The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes various conditions, from asymptomatic infection to the fatal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). An intact immune system can overcome SARS-CoV-2 and other viral infections. Defective natural, mainly interferon I- and III-dependent, responses may lead to the spread of the virus to multiple organs. Adaptive B- and T-cell responses, including memory, highly influence the severity and outcome of COVID-19. With respect to B-cell immunity, germinal centre formation is delayed or even absent in the most severe cases. Extrafollicular low-affinity anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody production will occur instead of specific, high-affinity antibodies. Helper and CD8+ cytotoxic T-cells become hyperactivated and then exhausted, leading to ineffective viral clearance from the body. The dysregulation of neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages, as well as lymphocyte hyperreactivity, might lead to the robust production of inflammatory mediators, also known as cytokine storm. Eventually, the disruption of this complex network of immune cells and mediators leads to severe, sometimes fatal COVID-19 or another viral disease. Full article

Seaweeds are macroscopic, multicellular, eukaryotic and photosynthetic organisms, and are a source of chemical diversity with powerful biological activities for diversified industrial applications including cosmeceuticals. Red seaweeds (Rhodophyta) are good sources of Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAA) for photoprotectant and antiphotoaging compounds. In addition, Rhodophyta are also good sources for hydrogel compounds that are used widely in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical industries as gelling agents, moisturizers or for their antiphotoaging effects. Our survey and ongoing studies revealed that the biodiversity of Indonesian Rhodophyta is rich and is a treasure trove for cosmeceutical agents including MAA and hydrogels. This study delivers valuable information for identifying potential red seaweeds in screening and searching for cosmeceutical agents. Full article

By using the uniform continuity of two onto maps, this paper further explores stronger forms of Kato’s chaos, sensitivity, and accessibility of Cournot maps. In particular, the sensitivity, the collective sensitivity, the accessibility, and the collective accessibility of the compositions of two reaction functions are studied. It is observed that a Cournot onto map H on a product space is sensitive (collectively sensitive, collectively accessible, accessible, or collectively Kato chaotic) if and only if the restriction of the map $H^2$ to the MPE-set is sensitive as well. Several examples are given to show the necessity of the reaction functions being continuous onto maps. Full article

For the co-saliency detection algorithm of an RGBD image that may have incomplete detection of common salient regions and unclear boundaries, we proposed an improved co-saliency detection method of RGBD images based on superpixels and hypergraphs. First, we optimized the depth map based on edge consistency, and introduced the optimized depth map into the SLIC algorithm to obtain the better superpixel segmentation results of RGBD images. Second, the color features, optimized depth features and global spatial features of superpixels were extracted to construct a weighted hypergraph model to generate saliency maps. Finally, we constructed a weighted hypergraph model for co-saliency detection based on the relationship of color features, global spatial features, optimized depth features and saliency features among images. In addition, in order to verify the impact of the symmetry of the optimized depth information on the co-saliency detection results, we compared the proposed method with two types of models, which included considering depth information and not considering depth information. The experimental results on Cosal150 and Coseg183 datasets showed that our improved algorithm had the advantages of suppressing the background and detecting the integrity of the common salient region, and outperformed other algorithms on the metrics of P-R curve, F-measure and MAE. Full article

