Search Results (32)

The growth in the adoption of circular economy principles in the construction industry has given rise to material passports as a critical implementation tool. Given the existing problems of high resource use and high waste generation in the construction industry, there is a pressing need to adopt novel strategies and tools to mitigate the adverse impacts of the built environment. However, research on the application of material passports in the context of construction waste management remains limited. The aim of this paper is to identify the contextual uses, stakeholders, requirements, and challenges in the application of material passports for managing waste generated from building construction and demolition processes through a systematic review approach. Comprehensive searches in Scopus and the Web of Science databases are used to identify relevant papers and reduce the risk of selection bias. Thirty-five (35) papers are identified and included in the review. The identified key contexts of use included buildings and cities as material banks, waste management and trading, and integrated digital technologies. Asset owners, waste management operators, construction and deconstruction teams, technology providers, and regulatory and sustainability teams are identified as key stakeholders. Data requirements related to material, components, building stock data, lifecycle, environmental impact data, and deconstruction and handling data are critical. Moreover, the key infrastructure requirements include modeling and analytical tools, collaborative information exchange systems, sensory tracking tools, and digital and physical storage hubs. However, challenges with data management, costs, process standardization, technology, stakeholder collaboration, market demand, and supply chain logistics still limit the implementation. Therefore, it is recommended that future research be directed towards certification and standardization protocols, automation, artificial intelligence tools, economic viability, market trading, and innovative end-use products. Full article

Setting up a global SARS-CoV-2 surveillance system requires an understanding of how virus isolation and propagation practices, use of animal or human sera, and different neutralisation assay platforms influence assessment of SARS-CoV-2 antigenicity. In this study, with the contribution of 15 independent laboratories across all WHO regions, we carried out a controlled analysis of neutralisation assay platforms using the first WHO International Standard for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (source: NIBSC). Live virus isolates (source: WHO BioHub or individual labs) or spike plasmids (individual labs) for pseudovirus production were used to perform neutralisation assays using the same serum panels. When comparing fold drops, excellent data consistency was observed across the labs using common reagents, including between pseudovirus and live virus neutralisation assays (RMSD of data from mean fold drop was 0.59). Utilising a Bayesian model, geometric mean titres and assay titre magnitudes (offsets) can describe the data efficiently. Titre magnitudes were seen to vary largely even for labs within the same assay group. We have observed that overall, live Microneutralisation assays tend to have the lowest titres, whereas Pseudovirus Neutralisation have the highest (with a mean difference of 3.2 log2 units between the two). These findings are relevant for laboratory networks, such as the WHO Coronavirus Laboratory Network (CoViNet), that seek to support a global surveillance system for evolution and antigenic characterisation of variants to support monitoring of population immunity and vaccine composition policy. Full article

Relative positioning accuracy between two devices is dependent on the precise range measurements. Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is one of the popular and widely used technologies to achieve centimeter-level accuracy in range measurement. Nevertheless, harsh indoor environments, multipath issues, reflections, and bias due to antenna delay degrade the range measurement performance in line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenarios. This article proposes an efficient and robust method to mitigate range measurement error in LOS and NLOS conditions by combining the latest artificial intelligence technology. A GP-enhanced non-linear function is proposed to mitigate the range bias in LOS scenarios. Moreover, NLOS identification based on the sliding window and Bayesian Conv-BLSTM method is utilized to mitigate range error due to the non-line-of-sight conditions. A novel spatial–temporal attention module is proposed to improve the performance of the proposed model. The epistemic and aleatoric uncertainty estimation method is also introduced to determine the robustness of the proposed model for environment variance. Furthermore, moving average and min-max removing methods are utilized to minimize the standard deviation in the range measurements in both scenarios. Extensive experimentation with different settings and configurations has proven the effectiveness of our methodology and demonstrated the feasibility of our robust UWB range error mitigation for LOS and NLOS scenarios. Full article

The current diverse opportunities available worldwide have caused an increase in the pursuit of changing jobs in the Philippines for greener pastures, leading to a decrease in organization efficiency due to career shifts or intentions for shifting. With the evident movement of workers, this study aimed to establish a model for determining the factors that influence job-seeking Filipino workers to shift careers and seek greener pastures by holistically analyzing variables using the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Value-Belief-Norm. A total of 210 valid responses among employees who shifted careers were collected through online surveys via social media platforms using purposive sampling. Partial least square structural equation modeling as the main multivariate tool was utilized to assess the hypothesized relationships. The findings of this study revealed that self-transcendence values in shaping personal norms and ascription to responsibility affected the intention to career shift or greener pasture-seeking behavior. In addition, subjective norms affected attitude, while organizational commitment negatively affected intention for greener pastures. It was seen that the factors that affect intention behavior the most among Filipinos were better opportunities, financial stability, workplace environment, and work–life balance—a notion that connects with the Protestant Work Ethics. It was evident that self-perception of a better career, growth, and overall profit merged to influence the intention of a career shift. It could be suggested that job rotation and job enhancement may reduce these intentions and lead to satisfaction among employees. Moreover, job roles may be reevaluated to identify (dis)satisfaction among employees, so the spearheading team may evaluate what actions are needed. Enhancement of skills and development through seminars and training may also be considered. Full article

