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Helium nanodroplets ("HNDs") are widely used for forming tailor-made clusters and molecular complexes in a cold, transparent, and weakly interacting matrix. The characterization of embedded species by mass spectrometry is often complicated by the fragmentation and trapping of ions in the HNDs. Here, we systematically study fragment ion mass spectra of HND-aggregated water and oxygen clusters following their ionization by charge transfer ionization ("CTI") and Penning ionization ("PEI"). While the efficiency of PEI of embedded clusters is lower than for CTI by about factor 10, both the mean sizes of detected water clusters and the relative yields of unprotonated cluster ions are significantly larger, making PEI a "soft ionization" scheme. However, the tendency of ions to remain bound to HNDs leads to a reduced detection efficiency for large HNDs containing > 1 0 4 helium atoms. These results are instrumental in determining optimal conditions for mass spectrometry and photoionization spectroscopy of molecular complexes and clusters aggregated in HNDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanofertilizers represent a promising and innovative solution in modern agriculture, offering sustainability and efficiency to improve crop performance and optimize natural resource utilization. These fertilizers are distinguished by their nanometer-sized particles, facilitating better absorption and utilization by crops. A notable approach in nanofertilizer formulation is the controlled release of nutrients, ensuring a steady and gradual availability of essential elements to plants throughout their growth cycle. This approach curtails excessive fertilizer application, reduces leaching, minimizes negative environmental impact, and enhances nutrient utilization efficiency. Innovative carriers, in turn, play a fundamental role in the precise delivery of nutrients. Eco-friendly materials are being explored as sustainable alternatives to encapsulate the nutrients, ensuring they are available to plants when needed. This not only contributes to the preservation of natural resources but also reduces the negative environmental impacts associated with conventional agriculture. Therefore, this review article highlights promising advancements in agricultural technology, with a focus on the utilization of slow-release nanofertilizers and innovative carriers as sources of essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in agricultural practices, emphasizing the use of these technologies to promote environmental sustainability and agricultural efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term care facilities for older adults (LTCFs) were directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to discuss the perceptions of occupational therapists about deaths and other losses in LTCFs during the pandemic. This qualitative study is anchored in social phenomenology, and conducted in-depth interviews with eight occupational therapists who worked in LTCFs. Thus, two themes were generated after the Thematic Analyses: "The proximity of death" and "Losses associated with living and dying in a LTCF." In the first theme, the interviewees addressed the feeling of imminent death in the daily life of the LTCF, and feelings related to their own death, that of their family members and other older adults. In the second, the professionals highlighted three groups of losses: social, functional, and psychological/cognitive. These results highlighted the challenges faced by occupational therapists and can contribute to improve behavior and care for institutionalized older adults during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we employed concepts from Density Functional Theory to investigate the interaction energy behavior between the fragments of two‐dimensional systems composed of graphene‐based materials and lithium ions. Specifically, the proposed system consists of two graphene sheets separated by a controlled distance (face‐to‐face), with a lithium ion positioned at the center of this separation. Additionally, we examined potential electronic transitions within these systems and assessed the feasibility of quantum entanglement generation and manipulation. Our findings revealed that the interaction energies within the analyzed systems exhibited behavior akin to that described by the Lennard‐Jones potential, which characterizes systems with favorable energy for their formation. The results further yielded estimates for the constants ϵ and σ, with values of −66.59 kcal/mol and 1.63 Å, respectively. Specific electronic transitions were identified, suggesting the potential for quantum entanglement generation and manipulation among the two‐dimensional graphene system mediated by the lithium ion interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of the addition of fine solids with different mineralogical compositions on the physical properties of olefinic fluids used in pre-salt wells. The fluids were added with 5% of each mineral (clay, silica, carbonate or halite) separately and characterized by rheological properties, filtrate volume and separated volume. According to the results, bentonite act as a physical barrier, improving aged fluid behavior, leading to a 66.67% decrease in separated volume. On the other hand, halite has presented a negative effect on fluid properties and resulted in an increase of 88.89% in separated volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular phylogenetic studies focused on the early-branching papilionoid legumes have revealed many new clades and supported several generic realignments, yet the monophyly of some of the constituent genera has remained unassessed. This is the case for the Amazonian genus Clathrotropis of the tribe Ormosieae. The genus, as traditionally circumscribed, comprises seven species of trees, including some of the most ecologically hyper dominant taxa across the Amazonian terra firme and seasonally flooded forests. Here we employed a Bayesian analysis of densely sampled nuclear ribosomal ITS/5.8S and plastid matK and trnL intron DNA sequences to evaluate the monophyly of Clathrotropis. All individual and concatenated analyses concurred in showing the non-monophyletic nature of Clathrotropis , whose species fall into three distantly related lineages: one, comprised of C. brachypetala , C. brunnea , C. glaucophylla and the ecologically dominant C. macrocarpa , is circumscribed here as the new genus Cabari ; the two others, comprising C. paradoxa and the widespread C. nitida , are more closely related to Spirotropis of the tribe Ormosieae. Such phylogeny-based dismemberment of Clathrotropis is further supported by vegetative, floral, fruit, and seed characters. Although the genes analysed in this study have provided phylogenetically informative data supporting the need for a new circumscription of Clathrotropis , we suggest that future phylogenomic studies should seek to better resolve the relationships of the newly described genus Cabari across the phylogenetically recalcitrant early-branching nodes of the Genistoid clade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of green areas in urbanized cities is crucial to reduce the negative impacts of urbanization. However, these areas can influence the signal quality of IoT devices that use wireless communication, such as LoRa technology. Vegetation attenuates electromagnetic waves, interfering with the data transmission between IoT devices, resulting in the need for signal propagation modeling, which considers the effect of vegetation on its propagation. In this context, this research was conducted at the Federal University of Pará, using measurements in a wooded environment composed of the Pau-Mulato species, typical of the Amazon. Two machine learning-based propagation models, GRNN and MLPNN, were developed to consider the effect of Amazonian trees on propagation, analyzing different factors, such as the transmitter's height relative to the trunk, the beginning of foliage, and the middle of the tree canopy, as well as the LoRa spreading factor (SF) 12, and the co-polarization of the transmitter and receiver antennas. The proposed models demonstrated higher accuracy, achieving values of root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.86 dB and standard deviation (SD) of 3.8614 dB, respectively, compared to existing empirical models like CI, FI, Early ITU-R, COST235, Weissberger, and FITU-R. The significance of this study lies in its potential to boost wireless communications in wooded environments. Furthermore, this research contributes to enhancing more efficient and robust LoRa networks for applications in agriculture, environmental monitoring, and smart urban infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst the ongoing evolution of microorganisms and subsequent public health crises, it is imperative to explore innovative approaches to reduce their pathogenicity. Recent epidemics such as the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus and monkeypox have further emphasized the urgent need to address