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Several methods have been developed to computationally predict cell-types for single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) data. As methods are developed, a common problem for investigators has been identifying the best method they should apply to their specific use-case. To address this challenge, we present CHAI (consensus Clustering tHrough similArIty matrix integratIon for single cell-type identification), a wisdom of crowds approach for scRNAseq clustering. CHAI presents two competing methods which aggregate the clustering results from seven state-of-the-art clustering methods: CHAI-AvgSim and CHAI-SNF. CHAI-AvgSim and CHAI-SNF demonstrate superior performance across several benchmarking datasets. Furthermore, both CHAI methods outperform the most recent consensus clustering method, SAME-clustering. We demonstrate CHAI's practical use case by identifying a leader tumor cell cluster enriched with CDH3. CHAI provides a platform for multiomic integration, and we demonstrate CHAI-SNF to have improved performance when including spatial transcriptomics data. CHAI overcomes previous limitations by incorporating the most recent and top performing scRNAseq clustering algorithms into the aggregation framework. It is also an intuitive and easily customizable R package where users may add their own clustering methods to the pipeline, or down-select just the ones they want to use for the clustering aggregation. This ensures that as more advanced clustering algorithms are developed, CHAI will remain useful to the community as a generalized framework. CHAI is available as an open source R package on GitHub: https://github.com/lodimk2/chai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fever of unknown origin (FUO) can be caused by many factors and usually presents as a high fever without a clear diagnosis. Although some treatments may relieve symptoms, they do not stabilise the condition and relapses are commonly reported. In this case, a 20-year-old male complained of recurring high fever (around 39-40 degrees Celsius) without reason for over two years. He had been hospitalised many times without a clear diagnosis. Applying fang zheng 方证 differentiation, the patient was prescribed Chai Ling Tang (Bupleurum and Poria Decoction) combined with Wai Tai Fu Ling Yin (Poria Decoction) as well as Ban Xia Hou Po Tang (Pinellia and Magnolia Bark Decoction). After three months of medication, the patient’s temperature stabilised, his body weight slowly increased and his other symptoms also improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Journal of Kidney Care was saddened to learn of the death of editorial board member Mee Onn Chai. Deepa Kariyawasam, reflects on a great pharmacist who significantly enhanced support for patients with kidney disease across South London and Kent [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Synesis is the property of Synesis 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.)

The editorial in "Molecules" honors Professor Zhifang Chai for his significant contributions to actinoid chemistry and radiochemistry. Prof. Chai led efforts to develop a strategic plan for the future of radiochemistry in China, resulting in a comprehensive book that addresses various challenges and potential solutions in the field. He also oversaw the creation of an encyclopedia volume on nuclear techniques, providing a valuable resource for researchers. Prof. Chai's initiatives have played a key role in revitalizing radiochemistry in China, leading to increased research institutions and opportunities for young talents in the field. [Extracted from the article]

India's tea big business houses are full of fascinating business success stories. Tea might just be an ordinary daily life FMCG product but the business behind it has a huge impact on Indian economy and also has a vital impact on structuring Indian consumer market evidenced back from its entrance at British rule to today's modern era. The Indian tea industry has expanded itself to own a wide range of global tea brands and has advanced to be the most technologically equipped tea industries around the globe. Sipping tea and conversations about cricket, politics and cinemas from the local tea points to the corporate board room discussions on vital business strategies tea has become synonymous to the Indian way of living. Ever since Covid pandemic the Gen Z and Millennial are more health conscious no were days and have started investing in a healthy lifestyle which has increased the demands of black tea, chamomile tea, green tea. Making it a big reason of the emerging new forms of businesses titled as chai start-ups in the Indian tea industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the suitable methods for evaluating water quality is the use of water quality indicators. Qualitative indicators are a powerful management tool for different levels of decision-making. With the availability of satellite images, besides the use of field data, it is possible to study the quality of surface water with greater power and increase the dimensions and scope of the work and reduce the cost of the study. Therefore, in this research, considering Taking the mentioned cases and with the aim of investigating the spatial-temporal changes in the water quality of Yamchi Dam under the Balkhali Chai river basin and using the WQI water quality index and remote sensing, a quantitative study has been done in the area of the informed case. The area investigated in this research is under the river basin leading to Yamchi dam located in Ardabil province. Yamchi dam is closed on the path of Balkhali Chai river from the main branches of Qara-Su river. The main branches of Yamchi Dam are one of the important dams due to passing through important residential areas such as Nair and villages in the region, as well as the location of some industrial and recreational centers near the boundaries of these rivers and because of the provision of drinking water and agriculture in the region. The region is Azerbaijan. Due to the prevailing conditions and serious threats caused by industrial effluents and domestic sewage, it is always under the threat of pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding permits a new measurement to monitor biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems. This study utilized eDNA metabarcoding to examine the seasonal and spatial distribution of phytoplankton and their relationship with environmental factors in the Chai River, Kunming, China, in the dry, and wet seasons. The process detected 108 genera of phytoplankton, which were members of 11 phyla, 41 orders, and 60 families. Distinct differences in seasonal and spatial distribution patterns of phytoplankton diversity, including community structure, α-diversity, and representative functional groups, were observed. In the dry season, Pseudanabaena, Microcystis, and Synechococcus were the predominant genera in Cyanophyta, and Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta and Euglenophyta were predominant in the eukaryotic phytoplankton. While in the wet season, Cylindrospermopsis, Microcystis, and Planktothrix predominated in the Cyanophyta, and Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta and Xanthophyta predominated in the eukaryotic phytoplankton. Significant differences were shown by a principal coordinate analysis and PERMANOVA test among the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the phytoplankton communities except for the cyanobacterial community structure between the upper and lower reaches at the wet season (p > 0.05). The representative functional groups of phytoplankton varied from A, D, E, LM, L0, N, S1, MP, P, TB, TC, U, W0, W1, Xph, Y, and Z in the dry season to A, B, D, E, F, J, MP, LM, S1, SN, TC, P, W0, W1, X2, and Y in the wet season. Significant differences in the water temperature (WT), pH, chemical oxygen demand, oxygen consumed, nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), and chlorophyll a were exhibited between the dry and wet seasons (p < 0.05). In the dry season, WT, NO3-N, and pH had a substantial influence on the functional groups LM, N, and L0 of the cyanobacteria. The EC and total nitrogen (TN) had a substantial influence on the functional groups A and Y of the eukaryotic phytoplankton. In the wet season, the electrical conductivity (EC), TN, and dissolvable total phosphorus (DTP) primarily affected the functional groups LM and S1, while EC, DPI, and soluble reactive phosphorus had a substantial influence on the functional groups A and Y. This study provides insights on the conservation of phytoplankton diversity and healthy management of the Chai River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reconstruction of the tectonothermal evolution of the Laojunshan–Song Chai granite gneiss massif (North Vietnam, South China) was carried out, based on summaries of the latest isotopic and fission-track dating results. The recorded wide range (420–465 Ma) of the age of granite gneiss rocks testifies to the long-term existence of a partially molten layer at a depth of 20–30 km for several tens of Ma. By the Devonian–early Carboniferous, a section of the excessively thickened crust was denudated, the massif was exhumated to the level of the upper crust, and isotope systems were "frozen". The rate of uplift of the rocks of the massif is estimated to be about 0.2–0.5 mm/year. In the further history of the granite gneiss massif, episodes of repeated burial to a depth of about 13 km are recorded, associated with the Indosinian collision. The rocks have experienced metamorphism of the amphibolite-green schist facies, accompanied by tectonic transport in the form of a thrust sheet. Over the next 200 Ma, the uplift of the massif and the erosion of the overlying strata occurred in discrete pulses, during a sequence of active tectonic events. Thus, the thermochronological and P-T history of the Laojunshan–Song Chai massif is a kind of chronicle of regional tectonic–thermal events. In the history of the massif, traces of two orogenic cycles associated with the collision of the Cathaysia and Yangtze blocks in the Lower Paleozoic and the Indosinian collision in the Triassic are recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Science Technology & Engineering is the property of Chinese Society of Technology Economics 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.)

Hydrological models serve as effective tools for managing water sources and assessing water components. Although basin hydrological models have been developed, selecting suitable software for modeling specific areas remains challenging. Hence, it's essential to opt for software capable of simulating the hydrological cycle with a simple structure and minimal input parameters. In northwest Iran, AWBM and ARCSWAT software were employed for simulation. AWBM is a simplistic program estimating runoff using precipitation and evaporation indicators, while ARCSWAT is a semi-distributed software for continuous flow simulation. ARCSWAT necessitates various inputs, including geological, land use, and slope maps, along with precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, and radiation statistics. The runoff simulation results during calibration and validation periods were assessed using two statistical indices: Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) and the coefficient of determination (R2). A comparison of the statistical indicators revealed NSE values of 0.83 and 0.7 for calibration and validation periods, respectively, and R2 values of 0.83 and 0.8 for calibration and validation periods, respectively, for the semi-distributed SWAT model. In contrast, for the AWBM integrated model in the basin, NSE values were 0.63 and 0.48, and R2 values were 0.48 and 0.48 for calibration and validation periods, respectively, indicating better results in runoff simulation at the monthly time scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs readers about David Chai's book, "Reading Ji Kang's Essays: Xuanxue in Early-Medieval China," which provides an in-depth analysis of Ji Kang's essays, making his philosophical works more accessible to a general audience. Chai's book is seen as a significant contribution to Western scholarship on Ji Kang and his contributions to xuanxue, shedding light on Ji Kang's philosophy and filling a gap in English-language scholarship on his essays.

