Here, we present the results of the synthesis, surface modification, and properties analysis of magnetite-based nanoparticles, specifically Co_0.047Fe_2.953O₄ (S1) and Co_0.086Fe_2.914O₄ (S2). These nanoparticles were synthesized using the co-precipitation method at 80 °C for 2 h. They exhibit a single-phase nature and crystallize in a spinel-type structure (space group Fd$\overline{\mathsf{3}}$m). Transmission electron microscopy analysis reveals that the particles are quasi-spherical in shape and approximately 11 nm in size. An observed increase in saturation magnetization, coercivity, remanence, and blocking temperature in S2 compared to S1 can be attributed to an increase in magnetocrystalline anisotropy due to the incorporation of Co ions in the crystal lattice of the parent compound (Fe₃O₄). The heating efficiency of the samples was determined by fitting the Box-Lucas equation to the acquired temperature curves. The calculated Specific Loss Power (SLP) values were 46 W/g and 23 W/g (under H_AC = 200 Oe and f = 252 kHz) for S1 and S2, respectively. Additionally, sample S1 was coated with citric acid (Co_0.047Fe_2.953O₄@CA) and poly(acrylic acid) (Co_0.047Fe_2.953O₄@PAA) to obtain stable colloids for further tests for magnetic hyperthermia applications in cancer therapy. Fits of the Box-Lucas equation provided SLP values of 21 W/g and 34 W/g for CA- and PAA-coated samples, respectively. On the other hand, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis points to the catalytically active centers Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ and Co²⁺/Co³⁺ on the particle surface, suggesting possible applications of the samples as heterogeneous self-heating catalysts in advanced oxidation processes under an AC magnetic field. Full article

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems stand out as a promising solution for generating clean, carbon-free energy. However, traditional solar panel installations often require extensive land resources, which could become scarce as the population grows. To address this challenge, innovative approaches are needed to maximize solar power generation within limited spaces. One promising concept involves the development of biological tree-like structures housing solar panels. These “solar trees” mimic the arrangement of branches and leaves found in natural trees, following patterns akin to phyllotaxy, which correlates with the Fibonacci sequence and golden ratio. By adopting an alternative 1:3 phyllotaxy pattern, three solar panels can be efficiently arranged along the stem of the solar tree structure, each rotated at a 120-degree displacement. Optimizing the performance of solar trees requires effective maximum power point tracking (MPPT), a crucial process for extracting the maximum available power from solar panels to enhance the overall efficiency. In this study, a novel metaheuristic algorithm called horse herd optimization (HHO) is employed for MPPT in solar tree applications. Moreover, to efficiently manage the generated power, a cascaded buck–boost converter is utilized. This converter is capable of adjusting the DC voltage levels to match the system requirements within a single topology. The algorithm is implemented using MATLAB and embedded within a Raspberry Pi Pico controller, which facilitates the generation of pulse-width modulation (PWM) signals to control the cascaded buck–boost converter. Through extensive validation, this study confirms the effectiveness of the proposed HHO algorithm integrated into the Raspberry Pi Pico controller for optimizing solar trees under various shading conditions. In essence, this research highlights the potential of solar tree structures coupled with advanced MPPT algorithms and power management systems to maximize solar energy utilization, offering a sustainable solution for clean energy generation within limited land resources. Full article

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a condition in which the pathological cumulation of fat with coexisting inflammation and damage of hepatic cells leads to progressive dysfunctions of the liver. Except for the commonly well-known major causes of NAFLD such as obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, or diabetes, an unbalanced diet and imbalanced nutritional status should also be taken into consideration. In this narrative review, we summarized the current knowledge regarding the micro- and macronutrient status of patients suffering from NAFLD considering various diets and supplementation of chosen supplements. We aimed to summarize the knowledge indicating which nutritional impairments may be associated with the onset and progression of NAFLD at the same time evaluating the potential therapy targets that could facilitate the healing process. Except for the above-mentioned objectives, one of the most important aspects of this review was to highlight the possible strategies for taking care of NAFLD patients taking into account the challenges and opportunities associated with the micronutrient status of the patients. The current research indicates that a supplementation of chosen vitamins (e.g., vitamin A, B complex, C, or D) as well as chosen elements such as zinc may alleviate the symptoms of NAFLD. However, there is still a lack of sufficient data regarding healthy ranges of dosages; thus, further research is of high importance in this matter. Full article

