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This article proposes a small multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wearable antenna system with four coplanar waveguide-fed antennas operating in the new radio band 79 (4.4–5 GHz) applications. The suggested MIMO antenna system consists of four identical hexagonal-shaped monopole radiators, and each is printed on polymide substrate with the size of 1.33 λ0 × 1.03 λ0, where λ0 is the wavelength at centre frequency 4.5 GHz. By placing four antenna elements in orthogonal arrangements, independent radiation pattern is achieved, thereby increasing isolation better than 17 dB. Specifically, no dedicated mechanism has been introduced to obtain the substantial isolation. All the antenna elements in the MIMO arrangement have broadband operation resonating between 4.4 and 5 GHz covering n79 (new radio band) 5G applications. The proposed antenna has a peak gain around 3.8–4 dBi over the operating frequency with radiation efficiency ranging from 88% to 90%. Since flexible substrate is used in the design, conformability of the antenna has been verified by performing bending analysis. The MIMO antenna provides better measured results, which are consistent with the simulated results; therefore, the antenna explored in this research could be the better candidate for 5G conformal and wearable applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the 2018 report of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the total number of recorded flood events between 1998 and 2017 was 3,148. This means there is an average of 13 monthly floods on our Earth. Satellite monitoring using Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can be effectively used to map floods. It provides a short revisit time, a high spatial resolution of 5 m, and a swath of up to 400 km. In this study, we compare two promising flood mapping algorithms to map floods which are common phenomena in the An Giang area, and to monitor the mapping difficulty of flood peaks. The two mapping algorithms are Global Flood Mapper (GFM), an open-source Google Earth Engine (GEE) application; and the other algorithm implemented the Otsu threshold method and change detection approach. They were visually compared using Sentinel-2 optical data and a land-use land cover (LULC) map of An Giang, Vietnam. The results show that the GFM overcomes the misclassification of flooded and non-flooded areas. A good statistical agreement showed that the performance of flood maps derived from the modified GFM algorithm on Sentinel-1 VH-VV-VH RGB composite and Sentinel-2 images have better accuracy than the Otsu Sentinel-1 technique by $\sim20\% $ ∼ 20 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaria is a life‐threatening disease that affects tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Various drugs were used to treat malaria, including artemisinin and derivatives, antibiotics (tetracycline, doxycycline), quinolines (chloroquine, amodiaquine), and folate antagonists (sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine). Since the malarial parasites developed drug resistance, there is a need to develop new chemical entities with high efficacy and low toxicity. In this context, 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes emerged as an essential scaffold and have shown promising antimalarial activity. To improve activity and overcome resistance to various antimalarial drugs; 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes were fused with various aryl/heteroaryl/alicyclic/spiro moieties (steroid‐based 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes, triazine‐based 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes, aminoquinoline‐based 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes, dispiro‐based 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes, piperidine‐based 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes and diaryl‐based 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxanes). The present review aims to focus on covering the relevant literature published during the past 30 years (1992–2022). We summarize the most significant in vitro, in vivo results and structure–activity relationship studies of 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxane‐based hybrids as antimalarial agents. The structural evolution of different hybrids can provide the framework for the future development of 1,2,4,5‐tetraoxane‐based hybrids to treat malaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presented in this paper is an evaluation of human tissue penetration by millimeter wave (mmW) energy, particularly at 30, 35, 40 and 45 GHz. Numerical simulations show that the penetration depths in the tissue are (0.1000, 0.0937, 0.08869 and 0.08882) mm at the aforementioned frequency, respectively. It is also demonstrated that all mmW at those frequencies attenuate to zero at the epidermis which is the layer adjacent to the skin surface, without getting into the dermis which is the next layer. Crucially, these discoveries present fresh, previously unmentioned data within the current research literature. Furthermore, at the lower frequency of 24 GHz, computer simulations presented show that the propagating wave penetrates deeper (depth of 0.12 mm) and attenuates to zero at the dermis. This shows that the depth of penetration increases further at lower frequencies which strongly conforms to the principles of physical reasoning, thereby bolstering the reliability of the findings presented in this paper. The results collectively indicate that the absorption of mmW into the human tissue have limited significance when assessing compliance with electromagnetic field standards at mmW frequencies. It is reinforced in this paper why the human skin reduces the harmful effects of ultra-violet radiation. To lend credence to our formulation, certain aspects of the results obtained in this investigation when compared with similar results in the literature, show good agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reporting entities have been made jointly responsible for protecting the financial system against money laundering. However, because of privacy rules, law enforcement is not allowed to share details about underlying criminal evidence with private parties. Gatekeepers thus do not have background information on predicate offenses or other criminal acts associated with a transaction, nor do they know whether their clients are individuals who the investigative authorities designate as professional money launderers (PLMs). At the same time, gatekeepers unknowingly come across such clients who, because of their financial behaviour or other reasons, are subsequently reported to the authorities. This article examines what we can learn from these reported transactions. It combines police registrations of 264 PMLs connected to drug trafficking with Suspicious Activity Reports filed by reporting entities. It turns out that over 5,000 reported transactions are connected to 68% of the PMLs. The study also shows several differences between categories of PMLs although recurring money laundering themes are cash money flow, loans and real estate. A key finding is that gatekeepers report more diffuse financial conduct compared to the literature about PMLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

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

Ultra-wideband (UWB) radar is highly effective for nondestructive testing of concrete structures. In this study, we propose a near-field synthetic aperture radar (SAR) signal processing technique using an impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) radar to generate high-resolution images of the internal structures of concrete materials. For this purpose, we developed an accurate back-projection (BP) algorithm to compensate for the electromagnetic refraction and attenuation of a radar traveling through a concrete medium. A novel technique was implemented to suppress noisy clutter caused by internal impurities in concrete structures. For the experimental demonstration, concrete structures were constructed with metal bars inside, and the performance of the imaging system was evaluated by measuring the azimuth resolution and signal-to-noise metrics of the generated SAR images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Most of published research on magnetic hyperthermia focused on iron oxides, ferrites, and binary alloy nanostructures, while the ternary alloys attracted much limited interest. Herein, we prepared NiCuCo ternary alloy nanocomposites with variable compositions by mechanical alloying. Physical properties were fully characterized by XRD, Rietveld analysis, XPS, SEM/EDX, TEM, ZFC/FC and H-M loops. DFT calculations were used to confirm the experimental results in terms of structure and magnetism. The results showed that the fabricated nanoalloys are face centered cubic (FCC) with average core sizes of 9–40 nm and behave as superparamagnetic with saturation in the range 4.67–42.63 emu/g. Langevin fitting corroborated the superparamagnetic behavior, while law of approach to saturation (LAS) was used to calculate the magnetic anisotropy constants. Heating effciencies were performed under an alternating magnetic field (AMF, H0 = 170 Oe and f = 332.5 kHz), and specific absorption rate (SAR) values were determined. The highest magnetic saturation (Ms), heating potentials, and SAR values were attained for Ni35Cu30Co35 containing the lowest Cu but highest Ni and Co percentages, and the least for Ni15Cu70Co15. Importantly, the nanoalloys reached the required temperatures for magnetic hyperthermia (42 °C) in relatively short times. We also showed that heat dissipiation can be simply tuned by changing many parameters such as concentration, field amplitude, and frequency. Finally, cytotoxicity viability assays against two different breast cancer cell lines treated with Ni25Cu50Co25 nanoalloy in the presence and absence of AMF were investigated. No significant decrease in cancer cell viability was observed in the absence of AMF. When tested against tumorigenic KAIMRC2 breast cancer cells under AMF, the NiCuCo nanoalloy was found to be highly potent to the cells (~ 2-fold enhancement), killing almost all the cells in short times (20 min) and clinically-safe AC magnetic fields. These findings strongly suggest that the as-prepared ternary NiCuCo nanoalloys hold great promise for potential magnetically-triggered cancer hyperthermia.

