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To investigate the human-related factors associated with suffocation on ships during docking repair, a comprehensive analysis model composed of a Bayesian network (BN) and a complex network (CN) is proposed in the present study. The principle of event tree analysis (ETA) is firstly applied to identify the hazardous events involved in the accident according to the accident report, based on which the CN would then be developed with the logic relationships among the hazardous events. The improved K-shell decomposition algorithm is utilized to determine the criticality of nodes in the CN, the results of which are then used to develop the BN model within the framework of a human factor analysis classification system (HFACS). Then, the developed BN model can be simulated with the probability distribution of all the nodes within the BN, which are obtained on the basis of node criticality. Finally, the results of the BN simulation are interpreted from the perspectives of a brief analysis, backward analysis and sensitivity analysis. The results are verified with existing studies and the accident investigation report issued by authority, which are presented as evidence to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodology to evaluate the human-related risk involved in the suffocation on ships. The methodology proposed in this study integrates the advantages of BN and CN to investigate the human-related hazardous events involved in maritime accidents, which can be seen as the main innovation of this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of pandemic situations originated from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)‐CoV‐2 and its new variants created worldwide medical emergencies. Due to the non‐availability of efficient drugs and vaccines at these emergency hours, repurposing existing drugs can effectively treat patients critically infected by SARS‐CoV‐2. Finding a suitable repurposing drug with inhibitory efficacy to a host‐protein is challenging. A detailed mechanistic understanding of the kinetics, (dis)association pathways, key protein residues facilitating the entry–exit of the drugs with targets are fundamental in selecting these repurposed drugs. Keeping this target as the goal of the paper, the potential repurposing drugs, Nafamostat, Camostat, Silmitasertib, Valproic acid, and Zotatifin with host‐proteins HDAC2, CSK22, eIF4E2 are studied to elucidate energetics, kinetics, and dissociation pathways. From an ensemble of independent simulations, we observed the presence of single or multiple dissociation pathways with varying host‐proteins‐drug systems and quantitatively estimated the probability of unbinding through these specific pathways. We also explored the crucial gateway residues facilitating these dissociation mechanisms. Interestingly, the residues we obtained for HDAC2 and CSK22 are also involved in the catalytic activity. Our results demonstrate how these potential drugs interact with the host machinery and the specific target residues, showing involvement in the mechanism. Most of these drugs are in the preclinical phase, and some are already being used to treat severe COVID‐19 patients. Hence, the mechanistic insight presented in this study is envisaged to support further findings of clinical studies and eventually develop efficient inhibitors to treat SARS‐CoV‐2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) constitutes 90% of the diabetes cases, and it is a complex multifactorial disease. In the last decade, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for T2D successfully pinpointed the genetic variants (typically single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs) that associate with disease risk. In order to diminish the burden of multiple testing in GWAS, researchers attempted to evaluate the collective effects of interesting variants. In this regard, pathway-based analyses of GWAS became popular to discover novel multigenic functional associations. Still, to reveal the unaccounted 85 to 90% of T2D variation, which lies hidden in GWAS datasets, new post-GWAS strategies need to be developed. In this respect, here we reanalyze three metaanalysis data of GWAS in T2D, using the methodology that we have developed to identify disease-associated pathways by combining nominally significant evidence of genetic association with the known biochemical pathways, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, and the functional information of selected SNPs. In this research effort, to enlighten the molecular mechanisms underlying T2D development and progress, we integrated different in silico approaches that proceed in top-down manner and bottom-up manner, and presented a comprehensive analysis at protein subnetwork, pathway, and pathway subnetwork levels. Using the mutual information based on the shared genes, the identified protein subnetworks and the affected pathways of each dataset were compared. While most of the identified pathways recapitulate the pathophysiology of T2D, our results show that incorporating SNP functional properties, PPI networks into GWAS can dissect leading molecular pathways, and it could offer improvement over traditional enrichment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phospholamban (PLN), a key modulator of