The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is tightening regulations, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ship operations. As a result, the number of vessels using Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as fuel has increased rapidly. At this time, ASTM A553-1 (9% nickel steel) is being used as a tank material for storing LNG as fuel, because it has higher strength than other cryogenic materials. Currently, shipyards are manufacturing LNG fuel tanks by using the Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW) method, using 9% nickel steel material. However, fabrication through FCAW welding has two drawbacks. The first is to use a welding electrode that is 20 times higher in cost than the base metal, and the second is that the total production cost increases because the thickness of the tank increases due to the strength drop near the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) after welding. Laser welding, which does not require additional welding rods and has no strength reduction in the HAZ, can overcome the drawbacks of FCAW welding and ensure price competitiveness. In this study, it is confirmed the characteristics of the penetration shape of Bead on Plate (BOP) after various laser welding conditions as a basic study to apply laser welding to A553-1 welding. For this, penetration characteristics of A553-1, according to laser welding speed and power, which is a main factor of laser welding, are confirmed. Full article

How does the human neurophysiological system self-organize to achieve optimal phase relationships among joints and limbs, such as in the composite rhythms of butterfly and front crawl swimming, drumming, or dancing? We conducted a systematic review of literature relating to central nervous system (CNS) control of phase among joint/limbs in continuous rhythmic activities. SCOPUS and Web of Science were searched using keywords “Phase AND Rhythm AND Coordination”. This yielded 1039 matches from which 23 papers were extracted for inclusion based on screening criteria. The empirical evidence arising from in-vivo, fictive, in-vitro, and modelling of neural control in humans, other species, and robots indicates that the control of movement is facilitated and simplified by innervating muscle synergies by way of spinal central pattern generators (CPGs). These typically behave like oscillators enabling stable repetition across cycles of movements. This approach provides a foundation to guide the design of empirical research in human swimming and other limb independent activities. For example, future research could be conducted to explore whether the Saltiel two-layer CPG model to explain locomotion in cats might also explain the complex relationships among the cyclical motions in human swimming. Full article

Cold supply chains (CSCs) are responsible for preserving the quality of perishable goods in storage and transport. They consume significant amounts of energy to maintain cooling temperatures constant over time continuously and ubiquitously, which is affected by the surrounding environment and the users’ behavior. The storage filling level is one specific feature of refrigerated warehouses observed in practice: they are more energy efficient when kept full of items, reducing the space that air occupies. Inventory management models that consider energy consumption have received increasing attention recently due to an increase in stakeholders’ awareness of sustainability. Despite this interest, there is no work that jointly considers the effects of the filling level and the temperature inside the warehouse. This study, therefore, integrates those aspects into the economic order quantity model and finds the optimal lot size quantity that minimizes the total system cost, which is the performance measure used herein. It provides numerical results and brings some insights into the behavior of the model proposed. Full article

The role of kinetically and thermodynamically driven microstructural evolution on FeNiZr was explored through in situ XRD analysis. A statistical approach based on log-likelihoods and composite link model was used to fit and extract important data from the XRD patterns. Best practices on using the statistical approach to obtained quantitative information from the XRD patterns was presented. It was shown that the alloyed powder used in the current study presents more thermodynamic stability than previously reported ball-milled powders. Based on hardness values, it was shown that mechanical strength is expected to be retained at higher processing temperatures. Lastly, a 2-dimensional heat transfer model was used to understand heat flow through the powder compacts. Full article

Oximes, which are highly bioactive molecules, have versatile uses in the medical sector and have been indicated to possess biological activity. Certain oximes exist in nature in plants and animals, but they are also obtained by chemical synthesis. Oximes are known for their anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer activities. Moreover, they are therapeutic agents against organophosphate (OP) poisoning. Two oximes are already commonly used in therapy. Due to these abilities, new oxime compounds have been synthesized, and their biological activity has been verified. Often, modification of carbonyl compounds into oximes leads to increased activity. Nevertheless, in some cases, oxime activity is connected to the activity of the substrate. Recent works have revealed that new oxime compounds can demonstrate such functions and thus are considered to be potential drugs for pathogenic diseases, as adjuvant therapy in various types of cancer and inflammation and as potential next-generation drugs against OP poisoning. Full article