Abstract In this article, a regional ocean surface waves dataset from Sentinel‐1 A and B Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites has been described. The ocean wave data have been extracted from the Sentinel‐1 level‐2 OCN (ocean) product as provided by the European Space Agency and downloadable for this region from the Copernicus Australasia regional data hub. The source OCN data have been produced by evolving versions of Sentinel‐1 Instrument Processing Facility (IPF). The structure of the source OCN NetCDF files changes over time and presents a challenge in performing long duration, time series analyses, including the examination of potential inconsistencies in OCN wave data, due to employment of different IPF versions over the duration of the satellite missions. Here, the input OCN wave data have been homogenized to a single, easily usable standard format after applying a quality assurance and control procedure that removes various inconsistencies in variables, coordinates, dimensions and land flag, and through the addition of new auxiliary variables. The new format has the desirable properties of being compact in size, consistent in structure, and scalable in temporal and spatial coverage. It is also convenient to use and offers opportunities to perform fast, multi‐year regional processing and analysis for calibration and validation studies and scientific applications. No re‐processing of Sentinel‐1 level‐1 data has been carried out in this work.

Abstract Many SAR images have been utilized for geologic disasters investigations with the continuous launch of new Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites such as ALOS-2/PALSAR-2. However, to proactively respond to transient slope failures caused by heavy rainfall, rapid extraction of areas of surface change accompanying slope failures is required. This study proposes two methods for quantitatively extracting slope failure areas using L-band SAR observations with slope units (SUs) as the evaluation units. The first method is based on the threshold method, which automates the selection of thresholds for various disaster-affected conditions, such as land use and topography. The second method is a machine-learning-based density ratio estimation method, which uses multi-temporal periodic observation data and pre- and post-disaster data to detect outliers through feature selection optimization. In the observation direction with the shortest satellite observation period, the F1 score (The F1 score is the harmonic mean of the precision and recall) of the threshold method for accuracy evaluation is 61.91%, and the F1 score of the density ratio method is 65.87%. Both methods can reduce the problem of low extraction accuracy caused by the effect of speckle noise. When slope failure occurs, both methods can extract the area of surface change within hours of a disaster. The method proposed in this study displays good applicability in supporting emergency rescue and the prevention of secondary disasters.

All irrigation waters contain some dissolved salts .Dissolved salts are present because some chemical elements have a strong attraction for water and a relatively weak attraction for other elements .The total amount and kinds of salts determine the suitability of the water for irrigation use .Water may contain large amounts of salts that are not suitable for irrigation because of their risks to the soil and crop. The study of groundwater quality is important as one of the main freshwater resources that are used for various purposes, including irrigation of agricultural crops. The study aims to identify the chemical composition of groundwater in Kirkuk Governorate, and evaluate its quality for irrigation purposes. The study area is located between two latitudes (35̊ 23′51″-35̊ 29′ 50″) N and longitude (44̊ 12′47″-44̊ 27′81″)E and has a total area of about (305158.41) hectares .Samples were collected during September (2023), where sixty wells randomly distributed in the study area were selected, many chemical and physical analyzes were conducted, GIS technology was used to perform spatial analysis using (Arc GIS v,10.4.1), the IWQI irrigation water quality index was determined with five parameters, which include electrical conductivity EC, sodium Na, chlorides Cl , bicarbonate HCO3 and Sodium absorption ratio SAR. The values of the irrigation water quality index IWQI ranged between (46.37-86.59).The spatial distribution map of the irrigation water quality index showed that 0.02% of the study area was classified as having excellent restrictions and determinants for irrigation purposes, and that 88.97% of them were classified as having low restrictions and determinants, while 10.98% of them were classified as having moderate restrictions and 0.02% were classified as having high restrictions.

Presented in this paper is an evaluation of human tissue penetration by millimeter wave (mmW) energy, particularly at 30, 35, 40 and 45 GHz. Numerical simulations show that the penetration depths in the tissue are (0.1000, 0.0937, 0.08869 and 0.08882) mm at the aforementioned frequency, respectively. It is also demonstrated that all mmW at those frequencies attenuate to zero at the epidermis which is the layer adjacent to the skin surface, without getting into the dermis which is the next layer. Crucially, these discoveries present fresh, previously unmentioned data within the current research literature. Furthermore, at the lower frequency of 24 GHz, computer simulations presented show that the propagating wave penetrates deeper (depth of 0.12 mm) and attenuates to zero at the dermis. This shows that the depth of penetration increases further at lower frequencies which strongly conforms to the principles of physical reasoning, thereby bolstering the reliability of the findings presented in this paper. The results collectively indicate that the absorption of mmW into the human tissue have limited significance when assessing compliance with electromagnetic field standards at mmW frequencies. It is reinforced in this paper why the human skin reduces the harmful effects of ultra-violet radiation. To lend credence to our formulation, certain aspects of the results obtained in this investigation when compared with similar results in the literature, show good agreements.

A compact ultra-wide band antenna for breast cancer detection in bio-medical applications is presented in this study. The proposed antenna is printed on 1.6 mm thick FR4 substrate with a dielectric constant of 4.6 and tangential loss of 0.02. The uniform ground plane on the substrate (PCB) has been altered by shortening its length and making minimal changes to its side edges in order to improve overall bandwidth. The suggested antenna is functioning from 3 to 10.2 GHz which covers the ultra-wide band recommended by Federal Communication Commission (FCC) over the 10 dB impedance bandwidth. Additionally, the antenna has a significant overall gain of 3.2 dBi and an overall radiation efficiency of between 89 % and 92 %. Furthermore, the antenna maintains a uniform radiation pattern across its operating band. Parametric research has been conducted on the different parameters to tune the antenna into the required operating band, and placement analysis of the antenna is then investigated by assessing specific absorption rate (SAR).