Ca2+-homeostasis, inhibits sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium-ATPase (SERCA2a) and regulates cardiac contractility. The human PLN mutation R14del has been identified in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy patients worldwide and is currently extensively investigated. In search of the molecular mechanisms mediating the pathological phenotype, we examined PLN-R14del associations to known PLN-interacting partners. We determined that PLN-R14del interactions to key Ca2+-handling proteins SERCA2a and HS-1-associated protein X-1 (HAX-1) were enhanced, indicating the super-inhibition of SERCA2a's Ca2+-affinity. Additionally, histidine-rich calcium binding protein (HRC) binding to SERCA2a was increased, suggesting the inhibition of SERCA2a maximal velocity. As phosphorylation relieves the inhibitory effect of PLN on SERCA2a activity, we examined the impact of phosphorylation on the PLN-R14del/SERCA2a interaction. Contrary to PLN-WT, phosphorylation did not affect PLN-R14del binding to SERCA2a, due to a lack of Ser-16 phosphorylation in PLN-R14del. No changes were observed in the subcellular distribution of PLN-R14del or its co-localization to SERCA2a. However, in silico predictions suggest structural perturbations in PLN-R14del that could impact its binding and function. Our findings reveal for the first time that by increased binding to SERCA2a and HAX-1, PLN-R14del acts as an enhanced inhibitor of SERCA2a, causing a cascade of molecular events contributing to impaired Ca2+-homeostasis and arrhythmogenesis. Relieving SERCA2a super-inhibition could offer a promising therapeutic approach for PLN-R14del patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In narrow waterways, navigation restrictions are imposed on vessels based on beam and length to safely accommodate two-way traffic. Each transit in a narrow waterway can potentially generate delay for the rest of the vessels in the opposite direction. In this paper, first an algorithm is developed to model the two-way traffic with beam restrictions and to quantify delay due to such restrictions. Next, procedures are presented to determine parameters such as destination docks and vessel arrival and departure times based on the automatic identification system (AIS) and local pilot data. The models and the solution algorithms are applied on three restricted sections of the Houston Ship Channel, and the number of impacted vessels and total delays is presented for each section. The proposed model and solution algorithm can be used in many studies, such as expansion projects, vessel scheduling, and ordering optimization. To show the applicability of the model, a scheduling model is presented in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth observation with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offers an extraordinary opportunity to bridge the gap between field observations and traditional air and space-borne remote sensing. In this regard, ground landing stations (GLS) systems play a central role to increase the time and area coverage of UAV missions. Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology and the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) techniques have been proposed for target location during UAV landing. However, these RSSI-based techniques present a lack of precision due to the propagation medium characteristics, which leads to UAV position vagueness. In this sense, the development of a novel low-cost GLS system for UAV tracking and landing is proposed. The GLS system has been embodied for the purpose of testing the UAV landing navigation capability. The maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) algorithm is addressed on an embedded microcontroller for the position estimation based on the RSSI acquired from an array of BLE devices. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of the ground landing station system, achieving average errors of less than 0.04 m with the UAV-MLE target position estimation approach. This 0.04 m distance represents an order of magnitude increase in location precision over other currently available solutions. In many cases, this increased precision can enable more innovative docking mechanisms, less likelihood of mishaps in docking, and also quicker docking. It may also facilitate docking procedures where the docking station is itself moving, which may be the case if the docking unit is a mobile ground rover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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To address the poor effect of optical/visual guidance used in AUV terminal docking with strong background light and turbid water quality, an underwater electromagnetic guidance method based on the magnetic dipole model is proposed in this paper. According to the magnetic dipole model, the electromagnetic field of 1 kHz frequency generated by the coil in the range of terminal docking is the near field, where the position can be figured out through the amplitude and phase information of three orthogonal magnetic field intensity vectors. A triaxial-coil magnetometer with three orthogonal coils and a method for extracting the amplitude and phase information of the induced voltage are presented in this paper. According to Faraday's law, the amplitude and phase information of the induced