A novel non-isothermal glass hot embossing system utilizes a silicon mold core coated with a three-dimensional carbide-bonded graphene (CBG) coating, which acts as a thin-film resistance heater. The temperature of the system significantly influences the electrical conductivity properties of silicon with a CBG coating. Through simulations and experiments, it has been established that the electrical conductivity of silicon with a CBG coating gradually increases at lower temperatures and rapidly rises as the temperature further increases. The CBG coating predominantly affects electrical conductivity until 400 °C, after which silicon becomes the dominant factor. Furthermore, the dimensions of CBG-coated silicon and the reduction of CBG coating also affect the rate and outcome of conductivity changes. These findings provide valuable insights for detecting CBG-coated silicon during the embossing process, improving efficiency, and predicting the mold core’s service life, thus enhancing the accuracy of optical lens production. Full article

This study explores the potential of storage lagoons as a quaternary treatment step in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), focusing on compliance with the recent European Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD), which mandates an 80% reduction in specific micropollutants. While conventional treatments effectively remove residual nutrients and solids, the potential of storage lagoons as an additional treatment is not fully defined. This research aims to address this gap by assessing the efficacy of storage lagoons in refining the effluent quality at the Cabezo Beaza WWTP, considering recent UWWTD requirements. We conduct a comprehensive assessment of the water quality parameters and micropollutants, before and after the storage lagoon stage, at the Cabezo Beaza WWTP. The results indicate that this strategy of prolonged storage in lagoons manages to meet the reduction objectives established by the Directive, reaching elimination percentages greater than 80% for the majority of the analyzed micropollutants. Our findings suggest that lagoons significantly improve water quality and reduce contaminants beyond conventional treatments, offering environmental and economic benefits. This paper discusses the mechanisms behind these improvements, such as natural sedimentation, microbial activity, and potential phytoremediation. This study contributes to the research on advanced wastewater treatment and supports the integration of storage lagoons as a viable quaternary treatment solution that meets the UWWTD standards. Full article

OBJECTIVE: Medical nutrition therapy provides the opportunity to compensate for muscle wasting and immune response activation during stress and trauma. The objective of this systematic review is to assess the safety and effectiveness of early enteral nutrition (EEN) in adults with sepsis or septic shock. METHODS: The MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov, and ICTRP tools were searched from inception until July 2023. Conference proceedings, the reference lists of included studies, and expert content were queried to identify additional publications. Two review authors completed the study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment; disagreements were resolved through discussion. Inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies (NRSs) comparing the administration of EEN with no or delayed enteral nutrition (DEE) in adult populations with sepsis or septic shock. RESULTS: Five RCTs (n = 442 participants) and ten NRSs (n = 3724 participants) were included. Low-certainty evidence from RCTs and NRSs suggests that patients receiving EEN could require fewer days of mechanical ventilation (MD −2.65; 95% CI, −4.44–0.86; and MD −2.94; 95% CI, −3.64–−2.23, respectively) and may show lower SOFA scores during follow-up (MD −1.64 points; 95% CI, −2.60–−0.68; and MD −1.08 points; 95% CI, −1.90–−0.26, respectively), albeit with an increased frequency of diarrhea episodes (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.115–4.34). Even though the patients with EEN show a lower in-hospital mortality rate both in RCTs (OR 0.69; 95% CI, 0.39–1.23) and NRSs (OR 0.89; 95% CI, 0.69–1.13), this difference does not achieve statistical significance. There were no apparent differences for other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Low-quality evidence suggests that EEN may be a safe and effective intervention for the management of critically ill patients with sepsis or septic shock. Full article