The 2022 Paktika earthquake (moment magnitude: 6.2) occurred on June 22, 2022, near the border between the Khost and Paktika Provinces of Afghanistan, causing heavy damage and casualties in Paktika Province. This study evaluated the crustal deformation and associated strong motions induced by the Paktika earthquake. Crustal deformations were determined using the Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) technique and three-dimensional finite element method (3D-FEM) and the results were compared. The permanent ground displacements obtained from the DInSAR and 3D-FEM analyses were similar in terms of amplitude and areal distribution. Strong motions were estimated using the 3D-FEM with and without considering regional topography. The estimations of maximum ground acceleration, velocity, and permanent ground deformations were compared among each other as well as with those inferred from failures of some simple structures in the Spera and Gayan districts. The inferred maximum ground acceleration and velocity from the failed adobe structures were more than 300 Gal and 50 cm/s, respectively, nearly consistent with the estimates obtained using empirical methods. The empirical method yielded a maximum ground acceleration of 347 Gal, whereas the maximum ground velocity was approximately 50 cm/s. In light of these findings, some surface expressions of crustal deformations and strong ground motions, such as failures of soil and rock slopes and rockfalls, have been presented. The rock slope failures in the epicentral area were consistent with those observed during various earthquakes in Afghanistan and worldwide.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an endocrinological disorder in which blood sugar levels get elevated and if unmanaged, it leads to several critical complications. Existing therapies or drugs are not able to attain absolute control of DM. Moreover, associated side/adverse effects associated with pharmacotherapy further worsen the Quality of life of patients. Present review is focused on therapeutical potential of flavonoids in management of diabetes and diabetic complications. Plenteous literature has established significant potential of flavonoids in the treatment of diabetes and diabetic complications. A number of flavonoids are found to be effective in treatment of not only diabetes but progression of diabetic complication was also found to be attenuated with the use of flavonoids. Moreover, SAR studies of some flavonoids also indicated the that efficacy of flavonoids is increased with a change in functional group of flavonoids in the treatment of diabetes and diabetic complications. A number of clinical trials are into action to investigate the therapeutic potential of flavonoids as first-line drugs or as adjuvants for treatment of diabetes and diabetic complications.. Owing to their diverse mechanism of action, efficacy and safety, flavonoids may be conscripted as potential candidate for treatment of diabetic complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kidney cancer is a significant health concern worldwide, with early detection crucial for successful treatment outcomes. Recently, there has been an increasing focus on investigating affordable and non-intrusive methods for detecting cancer at its early stages. This proposed approach delves into the utilization of antenna arrays to identify kidney cancer. Specifically, antenna array with circular polarization has been crafted to identify tumors in the human kidney. This array design has been implemented using CST software, operating at 2.4 GHz. The antenna array having a dimension of 150 mm x 150 mm. The array consists of four-square patches each having a length of 30 mm and the spacing between the patches is preferred to be 20 mm for ensuring the mutual coupling. FR4 substrate is used with the relative permittivity 4.3 and 1.6 mm thickness. The axial ratio of the circularly polarized antenna is 0.9 dB at 2.4 GHz. The reflection coefficient S 11 = –30dB. The renal phantom in humans has been built with the kidney, adrenal gland, ureter, skin, fat, and muscle components to allow for precise simulation. Following that, four stages of cancer tumors were built employing all of the necessary qualities. For every stage of the cancer tumor, the reflection coefficient growth and resonance frequency shift are calculated. For the initial stages, the resonance frequency shift is very low. Consequently, the primary determinant of detection is the rise in S 11 . For 3rd and 4th stages of the tumor, there is a significant change in resonance frequency and increase S 11 , which facilitates identification. The calculated specific absorption rate (SAR) is a smaller amount than the safety thresholds, indicating that using this method is safe. Overall, this research points to a novel, easy-to-use method for kidney cancer screening. This method has the following benefits: it is non-invasive, safe, quick, affordable, and comfortable, and it emits no ionizing radiation during the measurement process. Furthermore, a range of output parameters such as gain, directivity, and polar radiation have been accurately computed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study focuses on the devastating floods along the Kosi River in Bihar in July 2020, which were recorded by Sentinel-1A satellite images. Three flood-affected districts in Saharsa, Supaul, and Madhepura have been selected for this study. Pre- and post-flood images from the Sentinel-1A satellite were utilized to generate the flood-inundated map, and pre-flood Landsat-8 datasets were used to generate the land use and land cover maps. Finally, damage assessment was done by superimposing land use and land cover on a flood-inundated map. The results showed that Madhepura was the most affected district with 57.6% of its barren land experiencing inundation. Furthermore, a comparison of cloud cover percentages during the flood was undertaken using the Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-2B, and Landsat-8 datasets. The findings indicate Sentinel-1A has less than 1% cloud cover, making it suitable for flood monitoring. Due to urbanization and industrialization, land use/cover (LULC) varies rapidly, and the effect on the flood plain must be determined. TerrSet's Land Change Modeler uses cellular automata–Markov modeling to project LULC maps for 2030 and their implications for subsequent flooding. The findings indicate that Saharsa will see an increase in the built-up area of 2.7%, Supaul with a gain of 13.4%, and Madhepura will see a growth of 10.3%. The growth of built-up regions in the near future will encourage greater impermeable layers and more discharge. Therefore, land use planners, environmentalists, and lawmakers should consider these LULC changes in water resource planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2022 Paktika earthquake (moment magnitude: 6.2) occurred on June 22, 2022, near the border between the Khost and Paktika Provinces of Afghanistan, causing heavy damage and casualties in Paktika Province. This study evaluated the crustal deformation and associated strong motions induced by the Paktika earthquake. Crustal deformations were determined using the Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) technique and three-dimensional finite element method (3DFEM) and the results were compared. The permanent ground displacements obtained from the DInSAR and 3D-FEM analyses were similar in terms of amplitude and areal distribution. Strong motions were estimated using the 3D-FEM with and without considering regional topography. The estimations of maximum ground acceleration, velocity, and permanent ground deformations were compared among each other as well as with those inferred from failures of some simple structures in the Spera and Gayan districts. The inferred maximum ground acceleration and velocity from the failed adobe structures were more than 300 Gal and 50 cm/s, respectively, nearly consistent with the estimates obtained using empirical methods. The empirical method yielded a maximum ground acceleration of 347 Gal, whereas the maximum ground velocity was approximately 50 cm/s. In light of these findings, some surface expressions of crustal deformations and strong ground motions, such as failures of soil and rock slopes and rockfalls, have been presented. The rock slope failures in the epicentral area were consistent with those observed during various earthquakes in Afghanistan and worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents an UWB antenna for on-body application with advancements in EBG backed reflector incorporating the compatibility and flexibility in structure. The ultra-wideband (UWB) frequency range supported by the designed antenna is between 2.78 GHz and 18 GHz. The antenna is designed with jeans textile substrate for the compatibility in on-body applications, which has appealing qualities such as flexibility and low dielectric properties, while the antenna radiator patch and ground plane are made of copper. The designed antenna is applicable on human body, meticulously designed EBG surface that could minimize antenna frequency detuning, with specific absorption rate (SAR). This allows for a great deal of flexibility in terms of the antenna design, allowing it to realize a high gain, enhanced bandwidth and directional radiation pattern. The antenna gain is increased by 99.8 % once EBG is applied and the SAR is decreased from 22.03 W/kg to 0.104 W/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study proposes faster virtual observation point (VOP) compression as well as post‐processing algorithms for specific absorption rate (SAR) matrix compression. Furthermore, it shows the relation between the number of channels and the computational burden for VOP‐based SAR calculation. Methods: The proposed new algorithms combine the respective benefits of two different criteria for determining upper boundedness