(1) Background: Little is known about the interlinkages between dietary and plasma non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity (D-NEAC and P-NEAC, respectively) and the body’s antioxidant and inflammation response. Our aim was to explore these associations in 210 participants from two Spanish European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) centers. (2) Methods: D-NEAC was estimated using published NEAC values in food. P-NEAC and total polyphenols (TP) were quantified by FRAP (ferric-reducing antioxidant power), TRAP (total radical-trapping antioxidant parameter), TEAC-ABTS (trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity - Azino Bis Thiazoline Sulfonic), ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) and Folin–Ciocalteu assays. Nutrient antioxidants (carotenes, α-tocopherol, ascorbic acid, retinol, uric acid, Q9 and Q10 coenzymes) and inflammation markers (IL-6, IL-8, CRP, TNF-α, PAI-I, resistin and adiponectin) were also analyzed. Spearman correlation and linear regression analyses were performed in association analyses. Analyses were stratified by covariates and groups were defined using cluster analysis. (3) Results: P-FRAP was correlated with D-NEAC, and significantly associated with P-NEAC in multivariate adjusted models. P-FRAP levels were also significantly associated with plasma antioxidants (log2 scale: TP β = 0.26; ascorbic acid β = 0.03; retinol β = 0.08; α-tocopherol β = 0.05; carotenes β = 0.02; Q10 β = 0.06; uric acid β = 0.25), though not with inflammation-related biomarkers. Different profiles of individuals with varying levels of P-NEAC and biomarkers were found. (4) Conclusions: P-NEAC levels were to some extent associated with D-NEAC and plasma antioxidants, yet not associated with inflammation response. Full article

Worldwide diffused diseases such as osteoarthritis, atherosclerosis or chronic kidney disease are associated with a tissue calcification process which may involve unexpected local stem cell differentiation. Current pharmacological treatments for such musculoskeletal conditions are weakly effective, sometimes extremely expensive and often absent. The potential to develop new therapies is represented by the discovery of small molecules modulating resident progenitor cell differentiation to prevent aberrant tissue calcification. The marine environment is a rich reserve of compounds with pharmaceutical potential and many novel molecules are isolated from macro and microorganisms annually. The potential of small molecules synthetized by marine filamentous fungi to influence the osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hMSCs) was investigated using a novel, high-throughput automated screening platform. Metabolites synthetized by the marine-derived fungus Penicillium antarcticum were evaluated on the platform. Itaconic acid derivatives were identified as inhibitors of calcium elaboration into the matrix of osteogenically differentiated hMSCs and also inhibited hMSC chondrogenic differentiation, highlighting their capacity to impair ectopic calcification. Bioactive small molecule discovery is critical to address ectopic tissue calcification and the use of biologically relevant assays to identify naturally occurring metabolites from marine sources represents a strategy that can contribute to this effort. Full article

Mares are seasonally polyestric. The breeding season in spring and summer and the winter anestrus are flanked by transitional periods. Endometrial diseases are a frequent cause of subfertility and have an economic impact on the horse breeding industry. They include different forms of endometrosis, endometritis, glandular maldifferentiation, and angiosis. Except for suppurative endometritis, these are subclinical and can only be diagnosed by the microscopic examination of an endometrial biopsy. Endometrosis is characterized by periglandular fibrosis and nonsuppurative endometritis by stromal infiltration with lymphocytes and plasma cells. The pathogenesis of endometrosis and nonsuppurative endometritis is still undetermined. Some mares are predisposed to persistent endometritis; this has likely a multifactorial etiology. Glandular differentiation has to be interpreted under consideration of the season. The presence of endometrial diseases is associated with alterations in the expression of several intra- and extracellular molecular markers. Some of them may have potential to be used as diagnostic biomarkers for equine endometrial health and disease. The aim of this review is to provide an overview on pathomorphological findings of equine endometrial diseases, to outline data on analyses of cellular and molecular mechanisms, and to discuss the impact of these data on reproduction and treatment. Full article

Although several types of penile augmentation (PA) fillers have been recently introduced, no long-term follow-up studies have compared them. This study aimed to compare the long-term clinical outcomes of hyaluronic acid (HA) and polylactic acid (PLA) filler injections for PA. Our multicenter, patient-blinded/evaluator-blinded, randomized comparative trial was performed for 18 months after the single injection of fillers. Sixty-seven healthy men reporting a small penis were administered an injection between November 2016 and May 2017. Subjects were divided into the HA group (n = 33) and PLA group (n = 34). At 18 months, the mean penile girths had significantly increased in both groups (each p < 0.001). Changes in the mean penile girth of both groups were not significantly different during the study period. Satisfaction levels at 18 months were significantly higher than those at baseline in both groups (each p < 0.01). Changes in satisfaction levels did not differ significantly during the study period. Injection-associated adverse events (AEs) occurred in three (9.1%) patients in the HA group and in two (5.9%) patients in the PLA group; no serious AEs occurred. In conclusion, HA and PLA filler injections for PA led to significant augmentation and increased satisfaction. Clinical efficacy and safety were comparable between groups. Full article