The United Arab Emirate’s rapid population growth is coupled with an increase in the consumption of natural resources such as fresh air, sunlight, land, and water. In the past two decades, the demand for land has augmented both away from the coast and significantly near the coast. Within coastal zones, artificial reclamation of land in the sea is the most desirable way to meet the demand for land necessary for the development of the most modern urban areas. Seaward reclamation (land in the water) necessitates the construction of artificially reclaimed areas that are extended into the sea using innovative modern construction techniques. The majority of these building requirements are necessitated by a number of key factors and have diverse outcomes. Even though this type of urban expansion is not new, the scale and motivations of land reclamation have been drastically altered due to geological and human-induced factors. The purpose of this paper is to assess the increase in seaward land expansion, particularly in the seven UAE coastal emirates. Using satellite data, particularly from 1990 to 2021, the total increase in land due to newly developed reclaimed areas in all UAE coastal emirates is calculated. Satellite images from the Landsat series are used to analyze the tremendous growth since the early 2000s. In addition, the study of shoreline maps of 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2021 for the seven emirates revealed that the 22 km long Ajman and UAQ front coast experienced a notable shoreline retreat with a net erosion area of 300 m² and an annual rate of 30 my⁻¹ over the past 21 years (2000–2021). Depending on the type of construction design used to describe the process, a methodical sorting is also recommended. The impacts of the Dubai offshore reclaimed islands on the adjacent coastlines in Ajman and Umm Al Quwain (UAQ), as well as the potential impact of earthquake tremors along the Zagros fold belt region, are the subjects of this study. In this study, all seven coastal emirates are considered, and the largest reclamation projects are located in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras-Al Khaimah (RAK), and Fujairah, with Dubai leading the way; it has expanded its coastal areas by more than 68 km² at present, and another 35 km² will be reclaimed soon to finish Palm Deira. Full article

Cutting tool characterization plays a crucial role in understanding the behavior of machining operations. The selection of a suitable cutting material, the operating conditions for the work piece, is necessary to yield good cutting-tool life. Several pieces of research have been carried out in cutting-tool characteristics for turning operation. Only a few pieces of research have focused on correlating the vibrations and stress with wear characteristics. This research article deals with stress induced in silicon carbide tool inserts and coated tool inserts while machining SS304 steel. Since this material is much less resistant to corrosion and oxidation it is widely used in engineering applications such as cryogenics, the food industry and liquid contact surfaces. Moreover, these materials have much lower magnetic permeability so they are used as nonmagnetic engineering components which are very hard. This article focuses on the machining of SS304 by carbide tool inserts and then, the cutting forces were observed with a tool dynamometer. Using observed cutting forces, the induced stress in the lathe tool insert was determined by FEA investigation. This research also formulates an idea to predict the tool wear due to vibration. Apparently, the worn-out tool vibrates more than new tools. Using the results, the relation between stress, strain and feed rate, depth of cut and speed was found and mathematically modeled using MINI TAB. It was observed that carbide tool inserts with coating withstand better than uncoated tools while machining SS304. The results were anticipated and correlation between the machining parameters furnished the prediction of tool life and obtaining the best machining outcomes by using coated tool inserts. Full article

In this paper, we aim to identify online teaching and learning practices that would be beneficial for blended and traditional on-campus education within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses. Our university, as well as the majority of higher education institutions worldwide, has had few to no experience in delivering full online courses before 2020. The teaching process was, however, severely affected and modified by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing an abrupt and unprepared shift towards online education. In this work, we look at the pandemic as causing a very favorable side effect that forced the university to study, test, apply, and evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of online education and assessment methods. The study is a result of joint efforts from different departments at the University of Aveiro, Portugal, connected to STEM undergraduate and graduate programs and is based on a questionnaire targeted towards students. In total, 167 valid STEM students’ answers have been collected and analyzed, both quantitatively and qualitatively. As the result, the best teaching and learning practices are identified and the main difficulties and obstacles experienced by students are detected. Some of the problems are common to many higher education institutions, such as the lack of teacher preparation in delivering quality online synchronous and asynchronous classes, technical limitations (network bandwidth/weak equipment), ineffective communication during synchronous classes, gaps in student skills, and low activity of some students and even teachers. We believe that the presented results would allow for improving future on-campus, distance, and blended learning courses, particularly through avoiding less effective teaching and assessment methods and favoring those techniques that students consider more efficient. This ultimately would lead to a more rewarding teaching/learning experience. Full article

Entanglement has become a hot topic in nuclear and particle physics, although many physicists are not sure they know what it means. We maintain that an era of understanding and using quantum mechanics on a dramatically new basis has arrived. We review a viewpoint that treats the subject as being primarily descriptive and completely free of the intellectual straitjackets and mysticism argued over long ago. Quantum probability is an extension of classical probability, but with universal uses. Density matrices describe systems where entanglement or its absence is a classification tool. Most of these have been known for decades, but there is a new way of understanding them that is liberated from the narrow outlook of the early days. Full article

