The alkali–carbonate reaction (ACR) is a type of alkali–aggregate reaction (AAR) that may lead to serious damage in concrete construction. There is sufficient research on the effect of the ACR on dolomite limestone; however, research on the effect of the ACR on pure dolomite is absent, and there are a large number of dolomite resources that cannot be effectively utilized in civil engineering. This study aims to investigate whether the ACR occurs in pure dolomite spoil and to determine the freeze–thaw resistance of pure waste dolomite slag-based concrete (PWDSC). In this study, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the lithofacies method (LM) confirmed that the tested samples were pure dolomite. The rock cylinder method (RCM) and rapid preliminary screening testing for carbonate aggregates (AAR-5) were employed to determine the alkali activity of pure dolomite: the RCM indicated a variation of −0.09% in length during the 84-day test period, the AAR-5 exhibited a length expansion rate of 0.03% within 28 days, and the expansion rates were less than 0.1%. These findings suggest that pure waste dolomite slag (PWDS) does not possess alkali activity. The freeze–thaw cycle test showed no significant spalling on the concrete surface, the inside of the cement produced few micro-cracks according to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) test showed a decrease of approximately 20% after 200 freeze–thaw cycles. The results verified that ACR does not occur in PWDS and that it can withstand freeze–thaw damage, to a certain extent, when used as concrete coarse aggregate. Full article

This paper reviews the phosphate phases in meteorites and those measured by landed spacecraft, what they reveal about past igneous and aqueous conditions on Mars, and important implications for potential prebiotic chemistry, past habitability, and potential biosignatures that could be detected in samples returned from Mars. A review of the 378 martian meteorites as of 2023 indicate that of the two most common phosphate minerals in Mars meteorites, merrillite and apatites, the apatite composition is largely F- and Cl-rich, with shergottites containing more OH. The phosphate concentrations examined across multiple missions show a relatively narrow range of phosphate, with higher concentrations observed in the Mount Sharp Group in Gale crater and Wishstone at Gusev crater and lower concentrations observed at Jezero crater floor and Jezero fan. Possible secondary phosphates detected on Mars, including Fe phosphates at Jezero crater and Gusev crater and Ca- and Al-bearing secondary phosphates, temperatures of formation of secondary phases and their dissolution rates and solubilities are reviewed and summarized. Despite this wealth of information about phosphates on Mars, due to their fine scale and relatively low concentrations, Mars Sample Return is needed to better understand phosphate and its implications for the igneous, aqueous, and astrobiological history of Mars. Full article

Background: Strict regimens of restricted caloric intake and daily physical exercise are life-saving in Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) but are extremely challenging in home environments. PWS-specialized hostels (SH) succeed in preventing morbid obesity and in coping with behavioral disorders; however, effects of restricted living environments on quality of life (QOL) have not been described. Evidence on QOL is critical for clinicians involved in placement decisions. Methods: We examined the impact of living in SH versus at home or in non-specialized hostels (H and NSH) on QOL, behavior, and health parameters. All 58 adults (26 males) followed-up in the National Multidisciplinary Clinic for PWS were included: 33 resided in SH, 18 lived at home, and 7 lived in NSH. Questionnaires were administered to primary caregivers to measure QOL, and data were obtained from the medical records. Results: The H and NSH group were compared with those for adults in SH. Despite strict diet and exercise regimens, QOL was similar for both groups. Eight-year follow-up showed that food-seeking behavior decreased in SH but increased in H and NSH. BMI, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were lower in SH. Conclusion: Our results suggest that living in SH is associated with benefits for physical health and behavior without negatively affecting QOL. Full article

