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As a densely populated country experiencing rapid economic growth, Bangladesh faces a surging demand for energy. Despite efforts to develop renewable energy sources, coal remains a significant share of the energy mix with a consumption of 2,099,900 tons. However, conventional coal utilization raises environmental concerns like greenhouse gas emissions and other hazardous pollutants. To tackle these issues, viable solutions like clean coal technologies come into play. These encompass high-efficiency low-emission (HELE) power stations, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) systems, integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), as well as supercritical and ultra-supercritical steam cycles (S/USC), providing adequate means to reduce the ecological effects tied to coal-powered electricity production. This paper asserts that the strategic adoption of clean coal technologies can play a pivotal role in shaping Bangladesh's sustainable energy future, contingent upon robust policy frameworks, environmental impact and recommend that the government must incentivize HELE, CCUS, and clean coal as well as promote international collaboration. Moreover, modern coal preparation techniques and the future research direction are also discussed in this paper and additionally this study suggests that HELE technologies are more suitable for Bangladesh than other current technologies. These strategies have the potential to yield enhanced economic benefits and offer viable solutions for achieving the clean and efficient conversion of coal resources.

Water and fertilizer losses have often affected wheat yield per unit area in China and Pakistan. The 2-year field experiments were conducted at six research stations. The experimental sites in China were Tongzhou, Qiliying and Yuanyang. In Pakistan were Faialsaabad, TandoJam and Dokri. Fertilizer treatments were: N275, N207 and N135 kg ha−1 in Tongzhou and N125, N105 and N90 kg ha−1 in Faisalabad. While the irrigation treatments were: W210–230, W160–190 and W110–140 mm ha−1 in Qiyliying, W350, W305 and W250 mm ha−1 in Yuanyang, W435, W400 and W365 mm ha−1 in TandoJam and W380, W340 and W300 mm ha−1 in Dokri. The grain yields, water and N losses were simulated using the WHCNS model. The model showed a good ability to capture the effects of management practices and read the environmental diversity. The study revealed that major contributors to water and N losses were N leaching (r=0.98), evaporation and drainage (r=0.77–0.96) rates. In Tongzhou, the N207 treatment maintained yield, NUE and decreased N loss. In Faisalabad, the N125 increased yield but led to higher N loss and reduced NUE. Furthermore, the decline in surface soil water content was a common issue in Pakistani sites and wheat yields were 27.48–41.60 % lower than in China. In Qiliying, the W160–190 and W110–140 and in Yuanyang, the W300 and W250 treatments decreased the annual average water loss by 33.49–12.38 mm and 66.06–55.01 mm, respectively. In TandoJam, the W400 and W365 and in Dokri, the W380 and W340 treatments decreased water loss by 72.34–45.87 mm and 56.84–37.82 mm compared to the full irrigation amount. Overall, results showed that 17.39–23.81 % of water use could be decreased without yield penalty in Qiliying and 14.29 % in Yuanyang. In Pakistani sites of TandoJam and Dokri, a decreased irrigation amount of 10.5 % is recommended.

Current treatment of clostridial infections includes broad-spectrum antibiotics and antitoxins, yet antitoxins are ineffective against all Clostridiumspecies. Moreover, rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens treatment effectiveness and public health. This study therefore aimed to discover a common drug target for four pathogenic clostridial species, Clostridium botulinum, C. difficile, C. tetani, and C. perfringens through an in-silico core genomic approach. Using four reference genomes of C. botulinum, C. difficile, C. tetani, and C. perfringens, we identified 1484 core genomic proteins (371/genome) and screened them for potential drug targets. Through a subtractive approach, four core proteins were finally identified as drug targets, represented by type III pantothenate kinase (CoaX) and, selected for further analyses. Interestingly, the CoaX is involved in the phosphorylation of pantothenate (vitamin B5), which is a critical precursor for coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis. Investigation of druggability analysis on the identified drug target reinforces CoaX as a promising novel drug target for the selected Clostridium species. During the molecular screening of 1201 compounds, a known agonist drug compound (Vibegron) showed strong inhibitory activity against targeted clostridial CoaX. Additionally, we identified tazobactam, a beta-lactamase inhibitor, as effective against the newly proposed target, CoaX. Therefore, identifying CoaX as a single drug target effective against all four clostridial pathogens presents a valuable opportunity to develop a cost-effective treatment for multispecies clostridial infections.

Addressing the critical conundrum of escalating municipal solid waste (MSW) and shrinking landfill spaces in urban areas, this research pioneers a sustainable approach for Bangladesh by exploring the potential of biogas production from MSW. Distinctly, it fills the research gap by providing a detailed techno-economic and environmental analysis of decentralized fixed-dome anaerobic digestion facilities in the urban context of Chittagong, Bangladesh, a domain previously underexplored. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of converting MSW into a renewable energy source, offering an innovative solution that simultaneously tackles waste management and energy generation challenges. Each proposed plant showcases the capability to generate 536 m³ of biogas daily, sufficient to power a 50 kW gas engine and supply 44 households, thereby contributing significantly to urban waste reduction and CO2 emissions mitigation by approximately 500 tons monthly. The economic analysis reveals an attractive investment payback period of two years, underscoring the model's viability and its potential as a replicable framework for similar urban settings grappling with waste management crises. This study not only bridges a critical knowledge gap but also introduces a novel, sustainable waste-to-energy model, marking a pivotal step towards achieving energy security and environmental sustainability in developing nations.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a harmful trace gas produced from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. Carbon monoxide (CO) poses a substantial threat to human health. The objectives of this study were to investigate carbon monoxide (CO) annual and seasonal variations with meteorological factors, study the marginal effects of weather factors on CO, analyze the impact of independent variables (meteorological factors) importance on CO distribution, time series trend analysis (Mann-Kendall and Sen's slope, additive decomposition model, and linear trend model), study the spatial distribution of CO in the capital cities and non-carcinogenic health risk in India from 2019 to 2022. The study showed that CO concentrations varied, notably across different years (from 2019 to 2022), months, and seasons. The maximum annual CO (0.91 ± 0.17 mg/m3) concentration was recorded in 2019, while the lowest was (0.67 ± 0.12 mg/m3) in 2022. Seasonally, the winter season had the highest load of CO (ranging from 0.17 to 2.17 mg/m3) in the ambient atmosphere compared to the monsoon (0.08 to 1.38 mg/m3) and summer (0.10 to 1.50 mg/m3) seasons. The analysis of the importance of the independent variables (meteorological factors) on CO indicated that temperature had the most substantial impact on CO variation, followed by wind direction, relative humidity, and wind speed. The trend analysis using different models showed a declining trend in CO concentrations over the study period. The non-carcinogenic health risk HQ values were less than 1, suggesting no notable risk. The Monte Carlo simulation revealed that the 5th and 95th percentile range of HQ risk was 0.02 to 0.07 and the sensitivity analysis of non-carcinogenic risk at the state capital level was conducted, and revealed that Delhi was at a higher risk than Chandigarh, Patna, Gandhinagar, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and others, respectively. The results of this study on CO emissions will be beneficial in creating focused plans and policies to reduce CO pollution in seasonal influences and its effects on ambient air quality and public health in the capital cities of Indian states.