Based on the spectra with high resolution and a high signal-to-noise ratio, we investigate the enrichment history of the s-process element in seven barium (Ba) stars by measuring their Ba odd isotope fraction. It is found that the relative contributions of the s-process to their Ba abundance are $91.4\pm 25.7\%$, $91.4\pm 34.3\%$, $82.9\pm 28.5\%$, $77.1\pm 31.4\%$, and $71.4\pm 37.1\%$ for REJ 0702+129, HD 13611, BD+${80}^{\circ }670$, HR 5692, and HD 202109, respectively. Our results suggest that these five Ba stars have a prominent s-process signature, which indicates that their heavy elements mainly come from their former AGB companions (now WDs) by mass transfer, while the r-process contribution can naturally be explained by the evolution of the Milky Way. The s-process contribution of BD+${80}^{\circ }670$ is $51.4\pm 31.4\%$, which is the lowest among our seven sample stars. Considering its lower values of both [Ba/Nd] and [Ba/Eu], we suspect that BD+${68}^{\circ }1027$ is likely to be a r-rich Ba star and has similar origins to the CEMP-r/s stars. HD 218356 has an unreasonable s-process contribution over $100\%$. Combining its stellar atmospheric parameters and the evolutionary stage, we speculate that HD 218356 is a more evolved extrinsic Ba star, and its massive companion should have the largest s-process efficiency in our samples. Full article

The current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the addition of selected hydrocolloids [agar (AG), κ-carrageenan (KC), or gelatin (PG); as a total replacement for emulsifying salts] on the viscoelastic properties and microstructure of processed cheese (PC) samples during a storage period of 60 days (at 6 ± 2 °C). In general, PC viscoelastic properties and microstructure were affected by the addition of hydrocolloids and the length of storage time. The evaluated PC reported a more elastic behavior (G′ > G″) over the viscous one. The highest values of viscoelastic moduli (G′; G″; G*) were recorded for PC samples manufactured with KC addition, followed by those prepared with AG and PG. The control sample presented values of viscoelastic moduli similar to those of the PG sample. All PC samples tested had fat globule size values lower than 1 μm. Moreover, PC with AG and KG addition presented similar microstructures and sizes of fat globules. Full article

We compared the effect of two community-based physical activity (PA) programs on health-related quality of life (HRQL) and physical condition in people with cardiovascular risk factors. Fifty-one subjects participated in the “ACTIVA Murcia” AM₃ program characterized by non-individualized training loads for 3 months, and forty-two participated in the AM₆ program characterized by individualized progressive training loads for 6 months. Both programs included a 6-month follow-up period without PA. HRQL was assessed with the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) and physical condition by VO₂ max, strength, flexibility, and balance. Participants in the AM₆ program as compared with those in the AM₃ program showed significantly higher scores in the subscales of physical functioning, mental health, energy/vitality, and general health. Mental health and general health at 6 months of follow-up were also scored significantly higher by AM₆ participants. VO₂ max and flexibility improved more in the AM₆ group, whereas strength was better in the AM₃ group. Half of the participants in the AM₆ program expressed a strong willingness to continue exercising vs. 38% in the AM₃ program. In this study, a community-based PA program with individualized progressive training loads of 6-month duration showed a more favorable impact on HRQL than a 3-month non-individualized PA program. Full article