A recent study conducted in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand, evaluated the effectiveness of a technology-assisted intervention aimed at improving water quality and addressing related health issues in communities around key water bodies. The intervention targeted health concerns associated with water contamination, including chronic kidney diseases, skin conditions, hypertension, and neurological symptoms. The study included water quality assessments and health evaluations of 586 residents and implemented a Learning Innovation Platform (LIP) across 13 communities. Results showed significant improvements in the community, including a decrease in hypertension and skin-related health issues, as well as enhanced community awareness and proficiency in implementing simple water quality assessments and treatment. The study demonstrated the value of a comprehensive, technology-driven community approach, effectively enhancing water quality and health outcomes, and promoting greater community awareness and self-sufficiency in managing environmental health risks. Full article

Implementation of marker-assisted selection (MAS) in modern beekeeping would improve sustainability, especially in breeding programs aiming for resilience against the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Selecting honey bee colonies for natural resistance traits, such as brood-intrinsic suppression of varroa mite reproduction, reduces the use of chemical acaricides while respecting local adaptation. In 2019, eight genomic variants associated with varroa non-reproduction in drone brood were discovered in a single colony from the Amsterdam Water Dune population in the Netherlands. Recently, a new study tested the applicability of these eight genetic variants for the same phenotype on a population-wide scale in Flanders, Belgium. As the properties of some variants varied between the two studies, one hypothesized that the difference in genetic ancestry of the sampled colonies may underly these contribution shifts. In order to frame this, we determined the allele frequencies of the eight genetic variants in more than 360 Apis mellifera colonies across the European continent and found that variant type allele frequencies of these variants are primarily related to the A. mellifera subspecies or phylogenetic honey bee lineage. Our results confirm that population-specific genetic markers should always be evaluated in a new population prior to using them in MAS programs. Full article

China repeatedly surpasses international fertilizer safety limits, resulting in significant fertilizer nonpoint source pollution (denoted as FNSP), which adversely affects food security and agricultural sustainability. Simultaneously, farmland transfer has emerged as a pivotal strategy for transitioning between agricultural production methods. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between farmland transfer and FNSP. In line with the aim of the study, based on China’s panel data from 2005 to 2020, the fixed-effect model, mediating-effect model, spatial Durbin model, and threshold regression model are employed. The findings reveal that farmland transfer exerts a significant inhibitory effect on FNSP. The reduction in FNSP through farmland transfer is facilitated by the decrease in fertilizer application intensity and increase in compound fertilizer application. Further, farmland transfer demonstrates a significant spatial spillover effect on FNSP, mitigating pollution levels within regions and influencing neighboring areas. Moreover, a nonlinear relationship between farmland transfer and FNSP is observed. These findings contribute to understanding the intricate dynamics between agricultural land management strategies and environmental sustainability, offering valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders engaged in promoting green and sustainable agricultural practices. Full article

Double-Duty Carers (DDCs) refer to people who work in the healthcare industry while also providing unpaid care to relatives, friends, or neighbours. The expectations placed on DDCs is expected to grow, and these employees already experience a high caring burden. As such it is important to understand how best to support their health and wellbeing. This paper explores DDCs’ wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing an understudied factor: their mobility constraints. Following the Mobility of the Care Economy framework and a qualitative research design, it does so through a thematic analysis of 16 semi-structured interviews with female DDCs in Southern Ontario, Canada. Once data saturation was reached, three mobility pathways during the pandemic were identified, all of which negatively affected DDCs wellbeing. First, some COVID-19 policies (e.g., testing requirements) resulted in increased mobility demands and increased spatiotemporal constraints. Second, the closure of institutions that care for dependents (schools, daycares, day centres) resulted in forced reduced mobility, which increased financial stress. Finally, indirect mobility effects were identified: the reduced mobility of other informal carers increased the workload and emotional strain on DDCs. The paper concludes with a discussion of mobility-related policies that could improve DDC wellbeing. Full article