ABSTRACT: A study was conducted to evaluate standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) and N-corrected apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) values of cold pressed flaxseed meal (CPFM) for broilers. One hundred and twenty broiler chicks were divided into 20 groups of 6 birds/group and fed 2 diets in a completely randomized design (10 groups/diet) from 14 to 21 d of age. The diets were cornstarch-based containing CPFM or conventional soybean meal (SBM; reference feedstuff) as the sole protein source. A N-free diet fed in another study conducted in the same facility and at the same time that the current study was conducted was used to estimate basal endogenous AA losses, and to calculate gross energy retention by difference method. The CPFM had greater neutral detergent fiber and ether extract contents (21.40 vs. 8.18% and 20.4 vs. 2.47% as is, respectively), but lower CP (20.47 vs. 48.28% as is) than SBM. The SID values of all indispensable AA (except for Leu, Phe and Trp) for CPFM were lower (P < 0.05) than those for SBM. The apparent retention of gross energy (65.95 vs. 44.24%) and N (55.53 vs. 9.79%), and AMEn (2,699 vs. 2,491 kcal/kg) for CPFM were lower (P < 0.05) than those for SBM. In conclusion, CPFM can serve as alternative oilseed co-product feedstuff for poultry. However, the CPFM has lower SID of AA and AMEn values than SBM likely due to the greater fiber content in the former than in the latter.

Coconut shell represents a promising biomass for energy production, given their wide availability. In this study, the thermo-kinetics of coconut shells were examined through thermogravimetric analysis from 30 °C to 1000 °C at 5 °C/min under N2. Advanced analytical tools assessed the elemental, microstructural, and morphological attributes of the samples. The thermal degradation unveiled three phases: dehydration, devolatilization, and combustion. Notably, the Coats-Redfern method detailed the devolatilization stage, pinpointing the coconut shell's thermal and kinetic attributes. The Zhuravlev diffusion equation (DM6) emerged as the most suitable model, with an activation energy (Ea) and pre-exponential factor of 68.9 kJ mol−1 and 0.05 min−1, respectively. Thermodynamic values such as enthalpy (ΔH), Gibbs free energy (ΔG), and entropy (ΔS) for devolatilization were 65.2, 193.1, and −0.28117, respectively. Collectively, the findings underscore the significant bioenergy potential of coconut shells, positioning them as a sustainable alternative to traditional energy. Such insights play a crucial role in improving pyrolysis reactor designs and comprehending the mechanisms of coconut shell pyrolysis, offering potential solutions for energy deficits and environmental concerns.

Escherichia coli is one of the major pathogens causing mastitis in lactating mammals. We hypothesized that E. coli from the gut and mammary glands may have similar genomic characteristics in the causation of mastitis. To test this hypothesis, we used whole genome sequencing to analyze two multidrug resistant E. coli strains isolated from mammary tissue (G2M6U) and fecal sample (G6M1F) of experimentally induced mastitis mice. Both strains showed resistance to multiple (>7) antibiotics such as oxacillin, aztreonam, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, gentamicin, cefoxitin, ampicillin, tetracycline, azithromycin and nitrofurantoin. The genome of E. coli G2M6U had 59 antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and 159 virulence factor genes (VFGs), while the E. coli G6M1F genome possessed 77 ARGs and 178 VFGs. Both strains were found to be genetically related to many E. coli strains causing mastitis and enteric diseases originating from different hosts and regions. The G6M1F had several unique ARGs (e.g., QnrS1, sul2, tetA, tetR, emrK, blaTEM-1/105, and aph(6)-Id, aph(3″)-Ib) conferring resistance to certain antibiotics, whereas G2M6U had a unique heat-stable enterotoxin gene (astA) and 7192 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Furthermore, there were 43 and 111 unique genes identified in G2M6U and G6M1F genomes, respectively. These results indicate distinct differences in the genomic characteristics of E. coli strain G2M6U and G6M1F that might have important implications in the pathophysiology of mammalian mastitis, and treatment strategies for mastitis in dairy animals.

A three-layer business model canvas was applied to clarify the environmental, economic, and social impacts of introducing oil-water separation equipment (OWSE) used in restaurants and food processing factories. Introducing high-performance OWSE can change the social structure of manufacturers and residents of sewerage development areas and provide economic benefits to companies. Based on the data of a ramen restaurant in Miyagi, Japan, evaluated the economic effect of introducing OWSE resulted in the total initial cost and maintenance was 1,032USD/year less than the cost of the sewage fee. Therefore, the proposed equation can be used to evaluate the economic effects of introducing OWSE.

In the fields of numerical analysis and applied science, approximating the roots of nonlinear equations is a fundamental and intriguing challenge. With the rapid advancement of computing power, solving nonlinear equations using numerical techniques has become increasingly important.Numerical methods for nonlinear equations play a critical role in many areas of research and industry, enabling scientists and engineers to model and understand complex systems and make accurate predictions about their behavior. This paper aims to propose novel fourth- and fifth-order iterative schemes for approximating solutions to nonlinear equations in coupled systems using Adomian decomposition methods. The proposed method’s convergence is examined and numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new schemes. We compare these iterative techniques with some previous schemes in the literature, and our results show that the new schemes are more efficient. Our findings represent a significant improvement over previously reported results. Polynomiography is an important tool for visualizing the roots of complex polynomials. It is widely used by researchers, mathematicians and engineers, as it provides a way to visualize complex equations understand their behavior. Our proposed method is capable of generating polynomiographs of complex polynomials, revealing interesting patterns that provide clear visual representations of the roots of complex polynomials.

