% for a few discrete angles in 10° gantry angle intervals around the complex PPS structures. The PPS modelling was improved compared to v5.4 in Dev, especially around 180°, and the results of those calculations were within ±1%, but with a similar 4% maximum deviation for the most complex PPS structures. Generally, the two tested PPS structures exhibit very similar attenuation as a function of the gantry angle, including the angles with a steep change in attenuation. Both TPS versions, v5.4 and Dev delivered clinically acceptable accuracy of the calculated dose, as the differences in the measurements were overall better than ±2%. Additionally, Dev improved the accuracy of the dose calculation to ±1% for gantry angles around 180°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the dosimetric impact of the calculation boundaries and dose calculation algorithms of radiotherapy in head and neck cancer patients with an opened oral cavity connected to the exterior by a hollow intraoral positioning stent. Methods and Materials: A homemade silicone phantom with an opened oral cavity was placed in a CIRS head phantom to model head and neck cancer patients with a hollow intraoral positioning stent. 3D‐CRT plans were designed on CT images of the phantom in Monaco and Pinnacle3 treatment planning systems (TPSs) with the same beam parameters. The default boundary and manually extrapolated boundary were both adopted in these two TPSs to explore the dosimetric impact on treatment plans. The nanoDot™ optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLDs) were chosen to measure the planned dose surrounding the oral cavity of the head phantom after calibration. Result: The doses in the air cavity and two measuring points at the joint area were dramatically changed from 0.0, 92.4 and 148.8 cGy to 177.8, 244.2 and 244.1 cGy in Monaco after adopting the extrapolated boundary. While the calculated doses at the same place were changed from 61.2, 143.7 and 198.3 cGy to 175.4, 234.7 and 233.2 cGy in Pinnacle3 with a similar calculation boundary. For the Monaco TPS, the relative errors compared to the OSLD measured doses were 2.94 ± 1.93%, 0.53 ± 8.64%, 2.65 ± 1.87% and 3.93 ± 1.69% at 4 measuring positions. In contrast, the relative errors 4.03 ± 1.93%, 4.85 ± 8.64%, 7.61 ± 1.87% and 5.61 ± 1.69% were observed in Pinnacle3. Conclusion: The boundary setting of an opened oral cavity in TPSs has a significant dosimetric impact on head and neck cancer radiotherapy. An extrapolated boundary should be manually set up to include the whole oral cavity in the dose calculation domain to avoid major dose deviations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two classes of thermal protection systems composed of a carbon-fibre-reinforced (CFRP) layer and an ablative material layer joined with a thermo-resistant ceramic adhesive were developed. The two classes differ in the composition of the ablative material reinforcing compound. In the first class, the ablative material is based on micronic-sized cork granules, and in the second class, the ablative material is reinforced with carbonic felt. For both classes of thermal protection systems, the reinforcement material was impregnated in simple phenolic resin, and nanometric additive, consisting of silicon carbide nanoparticles added in two different weight contents (1 and 2% by weight) relative to the resin. The thermal conductivity for the ablative materials in the thermal protection systems structure was determined. A test facility using oxy-butane flame was developed through which the thermal protection systems developed were tested at extreme temperatures, to simulate some thermal conditions in space applications. The materials were characterised from a morphostructural point of view using optical and scanning electron microscopy after thermal testing. The TPS composed of the carbon-felt-based ablative layer showed improved behaviour compared to the cork-based ablative ones in terms of the temperature increase rate during thermal conductivity testing, mass loss, as well as morphostructural appearance and material erosion after oxy-butane testing. The nSiC-based samples in both sets of TPSs showed improved behaviour compared to the un-filled ones, considering the temperature increase, mass loss, and morphostructure of the eroded material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trehalose and its precursor, trehalose-6-phosphate, play critical roles in plant metabolism and response to abiotic stresses. Trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) is a key enzyme in the trehalose synthesis pathway. Hence this study identified TPS genes in sesame (SiTPSs) and examined their expression patterns under various abiotic stresses. Totally, ten SiTPSs were identified and comprehensively characterized. SiTPSs were found to be unevenly distributed on five out of 13 sesame chromosomes and were predicted to be localized in chloroplasts and vacuoles of cells. Phylogenetic analysis classified SiTPS proteins into two groups (I and II), which was supported by gene structure and conserved motif analyses. Analysis of cis-acting elements in promoter regions of SiTPSs revealed that they might primarily involve developmental and environmental responses. SiTPSs exhibited different expression patterns in different tissues and under different abiotic stresses. Most group II SiTPS genes (SiTPS4 - SiTPS10) were strongly induced by drought, salt, waterlogging, and osmotic stress. Particularly, SiTPS10 was the most significantly up-regulated under various abiotic stresses, indicating it is a candidate gene for improving sesame tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses. Our results provide insight into the TPS gene family in sesame and fundamental resources for genomics studies towards dissecting SiTPS genes’ functions.