of SAR matrices by the VOPs. Comparisons of the old and new algorithms are performed for head coil arrays with various channel counts. The new post‐processing algorithm is used to post‐process the VOP sets of nine arrays, and the number of VOPs for a fixed median relative overestimation is compared. Results: The new algorithms are faster than the old algorithms by a factor of two to more than 10. The compression efficiency (number of VOPs relative to initial number of SAR matrices) is identical. For a fixed median relative overestimation, the number of VOPs increases logarithmically with the number of RF coil channels when post‐processing is applied. Conclusion: The new algorithms are much faster than previous algorithms. Post‐processing is very beneficial for online SAR supervision of MRI systems with high channel counts, since for a given number of VOPs the relative SAR overestimation can be lowered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Eastern Mediterranean region, a vital conduit for global maritime trade, faces significant environmental challenges due to marine pollution, particularly from oil spills. This is the first study covering the long period of comprehensive monitoring of oil pollution using the full mission of Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data in the Mediterranean Sea, so this research aims to detect and analyze comprehensively the occurrence of oil spills in the Eastern Mediterranean over a decade (2014–2023). This study focuses on identifying geographical distribution patterns, proximity to shorelines, frequency across maritime zones, and potential sources of these spills, especially around major ports and maritime routes. This study utilizes SAR data from the Sentinel-1 satellite. The methodology included automated detection algorithms within the Sentinel application platform (SNAP) and integration with GIS mapping to study oil spill patterns and characteristics. Over 1000 Sentinel-1 scenes were investigated in the northern Mediterranean waters off the coast of Egypt, to detect and analyze 355 oil spill events with a total impacted area of more than 6000 km2. The analysis of temporal spill distribution reveals significant fluctuations from year to year. Within the entire timeline of the study, 2017 had the largest spatial areas covering one thousand square kilometers. In contrast, the single largest spill recorded during the study period occurred in 2020, covering 198.73 square kilometers. The results identified a non-uniform distribution of oil spills and primarily exhibiting elongated patterns aligned with the navigation routes. The distinct increase of oil spill incidents was within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), obviously drifted to the coastline and around major ports. The study emphasizes the critical role of remote sensing technologies in addressing environmental challenges caused by the maritime transport sector, advocating for enhanced monitoring and regulatory enforcement to protect marine ecosystems and support sustainable naval activities. The findings highlight the urgent need for targeted continuous monitoring and rapid response strategies in high-traffic maritime areas, particularly around the EEZ and major ports.

We present a checklist of spiders inhabiting the Pelagie archipelago and Pantelleria island, in the Strait of Sicily (Southern Italy). Data were compiled from both literature sources and unpublished materials stored in museum collections. In total, we report new data on 100 species, bringing the total number of species documented for the islands of the Strait of Sicily to 148. Among these, 8 are new for Europe and 9 new for Italy. The island of Lampedusa hosts the highest number of species (107), followed by Pantelleria (63) and Linosa (25). The most represented families are Gnaphosidae in Lampedusa and Linosa, while Salticidae is dominant in Pantelleria. Most of the species present on the islands of the Strait of Sicily have a Holarctic distribution. Several rare species are recorded, including Haplodrassus crassipes (Lucas, 1846), Palliduphantes labilis (Simon, 1913) and Xysticus promiscuus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876. In addition, the female of Poecilochroa loricata Kritscher, 1996 (Gnaphosidae) is here described and illustrated for the first time. As revealed by the study of the species-area relationship, the islands of the Strait of Sicily host a higher number of species compared to other small islands in Italy. Accordingly, species richness recorded in Lampedusa and Linosa is higher than expected, while further investigations are suggested to increase knowledge of the local spider diversity.

Today age of advancement one of the fastest growing fields of the technology is wearable electronics and device. In the recent advancement the wearable devices for on and off body communication is going expeditiously. For the wearable wireless communication, wearable antennas are mostly used due to its compact size, self powered, light weight, low profile, portable wireless communication and sensing. This paper throws light on wearable antennas for on body and off body communication including their applications, advantages and disadvantages. A comparative study is conducted on designing of different on body and off body wearable antennas and parameters of designed antenna such as their size, shape, gain, SAR have been compared and analyzed. In this paper also discussed the impact of the wearable antenna on human body and impact of human body on antenna.

Abstract Background In this work, we represent synthesis, in silico analysis and biological activity of 1,4 diazepine linked piperidine derivatives (6a–6o). All the derivatives were screened for their anti-microbial activity against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus Subtills, Bacillus megaterium) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudonymous, Shigella sp.) bacteria. Compounds were synthesized from reaction of tert-butyl 1,4-diazepane-1-carboxylic, butyryl chloride and varied aromatic aldehyde, further characterized by 1H NMR and LCMS spectral techniques. Result Using ampicillin as a positive control, the synthetic compounds 6a–6o were tested for their in-silico study and experimental anti-microbial activity against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus Subtills, Bacillus megaterium) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudonymous, Shigella sp.) bacteria. According to in vitro assay compound 6a, compound 6c, compound 6d, compound 6m and compound 6I showed higher activity against all the tested strains. Molecule 6i, compound 6j, compound 6k, compound 6f has good to moderate antibacterial activity. DFT computations were used to optimize the molecular geometry at the B3LYP/6-31G (d, p) theoretical level. The corresponding energy values of molecular orbitals were visualized using optimized geometries. Moreover, Auto Dock Vina 1.2.0 is used to assess molecular docking against two target proteins, Bacillus subtilis (PDB ID: 6UF6) and Protease Vulgaris (PDB ID: 5HXW). The target molecule 6b displayed the best binding energies for both. Additionally, we calculated the ADME for each molecule (6a–6o). Conclusion All fifteen synthesized compounds were screened for their in vitro and in silico analysis. In vitro analysis for anti-microbial activity was carried out against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus Subtills, Bacillus megaterium) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudonymous, Shigella sp.) bacteria and compound 6a, compound 6c, compound 6d, compound 6m and compound 6I exhibits more potent activity towards all tested strains. Molecular docking is performed against target proteins, L-amino acid deaminase from Proteus Vulgaris and LcpA ligase from Bacillus subtilis, representing the Gram-negative bacterium and Gram-positive bacterium, respectively. Compound 6b showed the highest no. of interaction with protein according to molecular docking. With the advent of innovative techniques like ADME, we select their hit compounds early on and anticipate future pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic benefits and drawbacks of these promising therapeutic candidates. Graphical abstract

The morphological shape and structure of the crop vary with phenological stages. Model and eigen based decomposition model parameters extracted from the Radarsat-2 data and the trend with respect to ground truth crop phenology were analysed. Sensitive parameters were devised through stepwise approach under 7 combinations of polarimetric variables of increasing complexity were assessed. Compared under the three machine learning algorithms (ANN, RF and SVM) where ANN rendered the maximum correlation with 0.92 with a MAE of 4 days which was implemented on a large parcel of maize mask in the study area. SVM performed poorly with highly overlapping parameters such as backscatter but performed well (r = 0.85). For assessing the crop biophysical parameters, the three algorithms were evaluated and sensitivity analysis for statistically significant polarimetric variables for biophysical parameters was performed. The assessment was performed on Multi-Layer Perception (MLP) neural network. The networks were trained with algorithms and hidden layer nodes until the MAE achieved permissible limits. Plant height could be estimated more profoundly with an r = 0.8 with a considerably good MAE of 24.9 cm but other parameters (WB, DB and LAI) were estimated in moderate correlation of 0.6–0.65 where the MAE of WB, DB and LAI were found to be 1317gm−2, 553 gm−2 and 0.78 respectively. This is the first step towards understanding the complex scattering mechanisms in Indian maize scenario assessing the growth parameters from polarimetric data. Thus, the analytical findings brought out possess the potential to serve as the reference for the future research initiatives.