Online and offline shopping trips have a profound impact on various facets of urban life, including e-commerce, transportation systems, and sustainability. To assess the factors shaping consumers' decisions, we introduce a novel hybrid machine learning model that integrates the Gray Wolf Optimization (GWO) algorithm with a deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). This model is applied to predict shopping behavior based on a survey of 1000 active e-commerce users residing in areas 2 and 5 of Tehran. These individuals have made successful purchases through both online and offline services during the final 20 days of 2021. The GWO algorithm plays a pivotal role in selecting optimal features and hyperparameters for the deep Convolutional Neural Network, which is a powerful deep learning model for image recognition and classification. Notably, our model achieves an impressive accuracy of 97.81% while maintaining a MSE of 0.325, having identified seven out of ten key features as the most influential. To gage the effectiveness of our approach, we conduct a comparative analysis with alternative methods. The results unequivocally showcase the superiority of our proposed algorithm, which attains an accuracy of 97.81%. In contrast, other models such as CNN, LSTM, MLP, DT, and KNN yield accuracies of 95.63%, 94.04%, 90.12%, 86.49%, and 80.16%, respectively. This study offers valuable insights for transportation planners, e-commerce managers, and policymakers. Its primary objective is to assist them in formulating effective strategies aimed at reducing transportation costs, curbing pollutant emissions, mitigating urban traffic congestion, and enhancing user satisfaction all while fostering sustainable development.

Efficient resource use is a very important issue in wireless sensor networks and decentralized IoT-based systems. In this context, a smooth pathfinding mechanism can achieve this goal. However, since this problem is a Non-deterministic Polynomial-time (NP-hard) problem type, metaheuristic algorithms can be used. This article proposes two new energy-efficient routing methods based on Incremental Grey Wolf Optimization (I-GWO) and Expanded Grey Wolf Optimization (Ex-GWO) algorithms to find optimal paths. Moreover, in this study, a general architecture has been proposed, making it possible for many different metaheuristic algorithms to work in an adaptive manner as well as these algorithms. In the proposed methods, a new fitness function is defined to determine the next hop based on some parameters such as residual energy, traffic, distance, buffer size and hop size. These parameters are important measurements in subsequent node selections. The main purpose of these methods is to minimize traffic, improve fault tolerance in related systems, and increase reliability and lifetime. The two metaheuristic algorithms mentioned above are used to find the best values ​​for these parameters. The suggested methods find the best path of any length for the path between any source and destination node. In this study, no ready dataset was used, and the established network and system were run in the simulation environment. As a result, the optimal path has been discovered in terms of the minimum cost of the best paths obtained by the proposed methods. These methods can be very useful in decentralized peer-to-peer and distributed systems. The metrics for performance evaluation and comparisons are i) network lifetime, ii) the alive node ratio in the network, iii) the packet delivery ratio and lost data packets, iv) routing overhead, v) throughput, and vi) convergence behavior. According to the results, the proposed methods generally choose the most suitable and efficient ways with minimum cost. These methods are compared with Genetic Algorithm Based Routing (GAR), Artificial Bee Colony Based routing (ABCbased), Multi-Agent Protocol based on Ant Colony Optimization (MAP-ACO), and Wireless Sensor Networks based on Grey Wolf optimizer. (GWO-WSN) algorithms. The simulation results show that the proposed methods outperform the others.

Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of blast diseases, is a destructive filamentous fungus that infects many plants including most economically important food crops, rice, wheat, pearl millet and finger millet. Magnaporthe oryzae has numerous pathotypes because of its high host-specificity in the field. The Oryza pathotype (MoO) of M. oryzae is the most devastating pathogen of rice, causing 10–30% yield loss in the world. On the other hand, the Triticum pathotype (MoT) causes blast disease in wheat, which is now a serious threat to wheat production in some South American countries, Bangladesh and Zambia. Because of low fungicide efficacy against the blast diseases and lack of availability of resistant varieties, control of rice and wheat blast diseases is difficult. Therefore, an integrated management programme should be adopted to control these two diseases in the field. Here, we introduced and summarized the classification, geographical distribution, host range, disease symptoms, biology and ecology, economic impact, and integrated pest management (IPM) programme of both rice and wheat blast diseases.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a worldwide devastating disease of small grain cereals and Fusarium graminearum species complex (FGSC) is the major pathogen causing the disease. The epidemics of FHB lead to the reduction of grain yield and economic losses. Additionally, mycotoxins produced by the FHB pathogens are hazardous to the health of human and livestock. In this review, we summarize the epidemiology of FHB, and introduce effects of this disease on economy, environment and food safety. We focus on the integrated management approaches for controlling FHB including agronomic practices, resistant cultivars, chemical control, and biocontrol. In addition, we also discuss the potential novel management strategies against FHB and mycotoxin.

Abstract Background COVID-19 is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Rigorous detection and treatment strategies against SARS-CoV-2 have become very challenging due to continuous evolutions to the viral genome. Therefore, careful genomic analysis is sorely needed to understand transmission, the cellular mechanism of pathogenicity, and the development of vaccines or drugs. Objective In this study, we intended to identify SARS-CoV-2 genome variants that may help understand the cellular and molecular foundation of coronavirus infections required to develop effective intervention strategies. Methods SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences were downloaded from an open-source public database, processed, and analyzed for variants in target detection sites and genes. Results We have identified six unique variants, G---AAC, T---AAC---T, AAC---T, AAC--------T, C----------T, and C--------C, at the nucleocapsid region and eleven major hotspot mutant genes: nsp3, surface glycoprotein, nucleocapsid phosphoprotein, ORF8, nsp6, nsp2, nsp4, helicase, membrane glycoprotein, 3′-5′ exonuclease, and 2′-O-ribose methyltransferases. In addition, we have identified eleven major mutant genes that may have a crucial role in SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. Conclusion Studying haplotype variants and 11 major mutant genes to understand the mechanism of action of fatal pathogenicity and inter-individual variations in immune responses is inevitable for managing target patient groups with identified variants and developing effective anti-viral drugs and vaccines.