this global challenge. Thanks to scientific advancements, various alternatives to allopathic medicines have gained prominence. Essential oils (E.O.s), known for their broad bioactivities derived from their rich composition of terpenes and phenylpropanoids, hold potential in neutralizing pathogen proliferation. Using data mining and machine learning techniques, this study initially aims to address the following questions through data collection from the Scopus database using seven keyword combinations: "Can essential oils be effective in combating pandemics?" and "How are nanotechnology and oils being employed?" Finally, "Are chitosan‐stabilized nanoparticles and nanoemulsions of these oils antimicrobial agents?" Bibliographic data is extracted in RIS format to answer these questions and subsequently analyzed using bibliometric networks with VOSviewer software. These findings underscore that predominant research focuses on the production of chitosan‐stabilized nanoparticles of E.O.s as potential tools against various pathogens. The meta‐analysis reveals a diamond range of 2.03–2.08, demonstrating that despite the observed heterogeneity, the study results generally lean toward the weighted average. This indicates the promise of chitosan‐stabilized nanoparticles and nanoemulsions based on E.O.s as antimicrobial agents. By highlighting the antimicrobial potential of E.O.s, particularly when incorporated into chitosan‐stabilized nanoparticles and nanoemulsions, this study elucidates a promising path for a more resilient future against pathogenic threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mushrooms are a source of primary and secondary metabolites. Little is known about the most suitable conditions for production of mushrooms by submerged fermentation. This article reports antioxidant and cytotoxic assays, in addition to quantitatively evaluating the content of proteases with fibrinolytic action in the crude extracts of two species of edible mushrooms produced in different formulations, as well as evaluating the recovery of these enzymes by aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS). The mushrooms Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus eryngii, at concentration of 100 µg/mL, displayed inhibition of DPPH and ABTS radicals below 50%. In the cytotoxicity test, the cells human fibroblast cell lines (MRC-5) showed cell viability greater than 80%. Concerning fibrinolytic activity, P. eryngii presented 226.47 ± 7.26 U/mL, therefore being more efficient than P. ostreatus (71.5 ± 0.56 U/mL). In the recovery of the P. eryngii extract by ATPS, the fibrinolytic protease was partitioned in the salt phase (30.25 U/mL). The molecular mass of the proteases was between 75 and 100 kDa. These results prove the low cytotoxicity of the extracts produced and that fermentation in supplemented malt broth favored the excretion of fibrinolytic proteases compared to the other evaluated media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the trajectories of particles around a black bounce spacetime are considered, with the Simpson-Visser model serving as an example. Trajectories for massless and massive particles are obtained through the study of null and time-like geodesics. As the Simpson-Visser solution is derived via the Einstein equations for a source involving nonlinear electrodynamics and a scalar field, photon trajectories are investigated by considering an effective metric in which photons follow null geodesics. The stability of circular orbits is analyzed by examining the behavior of maxima and minima of the effective potential associated with geodesics. It is also studied what type of geodesic photons follow when the usual metric is considered instead of the effective one. The main focus of this work is to obtain corrections to the trajectories of photons when considering that the solution arises from nonlinear electrodynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although CH2FCl (HCFC‐31) recently became of great atmospheric importance, studies concerning its excited states are almost nonexistent. Several excited singlet states were studied (valence nσ* and Rydberg n3s, n3p, σ3s, and σ3p) through highly correlated multireference configuration interaction with singles and doubles, including extensivity correction. Comparison with the states of CH3Cl indicates a strong influence of the F atom. Potential energy curves suggest formation of an electrostatically bound complex that relaxes to a hydrogen‐bonded contact ion‐pair (HBCIP) which can decay yielding CH2F + Cl or to the ground state minimum of CH2FCl. The HBCIP has a dipole moment of 9.57 D, a CI wavefunction described as 0.65ionic + 0.20biradical and it is strongly bonded by 4.72 eV. Its H bond has characteristics of moderate and strong H bonds. The simulated absorption spectrum confirms the nσ* assignment for the first and suggests the n3s + n3pσ assignment for the second band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field observations and specimens from herbaria revealed the existence of a new species of the genus Phyllanthus, restricted to the municipality of Santa Bárbara, André do Mato Dentro, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Characteristics such as the subsessile petiole and the size and morphology of the leaves, in addition to the pistallate flowers with 6 sepals, stipules, styles, and stigmas were important to recognize Phyllanthus gandarelensis as a new taxon. Description, illustrations, distribution and habitat, phenology, preliminary conservation status as Critically Endangered, and comments on its morphology, as well as a comparative table with its congener species are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Enforcing practice standards for cardiac monitoring in intensive care units (ICUs) has been shown to reduce misdiagnoses and inappropriate interventions. Continuous professional development (CPD) programs are committed to aligning clinical practices with recommended standards. The crucial initial phase in CPD development involves assessing the training needs of the targeted population. Objective: To assess the training needs of ICU nurses in cardiac monitoring. The overarching goal was to formulate a focused Continuous Professional Development (CPD) program geared towards implementing standard practices in cardiac monitoring. Methods: This study employed a generic qualitative approach with a descriptive design, utilizing interviews and focus groups from July to September 2018. Involving 16 ICU nurses. Content analysis was employed, encompassing transcription, fluctuant and iterative reading, unitization, categorization, coding, description, and interpretation. Results: All nurses recognized cardiac monitoring’s importance in the ICU but reported barriers to its effective implementation which were related to factors that could addressed by a CPD as insufficient knowledge and skills. Training needs were identified in both clinical and technical aspects, with recommendations for practical and theoretical activities and e-learning strategies. Barriers related to organizational aspects (equipment and communication within the healthcare team) were also mentioned. Conclusion: ICU nurses presented clear and specific training needs related to cardiac monitoring as knowledge, skills, and competencies. Other organizational aspects were also reported as barriers. Addressing these learning needs through targeted CPD aligned with organizational initiatives can contribute to enhancing the quality of cardiac monitoring practices in ICUs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yellow passion fruit peel and cupuaçu seeds are common wastes. Usually, they have few or no applications and are discarded, causing environmental pollution. To use them in a new way and reduce ecological pollution, we obtained the ash of yellow passion fruit peels by calcination. We characterized it using Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR‐ATR), X‐ray fluorescence (XRF), X‐ray diffractometry (XRD), adsorption‐desorption of N2, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), basicity, and soluble alkalinity. It was observed that the ash was mainly composed of potassium (69%) in the form of carbonate, chloride, and sulfate, with a good surface area (11.23 m2 g−1). The cupuaçu butter was also extracted from the cupuaçu seeds and characterized, showing low acidity, peroxide, saponification, and iodine indexes, in addition to presenting a lipid profile with 57% saturated fatty acid and 43% unsaturated fatty acid. Oleic and stearic acids were present in higher proportions. These results demonstrate that this butter can be a sustainable input in biodiesel production. Thus, the ash was used as a heterogeneous catalyst in the butter transesterification. The biodiesel synthesis was optimized, resulting in 97.8% butter conversion into biodiesel under the following conditions: reaction time of 2 h, 5 wt% of catalyst, 80 °C, and a methanol‐to‐oil molar ratio of 30. This work, therefore, shows that it is possible to obtain and utilize bioinputs, such as cupuaçu butter