Multiple thick film samples of the ${\mathrm{Ag}}_c{\mathrm{Pd}}_{1-c}$ solid solution were prepared using physical vapour deposition over a borosilicate glass substrate. This synthesis technique allows continuous variation in stoichiometry, while the distribution of silver or palladium atoms retains the arrangement into an on-average periodic lattice with smoothly varying unit cell parameters. The alloy concentration and geometry were measured over a set of sample points, respectively, via energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and via X-ray diffraction. These results are compared with ab initio total energy and electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory, and using the coherent potential approximation for an effective medium description of disorder. The theoretically acquired lattice parameters appear in qualitative agreement with the measured trends. The numerical study of the Fermi surface also shows a variation in its topological features, which follow the change in silver concentration. These were related to the electrical resistivity of the ${\mathrm{Ag}}_c{\mathrm{Pd}}_{1-c}$ alloy. The theoretically obtained variation exhibits a significant correlation with nonlinear changes in the resistivity as a function of composition. This combined experimental and theoretical study suggests the possibility of using resistivity measurements along concentration gradients as a way to gain some microscopic insight into the electronic structure of an alloy. Full article

Detecting and recognizing distress types on road pavement is crucial for selecting the most appropriate methods to repair, maintain, prevent further damage, and ensure the smooth functioning of daily activities. However, this task presents challenges, such as dealing with crowded backgrounds, the presence of multiple distress types in images, and their small sizes. In this study, the YOLOv8 network, a cutting-edge single-stage model, is employed to recognize seven common pavement distress types, including transverse cracks, longitudinal cracks, alligator cracks, oblique cracks, potholes, repairs, and delamination, using a dataset comprising 5796 terrestrial and unmanned aerial images. The network’s optimized architecture and multiple convolutional layers facilitate the extraction of high-level semantic features, enhancing algorithm accuracy, speed, and robustness. By combining high and low semantic features, the network achieves improved accuracy in addressing challenges and distinguishing between different distress types. The implemented Convolutional Neural Network demonstrates a recognition precision of 77%, accuracy of 81%, mAP of 79%, f1-score of 74%, and recall of 75%, underscoring the model’s effectiveness in recognizing various pavement distress forms in both aerial and terrestrial images. These results highlight the model’s satisfactory performance and its potential for effectively recognizing and categorizing pavement distress for efficient infrastructure maintenance and management. Full article

Quasi-bound state in the continuum (QBIC) can effectively enhance the interaction of terahertz (THz) wave with matter due to the tunable high-Q property, which has a strong potential application in the detection of low-concentration biological samples in the THz band. In this paper, a novel THz metamaterial sensor with a double-chain-separated resonant cavity structure based on QBIC is designed and fabricated. The process of excitation of the QBIC mode is verified and the structural parameters are optimized after considering the ohmic loss by simulations. The simulated refractive index sensitivity of the sensor is up to 544 GHz/RIU, much higher than those of recently reported THz metamaterial sensors. The sensitivity of the proposed metamaterial sensor is confirmed in an experiment by detecting low-concentration lithium citrate (LC) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) solutions. The limits of detection (LoDs) are obtained to be 0.0025 mg/mL (12 μM) for LC and 0.03125 mg/mL (0.47 μM) for BSA, respectively, both of which excel over most of the reported results in previous studies. These results indicate that the proposed THz metamaterial sensor has excellent sensing performances and can well be applied to the detection of low-concentration biological samples. Full article

One-carbon metabolism (OCM) is a complex and interconnected network that undergoes drastic changes during pregnancy. In this study, we investigated the longitudinal distribution of OCM-related metabolites in maternal and cord blood and explored their relationships. Additionally, we conducted cross-sectional analyses to examine the interrelationships among these metabolites. This study included 146 healthy pregnant women who participated in the Chiba Study of Mother and Child Health. Maternal blood samples were collected during early pregnancy, late pregnancy, and delivery, along with cord blood samples. We analyzed 18 OCM-related metabolites in serum using stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. We found that serum S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) concentrations in maternal blood remained stable throughout pregnancy. Conversely, S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) concentrations increased, and the total homocysteine/total cysteine ratio significantly increased with advancing gestational age. The betaine/dimethylglycine ratio was negatively correlated with total homocysteine in maternal blood for all sampling periods, and this correlation strengthened with advances in gestational age. Most OCM-related metabolites measured in this study showed significant positive correlations between maternal blood at delivery and cord blood. These findings suggest that maternal OCM status may impact fetal development and indicate the need for comprehensive and longitudinal evaluations of OCM during pregnancy. Full article