There is a high need for accessible avenues for improving mental health among emerging adults, particularly on college campuses. Mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) is a promising avenue for reducing mental health symptoms, but initial discomforts associated with MBI may cause symptoms to fluctuate before decreasing, which presents a barrier to engagement with mindfulness on a daily basis. Consistent mindfulness practice is key for forming habits related to MBI, and engagement with mindfulness at home, including between intervention sessions, is an important predictor of mental health outcomes. Research suggests that mental health symptoms may serve as barriers to their own treatment. Thus, it is important to understand how mental health symptom levels impact adherence to treatment protocols. To improve understanding of symptom-specific barriers to treatment and engagement with mindfulness, the present study collected daily diary surveys about engagement with mindfulness and mental health symptoms from a sample of 62 adults recruited to participate in a six-week mindfulness intervention. We explored mental health symptoms as a predictor of engagement with MBI at the mean level and whether within-person variability in symptoms predicted same-day or time-lagged changes in engagement via mixed-effects associations. Using heterogeneous location scale models, we further explored whether erraticism in either mental health symptoms or engagement with mindfulness predicted the other and if outcomes of the mindfulness intervention were homogeneous among subjects. Results showed that bi-directional and time-lagged associations exist between symptoms and engagement, indicating that there is a nuanced temporal and reciprocal relationship between engagement with mindfulness and mental health symptoms. Daily within-person elevations in engagement with mindfulness were associated with concurrent improvements in mental health but prospective increases in mental health symptoms. We also found that higher engagement (over personal averages) was not consistently associated with improvements in mental health across the sample but was instead associated with greater heterogeneity in outcomes. We also found that increases in mental health symptoms (over personal averages), as well as higher average levels of mental health symptoms, were both associated with lower levels of engagement in the mindfulness treatment protocol. Full article

The dearth of information on the extent of genetic variability in cassava limits the genetic improvement of cassava in Sierra Leone. This study aimed at assessing the genetic variability and relationships within 103 cassava genotypes using agro-morphological and culinary markers. A field trial was conducted in the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences research site. The experiment was laid out in an augmented randomized block design. Morphological classification based on qualitative and quantitative traits categorized the germplasm into three different groups. A total of ten principal components (PCs) in the qualitative and six PCs in the quantitative trait sets accounted for 66.74% and 67.27% of the total genetic variation, respectively. Traits with significantly strong and positive correlations included presence of fruit (PFRT) and presence of seeds (PSE) (r = 0.86 ***), root yield per plant (RYPP) and number of storage roots (NSR) (r = 0.76 ***), RYPP and number of commercial roots (NCR) (r = 0.68 ***), length of leaf lobes (LLL) and width of leaf lobes (WLL) (r = 0.66 ***), and between NSR and NCR (r = 0.84 ***). The cooking time, cooking percentage, texture, mealiness, taste, and aroma varied widely among the accessions. The findings established that the cassava germplasm possesses useful genetic variability that could be exploited through selection for short-term release programs, genetic conservation of the valuable germplasm, and genetic improvement of the crop. Full article

Clostridium botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the most potent toxins known, causing the deadly disease botulism. They function through Zn²⁺-dependent endopeptidase cleavage of SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) proteins, preventing vesicular fusion and subsequent neurotransmitter release from motor neurons. Several serotypes of BoNTs produced by Clostridium botulinum (BoNT/A-/G and/X) have been well-characterised over the years. However, a BoNT-like gene (homologue of BoNT) was recently identified in the non-clostridial species, Enterococcus faecium, which is the leading cause of hospital-acquired multi-drug resistant infections. Here, we report the crystal structure of the catalytic domain of a BoNT homologue from Enterococcus faecium (LC/En) at 2.0 Å resolution. Detailed structural analysis in comparison with the full-length BoNT/En AlphaFold2-predicted structure, LC/A (from BoNT/A), and LC/F (from BoNT/F) revealed putative subsites and exosites (including loops 1–5) involved in recognition of LC/En substrates. LC/En also appears to possess a conserved autoproteolytic cleavage site whose function is yet to be established. Full article