and passion fruit peel ash, to produce biodiesel through transesterification, and the use of waste materials (precisely passion fruit peels and cupuaçu seeds) makes this method a cost‐effective and environmentally friendly approach to biofuel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new flat bark beetle fossil (Laemophloeidae) is described from a well-preserved adult female specimen, trapped in amber, from the Miocene of Simojovel (Chiapas, Mexico). The fossil belongs to Placonotus MacLeay, a large extant genus of Laemophloeidae. The new species, Placonotus sepulvedae Gomes & Souza sp. nov, is compared with other Nearctic and Neotropical living species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have suggested a role of phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase gamma (PI3Kγ) in bone remodeling, but the mechanism remains undefined. Here, we explored the contribution of PI3Kγ in the resorption of maxillary bone and dental roots using models of orthodontic tooth movement (OTM), orthodontic‐induced inflammatory root resorption, and rapid maxillary expansion (RME). PI3Kγ‐deficient mice (PI3Kγ−/−), mice with loss of PI3Kγ kinase activity (PI3KγKD/KD) and C57BL/6 mice treated with a PI3Kγ inhibitor (AS605240) and respective controls were used. The maxillary bones of PI3Kγ−/−, PI3KγKD/KD, and C57BL/6 mice treated with AS605240 showed an improvement of bone quality compared to their controls, resulting in reduction of the OTM and RME in all experimental groups. PI3Kγ−/− mice exhibited increased root volume and decreased odontoclasts counts. Consistently, the pharmacological blockade or genetic deletion of PI3K resulted in increased numbers of osteoblasts and reduction in osteoclasts during OTM. There was an augmented expression of Runt‐related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and alkaline phosphatase (Alp), a reduction of interleukin‐6 (Il‐6), as well as a lack of responsiveness of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa‐Β (Rank) in PI3Kγ−/− and PI3KγKD/KD mice compared to control mice. The maxillary bones of PI3Kγ−/− animals showed reduced p‐Akt expression. In vitro, bone marrow cells treated with AS605240 and cells from PI3Kγ−/− mice exhibited significant augment of osteoblast mineralization and less osteoclast differentiation. The PI3Kγ/Akt axis is pivotal for bone remodeling by providing negative and positive signals for the differentiation of osteoclasts and osteoblasts, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal infections are a global public health challenge, especially among immunocompromised patients. Basidiomycetous yeasts, such as Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, have emerged as opportunistic pathogens, but have received less attention than Cryptococcus neoformans. This study aimed to characterize the polysaccharides of R. mucilaginosa and compare them with those of C. neoformans, analyzing their clinical implications. Comprehensive physicochemical, mechanical, and ultrastructural analyses of polysaccharides from both species were performed, revealing correlations with virulence and pathogenicity. R. mucilaginosa cells are surrounded by a capsule smaller than that produced by C. neoformans, but with similar polysaccharides. Those polysaccharides are also secreted by R. mucilaginosa. Cross-reactivity with R. mucilaginosa was observed in a diagnostic C. neoformans antigen test, using both in vitro and in vivo samples, highlighting the need for more reliable tests. Some R. mucilaginosa strains exhibited virulence comparable to that of C. neoformans in an invertebrate experimental model (Tenebrio molitor). This study contributes to a deeper understanding of yeast pathogenicity and virulence, highlighting the need for more accurate diagnostic tests to improve the differential diagnosis of infections caused by basidiomycetous yeasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 3-3-1 models, anomaly cancellation requires that one of the three families of quarks transforms as triplet by SU 3 L , with the other two transforming necessarily as anti-triplet. This is an important feature of the model because, with it, we explain family replication. Thus it is mandatory to discriminate which of the families will transform as triplet by SU 3 L because the main consequence of anomaly cancellation in 3-3-1 models is the arising of processes violating flavor at the tree level by means of neutral currents mediated by gauge and scalar fields, and each case leads to different results. In this work, we consider the 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos. Among the spectrum of 3-3-1 particles that contribute to the flavor changing neutral processes, there is a pseudoscalar that may be the lightest of the 3-3-1 particles, and this then should give the main contribution to such processes. We then calculate its contribution to the K 0 − K ¯ 0 mixing transition and confront it with the current experimental results. We do this for the three cases in which one of the family of quarks transforms as a triplet by SU 3 L . According to our findings, each case leads to different constraints on the mass of the pseudoscalar, and the case in which the third family of quarks transforms as triplet seems to be the favoured one. We also obtain the most stringent bounds on the mass of the pseudoscalar of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to investigate the monocyte count and its association with nutritional status in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: a cross-sectional study carried out at a Neurodevelopmental Center in the south of Brazil, with 68 ASD patients aged 3 to 18 years. The number of monocytes (per mm3 ) was determined in blood samples. Nutritional status was defined as BMI-for-age according to WHO standards. The Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire and a standard questionnaire to collect sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were administered to caregivers. Comparisons between sociodemographic, clinical, and eating behavior variables were performed with parametric tests. Linear regression was used to test the association between nutritional status and monocyte count. Results: mean age was 8.6 ± 3.3 years, 79 % were males and 66 % were overweight. In the unadjusted regression overweight was associated with higher monocyte counts compared to those non-overweight (B: 64.0; 95 % CI, 13.9 to 114.1; β: 0.30, p = 0.01). This association remained significant after adjustment for the subscale of “emotional overeating” (B: 37.0; 95 % CI, 17.1 to 91.3; β: 0.29; p = 0.02). The variability in monocyte count attributed to overweight was 14 %. Conclusions: overweight is associated with a higher monocyte count in children and adolescents with ASD. Nutritional intervention to control overweight is essential to mitigate the negative impact on inflammatory activity and immune dysfunction in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the role of 3CLpro protease for SARS-CoV-2 replication and knowing the potential of flavonoid molecules like rutin, myricetin, and baicalein against 3CLpro justify an investigation into their inhibition. This study investigates possible bonds and reactivity descriptors of rutin, myricetin, and baicalein through conformational and electronic properties. Density functional theory was used to determine possible interactions. Analyses were carried out through the molecular electrostatic potential, electron localization function, Fukui function descriptors based on frontier orbitals, and non-covalent interactions. A docking study was performed using a resolution of 1.55 Å for 3CLpro to analyze the interactions of rutin, myricetin, and baicalein. Scores of structures showed that rutin is the best ligand, followed by myricetin and baicalein. Docking studies showed that baicalein and rutin can establish effective interactions with residues of the catalytic dyad (Cys145 and His41), but just rutin forms a hydrogen bond. Myricetin, in turn, could not establish an effective interaction with Cys145. Baicalein interaction arose with active residues such as Arg188, Val186, Gln189, and Gln192. Interactions of rutin and myricetin with Arg188 and Gln189 were also found. A critical interaction was observed only for rutin with the hydroxyls of ring A with His41, and also for Cys145 with rings B and C, which is probably related to the highest score of rutin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pyrolysis process consists of the thermal decomposition of biomass in an inert atmosphere, which produces a liquid (bio-oil) composed of a complex mixture of organic compounds, including an oil and water phase. The aqueous fraction can reach up to 45% w/w, and understanding its composition is of utmost importance in determining its intended destination, whether for the reuse of compounds in industrial applications or for treating the effluent for disposal. In this study, a fast, direct, and efficient method using ultra-high-performance supercritical fluid chromatography (UHPSFC) was developed and optimized for monitoring