Magnetic data play a significant role in the interpretation of various geologic structures using depth estimation methods and edge detection filters. In this study, we applied methods based on directional derivatives, such as tilt-depth (TD), signum transform (ST), source distance (SD), and classical Euler deconvolution (ED) to estimate the depth of the magnetic sources. Moreover, to enhance the edges of magnetic field anomalies, we utilized the total horizontal derivative (THD), analytical signal (AS), tilt angle (TA), theta map (TM), hyperbolic tilt angle (HTA), the tilt angle of horizontal derivative (TAHG), and logistic function of total horizontal gradient (LTHD). These algorithms were tested on a synthetic magnetic model with noise and noise-free data to understand their performance. Since the edge detection filters are sensitive to noise, we carried out an upward continuation (UC) filter before the reduction of data to the magnetic pole to reduce the noise effect. After comparing the efficiency of the approaches in estimating the depth and horizontal lateral boundaries, these methods were applied to the data surveyed from the Aji-Chai salt dome in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. The results obtained from the depth determination methods were compared with the drilling report from Iran's geological survey and the three-dimensional classical Euler deconvolution method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The study of surface water quality control in water resources and environment management programs is very important. Surface water is one of the most important water sources that have crucial impact on agricultural, industrial, drinking and electricity production activities. Due to insufficient water sources with good quality and the increase in population growth rate and as a result of the increase in demand, the study of water quality parameters is very important. The Water Quality Index (WQI) serves as a prominent indicator in classifying surface water quality. Moreover, in recent years, the TOPSIS method has gained traction for evaluating water quality. This approach, known for its simplicity, is increasingly utilized in prioritizing river water and assessing its quality. Through this index, various components of water quality are condensed into a single numerical value, effectively expressing overall water quality. To ascertain the weight index, Shannon's entropy method was employed. Furthermore, to assess water suitability for drinking, agriculture, and industrial purposes, Schuler, Wilcox, and Piper diagrams were utilized. These diagrams provide valuable insights into the quality of water, aiding in decision-making processes regarding its utilization across different sectors. Therefore, the results of this study also confirmed the effectiveness of the TOPSIS method in identifying contaminated stations. Materials and Methods This research focuses on evaluating the water quality of three stations within the Aji Chai river watershed on an annual basis. These stations are identified as Arzanag, Akhola, and Markid. The assessment spans the years 2003 to 2021 and aims to classify water quality for both drinking and agricultural purposes. Utilizing the standards set forth by the World Health Organization, the surface water quality index of the Aji Chai basin is investigated to ascertain its suitability for drinking purposes. Shannon's entropy theory was used to prevent expert judgments in determining the weight of each parameter. TOPSIS method was used to classify eleven qualities including TDS, EC, pH, HCO3-, Cl-, SO42-, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+ and TH. In all the three stations water quality were ranked, based on TOPSIS numerical values. Also, in order to check the quality of drinking, agricultural and industrial water, Schuler, Wilcox and Piper diagrams were used. Results and Discussion The initial findings from the %RE error analysis revealed that throughout the entire statistical period (2003 -2021), the %RE values were consistently close to zero, with the majority being positive. This suggests that the total number of cations surpasses the total number. In terms of the Shannon water quality index, the results indicate that Markid station exhibited the highest index value at 945.92, while Arzanag station displayed the lowest value at 127.365 among the surveyed stations. The results of the water quality index showed that Arzanag and Akhola stations are in an average condition (100 < EWQI < 150) and Markid station is in a very poor condition (EWQI > 200). According to Schuler's diagram, it was found that the water of Arzanag station is in the average level in terms of water quality, which is in a good position in terms of quality compared to the other two stations, while the water of Akhola station is in a good position. In the range of poor quality, Markid water was undrinkable, which ranked worst among the three stations. According to the Wilcox diagram, it was found that the water quality of Markid is very poor, which is even outside the boundary of the Wilcox diagram, while the water of Arzanag station was ranked 1st in terms of quality. Arzanag water is in C4S2 class in terms of quality. Finally, the water class of Akhola station was placed in the C4S4 class (in the Wilcox chart), which shows very low water quality. According to the TOPSIS method, the first priority in terms of water quality pollution belonged to Markid station. Two other stations, including Akhola and Arzanag, were ranked second and third in this respect. Therefore, the most important station in this basin is Markid station. Conclusion The results of Shannon water quality index showed that among the stations, the highest index value is related to Markid station with a value of 945.92 and the lowest one is related to Arzanag station with a value of 127.365. According to Schoeller diagram, it was found that the water quality of Arzanag station is average, compared to the other two stations, it was in the right place and the water of Akhola station was in the range of poor quality. The quality of Markid water was found to be undrinkable, which was the worst one among all the three stations. The range of TOPSIS values in different stations is between 0.054 and 0.894, which belonged to the Arzanag and Markid stations, respective ly. According to the results of the Arzanag station, the best water quality condition and the Markid station were assigned the worst water quality condition among all the three stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there is urban expansion and development of transportation routes for commercial transportation, and it drives prosperity to rural communities resulting in the villages becoming more prosperous. This may alter the original way of living in harmony with nature, and over time, the knowledge of plant usage passed down through generations may be lost to future generations. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the ethnobotanical practices of the Lao Isan ethnic groups in the area of Na Ngam Village Pho Chai District, Roi Et Province, focusing on their specific uses. Data were collected by interviewing 37 individuals aged 20 years and older between July 2022 and July 2023. Results revealed that there were 317 plant species utilized, belonging to 243 genera and 89 families. These plants were further categorized into 12 groups based on their traditional uses. In the food and spice category, 201 species of plants were used the most, followed by 154 species for medicinal herbs. In terms of the Cultural Important Index, it was found that Oryza sativa had the highest Cl value of 5.35. Meanwhile, constipation syndrome, with the highest Index of 0.93, was associated with Zingiber officinale, which is a medicinal plant with a reported accuracy level (%FL) that covers the most use in treating disease symptoms within this area. Therefore, this knowledge of local wisdom can be considered important and useful information for future generations and can be applied in other scientific fields for sustainable benefits in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the importance of fractured rock aquifers in the hydrogeologic process, this research aimed to analyze the flow regime, internal degree of karstification, and estimate storage volume in fractured rock aquifers of the Germi Chai Basin in northwest Iran, which is attributed to its active tectonics, erosion, and the lithological diversity. Given the geological setting, the hypothesis is that this basin is characterized by a high degree of karstification and diffuse or intermediate flow regime leading to variation in discharge flow rate. The hydrodynamic and hadrochemical analysis was conducted on 9 well-distributed springs across the basin from 2019 to 2020. The maximum flow rate in most of the springs appeared in the early wet season despite their different levels of fluctuations on the monthly discharge time series. Analyzing the spring recession curve form revealed an aquifer containing multiple micro-regimes with α recession coefficients and a degree of karstification ranging between 0.001 to 0.06 and 0.55 to 2.61, respectively. These findings indicated a dominant diffuse and intermediate flow system resulting from the development of a high density of fractures in this area. The electrical conductivity of the spring changes inversely proportional to the change in flow discharge, indicating the reasonable hydrological response of the aquifer to rainfall events. Hydrograph analysis revealed that the delay time of spring discharge after rainfall events mostly varies between 10 to 30 days. The total dynamic storage volume of the spring for a given period (2019–2020) was estimated to be approximately 1324 million cubic meters reflecting the long-term drainage potential and high perdurability of dynamic storage. Estimating the maximum and minimum ratio revealed that the springs recharging system in Germi Chai Basin comes under the slow aquifers category. This finding provides valuable insight into the hydrogeological properties of fractured rock aquifers contributing to effective water management strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floods are considered one of the most important and abundant geomorphic hazards in the country, which cause a lot of damage every year. Aji Chai basin, located in East Azerbaijan province, witnesses devastating floods every year due to its large area and special topographical conditions. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to prepare a flood hazard potential map in this basin. To achieve this aim, 18 parameters effective in the occurrence of this hazard and two statistical methods of frequency ratio (FR) and statistical index (SI) have been used. The investigated parameters were Elevation, Slope, Aspect, Rainfall, Distance to the river, River density, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, land use, Distance to bridge, Distance to dam, lithology, hydrological soil groups, Topographic wetness index, Sediment transport index, Stream power index, Drainage texture, Geomorphology and earth curvature. The location of the past flood points in the area was used to determine the parameters weight and implement the research models. The final maps were prepared from the product of the weights of each parameter class in their information layers and were classified into five classes using the Natural Breaks tool. Study the final maps showed that hazard zones spatial distribution patterns were similar in both models. In this way, the areas downstream of the basin and around the main streams of the area are the most dangerous zones. The accuracy evaluation of the results of both models with the ROC curve showed that the values of the area under the curve for SI and FR models were 0.945 and 0.919, respectively, which shows the excellent performance of both models in preparing flood hazard maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chaiyao, a "mysterious" ceramic ware produced in China's tumultuous period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, was rated higher than the famed "Five Great Wares" of the Song dynasty and was much sought after by porcelain connoisseurs and men of letters during late imperial times. It appears that Chai kiln largely ceased manufacturing and Chai ware was rarely seen after the tenth century. As a result, modern researchers know little about the ware. This paper, by examining the relevant historical sources and available Chai ware samples, argues that Chai ware derived its name from its imperial sponsor the Later Zhou emperor Chai Rong, the Chai kiln was located in Yaozhou, Shaanxi, and the principal features of the ware described by Ming-Qing porcelain aficionados are accurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong is the property of Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong 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.)