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Medicinal chemistry highly values the benzimidazole scaffold as a pharmacophore owing to its versatile range of biological functions. In the present study, 17 derivatives of 2‐aryl‐N1‐arylacetamido benzimidazoles 3(a–q) were synthesized by nucleophilic substitution reactions between different 2‐chloro‐N‐(aryl)‐acetamides 2(a–q) and 2‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐1H‐benzo[d]imidazole (1) in N, N‐dimethylformamide, and evaluated for in vitro anti‐HIV and antifungal activities. Of these derivatives, compounds 3 a, 3 b, 3 i, and 3 n showed moderate inhibitory efficacy against HIV‐1 RT, whereas the remaining compounds showed negligible activity compared to the standard drug efavirenz. In contrast, most of the test compounds demonstrated significant efficacy against fungal strains such as Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. Compounds 3 a, 3 f, 3 m, and 3 n were the most effective antifungal agents. We applied computational approaches to rationalize the potency of the newly synthesized inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inhibitors of the interaction between Neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A165 (VEGF-A165) hold significant promise as therapeutic and diagnostic agents directed against cancers overexpressing NRP-1. In our efforts in this field, a few series of strong and fairly stable peptide-like inhibitors of the general formula Lys(Har)1-Xaa2-Xaa3-Arg4 have been previously discovered. In the current work, we focused on Lys(Har)-Dap/Dab-Pro-Arg sequence. The aim was to examine whether replacing C-terminal Arg with its homologs and mimetics would yield more stable yet still potent inhibitors. Upon considering the results of modelling and other factors, ten novel analogues with Xaa4 = homoarginine (Har), 2-amino-4-guanidino-butyric acid (Agb), 2-amino-3-guanidino-propionic acid (Agp), citrulline (Cit), 4-aminomethyl-phenylalanine [Phe(4-CH2-NH2)] were designed, synthesized and evaluated. Two of the proposed modifications resulted in inhibitors with activity slightly lower [e.g. IC50 = 14.3 μM for Lys(Har)-Dab-Pro-Har and IC50 = 19.8 μM for Lys(Har)-Dab-Pro-Phe(4-CH2-NH2)] than the parent compounds [e.g. IC50 = 4.7 μM for Lys(Har)-Dab-Pro-Arg]. What was a surprise to us, the proteolytic stability depended more on position two of the sequence than on position four. The Dab2-analogues exhibited half-life times beyond 60 h. Our results build up the knowledge on the structural requirements that effective VEGF-A165/NRP-1 inhibitors should fulfil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of software simulators has a long tradition in robotics, allowing the rapid prototyping of behaviors thus saving time and cost. In recent years there has been an increased interest in the development of social robots and Socially Assistive Robots (SARs), for which interaction design, rather than movement and control issues are more important. This work describes the design, development and evaluation of a simulator software for the EVA robot, named EvaSIM. The EVA (Embodied Voice Assistant) robot is an open-source robotics platform created to support research in human-robot interaction. The EvaSIM simulator can interpret the codes of the scripts generated with the EVA visual programming language (VPL) as well as the codes generated with the EvaML language, an XML-based language for developing interactive sessions for the EVA robot. The simulator includes a Parser and an Execution module and GUI to enact the designed interactions. EvaSIM is capable of simulating the robot's multimodal interaction capabilities, emphasizing its social affordances. The simulator was evaluated in relation to its perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, clarity and usability by 26 users. The SUS instrument was used to assess usability. Results indicate that the EvaSIM simulator is perceived by users as effective, useful and easy to use. Results were consistent among experienced and beginner users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the pressing global challenge of antibiotic resistance, time efficient design and synthesis of novel antibiotics are of immense need. Polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAP) were previously reported to effectively combat a range of gram‐positive bacteria. Although the exact mode of action is still not clear, we conceptualized a late‐stage divergent synthesis approach to expand our natural product‐based PPAP library by 30 additional entities to perform SAR studies against methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Although at this point only data from cellular assays are available and understanding of molecular drug‐target interactions are lacking, the experimental data were used to generate 3D‐QSAR models via an artificial intelligence training and to identify a common pharmacophore model. The experimentally validated QSAR model enabled the estimation of anti‐MRSA activities of a virtual compound library consisting of more than 100,000 in‐silico generated B PPAPs, out of which the 20 most promising candidates were synthesized. These novel PPAPs revealed significantly improved cellular activities against MRSA with growth inhibition down to concentrations less than 1 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the potential of an Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) system to enhance search-and-rescue operations. While prior research has explored ISAC capabilities in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), our study focuses on addressing the specific challenges posed by modern communication standards (e.g., power, frequency, and bandwidth limitations) in the context of search-and-rescue missions. The paper details effective methods for processing echoed signals generated by downlink transmissions and evaluates key performance indicators, including Noise Equivalent Sigma Zero (NESZ) and channel capacity. Additionally, we utilize synchronization uplink signals transmitted by User Equipment (UE) to improve target detection and classification of possible victims by fusing SAR imagery with triangulation results from uplink signals. An experimental campaign validates the proposed setup by integrating SAR images of the environment with active localization results, both produced by a UAV equipped with a Software Defined Radio (SDR) payload. Our results demonstrate the system's capability to detect and localize buried targets in avalanche scenarios, with localization errors ranging from centimeters to 10 m depending on environmental conditions. This successful integration highlights the practical applicability of our approach in challenging search-and-rescue missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abundant datasets are critical to train models based on deep learning technologies for ship detection applications. Compared with optical images, ship detection based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) (especially the high-Earth-orbit spaceborne SAR launched recently) lacks enough training samples. A novel cross-domain attention GAN (CDA-GAN) model is proposed for optical-to-SAR translation, which can generate high-quality SAR amplitude training samples of a target by optical image conversion. This high quality includes high geometry structure similarity of the target compared with the corresponding optical image and low background noise around the target. In the proposed model, the cross-domain attention mechanism and cross-domain multi-scale feature fusion are designed to improve the quality of samples for detection based on the generative adversarial network (GAN). Specifically, a cross-domain attention mechanism is designed to simultaneously emphasize discriminative features from optical images and SAR images at the same time. Moreover, a designed cross-domain multi-scale feature fusion module further emphasizes the geometric information and semantic information of the target in a feature graph from the perspective of global features. Finally, a reference loss is introduced in CDA-GAN to completely retain the extra features generated by the cross-domain attention mechanism and cross-domain multi-scale feature fusion module. Experimental results demonstrate that the training samples generated by the proposed CDA-GAN can obtain higher ship detection accuracy using real SAR data than the other state-of-the-art methods. The proposed method is generally available for different orbit SARs and can be extended to the high-Earth-orbit spaceborne SAR case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dimers of dipyridothiazines with an m-xylene moiety are presented in terms of a comparative analysis with anticancer active structural analogs containing a lutidine system. The synthesis of new isomeric dimers was described, the structure of which was confirmed by 1H, 13C and 2D NMR, and HR MS spectroscopic methods. The preliminary prediction of the pharmacological profile using the Way2Drug server indicated the anticancer potential of the tested derivatives. In vitro biological