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The detailed estimation of XRD microstructural elements such as Scherrer (Sch.) size of crystallite, Williamson-Hall (WH) size of crystallite and microscopic strain was highlighted via a novel modelling approach which relies on the broadening parameters named as the experimental broadening, crystallite size broadening and strain broadening. This approach was applied on the strain aged 6063 Al-alloys which are considered one of the backbones in the applications related to energy industries and manufacturers like vehicles and planes due to their light densities, availabilities and facile in fabrication. Three divergent aged specimens deformed at different percentages 0%, 5% and 30% respectively. The XRD results through modelling approach was comparable to the Rietveld MAUD (RM) refinement approach, which was served as a comparing and confirming tool. The estimated microstructural factors as a variation of the ageing time by the broadening analysis using the novel method were in a good agreement with Rietveld analysis using MAUD software program. The behaviour of both size of crystallite and micro strain exhibits two opposite pathways via the ageing time variation including small noises until to reach 400 hours at which the mean values of both of them nearly being constant for all distorted and non-distorted specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinization is one of the major challenges for modern agriculture, posing a great threat to soil health and food security. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of seed coating on soil environment and maize growth in saline soils. Three treatments were applied to maize seeds: coating with a microencapsulated microbial agent (ME), coating with microbial only (MB), and no coating (CK). High-throughput sequencing of soil bacterial and fungal 16S and ITS rRNA genes was performed using the Illumina HiSeq platform to analyze the effects of these treatments on soil bacterial and fungal diversity and community structure. Additionally, the influence of different treatments on endogenous hormones and yield of maize were investigated. It was found that the coating with a microencapsulated microbial agent led to decreases in pH and electrical conductivity (EC), while increasing the content of soil available phosphorus. This coating improved soil microbial diversity, significantly increasing the relative abundance of the main bacteria genera, Bacillus (34.9%), and the main fungal genera, Mortierella (190.4%). The treatment also significantly enhanced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) by 51.2%, contributing to improvements in resistance to salt stress. The germination rate increased by 22.9%, the 100-grain weight increased by 12.7%, and grain yield increased by 14.3%. The use of the microencapsulated microbial agent effectively mitigated the adverse effects of salt stress on maize plants. This approach is beneficial for promoting sustainable agriculture in saline soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mesopotamia Journal of Agriculture is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recent studies affirm the potential of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in reducing traffic accidents and fatalities. This article presents an overview of on-road AV testing and analyzes crash data involving AVs. The study emphasizes fatalities and errors, comparing AVs to conventional human-driven vehicles or nonautonomous vehicles (non-AVs). Statistical analysis indicates that in most cases, human errors predominantly cause accidents, with responsibility falling on non-AV entities, such as bicyclists and motorcyclists, as well as adverse weather and lighting conditions. Notably, rear-end collisions are prevalent. AVs display superior sensing and processing capabilities, except in adverse weather and automation failure scenarios. Surprisingly, human drivers are accountable for most accidents, overshadowing the significance of AV error rates. Common collision causes between AVs and non-AVs encompass overspeeding, inadequate following distances, and decision-making deficiencies in non-AVs. The study shows the potential of AVs to enhance road safety while shedding light on areas requiring continued improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Iraqi Journal of Agricultural Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Salinity poses a significant challenge to tomato plant development and metabolism. This study explores the use of biostimulants as eco-friendly strategies to enhance tomato plant tolerance to salinity. Conducted in a greenhouse, the research focuses on the Solanum lycopersicum L. behavior under saline conditions. Tomato seeds were treated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), compost, and their combination under both non-saline and saline conditions (0 and 150 mM NaCl). Plant height, number of flowers and fruits, shoot fresh weight, and root dry weight were negatively impacted by salt stress. The supplementation with compost affected the colonization of AMF, but the application of stress had no effect on this trait. However, the use of compost and AMF separately or in combination showed positive effects on the measured parameters. At the physiological level, compost played a beneficial role in increasing photosynthetic efficiency, whether or not plants were subjected to salinity. In addition, the application of these biostimulants led to an increase in nitrogen content in the plants, irrespective of the stress conditions. AMF and compost, applied alone or in combination, showed positive effects on photosynthetic pigment concentrations and protein content. Under salt stress, characterized by an increase in lipid peroxidation and H2O2 content, the application of these biostimulants succeeded in reducing both these parameters in affected plants through exhibiting an increase in antioxidant enzyme activity. In conclusion, incorporating compost, AMF, or their combined application emerges as a promising approach to alleviate the detrimental impacts of salt stress on both plant performances. These findings indicate optimistic possibilities for advancing sustainable and resilient agricultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) is the hope for the full optimization of drug therapy while minimizing the accompanying adverse drug events that cost billions of dollars annually. Since years before the century, it has been known that inter-individual variations contribute to differences in specific drug responses. It is the bridge to what is well-known today as "personalized medicine". Addressing the drug's pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics is one of the features of this science, owing to patient characteristics that vary on so many occasions. Mainly in the liver parenchymal cells, intricate interactions between the drug molecules and enzymes family of so-called "Cytochrome P450" occur which hugely affects how the body will react to the drug in terms of metabolism, efficacy, and safety. Single nucleotide polymorphisms, once validated for a transparent and credible clinical utility, can be used to guide and ensure the succession of the pharmacotherapy plan. Novel tools of pharmacoeconomics science are utilized extensively to assess cost-effective pharmacogenes preceding the translation to the bedside. Drug development and discovery incorporate a drug-gene perspective and save more resources. Regulations and laws shaping the clinical PGx practice can be misconceived; however, these pre-/post approval processes ensure the product's safety and efficacy. National and international regulatory agencies seek guidance on maintaining conduct in PGx practice. In this patient-centric era, social and legal considerations manifest in a way that makes them unavoidable, involving patients and other stakeholders in a deliberate journey toward utmost patient well-being. In this comprehensive review, we contemporarily addressed the scientific leaps in PGx, along with various challenges that face the proper implementation of personalized medicine in Egypt. These informative insights were drawn to serve what the Egyptian population, in particular, would benefit from in terms of knowledge and know-how while maintaining the latest global trends. Moreover, this review is the first to discuss various modalities and challenges faced in Egypt regarding PGx, which we believe could be used as a pilot piece of literature for future studies locally, regionally, and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The connected and automated car-following model can provide a model reference for the queue control algorithm of connected and automated driving and has become a hot research topic in the field of connected vehicles and intelligent transportation. A queue of fast-moving vehicles on urban roads can cause traffic congestion when forced to slow down and, in serious cases, can cause rear-impact accidents. Therefore, this paper introduces information on the time delay of information reception and processing, a collision risk quantification factor reflecting the speed characteristics of the front vehicle, and the speed limit and proposes an improved intelligent driver collision quantification model that considers drastic changes in the speed of the front vehicle. Additionally, the model parameters are calibrated using real vehicle data from urban roads combined with an improved salp swarm algorithm. Finally, the evolution rule of disturbance in the traffic flow under different states is analyzed using a time-space diagram, and the DIDM-CSCL model is compared with the classical IDM. The results show that the improved IDM can better describe the following behavior at the microscopic level, which provides a basis for research related to connected and automated driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aging process is characterized by circadian rhythm disruption, in physiology and behavior, which could result from weak entrainment. Light is the most potent cue that entrains the central circadian clock, which in turn synchronizes peripheral clocks in animal tissues. Period 2 (Per2) is one of the clock genes that respond to light. Moreover, oxidative stress could entrain the clock. Therefore, the present work aimed to investigate the role of light when applied late at night on the Per2, B cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) gene expression, and oxidative status in aged rats. Aged rats were divided into a control group and a group exposed to a 30-min light pulse applied daily during the subjective night at 5 am (ZT 22) for 4 weeks. Per2 and Bcl2 gene expression were quantified in liver tissue. To evaluate oxidative status, Glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide (NO), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were estimated. The light pulse reduced the expression levels of Per2 and Bcl2 mRNA. Although it diminished the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) levels were elevated and the glutathione (GSH) levels were declined. In conclusion, the light pulse late at night abolished Per2 mRNA circadian rhythm and reduced its expression in the liver of the aged rat. Similarly, it diminished the anti-apoptotic gene expression, Bcl2. Moreover, it might attenuate oxidative stress through the reduction in MDA levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fungal order Entomophthorales in the Zoopagomycota includes many fungal pathogens of arthropods. This review explores six genera in the subfamily Erynioideae within the family Entomophthoraceae, namely, Erynia, Furia, Orthomyces, Pandora, Strongwellsea, and Zoophthora. This is the largest subfamily in the Entomophthorales, including 126 described species. The species diversity, global distribution, and host range of this subfamily are summarized. Relatively few taxa are geographically widespread, and few have broad host ranges, which contrasts with many species with single reports from one location and one host species. The insect orders infected by the greatest numbers of species are the Diptera and Hemiptera. Across the subfamily, relatively few species have been cultivated in vitro, and those that have require more specialized media than many other fungi. Given their potential to attack arthropods and their position in the fungal evolutionary tree, we discuss which species might be adopted for biological