Digital designs complexity has exponentially increased in the last decades. Heterogeneous Systems-on-Chip integrate many different hardware components which require a reliable and scalable verification environment. The effort to set up such environments has increased as well and plays a significant role in digital design projects, taking more than $50\%$ of the total project time. Several solutions have been developed with the goal of automating this task, integrating various steps of the Very Large Scale Integration design flow, but without addressing the exploration of the design space on both the software and hardware sides. Early in the co-design phase, designers break down the system into hardware and software parts taking into account different choices to explore the design space. This work describes the use of a framework for automating the verification of such choices, considering both hardware and software development flows. The framework automates compilation of software, cycle-true simulations and analyses on synthesised netlists. It accelerates the design space exploration exploiting the GNU Make tool, and we focus on ensuring consistency of results and providing a mechanism to obtain reproducibility of the design flow. In design teams, the last feature increases cooperation and knowledge sharing from single expert to the whole team. Using flow recipes, designers can configure various third-party tools integrated into the modular structure of the framework, and make workflow execution customisable. We demonstrate how the developed framework can be used to speed up the setup of the evaluation flow of an Elliptic-Curve-Cryptography accelerator, performing post-synthesis analyses. The framework can be easily configured taking approximately 30 min, instead of few days, to build up an environment to assess the accelerator performance and its resistance to simple power analysis side-channel attacks. Full article

Broadband amplification in the O+E-band is very desirable nowadays as a way of coping with increasing bandwidth demands. The main issue with doped fiber amplifiers working in this band such as the bismuth-doped fiber amplifier is that they are costly and not widely available. Therefore, a wideband and flat-gain hybrid optical amplifier (HOA) covering the O+E-band based on a parallel combination of a praseodymium-doped fiber amplifier (PDFA) and a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is proposed and demonstrated through numerical simulations. The praseodymium-doped fiber (PDF) core is pumped using a laser diode with a power of 500 mW that is centered at a wavelength of 1030 nm. The SOA is driven by an injection current of 60 mA. The performance of the HOA is analyzed by the optimization of various parameters such as the PDF length, Pr${}^{3+}$ concentration, pump wavelength, and injection current. A flat average gain of 24 dB with a flatness of 1 dB and an output power of 9.6 dBm is observed over a wavelength range of 1270–1450 nm. The noise figure (NF) varies from a minimum of 4 dB to a maximum of 5.9 dB for a signal power of 0 dBm. A gain reduction of around 4 dB is observed for an O-band signal at a wavelength of 1290 nm by considering the up-conversion effect. The transmission performance of the designed HOA as a pre-amplifier is evaluated based on the bit-error rate (BER) analysis for a coarse wavelength-division multiplexing (CWDM) system of eight on-off keying (OOK)-modulated channels, each having a data rate of 10 Gbps. An error-free transmission over 60 km of standard single-mode fiber (SMF) is achieved for different data rates of 5 Gbps, 7.5 Gbps, and 10 Gbps. Full article

NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent pyroptosis has been implicated in liver fibrosis progression. However, the definite intrahepatic cell types that undergo pyroptosis and the underlying mechanism as well as the clinical importance remain unclear. Here, augmented levels of pyroptosis-related indicators GSDMD, IL-1β, and IL-18 were verified in both liver fibrosis patients and CCl4-induced fibrotic mouse model. Confocal imaging of NLRP3 with albumin, F4/80 or α-SMA revealed that enhanced NLRP3 was mainly localized to kupffer cells (KCs), indicating that KCs are major cell types that undergo pyroptosis. Targeting pyroptosis by inhibitor MCC950 attenuated the severity and ameliorated liver function in fibrosis models. In addition, elevated S100A8 in liver fibrosis patients was correlated with pyroptosis-related indicators. S100A8 stimulated pyroptotic death of macrophages, which resulted in activation of human hepatic stellate cell line LX-2 cells and increased collagen deposition. Mechanistically, S100A8 activated TLR4/NF-κB signaling and upregulated its target genes NLRP3, pro-IL-1β, and pro-IL-18 expression, and induced reactive oxygen (ROS) abundance to activate NLRP3 inflammasome, finally leading to pyroptotic cell death in macrophages. More importantly, circulating GSDMD had the optimal predicting value for liver fibrosis progression. In conclusion, S100A8-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent pyroptosis by TLR4/NF-κB activation and ROS production in macrophages facilitates liver fibrosis progression. The identified GSDMD has the potential to be a biomarker for liver fibrosis evaluation. Full article