The risk of social media (SM) addiction exponentially increases when social media is utilized during office hours for health workers. This study aims to explore the various factors that influence SM addiction in healthcare workers and to identify the potential social media addiction associated with it. The design used in this research is a systematic review with text mining methods and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses). The databases used in this study are PubMed, ProQuest, science direct, Elsevier, and Sage journals for data collection. The used keywords were associated factors, influencing factors, social media, addiction, healthcare workers, outbreak, pandemic, and COVID-19. The inclusion criteria were quantitative research, international studies, published in 2020–2022, published in Q1-Q3 journals, and open access studies and the exclusion criteria were not systematic review studies. Publications without English language and abstracts only also will be excluded. Advanced search is selected by using topics with strings “associated factors”, and “influencing factors” and strings “outbreak”, “pandemic”, and “COVID-19”. Furthermore, data extraction is carried out using text mining by the R programming to present the characteristics of publications and identify the descriptive result, such as term quantity, term replication, and Hierarchical cluster analysis. Descriptive analysis is used to present the percentage and frequency of data characteristics. Text mining begins with data preparation, namely importing text and string operations. The dataset and tokenization are created after importing the text. The most answered terms extracted from the analysis were combined into terms that will be the focus of a further investigation. A considerable part of healthcare professionals experienced Internet addiction, according to a study on the incidence and risk factors of Internet addiction among healthcare workers. Mental health not only affects physical health but also has effects on social and professional functioning in addition to being connected to personal health. Among health professionals, higher Internet and social media use was substantially linked to both anxiety and depression, as well as overall psychological health and increased substance use.

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), is a winter legume crop in Bangladesh and is considered an important vegetable with export potential. However, the production of common bean is severely affected by a newly reported soilborne fungal pathogen, Athelia rolfsii. This study aimed to characterize this new pathogen by morphological, molecular, cultural, and pathological analyses and determine the host range. The disease incidence in the affected field ranged between 6 and 13%. Initial disease symptoms were observed as brown sunken lesions at the point of infection and development of mycelia, followed by yellowing and quick wilting of the whole plant. A total of 10 fungal isolates were recovered from the infected plant samples, which were morphologically similar and produced white to brown mycelia and numerous brown sclerotia on the PDA medium. Two of them viz. BTCBSr3 and BTCBSr4 were used for the detailed study. Based on morphology and phylogenetic analyses of the sequenced data of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and translation elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1α), the pathogen was identified as A. rolfsii. Mycelial growth rate (3.6 cm/day) and fresh weight (107 mg) were higher in the PDA medium, whereas the number of sclerotia production (328/plate) was higher in OMA media. The isolates could grow in a wider range of incubation temperatures (15–35 °C) and media pH (3–9). In the cross-inoculation assay, both isolates were pathogenic on tomato, brinjal, and chickpea, but not on chili, soybean, and cowpea. This study has laid a foundation for further pathological research on the fungus in aid to develop an effective management practice against the pathogen.

Magnaporthe oryzae causes destructive blast disease in more than 50 species of the major cereal crops rice, wheat and maize and destroys food of millions of people worldwide. Application of synthetic chemical fungicides are environmentally hazardous and unreliable in controlling M. oryzae. Conversely, naturally occurring biofungicides with multiple modes of actions are needed to be discovered for combatting the blast fungus. To find the effective biofungicides, we performed molecular docking study of some potential antifungal natural compounds targeting two proteins including a single-stranded DNA binding protein MoSub1 (4AGH), and an effector protein AVR-Pik (5E9G) of M. oryzae that regulates transcription in fungus and/or suppresses the host cell immunity. The thirty-nine natural compounds previously shown to inhibit M. oryzae growth and reproduction were put under molecular docking against these two proteins followed by simulation, free energy, and interaction analysis of protein-ligand complexes. The virtual screening revealed that two alkaloidal metabolites, camptothecin and GKK1032A2 showed excellent binding energy with any of these target proteins compared to reference commercial fungicides, azoxystrobin and strobilurin. Of the detected compounds, GKK1032A2 bound to both target proteins of M. oryzae. Both compounds showed excellent bioactivity scores as compared to the reference fungicides. Results of our computational biological study suggest that both camptothecin and GKK1032A2 are potential fungicides that could also be considered as lead compounds to design novel fungicides against the blast fungus. Furthermore, the GKK1032A2 acted as a multi-site mode of action fungicide against M. oryzae.

Introduction: Scientific evidence about biological profile of natural products can support their traditional uses. The current work was aimed to assess phytochemical and biological profile of nine medicinal plants collected from Herbalists. Methods: Extracts prepared in different solvents were subjected to phytochemical, antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory, cytotoxic, and antimicrobial activities. Reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis was performed for the quantification of polyphenols. Results: Results showed methanol extract (M) being potent as compared to others. Gentian lutea M showed maximum extract recovery (15.00 ± 0.11 % w/w) and TFC (30.82 ± 0.21 μg QE/mg extract). Nigella sativa M displayed highest TPC (44.99 ± 0.43 μg GAE/mg extract) and TAC (334.72 ± 0.35 μg AAE/ mg extract). Results showed noteworthy quantities of vanillic acid, rutin, kaempferol, emodin in ethyl acetate (EA) and methanol (M) extracts of plants assessed by RP-HPLC. Gentisic acid was highest (11.75 µg/mg extract) in T. arjuna M extract. Similarly, maximum %FRSA (82.28 ± 0.03 %) and TRP (160.40 ± 0.38 μg AAE/ mg extract) were depicted by Terminalia chebula and Chamomilla recutita, respectively. Moreover, Mentha longifolia and G. lutea M demonstrated noteworthy (p

Controlling underactuated open-loop unstable systems is challenging. In this study, first, both nonlinear and linear models of a dual-axis reaction wheel pendulum (DA-RWP) are extracted by employing Lagrangian equations which are based on energy methods. Then to control the system and stabilize the pendulum's angle in the upright position, fuzzy logic based controllers for both x − y directions are developed. To show the efficiency of the designed intelligent controller, comparisons are made with its classical optimal control counterparts. In our simulations, as proof of the reliability and robustness of the fuzzy controller, two scenarios including noise-disturbance-free and noisy-disturbed situations are considered. The comparisons made between the classical and fuzzy-based controllers reveal the superiority of the proposed fuzzy logic controller, in terms of time response. The simulation results of our experiments in terms of both mathematical modeling and control can be deployed as a baseline for robotics and aerospace studies as developing walking humanoid robots and satellite attitude systems, respectively.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel combined cooling, heating, and power generation system driven by evacuated tube solar collectors for residential applications. Accordingly, evacuated tube collectors are employed to provide sufficient heat for cooling and power generation purposes, while the waste heat of the evacuated tube collectors is then exploited for heating. The proposed system is comprehensively analyzed from various standpoints i.e., energy, exergy, and exergoeconomic. Afterward, the multi-objective genetic algorithm optimization – as a suitable tool – is applied to the system to extract a trade-off between the competing objective functions. The results showed that R124 results in better exergetic efficiency compared to other refrigerants. The parametric study outcomes indicate that with increasing the collector area, total product cost reduces but the total cost rate increases dramatically. The results also show that input parameters can directly affect the exergetic sustainability index to be cautiously designed. The optimization results show that the system’s maximum exergy efficiency is 10.06% while the minimum total cost rate is obtained as 0.4835 $/h. Further, the decision factors’ scatter plots show that LiBr mass fraction should be around 25% for optimal operation. Overall, the proposed system can be employed for cooling, heating, and power generation as a potential cycle.