control purposes or biotechnological innovations. Current challenges in the implementation of these species in biotechnology include the limited ability or difficulty in culturing many in vitro, a correlated paucity of genomic resources, and considerations regarding the host ranges of different species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel single-ring resonator design and experimentally demonstrates its dynamic behavior. The proposed ring resonator design is simple and has a solid anchor at its center connected to an outside ring via inner ring-shaped springs. The mode shapes and frequency of the ring resonator were determined numerically and compared with analytical approaches, and the minimum split frequency was observed for the n = 3 mode of vibration. Numerical and analytical methods were used to determine the resonance frequencies, pull-in voltage, resonance frequency shift and harmonic response of the ring resonator for different silicon orientations. The split frequency in the n = 3 mode of vibration increases by the applied DC bias voltage almost by the same amount for all types of silicon. When an AC voltage with a 180-degree phase is applied to two opposite electrodes, the ring has two resonance frequencies in mode n = 2, and when the AC voltage applied to two opposite electrodes is in the same phase, the ring has one resonance frequency regardless of the crystal orientation of silicon. Prototypes were fabricated using a double silicon-on-insulator-based wafer fabrication technique and were tested to verify the resonator performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides a summary of various scientific articles related to the drug ivermectin. The articles cover topics such as the solubility and dissolution enhancement of ivermectin, the development of topical formulations, the effects of polymers on drug solubility, and the potential anticancer properties of ivermectin. The articles also discuss the use of solid dispersion techniques to improve the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs and the application of biopharmaceutical classification systems in drug development. These articles offer valuable information for researchers and practitioners interested in the pharmacological effects and formulation strategies of ivermectin. [Extracted from the article]

The minimization of switching losses and the harmonic distortion of the output current are major challenges in high-power applications. This article validates the application of real-time simulation using Opal Real Time Simulation (OPAL-RT) to investigate the power quality of grid-connected photo voltaic (PV) system. The revamped hysteresis current controller (RHCC) for grid-tied inverter system is used for achieving nearly constant switching frequency, faster current tracking, and proper filtration of current in grid-connected PV systems. A hybrid method, combining arithmetic optimization algorithm and particle swarm optimization, is proposed for the first time in this article. Furthermore, it extracts global optima with less controlling parameters as it balances the exploitation and exploration stages. To improve the inverter's efficiency, the selection of an optimal switching frequency of RHCC plays a crucial role. The selection of switching frequency is considered as a trade-off between minimization of switching losses and reduction of harmonics. The duty cycle and inverter hysteresis bands are considered to be the design variables, whereas the current error and the switching frequency are assumed to be the objective functions to be minimized. The improved arithmetic optimization algorithm technique along with advanced controllers is compared with other algorithms by using Simulink/MATLAB environment and experimental setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubiquitous multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) networks (UMNs) have emerged as an important technology for enabling security and other applications that need continuous monitoring. Their implementation, however, could be obstructed by the limited bandwidth available due to many wireless users. In this paper, bidirectional long short-term memory (LSTM)-based MIMO-NOMA detector is analyzed considering imperfect successive interference cancelation (SIC). Simulation results demonstrate that the traditional SIC MIMO-NOMA scheme achieves 15 dB, and the deep learning (DL) MIMO-NOMA scheme achieves 11 dB for 10 5 number of iterations. There is a gap of 4 dB which means that the DL-based MIMO-NOMA performs better than the traditional SIC MIMO-NOMA techniques. It has been observed that when the channel error factor increases from 0 to 1, the performance of DL decreases significantly. For the channel error factor value less than 0.07, the DL detector performance much better than the SIC detector even though the perfect channel state information (CSI) is considered. The DL detector's performance decreases significantly where variations between the actual and expected channel states occurred, although the DL-based detectors' performance was able to sustain its predominance within a specified tolerance range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new hybrid phosphonium bromobismuthate compound was synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 31P NMR, FT‐IR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. The crystal packing structures of title compound were stabilized by various intermolecular interactions especially of the type CH···Br hydrogen bonds between phosphonium cations and [Bi2Br9]3− anion. The relative contribution of various close contacts and 2D fingerprint plots of title compound and three analogous structures obtained from Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) were investigated by Hirshfeld surface analysis. Furthermore, the catalytic activity of title compound was investigated in heterocyclization reaction for the synthesis of significant and pharmacologically useful benzimidazole and benzoxazole derivatives. The results indicated that the yields of the product for aldehydes bearing p‐substituents and o‐substituents were higher than for m‐substituent ones. In addition to selectivity, simplicity of operation, waste