phenols in aqueous samples obtained from the pyrolysis processing of six different biomass sources. The following parameters were evaluated for method optimization: stationary phase type, mobile phase flow, organic modifier, sample diluent, temperature, pressure, and modifier gradient time. With a total analysis time of 26 min, out of the fourteen (14) investigated phenolic compounds, eleven (11) were successfully separated after method optimization, and among them, five (5) were quantified in all six aqueous fractions. The aqueous fractions of residue from cowpea pod (1.89 mg.mL−1), sugar apple (3.09 mg.mL−1), and acerola (4.79 mg.mL−1) presented lower concentrations compared to grape (8.16 mg.mL−1), pine nuts (6.68 mg.mL−1), and guava (6.05 mg.mL−1) fractions. However, even at lower concentrations, all biomasses showed promising results regarding the phenolic compound content, analytes that have high added value for the chemical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we study the existence of positive ground states and concentration phenomena for the following class of quasilinear Schrödinger equations: − ε 2 div (g 2 (u) ∇ u) + ε 2 g (u) g ′ (u) | ∇ u | 2 + V (x) u = Q (x) f (u) in R 2 , where ε > 0 is a parameter, g : R → R + is a continuously differentiable function, V (x) and Q (x) are positive and bounded continuous potentials and the nonlinearity f (u) can exhibit critical exponential growth. In order to prove our concentration result, we exploit variational arguments that take into account an interaction between the potentials V and Q, in combination with the Trudinger–Moser inequality and Moser iteration method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To present suggestions for behavioral competency development for engineers and Engineering students to work in Industry 4.0. Originality/value: A human-machine collaboration model (with artificial intelligence application) is proposed for training engineering professionals for the workplace. The behavioral skills for Industry 4.0 to be developed in Engineering degree programs and the quality of evidence of their inclusion in such programs of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro [UFRJ]) are assessed. Design/methodology/approach: The engineer-machine collaboration model draws on Design Thinking (Brown, 2010) and cognitive modeling of engineers based on a model of logical reasoning (Paul & Elder, 2002), integrating the cognitive model with a model of information flows in human-machine interactions (Riley, 1989). A competency model for Industry 4.0 (Prifti et al., 2017), interviews with leaders of Engineering schools of UFRJ, addressing their planning for the implementation of the new National Curriculum Guidelines for Engineering programs (Resolução no. 2, 2019), and application of the GRADE approach (Balshem et al., 2011) supported the identification of evidence of behavioral competencies for Industry 4.0 in the undergraduate programs. Findings: Engineering professionals train their critical analysis and decision-making skills while the machine searches for and processes information and performs simulations. Low quality evidence was found for the training of undergraduates in emotional intelligence, decisionmaking, and customer relations. No evidence was identified of training in self-management, entrepreneurship, and understanding of the business model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Methods Results Conclusion In occupational therapy for children, collaborative practice with parents is crucial for meaningful family‐centred interventions, yet it remains undefined and inconsistently addressed. This study aimed to establish foundational concepts for collaborative practice with parents in occupational therapy for children in progressing the field with a universal description.This paper encompasses the second dataset of a larger scoping review and a preliminary validation of findings by an advisory panel. Data were gathered from indexed sources on collaborative practice with parents in occupational therapy for children (ages 0–10) using MedLine, PsychInfo, ERIC, Embase, OTSeeker, Scopus, and ProQuest Central. Data were extracted, charted, and descriptively analysed by paired independent reviewers. The Joanna Briggs Institute Manual and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis—extension for Scoping Reviews were used. A draft definition of collaborative practices, developed based on preliminary review findings and an operational definition, was validated by an advisory panel of 13 experienced Australian occupational therapists, whose input was integrated into a final, comprehensive description of collaborative practice.The scoping review encompassed 299 sources, revealing three major components of collaborative practice: ‘collaborative practice aims’, ‘parent–therapist partnership’, and ‘strategies for collaboration’. The advisory panel endorsed the draft definition, confirmed its professional relevance, and suggested some modifications.The major outcome of this study is an evidence‐based and discipline‐specific preliminary description of collaborative practice with parents in occupational therapy for children. This description provides a common language and foundational concepts for the future development of a collaborative practice framework to guide practice and research. Future studies can explore specific components, exploring their mechanisms and significance. Further expanded validation is required, incorporating the perspectives of a wider community of occupational therapists and families to enhance the description's applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Methods Results Conclusion PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY In childhood intervention, parent–therapist collaboration is central to the family‐centred approach. Despite long‐standing discussion in occupational therapy literature, the field faces challenges, including inconsistent terminology and difficulties in translating theory into practice. This paper represents the first part of a comprehensive scoping review study aimed at developing foundational concepts for collaborative practices with parents in occupational therapy for children. Therefore, this paper focusses on mapping existing practices, types, and approaches articulated in the literature.We searched English‐language sources published worldwide from 1998 to 2022 discussing collaborative practices with parents in occupational therapy for children aged 0–10 with any diagnosis, including multidisciplinary practices. Seven databases were searched. Data from peer‐reviewed indexed literature, theses and dissertations, and book chapters were extracted and analysed through basic numerical and descriptive analyses before being synthesised into similar categories. The Joanna Briggs Institute Manual and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta‐Analysis—extension for Scoping Reviews were used.The scoping review yielded 299 papers. Parent–therapist collaboration was prominent in clinics, family homes, schools, and hospitals, particularly during therapy implementation, goal setting, and planning. Most reported practice types included ‘interventions with parent engagement’, ‘parent‐directed interventions’, and ‘parent education’. ‘Family‐centred’, ‘occupational‐focussed’, and ‘client–therapist collaborative’ approaches were frequently mentioned. There were inconsistencies in the terms used to describe collaborative practice characteristics.Over the past 24 years, the collaborative practice literature has expanded and evolved, with parent–therapist collaboration observed across various occupational therapy settings. Inconsistencies in this collaboration across different therapeutic stages were revealed, which could impact intervention success and sustainability. Further research is needed to explore parent–therapist collaboration mechanisms within and across stages. This scoping review also underscores the need for a common framework to guide practice and research.This literature review explores how occupational therapists and parents work together in childhood intervention. Collaboration is essential for understanding and meeting children's needs within their family and community settings. However, occupational therapists and parents face challenges in applying family‐centred practices and using a common language to bridge theory with practice. To address these challenges, we examined 299 papers published between 1998 and 2022 to understand how collaborative practices with parents have been described in the literature. Our review revealed that therapists and parents collaborate across various settings, such as clinics, schools, homes, and hospitals, mainly during therapy sessions, goal setting, and planning interventions. Collaborative practices take different forms. For instance, therapists often encourage parents to actively engage and take the lead in therapy, requiring therapists to recognise and respect parents' priorities and learning preferences. They often develop strategies together to support the child