In efforts to achieve the goal of reducing ship emissions in the fight against climate change, reducing fuel consumption by making ships lighter is stated as one of the solutions. In this study, the possibilities of making composite equivalents of propellers, which are the most complex ship elements and traditionally produced from metal materials, are investigated with the advantages of additive manufacturing, which offers a rapid production opportunity for such forms. In this way, a lighter composite propeller and, therefore, a lighter ship will be achieved, and negative environmental impacts, especially harmful emissions, will be reduced. In the study, a 1/14-scale ship propeller was produced through the material extrusion method of additive manufacturing using an HDPE composite containing long carbon fiber with a 15% weight fraction. An attempt to reduce flexibility with an epoxy-carbon fabric prepreg coating was made, as the flexibility has negative effects on the performance of the produced propeller. The propeller tunnel test showed that the applied carbon fabric epoxy prepreg helped to improve the propeller’s performance by decreasing the flexibility of the propeller and reducing the deformation at the tips. At the same time, the propeller weight was decreased by 60% compared to its metal counterparts. Full article

The primary objective of this study is to conduct a comprehensive review of the existing literature that discusses research on post and core restorations, covering aspects such as their composition, manufacturing methods, and clinical effectiveness. The methodology employed in this review encompasses the implementation of a well-defined search strategy, the establishment of criteria for inclusion and exclusion, and the selection of relevant studies to summarize their findings. To gather relevant literature published between 1993 and 2023, the research team conducted separate searches on PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases. In total, 168 titles were initially retrieved from these electronic databases. By applying the predefined exclusion criteria, the researchers identified 73 articles that specifically address the conventional and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technologies employed in post and core restorations. These treatments are commonly employed to restore teeth that have received endodontic therapy and subsequently experienced loss of dental structure. The development of computerized technology for the creation of customized posts and cores has emerged as a straightforward and efficient alternative to traditional methods. The review synthesizes papers discussing the techniques and materials involved in CAD/CAM-based construction of post and cores. It explores strategies for restoring endodontically treated teeth, highlighting both direct and indirect approaches. Commonly mentioned materials include zirconia, composite resin, and hybrid ceramics. Despite the limited literature on CAD/CAM post and core procedures, the review emphasizes the necessity of further research to assess long-term outcomes and efficacy. Additionally, it suggests including implications for future research and clinical recommendations to enhance the depth and practical relevance of the review. Full article

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the fracture resistance of 3D-printed zirconia occlusal veneers (OVs) of different thicknesses and supported by different abutment materials. Materials and Methods: The standard OV of a natural molar was prepared and digitized using a laboratory 3D scanner. The resulting digital tooth abutment was milled either using cobalt–chromium (CoCr) or a fiber-reinforced composite (FRC). All the abutments were digitized and standardized OVs (30° tilt of all the cusps) designed with 0.4 mm, 0.6 mm, or 0.8 mm wall thicknesses. The OVs were fabricated using either the Programill PM7 milling device (Ivoclar Vivadent, PM) or one of two 3D zirconia printers, Cerafab 7500 (Lithoz, LC) or Zipro-D (AON, ZD). The ZD samples were only tested on CoCr abutments. The completed OVs were luted to their abutments and subjected to artificial aging, consisting of thermocycling and chewing simulation before fracture testing with a steel sphere (d = 8 mm) as an antagonist with three contact points on the occlusal OV surface. Besides the total fracture resistance F_u,tot, the lowest contact force F_u,cont leading to the local fracture of a cusp was of interest. The possible effects of the factors fabrication approach, wall thickness, and abutment material were evaluated using ANOVA (α = 0.05; SPSS Ver.28). Results: The total fracture resistance/contact forces leading to failure ranged from F_u,tot = 416 ± 83 N/F_u,cont = 140 ± 22 N for the 0.4 mm OVs fabricated using LC placed on the FRC abutments to F_u,tot = 3309 ± 394 N (ZD)/F_u,cont = 1206 ± 184 N (PM) for the 0.8 mm thick OVs on the CoCr abutments. All the factors (the fabrication approach, abutment material, and OV wall thickness) had an independent effect on F_u,tot as well as F_u,cont (p < 0.032). In pairwise comparisons for F_u,tot of the OVs luted to the CoCr abutments, the ZD samples statistically outperformed the LC- and PM-fabricated teeth irrespective of the thickness (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, the printed occlusal veneers exhibited comparable fracture resistances to those of the milled variants. However, more resilient abutments (FRC as a simulation of dentine) as well as a thinner wall thickness led to reduced OV fracture resistance, suggesting that 0.4 mm thick zirconia OVs should not be unreservedly used in every clinical situation. Full article