minimization, ease of manipulation, short reaction time, excellent yield of product, and easy workup, this technique uses title compound as the catalyst, which is green, recyclable, soft, remarkably nontoxic, and easy to handle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel oxide (NiOx) is an optimum material for hole selective contacts and is extensively used in multiple photovoltaic technologies. The deposition of nickel oxide for photovoltaic applications is primarily performed with sputtering. In this paper, we will report on the deposition of nickel oxide thin film with aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD). Nickel nitrate hexahydrate was used as the nickel salt while the deposition was performed at 550 °C for a time of 15 min. The thin films as obtained showed a uniform surface morphology with a thickness of about 15 nm and a grain size of 40 nm. The AFM results showed a surface with a root-mean square surface roughness value varying between 1.69 to 2.23 nm. The XPS analysis showed that the NiOx layer is slightly non-stoichiometric with a slight excess of oxygen and can be denoted as NiO1.05. The current–voltage measurements showed a diode-like behaviour with a current density of 4.54 mA/cm2 obtained at 1 V. The combination of developing NiOx thin films with AACVD on silicon and using nickel nitrate as precursor along with showing the diode characteristics provide the novelty of this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1,2,4‐Triazole‐fluoroquinolone and 1,2,4‐triazole–conazole hybrids are designed, synthesized, and investigated in vitro against a variety of common diseases. The structure of the newly synthesized compounds are characterized from spectral data (IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and LC–MS). The antibacterial activity against both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria is shown to be enhanced by many of the produced compounds. Also, some of the products are found to have strong antiproliferative effects aganist HeLa cervical cancer cells, whilst demonstrating cytotoxic effects toward normal cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eighteen new N‐acylhydrazones (9a–r) containing the imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine scaffold were synthesized through a seven steps reaction sequence, ending with a condensation of 2‐(3‐nitro‐H‐imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridin‐2‐ylthio)acetohydrazide with various benzaldehyde derivatives (8a–r). All synthesized compounds were characterized by 1D NMR (1H and 13C NMR) and 2D NMR (NOESY) spectroscopic analyses and high‐resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The analysis of 1H NMR data performed at room temperature in deuterated dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO‐d6) revealed the presence of (E)‐2‐(3‐nitro‐H‐imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridin‐2‐ylthio)‐N′‐benzylideneacetohydrazide (9a–r) as a mixture of two conformers, namely, syn‐periplanar E (sp E) and anti‐periplanar E (ap E). For all N‐acylhydrazones that were synthesized, the sp E conformer was found to be the major form except in the case of hydrazone derived from o‐hydroxybenzaldehyde. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultivated area of soybean has increased worldwide in past decades, including regions with saline soils, strongly decreasing growth and productivity. The use of amino acids (AAs) as buffering compounds against stressful conditions can be a useful strategy to mitigate salt stress in these regions. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of foliar application of AA mixtures on the growth, physiology, and biochemistry traits of salt-stressed soybean plants. A pot experiment was designed as a factorial scheme (4 × 3) in a randomized complete design (RCD). Treatments consisted of four concentrations of AA mixtures of a non-VA application, 0.4 mL L−1, 0.8 mL L−1, and 1.2 mL L−1 (VIUSID Agro® (VA) source), which were combined with non-salt stressed and salt-stressed groups (50 and 100 mmol L−1 NaCl), to analyze improvement in growth and potassium (K+) accumulation, maintenance of relative water content (RWC), net photosynthesis rate (A), transpiration (E), stomatal conductance (gs), and chlorophyll content, and increase of proline accumulation and water use efficiency (iWUE). Moderate and high salinity induced a notable increase in oxidative and ionic biomarkers, coupled with higher Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and Na+ accumulation. Alternatively, soybean growth, K+ accumulation, and physiological and biochemical parameters were decreased under salinity. Foliar spraying of AAs drastically increased osmolyte accumulation associated with sustained iWUE and RWC, increased proline accumulation, and improved A, E, gs, and chlorophyll content. Greater outcomes were achieved with the foliar spraying of amino acids at 1.2 mL L−1. Collectively, foliar application of AA mixtures plays an important role in salt stress remediation by modifying important physiological and biochemical processes, thereby resulting in a higher growth of soybean plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new car-following (CF) model to capture the realistic behaviors of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), whose communication topology (CT) among vehicles is characterized by graph theory in the V2V communication environment. By considering the heterogeneous time delays under the fixed and switching CTs, a generalized CF model is proposed. Based on the Lyapunov–Krasovskii method, a convergence analysis has been implemented for this new CF model with multiple time delays to obtain the convergence condition. Meanwhile, provides an estimate of the time delay bound. Finally, numerical experiments are performed under three typical fixed CTs (i.e., PF topology, BDLF topology, and TPLF topology) and the corresponding switching topology. Results support that the proposed CF model is capable of accurately reproducing the velocity, acceleration, position, and space headway profiles of CAVs traffic flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the significant increase in transportation (R. Abe, 2019) demand