In recent years, plastics recycling has become one of the leading environmental and waste management issues. Along with the main advantage of plastics, which is undoubtedly their long life, the problem of managing their waste has arisen. Recycling is recognised as the preferred option for waste management, with the aim of reusing them to create new products using 3D printing. Additive manufacturing (AM) is an emerging and evolving rapid tooling technology. With 3D printing, it is possible to achieve lightweight structures with high dimensional accuracy and reduce manufacturing costs for non-standard geometries. Currently, 3D printing research is moving towards the production of materials not only of pure polymers but also their composites. Bioplastics, especially those that are biodegradable and compostable, have emerged as an alternative for human development. This article provides a brief overview of the possibilities of using thermoplastic waste materials through the application of 3D printing, creating innovative materials from recycled and naturally derived materials, i.e., biomass (natural reinforcing fibres) in 3D printing. The materials produced from them are ecological, widely available and cost-effective. Research activities related to the production of bio-based materials have gradually increased over the last two decades, with the aim of reducing environmental problems. This article summarises the efforts made by researchers to discover new innovative materials for 3D printing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Paris System for Reporting Urinary Cytology (TPS) is considered the gold standard when it comes to diagnostic classifications of urine specimens. Its second edition brought some important changes, including the abolition of the diagnostic category of "low-grade urothelial neoplasm (LGUN)", acknowledging the inability of cytology to reliably discern low-grade urothelial lesions. Methods: In this retrospective study, we assessed the validity of this change, studying the cytological diagnoses of histologically diagnosed low-grade urothelial carcinomas during a three-year period. Moreover, we correlated the sum of the urinary cytology diagnoses of this period with the histological diagnoses, whenever available. Results: Although all the cytological diagnoses of LGUN were concordant with the histological diagnoses, most low-grade urothelial carcinomas were misdiagnosed cytologically. Subsequently, the positive predictive value (PPV) of urinary cytology for the diagnosis of LGUN was 100%, while the sensitivity was only 21.7%. Following the cyto-histopathological correlation of the sum of the urinary cytology cases, the sensitivity of urinary cytology for the diagnosis of high-grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC) was demonstrated to be 90.1%, the specificity 70.8%, the positive predictive value (PPV) 60.3%, the negative predictive value (NPV) 93.6% and the overall accuracy 77.2%, while for LGUN, the values were 21.7%, 97.2%, 87.5%, 58.6% and 61.9%, respectively. Risk of high-grade malignancy was 0% for the non-diagnostic (ND), 4.8% for the non-high-grade urothelial carcinoma (NHGUC), 33.3% for the atypical urothelial cells (AUCs), 65% for the suspicious for high-grade urothelial carcinoma (SHGUC), 100% for the HGUC and 12.5% for the LGUN diagnostic categories. Conclusions: This study validates the incorporation of the LGUN in the NHGUC diagnostic category in the second edition of TPS. Moreover, it proves the ability of urinary cytology to safely diagnose HGUC and stresses the pivotal role of its diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Este reporte examina indicadores clave para la integración de inmigrantes con TPS según una encuesta multi-regional de 2,098 encuestados en las cinco regiones con mayores concentración de inmigrantes centroamericanos en E.E.U.U.

This brief examines key indicators of immigrant integration among these TPS holders based on a multi-region survey of 2,098 respondents in the five regions with the largest concentrations of these immigrants.

Abstract We retrospectively enrolled 325 gastric cancer (GC) patients to investigate the associations of programmed death ligand‐1 (PD‐L1) expression with clinicopathological characteristics by different scoring methods and different cutoff values. PD‐L1 expression was evaluated by the tumor proportion score (TPS) and the combined positive score (CPS). The positive rate of PD‐L1 TPS ≥1%, CPS ≥1, CPS ≥5 and CPS ≥10 in our study were 12.0%, 87.4%, 69.8% and 42.2%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that PD‐L1 CPS ≥5 was related to high expression of Ki67 (OR = 2.658, 95% CI: 1.401–5.045, p = .003) and pTNM staging (p = .033). PD‐L1 CPS ≥10 was correlated with larger tumor size (OR = 2.322, 95% CI: 1.052–5.127, p = .037) and lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.495, 95% CI: 1.293–4.814, p = .006). It is expected that these results can provide a reference for screening GC patients with high PD‐L1 expression level.

Active Learning techniques, designed to make the students active and collaborative participants in the learning process, are gaining popularity as a supplement and alternative to traditional lectures. The purpose of this paper is to assess and evaluate the use of TPS as an active learning technique in the urban land use planning class of the surveying engineering department. Quantitative research was deployed. The class has a 50-sample size. The results of students’ average result of the pretest (without TPS) and posttest using the Think Pair Share (TPS) method has increased from 8.975(44.98%) to 11.43(58.23%) out of 20(100%). The normalized gain for each student is 0.24(i.e. low and better than the pretest), but the value denotes a positive gain in the performance of the student’s result. The witnessed level of satisfaction of students with this teaching intervention showed that the students have positively perceived that the use of the lecture method is not enough to learn urban land use planning courses effectively. On the other hand, the result of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient data analysis of the witnessed level of satisfaction of students with TPS teaching intervention for the ten items is 0.797, suggesting that the items have relatively high internal consistency. So the majority of the respondents' students perceived the use of TPS as active learning is more essential than the traditional lecture.