Some efficient radial basis functions (RBFs) have a free parameter called the shape parameter that controls the shape of approximating function. This parameter is mainly selected by trial and error related to the problem. Because of the significant role of this value in the accuracy and stability of the RBF method, we propose an algorithm to choose a good value as a shape parameter. In this work, we focus on the interpolating of scattered data approximation and attempt to find a better value of the shape parameter for RBF interpolation. The proposed algorithm selects a good value for the shape parameter by minimizing a cost function which imitates the error between the radial interpolant and the unknown function f that the data points sampled from the function f. The algorithm can be applied to a multidimensional problem of any dimension and for any radial basis function. Also, many experiments including interpolation of one and two dimensional data sets as well as zooming pictures consider investigating the efficiency of this procedure. Also, we show that this algorithm consistently finds a good value for a shape parameter α.

The recently emerged Covid-19 pandemic is greatly impacting every corner of human society throughout the world including human health. This study aimed to provide important insights into the response of food safety system on the perspective of preventing Covid-19 pandemic effect. A survey was conducted in Indonesia and Bangladesh to collect information from food companies about food safety preparedness associated with Covid-19, priorities in the prevention of pandemic effect on food companies, and the effect of the pandemic on the food supply chain. Hygiene and the use of masks and gloves are the two most significant attributes to prevent and combat the pandemic situation in terms of food safety, effective distance maintenance between persons, and restrain or limit visits to the object are considered as attributes with less significance. The retail part of the food supply chain was figured out as mainly affected by the pandemic as opposed to food storage was identified as least affected. The development of attitude in the food sector that not to compromise food safety at any moment is the strength to combat the pandemic crisis to retain the food safety standard globally.

A long-time consumption of the tramadol (TRA) is shown to negatively affect spermatogenesis development through inducing oxidative stress and suppressing testicular endocrine status. Therefore, by focusing on miRNAs-related roles in the SIRT1/Nrf2/antioxidant/Testosterone-related pathway, the effects of exercise training protocols (ETPs) with different intensities on the TRA-reduced antioxidant and endocrine capacities were investigated. Thus, 36 mature Wistar rats were divided into control and TRA-received groups. Following 60 days, 6 rats from TRA group euthanized (TRA), and the others subdivided into TRA (C.TRA), TRA+low-intensity (TRA+LICT), TRA+moderate-intensity (TA+MICT), and TRA+high-intensity continuous (TRA+HICT) ETP-induced groups (N = 6/group, ETPs were induced for 60 days after stopping TRA consumption). Next, the SIRT1, Nrf2, SOD1, HO-1, miR-126-3p, and miR-181a expression levels were evaluated. The sperm count, testosterone levels, testicular total antioxidant status (TAC), total oxidant status (TOS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, protein carbonyl groups (PCGs), Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione reductase (GR), oxidative DNA damage were investigated. The TRA group exhibited a significant (p

Intensification of aquaculture has led to frequent occurrence of disease outbreaks. To deal with this issue antibiotics are a widely-preferred control strategy, but one that poses risks to the environment and humans, if used indiscriminately. In pursuit of an alternative, probiotics have emerged recently among viable alternatives for health management in aquaculture. The prophylactic use of probiotics in farmed shellfish species, i.e., shrimp, prawn, crab, crayfish, oyster and abalone, has been demonstrated to enhance production, promote the host internal microbiota, resulting in reduced incidence of bacterial, parasitic and even viral (e.g., White Spot Syndrome Virus/WSSV, Yellowhead disease/YHD) diseases. Probiotics can be administered either as feed supplements or directly into rearing water, the former being generally more effective. Although precise modes of action are unknown, probiotics can deliver some measure of sustainability to shellfish aquaculture in multiple ways, including contributions to pathogen exclusion, better growth, survival and feed utilization, and immune modulation. Antiviral mechanisms of probiotics are not well documented, but certain protobionts such as Bacillus and Lactobacillus have been effective in developing disease resistance and in reducing the prevalence of WSSV and YHD in a number of studies. This review discusses recent advances on the role of probiotics in shellfish aquaculture, emphasizing their prophylactic activity against viral diseases.

This research aimed to investigate the present status of disease prevalence and usage of aqua drugs for various aquaculture operations in the Narsingdi region of Bangladesh. Data were collected through the market survey, preset questionnaire interview, personal contact, and participatory rural appraisal tools. Amongst the respondents, the maximum percentages were found practicing mixed cultures of carp, tilapia, and pangas. The respondents suggested that epizootic ulcerative syndrome, saprolegniasis, streptococcosis, tail and fin rot and bacillary necrosis are common fish diseases in the area. About 140 drugs of different companies used in aquaculture for different purposes such as disease treatment, growth enhancement, water quality improvement, toxic gas removal, improvement of feed conversion ratio. Zeolite, rotenone, disinfectant, oxygen precursors, ammonia reducers, and probiotics were applied for pond preparation, water, and soil quality maintenance, while 30 different antibiotics were used for the purpose of treatment. Among the available antibiotics, oxytetracycline, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, erythromycin, sulphadiazine, and trimethoprim were found extensively used by the fish farmers. Four enzymes and eighteen growth promoters were identified as being utilized to enhance digestion and boost up the production. This study elicited various issues connected with application and administration of such aqua chemicals, including farmers’ ignorance about their usage, proper doses, application methods, withdrawal period, and the human health concerns associated with their irresponsible use. However, the consequences of these chemical products to the environment, animal health, and human health required further study for the betterment of mankind.