voltage of a triaxial-coil magnetometer replace the information of magnetic field intensity in relation to positioning. The underwater positioning results show that the average positioning error within 6 m can reach the centimeter level. Five underwater terminal docking tasks were carried out, and four of them were successfully completed, which verified the feasibility of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small docks and floats are common in estuaries and coastal waters worldwide. These structures serve a role in coastal recreation by facilitating access to waterways. However, they can impact shoreline ecological function. While individual environmental impacts are generally minor, increasing dock proliferation and overlap with sensitive coastal resources can result in cumulative impacts that pose threats at the ecosystem level. Docks promote changes in habitat and aquatic communities through alteration of environmental conditions. Here, we review the potential environmental impacts of docks on estuarine and coastal flora and fauna and discuss best management practices (BMPs) to avoid or minimize such impacts with a focus on New England. We consider impacts in relation to the structural components of docks: the piles, decking, and floats. Impacts to salt marsh and submerged aquatic vegetation are a particular focus given the important ecosystem services these vegetated habitats provide and their vulnerability to dock-induced habitat alteration. Potential environmental impacts depend on structure size, design, and location, and can include both short-term (e.g., turbidity from pile installation) and long-term (e.g., salt marsh loss from chronic shading) effects. Such effects can be minimized through BMPs (e.g., construction outside sensitive time-of-year periods, designs to reduce shading). As BMPs tend to reduce rather than avoid environmental effects, cumulative impacts also need to be considered in the permitting process. We recommend that managers develop plans or bylaws that identify sensitive habitats where dock construction should be avoided as well as BMPs to make remaining dock proliferation less impactful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the improved performance measuring model for vessel dry-docking. Dry-docking represents the operation where the vessel is put out of the water to clean and coat the vessels, and equipment check. This model deals with data collected from thirty-four completed drydockings, all supported by the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology. To solve the limits appearing from extreme values for some vessels, an extension in the form of the categorical model was introduced. By the categorical model implementation, a more precise efficiency measurement was enabled. The performance calculation results contain the efficiency scores for all vessels and target improvements for the inefficient vessels. Inefficiency sources were detected using the DEA methodology, and the proposed solutions are based on process knowledge and data set. This model also introduced and set the parameters for category division and revealed the benchmarks among the studied vessels. The model introduced can be used for efficiency measurement of similar vessels, or as a prediction-based model by introducing vessels with hypothetic data. This model could also be utilized for similar manufacturing processes which can be found in civil engineering, project manufacturing, or transportation. Further research could be conducted based on the slack-basedmeasure model, respecting the limitation of data homogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentrations, spatial distributions, pollution level, and health risks of heavy metals in sediments of the Sharm Obhur, Northern Jeddah, Saudi Arabia were evaluated. Average concentrations were found to be: Cr > Zn > Ni > Cu > As>Pb with the highest concentrations found near the head of the sharm, and decreasing towards the mouth. Environmental indices, together with the statistical analyses, showed that the sharm experiences a low to moderate degree of pollution. Sampling sites with heavy metal contamination are concentrated near the head and the southern coast of the sharm, where intensive human activities associated with a boat dock, construction, and recreation are common. The mean carcinogenic risk (CR) values of As, Cr and Ni are at permissible level suggesting unlikely adverse impacts of heavy metals on human health. Despite acceptable CR values; however, serious non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health threats from metals may yet be an issue particularly for sensitive populations such as children. • Spatial distribution of heavy metals in Sharm Obhur sediments was determined. • Environmental indices were utilized to evaluate the quality of Sharm Obhur. • The headward sediments show moderate to considerable degree of pollution • Cr, Ni, and As in the sediments show possible adverse impact on human health. • Children face serious non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health threats than adult [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three porous aluminium benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylates MIL-96(Al), MIL-100(Al) and MIL-110(Al) materials were studied for their hydrothermal