Bandwidth expansion has always been an important dimension in investigating angle filters (AFs) and is critical for optical communication and radar detection. In this paper, the AF with strong selectivity is realized by using the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) jump characteristic of YaBa₂Cu₃O₇ material. At the same time, for both the TE and the TM waves in the range of 237~1000 THz, the transmissivity of the AF is stronger than 0.9 by using dynamic antireflection structures (AFSs). The transfer matrix method is suitable for theoretical calculation, and the impedance matching theory is introduced to analyze the features of the AF. The increment of the thickness of superconductor material can effectively enhance the selectivity of the AF structure, and the consequence is the attenuation of transmission performances. If the temperature is covered from 0 K to 85 K, the filtering performance higher than 0.9 can still be maintained for two polarization waves. For these explicit performances, the proposed design may provide a new idea for widening the frequency bandwidth of the AF. Full article

Chemokines are involved in the regulation of immune balance and in triggering an immune response. CXCL1 and CXCL8 belong to the ELR-motif-containing group of CXC chemokines, which, in breast cancer (BC), stimulate angiogenesis and increase migration and invasiveness of tumor cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate CXCL1, CXCL8 and comparative marker CA 15-3 plasma concentrations in BC patients with luminal subtypes A and B. The study group consisted of 100 patients with BC, and the control group of 50 subjects with benign breast lesions and 50 healthy women. Chemokines concentrations were determined by ELISA method; CA15-3-by CMIA. Concentrations of CXCL8 and CA15-3 were significantly higher in BC total group and luminal B (for CA15-3 also in luminal A) subtype of BC than in healthy controls and subjects with benign lesions. In the total BC group, the highest SE, PPV and NPV were observed for CXCL8 (70%, 77.78%, 50%, resp.). A combined analysis of tested chemokines with CA 15-3 increased SE and NPV values (96%, 69.23%, resp.). The diagnostic power of the test (measured by area under ROC curve (AUC)) showed the highest value for CXCL8 in the total BC group (0.6410), luminal A (0.6120) and B subgroup of BC (0.6700). For the combined parameter, the AUC was increasing and reached the highest value for CXCL1 + CXCL8 + CA15-3 combination (0.7024). In light of these results, we suggest that CXCL8 could be used as an additional diagnostic marker that would positively influence the diagnostic utility of CA 15-3, especially in luminal B subtype of BC. Full article

Streambed aggradation and degradation are ways in which a stream will respond to changes in the incoming flow and sediment loads. Several environmental and societal problems are attributed to these channel bed adjustments. Prior studies have extensively used stream power to discern dominant channel processes and establish threshold limits required to trigger channel modifications. However, these studies were constrained by limited datasets and the scope of the applications. The current study used a large dataset of streambed median grain size (D50) across the contiguous U.S. in conjunction with a screening tool to assess the streambed stability for channel erosion and deposition potential. Analysis at the Physiographic Province level indicated major geomorphic changes are highly likely to occur in the Blue Ridge and Pacific Border provinces. Deposition-dominated streams are prominent in the Central Lowland, Great Plains, and Coastal Plain, whereas the Colorado Plateaus and Wyoming Basin have the highest percentage of stable channels. Smoothed spatial maps of stream power indicated the prevalence of high stream power in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest regions of the U.S. Comparison of channel erosion and deposition predictions using the stream power map with actual field calculated aggradation and degradation results yielded a 55% prediction accuracy. Further analysis based on the stream order revealed the association of higher stream power with lower stream orders. Full article