Traditional approaches to understanding metabolomics in mental illness have focused on investigating a single disorder or comparisons between diagnoses, but a growing body of evidence suggests substantial mechanistic overlap in mental disorders that could be reflected by the metabolome. In this study, we investigated associations between global plasma metabolites and abnormal scores on the depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety subscales of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) among 405 older males who participated in the Normative Aging Study (NAS). Our analysis revealed overlapping and distinct metabolites associated with each mental health dimension subscale and four metabolites belonging to xenobiotic, carbohydrate, and amino acid classes that were consistently associated across all three symptom dimension subscales. Furthermore, three of these four metabolites demonstrated a higher degree of alteration in men who reported poor scores in all three dimensions compared to men with poor scores in only one, suggesting the potential for shared underlying biology but a differing degree of perturbation when depression and anxiety symptoms co-occur. Our findings implicate pathways of interest relevant to the overlap of mental health conditions in aging veterans and could represent clinically translatable targets underlying poor mental health in this high-risk population. Full article

Background: Favorable attitudes toward modern family planning methods (MFPMs) among Jordanian and Syrian women do not always translate into behavioral changes, and the availability and cost of MFPMs do not appear to be related to either prior stalls in fertility rates in Jordan or to the current and likely temporary decline in fertility rates. This study aimed to determine whether behavioral economics (BE)-based family planning interventions influence the use of any family planning method, MFPMs use, continuation of MFPMs use, and pregnancy rates among women in Jordan. The BE-based family planning interventions included personalized text messaging and augmented counseling based on framing and identity-priming BE principles, with their effects tested over a 9-month period in the postpartum period following the birth of a child. Methods: A parallel-group cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare two interventions, augmented counseling based on framing and identity-priming BE principles and personalized mobile phone text messages reminders, aiming to improve the utilization of MFPMs among postpartum women over status quo family planning services in comprehensive health centers in the north of Jordan. Results: In total, 1032 participated in the study: 295 women in the control group; 326 women in Intervention Group 1, which received only augmented counseling; and 411 women in intervention Group 2, which received augmented counseling and monthly text messages. The rates of using MFPMs in the counseling group and the counseling and messages group 3 months (54.7% and 57.1%, respectively), 6 months (50.0% and 51.7%, respectively), and 9 months (49.5% and 52.0%, respectively) were significantly higher than the rates among women in the control group (40.6% at 3 months, 37.6% at 6 months, and 34.3% at 9 months). Overall, 26.8% of women in the control group, 42.1% of women in the counseling-only group, and 45.2% of women in the counseling and messages group used MFPMs continuously for all 9 months. At 9 months, the pregnancy rate was significantly much higher in the control group (13.7%) compared to women in the counseling-only group (7.0%) and to women in the counseling and messages group (7.4%). Conclusions: Simple BE-based interventions can be effective methods for enhancing the use of MFPMs and maintaining the anticipated decline in Jordan’s total fertility rate. Full article

Recent motivation to cut greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change has led to increasing transportation electrification. However, electric vehicle proliferation comes with a number of challenges such as battery capacities and the range anxiety of electric vehicles. In this paper, a review of the main components that affect electric vehicle adoption, which are charging infrastructure and energy resources, is presented. We discuss the categories of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, based on the location-of-charge and the charging technology. In addition, a review of the energy resources required for electric vehicles is also presented. The key features of these batteries are also discussed. Full article

Pharmaceutical tablet disintegration is a critical process for dissolving and enabling the absorption of the drug substance into the blood stream. The tablet disintegration process consists of multiple connected and interdependent mechanisms: liquid penetration, swelling, dissolution, and break-up. One key dependence is the dynamic change of the pore space in a tablet caused by the swelling of particles while the tablet takes up liquid. This study analysed the changes in the pore structure during disintegration by coupling the discrete element method (DEM) with a single-particle swelling model and experimental liquid penetration data from terahertz-pulsed imaging (TPI). The coupled model is demonstrated and validated for pure microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) tablets across three porosities (10, 15, and 22%) and MCC with three different concentrations of croscarmellose sodium (CCS) (2, 5, and 8% w/w). The model was validated using experimental tablet swelling from TPI. The model captured the difference in the swelling behaviour of tablets with different porosities and formulations well. Both the experimental and modelling results showed that the swelling was lowest (i.e., time to reach the maximum normalised swelling capacity) for tablets with the highest CCS concentration, $c_{\mathrm{CCS}}$ = 8%. The simulations revealed that this was caused by the closure of the pores in both the wetted volume and dry volume of the tablet. The closure of the pores hinders the liquid from accessing other particles and slows down the overall swelling process. This study provides new insights into the changes in the pore space during disintegration, which is crucial to better understand the impact of porosity and formulations on the performance of tablets. Full article