activity tests were performed on a normal skin cell line (HaCaT) and five cancer cell lines, including human primary colon cancer (SW480), human metastatic colon cancer (SW620), human breast adenocarcinoma (MDA-MB-231), human lung carcinoma (A-549), and human glioblastoma (LN-229), which indicated low cytotoxic activity. In order to explain the surprisingly low activity, a comparative structural analysis of the tested analogs compared to the dimers with the lutidine system was performed using quantum mechanics and molecular docking in relation to histone deacetylase. Molecular docking indicated the different binding sites of the analyzed dimers, which explained the differences in the activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DDR1 and DDR2 are nonintegrin collagen receptors in the receptor tyrosine kinase family. Both DDRs bind to various collagen types and perform crucial functions in embryo development. DDRs are different from other receptor tyrosine kinases due to their interaction with extracellular matrix components and unusual activation kinetics. DDR regulates cell migration, survival, proliferation, differentiation, and extracellular matrix remodeling. Dysregulated DDR function is linked to the advancement of several human illnesses, including fibrosis, arthritis, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. DDRs play a vital role in disease progression and development. Therefore, the use of DDR inhibitors represents a promising therapeutic strategy, particularly for disorders with limited therapy alternatives. In recent years, DDRs have been regarded as attractive targets for drug development, as evidenced by a significant rise in research in this field. The current review illustrates about recent advancement of small molecules, their designing strategies and structure‐activity relationship. The DDR inhibitors can contain various core structures such as pyrimidine, phthalazine, pyrazole, pyrazine, imidazo[1,2‐a]sspyrazine, quinazoline, and thieno[3,2‐b]pyridin‐7‐yl derivatives. Furthermore, based on the constructive analysis of the published derivatives, we found that the majority of the powerful compounds have a similar scaffold (amide linker, hydrophobic tail, hinge binder with or without spacer). Among the different literature, the most potent compounds 4 (imidazo[1,2‐a]pyrazine), 5 (pyridine), 19 (pyridine), and 24 (quinazoline) displayed potent activity against DDR1 with IC50 values ranging from 2.26 – 4.67 nM, while DDR2 IC50 values ranging from 3.2 – 7.29 nM. This approach will help medicinal chemists to refine and develop novel small molecules targeting DDR1 and DDR2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of new 7‐{3‐[3‐(Benzylidene‐amino)‐[1,2,4]triazole‐1‐yl]‐propoxy}‐4‐methyl‐chromen‐2‐one molecular hybrids 7(a–k) were synthesized using molecular hybridization approach. The synthesized new benzylidene‐triazole tethered coumarin molecular hybrids were characterized by spectroscopic studies and elemental analysis. The coumarin molecular hybrids have been explored for their antifungal efficacy in terms of tubulin inhibitors using molecular modelling studies against tubulin alphabeta hetero dimer protein. The results clearly demonstrated strong binding affinity of coumarin molecular hybrids with indole substituted and 2,4‐dihydroxy substituted as antagonists with respective binding scores of −10.5 and −10.7 kcal/mol towards tubulin alphabeta hetero dimer protein which was higher in comparison to standards griseofulvin (−8.2 kcal/mol) and fluconazole (−8.1 kcal/mol). In addition, broth dilution method was used to conduct in‐vitro antifungal studies against three fungal strains namely Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigatus. The results obtained clearly illustrate the antifungal activity of indole and 2,4‐dihydroxy substituted compounds which are consistent with docking simulations. Out of all the synthesized molecular hybrids, indole and 2,4‐dihydroxy substituted compounds depict outstanding antifungal activity with Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) value of 31.25 μg/ml and 62.5 μg/ml towards C.albicans and with MIC value of 31.25 for both these molecules towards A.niger in each case which is quite higher than griseofulvin and fluconazole respectively. Present work clearly demonstrates the potential efficacy of synthesized indole and 2,4‐dihydroxy substituted coumarin molecular hybrids to be considered as lead compounds for the development of new agents against resistant strains for the treatment of fungal infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eastern Mediterranean region, a vital conduit for global maritime trade, faces significant environmental challenges due to marine pollution, particularly from oil spills. This is the first study covering the long period of comprehensive monitoring of oil pollution using the full mission of Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data in the Mediterranean Sea, so this research aims to detect and analyze comprehensively the occurrence of oil spills in the Eastern Mediterranean over a decade (2014–2023). This study focuses on identifying geographical distribution patterns, proximity to shorelines, frequency across maritime zones, and potential sources of these spills, especially around major ports and maritime routes. This study utilizes SAR data from the Sentinel-1 satellite. The methodology included automated detection algorithms within the Sentinel application platform (SNAP) and integration with GIS mapping to study oil spill patterns and characteristics. Over 1000 Sentinel-1 scenes were investigated in the northern Mediterranean waters off the coast of Egypt, to detect and analyze 355 oil spill events with a total impacted area of more than 6000 km2. The analysis of temporal spill distribution reveals significant fluctuations from year to year. Within the entire timeline of the study, 2017 had the largest spatial areas covering one thousand square kilometers. In contrast, the single largest spill recorded during the study period occurred in 2020, covering 198.73 square kilometers. The results identified a non-uniform distribution of oil spills and primarily exhibiting elongated patterns aligned with the navigation routes. The distinct increase of oil spill incidents was within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), obviously drifted to the coastline and around major ports. The study emphasizes the critical role of remote sensing technologies in addressing environmental challenges caused by the maritime transport sector, advocating for enhanced monitoring and regulatory enforcement to protect marine ecosystems and support sustainable naval activities. The findings highlight the urgent need for targeted continuous monitoring and rapid response strategies in high-traffic maritime areas, particularly around the EEZ and major ports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an urgent need to develop non-destructive testing (NDT) methods for infrastructure facilities and residences, etc., where human lives are at stake, to prevent collapse due to aging or natural disasters such as earthquakes before they occur. In such inspections, it is desirable to develop a remote, non-contact, non-destructive inspection method that can inspect cracks as small as 0.1 mm on the surface of a structure and damage inside and on the surface of the structure that cannot be seen by the human eye with high sensitivity, while ensuring the safety of the engineers inspecting the structure. Based on this perspective, we developed a radar module (absolute gain of the transmitting antenna: 13.5 dB; absolute gain of the receiving antenna: 14.5 dB) with very high directivity and minimal loss in the signal transmission path between the radar chip and the array antenna, using our previously developed technology. A single-input, multiple-output (SIMO) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging system was developed using this module. As a result of various performance evaluations using this system, we were able to demonstrate that this system has a performance that fully satisfies the abovementioned indices. First, the SNR in millimeter-wave (MM-wave) imaging was improved by 5.4 dB compared to the previously constructed imaging system using the IWR1443BOOST EVM, even though the measured distance was 2.66 times longer. As a specific example of the results of measurements on infrastructure facilities, the system successfully observed cracks as small as 0.1 mm in concrete materials hidden under glass fiber-reinforced tape and black acrylic paint. In this case, measurements were also made from a distance of about 3 m to meet the remote observation requirements, but the radar module with its high-directivity and high-gain antenna proved to be more sensitive in detecting crack structures than measurements made from a distance of 780 mm. In order to estimate the penetration length of MM waves into concrete, an experiment was conducted to measure the penetration of MM waves through a thin concrete slab with a thickness of 3.7 mm. As a result, Λexp = 6.0 mm was