Talaromyces funiculosus strain CBS 129594 was optimized to promote chitinase activity under solid state fermentation using crustacean bio-wastes. The aim of the study was to use purified chitinase as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities. The results showed that the maximum enzyme yield (2.98 ± 0.2 U/g substrate) was obtained at 1:2 crab shell chitin with the inoculation size (2.5 × 10⁶ v/v) after seven days of incubation, pH 6.5, using 0.20% of soybean meal, malt extract, and yeast extract and 100% cane and beet molasses as supplementation. The enzyme was purified with an overall yield of 7.22 purification fold with a specific activity of 9.32 ± 0.3 U/mg protein. The molecular mass of the purified chitinase was 45 kDa. The highest chitinase activity was detected at pH 6.5 and 40 °C. The purified chitinase was activated by Ca²⁺, Cu²⁺, Na⁺, Mn²⁺, and Mg²⁺. On the other hand, the enzyme activity was inhibited in the presence of Hg²⁺, Ag²⁺, and Li⁺ at 10 mM, while Zn²⁺ and Co²⁺ caused no effect compared to media without any metals. The scavenging of 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and 2.2-pheny-l-1-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) increased with increasing the concentrations of the purified chitinase enzyme (100, 200, 300, and 400 µg/mL) which ranged from 48.7% to 57.8% and 8.87% to 63.73%, respectively. The IC50 value of DPPH radicals and ABTS of purified chitinase produced by T. funiculosus strain CBS 129594 was 199 and 306 μg/mL concentration, respectively. The purified chitinase inhibited the growth of Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli), Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus), and fungi (Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans). The highest concentrations of purified chitinase (1000 µg/mL) caused the higher toxicity of cancer cell line MCF7 (97%), HCT116 (88.2%), and HepG2 (97.1%). In conclusion, we can conclude that chitinase can be produced from marine waste and can be used as an antioxidant, antibacterial activity, cancer therapy, and ecofriendly biocontrol agent. Full article

Two-phase flow in non-circular cross-section flow channels such as micro-heat sinks and micro-channel heat exchangers has received extensive attention due to its heat-enhancing properties. In this paper, under the boundary of constant heat flux, an experimental investigation of the heat transfer properties of gas–liquid two-phase flow in horizontal channels with cross-sections of 4 × 4 mm and 8 × 3 mm is carried out using air and water as working fluids. The effects of different inlet gas and liquid inlet Reynolds numbers on the wall temperature and Nusselt number are discussed. The results show that the effects of the liquid Reynolds number and the gas phase Reynolds number on the heat transfer coefficient of the square tube and the rectangular tube are different. Under the same gas–liquid Reynolds number, the Nusselt number of the gas–liquid two-phase flow in the square-section tube can be increased by 3.2 times compared with that in the single-phase flow, while the Nusselt number of the gas–liquid two-phase flow in the rectangular tubes can be increased by 1.87 times. The results of this paper provide a reference for the design of microchannel heat exchangers and the establishment of mathematical models for Taylor flow heat transfer in rectangular and square tubes. Full article

Recent short-term studies suggested the use of short and ultra-short implants in association with a modified osteotome sinus floor elevation (internal sinus lift) technique for the treatment of edentulous resorbed posterior maxilla. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate this hypothesis in locking-taper implants with a mid-term follow-up of 5 years. Overall, 155 implants (32, 100, and 23 of, respectively, 5.0 mm, 6.0 mm, and 8.0 mm length) were positioned in the atrophic upper maxilla of 79 patients, and 151 implants were loaded with single crowns. Overall implant survival after 5 years was 94.84%. Implant survival for each length group was 93.75%, 94%, and 100% for 5.0, 6.0, and 8.0 mm length, respectively. Preoperative residual crestal bone height of 4.45 (1.3) mm increased to 9.25 (2.13) mm after implant placement and settled at 6.35 (1.73) mm after loading and at 5.25 (1.68) mm at follow-up. Elevation of the Schneiderian membrane was 4.8 (2.46) mm after implant placement, 3.06 (1.3) mm after loading, and 1.46 (1.06) mm at follow-up. Mean variations of peri-implant crestal bone loss and first bone-to-implant contact point were, respectively, −0.36 (1.3) mm and −0.62 (1.15) mm. It can be confirmed that internal sinus lift procedure revealed stable bone gain and negligible resorption at mid-term follow-up for atrophic upper crests with reduced height. Full article

In the present article, we iteratively deduce new monotonic properties of a class from the positive solutions of fourth-order delay differential equations. We discuss the non-canonical case in which there are possible decreasing positive solutions. Then, we find iterative criteria that exclude the existence of these positive decreasing solutions. Using these new criteria and based on the comparison and Riccati substitution methods, we create sufficient conditions to ensure that all solutions of the studied equation oscillate. In addition to having many applications in various scientific domains, the study of the oscillatory and non-oscillatory features of differential equation solutions is a theoretically rich field with many intriguing issues. Finally, we show the importance of the results by applying them to special cases of the studied equation. Full article