within family routines. While we found several studies on therapist–parent collaboration, the review outlined inconsistencies in how this practice was described and applied, which could affect its success. Therefore, more research is needed to understand the best ways in which collaboration can occur at each stage of therapy. The need for a core guideline for collaborative practice with parents in occupational therapy was also observed. While therapist–parent collaboration is used in occupational therapy for children, there is a clear need to minimise inconsistencies and gaps found in the literature, as well as to ensure a common language to promote intervention quality and success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer accounts for ten million dies in each year. There are ample number of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs for this disease. Due to severe side effects and multiple drug resistance, the current drug therapies become ineffective. So, the newer chemical moieties/entities with less toxic are necessary for the development. The nitrogen bearing heterocycle indole scaffold is considered one of the most privileged pharmacophores in heterocyclic compounds. New indole-based drug may serve as an effective for the development of new drug against this disease. This review amalgamates the current advances on indole based molecular frameworks and their unique anticancer relevance as reported over the last two decades. It highlights an inclination in the use of indole-based drug crafting and subsequent emergence of several potent drug against a range of cancer diseases in the clinical and pre-clinical stages of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new Australian genus in the orb-weaving spider family Araneidae Clerck, 1757 is described, Kangaraneus gen. nov., with K. arenaceus (Keyserling, 1886) comb. nov. (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia) as the type species and also including two other species: Kangaraneus amblycyphus (Simon, 1908) comb. nov. (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia) and K. farhani sp. nov. (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania). The new genus is included in the informally termed Australasian 'backobourkiine' clade due to the presence of its putative synapomorphies, specifically a single patellar macroseta on the male pedipalp and its median apophysis forming an arch over the radix. It includes medium-sized orb-weaving spiders (total length 3-12 mm) with distinct humeral humps on the almost triangular abdomen. Therefore, within the backobourkiines, it is somatically most similar to Novakiella Court & Forster, 1993 but differs considerably in male genitalic characters, including a C-shaped median apophysis with an acute tip. Genitalia are most similar to those in Quokkaraneus Castanheira & Framenau, 2023 from which the new genus differs by the lack of the white colouration and the shape of the abdomen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to evaluate the existence and intensity of interactions between the years and the intermediate regions of the state of Mato Grosso, for the variables of production and production value, and their main differences. In the present study, the AMMI model was applied, from a Bayesian perspective, to two data sets with an experimental design in randomized blocks with 31 years in 5 different intermediate regions, for the variables of soybean production in thousand tons and production value of soybean in thousand R$. The model did not reveal interaction between regions and years for the variable production in tons, however it did reveal some interaction for the variable production value in millions of R$. In both variables, there was an interaction between the region of Barra do Garças and Cuiába, and only for the variable production value there was an interaction between Barra do Garças and Rondonópolis. The biplots showed similar comportment at its ends for the regions of Cáceres and Sinop. In both variables, there was interaction between the years 1990 to 2008, and 2008 to 2020, both temporal cuts of lower and higher averages. The present research, in addition to evaluating the main interactions of the years in the main intermediate regions of the state and their nuances, generated results that can attract both internal and external investors such as China and other countries interested in this sector, and also be applied to other cultures in the state, and in other areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

France suffered, in 2016, the most extreme wheat yield decline in recent history, with some districts losing 55% yield. To attribute causes, we combined the largest coherent detailed wheat field experimental dataset with statistical and crop model techniques, climate information, and yield physiology. The 2016 yield was composed of up to 40% fewer grains that were up to 30% lighter than expected across eight research stations in France. The flowering stage was affected by prolonged cloud cover and heavy rainfall when 31% of the loss in grain yield was incurred from reduced solar radiation and 19% from floret damage. Grain filling was also affected as 26% of grain yield loss was caused by soil anoxia, 11% by fungal foliar diseases, and 10% by ear blight. Compounding climate effects caused the extreme yield decline. The likelihood of these compound factors recurring under future climate change is estimated to change with a higher frequency of extremely low wheat yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the effects of different therapeutic interventions that have ever been evaluated in randomized controlled trials on pain due to plantar fasciitis. Methods: We searched different electronic databases until September 2022. Mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation was used to evaluate the overall certainty evidence. Results: A total of 236 studies met the study criteria, including 15,401 patients. Botulinum toxin MD −2.14 (CI: −4.15, −0.14), micronized dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane injection MD −3.31 (CI: −5.54, −1.08), dry needling MD −2.34 (CI: −4.64, −0.04), low-dye taping MD −3.60 (CI: −4.16, −3.03), low-level laser therapy MD −2.09 (CI: −2.28, −1.90), myofascial releases MD −1.79 (CI: −2.63, −0.94), platelet-rich plasma MD −2.40 (CI: −4.16, −0.63), radiofrequency MD −2.47 (CI: −4.65, −0.29), and stretching MD −1.14 (CI: −2.02, −0.26) resulted in being effective treatments for pain when compared to the control in the short term. In the medium and long term, only extracorporeal shock wave therapy MD −0.97 (CI: −1.13, −0.81)/MD −2.49 (CI: −3.17, −1.82) was effective for improving pain when compared to the control. Conclusions: Considering the available studies, this systematic review and meta-analysis showed that different therapeutic interventions seem to be useful strategies for improving pain in patients with plantar fasciitis. In the medium and long term, only extracorporeal shock wave therapy was effective in improving pain when compared to the control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present contribution proposes an active vibration control technique devoted to shafts with cracks aiming to minimize their propagation. The existence of a crack in rotating shafts can be characterized by 2 X and 3 X super-harmonic amplitudes in the vibration responses of the rotor, which can increase as the crack propagates along the shaft's cross-section. A proportional-integral-derivative control technique is applied to suppress the 2 X and 3 X vibration amplitudes of a cracked shaft, which is performed by using a bandpass filter applied to the vibration responses of the rotor. Numerical and experimental results are obtained through both a representative finite element model of a horizontal rotor and its corresponding test-rig. In this case, electromagnetic actuators are used to apply the control effort to the rotor. The Mayes model is applied for simulating the breathing behavior of the transverse crack. The linear fracture mechanics theory is considered to correlate the crack depth with the corresponding additional rotor flexibility. Both numerical and experimental results demonstrate the possibility of reducing the effects of a transverse crack through active control on the dynamic behavior of a rotating machine. Moreover, it is shown that the proposed control law is capable of controlling the crack effects with the rotor operating in different rotation speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a framework to study the entanglement structure of a quantum field theory inspired by the formalism of particle detectors in relativistic quantum information. This framework can in principle be used to faithfully capture entanglement in a QFT between arbitrary-shaped regions of spacetime without encountering UV divergences, bypassing many of the issues typically present in other approaches. Our results also establish the limits of the efficiency of entanglement harvesting, and may also be used to motivate an operational definition of entanglement