Production systems are one of the main pillars of the enterprises. Their efficiency and principles of func-tioning determine the final quality of products, which recipients are institutions and end consumers. However, nowadays, in addition to the previously mentioned issues, new requirements related to the concept of sustainability have appeared. Production methods, impact on the natural environment, or respect for the human being have become as important aspects as durability or product price. The aim of the following paper is to present a comparison of two production systems which are very popular, especially in the automotive industry: Toyota Production System and World Class Manufacturing in the context of sustainable development. For this purpose, a comparative analysis based on four categories: system complexity, popularity, universality and connections with suitability. The collected material is diverse in nature, which allows for a wide spectrum of research and comparison of both solutions. As a result of the analysis, differences in the level of complication of both production solutions can be noticed. The Toyota Production System structure is less complicated than World Class Manufacturing. The model representation of the TPS system shows all the main components along with their most important features and applications. WCM is a system with a more complicated structure, specifying more aspects necessary for implementation and maintenance. In the case of the popularity of both solutions, the study showed that the most frequently searched phrase is Toyota Production System, but World Class Manufacturing has more publications and materials. Both systems are highly versatile production solutions. The analyzed case studies show successful implementations in manufacturing and service companies in industries not related to the automotive industry. Referring to compliance with the determinants of suitability, it can be stated that both systems contain elements responsible for the implementation of the abovementioned provisions, but they implement them in different ways. TPS does not refer to the concept of sustainable development, but the system itself has issues focused on the reduction of losses, savings, production of only the components needed at a given moment, or respect for people. WCM, on the other hand, has a dedicated element re-sponsible for meeting the requirements of the ISO 14000 standard, relating to environmental impact management. Finally, it can be assumed that both systems have many common features, e.g. in the case of functional assumptions, but the implementation is of a different nature. TPS is a simpler system that allows you to easily adapt to the specifics of the organization. WCM is a more complicated system with a high degree of formalization. The analysis performed is of a review nature, showing the possibly wide spectrum of both production systems. Research can be further pursued through more detailed analyzes of each aspect of the systems or comparisons with other manufacturing solutions.

The competitive advantage driven by Japanese production systems is one of the key success factors of the Japanese economy. The core of Japanese production systems is same whereas they can have different names like TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) or TPS (Toyota Production system) or lean management. They are more human-centered cultural systems rather than just target-oriented mechanical processes. The technical tools used in Japanese production systems, as kaizen, Hoshin Kanri, 5S, suggestion systems, one-point lessons, PDCA cycle, JIT and Jidoka can run properly with the condition that certain principles are effective as a part of company culture. These principles were inherited from the spiritual and moral values of Confucianism and Taoism. In this article these principles were classified as sharing the same value, succeeding together, being selfless and humble, having the passion for learning and development, horizontal process organization, and continuous improvement. The relation between the production systems, the classified six principles and the core values of Confucianism and Taoism were examined. Relying on these six principles, companies can establish a culture where production systems run sustainably and high performance, innovation and agility nurtures.

We developed and tested two carbon–phenolic-based ablators for future Korean spacecraft heat shield applications. The ablators are developed with two layers: an outer recession layer, fabricated from carbon–phenolic material, and an inner insulating layer, fabricated either from cork or silica–phenolic material. The ablator specimens were tested in a 0.4 MW supersonic arc-jet plasma wind tunnel at heat flux conditions ranging from 6.25 MW/m2 to 9.4 MW/m2, with either specimen being stationary or transient. Stationary tests were conducted for 50 s each as a preliminary investigation, and the transient tests were conducted for ~110 s each to stimulate a spacecraft's atmospheric re-entry heat flux trajectory. During the tests, each specimen's internal temperatures were measured at three locations: 25 mm, 35 mm, and 45 mm from the specimen stagnation point. During the stationary tests, a two-color pyrometer was used to measure specimen stagnation-point temperatures. During the preliminary stationary tests, the silica–phenolic-insulated specimen's reaction was normal compared to the cork-insulated specimen; hence, only the silica–phenolic-insulated specimens were further subjected to the transient tests. During the transient tests, the silica–phenolic-insulated specimens were stable, and the internal temperatures were lower than 450 K (~180 °C), achieving the main objective of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The quantification of PD-L1 expression in tumor samples through the tumor proportion score (TPS) and the combined positive score (CPS) conditions provides access to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy in patients with various solids cancers. Reproducibility studies have shown very heterogeneous inter- and intra-pathologist agreements, from poor to excellent ones, in TPS and CPS quantification. We studied the inter- and intra-pathologist agreements in TPS and CPS quantification comparing single PD-L1 immunohistochemistry (S-IHC) and double immunohistochemistry (D-IHC) combining PD-L1 staining and tumor nuclear markers, trying to improve the distinction between tumor cells and immune cells necessary to TPS and CPS calculations. Our study concluded in excellent (TPS) to good (CPS) inter- and intra-pathologist agreements with both S-IHC and D-IHC with slightly higher intraclass correlation coefficients using D-IHC. D-IHC could help the pathologists to quantify PD-L1 expression through TPS and CPS for subsequent therapeutic choices in patients with advanced cancers. We studied the pathologists' agreements in quantifying