Long-term and real-time monitoring of asphalt pavement can be carried out by using embedded sensors to perceive and predict structural damage during pavement operation period, so as to avoid sustained development of damage. However, the influence of embedded sensors on the mechanical properties of asphalt pavement structure and the structural optimization of sensing elements needs to be further studied. Based on the finite element numerical simulation method, static load model and three-point bending test mode were conducted with three “pavement-sensor” coupling model without sensor, with embedded I-shape sensor, with embedded corrugated-shape sensor. Three simulated conditions were studied comparatively of the sensing element embedding effect on the mechanical response of asphalt pavement structure. Results show that the sensing elements embedded with the two structures have a certain influence on the stress and strain field of asphalt concrete. Within the range of 60–100 mm the asphalt mixture is in a state of tension; the stress values increase with depth and show a maximum tensile stress state at the bottom of the beam. In the compression zone, the strain of the I-shape sensing element embedded is closer to that of the strain without the sensing element embedded. Along the axis of the two sensing elements, the axial strain of the I-shape sensing element is smoother and uniform, which ensures the deformation coordination in the road state. The optimal length L of the sensing element is 14 cm, the diameter φ of the sensor is 10 mm, and the I-beam length GL is 10 cm. Full article

Edaphic properties have been widely shown to influence community composition and distribution. However, the degree to which edaphic factors can affect grasses in semi-arid lowlands is still little researched. We assessed the significance of nine edaphic factors to explain the distributions of 65 grass species with various ecological traits (i.e., the ecological indicator values for their preferred habitat) in the semi-arid lowlands of Pakistan. To record information on species composition and related ecological conditions, we selected 10 random sampling locations between 2020 and 2021. For each species, we determined the important value index (IVI) and looked at the primary indicator species that were identified using the indicator species analysis approach. The major genera were Setaria, Brachiaria, and Cenchrus with 6.15% species in each followed by Aristida, Panicum, and Eragrostis with 4.61% wild grass species, Bothriochloa, Bromus, Phragmites, Polypogon, Saccharum, Poa, Echinochloa, and Dactyloctenium with 3.07% species, whereas other genera had a single species each. In total, 80% of the species were native, while only 20% were introduced species. Microphylls accounted for 49.23% of the leaf size spectra of the grass flora in the study area. The other frequent traits included macrophylls (21.53%), nanophylls (20%), and leptophylls (9.23%). The major life forms were therophytes (56.92%) followed by hemicryptophytes (38.46%) and geophytes (4.61%). The results of an ordination analysis indicated that the distribution of grasses was significantly (p ≤ 0.002) influenced by several edaphic parameters, with pH having the greatest impact on species distribution. The analyses of indicator species showed that pH and EC were the most powerful and important edaphic factors for determining the composition of plant communities and indicator species. The significant indicator species in various ecosystems were Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. [email protected] and Leptochloa chinensis (L.) Nees (agroecosystem), Brachiaria reptans (L.) C.A. Gardner and C.E. Hubb, Dichanthium annulatum (Forssk.) Stapf, and Saccharum spontaneum L. (forest ecosystem), Cenchrus biflorus Roxb., Cenchrus ciliaris L., and Desmostachya bipinnata (L.) Stapf (urban ecosystem), Arundo donax L., Echinochloa crus-galli, and Phragmites australis (wetland ecosystem), and Saccharum spontaneum and Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv. (riparian ecosystem). We discovered that different species groupings had different habitat preferences and that soil pH had a significant beneficial effect on plant variety. These results provide a scientific roadmap for soil and plant restoration in semi-arid lowland habitats. Full article