Rice (Oryza sativa) plants acquired excess photosynthates in the form of nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs) in their stems and grain. Despite keen interest in rice NSC, the dynamics of NSC accumulation, translocation and re-accumulation have not yet been well investigated. AG1 and AG2 QTLs associated with flooding tolerance through catalyzing starch into soluble sugar in germinating seeds. Here we conducted three experiments, greenhouse and field to lay the groundwork for large-scale diversity studies on grain NSC and some agronomic traits under direct-seeded rice (DSR) system, using elite lines incorporating AG1, AG2 and AG1-AG2 QTLs into the popular varieties PSB Rc82 and Ciherang-Sub1 along with the donors Kho Hlan On (AG1) and Ma-Zhan Red (AG2). In germinating seedlings, soluble sugars increased, while starch concentration decreased gradually especially in the tolerant checks and AG1-AG2 introgression lines under flooded soil. Soluble sugar accumulation in stem started to increase from the vegetative stage and peaked at the panicle initiation stage then gradually decreased towards the maturity stage. But Sub1-AG lines had higher sugar and starch concentrations at different growth stages than other genotypes in wet season 2016 and dry season 2017. Plant survival rate was positively correlated with the stem NSC at the early vegetative stage (21 days after sowing), and stem NSC was positively associated with plant height at different growth stages. Among the tested seeding rate, the most suitable seeding rate, 4 g/m2 with shallow burial depth (0.5 cm), resulted in better seedling establishment, relatively higher seedling vigor index and higher leaf area index under flooding in DSR system. Introgression of AG1-AG2 QTLs had no any negative impact on nonstructural carbohydrate, germination rate, and growth and biomass production.

ABSTRACT: A study was conducted to evaluate standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) and nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) values of pre-pressed solvent-extracted carinata meal (SE-carinata meal) and expeller/cold-pressed canola meal (ECP-canola meal) for broilers. Two hundred and forty broiler chicks were divided into 40 groups of 6 birds/group and fed 4 diets in a completely randomized design (10 groups/diet) from 14 to 21 d of age. The diets were cornstarch-based containing SE-carinata meal, ECP-canola meal, or pre-pressed solvent-extracted canola meal (SE-canola meal; reference feedstuff) as the sole protein source, and N-free diet. Digestibility of AA and N retention for feedstuffs was determined by the direct method, whereas energy retention of feedstuffs was determined by difference from the N-free diet. On DM basis, SE-canola meal, ECP-canola meal, and SE-carinata meal contained 43, 36, and 50% CP; 2.60, 2.21, and 1.82% Lys; 32, 29, and 27% neutral detergent fiber, and 1.1, 15.3, and 0.88% ether extract, respectively. On DM basis, the AMEn value was lowest (P < 0.05) for SE-carinata meal (1,295 kcal/kg), intermediate (P < 0.05) for SE-canola meal (1,608 kcal/kg), and greatest (P < 0.05) for ECP-canola meal (1,994 kcal/kg). The SID values of indispensable AA for ECP-canola meal were greater (P < 0.05) than those for SE-canola meal or SE-carinata meal. The SID values of all indispensable AA (except Gly, Lys, and Trp) for SE-carinata meal were greater (P < 0.05) than those for SE-canola meal. The SE-canola meal and SE-carinata meal did not differ in SID of Gly and Trp; however, SE-carinata meal had lower (P < 0.05) SID of Lys than SE-canola meal. The results indicate that ECP-canola meal fed in this study could be a good source of AA and energy for broilers. Results also indicate that SE-carinata meal fed in this study could be an attractive AA source for broiler diet, but could benefit from Lys fortification due it its low SID Lys value.

The role of macrophytes in constructed wetlands (CW) has been studied extensively in the last three decades. The remediating effect of macrophytes in CWs depends on whether the species is suitable for the given climatic and operational conditions and on the morphological traits of the species. This study experimentally investigated and compared the contribution of three macrophytes, namely Phragmites karka, Iris kashmiriana, and Sagittaria latifolia in removing pollutants from combined wastewater (greywater and septic effluent) using horizontal sub-surface flow type constructed wetlands (HSSF-CW) under sub-tropical conditions. The study monitored the standard wastewater parameters (COD, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Solids) in the inlet and outlet of the CW microcosms, the fate of nutrients through the planted microcosms, and the growth rate of the selected species. Phragmites karka showed better removal efficiencies than the other two species, with organic loading removal rates of 10 ± 1.3 gm−2d−1, nitrogen removal rates of 2.6 ± 0.4 gm−2d−1, phosphorus removal rates of 1.3 ± 0.2 gm−2d−1, and solids removal rates of 3.6 ± 1.2 gm−2d−1. Mass balance showed that the nutrient uptake by species Sagittaria latifolia (TP – 9.3 g and TN – 48.2 g) was the most, followed by Phragmites karka (TP – 8.6 g and TN – 47.9 g) and Iris kashmiriana (TP – 4.4 g and TN – 29.1 g). Biomass analysis revealed that Phragmites karka had the maximum biomass growth rate with an increment of 1383 gm−2: 524 gm−2 in the above-ground: below ground dry biomass weight, while as Sagittaria latifolia and Iris kashmiriana showed an increase of 1299 gm−2: 866 gm−2 and 663 gm−2: 1312 gm−2, respectively. The macrophytes with well-developed root systems (Phragmites karka) had a better pollutant remediating effect. The nutrient uptake by macrophytes depended on the total dry biomass increase and the nutrient content of the biomass. The CW beds of the three macrophytes need nutrient pre- or post-treatment to comply with the irrigation reuse and conventional sewage treatment plant (STP) discharge regulations in India.

Streptococcosis is one of the most important diseases of a wide range of freshwater and marine fishes. Objectives of the present study were to isolate and identify the pathogens of streptococcosis like infection in silver barb (Barbonymus gonionotus) using phenotypic, molecular, and artificial infection challenge test; investigate the antibiogram profile of the pathogenic isolates; and sequence the whole-genome of a virulent strain. Bacteria were isolated from different organs of diseased fish on Streptococcus selective media. Phenotypic identification of randomly selected isolates was performed through morphological, physiological, and biochemical tests. Molecular identification was done by 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. Artificial infection challenge test was performed in B. gonionotus through intraperitoneal injection. To investigate the antibiogram profile, 15 commercial antibiotic disks and 24 medicinal plant extracts were screened by disk diffusion-assay. The whole-genome of a selected strain BFPS6 was sequenced by using an Illumina MiSeq platform. In this study, a total of 20 out of 30 randomly selected isolates were phenotypically identified as Enterococcus sp. The 16S rRNA gene sequence homology of 10 randomly selected isolates revealed that these isolates exhibited 99–100% sequence homology with Enterococcus faecalis. The lowest and highest median lethal doses (LD50) of the pathogenic isolates in B. gonionotus were obtained 5.54 × 106 CFU/ml and 8.03 × 108 CFU/ml for the isolates BFPS6 and BFPS13, respectively. The isolates showed resistance to multiple antibiotics but susceptibility to three medicinal plant extracts (Spondias mombin, Allium sativum, and Syzygium aromaticum). The genome size and average G+C content of the strain BFPS6 were 2866,855 bp and 37.5%, respectively. The genome contains 2743 CDS, 55 tRNA, 5 rRNA, 9 repeat regions, and one CRISPR sequence. This is the first report on identification and whole-genome sequence of E. faecalis isolated from B. gonionotus suffering from streptococcosis like infection.