obtained as the attenuation distance of MM waves in the concrete slab used. In addition, transmission measurement experiments using a composite material consisting of ceramic tiles and fireproof board, which is a component of a house, and experiments using composite plywood, which is used as a general housing construction material in Japan, succeeded in making perspective observations of defects in the internal structure, etc., which are invisible to the human eye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infections with Flaviviridae viruses, such as hepatitis C (HCV), dengue (DENV), and yellow fever (YFV) viruses, are major public health problems worldwide. In the case of HCV, treatment is associated with drug resistance and high costs, while there is no clinically approved therapy for DENV and YFV. Consequently, there is still a need for new chemotherapies with alternative modes of action. We have previously identified novel 2-hydroxypyrazino[1,2-a]indole-1,3(2H,4H)-diones as metal-chelating inhibitors targeting HCV RNA replication. Here, by utilizing a structure-based approach, we rationally designed a second series of compounds by introducing various substituents at the indole core structure and at the imidic nitrogen, to improve specificity against the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). The resulting derivatives were evaluated for their potency against HCV genotype 1b, DENV2, and YFV-17D using stable replicon cell lines. The most favorable substitution was nitro at position 6 of the indole ring (compound 36), conferring EC50 1.6 μM against HCV 1b and 2.57 μΜ against HCV 1a, with a high selectivity index. Compound 52, carrying the acetohydroxamic acid functionality (-CH2CONHOH) on the imidic nitrogen, and compound 78, the methyl-substituted molecule at the position 4 indolediketopiperazine counterpart, were the most effective against DENV and YFV, respectively. Interestingly, compound 36 had a high genetic barrier to resistance and only one resistance mutation was detected, T181I in NS5B, suggesting that the compound target HCV RdRp is in accordance with our predicted model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multichannel Synthetic Aperture Radar (MC-SAR) systems, such as Azimuth Multi-Phase Centre (AMPC) SAR, provide an effective solution for achieving high-resolution wide-swath (HRWS) imaging by reducing the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) to increase the swath width. However, in an Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) environment, the image quality of multichannel SAR systems can be significantly degraded by electromagnetic interference. Previous research into interference and counter-interference techniques has predominantly focused on single-channel SAR systems, with relatively few studies addressing the specific challenges faced by MC-SAR systems. This paper uses the classical spatial filtering technique of adaptive digital beamforming (DBF). Considering the Doppler ambiguity present in the echoes, two schemes—Interference Reconstruction And Cancellation (IRC) and Channel Grouping Nulling (CGN)—are designed to effectively eliminate suppressive interference. The IRC method eliminates the effects of interference without losing spatial degrees of freedom, ensuring effective suppression of Doppler ambiguity in subsequent processing. This method shows significant advantages under conditions of strong Doppler ambiguity and low jammer-to-signal ratio. Conversely, the CGN method mitigates the effect of interference on multichannel imaging at the expense of degrees of freedom redundant to Doppler ambiguity suppression. It shows remarkable interference suppression performance under weak-Doppler-ambiguity conditions, allowing for better image recovery. Simulations performed on point and distributed targets have validated that the proposed methods can effectively remove interfering signals and achieve high-resolution wide-swath (HRWS) SAR images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropomyosin receptor kinases (Trks) are transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases named TrkA, TrkB, and TrkC and encoded by the NTRK1, NTRK2, and NTRK3 genes, respectively. These kinases have attracted significant attention and represent a promising therapeutic target for solid tumor treatment due to their vital role in cellular signaling pathways. First-generation TRK inhibitors, i.e., Larotrectinib sulfate and Entrectinib, received clinical approval in 2018 and 2019, respectively. However, the use of these inhibitors was significantly limited because of the development of resistance due to mutations. Fortunately, the second-generation Trk inhibitor Repotrectinib (TPX-0005) was approved by the FDA in November 2023, while Selitrectinib (Loxo-195) has provided an effective solution to this issue. Another macrocycle-based analog, along with many other TRK inhibitors, is currently in clinical trials. Two of the three marketed drugs for NTRK fusion cancers feature a pyrazolo[1,5-a] pyrimidine nucleus, prompting medicinal chemists to develop numerous novel pyrazolopyrimidine-based molecules to enhance clinical applications. This article focuses on a comprehensive review of chronological synthetic developments and the structure–activity relationships (SAR) of pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives as Trk inhibitors. This article will also provide comprehensive knowledge and future directions to the researchers working in the field of medicinal chemistry by facilitating the structural modification of pyrazolo [1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives to synthesize more effective novel chemotherapeutics as TRK inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occurrence of natural disaster can never be prevented, and floods are one among the major natural disaster that affects the human life and economy of the country. Considering the global loss due to floods, various government and non-governmental organisations are focusing on minimising the losses and provide emergency measures during floods. Adopting the recent technologies integrating various datasets will assist in providing response strategies before and after disaster. Flood are mostly based on the climatic conditions and environmental factors and the present review focuses on the reviewing the various remote sensing methodologies that are used in mapping and analysing floods. The review carried out examines various remote sensing methodologies adopting multispectral, light detection and ranging and radar datasets for mapping and predicting floods. The review identified the limitations in flood prediction, risk assessment and hazard analysis and suggests a framework that can be adopted for effective mapping of flood extent and in suggesting the regions that the rescue team should focus during a disaster event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Amazonian region, where quartzose sand sediments are abundant, OSL dating provides a direct method for establishing the depositional timing of sediments, thereby aiding in understanding the Quaternary River dynamics of the area. This is particularly valuable in reconstructing past environmental changes, such as shifts in river courses, sedimentation patterns, and climate variations. The present study was conducted in the Mariuá Archipelago in the middle course of the Negro River (Western Amazon), a vital area for biodiversity preservation, focused on analyzing sediment samples collected on the river terraces and bars of the archipelago. These samples underwent analysis using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques specifically applied to quartz crystals found within the sediments. This allowed researchers to determine the ages of the sediments. The SAR OSL dating protocol, combined with a Central Age Model, was employed in the analysis, resulting in promising outcomes. The estimated average equivalent dose obtained from the analysis led to the determination of ages for various terraces and bars within the range of 0.41 to 135.1 ka. These age determinations provide valuable insights into the geological history and environmental changes that have occurred in the Mariuá Archipelago over millennia, contributing to the understanding of sedimentation, ecological evolution, and biodiversity dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a technique widely used in the field of ship detection. However, due to the high ship density, fore-ground-background imbalance, and varying target sizes, achieving lightweight and high-precision multiscale ship object detection remains a significant challenge. In response to these challenges, this research presents YOLO-MSD, a multiscale SAR ship detection method. Firstly, we propose a Deep Poly Kernel Backbone Network (DPK-Net) that utilizes the Optimized Convolution (OC) Module to reduce data redundancy and the Poly Kernel (PK) Module to improve the feature extraction capability and scale adaptability. Secondly, we design a BiLevel Spatial Attention Module (BSAM), which consists of the BiLevel Routing Attention (BRA) and