PD-L1 expression through the tumor proportion score (TPS) and the combined positive score (CPS) using single PD-L1 immunohistochemistry (S-IHC) and double immunohistochemistry (D-IHC) combining PD-L1 staining and tumor cell markers. S-IHC and D-IHC were applied to 15 cancer samples to generate 60 digital IHC slides (30 whole slides images and 30 regions of interest of 1 mm2) for PD-L1 expression quantification using both TPS and CPS, twice by four pathologists. Agreements were estimated calculating intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Both S-IHC and D-IHC slides analyses resulted in excellent (for TPS, ICC > 0.9) to good (for CPS, ICC > 0.75) inter- and intra-pathologist agreements with slightly higher ICC with D-IHC than with S-IHC. S-IHC resulted in higher TPS and CPS than D-IHC (+5.6 and +6.1 mean differences, respectively). High reproducibility in the quantification of PD-L1 expression is attainable using S-IHC and D-IHC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peach latent mosaic viroid (PLMVd) is an important pathogen that causes disease in peaches. Control of this viroid remains problematic because most PLMVd variants are symptomless, and although there are many detection tests in use, the reliability of PCR-based methods is compromised by the complex, branched secondary RNA structure of the viroid and its genetic diversity. In this study, a duplex RT-qPCR method was developed and validated against two previously published single RT-qPCRs, which were potentially able to detect all known PLMVd variants when used in tandem. In addition, in order to simplify the sample preparation, rapid-extraction protocols based on the use of crude sap or tissue printing were compared with commercially available RNA purification kits. The performance of the new procedure was evaluated in a test performance study involving five participant laboratories. The new method, in combination with rapid-sample-preparation approaches, was demonstrated to be feasible and reliable, with the advantage of detecting all different PLMVd isolates/variants assayed in a single reaction, reducing costs for routine diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Biomarkers reliably predicting treatment response to immune checkpoint inhibition (CKI) therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are warranted. Baseline 18F-FDG-PET-CT (PET-CT) is an integral part of the diagnostic algorithm of NSCLC. However, there is poor evidence on the predictive and prognostic value of initial PET-CT imaging in these patients. The use of Radiomics has gained prominence in the last decade allowing for the extraction and artificial intelligence-based analysis of additional imaging parameters, so-called radiomic features (RFs). We aimed to find RFs predicting treatment response for CKI-based first-line therapy in advanced NSCLC patients, out of whole-body metabolic PET and morphological CT imaging. PET RFs might additionally be predictive and prognostic and could thus provide important information for future therapy monitoring and guidance. We aimed to evaluate the predictive and prognostic value of baseline 18F-FDG-PET-CT (PET-CT) radiomic features (RFs) for immune checkpoint-inhibitor (CKI)-based first-line therapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. In this retrospective study 44 patients were included. Patients were treated with either CKI-monotherapy or combined CKI-based immunotherapy–chemotherapy as first-line treatment. Treatment response was assessed by the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). After a median follow-up of 6.4 months patients were stratified into "responder" (n = 33) and "non-responder" (n = 11). RFs were extracted from baseline PET and CT data after segmenting PET-positive tumor volume of all lesions. A Radiomics-based model was developed based on a Radiomics signature consisting of reliable RFs that allow classification of response and overall progression using multivariate logistic regression. These RF were additionally tested for their prognostic value in all patients by applying a model-derived threshold. Two independent PET-based RFs differentiated well between responders and non-responders. For predicting response, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.69 for "PET-Skewness" and 0.75 predicting overall progression for "PET-Median". In terms of progression-free survival analysis, patients with a lower value of PET-Skewness (threshold < 0.2014; hazard ratio (HR) 0.17, 95% CI 0.06–0.46; p < 0.001) and higher value of PET-Median (threshold > 0.5233; HR 0.23, 95% CI 0.11–0.49; p < 0.001) had a significantly lower probability of disease progression or death. Our Radiomics-based model might be able to predict response in advanced NSCLC patients treated with CKI-based first-line therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In patients with eye surface disorders such as dry eye syndrome or Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) it is necessary to improve the tear film condition in order to obtain visual system measurements before cataract surgery. The aim of the project was to analyze the Thermal Pulsation System (TPS) impact on the visual system parameters used in cataract surgery qualification. The study included six patients (11 eyes) with MGD diagnosis. All patients were treated with TPS. The obtained results were compared and used to calculate the power and type of the intraocular lens (IOL). As a treatment result, the power of astigmatism has changed in 64% of the eyes. Planned surgical treatment type has changed in 27% of cases. TPS also affected the cylinder axis in three eyes, which was 27% of cases. Based on the calculations, power of the recommended IOL has changed in five eyes (46%). Stabilization of visual system parameters after TPS allowed to improve the accuracy of the results. It also ensured the proper astigmatism treating method during cataract surgery and allowed selection of the proper IOL power and type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to identify, on the basis of the analysis of the literature and the results of empirical research, the expectations of enterprises towards suppliers regarding the improvement of their operational processes. It can be noticed that manufacturing companies, while improving their processes, also require actions in this area from suppliers. The article presents the results of empirical research conducted using the computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) technique in medium and large manufacturing companies operating in Poland. The results of these studies show that manufacturing companies focus their expectations towards suppliers mainly on the improvement of quality control processes (deliveries, semi-finished products, as well as the finished products). The research results presented in the article have several important implications for representatives of science and business.

Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(butylene adipate co-terephthalate) (PBAT) are biodegradable polymers applied as alternative materials to non-biodegradable plastics. They have adequate mechanical properties to be used on an industrial scale, but their high cost is a limiting factor. Using thermoplastic starch (TPS) as the main component of the matrix is an alternative to producing low-cost materials. This work aimed to develop PBAT/PBS/TPS biodegradable films by blown extrusion, combining the most attractive properties of each polymer: the ductility of PBAT, the tensile strength of PBS, and the biodegradability and low cost of TPS. PBS/PBAT/TPS (20/10/70 wt%) sample achieved the best balance between hardness, ductility, and strength, with an elongation at break of 32%, a tensile strength of 6 MPa, and Young's modulus (YM) of 56 MPa. Citric acid acted as a multifunctional compound, increasing tensile strength and elongation at break and decreasing YM for all films. It increased the opacity and degree of crystallinity of the films but did not influence the color. FTIR did not indicate chemical reactions between the constituents, and the SEM showed higher compatibility between TPS/PBAT than with PBS. Our work proposed a well-known manufacturing process that allows scaling up the production of biodegradable films.

Volatile organic compounds such as terpenes influence the quality parameters of grapevine through their contribution to the flavour and aroma profile of berries. Biosynthesis of volatile organic compounds in grapevine is relatively complex and controlled by multiple genes, the majority of which are unknown or uncharacterised. To identify the genomic regions that associate with modulation of these compounds in grapevine berries, volatile metabolic data generated via GC-MS from a grapevine mapping population was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Several significant QTLs were associated with terpenes, and candidate genes were proposed for sesquiterpene and monoterpene biosynthesis. For monoterpenes, loci on chromosomes 12 and 13 were shown to be associated with geraniol and cyclic monoterpene accumulation, respectively. The locus on chromosome 12 was shown to contain a geraniol synthase gene (VvGer), while the locus on chromosome 13 contained an α-terpineol synthase gene (VvTer). Molecular and genomic investigation of VvGer and VvTer revealed that these genes were found in tandemly duplicated clusters, displaying high levels of hemizygosity. Gene copy number analysis further showed that not only did VvTer and VvGer copy numbers vary within the mapping population, but also across recently sequenced Vitis cultivars. Significantly, VvTer copy number correlated with both VvTer gene expression and cyclic monoterpene accumulation in the mapping population. A hypothesis for a hyper-functional VvTer allele linked to increased gene copy number in the mapping population is presented and can potentially lead to selection of cultivars with modulated terpene profiles. The study highlights the impact of VvTPS gene duplication and copy number variation on terpene accumulation in grapevine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For future spacecraft TPS (heat shield) applications, ablation experiments of carbon phenolic material specimens with two lamination angles (0° and 30°) and two specially designed SiC-coated carbon–carbon composite specimens (with either cork or graphite base) were conducted using an HVOF material ablation test facility. The heat flux test conditions ranged from 3.25 to 11.5 MW/m2, corresponding to an interplanetary sample return re-entry heat flux trajectory. A two-color pyrometer, an IR camera, and thermocouples (at three internal locations) were used to measure the specimen temperature responses. At the 11.5 MW/m2 heat flux test condition, the 30° carbon phenolic specimen's maximum surface temperature value is approximately 2327 K, which is approximately 250 K higher than the corresponding value of the SiC-coated specimen with a graphite base. The 30° carbon phenolic specimen's recession value is approximately 44-fold greater, and the internal temperature values are approximately 1.5-fold lower than the corresponding values of the SiC-coated specimen with a graphite base. This indicates that increased surface ablation and a higher surface temperature relatively reduced heat transfer to the 30° carbon phenolic specimen's interior, leading to lower internal temperature values compared to those of the SiC-coated specimen with a graphite base. During the tests, a phenomenon of periodic explosions occurred on the 0° carbon phenolic specimen surfaces. The 30° carbon phenolic material is considered more suitable for TPS applications due to its lower internal temperatures, as well as the absence of abnormal material behavior as observed in the 0° carbon phenolic material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a screening of the efficacy of a microbial consortium of bacteria and fungi isolated from activated sludge, river sediment, and compost for the degradation of LDPE/TPS was performed. According to the morphological and biochemical characterization, eight bacteria, Bacillus sonorensis, Bacillus subtilis, Lysinibacillus massiliensis, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus indicus, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus cereus, and Pseudomonas alcaligenes, five molds, Aspergillus sp. 1, Aspergillus sp. 2, Trichoderma sp., Rhizopus sp., Penicillium sp., and Alternaria sp., and a yeast, Candida parapsilosis, were identified. The first experiment E1 was inoculated with microorganisms isolated from activated sludge and river sediment, and E2 with microorganisms isolated from compost. In both