Adequate diet, physical activity, and dietary supplementation with muscle-targeted food for special medical purposes (FSMP) or dietary supplement (DS) are currently considered fundamental pillars in sarcopenia treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a DS (containing hydroxy-methyl-butyrate, carnosine, and magnesium, for its action on muscle function and protein synthesis and butyrate and lactoferrin for their contribution to the regulation of gut permeability and antioxidant/anti-inflammation activity) on muscle mass (assessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)), muscle function (by handgrip test, chair test, short physical performance battery (SPPB) test, and walking speed test), inflammation (tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), C-reactive protein (CRP), and visceral adipose tissue (VAT)) and gut axis (by zonulin). A total of 59 participants (age 79.7 ± 4.8 years, body mass index 20.99 ± 2.12 kg/m²) were enrolled and randomly assigned to intervention (n = 30) or placebo (n = 28). The skeletal muscle index (SMI) significantly improved in the supplemented group compared to the placebo one, +1.02 (CI95%: −0.77; 1.26), p = 0.001; a significant reduction in VAT was observed in the intervention group, −70.91 g (−13.13; −4.70), p = 0.036. Regarding muscle function, all the tests significantly improved (p = 0.001) in the supplemented group compared to the placebo one. CRP, zonulin, and TNF-alpha significantly decreased (p = 0.001) in intervention, compared to placebo, −0.74 mg/dL (CI95%: −1.30; −0.18), −0.30 ng/mL (CI95%: −0.37; −0.23), −6.45 pg/mL (CI95%: −8.71; −4.18), respectively. This DS improves muscle mass and function, and the gut muscle has emerged as a new intervention target for sarcopenia. Full article

In recent decades, the hydrological processes on the Loess Plateau have undergone significant changes due to the combined effects of climate change and human activities. This study investigates the Qin River basin, the core area of the Loess Plateau. Between 1971 and 2000, the hydrometeorology of the flood season in the Qin basin on the Loess Plateau in China changed abruptly in 1982 and 1992. This study uses distributed hydrologic modeling and statistical analysis to distinguish the spatial and temporal impacts of climate change and human activities. The fastest dynamic changes in land use occurred in grassland and construction land, accounting for 0.36% and −0.1%, respectively, from 1982 to 1991. From 1992 to 2000, it was 0.29% and 0.3%, respectively. The increase in basin area where the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index increased was 95%. However, except for significant changes in runoff from 1981 to 1992, there were no significant changes in precipitation, runoff, and temperature during other flood seasons. During the two studied variation periods, from 1982 to 1991 and from 1992 to 2000, the contribution rate of climate change to flood season runoff (${\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{C}\mathrm{l}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{e}}$) decreased from 83.26% to 74.47%, while the contribution rate of human activity disturbance to flood season runoff (${\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{h}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{n}}$) increased from 16.74% to 25.53%. In terms of spatial distribution, from 1982 to 1991, areas with a ${\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{h}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{n}}$ > 50% were primarily concentrated in the upper reaches of the basin, while from 1992–2000, these areas shifted to the lower reaches. This study offers valuable insights for water resource planning and soil conservation measures in the Loess Plateau and similar arid regions worldwide, aiming to ensure water resource safety and sustainability in response to climate change and human interference. Full article

