This study investigated the impact of tobacco exposure, specifically through heating and burning, on periodontopathogens in the subgingival microbiome among clinically healthy individuals and those diagnosed with periodontitis. The sample comprised 66 subjects (26–56 years, median 38 yrs; 64% females) classified as non-smokers, classic cigarette smokers, and tobacco heating system (THS) smokers (each N = 22). Full-mouth periodontal examination was performed, and 330 paper-point samples from periodontal pockets were collected. Next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA genes was conducted to identify the composition of subgingival microbiome. Periodontitis prevalence among the groups was ranked as THS (41%) < non-smokers (44%) < cigarette smokers (68%), without statistically significant differences between the groups. The number of perio-pathogenic species was higher in subjects with periodontitis compared to those without (median 7 vs. 6 species; p = 0.005) but without significant differences between exposure groups: non-smokers (6) = smokers (6) < THS (6.5). When combining exposure and periodontal status, each smoker group had more perio-pathogenic species than non-smokers: non-smokers without periodontitis (5) < smokers without periodontitis (5.5) < THS without periodontitis (6); non-smokers with periodontitis (6.5) < THS with periodontitis (7) = smokers with periodontitis (7). Multiple linear regression indicated periodontitis as the sole predictor of perio-pathogenic species quantity, irrespective of the type of tobacco consumption, sex, age, or oral hygiene (R² = 0.163; p = 0.005). In conclusion, the quantity of perio-pathogenic species in the subgingival microbiome was more influenced by periodontitis than by exposure to tobacco smoke, regardless of whether it was heated or burned. Full article

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is strongly associated with dementia. However, its independent association with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease remains unclear. This study investigated the prospective association of patients with CKD aged ≥55 years with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis using a national cohort sample of approximately one million patients. Primary outcome indicators measured included incidence of all-cause dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease events using person-years at risk. The hazard ratio was adjusted using the Cox proportional hazards model. We included 952 patients without CKD and 476 with CKD over 55 years using propensity score matching. The CKD group exhibited higher incidences of all-cause dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease than the non-CKD group. Furthermore, the CKD group had an elevated risk of all-cause dementia and a significantly increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, especially among older women. Notably, the risk of Parkinson’s disease was higher within the first 3 years of CKD diagnosis. These findings emphasize the link between CKD in mid- and late-life individuals and a higher incidence of all-cause dementia and Parkinson’s disease rather than Alzheimer’s disease. Full article

Rectifier plays a pivotal role in wireless power transfer systems. While numerous studies have concentrated on enhancing efficiency and bandwidth at specific high-power levels, practical scenarios often involve unpredictable power inputs. Consequently, a distinct need arises for a rectifier that demonstrates superior efficiency across a broad range of input power levels. This paper introduces a high-power RF-to-DC rectifier designed for WPT applications, featuring an ultrawide dynamic range of input power. The rectification process leverages a GaN (gallium nitride) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) to efficiently handle high power levels up to 12.6 W. The matching circuit was designed to ensure that the rectifier will operate in class-F mode. A Schottky diode is incorporated into the design for relatively lower-power rectification. Seamless switching between the rectification modes of the two circuits is accomplished through the integration of a circulator. The proposed rectifier exhibits a 27.5 dB dynamic range, achieving an efficiency exceeding 55% at 2.4 GHz. Substantial improvement in power handling and dynamic range over traditional rectifiers is demonstrated. Full article

As remote sensing technology has advanced, the use of satellites and similar technologies has become increasingly prevalent in daily life. Now, it plays a crucial role in hydrology, agriculture, and geography. Nevertheless, because of the distinct qualities of remote sensing, including expansive scenes and small, densely packed targets, there are many challenges in detecting remote sensing objects. Those challenges lead to insufficient accuracy in remote sensing object detection. Consequently, developing a new model is essential to enhance the identification capabilities for objects in remote sensing imagery. To solve these constraints, we have designed the OD-YOLO approach that uses multi-scale feature fusion to improve the performance of the YOLOv8n model in small target detection. Firstly, traditional convolutions have poor recognition capabilities for certain geometric shapes. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce the Detection Refinement Module (DRmodule) into the backbone architecture. This module utilizes Deformable Convolutional Networks and the Hybrid Attention Transformer to strengthen the model’s capability for feature extraction from geometric shapes and blurred objects effectively. Meanwhile, based on the Feature Pyramid Network of YOLO, at the head of the model framework, this paper enhances the detection capability by introducing a Dynamic Head to strengthen the fusion of different scales features in the feature pyramid. Additionally, to address the issue of detecting small objects in remote sensing images, this paper specifically designs the OIoU loss function to finely describe the difference between the detection box and the true box, further enhancing model performance. Experiments on the VisDrone dataset show that OD-YOLO surpasses the compared models by at least 5.2% in mAP50 and 4.4% in mAP75, and experiments on the Foggy Cityscapes dataset demonstrated that OD-YOLO improved mAP by 6.5%, demonstrating outstanding results in tasks related to remote sensing images and adverse weather object detection. This work not only advances the research in remote sensing image analysis, but also provides effective technical support for the practical deployment of future remote sensing applications. Full article