stability. The 40-cycles water vapour sorption experiments for the three samples were performed by varying the temperature between 40 and 140 °C at 75% relative humidity to simulate working conditions for materials used in water sorption-based low-T heat storage and reallocation applications. The materials were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, N2 physisorption, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Infrared spectroscopies before and after the cycling tests. The results showed that the structure of MIL-110(Al) lost its crystallinity and porosity under the tested conditions, while MIL-96(Al) and MIL-100(Al) exhibited excellent hydrothermal stability. The selection of structures, which comprise the same type of metal and ligand, enabled us to attribute the differences in stability primarily to the known variances in secondary building units and the shielding of potential water coordination sites due to the differences in pore accessibility for water molecules. Additionally, our results revealed that water adsorption and desorption at tested conditions (T, RH) is very slow for all three materials, being most pronounced for the MIL-100(Al) structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an image-processing technique for cabin delivery employing local localization and docking in a mobile station, which is a mobile vertiport for the use of dual-mode flying cars. A dual-mode flying automobile with an aerial electric vehicle (AEV), a ground electric vehicle (GEV), and a cabin is a future method of transportation that can be used in both the air and on the ground. To enable AEVs to land in a specific position, a landing site is necessary. The proposed AEV uses vertical take-off and landing, and a vertiport landing site is required. As vertical take-off and landing sites require a lot of space and are challenging to operate in multiple positions, we suggest a mobile vertiport that can fit into a small space. A mobile station is appropriate for dual-mode flying cars since it includes critical activities such as transporting AEVs from the ground and charging as well as a cabin-delivery system. The mobile station can generate a path to the AEV by calculating the relative position using the markers attached to the AEV and estimating the position of the landing AEV. The mobile station detects a marker for precise positioning correction, followed by exact position correction for cabin delivery, to travel to the accurate position of the AEV. To increase the success rate of cabin delivery, docking markers are identified and the angle position error between the mobile station and cabin is computed and corrected to rectify the position between the cabin and the mobile station for cabin delivery. In addition, the experimental results revealed a mechanically correctable error range that encompassed all experimental values. Consequently, this study showed that image processing may be used to create a mobile station for dual-mode flying automobiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cells, multiple molecular motors work together as teams to carry cargoes such as vesicles and organelles over long distances to their destinations by stepping along a network of cytoskeletal filaments. How motors that typically mechanically interfere with each other, work together as teams is unclear. Here we explored the possibility that purely physical mechanisms, such as cargo surface fluidity, may potentially enhance teamwork, both at the single motor and cargo level. To explore these mechanisms, we developed a three dimensional simulation of cargo transport along microtubules by teams of kinesin-1 motors. We accounted for cargo membrane fluidity by explicitly simulating the Brownian dynamics of motors on the cargo surface and considered both the load and ATP dependence of single motor functioning. Our simulations show that surface fluidity could lead to the reduction of negative mechanical interference between kinesins and enhanced load sharing thereby increasing the average duration of single motors on the filament. This, along with a cooperative increase in on-rates as more motors bind leads to enhanced collective processivity. At the cargo level, surface fluidity makes more motors available for binding, which can act synergistically with the above effects to further increase transport distances though this effect is significant only at low ATP or high motor density. Additionally, the fluid surface allows for the clustering of motors at a well defined location on the surface relative to the microtubule and the fluid-coupled motors can exert more collective force per motor against loads. Our work on understanding how teamwork arises in cargo-coupled motors allows us to connect single motor properties to overall transport, sheds new light on cellular processes, reconciles existing observations, encourages new experimental validation efforts and can also suggest new ways of improving the transport of artificial cargo powered by motor teams. Author summary: In cells, multiple molecular motors work together as teams to carry cargoes such as vesicles and organelles over long distances to their destinations by stepping along a network of protein filaments. How do motors that interfere with each other when coupled rigidly in laboratory experiments, function well