In gynecologic surgery, a uterine manipulator is one of the instruments used to perform the laparoscopy. Throughout the past decade, a number of robotic technology applications used for uterine manipulation during surgery have been designed with the aim of increasing the efficiency, improving the precision, and reducing the workload of medical assistants. Although the RCM (Remote Center of Motion) mechanism is one of the key features in a Minimally Invasive Surgical (MIS) robot, the preliminary result in this study, in which the RCM mechanism was applied in a uterine manipulation robot, proved that this may cause unpleasant sensations such as irritation or harm to the nearby area during such manipulation. Therefore, a design of a non-RCM 2-DoF (Degree of Freedom) Robotic Uterine Manipulation System, in cooperation with an existing, reusable and tiltable-tip uterine manipulator, for laparoscopic gynecologic surgery has been proposed and evaluated via a mathematical model along with numerical analysis, a 3D uterus model, and a 1:1 uterus manikin model in order to demonstrate the use of the essential functions. According to the experimental results, the maximum load of 500 g has been handled well by the prototype, with the movement ranges of ±150° in the roll panel and ±90° in the pitch panel (0∼90° for anteversion and 0∼−90° for retroversion, if needed, which can be achieved by rotating the instrument to the other side). Furthermore, to verify this new design prior to its use on patients, and also in consideration of the ethics of human experimentation, through extensive testing on five donated soft-tissue cadavers, the proposed robot received positive feedback from all five surgeons performing the experiments and could offer effective uterine manipulation at the angular velocity of 4 °/s (0.67 RPM) with steady delineation of the vaginal fornices to create necessary motions in the pitch and roll panels of 30∼80° and ±15°, respectively, providing efficient visualization of the uterus. These features make this robot a valuable addition to the surgical instruments available to gynecologic surgeons. Full article

In this work, we studied the selective pressure and evolutionary analysis on the SARS-CoV-2 BF.7 and BQ.1.1 lineages circulating in Italy from July to December 2022. Two different datasets were constructed: the first comprised 694 SARS-CoV-2 BF.7 lineage sequences and the second comprised 734 BQ.1.1 sequences, available in the Italian COVID-19 Genomic (I-Co-Gen) platform and GISAID (last access date 15 December 2022). Alignments were performed with MAFFT v.7 under the Galaxy platform. The HYPHY software was used to study the selective pressure. Four positively selected sites (two in nsp3 and two in the spike) were identified in the BF.7 dataset, and two (one in ORF8 and one in the spike gene) were identified in the BQ.1.1 dataset. Mutation analysis revealed that R408S and N440K are very common in the spike of the BF.7 genomes, as well as L452R among BQ.1.1. N1329D and Q180H in nsp3 were found, respectively, at low and rare frequencies in BF.7, while I121L and I121T were found to be rare in ORF8 for BQ.1.1. The positively selected sites may have been driven by the selection for increased viral fitness, under circumstances of defined selective pressure, as well by host genetic factors. Full article

This study explores the associations between gifted children’s stress management and parental stress level. A sample of 78 primary school children and their 76 parents took part in this study. Children were screened for intelligence and emotional quotients, while parents were tested for stress levels. Results show that the more children are aware of their stress-management skills, the less parents are stressed out. Moreover, the intelligence quotient is not significant in mediating this association, supporting the idea that it is not an a priori protective factor from a developmental perspective. The study findings suggest that when a child is equipped with the skills to handle stress by harnessing their emotional intelligence, it can have a beneficial effect on the entire family’s well-being. Given that these skills can be developed, and the significant positive influence they have on a child’s growth and adaptation, it is essential to offer specialized educational programs to gifted children. These programs should aim to enhance their emotional skills, which, in turn, can indirectly bolster the psychological health of the family unit as a whole. Full article

The current electricity default rates in continental countries, such as Brazil, pose risks to the economic stability and investment capabilities of distribution utilities. This situation results in higher electricity tariffs for regular customers. From a regulatory perspective, the key issue regarding this challenge is devising incentive mechanisms that reward distribution utilities for their operational and investment choices, aiming to mitigate or decrease electricity non-payment rates and avoid tariff increases for regular customers. Despite adhering to the principles of incentive regulation, the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL) uses a methodological approach to define regulatory targets for electricity defaults tied to econometric models developed to determine targets to combat electricity non-technical losses (NTLs). This methodology has been widely criticized by electricity distribution utilities and academics because it includes many ad hoc steps and fails to consider the components that capture the specificities and heterogeneity of distribution utilities. This study proposes a fuzzy inference-based model for defining regulatory default targets built independently of the current methodological approach adopted by ANEEL and aligned with the principles of incentive regulation. An empirical study focusing on the residential class of electricity consumption demonstrated that it is possible to adopt a specific methodology for determining regulatory default targets and that the fuzzy inference approach can meet the necessary premises to ensure that the principles of incentive regulation and the establishment of regulatory targets are consistent with the reality of each electricity distribution utility. Full article