These images involved the case of a 51-year-old woman who had a history of chronic abdominal pain, iron deficiency, and diarrhoea but no blood or mucus in her stool. She had never undergone major abdominal surgery, and her past medical evaluation diagnosed her with celiac disease, leading to the adoption of a gluten-free diet alleviating most of her gastrointestinal symptoms. However, years later, her abdominal pain returned, so she underwent an abdominal ultrasound, revealing non-specific bowel loop dilation, and a weakly positive faecal occult blood test led to a colonoscopy. Despite many efforts to advance the scope beyond the transverse colon, colonoscopy was arduous and not complete, even after several changes in decubitus and abdominal compressions. Therefore, a virtual colonoscopy was conducted, revealing no intraluminal masses, but the entire colon was located on the left side of the abdomen. Indeed, the results showed sigma and that most of the colon was curled up in the small pelvis. This rare anatomical variant, known as “Mesenterium commune” (MC), is a type of gut malrotation that develops in childhood due to a lack of omphalomesenteric loop rotation during the embryonic period. This condition can lead to episodes of intestinal obstruction, potentially resulting in an acute abdomen and leading to surgical correction. Symptoms include chronic recurring abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and occasionally bloody stools. Few cases of this extremely rare condition have been reported in the literature so far. Full article

In this study, the problem of a limited number of data samples, which affects the detection accuracy, arises for the image classification task of steel plate surface defects under conditions of small sample sizes. A data enhancement method based on generative adversarial networks is proposed. The method introduces a two-way attention mechanism, which is specifically designed to improve the model’s ability to identify weak defects and optimize the model structure of the network discriminator, which augments the model’s capacity to perceive the overall details of the image and effectively improves the intricacy and authenticity of the generated images. By enhancing the two original datasets, the experimental results show that the proposed method improves the average accuracy by 8.5% across the four convolutional classification models. The results demonstrate the superior detection accuracy of the proposed method, improving the classification of steel plate surface defects. Full article

Rapid technological advances in recent decades have led researchers to refine the accuracy of their studies. In the field of acoustics, the impact of new devices is noticeable, especially in the investigations of cultural heritage buildings. The selection of a seat in theatres and concert halls has always been a concern, since the live experience of artistic performance depends on the quality of hearing and sight view. This paper deals with the elaboration of 360° acoustic maps made in the National Theatre of Zagreb, one of the opera theatres investigated with the Sipario project. The analysis of the main acoustic parameters has been carried out, starting with site measurements describing the acoustic response at various representative points of the main hall by covering the audience area. In addition, acoustic maps have been created for some selected positions based on a 3-degree-of-freedom (3dof) technique that allows a panoramic visualization of the impulse responses (IRs). This methodology completes the determination of early and late reflections that contribute to the acoustic quality of a place. In addition to the interest of experts in acoustics, this methodology can also be adopted by music lovers who can find a reasonable explanation for seat selection when booking their tickets. Full article

The grape variety Maratheftiko (V. vinifera sp.) is one of the most prestigious Cypriot varieties, yet Maratheftiko wines are rather poorly studied with regard to principal quality characteristics, such as the polyphenolic and aromatic profile. The current study was undertaken with the scope to investigate the effect of various common industrial prefermentation treatments on the non-volatile and volatile fractions of Maratheftiko wines, in two consecutive harvests. Different lots of grapes underwent the saigneé process, which was also combined with cold maceration, and/or enzyme and tannin addition, and the wines produced on industrial scale were analyzed to portray their profiles of anthocyanins, non-anthocyanin polyphenols, and volatiles. The non-anthocyanin composition was found to be dominated by flavonol glycosides (mainly quercetin 3-O-glucuronide), but also caftaric acid. The major anthocyanin pigment in all wines examined was malvidin 3-O-glucoside, accompanied by its p-coumarate derivative. The principal volatiles determined were isoamyl alcohol, ethyl octanoate, 2-phenylethanol, ethyl caprate, and isoamyl acetate. Principal component analysis revealed that the wines could be clearly discriminated based on vintage year but not based on the different treatments. This study offered novel insights into the composition of Maratheftiko wines and provided some evidence regarding the impact of common enological techniques on their non-volatile and volatile fractions. Full article

Scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) enables the non-invasive three-dimensional imaging of live cells and other structures in physiological environments. However, when imaging complex samples, SICM faces challenges such as having a low temporal resolution during slow scanning and a reduced signal-to-noise ratio during fast scanning, making it difficult to simultaneously improve both temporal and spatial resolution. To address these issues, this paper proposes an algorithm for enhancing image resolution under high-speed scanning. Firstly, scanning images are preprocessed using a median filtering algorithm to remove the salt-and-pepper noise generated during high-speed scanning. Next, the Canny edge detection algorithm is employed to extract the edges of the image targets. To avoid blurring the edges, the new edge-directed interpolation (NEDI) algorithm is then used to fill the edges, while non-edge areas are filled using bilinear interpolation, thereby enhancing the image resolution. Finally, the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index (SSIM) are used to analyze the imaging of articular chondrocytes. The results show that under a scanning speed of 480 nm/ms, the proposed algorithm improves the temporal resolution of imaging by 60% compared to traditional 2× resolution imaging, increases the peak signal-to-noise ratio of the scanning images by 7 dB, and achieves a structural similarity of 0.97. Therefore, the proposed algorithm effectively removes noise during high-speed scanning and improves the SICM scanning imaging resolution, thereby avoiding the reduction in temporal resolution when scanning larger resolution samples and effectively enhancing the performance of SICM scanning imaging. Full article

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a multifunctional incretin hormone with various physiological effects beyond its well-characterized effect of stimulating glucose-dependent insulin secretion in the pancreas. An emerging role for GLP-1 and its receptor, GLP-1R, in brain neuroprotection and in the suppression of inflammation, has been documented in recent years. GLP-1R is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that couples to Gs proteins that stimulate the production of the second messenger cyclic 3’,5’-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). cAMP, acting through its two main effectors, protein kinase A (PKA) and exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac), exerts several anti-inflammatory (and some pro-inflammatory) effects in cells, depending on the cell type. The present review discusses the cAMP-dependent molecular signaling pathways elicited by the GLP-1R in cardiomyocytes, cardiac fibroblasts, central neurons, and even in adrenal chromaffin cells, with a particular focus on those that lead to anti-inflammatory effects by the GLP-1R. Fully elucidating the role cAMP plays in GLP-1R’s anti-inflammatory properties can lead to new and more precise targets for drug development and/or provide the foundation for novel therapeutic combinations of the GLP-1R agonist medications currently on the market with other classes of drugs for additive anti-inflammatory effect. Full article

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a powerful and cost-effective technology to monitor ground deformation. Its accuracy is highly influenced by the atmospheric characteristic of the monitoring area. Separating the true ground deformation from atmospheric signals remains one of the major challenges in the application of InSAR. In this paper, the phase-based linear model, high-spatial resolution weather model (MERRA-2 and GACOS) and combination of the MERRA-2 and phase-based linear model are selected, and their performances in reducing the tropospheric delay are assessed based on the detrending standard deviation (DStd) of all Persistent Scattered (PS) points. A framework for the assessment is proposed and applied to a selected region of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China. A total of 26 Sentinel-1A images are used and processed by the method of PS-InSAR. It is found that the phase-based linear model outperforms the other models by at least 6.6% if the whole monitoring time span of the SAR images in the study area is considered. The proper tropospheric correction model in different seasons is not the same. The phase-based linear model is robust against the variations in the atmospheric characteristics of the four seasons. Full article

Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) can lead to both recurrent seasonal epidemic outbreaks and devastating pandemics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiologic characteristics and pathogen spectrum of RTIs using a multiplex RT-PCR panel. A total of 9354 cases with suspected RTIs between February 2021 and July 2023 were included in this study. A total of 11,048 nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal samples from these patients were analyzed for 23 respiratory tract pathogens using multiplex RT-PCR. H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae were considered as colonizing bacteria. At least one pathogen was detected in 70.66% of the samples; viral pathogens were detected in 48.41% of the samples, bacterial pathogens were detected in 16.06% of the samples, and viral + bacterial pathogens were detected in 35.53% of the samples. The most frequently detected viral pathogen was rhinovirus/enterovirus (RV/EV) (19.99%). Interestingly, in 2021, respiratory syncytial virus A/B showed atypical activity and replaced RV/EV as the most prevalent pathogen. Human bocavirus, H. influenzae, and S. pneumoniae were detected at higher rates in males (p: 0.038, p: 0.042, and p: 0.035, respectively), while SARS-CoV-2 and B. pertussis were detected at higher rates in females (p < 0.001 and p: 0.033). RTIs were found at higher rates in children (p < 0.001). SARS-CoV-2 and human coronaviruses 229E were detected at higher rates in adults (p < 0.001 and p: 0.001). This comprehensive study with a large sample size investigating RTI pathogens was the first in Türkiye. Understanding the current viral circulation using multiplex RT-PCR panels enables clinicians to predict the most likely pathogens affecting patients and contributes to patient management, in addition to anticipating potential threats. Full article