1-Introduction The natural hazards are impossible to avoid, and infrastructure elements and communities cannot be made totally invulnerable. The only viable solution is the complex risk analysis and subsequent development of combination of mitigation and adaptation strategies Floods are the most common natural disaster type worldwide. Between 1995 and 2015, 2.3 billion people were affected by floods, considerably more than any other type of natural disaster event. In general, the Givi Chai basin includes two cities, Khalkhal and Kausar. In recent years, floods have caused damage to gardens and facilities due to spring and summer rains to the extent that the villages that are located under the Sangur Chai basin because of being located at the source of the rivers and mainly in the course of the rivers are affected by floods; also in the whole basin due to droughts and the destruction of vegetation and the increase of man-made areas, the amount of impermeability has increased. Considering that Khalkhal is a mountainous area and is one of the areas sensitive to landslides in Azariaijan region, heavy rainfall and floods can wash away the slopes of this area. 2-Methodology The Givi Chai basin in the south of Ardabil province with an area of 1554 square kilometers is one of the 3rd degree basins of Sefidroud, which is located in the geographical coordinates of 48°4' E longitude to 48°38' E longitude 37°27' N latitude 37°55' N latitude. In order to achieve the goals of this research, firstly, the theoretical foundations and the works done in connection with flood zoning of basins in Iran and outside Iran were examined. Many variables are effective in the flood of basins. In this research, from the 1.100000 geological map, the slope maps were obtained using the digital height model map; the land use map was obtained through the classification of the Maximum Likelihood in ENVI software. In addition, using the digital model of the height of resolution to extract, a drainage density map was prepared using the Line density tool. In this research, using the FAHP fuzzy hierarchical analysis model, Expert CHOISE software was used for weighting the layers, and finally, a map was prepared in the Arc GIS environment using gamma 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9The basin was flooded. 3-Results After preparing the effective factors for zoning the flood potential of the basin, the gamma fuzzy operators of 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 were used. 37 floods have occurred in the studied basin from 1365 to 1399 in different parts and villages, which caused the destruction of rural houses, gardens, agricultural lands and livestock. In order to determine the final flood map, points were randomly selected on the zoning map, then the correlation level was obtained based on the specified points with each of the criteria in the ARC GIS software. Based on the results obtained from the correlation, the highest correlation level is related to gamma 0.9. Vegetation has the highest correlation of 0.5 and lithology has the lowest correlation with gamma of 0.9 and 0.062. Also, the last flood occurred in the studied basin in the villages of Mustafa Lo, Bolokan, Morestan and Khoda Qeshlagi, which are located in the high-risk zone according to the final flood zoning map. 4-Discussion & Conclusions In this research, using the FAHP model, flood potential zoning has been evaluated in Givi Chai basin. The data of height, slope, lithology, precipitation, vegetation, soil hydrology, distance from the river, drainage density and land use have been used for flood zoning. After preparing the zoning map, the studied basin was divided into five classes based on the severity of flooding: very low, low, medium, high, very high. The results obtained from the flood zoning of Givi Chai basin have shown that the largest area of the studied basin, which is 0.9 gamma scale, has the highest correlation. The strata with very low, low and medium potential, gamma 0.5 0.7, were showed. cover the area of Givi Chai basin. Also, the final flood map of the basin was validated with the villages that have been damaged by floods in recent years. The areas which are more exposed to floods are in the regions that have very low permeability in terms of lithology and hydrology of the soil and in the areas where the vegetation cover as less as. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the present study is to investigate and analysis the role of hydrogeomorphic indicators in the sensitivity to erodibility of the sub-basins of the Aland Chai basin located in Khoy County. To achieve this aim, first the Aland Chai basin was divided into 15 sub-basins based on the characteristics of drainage network and topography and using a digital elevation model (DEM) with 12.5m spatial resolution. In the next step, 12 hydrogeomorphic parameters were evaluated to investigate the erodibility of sub-basins. The studied parameters were: Drainage density, Stream frequency, Bifurcation ratio, Drainage texture, Texture ratio, Infiltration Number, Compactness coefficient, Elongation ratio, Circulatory ratio, Form factor, Relief, and Gradient. In the following, a geomorphometric ranking method was used in order to rank the parameters. The results of the research showed that sub-basins 1, 3 and 4 had the highest score in terms of the studied parameters, which indicates the high erodibility of these sub-basins. These sub-basins, with an area of 257 Km2, include 22% of the total area of the basin area. In the next step, Landsat satellite images