The creation of artificial snags, so-called high stumps, within forest management operations is a recently established tool to enrich standing deadwood as a habitat for saproxylic species. In this study, we analysed the impact of active high stump management on saproxylic beetle species. We selected 63 high stumps in six Bavarian forest districts (Germany), which were felled and subjected to close examination, focusing on beetle (Coleoptera) colonization. We identified 63 emerged coleopteran species belonging to 29 families; a further 10 taxa were identified only at the genus or family level, respectively. Moreover, 17% of the obtained taxa are listed in the German Red List of Coleoptera. Furthermore, 32% of the examined high stump trunks, predominantly broad-leaved tree species, harboured Red List beetle taxa. In particular, trembling aspen (Populus tremula) showed a disproportionately high number of Red List beetle species. The total species richness of beetles was independent of the height, diameter and decay stage of the snags. High stumps (snags) containing Red List beetle species tended to have higher amounts of deadwood in their surroundings, but the difference was not significant. According to the results of our study, actively creating high stumps proved to be a suitable method for creating habitats and serve as stepping-stones for endangered saproxylic species. Proactive high stump management during harvest can be a valuable component of deadwood management and biodiversity protection in forests. Full article

Urban flooding is a frequent disaster during the monsoon period (June–October), hindering the daily lives of city dwellers, especially slum dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This study assessed the impact of urban flooding on the lives of Baganbari slum dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh using Moser analytical tools to explore how urban flooding affects individuals of different genders. Participatory and survey methods involving 50 slum dwellers (25 men, 25 women) were carried out to collect feedback and comments. Additionally, focus group discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured and key informant interviews (KII) were also conducted to express gender-related discrimination (e.g., men vs. women). Women are usually involved in “double day” roles (100% in reproductive and 72% in productive roles) while 92% of men are found to have no contribution in those roles. Moreover, women’s participation in community roles is significantly affected during urban flooding (almost 100%) as it imposes a compulsion for them to stay home and carry out their reproductive work. Thus, women encounter numerous challenges in meeting their practical and strategic needs, including ensuring food supplies, managing diseases and menstrual health, upholding sanitation, restricted movement, education obstacles, and more. The result shows that women in the Baganbari slum are found to have only 35% access and 6% control over resources, benefits, health facilities, and decision-making power during urban flooding. The significant decline in the access and control profile of women during urban flooding aggregates their difficulties and drives them into vulnerable positions in their own households. Full article

The mold Aspergillus fumigatus employs two high-affinity uptake systems, reductive iron assimilation (RIA) and siderophore-mediated iron acquisition (SIA), for the acquisition of the essential trace element iron. SIA has previously been shown to be crucial for virulence in mammalian hosts. Here, we show that a lack of AcuK or AcuM, transcription factors required for the activation of gluconeogenesis, decreases the production of both extra- and intracellular siderophores in A. fumigatus. The lack of AcuM or AcuK did not affect the expression of genes involved in RIA and SIA, suggesting that these regulators do not directly regulate iron homeostasis genes, but indirectly affect siderophore production through their influence on metabolism. Consistent with this, acetate supplementation reversed the intracellular siderophore production defect of ΔacuM and ΔacuK. Moreover, ΔacuM and ΔacuK displayed a similar growth defect under iron limitation and iron sufficiency, which suggests they have a general role in carbon metabolism apart from gluconeogenesis. In agreement with a potential role of the glyoxylate cycle in adaptation to iron starvation, transcript levels of the malate synthase-encoding acuE were found to be upregulated by iron limitation that is partially dependent on AcuK and AcuM. Together, these data demonstrate the influence of iron availability on carbon metabolism. Full article