The node pressure and flow rate along the shale gas flow process are analyzed according to the characteristics of the shale gas flow pipe network, and the non-leaking and leaking processes of the shale gas flow pipe network are modeled separately. The changes in pressure over time along each pipe segment in the network provide new ideas for identifying leaking pipe sections. This paper uses the logarithmic value of pressure as the basis for judging whether the flow pipe network is leaking or not, according to the process of varying flow parameters resulting in the regularity of leakage. A graph of the change in pressure of the pipe section after the leak compared to the pressure of the non-leaking section of pipe over time can be plotted, accurately identifying the specific section of pipe with the leak. The accuracy of this novel method is verified by the leakage section and statistical data of the shale gas pipeline network in situ used in this paper. Full article

The preparation of matrix-matched material for elemental quantitative analysis in rice flour matrix is proposed here for the first time as part of a feasibility study using the SN-ICP-MS and LA-ICP-MS methods. It was prepared via the spiking process in colloidal solution of rice flour with different levels of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), followed by drying in a climatic chamber. Comparative studies of the results on external calibration and gravimetric standard addition ICP-MS approaches through the use of calibration standard solutions were discussed. Method bias from the external calibration method was investigated, demonstrating the systematic effect arising from the sample matrix. Characterizing the concentration of measurands was then reasonably proposed using the gravimetric standard addition ICP-MS. Using powdered rice matrix reference material for ICP-MS calibration following acid digestion, the study showed a good agreement of recovery studies. A feasibility study of the LA-ICP-MS method as a direct solid analysis performed on the matrix-matched standard was then discussed. In the study, large fluctuation of signals was found for constructing calibration curve, generating poor linearity, especially for As and Pb, although yttrium (Y) as internal standard was applied. This might be ascribed to a limited microscale of homogeneity, and particularly laser-induced preferential evaporation of volatile elements. Using a number of measured data points, the mean and median were statistically recommended to improve precision. An attempt to use of similar matrix in both standard and sample is a critical point to consider to minimize the elemental fractionation effect. The proposed approach to prepare matrix-matched material could be a potential means for achieving elemental quantitation. Full article