experiments, different types of polymeric materials, low density polyethylene (E1-1 and E2-1), thermoplastic starch (E1-2 and E2-2), low density polyethylene + thermoplastic starch (E1-3 and E2-3), low density polyethylene + thermoplastic starch + styrene-ethylene-styrene (E1-4 and E2-4) were added. The obtained results, weight loss, SEM, and FTIR analysis showed that the microorganisms in both experiments were able to degrade polymeric materials. The mixed culture of microorganisms in experiments E1-2 and E2-2 completely degraded TPS (thermoplastic starch). The percent weight losses of LDPE, LDPE+20% TPS, and LDPE+20% TPS+SEBS in experiment E1 were 3.3184%, 14.1152%, and 16.0062% and in experiment E2 were 3.9625%, 20.4520% and 21.9277%, respectively. SEM microscopy shows that the samples with a LDPE matrix exhibited moderate surface degradation and negligible oxidative degradation under the given conditions. FTIR/ATR data demonstrate that degradation was more intense in E2 than in E1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trehalose is a nonreducing disaccharide that is widely distributed in various organisms. Trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) is a critical enzyme responsible for the biosynthesis of trehalose, which serves important functions in growth and development, defense, and stress resistance. Although previous studies have found that the clubroot pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae can lead to the accumulation of trehalose in infected Arabidopsis organs, it has been proposed that much of the accumulated trehalose is derived from the pathogen. At present, there is very little evidence to verify this view. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of the TPS gene family was conducted in Brassica rapa and Plasmodiophora brassicae. A total of 14 Brassica rapa TPS genes (BrTPSs) and 3 P. brassicae TPS genes (PbTPSs) were identified, and the evolutionary characteristics, functional classification, and expression patterns were analyzed. Fourteen BrTPS genes were classified into two distinct classes according to phylogeny and gene structure. Three PbTPSs showed no significant differences in gene structure and protein conserved motifs. However, evolutionary analysis showed that the PbTPS2 gene failed to cluster with PbTPS1 and PbTPS3. Furthermore, cis-acting elements related to growth and development, defense and stress responsiveness, and hormone responsiveness were predicted in the promoter region of the BrTPS genes. Expression analysis of most BrTPS genes at five stages after P. brassicae interaction found no significant induction. Instead, the expression of the PbTPS genes of P. brassicae was upregulated, which was consistent with the period of trehalose accumulation. This study deepens our understanding of the function and evolution of BrTPSs and PbTPSs. Simultaneously, clarifying the biosynthesis of trehalose in the interaction between Brassica rapa and P. brassicae is also of great significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Security and a decentralized system are identical unique features of Blockchain. In recent times, blockchain-based cryptocurrency has become mainstream, but the growth and value of transactions and application services remain volatile. Among all these applications, finding a fast consensus in a large-scale blockchain network frequently requires extreme energy for huge computations and storing the complete blockchain for verification. These problems prevent further commercialization. Here, we present a solution to this problem. In this paper, we introduce a revised blockchain consensus algorithm, PDPoS, to address the scalability and transaction efficiency limitations. The symmetry in between Proof of Stake (PoS) and Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) is PoS. However, their ways of working are dissimilar. Here, we review the existing consensus algorithms, such as Proof of work (PoW), PoS and DPoS, as they are directly relating to our proposed work: PDPoS. We highligh Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)–based crypto-currencies, as they have much higher transactions per second (TPS) than PoW-based currencies. Then, we describe our proposed works and the working steps of the proposed PDPoS. Simulation results of the proposed PDPoS with two layers result in improved efficiency. We used TPS as the evolution criteria for showing that the proposed PDPoS is more efficient than DPoS. This makes the proposed work more relevant to the large-scale blockchain network as it is more efficient and requires less energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dependence on imports of animal feed makes the price of animal feed expensive. On the other hand, feed costs are known to account for 70%-80% of the total production costs. This condition causes the production efficiency to be low. Utilization of alternative protein sources whose availability is abundant and does not compete with human food needs, is one of the promising solutions to optimize production efficiency. Various types of insects have the potential to be used to produce useful biomass, but the ones that have begin to be studied are the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) or Hermetia illucens, the maggot/larvae of the house fly (Musca domestica) and the hongkong caterpillar. KKN (Community Service Program) members analyzed “Mrisi” for the cultivation of BSF larvae from looking for seeds, making a place for BSF larvae, mini experiments and distributing the harvest to the community. The BSF larvae cultivation program in Mrisi is proceeding as planned. TPS Tirto Asri has great potential in the process of cultivating BSF larvae. Good initial planning will result in good production too.