were used to study land use changes in the area and its relationship with the erodibility of the sub-basins. Supervised classification methods and maximum likelihood algorithm were used to extract the land uses of the area. Examining the prepared land use maps showed that the class of built-up areas (urban-rural) has increased during the statistical period studied, so that it has reached 3393 hectares in 2020 from 1028 hectares in 1985. The study of the relationship between land use changes in each sub-basin and their erodibility showed that in the sub-basins upstream of Aland Chai basin, land use change (an increase of agricultural lands) or inappropriate and excessive use of area capacity, It is effective in intensifying erodibility of sub-basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) is the main pathogen of hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome (HHS), which brings huge economic losses to the poultry industry worldwide. Fiber-1 protein plays an important role in viral infection and pathogenesis by binding directly to cellular receptors of FAdV-4. In particular, the knob domain of fiber-1 protein has been reported to induce the production of neutralizing antibodies and arouse protection against the lethal challenge of chickens with FAdV-4. Methods: The fiber-1 knob (F1K) protein was expressed in a prokaryotic expression system and purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against FAdV-4 were generated by immunizing BALB/c mice with the purified F1K protein and screened using a series of immunoassays. Potential B cell epitopes on the knob domain of fiber-1 protein were mapped using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and dot-blot. Precious location and crucial amino acids of the identified epitopes were determined using peptide array scanning, truncations and alanine-scanning mutagenesis. The epitopes were analyzed and visualized on the knob trimer of FAdV-4 fiber-1 protein using the PyMOL software. Results: Water-soluble recombinant fiber-1 knob (F1K) protein was obtained with the assistance of chaperone. Four monoclonal antibodies (5C10, 6F8, 8D8, and 8E8) against FAdV-4 were generated and characterized using indirect ELISA, Western blot, dot-blot, and immunological fluorescence assay (IFA). The mAbs were demonstrated to be from different hybridoma cell lines based on the sequences of the variable regions. Meanwhile, three distinct novel linear B-cell epitopes (319SDVGYLGLPPH329, 328PHTRDNWYV336, and 407VTTGPIPFSYQ417) on the knob domain of fiber-1 protein were identified and the key amino acid residues in the epitopes were determined. Structural analysis showed that the two adjacent epitopes 319SDVGYLGLPPH329 and 328PHTRDNWYV336 were exposed on the surface of the fiber-1 knob trimer, whereas the epitope 407VTTGPIPFSYQ417 was located inside of the spatial structure. Conclusion: This was the first identification of B-cell epitopes on the knob domain of fiber-1 protein and these findings provided a sound basis for the development of subunit vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostic methods to control FAdV infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water quality of seasonal water rivers is on a quick decline due to various human activities arising as a result of urbanization and population growth. This study assessed the water quality of the Khassa-Chai river in Kirkuk during two seasons: winter and summer (wet and dry). Thirty-seven water samples were collected from eight monitoring observation points along the Khassa-Chai river during October 2019 and March 2020. Water samples were analyzed for various parameters such as temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), color, and dissolved oxygen (DO). These physicochemical parameters were analyzed using standards methods demonstrated by the American Public Health Association (APHA). To determine the significant difference, all the results obtained were statistically analyzed. In most results, higher concentrations are out of the indicated permissible limits of the World Health Organization (WHO). It can be concluded that the most domestic wastewater effluents are discharged into the river, such as sewage coming from nearby houses and restaurants in addition to the solid waste produced from close commercial stores. To reduce the negative impact on water and human health, pollution sources need to be properly managed. The paper calls for further research to figure out the ability of the Khassa-Chai river to make the use of city water in improving the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome of Pealius mori (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) was determined in this study. The mitogenome was 15,654 bp long with 37 typical Insecta mitochondrial genes and one non-coding control region. Its gene content and order were different to other Hemiptera mitochondrial genomes. The overall nucleotide composition of the mitogenome was 42.62% A, 32.73% T, 11.12% G and 13.54% C, with an A + T bias of 75.34%. Phylogenetic analyses of 14 species in Aleyrodidae, 2 species in Lepidoptera and 1 species in Thysanoptera by Maximum Likelihood showed that P. mori China had been more closely related to P. mori France, closely related to Pealius machili. This result well supported the taxonomic position of Aleyrodidae and their close relationship with the Pealius category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many of Iraqi's high-hazard dams lack an Emergency Action Plan, which should include a flood inundation map to