This comparative cross-sectional study conducted at the “Pius Brinzeu” healthcare center in Timisoara explored the differential impacts of pregnancy planning status on sexual function, body image, and relationship satisfaction among pregnant women. Employing the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAQ), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), the study analyzed responses from 107 participants divided into groups of planned (n = 59, mean age 28.5 ± 5.2) and unplanned (n = 48, mean age 27.3 ± 4.8) pregnancies. In the first trimester, unplanned pregnancies reported higher median scores in desire (4.7 vs. 3.6, p = 0.005), arousal (4.5 vs. 3.8, p = 0.001), and lubrication (4.6 vs. 3.7, p = 0.015) compared to planned pregnancies. Satisfaction scores also favored unplanned pregnancies in the first trimester (4.8 vs. 3.9, p = 0.009). Similar trends were observed in subsequent trimesters, with unplanned pregnancies consistently reporting higher FSFI scores, indicating a robust sexual function. Risk factors significantly associated with sexual dysfunction were a higher BMI in the first trimester (beta coefficient: −0.124, p = 0.019), unmarried civil status (beta coefficient: −0.323, p = 0.045), history of previous abortion (beta coefficient: −0.451, p = 0.012), irregular menstrual cycles (beta coefficient: −0.384, p = 0.026), and rural living area (beta coefficient: −0.278, p = 0.034). Notably, unplanned pregnancy itself was not a significant risk factor for sexual dysfunction (beta coefficient: −0.054, p = 0.095). Regarding relationship dynamics, planned pregnancies exhibited significantly higher satisfaction with partner support (4.1 ± 0.9 vs. 3.7 ± 1.1, p = 0.041) and communication within the couple (4.0 ± 1.0 vs. 3.5 ± 1.2, p = 0.020), whereas unplanned pregnancies reported higher satisfaction with emotional closeness (4.3 ± 0.7 vs. 3.8 ± 1.0, p = 0.004). Concerns about managing professional activities and household chores were significantly more prevalent in the unplanned pregnancy group (62.50% vs. 33.90%, p = 0.014). Unplanned pregnancies demonstrated better initial sexual function but faced greater challenges in relationship satisfaction and managing pregnancy demands. Identifying and addressing the risk factors associated with sexual dysfunction can provide targeted interventions to improve the well-being of pregnant women, regardless of pregnancy planning status. Full article

This paper presents a comprehensive study focusing on the detection and characterization of droplets with volumes in the nanoliter range. Leveraging the precise control of minute liquid volumes, we introduced a novel spectroscopic on-chip microsensor equipped with integrated microfluidic channels for droplet generation, characterization, and sensing simultaneously. The microsensor, designed with interdigitated ring-shaped electrodes (IRSE) and seamlessly integrated with microfluidic channels, offers enhanced capacitance and impedance signal amplitudes, reproducibility, and reliability in droplet analysis. We were able to make analyses of droplet length in the range of 1.0–6.0 mm, velocity of 0.66–2.51 mm/s, and volume of 1.07 nL–113.46 nL. Experimental results demonstrated that the microsensor’s performance is great in terms of droplet size, velocity, and length, with a significant signal amplitude of capacitance and impedance and real-time detection capabilities, thereby highlighting its potential for facilitating microcapsule reactions and enabling on-site real-time detection for chemical and biosensor analyses on-chip. This droplet-based microfluidics platform has great potential to be directly employed to promote advances in biomedical research, pharmaceuticals, drug discovery, food engineering, flow chemistry, and cosmetics. Full article

Rabies virus (RABV) is a neurotropic virus that causes fatal neurological disease, raising serious public health issues and attracting extensive attention in society. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of RABV-induced neuronal damage, we used hematoxylin–eosin staining, transmission electron microscopy, transcriptomics analysis, and immune response factor testing to investigate RABV-infected neurons. We successfully isolated the neurons from murine brains. The specificity of the isolated neurons was identified by a monoclonal antibody, and the viability of the neurons was 83.53–95.0%. We confirmed that RABV infection induced serious damage to the neurons according to histochemistry and transmission electron microscope (TEM) scanning. In addition, the transcriptomics analysis suggested that multiple genes related to the pyroptosis pathway were significantly upregulated, including gasdermin D (Gsdmd), Nlrp3, caspase-1, and IL-1β, as well as the chemokine genes Ccl2, Ccl3, Ccl4, Ccl5, Ccl7, Ccl12, and Cxcl10. We next verified this finding in the brains of mice infected with the rRC-HL, GX074, and challenge virus standard strain-24 (CVS-24) strains of RABV. Importantly, we found that the expression level of the Gsdmd protein was significantly upregulated in the neurons infected with different RABV strains and ranged from 691.1 to 5764.96 pg/mL, while the basal level of mock-infected neurons was less than 100 pg/mL. Taken together, our findings suggest that Gsdmd-induced pyroptosis is involved in the neuron damage caused by RABV infection. Full article