Earlier research has suggested gender differences in event-related potentials/oscillations (ERPs/EROs). Yet, the alteration in event-related oscillations (EROs) in the delta and theta frequency bands have not been explored between genders across the three age groups of adulthood, i.e., 18–50, 51–65, and >65 years. Data from 155 healthy elderly participants who underwent a neurological examination, comprehensive neuropsychological assessment (including attention, memory, executive function, language, and visuospatial skills), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from past studies were used. The delta and theta ERO powers across the age groups and between genders were compared and correlational analyses among the ERO power, age, and neuropsychological tests were performed. The results indicated that females displayed higher theta ERO responses than males in the frontal, central, and parietal regions but not in the occipital location between 18 and 50 years of adulthood. The declining theta power of EROs in women reached that of men after the age of 50 while the theta ERO power was more stable across the age groups in men. Our results imply that the cohorts must be recruited at specified age ranges across genders, and clinical trials using neurophysiological biomarkers as an intervention endpoint should take gender into account in the future. Full article

Antiretroviral treatments have notably extended the lives of individuals with HIV and reduced the occurrence of comorbidities, including ocular manifestations. The involvement of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in HIV-1 pathogenesis raises questions about its correlation with cellular senescence or its role in initiating senescent traits. This study investigated how ER stress and dysregulated autophagy impact cellular senescence triggered by HIV-1 Tat in the MIO-M1 cell line (human Müller glial cells). Cells exposed to HIV-1 Tat exhibited increased vimentin expression combined with markers of ER stress (BiP, p-eIF2α), autophagy (LC3, Beclin-1, p62), and the senescence marker p21 compared to control cells. Western blotting and staining techniques like SA-β-gal were employed to examine these markers. Additionally, treatments with ER stress inhibitor 4-PBA before HIV-1 Tat exposure led to a decreased expression of ER stress, senescence, and autophagy markers. Conversely, pre-treatment with the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA resulted in reduced autophagy and senescence markers but did not alter ER stress markers compared to control cells. The findings suggest a link between ER stress, dysregulated autophagy, and the initiation of a senescence phenotype in MIO-M1 cells induced by HIV-1 Tat exposure. Full article

The frequent occurrence of extreme high-temperature events in the summer under global climate change poses a serious threat to Chinese society. An urban vulnerability evaluation system for counties in the Chengdu-Chongqing Area was constructed to calculate the urban vulnerability and distribution characteristics of each district. In this study, a vulnerability-contribution model was used to analyze the types of urban vulnerability in the Chengdu-Chongqing Area. Additionally, combined with the optimal parameter geographic detector (OPGD) model, the main influencing factors and interactions of urban vulnerability were explored. The results show that: ① The urban vulnerability of the Chengdu-Chongqing Area is high in the east and low in the west, with vulnerability degree mostly below the medium degree. ② Exposure contributes more than 50% to severe and general urban vulnerability in the region, while adaptability contributes the highest proportion to mild urban vulnerability, reaching 47.53%. ③ From the factor perspective, the impact ratio of high-temperature days on urban vulnerability is 39.1%, and the interaction between various meteorological factors and social factors produces an enhancement effect, with the highest interaction q-value reaching 0.7863. Full article

The pancreas is a vital organ nestled deep within the abdomen, playing a crucial role in both endocrine and exocrine functions. It is elongated and tadpole-shaped, with a head, body, and tail. The intricate connections to adjacent structures through a network of blood vessels, ducts, and supportive tissue transform pancreatic cancer into one of the most fatal malignancies globally as a result of a typically late diagnosis and metastatic form of the disease. Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is prevalent in the majority of individuals diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, signifying a critical factor influencing prognostic outcomes. The para-aortic lymph nodes (PALN) play an important role in the lymphatic drainage of various organs, including the kidneys, pancreas, and parts of the gastrointestinal tract. In pancreatic cancer, the risk of PALN metastasis holds considerable clinical significance, and diagnosing your involvement is primordial to therapeutic decisions and to increase the survival expectations of these patients. Full article