With the increase of salinity, shrimp monoculture is a typical production system on many global coasts. They are thus inviting commercially valuable exotic shrimp species that threaten the population of natives and causing alteration of ecosystem function. This intentional introduction and redistribution of shrimp species is an Anthropocene feature of the global coast. Therefore, we investigated how the coastal system breaches a freshwater system leading to more saline-friendly production. Spatiotemporal mapping showed the scope of diversified coastal livelihood that illustrate the coexistence of saline and sweet water-based production system in Bangladesh with a mean accuracy of 89% (kappa statistics 0.86). In many parts, the once agriculturally dominated landscape has transformed into aquaculture to produce shrimp, crab, fish, and salt. Continuous Change Detection and Classification (CCDC) algorithm also depicts the breakpoint in time series of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data due to coastal land-use change. This dynamism includes the strong presence of mixed rice-shrimp culture in Assasuni (west coast) and Chakaria (east coast), as well as salt panning in Chakaria and paddy rice production in Kalapara (mid-coast). Thus those areas are more resilient because many other coastal communities primarily depend on shrimp or aqua monoculture, having limited or no alternative production system. Due to semi-intensive shrimp cultivation, biotic depletion, disease, pollution like antibiotics, nutrients, and organic matter loads are also less than the global coast's intensive aquaculture area. This study revealed the need for a blended fresh and saline-based production system. The findings can be used as a reference in the formulation and implementation of sustainable coastal management policies.

Plant associated yeasts promote growth and protect plants from various pathogens in multifaceted mechanisms. However, no report has so far been published on the effect of plant endophytic yeasts on growth and development of fishes. This study aimed to isolate and identify endophytic yeasts from pineapple (Ananas comosus) and evaluate the effects of these yeasts-enriched diets on growth, nutrients of carcass and mineral contents of muscles, haematological parameters and morphology of intestine, liver and kidney of Barbonymus gonionotus. Two endophytic yeast species viz. Pichia fermentans strain MAS1 and Meyerozyma caribbica strain MAS2 were isolated from A. comosus cultivated at Kapashia upazila of Gazipur district and district of Rangamati in Bangladesh, respectively. The two yeast strains were identified using internal transcribed spacer region (5.8S rRNA gene) sequencing. Both strains MAS1 [(1–3) × 0.94 × 108 CFU kg−1 feed] and MAS2 [(1–3) × 108 CFU kg−1] containing diets were fed to premature B. gonionotus for 60 days and the fish were reared in the plastic tanks with a good aeration system. Fish treated with pineapple yeasts significantly improved growth, nutrients of carcass, mineral contents of the muscles, and haematological parameters of B. gonionotus compared to control. Histological study revealed that the endophytic yeasts significantly enhanced length (μm) of intestinal villi compared to control fishes. Furthermore, the yeast treated formulated diet considerably reduced the fat content in liver and also improved the function of the kidney of B. gonionotus compared to the control group. Among the treatments, application of strain MAS1 at 0.94 × 108 CFU kg−1 feed showed the highest beneficial effects to B. gonionotus indicating its potentials for practical application in promoting sustainable and safe aquaculture.

Zika virus (ZIKV) recently emerged as a major public health concern because it can cause fetal microcephaly and neurological disease such as the Guillain-Barré syndrome. A particularly potent class of broadly neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) targets a quaternary epitope located at the interface of two envelope proteins monomers, exposed at the surface of the mature virion. This “E-dimer-dependent epitope” (EDE), comprises the fusion loop of one monomer at the tip of domain II of E and a portion of the domains I and III of the adjacent monomer. Since this epitope largely overlaps with the binding site of the precursor membrane protein (prM) during Zika virion maturation, its molecular surface is evolutionary conserved in flaviviruses such as Dengue and Zika viruses, and can elicit antibodies that broadly neutralize various ZIKV strains. Here, we present a cryo-EM reconstruction at 4.1 Å resolution of the virion bound to the antigen binding fragment (Fab) of an antibody that targets this mutationally-constrained quaternary epitope. The Fab incompletely covers the surface of the virion as it does not bind next to its 5-fold icosahedral axes. The structure reveals details of the binding mode of this potent neutralizing class of antibodies and can inform the design of immunogens and vaccines targeting this conserved epitope.

Background: Endometrial cancer (EC) is a common female genital tract malignancy of women, and colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of its risk factors. However, the mutual genes and molecular pathways shared by these two diseases have not yet been ascertained. Objectives: In the present study, we aimed to reveal candidate biomarkers and molecular interactions between CRC and EC to understand the common disease mechanism. Materials and methods: We performed differential analysis of CRC and EC microarray data by employing limma to reveal differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Then, we used mutual DEGs between these diseases to obtain significant biological processes and pathways by performing enrichment analyses. In addition, to reveal candidate biomarkers and regulatory transcripts, we analyzed different networks using bioinformatics tools. Results: We identified 286 overlapped DEGs between CRC and EC transcriptomes datasets. Enrichment analysis of these aberrantly expressed genes revealed that they were significantly enriched in cancer pathways signaling. Based on topological analysis of the PPI network, we revealed 11 hub proteins including JUN, MYC, FOS, EGR1, LEF1, CDC42, CTGF, ADAM10, CYR61, FOXA1, and UBE2I. We also identified seven significant transcription factors (TFs) namely FOXC1, GATA2, YY1, E2F1, CREB1, HINFP, and FOXL1 and five miRNAs including hsa-miR-124-3p, hsa-miR-106b-5p, hsa-miR-501-3p, hsa-miR-29b-3p, and hsa-miR-145-5p that regulate expressions of the DEGs. Conclusion: We have identified novel biomarkers and molecular pathways shared by CRC and EC that will help to understand underlying common molecular mechanisms and to develop potential therapeutics.