We propose a forecasting technique based on multi-feature data fusion to enhance the accuracy of an electric vehicle (EV) charging station load forecasting deep-learning model. The proposed method uses multi-feature inputs based on observations of historical weather (wind speed, temperature, and humidity) data as multiple inputs to a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to achieve a robust prediction of charging loads. Weather conditions are significant influencers of the behavior of EV drivers and their driving patterns. These behavioral and driving patterns affect the charging patterns of the drivers. Rather than one prediction (step, model, or variables) made by conventional LSTM models, three charging load (energy demand) predictions of EVs were made depending on different multi-feature inputs. Data fusion was used to combine and optimize the different charging load prediction results. The performance of the final implemented model was evaluated by the mean absolute prediction error of the forecast. The implemented model had a prediction error of 3.29%. This prediction error was lower than initial prediction results by the LSTM model. The numerical results indicate an improvement in the performance of the EV load forecast, indicating that the proposed model could be used to optimize and improve EV load forecasts for electric vehicle charging stations to meet the energy requirements of EVs. Full article

Treatment regimens for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) typically include cisplatin and radiotherapy and are limited by toxicities. We have identified naturally derived withalongolide A triacetate (WGA-TA) from Physalis longifolia as a lead compound for targeting HNSCC. We hypothesized that combining WGA-TA with cisplatin may allow for lower, less toxic cisplatin doses. HNSCC cell lines were treated with WGA-TA and cisplatin. After treatment with the drugs, the cell viability was determined by MTS assay. The combination index was calculated using CompuSyn. The expression of proteins involved in the targeting of translational initiation complex, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), and apoptosis were measured by western blot. Invasion and migration were measured using the Boyden-chamber assay. Treatment of MDA-1986 and UMSCC-22B cell lines with either WGA-TA or cisplatin alone for 72 h resulted in a dose dependent decrease in cell viability. Cisplatin in combination with WGA-TA resulted in significant synergistic cell death starting from 1.25 μM cisplatin. Combination treatment with WGA-TA resulted in lower cisplatin dosing while maintaining the downregulation of translational initiation complex proteins, the induction of apoptosis, and the blockade of migration, invasion, and EMT transition. These results suggest that combining a low concentration of cisplatin with WGA-TA may provide a safer, more effective therapeutic option for HNSCC that warrants translational validation. Full article

Maternal infection and stress during the prenatal period have been associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring, suggesting that biomarkers of increased inflammation in the mothers may associate with poorer developmental outcomes. In 491 mother–child pairs from the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART), we investigated the association between maternal levels of two inflammatory biomarkers; interleukin-8 (IL-8) and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) during early (10–18 wks) and late (32–38 wks) pregnancy with offspring scores in the five domains of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, a validated screening tool for assessing early life development. We identified a robust association between early pregnancy IL-8 levels and decreased fine-motor (β: −0.919, 95%CI: −1.425, −0.414, p = 3.9 × 10⁻⁴) and problem-solving skills at age two (β: −1.221, 95%CI: −1.904, −0.414, p = 4.9 × 10⁻⁴). Associations between IL-8 with other domains of development and those for CRP did not survive correction for multiple testing. Similarly, while there was some evidence that the detrimental effects of early pregnancy IL-8 were strongest in boys and in those who were not breastfed, these interactions were not robust to correction for multiple testing. However, further research is required to determine if other maternal inflammatory biomarkers associate with offspring neurodevelopment and work should continue to focus on the management of factors leading to increases in IL-8 levels in pregnant women. Full article

Recurrent respiratory infections are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in early life, but there is no broadly accepted means to identify infection-prone children during this highly vulnerable period. In this study, we investigated associations between steroid metabolites and incident respiratory infections in two pre-birth cohorts to identify novel metabolomic signatures of early infection proneness. Children from the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial and the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood were included, and profiling was performed on plasma samples collected at ages 1 and 6 years. Both cohorts recorded incidence of lower respiratory infections, upper respiratory infections, ear infections, and colds. Poisson regression analysis assessed the associations between 18 steroid metabolites and the total number of respiratory infections that occurred in offspring during follow-up. We found that steroid metabolites across androgenic, corticosteroid, pregnenolone, and progestin classes were reduced in children that suffered more infections, and these patterns persisted at age 6 years, generally reflecting consistency in direction of effect and significance. Our analysis suggested steroid metabolite measurement may be useful in screening for infection proneness during this critical developmental period. Future studies should clinically evaluate their potential utility as a clinical screening tool. Full article