With the development of renewable energy, dual active half bridge (DAHB) has been widely used in renewable energy systems. For the purpose of reducing the damage caused by excessive current stress and improve the operation performance of the DAHB, this article proposes an optimized strategy of minimum current based on the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) method. The expressions of current stress corresponding to each mode are analyzed through mathematical derivation. Then the optimal solution of duty ratios are solved through KKT method. The proposed strategy decreases the current stress and improves the operation conditions compared to conventional single phase shift (SPS) and dual phase shift (DPS). Finally, simulation results conducted to validate the effect of proposed strategy.

For the epidemiological evaluation of long-term side effects of radiotherapy patients, it is important to know the doses to organs and tissues everywhere in the patient. Computed tomography (CT) images of the patients which contain the anatomical information are sometimes available for each treated patient. However, the available CT scans usually cover only the treated volume of the patient including the target and surrounding anatomy. To overcome this limitation, in this work we describe the development of a software tool using the Varian Eclipse Scripting API for extending a partial-body CT to a whole-body representation in the treatment planning system for dose calculation. The whole-body representation is created by fusing the partial-body CT with a similarly sized whole-body computational phantom selected from a library containing 64 phantoms of different heights, weights, and genders. The out-of-field dose is calculated with analytical models from the literature and merged with the treatment planning system-calculated dose. To test the method, the out-of-field dose distributions on the computational phantoms were compared to dose calculations on whole-body patient CTs. The mean doses, D2% and D98% were compared in 26 organs and tissues for 14 different treatment plans in 5 patients using 3D-CRT, IMRT, VMAT, coplanar and non-coplanar techniques. From these comparisons we found that mean relative differences between organ doses ranged from −10% and +20% with standard deviations of up to 40%. The developed method will help epidemiologists and researchers estimate organ doses outside the treated volume when only limited treatment planning CT information is available.

Due to technological limitations and budget constraints, spatiotemporal image fusion uses the complementarity of high temporal–low spatial resolution (HTLS) and high spatial–low temporal resolution (HSLT) data to obtain high temporal and spatial resolution (HTHS) fusion data, which can effectively satisfy the demand for HTHS data. However, some existing spatiotemporal image fusion models ignore the large difference in spatial resolution, which yields worse results for spatial information under the same conditions. Based on the flexible spatiotemporal data fusion (FSDAF) framework, this paper proposes a multilevel single-image super-resolution (SISR) method to solve this issue under the large difference in spatial resolution. The following are the advantages of the proposed method. First, multilevel super-resolution (SR) can effectively avoid the limitation of a single SR method for a large spatial resolution difference. In addition, the issue of noise accumulation caused by multilevel SR can be alleviated by learning-based SR (the cross-scale internal graph neural network (IGNN)) and then interpolation-based SR (the thin plate spline (TPS)). Finally, we add the reference information to the super-resolution, which can effectively control the noise generation. This method has been subjected to comprehensive experimentation using two authentic datasets, affirming that our proposed method surpasses the current state-of-the-art spatiotemporal image fusion methodologies in terms of performance and effectiveness.

Volatile organic compounds such as terpenes influence the quality parameters of grapevine through their contribution to the flavour and aroma profile of berries. Biosynthesis of volatile organic compounds in grapevine is relatively complex and controlled by multiple genes, the majority of which are unknown or uncharacterised. To identify the genomic regions that associate with modulation of these compounds in grapevine berries, volatile metabolic data generated via GC-MS from a grapevine mapping population was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Several significant QTLs were associated with terpenes, and candidate genes were proposed for sesquiterpene and monoterpene biosynthesis. For monoterpenes, loci on chromosomes 12 and 13 were shown to be associated with geraniol and cyclic monoterpene accumulation, respectively. The locus on chromosome 12 was shown to contain a geraniol synthase gene (VvGer), while the locus on chromosome 13 contained an α-terpineol synthase gene (VvTer). Molecular and genomic investigation of VvGer and VvTer revealed that these genes were found in tandemly duplicated clusters, displaying high levels of hemizygosity. Gene copy number analysis further showed that not only did VvTer and VvGer copy numbers vary within the mapping population, but also across recently sequenced Vitis cultivars. Significantly, VvTer copy number correlated with both VvTer gene expression and cyclic monoterpene accumulation in the mapping population. A hypothesis for a hyper-functional VvTer allele linked to increased gene copy number in the mapping population is presented and can potentially lead to selection of cultivars with modulated terpene profiles. The study highlights the impact of VvTPS gene duplication and copy number variation on terpene accumulation in grapevine.