With the integration of power electronic converters and components, an accurate thermal design becomes essential. Hence, precise thermal models for components are needed for their optimal design. This paper focuses on the development of an analytical model for the design of thermal resistance of planar magnetic cores (PMC). Based on computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations, the PMC design thermal resistance variation is studied, according to ambient temperature and level of losses. Then, a polynomial equation is developed to model those variations, and coefficients are deduced for all the sizes of PMC. This analytical model, useful for designers, is finally validated with thermal measurements on a planar transformer prototype. Full article

Plants endure the repercussions of environmental stress. As the advancement of global climate change continues, it is increasingly crucial to protect against abiotic and biotic stress effects. Some naturally occurring plant compounds can be used effectively to protect the plants. By externally applying priming compounds, plants can be prompted to trigger their defensive mechanisms, resulting in improved immune system effectiveness. This review article examines the possibilities of utilizing exogenous alpha-, beta-, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (AABA, BABA, and GABA), which are non-protein amino acids (NPAAs) that are produced naturally in plants during instances of stress. The article additionally presents a concise overview of the studies’ discoveries on this topic, assesses the particular fields in which they might be implemented, and proposes new avenues for future investigation. Full article

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health threat despite its virtual elimination in developed countries. Issues such as drug accessibility, emergence of multidrug-resistant strains, and limitations of the current BCG vaccine highlight the urgent need for more effective TB control measures. This study constructed BCG strains overexpressing Rv1002c and found that the rBCG-Rv1002c strain secreted more glycosylated proteins, significantly enhancing macrophage activation and immune protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb). These results indicate that Rv1002c overexpression promotes elevated levels of O-glycosylation in BCG bacteriophages, enhancing their phagocytic and antigenic presentation functions. Moreover, rBCG-Rv1002c significantly upregulated immune regulatory molecules on the macrophage surface, activated the NF-κB pathway, and facilitated the release of large amounts of NO and H₂O₂, thereby enhancing bacterial control. In mice, rBCG-Rv1002c immunization induced greater innate and adaptive immune responses, including increased production of multifunctional and long-term memory T cells. Furthermore, rBCG-Rv1002c-immunized mice exhibited reduced lung bacterial load and histological damage upon M. tb infection. This result shows that it has the potential to be an excellent candidate for a preventive vaccine against TB. Full article

Active learning approaches, incorporating student engagement through experimentation and problem solving, effectively foster higher-level thinking abilities and enhance academic performance. Interactive tools like simulators align with these methodologies, but commercially available simulators have limitations; particularly, their high cost and lack of customization features pose significant challenges for many educational institutions. This article presents CORES, a web-based educational application designed to simulate controlled rectifier circuits. CORES eliminates the need for intricate circuit assembly and software installation by providing pre-built circuits so that users can concentrate on analyzing circuit behavior by manipulating the thyristor firing angle and load characteristics, while the application generates output voltage and current waveforms under steady-state conditions, minimizing computation time. CORES has proven to be a valuable pedagogical tool, surpassing commercial simulators in terms of accessibility, ease of use, and enriched learning experiences for power electronics students and educators. Full article