Growing dependence on fossil fuels is one of the critical factors accelerating climate change, a global concern that can destabilize ecosystems and economies worldwide. In this context, renewable energy is emerging as a sustainable and environmentally responsible alternative. Among the options, geothermal energy stands out for its ability to provide heat and electricity consistently and efficiently, offering a feasible solution to reduce the carbon footprint and promote more sustainable development in a globalized economy. In this work, a machine learning approach is proposed to predict the behavior of a horizontal heat exchanger from a bioclimatic house. First, a correlation analysis was conducted for optimal feature selection. Then, several regression techniques were applied to predict the output temperature of the geothermal exchanger. Satisfactory prediction results were obtained in different scenarios over the whole dataset. Also, a significant correlation between several sensors was concluded. Full article

The present study aimed to systematically investigate the underlying differences in flesh quality between wild and farmed Monopterus albus. Fifteen healthy M. albus per group with an average body weight of 45 g were sampled to analyze muscle parameters by biochemical indicators, histomorphology, and molecular biology. Compared with the wild fish, the farmed M. albus in flesh had lower crude protein, collagen, lysine, histidine, total amino acids, SFA, n-3 PUFA contents, and n-3/n-6 ratio (p < 0.05), and higher moisture, crude lipid, crude ash, MUFA, n-6PUFA, and total PUFA contents (p < 0.05). The thawing loss, drip loss, steaming loss, and boiling loss in the farmed group were significantly higher, and hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, gumminess, chewiness, and resilience were significantly lower than those in the wild group (p < 0.05). In addition, higher muscle fiber density and lower muscle fiber diameter were observed in wild M. albus (p < 0.05). In muscle transcriptome profiling, differentially expressed genes and enriched pathways are primarily associated with muscle development, protein synthesis, catabolism, lipid metabolism, and immunity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation that compares the flesh quality between wild and farmed M. albus in terms of biochemistry, histology, and molecular biology levels. Overall, wild M. albus had a higher nutritional value and texture quality than farmed M. albus. Full article

Tax policy is critical for business operations and export decisions. However, the relationship between tax sharing and export has been less frequently discussed. This paper explicitly examines the underexplored tax-sharing system’s effect on manufacturing exporters’ export quality and develops four hypotheses. We use data on Chinese manufacturing exporters and prefecture-level tax-sharing from 2008 to 2013 and employ an instrumental variable approach to alleviate the endogeneity problem. The empirical evidence supports our hypotheses. We find that an increase in the prefecture-level government tax-sharing ratio significantly reduces export product quality of firms. This quality effect can occur through channels, including tax burden effect, production scale effect, and innovation effect. Moreover, more productive firms and those operated in cities with stronger intellectual property protection can face a smaller quality-reducing effect. Our findings offer policy implications for improving China’s modernized tax system and trade upgrading. Policymakers should recalibrate the tax-sharing system to reduce the tax burden on manufacturing exporters, particularly for innovative and high-productivity firms, and bolster intellectual property rights to enhance export quality and support China’s trade and economic modernization. Full article

In the field of underwater acoustics, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is generally low, and the underwater environment is complex and variable, making target azimuth estimation highly challenging. Traditional model-based subspace methods exhibit significant performance degradation when dealing with coherent sources, low SNR, and small snapshot data. To overcome these limitations, an improved model based on SubspaceNet, called PConv-GAM Residual SubspaceNet (PGR-SubspaceNet), is proposed. This model embeds the global attention mechanism (GAM) into residual blocks that fuse PConv convolution, making it possible to capture richer cross-channel and positional information. This enhancement helps the model learn signal features in complex underwater conditions. Simulation results demonstrate that the underwater target azimuth estimation method based on PGR-SubspaceNet exhibits lower root mean square periodic error (RMSPE) values when handling different numbers of narrowband coherent sources. Under low SNR and limited snapshot conditions, its RMSPE values are significantly better than those of traditional methods and SubspaceNet-based enhanced subspace methods. PGR-SubspaceNet extracts more features, further improving the accuracy of direction-of-arrival estimation. Preliminary experiments in a pool validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the underwater target azimuth estimation method based on PGR-SubspaceNet. Full article