Leadership is crucial to moving society and organizations from one stage to another. Strategic planning is required to sustain the quality of education due to the changing features of students and the construction of many higher educational institutions in Nigeria. However, because higher education is evolving, leaders’ strategic thinking constantly shifts. This study examines the effect of strategic planning on transformational leadership towards attaining the organizational performance of higher education institutions in Nigeria. This study used a sample of 388 staff from 48 state universities in Nigeria. The findings indicate that strategic planning positively influences transformational leadership and organizational performance. Moreover, transformational leadership positively mediates strategic planning and organizational performance. We empirically validate the role of strategic planning in enhancing the performance of higher education institutions. Also, strategic-planning-focused and transformational leadership processes can be critical for facilitating the proper guidelines to improve higher education institutions’ performance. Full article

Breast milk serves as the primary source of nourishment for newborns. In cases of low milk production, one approach to address this challenge involves the consumption of lactagogues. Chicken–herb essence, a beverage rich in protein, amino acids, and minerals, presents itself as a viable option to supplement a lactating mother’s diet, particularly in terms of protein intake. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of chicken–herb essence on prolactin and lactoferrin in lactating rats. Furthermore, the study also assessed the lactagogue effect on IgA in offspring. The experimental research method used a completely randomized design. The animal models in this study were female Sprague Dawley rats. The result showed that there was an increase in milk production, as seen from the results of the lactagogue effect. The highest increase in prolactin and lactoferrin was obtained in treatment group II (TG II). The increases in prolactin and lactoferrin of TG II were 214.18 ± 71.99 and 904.02 ± 435.35 pg/mL, respectively. The lactagogue test showed that TG II haspotency as a milk-booster. Testing the blood serum of offspring showed that the highest concentration of IgA was also found in TG II at 398.34 ± 214.85 pg/mL. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic, with increased home cooking and decreased restaurant dining, significantly altered seafood consumption patterns. By applying an ordered logit model to identify factors affecting seafood consumption during the pandemic, this study found that the shift in seafood consumption was driven by factors such as changes in meal preparation methods, more time spent at home, and shifts in financial situations. While take-out consumption boosted overall seafood intake, popular varieties saw a rise in home consumption, while high-end seafood suffered from decreased demand as consumers focused more on home dining. This study underscores the importance of supporting suppliers, restaurants, and retailers dealing with high-end seafood, as they face economic challenges due to reduced consumption. In summary, pandemic-induced restrictions on mobility led to a notable transition from restaurant-prepared seafood to home-cooked options, highlighting the need for targeted policies to aid affected sectors. Full article

This paper presents an author co-citation analysis of the research on L2 vocabulary acquisition that was published in the 2020 calendar year. The most significant influence at this time is Paul Nation—cited in 85% of the publication set—but a number of other important influences can also be identified, notably, Laufer, Hulstijn, Schmitt and Webb. This paper draws some comparisons with data from 1990, and speculates on how “research fronts” might be identified in an author co-citation data set. Full article

Polyploidization produces abundant phenotypic variation. Little is currently known about adventitious root (AR) development variation due to polyploidization. In this study, we analyzed the morphological, cytological, and physiological variations in AR development between tetraploid and diploid Populus plants during in vitro rooting culture. Compared to the diploids, the AR formation times and rooting rates of the tetraploids’ stem explants had non-significant changes. However, the tetraploid ARs exhibited significantly slower elongation growth than the diploid ARs. Cytological observation showed that the tetraploid ARs were characterized by shorter root meristems and reduced meristem cell numbers, suggesting the reasons for the slow AR elongation. Analysis of hormones and related metabolites during AR development demonstrated that the total auxin, cytokinin, and jasmonic acid contents were significantly lower in the tetraploid ARs than in those of the diploids, and that the ratio of total auxins to total CKs at 0 h of AR development was also lower in the tetraploids than in the diploids, whereas the total salicylic acid content of the tetraploids was consistently higher than that of the diploids. qPCR analysis showed that the expression levels of several hormone signaling and cell division-related genes in the tetraploid ARs significantly differed from those in the diploids. In conclusion, the slow elongation of the tetraploid ARs may be caused by the endogenous hormone-mediated meristem shortening. Our findings enhance the understanding of polyploidization-induced variation in AR development of forest trees. Full article