This study investigated core habitat areas for yellow-throated martens (Martes flavigula) and leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis), two endangered forest species sensitive to habitat fragmentation in Korea. Overlaying the InVEST-HQ and MaxEnt models, priority conservation areas were identified by analyzing gaps in currently protected areas. The InVEST-HQ model showed that habitat quality ranged from 0 to 0.86 on a scale from 0 to 1, and the majority of the most suitable areas on the Environmental Conservation Value Assessment Map, designated as grade 1, were derived correctly. The MaxEnt model analysis accurately captured the ecological characteristics of the yellow-throated marten and the leopard cat and identified probable regions of occurrence. We analyzed the most suitable yellow-throated marten and leopard cat habitats by superimposing the two results. Gap analysis determined gaps in existing protected areas and identified priority conservation areas. The core area (14.7%) was mainly distributed in forests such as the Baekdudaegan Mountains Reserve in regions such as Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, and Gangwon; 12.9% was outside protected areas, and only 1.8% was protected. The overlap results between protected and non-protected areas were compared with different land use types. Conservation priority areas were identified as those with more than 95% forest cover, offering an appropriate habitat for the two species. These findings can be used to identify priority conservation areas through objective habitat analysis and as a basis for protected area designation and assessment of endangered species habitat conservation, thereby contributing to biodiversity and ecosystem conservation. Full article

With the continuous advancement of information technology in the agricultural field, a large amount of unstructured agricultural textual information has been generated. This information is crucial for supporting the development of smart agriculture, making the application of named entity recognition in the agricultural field more urgent. In order to enhance the accuracy of agricultural entity recognition, this study utilizes the pre-trained BERT-wwm model for word embedding into the text. Additionally, a channel attention mechanism (CA) is introduced in the BILSTM-CRF downstream feature extraction network to comprehensively capture the contextual features of the text. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method significantly improves the performance of named entity recognition, with increased accuracy, recall, and F1 value. The successful implementation of this method provides reliable support for downstream tasks such as agricultural knowledge graph construction and question and answer systems and establishes a foundation for better understanding and utilization of agricultural textual information. Full article

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in community pharmacies are exposed to the risk of violence in their workplaces. Studies have shown that workplace violence is affecting their job satisfaction, productivity, and mental health. This study aims to identify the frequency of different types of violence, as well as the common perpetrators that community pharmacy staff in SEE (Southeast Europe) are dealing with. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire created for this purpose. Selected community pharmacies in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro participated in this study. In total, 732 responses were collected from 24 pharmacy chains or independent pharmacies including all community pharmacy staff. More than 80% of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians reported having been exposed to verbal violence at the workplace, while more than 20% of them reported physical and sexual violence in the preceding 12 months. There were no statistically significant differences between pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, gender, age groups, or countries in relation to exposure to physical, verbal, and sexual violence. The most common perpetrators were identified as patients/clients. More than 90% of pharmacy staff reported they did not receive any kind of support from their employer nor any other help after experiencing a robbery. There is a need for a structured approach to addressing violence in pharmacies including organized support for pharmacy staff. Achieving quality patient care, despite dealing with violent individuals or situations daily, is one of the greatest ethical challenges for healthcare providers in community pharmacies to be empowered. Full article

Eriochrome black T is considered as one of the anionic dyes with potential harmful effects on human health and the environment. Among other processes, adsorption can contribute to the removal of these dyes. In the present study, two adsorbent materials, pseudo-boehmite (γ-AlOOH) and gamma alumina (γ-Al₂O₃), were synthesized and tested in the removal of the Eriochrome black T molecule (EBT). γ-AlOOH and γ-Al₂O₃ were obtained by precipitation from NaAlO₂ solution at pH = 7, at a temperature of 80 °C, and by the thermal transformation of γ-AlOOH at 800 °C, respectively. In order to gain insights into the structural, chemical, thermal and morphological properties of these materials, numerous analytical techniques were involved, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential thermogravimetric–thermal analysis (TGA-DTA), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and specific surface area measurement using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. Several adsorption parameters were studied, such as the adsorbent dose, initial concentration, pH, contact time and reaction temperature. The kinetic study showed that EBT adsorption follows the pseudo-second-order model. The Langmuir isotherm model revealed a maximum EBT adsorption capacity of 344.44 mg g⁻¹ and 421.94 mg g⁻¹ for γ-AlOOH and γ-Al₂O₃, respectively. A textural and structural analysis after adsorption highlighted the effective adsorption of the dye. Full article