in the last few decades and its consequences on society and the environment, the development of a sustainable transport system is vital. The relevance of public transport networks is expanding as present-day environmental, financial and resource pressures bear upon cities, providing the impetus for new sustainable and economical modes of mobility. Promoting public transport and introducing connectivity and automation are crucial for effectuating a sustainable transport system. Buses can improve the network performance, but curbside bus stops (CBS) elevate the side friction which cause substantial delays to other vehicles, urging imprudent forced lane changes and affecting safety. The introduction of connectivity and automation in buses may improve performance along with safety, and this study attempts to investigate the repercussions of connected automated buses (CABs) in a mixed fleet with connected automated vehicles (CAVs), through a microsimulation modelling exercise. Results indicate that CABs can reduce network-level travel time by 7.9%, 6.4%, 2.1%, 1.3%, 1.8%, 1.2% and 2.27% for 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, 90% and 100% CAV penetration, when compared to the network with Human-driven buses (HBs) with the same CAV penetration. Furthermore, CABs also improve the performance of link containing bus stops by reducing standstill times (timespan when buses have zero velocity on the bus stop link). Results exhibit that CABs can decrease standstill times by 12.5%, 13.3%, 12.6%, 15%, 12.9%, 16.7% and 19.9% for 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, 90% and 100% CAV penetration, when compared to the network with HBs with identical CAV penetration. Additionally, the number of lane changes in these links were reduced by 28.2% at 100% CAV penetration, indicating synchronous driving and reduced forced lane changes. The crash rate indicates that critical events involving automated vehicle entities and Manual Vehicles (MV) can increase as the MVs cannot adapt promptly to automated driving behaviour. This is supported by the non- parametric distribution of post-encroachment time (PET), time- to-collision (TTC) and relative speed (DeltaS), indicating that the conflict/collision typology’s severity can increase at intermediate CAV penetrations, but plunge significantly at 100% penetration when compared to the current scenario. Lastly, the limitation of tools in flagging conflicts involving CAVs is discussed, and future scrutiny is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC), which is recognized as an extension of adaptive cruise control (ACC) through the addition of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, is promoted for application in the near future. Nevertheless, V2V communication is unreliable due to the communication interruption caused by cyberattacks and information congestion. When communication interruption occurs, a CACC vehicle cannot receive the travel information of the preceding vehicle and automatically degrades to an ACC vehicle, leading to the instability of the CACC fleet. This research aims to investigate the longitudinal impact of CACC vehicle degradation under communication interruption. The realistic CACC model and ACC model are used for constructing simulation experiments with a fleet of 10 CACC vehicles. By simulating multiple driving, degradation, and communication-interruption scenarios, we investigate the impact of CACC degradation on fleet stability, energy consumption, and exhaust emissions. Finally, we conduct sensitivity analysis on the key factors of driving models and simulation scenarios. The result shows that CACC vehicle degradation, especially the successive degradation of adjacent vehicles under the acceleration scenario, would reduce average travel speed and increase energy consumption and exhaust emissions. The findings highlight some key scenarios for actively monitoring communication interruption and provide some prospective actions to reduce the impact of CACC degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity is a severe abiotic problem that has harmful impacts on agriculture. Recently, biostimulants were defined as bioprotectant materials that promote plant growth and improve productivity under various stress conditions. In this study, we investigated the effect of Crataegus oxyacantha extract as a biostimulant on tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) grown under salt stress. Concentrations of 20 mg/L, 30 mg/L, and 70 mg/L of C. oxyacantha extract were applied to tomato plants that were grown under salt stress. The results indicated that plants that were treated with C. oxyacantha extract had a higher ability to tolerate salt stress, as demonstrated by a significant (p < 0.05) increase in plant growth and photosynthetic pigment contents, in addition to a significant increase in tomato soluble sugars and amino acids compared to the control plants. In the stressed tomato plants, malondialdehyde increased and then decreased significantly with the different concentrations of C. oxyacantha extract. Furthermore, there was a significant improvement in the antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and glutathione reductase (GR) in the stressed plants, especially after treatment with 70 mg/L of the extract. Overall, our results suggest that C. oxyacantha extract could be a promising biostimulant for treating tomato plants under salinity stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Químico-Farmacéuticas is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Free radical or oxidative stress may be a fundamental mechanism underlying several human neurologic diseases. Therapy using free radical scavengers (antioxidants) has the potential to prevent, delay, or ameliorate many neurologic disorders. However, the biochemistry of oxidative pathobiology is complex, and optimum antioxidant therapeutic options may vary and need to be tailored to individual diseases. In vitro and animal model studies support the potential beneficial role of various antioxidant compounds in neurological disease. Antioxidants generally play an important role in reducing or preventing the cell damage and other changes which occur in the cells like mitochondrial