between spacetime subregions in field theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to compare the acute cardiovascular and neuromuscular effects of 3 time-matched sessions of high-intensity training. Eighteen moderately active adults (9 women and 9 men [age: 23 ± 2.9 years; maximum oxygen consumption (V̇O2max): 47.6 ± 4.1 ml·kg-1 ·min-1 ]) performed three low-volume (;9 minutes) sessions in a randomized order: sprint interval training (SIT), burpee interval training (BIT) (10 × 5 seconds efforts × 35 seconds recovery), and vigorous intensity continuous training (VICT) (6 minutes 5 seconds of running at ;85% of peak heart rate [HRpeak]). Indices related to heart rate (HR), neuromuscular performance (counter movement jump height [CMJheight] and squat and bench press power), and autonomic balance (heart rate recovery and heart rate variability [HRR and HRV] )were monitored during exercise. Sprint interval training and VICT elicited a higher HRmean (171.3 ± 8.4 and 166.5 ± 7.5 vs. 150.5 ± 13.6 b·min-1, p < 0.001) and time of ≥90%HRpeak (133.3 ± 117.4 and 110 ± 128.9 vs. 10 ± 42.4 seconds, p < 0.01) than BIT. Sprint interval training exhibited a slower HRR and lower HRV than BIT and VICT (p < 0.05) postsession. Moreover, only SIT resulted in a significant decline (p < 0.01) in CMJheight (34.7 ± 7.2 to 33.5 ± 7.2 cm), relative squat mean power (25.5 ± 4.5 to 23.8 ± 4.9 W·kg-1 ), and relative bench press peak power (6.9 ± 2.4 to 6.2 ± 2.5 W·kg-1 ). Results revealed that SIT diminishes the sympathovagal reactivation and neuromuscular performance compared with work-matched BIT and VICT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

End-of-life care in long-term care facilities for older adults requires numerous skills. However, many professionals, including occupational therapists, feel unprepared to deal with death and dyingand have difficulties to attend to the real needs of the older adults and their families.This is a qualitative study anchored in phenomenologywhich had the objective to understand the perception of occupational therapists regarding death and dying inlong-term care facilities. Data were collected through focus groups and analyzed by thematic content analysis. A total of 12 occupational therapists participated in this study, and two themeswere generated: "The Experience of Death and Dying" and "The Occupational Therapist's approach in Facing Death and Dying". These results may contribute to improvingthe care provided to older adults in the process of death and dying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four treatments were established to evaluate the effect of delayed first exogenous feeding and subsequent feeding periods on the development of goldfish larvae. The fasting and feeding periods were arranged as follows: T1 (0DFA:30DF), T2 (4DFA:26DF), T3 (8DFA:22DF), and T4 (12DFA:18DF), where DFA are the days of fasting and DF are the days of feeding. The larvae were kept in community tanks for each repetition, with 75 larvae per tank (3.75 larvae L-1). There was no significant difference in total length or final weight between larvae submitted to 0, 4, and 8 days of feed deprivation. However, larvae submitted to 12 DFA had higher values of the same variables than the other treatments. No significant difference in larval survival was observed between T1, T2, and T3, but T4 negatively influenced survival. Under the conditions evaluated, the point of no return was 4 DFA. Dead larvae were partly eaten in the fasting treatments. The delayed first feeding should be avoided in large-scale productions since it significantly reduces survival during cultivation. This article results from research funded by the Pescarte Environmental Education Project (PEA/IBAMA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-abietate and Cu-abietate complexes were obtained by a low-cost and eco-friendly route. The synthesis process used Pinus elliottii resin and an aqueous solution of CuSO4/CoSO4 at a mild temperature (80 °C) without organic solvents. The obtained complexes are functional pigments for commercial architectural paints with antipathogenic activity. The pigments were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), mass spectrometry (MS), thermogravimetry (TG), near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and colorimetric analysis. In addition, the antibacterial efficiency was evaluated using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test, and the antiviral tests followed an adaptation of the ISO 21702:2019 guideline. Finally, virus inactivation was measured using the RT-PCR protocol using 10% (w/w) of abietate complex in commercial white paint. The Co-abietate and Cu-abietate showed inactivation of >4 log against SARS-CoV-2 and a MIC value of 4.50 µg·mL−1 against both bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The results suggest that the obtained Co-abietate and Cu-abietate complexes could be applied as pigments in architectural paints for healthcare centers, homes, and public places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Motivation: Workplace training is an indispensable part of workforce skill development, but it is often provided irregularly and selectively in private enterprises. This is a missed opportunity given its potential to contribute to employee wellbeing and human capital development, and to boost firm performance. Purpose: We examine workplace training provision and private returns to training in Myanmar, a country with a severely constrained formal educational system and underperforming private sector. Methods and approach: We use linked employer–worker panel data from micro, small, and medium manufacturing enterprises in Myanmar. Our regression framework includes controls for production factors and other standard enterprise and owner characteristics, including employee and owner skills, and unobservable time‐invariant employee and firm heterogeneity. Findings First, we document a low prevalence of training in manufacturing enterprises. Second, we find a wage premium associated with training of about 8%. Third, we show that workplace training is offered selectively to workers and how, when this is the case, the wage gap between trained and untrained workers surpasses 10%. Fourth, we find that prior training (in other firms) or certified training do not contribute to higher wages, indicating that training is largely firm‐specific. Finally, we find that the wage returns to training are particularly high for women and among the least educated workers. Policy implications: Considering the wage return as a lower bound of productivity gains from training, our results suggest that government support of workplace training programmes in private enterprises could help increase performance of the manufacturing sector in Myanmar. High returns to training among the least educated workers indicate that training could improve the overall income distribution in the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a finite system of interacting point processes with memory of variable length modeling a finite but large network of spiking neurons with two different leakage mechanisms. Associated to each neuron there are two point processes, describing its successive spiking and leakage times. For each neuron, the rate of the spiking point process is an exponential function of its membrane potential, with the restriction that the rate takes the value 0 when the membrane potential is 0. At each spiking time, the membrane potential of the neuron resets to 0, and simultaneously, the membrane potentials of the other neurons increase by one unit. The leakage can be modeled in two different ways. In the first way, at each occurrence time of the leakage point process associated to a neuron, the membrane potential of that neuron is reset to 0, with no effect on the other neurons. In the second way, if the membrane potential of the neuron is strictly positive, at each occurrence time of the leakage point process associated to that neuron, its membrane potential decreases by one unit, with no effect on the other neurons. In both cases, the leakage point process of the neurons has constant rate. For both models, we prove that the system has a metastable behavior as the population size diverges. This means that the time at which the system gets trapped by the list of null membrane potentials suitably re-scaled converges to a mean one exponential random time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological control is one of the methods available for control of Aedes aegypti populations. We used experimental microcosms to evaluate the effects of actual predation and predation risk by dragonfly larvae (Odonata) on larval development, adult longevity, and adult size of Ae. aegypti. We used six treatments: control, removal, variable density cues (Cues VD), fixed density cues (Cues FD), variable density predator (Predator VD), and fixed density predator (Predator FD) (n = 5 each). Predator treatments received one dragonfly larva. Cue treatments were composed of crushed Ae. aegypti larvae released into the