the Spatial Attention Module. The BRA is first utilized to capture global information. Then, the Spatial Attention Module is used to improve the network's ability to localize the target and capture high-quality detailed information. Finally, we adopt a Powerful-IoU (P-IoU) loss function, which can adjust to the ship size adaptively, effectively guiding the anchor box to achieve faster and more accurate detection. Using HRSID and SSDD as experimental datasets, mAP of 90.2% and 98.8% are achieved, respectively, outperforming the baseline by 5.9% and 6.2% with a model size of 12.3 M. Furthermore, the network exhibits excellent performance across various ship scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclones pose significant threats to coastal regions, triggering widespread ecological and hydrological changes. This study presents an impact assessment of cyclone Biparjoy, which originated in the Arabian Sea and made landfall on the Gujarat coast of India on June 16, 2023. The research encompasses flood delineation and vegetation impact assessment in the Kachchh and Devbhoomi Dwarka districts of Gujarat, India. Sentinel-1A (VV polarized) imagery is used to precisely map the extent of inundation caused by cyclone Biparjoy. The total flooded area for Kachchh and Devbhoomi Dwarka was calculated to be 6556.73 km2 and 104.49 km2, respectively. The most affected LULC class in Kachchh is found to be bare ground (38.95%) and rangeland (38.94%) which is the major part of the Northeastern Rann region. In Dwarka, most waterlogging has been seen in the cropland (33.04%). The classification of the water and non-water pixels for the pre- and post-images is validated using the ROC curve. The accuracy was 93.2% and 89.5% for pre- and post-images classifications, respectively. Furthermore, vegetation impact was investigated to estimate the cyclone's ecological consequences. Alterations in vegetation density and overall health were estimated by calculating Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) from both pre- and post-cyclone Landsat-8 OLI images. The cyclone-induced damage is further assessed for the mangrove trees in Kori Creek. This work contributes to understanding the ecological repercussions of such extreme weather events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonadditivity (NA) in Structure-Activity and Structure-Property Relationship (SAR) data is a rare but very information rich phenomenon. It can indicate conformational flexibility, structural rearrangements, and errors in assay results and structural assignment. While purely ligand-based conformational causes of NA are rather well understood and mundane, other factors are less so and cause surprising NA that has a huge influence on SAR analysis and ML model performance. We here report a systematic analysis across a wide range of properties (20 on-target biological activities and 4 physicochemical ADME-related properties) to understand the frequency of various different phenomena that may lead to NA. A set of novel descriptors were developed to characterize double transformation cycles and identify trends in NA. Double transformation cycles were classified into "surprising" and "mundane" categories, with the majority being classed as mundane. We also examined commonalities among surprising cycles, finding LogP differences to have the most significant impact on NA. A distinct behavior of NA for on-target sets compared to ADME sets was observed. Finally, we show that machine learning models struggle with highly nonadditive data, indicating that a better understanding of NA is an important future research direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present the design of a millimeter-wave 1 × 4 linear MIMO array antenna that operates across multiple resonance frequency bands: 26.28–27.36 GHz, 27.94–28.62 GHz, 32.33–33.08 GHz, and 37.59–39.47 GHz, for mm-wave wearable biomedical telemetry application. The antenna is printed on a flexible substrate with dimensions of 11.0 × 44.0 mm2. Each MIMO antenna element features a modified slot-loaded triangular patch, incorporating 'cross'-shaped slots in the ground plane to improve impedance matching. The MIMO antenna demonstrates peak gains of 6.12, 8.06, 5.58, and 8.58 dBi at the four resonance frequencies, along with a total radiation efficiency exceeding 75%. The proposed antenna demonstrates excellent diversity metrics, with an ECC < 0.02, DG > 9.97 dB, and CCL below 0.31 bits/sec/Hz, indicating high performance for mm-wave applications. To verify its properties under flexible conditions, a bending analysis was conducted, showing stable S-parameter results with deformation radii of 40 mm (Rx) and 25 mm (Ry). SAR values for the MIMO antenna are calculated at 28.0/38.0 GHz. The average SAR values for 1 gm/10 gm of tissues at 28.0 GHz are found to be 0.0125/0.0079 W/Kg, whereas, at 38.0 GHz, average SAR values are 0.0189/0.0094 W/Kg, respectively. Additionally, to demonstrate the telemetry range of biomedical applications, a link budget analysis at both 28.0 GHz and 38.0 GHz frequencies indicated strong signal strength of 33.69 dB up to 70 m. The fabricated linear MIMO antenna effectively covers the mm-wave 5G spectrum and is suitable for wearable and biomedical applications due to its flexible characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Intermittent Small Baseline Subset approach to Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar data was originally devised as a way to recover information from regions with intermittent coherence, making it particularly useful in agricultural regions or those featuring significant vegetation. However, as modern data products grow in size, the increased computational complexity that this methodology demands makes processing more daunting. Here, we present a solution: leveraging the Bifrost data processing framework and GPUs, we analyze Sentinel-1 data covering a large region of northern California and are able to achieve dramatic speed-ups on the order of 300–400 times faster than CPU-bound implementations of ISBAS, processing the entire dataset in only 5 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RhlR plays a key role in the quorum sensing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The current structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies of RhlR inhibitors mainly focus on elucidating the functional groups. Based on a systematic review of previous research on RhlR inhibitors, this study aims to establish a systematic, hierarchical screening model for RhlR inhibitors. We initially established a database and utilized principal component analysis (PCA) to categorize the inhibitors into two classes. Based on the training set, pharmacophore models were established to elucidate the structural characteristics of ligands. Subsequently, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and the calculation of binding free energy and strain energy were performed to validate the crucial interactions between ligands and receptors. Then, the screening criteria for RhlR inhibitors were established hierarchically based on ligand structure characteristics, ligand–receptor interaction, and receptor affinity. Test sets were finally employed to validate the hierarchical virtual screening model by comparing it with the current SAR studies of RhlR inhibitors. The hierarchical screening model was confirmed to possess higher accuracy and a true positive rate, which holds promise for subsequent screening and the discovery of active RhlR inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ship detection is a significant issue in remote sensing based on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). This paper combines the advantages of a steady constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detector and a knowledge-oriented Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT) classifier to achieve the location and the classification of ship candidates. The steady CFAR detector smooths the image by a moving-average filter and models the probability distribution of the smoothed clutter as a Gaussian distribution. The mean and the standard deviation of the Gaussian distribution are estimated according to the left half of the histogram to remove the effect of land, ships, and other targets. From the Gaussian distribution and a preset constant false alarm rate, a threshold is obtained to segment land, ships, and other targets from the clutter. Then, a series of morphological operations are introduced to eliminate land and extract ships and other targets, and an active contour algorithm is utilized to refine ships and other targets. Finally, ships are recognized from other targets by a knowledge-oriented GBDT classifier. Based on the brain-like ship-recognition process, we change the way of the decision-tree generation and achieve a higher classification performance than the original GBDT. The results on the AIRSARShip-1.0 dataset demonstrate that this scheme has a competitive performance against deep learning, especially in the detection of offshore ships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]