Ambrosia beetles, particularly invasive species within the tribe Xyleborini, such as Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford, 1894), pose significant threats to various ecosystems and managed habitats worldwide. Monitoring these invaders is vital for effective pest management, typically accomplished through ethanol-baited traps. We compared trap efficacy using denatured ethanol versus absolute ethanol in orchards, tree nurseries, and lumber yards in northeastern Ohio, USA, finding that absolute ethanol traps captured significantly more X. germanus. Analysis revealed acetone, ethanol, and methyl isobutyl ketone in the denatured ethanol, likely impacting trap efficacy. Our study underscores the importance of using pure denatured ethanol without acetone for effective monitoring, especially for X. germanus. Exotic xyleborines dominated trap captures across various habitats, emphasizing the need for tailored pest management strategies. Further research is warranted to explore the chemical ecology of ambrosia beetles and the influence of ethanol impurities on trap effectiveness. Full article

An efficient and reliable management system for a cluster of distributed energy resources (DERs) is essential for the sustainable and cost-effective peak management (PM) operation of the power grid. The virtual power plant (VPP) provides an efficient way to manage a variety of DERs for the PM process. This paper proposes a VPP framework for PM of local distribution companies by optimizing the self-scheduling of available resources, considering uncertainties and constraints. The study examines two separate scenarios and introduces novel algorithms for determining threshold values in each scenario. An approach is suggested for the transaction between VPP and the aggregator models. The proposed technique intends to determine the optimal amount of capacity that aggregators can allocate for the day-ahead PM procedure while accounting for both thermostatically controlled and non-thermostatically controlled loads. The proposed VPP framework shows promising results for reducing demand charges and optimizing energy resources for PM. Full article

The velocity field and temperature field are crucial for metal foams to be used as a heat exchanger, but they are difficult to obtain through physical experiments. In this work, the fluid flow behavior and heat transfer performance in open-cell metal foam were numerically studied. Porous 3D models with different porosities (55–75%) and pore sizes (250 μm, 550 μm, and 1000 μm) were created based on the porous structure manufactured by the Lost Carbonate Sintering method. A wide flow velocity range from 0.0001 m/s to 0.3 m/s, covering both laminar and turbulent flow regimes, is fully studied for the first time. Pressure drop, heat transfer coefficient, permeability, form drag coefficient, temperature and velocity distributions were calculated. The calculated results agree well with our previous experimental results, indicating that the model works well. The results showed that pressure drop increased with decreasing porosity and increasing pore size. Permeability increased and the form drag coefficient decreased with increasing porosity, and both increased with increasing pore size. The heat transfer coefficient increased with increasing velocity and porosity, whereas it slightly decreased with increasing pore size. The results also showed that at high velocity, only the metal foam close to the heat source contributes to heat dissipation. Full article

Background and Objective: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the most common types of cancer. Although the disease is treatable in its early stages, five-year survival falls below 20% in the later stages. CEA and CA19-9 are tumor markers used in the diagnosis and follow-up of the disease in clinical practice; however, their diagnostic effectiveness is insufficient. Therefore, the identification of biomarkers that can be easily studied from serum and can diagnose CRC and determine its severity is highly important. In this context, dickkopf1 (DKK1) and cytoskeleton-associated protein 4 (CKAP4) are both promising biomarkers. Materials and Methods: Serum DKK1 and CKAP4 levels were measured in 55 patients with CRC and 40 healthy controls. The patients with CRC were divided into groups based on pathological stages and histological differentiation. The serum levels of both proteins in patients with CRC were measured preoperatively and 10 and 30 days postoperatively. Results: Serum DKK1 and CKAP4 were significantly higher in the CRC group than in the healthy controls (p < 0.05). Serum levels of both proteins rose in line with the disease stage and grade but decreased following surgical resection. A positive correlation was observed between tumor diameter and protein blood levels. The diagnostic efficacy of DKK1 and CKAP4 in CRC (approximately 95%) was higher than that of markers such as CEA and CA19-9. Conclusions: The DKK1 and CKAP4 serum values of patients with CRC are promising biomarkers. They can potentially be used in CRC management, namely, in the diagnosis and treatment of tumor response access and in tumor aggressiveness prediction. Full article

Kidney transplant recipients are at an increased risk of hospitalisation and death from SARS-CoV-2 infection, and standard two-dose vaccination schedules are typically inadequate to generate protective immunity. Gut dysbiosis, which is common among kidney transplant recipients and known to effect systemic immunity, may be a contributing factor to a lack of vaccine immunogenicity in this at-risk cohort. The gut microbiota modulates vaccine responses, with the production of immunomodulatory short-chain fatty acids by bacteria such as Bifidobacterium associated with heightened vaccine responses in both observational and experimental studies. As SCFA-producing populations in the gut microbiota are enhanced by diets rich in non-digestible fibre, dietary supplementation with prebiotic fibre emerges as a potential adjuvant strategy to correct dysbiosis and improve vaccine-induced immunity. In a randomised, double-bind, placebo-controlled trial of 72 kidney transplant recipients, we found dietary supplementation with prebiotic inulin for 4 weeks before and after a third SARS-CoV2 mRNA vaccine to be feasible, tolerable, and safe. Inulin supplementation resulted in an increase in gut Bifidobacterium, as determined by 16S RNA sequencing, but did not increase in vitro neutralisation of live SARS-CoV-2 virus at 4 weeks following a third vaccination. Dietary fibre supplementation is a feasible strategy with the potential to enhance vaccine-induced immunity and warrants further investigation. Full article