microcosm. For the FD treatments, we maintained a larval density of 200 individuals. The average mortality of Ae. aegypti larvae in the Predator VD treatment was used as the standard mortality for the other treatments. Mosquitoes from the Predator VD and Cues VD treatments developed faster, and adults were larger and had greater longevity compared to all other treatments, likely due to the higher food availability from larval density reduction. High larval density negatively affected larval developmental time, adult size, and longevity. Males were less sensitive to density-dependent effects. Results from this study suggest that the presence of predators may lead to the emergence of adult mosquitoes with greater fitness, causing an overall positive effect on Ae. aegypti population growth rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this work, we aimed to describe the strategy of the weekly SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR surveillance program that was implemented in our bone marrow transplantation (BMT) unit. Methods: Our unit performed SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR before admission and then weekly during hospitalization even if the patient was asymptomatic. From May 2021 to May 2022, we collected data from all patients that were admitted in the BMT unit to perform transplantation. The total of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR performed and the positive rate were described. Results: During the study period, 65 patients were admitted for HSCT. A total of 414 SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR were performed. Two cases were detected (positivity rate, 0.48%). After the positive test, both patients were isolated outside the BMT unit. Conclusion: We postulate that diagnosing these patients and isolating them outside the transplantation unit may have prevented secondary symptomatic cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration and number of recovered oocytes (ROOC) are phenotypic parameters associated with in vitro embryo production (IVEP). More recently, anogenital distance (AGD) has been proposed as a proxy for fertility in dairy cattle that is easy to collect at a low cost. The aim of this study was to characterize the AGD and its phenotypic and genetic associations with AMH and IVEP in Bos indicus Gyr dairy cattle. The hypothesis was that the number of ROOC, in vitro–produced embryos, and AMH concentration would increase as the AGD decreases. From July to December 2021, a single morphometrical measurement of AGD was collected in 552 donors from 6 herds in Brazil. A subset of donors had AMH assayed on the same day. Only ovum pick-up events that occurred up to 12 mo preceding and 7 mo succeeding the AGD measurement were used to assess the association between AGD, AMH, and IVEP. Thus, 472 donors (1,551 ovum pick-up events and 140 donors with AMH) were considered in the analysis. A raw average was calculated for each individual donor's ROOC, viable oocytes, total produced embryos, viability rate, and embryo rate (defined as total produced embryos/viable oocytes). Comparisons were conducted within the age categories of 3 to <6 yr or 6 to <10 yr. Phenotypic associations were performed in SAS software (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Genetic correlations were estimated using the BLUPF90 family of programs. The AGD (128.7 mm ± 14; mean ± standard deviation) had a normal distribution and was highly variable (83 to 172 mm) among the Gyr population. Our experimental hypothesis was partially supported by a phenotypic association of a greater number of total produced embryos (R2 = 0.023) as AGD decreased. Our results failed to support an increase in AMH concentration along with a decrease in AGD. In addition, positive and low genetic correlations were observed between AGD and viable oocytes (r = 0.08), and embryo rate (r = 0.20). A greater number of viable oocytes and embryos were observed in donors in the high compared with intermediate and low ROOC categories within both age categories. The age interval of 3 to <6 yr showed a greater number of recovered and viable oocytes for the high AMH compared with the low category, but no differences were observed among the AGD categories. In summary, for the Gyr breed, AGD was phenotypically inversely associated with a quantity-related parameter, such as the total number of produced embryos. In contrast, AGD showed a low genetic correlation with qualitative-related outcomes such as viable oocytes and embryo rate. Further studies should be performed to validate these retrospective analyses and to better understand the association between AGD and IVEP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐index Mie‐resonant dielectric nanostructures provide a new framework to manipulate light at the nanoscale. In particular their local field confinement together with their inherently low losses at frequencies below their bandgap energy allows to efficiently boost and control linear and nonlinear optical processes. Here, nanoantennas composed of a thin indium‐tin oxide (ITO) layer in the center of a dielectric gallium phosphide (GaP) nanodisc are investigated. While the linear response is similar to that of a pure GaP nanodisc, it is shown that second harmonic generation is enhanced across a broadband wavelength range. On the other hand, third harmonic generation is only marginally enhanced around the epsilon‐near‐zero wavelength of ITO. Linear and nonlinear finite‐difference time‐domain simulations show that despite the high refractive index contrast leading to strong field confinement inside the antenna's ITO layer, the nanogap enhancement effect is mitigated by the low nonlinear volume of the nanogap layer and the antenna's behavior at the harmonic wavelength. Measurement of ITO and GaP nonlinear susceptibilities additionally show a comparative advantage for harmonic generation in GaP. These investigations deliver insights on the mechanisms at play in nonlinear nanogap antennas and their potential applications as nanoscale devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we present a simple experiment that seeks to show the influence of atmospheric air temperature on the speed of sound propagation. The experiment consists of the simultaneous observation of air temperature and the speed of propagation of sound, using diurnal temperature variations. The experiment is based on an acoustic range finder and makes use of an Arduino Uno board with a datalogger shield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying the spatially varying nearshore wave characteristics and energy dissipation mechanisms is of utmost importance for several coastal management and engineering applications as well as for flood hazard assessment. This study presents the ArcGIS Wave Transformation toolbox (ArcWaT), a model-based GIS toolbox for estimating wave transformation from wave magnitude and direction model outputs. In order to assess the ArcWaT capabilities, a case study was developed using ADCIRC+SWAN model outputs from a highly-resolved numerical mesh developed for the nearshore areas of the state of Maryland and forced with wind and pressure fields from Hurricane Irene. Results show that several wave transformation processes, i.e., wave generation, shoaling, refraction, wave breaking, diffraction, and wave attenuation due to bottom friction, are more easily identified when using ArcWaT if compared to the non-processed wave magnitude and direction model outputs. Among these processes wave attenuation due to bottom friction is found to be the most significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for developing disinfectant surfaces as well as reducing the spread of infections on contaminated surfaces and the contamination risk from the fomite route. The present work reports on the antiviral activity of coatings containing ZnO particles obtained by two simple synthesis routes using Aloe vera (ZnO-aloe) or cassava starch (ZnO-starch) as reaction fuel. After detailed characterization using XRD and NEXAFS, the obtained ZnO particles were dispersed in a proportion of 10% with two different waterborne acrylic coatings (binder and commercial white paint) and brushed on the surface of polycarbonates (PC). The cured ZnO/coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Wettability tests were performed. The virucidal activity of the ZnO particles dispersed in the waterborne acrylic coating was compared to a reference control sample (PC plates). According to RT-PCR results, the ZnO-aloe/coating displays the highest outcome for antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 using the acrylic binder, inactivating >99% of the virus after 24 h of contact relative to reference control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed and implemented a computational methodology to solve for the heat flow and the gas concentrations in a class of industrial catalytic steam reformers. The problem under consideration consists of a nonlinearly coupled system composed of a boundary-value problem and reaction-diffusion partial differential