dysfunction, DNA mutations, and lipid peroxidation in the cell membrane. Based on their mechanism of action, antioxidants can be used to treat various neurological disorders like Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Vitamin E has a scavenging action for reactive oxygen species (ROS) and also prevents the lipid peroxidation. Creatine generally reduces the mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Various metal chelators are used in PD for the prevention of accumulation of the metals. Superoxidase dismutase (SOD), lipases, and proteases act as repair enzymes in patients with AD. Accordingly, the antioxidant defense system is found to be most useful for treating various neurological disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is essential for the application of a photovoltaic (PV) energy system in order to extract the maximum possible power under variable conditions of irradiation and temperature. This paper deals with the implementation of different MPPT algorithms for a PV array installed for a system connected to the Grid: Perturb and Observe (P&O), Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC), Cuckoo Search (CS), and Beta algorithms were simulated in Matlab/Simulink and the results were analyzed and compared. Beta algorithm proved to have greater tracking power, minor power loss, great tracking speed, less time, and less oscillation than the other techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a simulation-based approach to assess the safety impacts of vehicles equipped with Automated Driving Systems (ADS) in mixed traffic with Human-driven Vehicles (HV). Specifically, we compare two generic longitudinal strategies of ADS to handle a cut-in: Reactive ADS acting only when the cut-in vehicle crosses the target lane boundary, and Predictive ADS acting at the onset of the cut-in manoeuvre. We identify their distinctive effects on the traffic safety under cut-in maneuvers of adjacent human-driven vehicles at highway merges. We employ a microscopic traffic flow simulator that describes the lane changing process with high detail, accounting for the vehicle interaction and consequent trajectory updates. These high-resolution trajectories are post-processed to estimate a set of relevant surrogate measures of safety. By analyzing these measures, we find that the predictive ADS significantly outperforms the reactive ADS in aspects such as temporal proximity to crash, expected crash severity and the driving risk (combining the two aspects), and the number of aborted lane changes by HV. The negative safety impact of reactive ADS becomes prominent at penetration rate >10%. The major difference between the two ADS approaches appears in the dynamics of risk during the lane changing. When a vehicle cuts in ahead of Reactive ADS, the risk peaks approximately halfway through the maneuver; whereas with Predictive ADS the risk remains marginal throughout. This work demonstrates the potential of simulation-based safety assessment to differentiate the safety impacts of automation functionalities at an early stage of product development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor solubility is the major challenge involved in the formulation development of new chemical entities (NCEs), as more than 40% of NCEs are practically insoluble in water. Solid dispersion (SD) is a promising technology for improving dissolution and, thereby, the bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. This study investigates the influence of a pH-sensitive acrylate polymer, EPO, on the physicochemical properties of rosuvastatin calcium, an antihyperlipidemic drug. In silico docking was conducted with numerous polymers to predict drug polymer miscibility. The screened-out polymer was used to fabricate the binary SD of RoC in variable ratios using the co-grinding and solvent evaporation methods. The prepared formulations were assessed for physiochemical parameters such as saturation solubility, drug content and in vitro drug release. The optimized formulations were further ruled out using solid-state characterization (FTIR, DSC, XRD and SEM) and in vitro cytotoxicity. The results revealed that all SDs profoundly increased solubility as well as drug release. However, the formulation RSE-2, with a remarkable 71.88-fold increase in solubility, presented 92% of drug release in the initial 5 min. The molecular interaction studied using FTIR, XRD, DSC and SEM analysis evidenced the improvement of in vitro dissolution. The enhancement in solubility of RoC may be important for the modulation of the dyslipidemia response. Therefore, pharmacodynamic activity was conducted for optimized formulations. Our findings suggested an ameliorative effect of RSE-2 in dyslipidemia and its associated complications. Moreover, RSE-2 exhibited nonexistence of cytotoxicity against human liver cell lines. Convincingly, this study demonstrates that SD of RoC can be successfully fabricated by EPO, and have all the characteristics that are favourable for superior dissolution and better therapeutic response to the drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm using system identification (SI) for solar photovoltaic (PV) pumping system under partial shading (PS) conditions. The measurement of the PV panel current was not required for the proposed MPPT algorithm. The MPPT algorithm was developed for an electric motor with a nonlinear pump load. In this study, a high-efficiency synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM) was designed as a 4-inch submersible pump motor. The system aimed to the small-scale solar photovoltaic water pumping systems. The SynRM was designed and optimized to use at low voltage levels such as solar PV panels without requiring a boost converter. Thus, the motor could be connected directly with any low voltage leveled power supply. The motor was produced 0.55 kW power with an efficiency of 86.5%. Eight PS patterns were generated to obtain four different scenarios for analyzing of the proposed algorithm. The Maximum Power Point (MPP) was determined with high accuracy for global maximum for all PS conditions using the proposed algorithm. Thus, the motor was operated at the MPP in all conditions thanks to the developed