show which downstream areas would be flooded if the dams were to fail. This article presents the results of the simulation of a hypothetical 2D dam break for the 58 m high Khassa Chai dam in Kirkuk, Iraq, using HEC-RAS 2D 5.0.7 software. The Khassa Chai dam is situated 7.4 km north of Kirkuk. The simulations revealed that the dam-break flood will affect eight major bridges and the majority of Kirkuk city's metropolitan neighborhoods. Within an hour, the floodwaters will reach the city's center. The flood hazard map revealed that if the Khassa Chai dam fails, many people, vehicles, and structures will be at danger. The findings of this paper can be used to identify evacuation routes and refuge sites as well as build suitable warning systems in order to limit the risk for fatalities if the Khassa Chai dam fails. Moreover, as the effect of modeling bridges downstream of failed dams has not been explored yet, to the knowledge of the authors, eight bridges have been modeled. It was concluded that ignoring bridges in such a large dam break model will not affect the results significantly, which saves the time of data collection and model development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dispersed growth of the metropolis has led to the surrounding towns being exposed to development and integrated into the cities. As towns and cities merge, spatial relationships have become intricate, resulting in significant changes in physical, economic, sociocultural, and environmental aspects. The metropolis of Tabriz is no exception to this phenomenon. Therefore, the primary aim of the study is to identify and analyze the factors influencing the integration of neighboring towns into the metropolis of Tabriz. In this research, a descriptive-exploratory method and questionnaire survey were employed. The research's statistical population, consisting of urban and rural experts and specialists, was comprised of 30 individuals. Data analysis was conducted using the structural equations method with the SPSS and Amos software. The findings revealed three latent exogenous constructs: "internal factors, " "proximity to the metropolis, " and "external factors, " which highlight the key aspects of village integration into the metropolis. Notably, proximity factors to the metropolis exhibited the highest loading at 0.89. The study concluded that economic factors, physical characteristics, and sociocultural parameters have a significant impact on the integration of villages into the metropolis, while internal factors within the villages have a lesser influence. According to experts, economic factors play a crucial role in the annexation of towns to the city, prompting low-income individuals from various city areas to migrate to these parts and merge them into the city. Therefore, it is evident that organizing the integration of towns into the city can positively impact the expansion and development of the metropolis of Tabriz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the extended Bogoliubov–de Gennes theory, the inhomogeneous stripe order and Majorana bound states are demonstrated in s -wave superconducting systems with Rashba spin–orbit interaction when the in-plane Zeeman field is applied. For a fully open square sample, topological phase transitions can be driven by the Zeeman field, and the stripe phase with spatially oscillating order parameter shows up across a critical field strength. The topological channels arise in this phase, which can be utilized to create and manipulate Majorana zero modes. Interestingly, (quasi-)one-dimensional channels with diminished pairing amplitude can be formed in narrow arms of a square loop, accompanied by the reconstruction of energy spectra of the condensate and the realization of robust Majorana zero-energy states at the ends of channels. The associated evolution of topological phases and the location of Majorana zero modes are highly sensitive to the field direction. Moreover, the effects of the rectangular aspect-ratio and the off-centered hole as well as the surface defects on Majorana end modes are explored in Rashba asymmetric loops. In comparison, the field-dependent evolution processes of low-energy levels behave more complicated because the emergence of confined topological channels can be effectively tuned by the length and width of loop arms as well as the size and position of an introduced small indentation at the outer edge. Rich patterns of Majorana corner-like states are generated for such asymmetric systems. Our theoretical predictions may shed new light on the tunability of Majorana zero modes and provide useful guidance for future experiments and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase field modeling and computer simulations were conducted to uncover the fundamental mechanism behind the peak in damping capacity observed in BaTiO3-reinforced composites, considering both insulating and conductive cases. The damping capacity curve obtained from these simulations, which varies with temperature, reveals dual peaks near Tc for both cases. The first peak, labeled Peak I, occurs below Tc and is attributed to temperature-induced domain reorientation. The second peak, labeled Peak II, occurs above Tc and arises from stress-induced phase transitions between paraelastic and ferroelastic states. This transition results in a double-loop strain–stress hysteresis, akin to the polarization-field hysteresis observed in ferroelectric systems at and above Tc. Between Peak I and Peak II, there is a dip in damping capacity just below Tc, caused by the