When discussing “wartime ephemera”, of the kind that has been passed down through families since the Second World War, Germany and Austria could be considered as a counterexample to Britain. In German and Austrian historical memory, “wartime” cannot be separated from pre-war Nazi society (beginning in 1933 and 1938, respectively). Moreover, what we might loosely call the “Antiques Roadshow experience”—discussing family objects from the Second World War in a sympathetic public forum—has never been open to the majority of Germans and Austrians, who were rather inclined to hide and forget such objects in the family home. Even so, mundane Nazi-era objects survived in their millions and this essay discusses their display in German and Austrian history museums. There, they serve to illustrate a history of mentalities during and after the Nazi regime. Austrian museums are currently playing a proactive role in the transfer of objects from the private, family archive to public, cultural memory. This article considers how notions of “family” are constructed in museum discourse and asks how the millions of German and Austrian citizens and residents with no family connection to the Second World War can be included in a form of national family storytelling that arguably “re-ethnicizes” memory. Full article

With regard to the assertion of the nature of the world, primitive Buddhism advocates “all phenomena that arise from causes” and opposes the existence of “God” or “Creator”, who created everything in the universe, which is significantly different from monotheistic beliefs such as Brahmanism, Christianity, and Islam and is therefore often called “atheism”. This paper introduces the Buddhist cosmology of Mount Sumeru and the tri-sahasra mahā-sahasra lokadhātu under the perspective of comparative religions and the first human beings who came to this world from the ābhāsvara-deva as recorded in the Buddhist scriptures and explores the question of whether Buddhism is atheistic. It is believed that the key to the debate between Chinese and Western scholars on whether Buddhism is atheistic is the difference in understanding the concept of “God”. Buddhism does not deny the supernatural power of “ghosts and gods”, so its essence is still theism. Full article

A numerical model for the simulation of the performance of an oscillating water column (OWC) subjected to non-breaking and breaking waves is proposed in this paper. The numerical model consists of a hydrodynamic model specifically designed to simulate breaking waves and a pneumatic model that takes into account the air compressibility. The proposed numerical model was applied to evaluate the potential mean annual energy production from the waves of two coastal sites characterized by different hydrodynamic conditions: a deep-water condition, where the OWC interacts with non-breaking waves, and a shallow-water condition, where the OWC is subjected to breaking waves. The numerical results show that the effects of the air compressibility can be considered negligible only in numerical simulations of the performances of reduced-scale OWC devices, such as those used in laboratory experiments. We demonstrated that in real-scale simulations, the effect of the air compressibility within the OWC chamber significantly reduces its ability to extract energy from waves. The numerical results show that the effect of the air compressibility is even more significant in the case of a real-scale OWC located in the surf zone, where it interacts with breaking waves. Full article

This study investigated the influence of microstructure on the performance of Ag inkjet-printed, resistive temperature detectors (RTDs) fabricated using particle-free inks based on a silver nitrate (AgNO₃) precursor and ethylene glycol as the ink solvent. Specifically, the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and sensitivity for sensors printed using inks that use monoethylene glycol (mono-EG), diethylene glycol (di-EG), and triethylene glycol (tri-EG) and subjected to a low-pressure argon (Ar) plasma after printing were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed previous findings that microstructure is strongly influenced by the ink solvent, with mono-EG inks producing dense structures, while di- and tri-EG inks produce porous structures, with tri-EG inks yielding the most porous structures. RTD testing revealed that sensors printed using mono-EG ink exhibited the highest TCR (1.7 × 10⁻³/°C), followed by di-EG ink (8.2 × 10⁻⁴/°C) and tri-EG ink (7.2 × 10⁻⁴/°C). These findings indicate that porosity exhibits a strong negative influence on TCR. Sensitivity was not strongly influenced by microstructure but rather by the resistance of RTD. The highest sensitivity (0.84 Ω/°C) was observed for an RTD printed using mono-EG ink but not under plasma exposure conditions that yield the highest TCR. Full article