In contrast to cumbersome benchtop spectrometers, integrated on-chip spectrometers are well-suited for portable applications in health monitoring and environmental sensing. In this paper, we have developed an on-chip spectrometer with a programmable silicon photonic filter by simply using parallel cascaded micro-ring resonators (MRs). By altering the transmission spectrum of the filter, multiple and diverse sampling of the input spectrum is achieved. Then, combined with an artificial neural network (ANN) model, the incident spectrum is reconstructed from the sampled signals. Each MR is coupled to adjacent ones, and the phase shifts within each MR can be independently tuned. Through dynamic programming of the phases of these MRs, sampling functions featuring diverse characteristics are obtained based on a single programmable filter with an adjustable number of sampling channels. This eliminates the need for a filter array, significantly reducing the area of the on-chip reconstructive spectrometer. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed design can achieve the reconstruction of continuous and sparse spectra within the wavelength range of 1450 nm to 1650 nm, with a tunable resolution ranging from 2 nm to 0.2 nm, depending on the number of sampling states employed. This benefit arises from the programmable nature of the device. The device holds tremendous potential for applications in wearable optical sensing, portable spectrometry, and other related scenarios. Full article

Wood fuel from the agroforestry sector is one of the main strategies cited by the EU for reducing energetic dependance on foreign markets. Its sustainability, both economic and environmental, can be improved through the optimization of harvesting and chipping operations. This study was focused on the dynamic and energetic balance of the chipping phase carried out by a chipper operated by the power-take-off (PTO) of a medium-power tractor. Both machines were equipped with sensors for real-time monitoring of fuel consumption, PTO torque and speed, trunk diameter and working time during the comminution of 61 poplar trees grown in a medium rotation coppice system. The data analysis was carried out on the entire dataset (about 29,000 records) without considering their belonging to different trees. By means of proper data ordinations, it has been possible to define all the intervals in which the chipping stopped (e.g., between two trees) and to exclude them from the intervals of actual chipping. This has allowed forcomputation of operative and actual working time, as well as of the basic power required to operate the chipper and the power for actual chipping. Subsequently, the parameter values observed during actual chipping were related to the cutting diameters measured at the same instant. Subsequently, the dataset was divided according to seven diameter classes, and, for each class, the descriptive statistical indices of working time, work productivity, CO₂ emissions, energy requirement and fuel consumption were calculated. Eventually, the correlation between the variations in trunk diameter and other parameters was verified both on the whole dataset and based on the class average values. The analysis made it possible to identify the conditions of greatest efficiency for the chipper. More generally, the method could help to increase the accuracy of measurements aimed at characterizing the performance of chippers from the point of view of dynamic energy requirements as well as in relation to different wood species. Full article

This study aimed to examine the relationship between the frequency of household shared meals and the intake of 17 food groups and 21 nutrients. Participants were 3310 men and 3386 women ≥20 years old living in a household of ≥2 members from 2018 and 2019 National Health and Nutrition Surveys in Japan. A one-day household dietary record was used to classify an individual’s shared meal frequency and dietary intake. A shared meal is defined as an eating occasion (i.e., breakfast, lunch, and dinner) where ≥1 food item—other than sugars, fats and oils, beverages, and condiments—was recorded with an assigned approximated shared proportion. The shared meal frequency for each individual was classified into one of four categories: 0, 1, 2, and 3 times/day. Dietary intake was compared across the shared meal categories adjusted for age, occupation, household size, meal skipping, snacking, residential areas, and within-household correlations. Both men and women who had more frequent shared meals showed higher intakes of potatoes, vegetables, mushrooms, and condiments but less confectioneries and beverages. A higher shared meal frequency was also related to a higher intake of many (12/21) nutrients (e.g., protein, dietary fiber, and potassium). However, in women, there was a positive association between shared meal frequency and sodium intake. A higher frequency of household shared meals may be related to a more favorable dietary intake; except for concerns about sodium intake in women. Full article