Spectrally resolved interferometry utilizing a femtosecond laser is widely employed for absolute distance measurement. However, deviations in the output time pulse of the conventional algorithm through inverse Fourier transform are inevitable. Herein, an improved data processing algorithm employing a time-shifting parameter is proposed to improve the accuracy of spectrally resolved interferometry. The principle of the proposed time-shifting algorithm is analyzed theoretically after clarifying the deviation source of the conventional algorithm. Simulation and experimental work were conducted to indicate the improvement in the accuracy of the output absolute distance. The results demonstrated that the proposed algorithm could reduce the deviation of output distances towards the reference values, reaching 0.58 μm by half compared to the conventional algorithm. Furthermore, the measurement uncertainty was evaluated using the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM), resulting in an expanded uncertainty of 0.71 μm with a 95% confidence. Full article

Accurate risk prediction for myocardial infarction (MI) is crucial for preventive strategies, given its significant impact on global mortality and morbidity. Here, we propose a novel deep-learning approach to enhance the prediction of incident MI cases by incorporating metabolomics alongside clinical risk factors. We utilized data from the KORA cohort, including the baseline S4 and follow-up F4 studies, consisting of 1454 participants without prior history of MI. The dataset comprised 19 clinical variables and 363 metabolites. Due to the imbalanced nature of the dataset (78 observed MI cases and 1376 non-MI individuals), we employed a generative adversarial network (GAN) model to generate new incident cases, augmenting the dataset and improving feature representation. To predict MI, we further utilized multi-layer perceptron (MLP) models in conjunction with the synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) and edited nearest neighbor (ENN) methods to address overfitting and underfitting issues, particularly when dealing with imbalanced datasets. To enhance prediction accuracy, we propose a novel GAN for feature-enhanced (GFE) loss function. The GFE loss function resulted in an approximate 2% improvement in prediction accuracy, yielding a final accuracy of 70%. Furthermore, we evaluated the contribution of each clinical variable and metabolite to the predictive model and identified the 10 most significant variables, including glucose tolerance, sex, and physical activity. This is the first study to construct a deep-learning approach for producing 7-year MI predictions using the newly proposed loss function. Our findings demonstrate the promising potential of our technique in identifying novel biomarkers for MI prediction. Full article

With the advancement of artificial intelligence, deep learning has become instrumental in land cover classification. While there has been a notable emphasis on refining model structures to improve classification accuracy, it is imperative to also emphasize the pivotal role of data-driven optimization techniques. This paper presents an in-depth investigation into optimizing multi-class land cover classification using high-resolution multispectral images from Worldview3. We explore various optimization strategies, including refined sampling strategies, data band combinations, loss functions, and model enhancements. Our optimizations led to a substantial increase in the Mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) classification accuracy, improving from a baseline of 0.520 to a final accuracy of 0.709, which represents a 35.2% enhancement. Specifically, by optimizing the classic semantic segmentation network in four key aspects, we improved the mIoU by 15.5%. Further improvements through changes in data combinations, sampling methods, and loss functions led to an overall 17.2% increase in mIoU. The proposed model optimization methods enabled the OUNet to outperform the baseline model by providing more precise edge detection and feature representation, while reducing the model parameters scale. Experimental evidence shows that in the application of multi-class land surface classification, increasing the quantity and diversity of samples, avoiding data imbalance issues, is equally valuable for improving overall classification accuracy as it is for enhancing model performance. Full article