Tissue culture techniques are the most momentous and extensively method to produce disease-free quality plantlets and microtubers in potato. In spite of this, there has been a lack of research information into in vitro microtuberization for seed tuber production program in Bangladesh. In this experiment, we assessed the appropriateness of different concentrations of sucrose with especial accent on their effects for induction and development of microtuber in potato varieties. In vitro plantlets of three potato varieties; Asterix, Granola, and Diamant were treated with eight level of sucrose as 0, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14% for 70 days of incubation producing microtuber. Asterix induces microtuber after 10.69 days, it was statistically shorter duration than other two varieties. Tuberization did not occur without sucrose and were required a minimum (8.92 days) with 8% sucrose, while it delayed with either increasing or decreasing rate of sucrose concentration. A single number of microtuber was not formed in absence of sucrose after 28 days of incubation. Microtuber plantlet−1 was the highest more or less in all varieties at harvest with 8% sucrose concentration. Hundred percent of microtuber below 250 mg induced in 3% sucrose concentration and from then the microtuber grade induction decreased with the increase of sucrose concentration. >500 mg grade microtuber produced by Granola (47.95%) with 10% sucrose while Diamant produced 50.15% above 500 mg grade microtuber with 14% sucrose. It is also noticeable by Astrerix variety where >500 mg microtuber were produced about 46.95% with 8% sucrose.

Microplastic pollution is a ubiquitous and emerging environmental and public health concern in Africa due to increased plastic production, product and waste importation, and usage. While studies on the environmental monitoring and characterization of microplastics demonstrated the urgent need for a drastic reduction in plastic waste generation, the effectiveness of the various regulatory and policy interventions implemented or proposed in Africa countries remains poorly understood. We critically examined policies, legislations, and regulations enacted to control microplastic pollution in Africa to develop a sustainable, harmonized framework for the coordinated reduction of plastic waste generation across Africa. Analysis of the interventions revealed most African countries employed traditional perspective (i.e., command-and-control) approaches, whereby state instruments such as plastic ban, production and importation levies, and consumer taxes were enacted. However, the continued increase in microplastic waste generation suggests traditional perspective approaches might not be effective in Africa. Although rarely used in Africa, market-oriented approaches such as private-public waste management are often effective in controlling plastic pollution. Hence, we proposed a bottom-up hybrid regulatory approach for managing microplastics pollution in Africa, involving price-based, right-base, legislation and behavioral frameworks based on best practices in microplastic waste management., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A rapid and simple method is proposed for detection of elemental mercury (Hg) vapor by ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). Negative corona discharge (CD) as the ionization source and chloroform as the dopant gas were used to produce Cl - reactant ion. A mass spectrum of the product ions confirmed that the mechanism of ionization is based on Cl - anion attachment to Hg and formation of HgCl - ion. It was found that the optimum drift gas temperature for Hg detection was about 160 °C and the drift gas flow rate should be minimized and just sufficient to clear contaminants and carry-over from the drift cell. The drift time of the HgCl - peak relative to that of the Cl - peak at 160 °C is 1.52 ms corresponding to the reduced mobility of 1.90 cm 2 /Vs. Because many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as alcohols, amines, aldehydes, ketones, and alkanes are not ionized in the negative mode of CD-IMS, these compounds do not interfere with the detection of Hg. Mercaptans peaks also did not show any interference with the Hg signal. Hence, the method is highly selective for detection of Hg in natural gas containing sulfur compounds. The detection limit of Hg obtained by the proposed method was 0.07 mg/m 3 . The method was successfully verified in determination of the mercury vapor content of a fluorescent lamp, as a real sample., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Bed and shower hygiene measures are performed by the nursing staff in patients admitted with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). Few studies have evaluated the difference in energy consumption between the two types of bath., Objectives: To analyse and compare the variation in Heart Rate (HR), Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) and rate-pressure-product (RPP) between bed and shower bath in ACS patients., Design: Quantitative, analytical, prospective study., Settings: This study was conducted in a Coronary Intensive Care Unit, including patients over 18 years admitted for ACS in Killip classes I and II., Main Outcome Measures: The level of myocardial oxygen consumption was assessed by calculating the RPP before, immediately after and 5 minutes after the first bed bath and the first shower bath. Differences in mean RPP before, during and 5 minutes after each body hygiene were compared using the paired-samples Student's t-test., Results: Seventy patients were included. No important clinical variation was found in HR, SBP and RPP during bed bath and during shower bath. The comparison of HR, SBP and RPP between bed bath and shower showed no statistically significant difference., Conclusion: Bed bath and shower bath did not significantly increase energy expenditure in patients with acute coronary syndrome and there was no difference in energy expenditure between the two types of body hygiene., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Developments in managing CF continue to drive dramatic improvements in survival. As newborn screening rolls-out across Europe, CF centres are increasingly caring for cohorts of patients who have minimal lung disease on diagnosis. With the introduction of mutation-specific therapies and the prospect of truly personalised medicine, patients have the potential to enjoy good quality of life in adulthood with ever-increasing life expectancy. The landmark Standards of Care published in 2005 set out what high quality CF care is and how it can be delivered throughout Europe. This underwent a fundamental re-write in 2014, resulting in three documents; center framework, quality management and best practice guidelines. This document is a revision of the latter, updating standards for best practice in key aspects of CF care, in the context of a fast-moving and dynamic field. In continuing to give a broad overview of the standards expected for newborn screening, diagnosis, preventative treatment of lung disease, nutrition, complications, transplant/end of life care and psychological support, this consensus on best practice is expected to prove useful to clinical teams both in countries where CF care is developing and those with established CF centres. The document is an ECFS product and endorsed by the CF Network in ERN LUNG and CF Europe., (Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Membrane pores can significantly alter not only the permeation dynamics of biological membranes but also their elasticity. Large membrane pores able to transport macromolecular contents represent an interesting model to test theoretical predictions that assign active-like (non-equilibrium) behavior to the permeability contributions to the enhanced membrane fluctuations existing in permeable membranes [Maneville et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4356 (1999)]. Such high-amplitude active contributions arise from the forced transport of solvent and solutes through the open pores, which becomes even dominant at large permeability. In this paper, we present a detailed experimental analysis of the active shape fluctuations that appear in highly permeable lipid vesicles with large macromolecular pores inserted in the lipid membrane, which are a consequence of transport permeability events occurred in an osmotic gradient. The experimental results are found in quantitative agreement with theory, showing a remarkable dependence with the density of membrane pores and giving account of mechanical compliances and permeability rates that are compatible with the large size of the membrane pore considered. The presence of individual permeation events has been detected in the fluctuation time-series, from which a stochastic distribution of the permeation events compatible with a shot-noise has been deduced. The non-equilibrium character of the membrane fluctuations in a permeation field, even if the membrane pores are mere passive transporters, is clearly demonstrated. Finally, a bio-nano-technology outlook of the proposed synthetic concept is given on the context of prospective uses as active membrane DNA-pores exploitable in gen-delivery applications based on lipid vesicles., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)