equations. Such reformers have broad industrial applications and consume a large amount of energy and natural resources globally. The methodology is applied to tackle two outstanding questions regarding catalytic processes, for which our methodology delivers efficient answers to the following research questions: (i) How to solve the energy/catalyst investment dichotomy, i.e., locations with relatively inexpensive energy require less catalyst and in the opposite case of high energy costs, more catalyst is needed. (ii) How to express the energy input, which is difficult to ascertain for large burner designs, in terms of easily measurable parameters in real time, such as the input temperatures. These questions are answered by our approach leading to a powerful design tool for catalytic processes in general, with huge potential to mitigate environmental impacts. The complex nonlinear system of reaction-diffusion equations is solved by means of an implicit-explicit method and the nonlinear boundary value problem is solved by an iterative method. The coupling between the two systems is also performed through an iterative method. The convergence of the latter is confirmed by extensive numerical investigations, which are consistent with observed measurements in industrial installations. Furthermore, an analysis of the syngas production with different catalyst density, reactor inlet temperature, furnace energy flame and catalyst length are performed, which confirm that the variation of these parameters can result in a more optimized process. A typical consequence is the following: Fixing all parameters, except the catalyst density and the reactor inlet temperature, we show that an increase of 100 K in the latter allows us to use 3 times less catalyst density to achieve the same target CO concentration. In other words, we have a quantifiable and substantial trade off between energy and catalyst investment. [Display omitted] • Direct path to cost-benefit estimates of expenditures in both energy and catalyst. • Inputs defined by fully measurable temperatures and not by a hard-to-measure heat input flux. • Flexible and modular computational implementation capable of incorporating different material parameters. • Highly applicable methodology to design energy efficient steam reformer systems by means of optimization techniques. • IMEX schemes are used to solve the stiff differential equation systems that model the reaction-diffusion problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polypropylene (PP) samples were exposed to accelerated aging with UV-C light and showed a morphology inside the crackings like that of thermoplastic polymers under stress, known as craze. Herein we used the well-established photodegradation of polypropylene to build the relationship between the phenomenon of fibrillation inside the crackings and the microvoid formation during the evolution of the craze process. The basis of our proposition is the similarity of the processes but the stress source: whereas an external tensile stress load drives the craze, in photodegradation the stress comes from the changes caused by the crystallization, which reduces volume, creating tensions and forming cracks. We followed the polypropylene photodegradation using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), tensile tests, Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray Diffractometry (XRD) to prove the correlation between the cracking evolution and the craze mechanism. From this similarity, we paved the way to applying the current knowledge about the craze phenomenon to understand better the cracking evolution on polypropylene surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new Australo-Pacific orb-weaving spider genus Socca is established to include 12 species from Australia: Socca pustulosa (Walckenaer, 1841) comb. nov. (type species; also present in New Zealand); S. arenasp. nov., S. australissp. nov.S. caigunasp. nov., S. elvispresleyisp. nov., S. eugenisp. nov., S. johnnywarrenisp. nov., S. kullmannisp. nov., S. levyashinisp. nov., S. pleiasp. nov., S. senicaudata (Simon, 1908) comb. nov. (= Araneus senicaudatus simplex Simon, 1908 syn. nov.) and S. sydneyica (Keyserling, 1887) comb. nov. (= Epeira inquieta Keyserling, 1887 syn. nov.). Soccagen. nov. includes medium-sised, nocturnal orb-weaving spiders. It differs from other backobourkiine genera by five tubercles posteriorly on the abdomen and a tri-partite terminal apophysis of the male pedipalp. The epigyne plate in females is about as wide as long and the scape elongate and reaches posteriorly beyond the epigyne plate. Specimens of five Soccagen. nov. species were sequenced for the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI). The preliminary phylogeny supports our morphological species but does not confirm species-groups based on morphology and suggests that New Zealand S. pustulosacomb. nov. populations originate from south-eastern Australia. Zoobank LSID: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil texture has a great influence on the physical–hydric and chemical behavior of soils. In the Amazon regions, due to the presence of dense forest cover and limited access to roads, carrying out surveys and mapping of soils is challenging. When data exist, they are relatively sparse and the distribution is quite uneven. In this context, machine learning algorithms (ML) associated with remote sensor covariates offer a framework to derive digital maps of soil attributes. The objective of this study was to produce maps of surface and subsurface soil clay, silt, and sand contents in a 13.440 km2 area in the Amazon. The specific objectives were to (a) evaluate the gain in prediction accuracy when using the P-band of airborne radar as a covariate; (b) evaluate two sampling approaches (Reference Area—RA and Total Area—TA); and (c) evaluate the transferability and performance of three ML algorithms: regression tree (RT), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM). The study site was divided into three blocks, called Urucu, Araracanga, and Juruá, respectively. The soil dataset consisted of 151 surface and subsurface sand, silt, and clay observations and 21 covariates (20 relief variables and the backscattering coefficient from the P-band). Both the RA and TA sampling approach used 114 observations for training the prediction models (75%) and 37 for validation (25%). The RA approach was better for the development of sand and silt models. Overall, RF derived the most accurate predictions for all variables. The effect of introducing the P-band backscattering coefficient improved the sand prediction accuracy at the surface and subsurface in Araracanga, which had the highest sand content, with relative improvements (RI) of the R2, root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE) of 46%, 3%, and 4% at the surface, respectively, and 66.7%, 4.4%, and 5.2% at the subsurface, respectively. For silt, the P-band improved the predictions at the surface in Araracanga, which had the lowest silt contents among the blocks. For clay, adding the P-band improved the RF predictions at the subsurface, with RI of the R2, RMSE, and MAE of 29%, 5%, and 5%, respectively. Despite the low observation density, inherently hindered by the low accessibility of the area and high costs of sampling thereof, the results showed the potential of ML algorithms boosted by airborne radar P-band to map soil clay, silt, and sand contents in the Amazon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In insects, females can keep sperm capable of fertilisation over a long period with the help of the spermatheca. The effectiveness of storing fertile sperm is expected to reflect in the reproductive strategy and, thus, the morphology of the involved organs. In this work, we focused on the relationship between reproduction and morphology in the haplodiploid Thysanoptera, especially if a loss of these traits occurs under thelytoky. The spermathecal morphology and the fate of stored spermatozoa were studied by microscopic techniques (high-resolution x-ray computed tomography and transmission electron microscopy) in three species with different reproductive modes and lifestyles (Suocerathrips linguis, Echinothrips americanus, Hercinothrips femoralis). Mating experiments were conducted to analyse the use of the transferred sperm in the thelytokous H. femoralis. Results show that the spermathecae are relatively simple, which can be explained by the availability of sperm and the short lifespan of the females. However, the spermatheca in H. femoralis seems to be vestigial compared to the arrhenotokous species and females do not use sperm for fertilisation. No substantial change was observed in the structure of spermatozoa, despite an enlargement of the sperm organelles being measured during storage in all three species. The results of this work demonstrate differences in the morphology of the spermatheca, especially concerning the reproduction mode, promoting the understanding of the complex interaction between morphology and behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]