diminished ferroelasticity of BaTiO3 particles near this critical temperature. In composite materials, the dual peaks merge into a single peak due to the heterogeneous nature of Tc, influenced by various factors that either raise or lower Tc. This convergence aligns with experimental observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work theoretically studied the spectral line shape of H2O perturbed by Ar in the temperature range of 20–300 K for the pure rotational lines below 360 cm−1, as well as three lines (31, 2 ← 44, 1, 54, 2 ← 41, 3, and 73, 5 ← 60, 6) in the v2 band. In order to perform precise dynamical calculations at low collision energies, a full-dimensional long-range potential energy surface was constructed for the H2O–Ar system for the first time to correct the long range of our newly developed intermolecular potential energy surface. Subsequently, the six line-shape parameters (pressure-broadening and -shifting parameters, their speed dependencies, and the complex Dicke parameters) were determined from the generalized spectroscopic cross section by the full quantum time-independent close-coupling approach on this new potential energy surface. Our theoretical results are in good agreement with the available experimental observations. Furthermore, the influence of the speed-dependence and Dicke narrowing effects on the line contour was revealed by comparing the differences among the Hartmann–Tran, quadratic-speed-dependent Voigt, and Voigt profiles. The temperature dependence of each line-shape parameter was further parameterized using the triplet-power-law for three pure rotational 61, 6 ← 52, 3, 41, 4 ← 32, 1, and 31, 3 ← 22, 0 lines. These line-shape parameters will provide a comprehensive set of theoretical references for subsequent experimental measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health beliefs of a person’s influence their seeking for self-care, lifestyle, or health behavior for each individual subordinate many factors. Objective: To study personal factors and health belief patterns associated with drug use among the elderly in Wiang Chai Sub-district, Wiang Chai District Chiang Rai Methods: This cross-sectional study randomly selected the elderly sample group aged 60 years total 356 samples were selected from 923 elderlies based on the Taro Yamane sample size formula. Stratified Random Sampling from 4 villages out of 12 villages in Wiang Chai district Chiang Rai province.The data were statistically analyzed for percentage, standard deviation, while chi-square was analyzed for inferential statistics to examine the correlation between the health beliefs model and binary logistic regression for analysis demographic information and drug use among the elderly. Results: The results showed that Elderly people had a score of health belief model at a very good level of 191 people (50.8 percent), and use drug was a very good level of 341 people (90.7 percent). The result found that association between the health belief model with drug use, age with drug use, status with drug use, and comorbidity with drug use of the elderly were a statistically significant correlation at the 0.05 level. Conclusion: The results of this research can be applied for planning information and determining the guidelines for the adjustment of the elderly’s drug use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the beginning of spring, floods are the most important geomorphic hazards in Iran, destructing propertiesas and human lives. Aland Chai basin, located in Khoy County (northwest Iran), is also known as one of the basins with high potential for flood hazard due to its special geographical situation. This study tried to model spatial variation in flood hazard susceptibility in this basin using the ensemble model, FURIA-GA-LogitBoost. For this purpose, 13 effective parameters of flooding including lithology, soil hydrological groups, NDVI, land use, slope, aspect, elevation, distance to the river, river density, precipitation, topographic wetness index, stream power index, and sediment transport index were used. WEKA software was used to implement the research model and the final flood hazard susceptibility map was prepared. The study found that downstream areas of the basin have a high flood hazard susceptibility. These areas contain the most important human settlements (Khoy city) and agricultural lands and flood as a geomorphic hazard can seriously damage them. Considering the ROC curve and area under the curve (AUC), it was found that the FURIA-GA-LogitBoost model performed well in the preparation of flood hazard susceptibility map with coefficients of 0.861 and 0.895, respectively, in training and validation data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical use of the formula Da Chai Hu Tang He Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan (大柴 胡汤合桂枝茯苓丸, Major Bupleurum Decoction combined with Cinnamon Twig and Poria Pill), although unusual in the past, has become more and more frequent in recent years. The following article is based on research together with clinical observation of Professor Huang Huang (黄煌教授) in Nanjing, China. The objective of this article is to present the formula presentation (方证) of Da Chai Hu Tang He Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan in order to define the characteristics of the typical patient for whom it is prescribed, the spectrum of diseases it can treat and the typical symptoms for which it is indicated, thereby improving safety and effectiveness of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]