Active Learning techniques, designed to make the students active and collaborative participants in the learning process, are gaining popularity as a supplement and alternative to traditional lectures. The purpose of this paper is to assess and evaluate the use of TPS as an active learning technique in the urban land use planning class of the surveying engineering department. Quantitative research was deployed. The class has a 50-sample size. The results of students' average result of the pretest (without TPS) and posttest using the Think Pair Share (TPS) method has increased from 8.975(44.98%) to 11.43(58.23%) out of 20(100%). The normalized gain for each student is 0.24(i.e. low and better than the pretest), but the value denotes a positive gain in the performance of the student's result. The witnessed level of satisfaction of students with this teaching intervention showed that the students have positively perceived that the use of the lecture method is not enough to learn urban land use planning courses effectively. On the other hand, the result of Cronbach's alpha coefficient data analysis of the witnessed level of satisfaction of students with TPS teaching intervention for the ten items is 0.797, suggesting that the items have relatively high internal consistency. So the majority of the respondents' students perceived the use of TPS as active learning is more essential than the traditional lecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to a lack of geotechnical and geothermal studies on Jordanian limestone, this paper aims to provide the thermal properties, including thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat, using the Hot Disk Transient Plane Source (TPS) 2200 method. It also aims to provide a set of mathematical models through which the thermal properties can be indirectly predicted from the rocks' physical and engineering properties. One hundred cylindrical rock specimens with a height of 20 cm and a diameter of 10 cm were extracted and prepared. The results showed that the thermal conductivity values ranged between (1.931–3.468) (W/(m × k)), thermal diffusivity (1.032–1.81) (mm2/s), and specific heat (1.57–2.563) ((MJ)/(m3 × K)). The results also suggest a direct relationship between conductivity and diffusivity and an inverse relationship between conductivity and specific heat. On the other hand, the results indicate the direct relationship between the conductivity and diffusivity, and the inverse relationship between the specific heat and density, hardness, sound velocity, and rock strength; the opposite happens when the rock's porosity is considered. Simple regression, multivariate regression, and the backpropagation–artificial neural network (BP–ANN) approach were utilized to predict the thermal properties of limestone. Results indicated that the ANN model provided superior prediction performance compared to other models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) is well tolerated in older cancer patients due to its safety profile. In selected patients with a high program death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor expression defined as 50% or above, the response rate and survival are significantly better than those for conventional chemotherapy. Modern radiotherapy techniques, such as intensity-modulated image-guided radiotherapy (IM-IGRT), volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) or proton therapy, enhance the tumor's response to CPI while sparing the normal organs from excessive irradiation. Thus, the combination of IM-IGRT and CPI should work well in older head and neck cancer patients with a high PD-L1 expression who are not candidates for cisplatin-based chemotherapy due to pre-existing comorbidities. This hypothesis should be tested in future prospective clinical trials. The standard of care for locally advanced head and neck cancer is concurrent chemoradiation or postoperative irradiation with or without chemotherapy. Surgery may not be an option for older patients (70 years old or above) due to multiple co-morbidities and frailty. Additionally, the standard chemotherapy of cisplatin may not be ideal for those patients due to oto- and nephrotoxicity. Though carboplatin is a reasonable alternative for cisplatin in patients with a pre-existing hearing deficit or renal dysfunction, its efficacy may be inferior to cisplatin for head and neck cancer. In addition, concurrent chemoradiation is frequently associated with grade 3–4 mucositis and hematologic toxicity leading to poor tolerance among older cancer patients. Thus, a new algorithm needs to be developed to provide optimal local control while minimizing toxicity for this vulnerable group of patients. Recently, immunotherapy with check point inhibitors (CPI) has attracted much attention due to the high prevalence of program death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in head and neck cancer. In patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer refractory to cisplatin-based chemotherapy, CPI has proven to be superior to conventional chemotherapy for salvage. Those with a high PD-L1 expression defined as 50% or above or a high tumor proportion score (TPS) may have an excellent response to CPI. This selected group of patients may be candidates for CPI combined with modern radiotherapy techniques, such as intensity-modulated image-guided radiotherapy (IM-IGRT), volumetric arc therapy (VMAT) or proton therapy if available, which allow for the sparing of critical structures, such as the salivary glands, oral cavity, cochlea, larynx and pharyngeal muscles, to improve the patients' quality of life. In addition, normal organs that are frequently sensitive to immunotherapy, such as the thyroid and lungs, are spared with modern radiotherapy techniques. In fit or carefully selected frail patients, a hypofractionated schedule may be considered to reduce the need for daily transportation. We propose a protocol combining CPI and modern radiotherapy techniques for older patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer who are not eligible for cisplatin-based chemotherapy and have a high TPS. Prospective studies should be performed to verify this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]