algorithm. The overall system efficiency was obtained between 72% and 82% under these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tracking of power in solar PV systems depends on controlling the voltage or current to the optimum level irrespective of changes in solar irradiation. There are two aspects of maximum power point tracking (MPPT), first is to control the voltage or current and second is to find the peak power with an algorithm. This work deals with both the aspects, using current control which provides fast control response and a momentum-based MPPT algorithm for improved peak tracking. Since current programmed control gives a simple implementation and fast response of converters, it would seem obvious to link it with current referenced MPPT but this method is prone to fail when irradiation drops suddenly, leading to control loss. Voltage oriented MPPT control (which has logarithmic dependance on irradiation), with an inner current control loop is used, as it maintains control even with step changes in irradiation. The second part of this work discusses the perturb and observe (hill climbing) algorithm for finding the power peak, which is known for its simple and effective implementation. A simple modification of this algorithm by adding momentum to the hill climbing is shown to improve the speed of tracking while maintaining the oscillations around maximum power point to acceptable levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice is a crop that presents sensitivity to cold, especially in the germination phase, which leads to high economic losses. Alternative management forms are essential to increase tolerance to low temperatures, and seed priming represents a promising tool. The objective of this study was to investigate the priming effect of the aqueous extract of carrot roots on rice seeds to increase tolerance to low temperatures during germination. Seeds from cultivars BRS Querência (cold-susceptible) and Brilhante (cold-tolerant) were soaked for 24 h in concentrations of 0, 25, 50, and 100% carrot extract, sown on germitest paper and conditioned in BOD for 21 days at 15 °C. As a control, the seeds soaked in water were also germinated at 25 °C. They were evaluated for germination, first germination count, and germination speed index to calculate the stress indices: tolerance index, susceptibility index, and harmonic mean. They were also evaluated for the length and dry mass of shoot and root. The results showed that the rice seeds conditioning in carrot extract effectively reduces the damage caused by cold, significantly increasing the germination speed and the percentage of final germination and the growth evaluations, more expressive at 100% concentration. The stress indexes are efficient in estimating the tolerance of the cultivars and the effect of the different conditions in low-temperature conditions, highlighting the superiority of the Brilhante cultivar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, 15 new N-(cyclohexyl)-2-substituted-1H-benzimidazole-5-carboxamidine derivatives that could be new antimicrobial agents were synthesized and their antimicrobial activities were determined using the microdilution method. Some of the derivatives showed significant efficacy against MRSA and VREF with an MIC value of 8 μg mL−1 compared to reference drugs. Molecular docking studies of the compounds against PBP4 and active and allosteric regions of PBP2a were performed and estimated ADME profiles were calculated. The nitrogens of the amidine group of M7, one of the most effective antimicrobial compounds compared to reference drugs, formed two separate hydrogen bonds with ASP275 (1.77 Å) and ASP295 (1.83 Å) in the allosteric region of PBP2a. Geometric optimization parameters, MEP analysis, and HUMO and LUMO quantum parameters of M7 were calculated using DFT/B3LYP theory and the 6-311G(d,p) basis set and the results are displayed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discretionary lane change is an essential part of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) on freeway segments. Most existing studies were conducted to optimise the individual decision of discretionary lane change of CAVs. However, the effects of motion states and discretionary lane change decisions from the surrounding vehicles via vehicle to vehicle communication were ignored. To address such a problem, a game theory‐based lane change strategy is proposed to collaborate and optimise decisions of discretionary lane change between the CAVs. The payoff functions are formulated for three types of decision games and the payoff of each decision is quantitatively calculated considering the state information of surrounding vehicles. The Nash equilibrium is applied to find the optimal decision set for players. A simulation platform of a CAV environment built is used to conduct the simulation experiments. Various metrics are employed to evaluate the proposed strategy, such as total travel delay, surrogate safety measurement and wave number. The results show that the proposed lane change strategy using a game‐theoretical approach can effectively improve traffic operation, safety and oscillations compared to the baseline strategy. The proposed lane change strategy can further benefit the implementations of the CAVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The market penetration of intelligent vehicles is a long‐term process. In recent years, significant attention has been paid to the influence of technology market penetration rate (MPR) on efficiency at signalised intersections, but little attention has been given to such an influence on safety at non‐signalised intersections. In this study, the influence of the intersection collision warning (ICW) system MPR on safety at non‐signalised intersections is investigated. The authors built a Matlab‐based simulation platform where an ICW algorithm was implemented. The simulation was firstly conducted to verify their models. Then the simulation results of different MPRs were obtained and compared statistically. Collision probability, conflict index, and collision rate were analysed for safety evaluation. The overall results showed that vehicle safety at non‐signalised intersections improves