Aluminum (Al) excess and hypercholesterinaemia are established risks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The aim of this study was to establish an AD-resembling hypercholesterinaemic animal model—with the involvement of 8 week and 48 week-old Fischer-344 rats—by Al administration for the safe and rapid verification of β-amyloid-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals. Measurement of lipid parameters and β-amyloid–affine [¹¹C]C-Pittsburgh Compound B ([¹¹C]C-PIB) PET examinations were performed. Compared with the control, the significantly elevated cholesterol and LDL levels of the rats receiving the cholesterol-rich diet support the development of hypercholesterinaemia (p ≤ 0.01). In the older cohort, a notably increased age-related radiopharmaceutical accumulation was registered compared to in the young (p ≤ 0.05; p ≤ 0.01). A monotherapy-induced slight elevation of mean standardised uptake values (SUV_mean) was statistically not significant; however, adult rats administered a combined diet expressed remarkable SUV_mean increment compared to the adult control (SUV_mean: from 0.78 ± 0.16 to 1.99 ± 0.28). One and two months after restoration to normal diet, the cerebral [¹¹C]C-PIB accumulation of AD-mimicking animals decreased by half and a third, respectively, to the baseline value. The proposed in vivo Al-induced AD-resembling animal system seems to be adequate for the understanding of AD neuropathology and future drug testing and radiopharmaceutical development. Full article

A 6063 aluminum alloy thin slab with a cross-section of 260 × 40 mm² was prepared by a vertical bending continuous casting (VC) process. The effects of homogenization, hot rolling and subsequent heat treatments on the microstructure and properties of the as-cast slabs and as-rolled sheets were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), field emission electron probe (EPMA), macro- and micro-structure observation and tensile tests. The results show that the as-cast structure of AA 6063 was dominated by fine and uniform equiaxed grains. After homogenization, all Mg₂Si phases dissolved back, and the Fe-containing intermetallic phases changed from acicular β-Al₅FeSi phase to spherical α-Al₈Fe₂Si phase. Homogenizing heat treatment before hot rolling can improve the mechanical properties of the alloy. However, in the case of direct rolling without homogenization, the alloy still has good mechanical properties; the strength and plasticity are comparable to that obtained through traditional direct chill (DC) casting, homogenizing and extruding processes, indicating that the VC process has the potential to realize continuous casting and rolling. Full article

This study examined 10–11-year-old students’ perceptions regarding three different types of physical activity games based on different principles of mental engagement (contextual interference, mental control, or discovery). A total of 156 students (84 girls) from five fourth-grade (75 students) and five fifth-grade (81 students) classes of five elementary schools located in a middle-sized city in central Greece participated in the study. These students participated in a larger project consisting of a series of acute experiments aiming to examine the effectiveness of cognitively challenging physical activity games in elementary physical education. Students responded to open-ended questions regarding their perceptions of the physical activity games. Their responses were analyzed through a thematic analysis. A total number of 706 quotes were identified and categorized into the lower-order themes which were organized into four higher-order themes: (a) characteristics of the games, (b) effects of the games, (c) areas for improvement, and (d) preferences for specific games. Students’ views provided supporting evidence regarding the employment of cognitively challenging physical activity games in physical education. Useful insights regarding the characteristics of the games, their effects, and their areas for improvement were also gained. Full article

Tailored fiber placement (TFP) is a preform manufacturing process in which rovings made of fibrous material are stitched onto a base material, increasing the freedom for the placement of fibers. Due to the particular kinematics of the process, the infiltration of TFP preforms with resin transfer molding (RTM) is sensitive to multiple processes and material parameters, such as injection pressure, resin viscosity, and fiber architecture. An experimental study is conducted to investigate the influence of TFP manufacturing parameters on the infiltration process. A transparent RTM tool that enables visual tracking of the resin flow front was developed and constructed. Microsection evaluations were produced to observe the thickness of each part of the composite and evaluate the fiber volume content of that part. Qualitative results have shown that the infiltration process in TFP structures is strongly influenced by a top and bottom flow layer. The stitching points and the yarn also create channels for the resin to flow. Furthermore, the stitching creates some eye-like regions, which are resin-rich zones and are normally not taken into account during the infusion of TFP parts. Full article