Defect annihilation of the IGZO/SiO₂ layer is of great importance to enhancing the bias stress stabilities of bottom-gate coplanar thin-film transistors (TFTs). The effects of annealing temperatures (T_a) on the structure of the IGZO/SiO₂ layer and the stabilities of coplanar IGZO TFTs were investigated in this work. An atomic depth profile showed that the IGZO/SiO₂ layer included an IGZO layer, an IGZO/SiO₂ interfacial mixing layer, and a SiO₂ layer. Higher T_a had only one effect on the IGZO layer and SiO₂ layer (i.e., strengthening chemical bonds), while it had complex effects on the interfacial mixing layer—including weakening M-O bonds (M: metallic elements in IGZO), strengthening damaged Si-O bonds, and increasing O-related defects (e.g., H₂O). At higher T_a, IGZO TFTs exhibited enhanced positive bias temperature stress (PBTS) stabilities but decreased negative bias temperature stress (NBTS) stabilities. The enhanced PBTS stabilities were correlated with decreased electron traps due to the stronger Si-O bonds near the interfacial layer. The decreased NBTS stabilities were related to increased electron de-trapping from donor-like defects (e.g., weak M-O bonds and H₂O) in the interfacial layer. Our results suggest that although higher T_a annihilated the structural damage at the interface from ion bombardment, it introduced undesirable defects. Therefore, to comprehensively improve electrical stabilities, controlling defect generation (e.g., by using a mild sputtering condition of source/drain electrodes and oxides) was more important than enhancing defect annihilation (e.g., through increasing T_a). Full article

Plasmodium vivax (Pv) accounts for over 50% of malaria cases in Latin America and Asia. Despite a significant reduction in Pv transmission in Thailand, the parasite remains endemic to the border areas. This study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity of the parasites and the host factors, as well as their relation to parasite density in Pvisolates, along the Thai–Myanmar border. Genetic variations in Pv markers, specifically the ookinete surface protein Pvs25, and host genes, including Toll-like receptor 6 (TLR6), TLR9, TIR Domain-containing adaptor protein (TIRAP), Toll-interacting protein (TOLLIP), Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC), and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), were investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). A total of 548 PCR-positive Pv samples collected from Tak and Kanchanaburi provinces during two periods (2006–2007 and 2014–2016) were included in the study. Pvs25 exhibited four haplotypes, with H1 (EGTKV) being the most prevalent in both provinces. Kanchanaburi isolates exhibited greater genetic diversity than Tak isolates. No significant deviations from neutrality were observed for Pvs25 in either area. ICAM-1 and TOLLIP s3750920 heterozygous carriers had greater median parasite densities than homozygous mutants. The TLR9 rs187084 T genotype had a significantly higher parasite density than the non-T genotype. The findings underscore the significant association between the rs3750920 C/T, rs5498 A/G, and rs187084 T genotypes and high parasite density in patients infected with Pv, highlighting their potentially critical role in malaria susceptibility. Full article

The submerged floating tunnel (SFT) is a novel form of transportation infrastructure for crossing deeper and wider seas. One of the primary challenges in designing SFTs is understanding their hydrodynamic response to complex environmental loads. In order to investigate the two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) flow-induced vibration (FIV) response of SFTs under current, a two-dimensional (2D) numerical model was developed using the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) method combined with the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. The numerical results were validated by comparing them with the existing literature. The study then addressed the effects of coupled vibration and structural parameters, i.e., the mass ratio and natural frequency ratio, on the response and wake pattern of SFTs, numerically. The results indicated that coupled vibration had a significant impact on the SFT response at reduced velocities of Ur_wx ≥ 4.4. A decrease in mass ratio (m* < 1) notably amplified the 2-DOF vibration amplitudes of SFTs at Ur_wx ≥ 4.4, particularly for in-line vibration. Similarly, a decrease in natural frequency ratio (R_f < 1) significantly suppressed the in-line vibration of SFTs at Ur_wx ≥ 2.5. Therefore, for the design of SFTs, careful consideration should be given to the effect of mass ratio and natural frequency ratio on in-line vibration. Full article

The process of adipocyte browning has recently emerged as a novel therapeutic target for combating obesity and obesity-related diseases. Non-shivering thermogenesis is the process of biological heat production in mammals and is primarily mediated via brown adipose tissue (BAT). The recruitment and activation of BAT can be induced through chemical drugs and nutrients, with subsequent beneficial health effects through the utilization of carbohydrates and fats to generate heat to maintain body temperature. However, since potent drugs may show adverse side effects, nutritional or natural substances could be safe and effective as potential adipocyte browning agents. This review aims to provide an extensive overview of the natural food compounds that have been shown to activate brown adipocytes in humans, animals, and in cultured cells. In addition, some key genetic and molecular targets and the mechanisms of action of these natural compounds reported to have therapeutic potential to combat obesity are discussed. Full article