with the increase of the ICW system MPR. Without considerations of inappropriateness and otherness of driver reaction to warnings, when the MPR is 20% and all vehicles are connected by vehicle‐to‐everything, the collision probability, conflict index, and collision rate can be reduced by around 20, 20, and 35%, respectively. The simulation method can establish a mapping relation between the ICW system MPRs and vehicle safety indices at non‐signalised intersections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to extract maximum power from a Photovoltaic (PV) panel different Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms have been developed, among which Perturb and Observe (P&O) MPPT algorithm is widely used. The P&O algorithm can be executed either by direct duty ratio or by voltage reference control. Both have drawbacks in tracking time and oscillation around MPP. In the latter case, the reference voltage generated by the algorithm is fed to a controller (PI/PID) to generate the corresponding duty ratio. The gains of PID controller are calculated under the standard test conditions (STC) (1000 W/m2, 25°C) of PV panel and the same values are used for other operating conditions too, which does not provide satisfactory performance under varying operating conditions. In this paper, an adaptive method is proposed to calculate the controller gains for different operating conditions without using any additional sensors. The proposed method establishes a linear relation between the PID gains calculated for the STC and those for other operating conditions, and this relation adaptively changes the PID gains for different operating conditions. It is observed from the simulations and experimental results that the proposed adaptive method precisely tracks the maximum power and optimizes the perturbation characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Honokiol, a natural polyphenol, which was reported to have satisfactory influenza neuraminidase (NA) inhibitory activity, was structurally modified. Twenty-three compounds were synthesized and the ortho-effects in the epoxidation and hydrolyzation reactions were studied. The derivatives were evaluated for NA inhibitory activity and the benzoylhydrazone derivatives showed much better anti-NA activity than honokiol. Structure-activity relationship analysis suggested that the polyphenols exhibited better anti-NA activity than monophenols and biphenols. Furthermore, probable binding mode of drug with target revealed that the most active compound had much stronger interactions with the active site of NA than honokiol suggesting the potent anti-influenza virus activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exclusive bus lane (XBL) is one of the most popular bus transit systems in the U.S. The Lincoln Tunnel utilizes an XBL through the tunnel in the AM peak period. This paper proposes a novel data-driven cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) algorithm that aims to minimize a cost function for connected and autonomous buses along the XBL. Different from existing model-based CACC algorithms, the proposed approach employs the idea of reinforcement learning, which does not rely on accurate knowledge of bus dynamics. Considering a time-varying topology, where each autonomous vehicle can only receive information from preceding vehicles that are within its communication range, a distributed controller is learned real-time by online headway, velocity, and acceleration data collected from the system trajectories. The convergence of the proposed algorithm and the stability of the closed-loop system are rigorously analyzed. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated using a well-calibrated Paramics microscopic traffic simulation model of the XBL corridor. The simulation results show that the travel time in the autonomous version of the XBL are close to the present day travel time even when the bus volume is increased by 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is one of the essential controller operations of any Photo-Voltaic (PV) cell design. Developing an efficient MPPT system includes a significant challenge as there are various forms of uncertainty factors that results in higher degree of fluctuation in current and voltage in PV cell. After reviewing existing system, it has been found that there is no presence of any benchmarked model to ensure a better form of computational model. Hence, this paper presents a novel and very simple design of MPPT without using any form of complex design mechanism nor including any form of frequently used iterative approach. The proposed model is completely focused on developing an algorithm that takes the input of voltage (open circuit), current (short circuit), and max power in order to obtain the peak power to be extracted from the PV cells. The study outcome shows faster response time and better form of analysis of current-voltage-power for given state of PV cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new series of 2-(furan-2-yl)-4-oxoquinazolin-3-phenyl derivatives hybridized with pyridine 3a-d, 4a-d or pyran moiety 5a-d were synthesized; their structures were confirmed by spectral and elemental analysis. Cytotoxicity was evaluated on three cancer cell lines (HEPG2, HCT116 and MCF7) using the sulphorodamine-B assay method and doxorubicin as a reference drug. Compound 5d showed a closely similar activity to doxorubicin on MCF7; their IC values are 4.6 and 4.4 nmol/mL, respectively. In addition, compounds 4b and 4c exhibited a closely similar activity to doxorubicin on HEPG2 cancer cells; their IC values expressed in nmol/mL are 6.6, 6.7, and 5.7, respectively. Moreover, compound 4b (IC = 1.2 nmol/mL) was four times more potent than doxorubicin (IC = 4.8 nmol/mL) on HCT116, and compound 5d (IC = 0.2 nmol/mL) revealed potency equal to 24 times the potency of doxorubicin on the same cancer cell line. The most active compounds were screened against EGFR TK, and results showed that compound 5d was the most potent inhibitor; its percentage of inhibition was 95.6. Furthermore, compound 5d was docked into the EGFR binding site to explore its possible interactions with EGFR TK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]