Propane-Precooled Mixed Refrigerant (C3MR) and Single Mixed Refrigerant (SMR) processes are considered as optimal choices for onshore and offshore natural gas liquefaction, respectively. However, from thermodynamics point of view, these processes are still far away from their maximum achievable energy efficiency due to nonoptimal execution of the design variables. Therefore, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production is considered as one of the energy-intensive cryogenic industries. In this context, this study examines a single-solution-based Vortex Search (VS) approach to find the optimal design variables corresponding to minimal energy consumption for LNG processes, i.e., C3MR and SMR. The LNG processes are simulated using Aspen Hysys and then linked with VS algorithm, which is coded in MATLAB. The results indicated that the SMR process is a potential process for offshore sites that can liquefy natural gas with 16.1% less energy consumption compared with the published base case. Whereas, for onshore LNG production, the energy consumption for the C3MR process is reduced up to 27.8% when compared with the previously published base case. The optimal designs of the SMR and C3MR processes are also found via distinctive well-established optimization approaches (i.e., genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization) and their performance is compared with that of the VS methodology. The authors believe this work will greatly help the process engineers overcome the challenges relating to the energy efficiency of LNG industry, as well as other mixed refrigerant-based cryogenic processes. Full article

Benzothiazoles have played an important role in the field of biochemistry and medicinal chemistry due to their highly pharmaceutical and biological activity. The development of synthetic processes is undoubtedly one of the most significant problems facing researchers. In this review paper, we provided recent advances in the synthesis of benzothiazole compounds related to green chemistry from condensation of 2-aminobenzenethiol with aldehydes/ketones/acids/acyl chlorides and the cyclization of thioamide or carbon dioxide (CO₂) as raw materials, and the future development trend and prospect of the synthesis of benzothiazoles were anticipated. Full article

We show uniqueness in law for a general class of stochastic differential equations in ${\mathbb{R}}^d$ , $d\ge 2$ , with possibly degenerate and/or fully discontinuous locally bounded coefficients among all weak solutions that spend zero time at = points of degeneracy of the dispersion matrix. Points of degeneracy have a d-dimensional Lebesgue–Borel measure zero. Weak existence is obtained for a more general, but not necessarily locally bounded drift coefficient. Full article

Symmetry plays an important role in nonlinear system theory. In particular, it offers several methods by which to understand and model the chaotic behavior of mathematical, physical and biological systems. This study examines chaotic behavior in the field of information security. A novel method is proposed to improve the performance of chaos-based substitution box structures. Substitution box structures have a special role in block cipher algorithms, since they are the only nonlinear components in substitution permutation network architectures. However, the substitution box structures used in modern block encryption algorithms contain various vulnerabilities to side-channel attacks. Recent studies have shown that chaos-based designs can offer a variety of opportunities to prevent side-channel attacks. However, the problem of chaos-based designs is that substitution box performance criteria are worse than designs based on mathematical transformation. In this study, a postprocessing algorithm is proposed to improve the performance of chaos-based designs. The analysis results show that the proposed method can improve the performance criteria. The importance of these results is that chaos-based designs may offer opportunities for other practical applications in addition to the prevention of side-channel attacks. Full article

We analyze the low-energy Lagrangian of hadronic dark matter interaction with nucleons and leptons. The analysis was fulfilled within the framework of the effective meson-exchange model, which is based on dynamic realization of SU(3)-symmetry. Using this Lagrangian, we calculate the cross-section of low-energy scattering of nucleons on hadronic dark matter particles. Effective vertex of W-boson interaction with new hadrons is constructed and the cross-section of lepton scattering on dark matter particles is calculated. Full article

In this note, we investigate algebraic loop structures and inverses of elements of a set of all homomorphisms of Lie algebras with a binary operation derived from a Lie algebra comultiplication. As a symmetry phenomenon, we show that if $l{\left(1\right)}_c$ and $r{\left(1\right)}_c$ are the left and right inverses of the identity $1:\mathcal{L}\to \mathcal{L}$ on a free graded Lie algebra $\mathcal{L}$ , respectively, based on the Lie algebra comultiplication ${\psi }_c:\mathcal{L}\to \mathcal{L}\bigsqcup \mathcal{L}$ , then we have $l\left(1\right)=l{\left(1\right)}_c$ and $r\left(1\right)=r{\left(1\right)}_c$ , where $c:\mathcal{L}\to \mathcal{L}\bigsqcup \mathcal{L}$ is a commutator. Full article

Glazing surfaces strongly affect the building energy balance considering heat losses, solar gains and daylighting. Appropriate operation of the screens is required to control the transmitted solar radiation, preventing internal overheating while assuring visual comfort. Consequently, in the building design phase, solar control systems have become crucial devices to achieve high energy standards. An operation based on well-defined control strategies can help to reduce cooling energy consumption and ensure appropriate levels of natural lighting. The present study aims at investigating the effect of smart screening strategies on the energy consumption of a test building designed in the Mediterranean climate. With the aim of automatically setting the inclination of venetian blind slats, the necessary equations are analytically found out and applied. Equations obtained are based on the position of the sun with respect to the wall orientation. In the case of a cloudy day or an unlit surface, empirical laws are determined to optimize the shielding. These are extrapolated through energy simulations conducted with the EnergyPlus software. Finally, using the same software, the actual benefits obtained by the method used are assessed, in terms of energy and CO₂ emissions saved in a test environment. Full article