as teams within cells? In this paper, we show, using computer simulations, that the fluid surfaces of cellular cargo reduce the mechanical interference between motors allowing better load sharing and increased duration of motors on the filament, thereby increasing the distance over which they can carry cargo. We additionally found that motors pull cargo closer to the filament increasing the attachment rates of other unbound motors. These effects act synergistically with an increased availability of motors due to fluidity to further increase travel distances. Fluid surfaces also allow clustering of the motors and increased collective force against load. Our work on understanding how teamwork arises in mechanically coupled motors sheds new light on cellular processes, reconciles existing observations, encourages new experimental validation efforts and can also suggest new ways of improving transport of artificial cargo powered by motor teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) scheme is proposed for the electromagnetic docking of spacecraft in the presence of time-varying delay, fault signals, external disturbances, and elliptical eccentricity. By introducing an auxiliary variable, an intermediate observer (IO) is presented to estimate the relative motion information and the total disturbance resulting from fault signals, unknown mass, external disturbances, and elliptical eccentricity. Then, an ADRC scheme is developed to guarantee that the relative position, relative velocity, and the estimation errors of relative motion information and the total disturbance can all converge into the neighborhood of the equilibrium. With the proposed control scheme, the time-delay factor is fully considered in the controller design to avoid adverse effect, and the uniform ultimate boundedness stability of the entire closed-loop system is analyzed with a rigorous theoretical proof. In comparison to conventional ADRC and other state-of-the-art schemes, the proposed ADRC scheme has several advantages, e.g., high accuracy, strong robustness, and requires no prior knowledge of the fault, time-varying delay and states information due to IO-based relative motion information and total disturbance estimations. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the short-rangerelative motion of the on-orbit service spacecraft during rendezvous and docking missions, this article improves control performance with the describable straight line convergence trajectory and reduces energy consumption by proposing and solving the spacecraft time-synchronized control problem. This problem requires that the closed-loop system of the spacecraft is finite/fixed-time stable, all nonzero elements converge synchronously, and the trajectory of the closed-loop system tends to be the describable straight line. Based on the time-synchronized stability (TSS) and fixed-time-synchronized stability (FTSS), this article proposes the TSS and FTSS controllers for the 6-degree of freedom (DOF) spacecraft to solve the problem. For the spacecraft closed-loop system under these optimization-free methods, the derivative of the state is always opposite to the direction of the state, then the system trajectory will tend to a straight line, and the redundant motion components in the direction orthogonal to the state are significantly suppressed (performance improvement), and the excess energy loss is reduced considerably. Conversely, redundant motion components will cause excess transient motion and more energy consumption. Furthermore, this article proposes the linear combination theorem of the ratio persistence property, which further enriches the theoretical tools for the time-synchronized control method. The rigorous theoretical proof and comparative simulation verify the rationality, effectiveness, and advantages of the controllers proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Arginine rich, mutated in early stage of tumours (Armet), is a well‐characterized bifunctional protein as an unfolded protein response component intracellularly and a neurotrophic factor extracellularly in mammals. Recently, a new role of Armet as an effector protein mediating insect–plant interactions has been reported; however, its molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of plant defences remain unclear.We investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying whitefly‐secreted Armet‐mediated regulation of insect–plant interaction by agrobacterium‐mediated transient expression, RNA interference, electrical penetration graph, protein–protein interaction studies, virus‐induced gene silencing assay, phytohormone analysis and whitefly bioassays.Armet, secreted by Bemisia tabaci whitefly, is highly expressed in the primary salivary gland and is delivered into tobacco plants during feeding. Overexpression of the BtArmet gene in tobacco enhanced whitefly performance, while silencing the BtArmet gene in whitefly interrupted whitefly feeding and suppressed whitefly performance on tobacco plants. BtArmet was shown to interact with NtCYS6, a cystatin protein essential for tobacco anti‐whitefly resistance, and counteract the negative effects of NtCYS6 on whitefly.These results indicate that BtArmet is a salivary effector and acts to promote whitefly performance on tobacco plants through binding to the tobacco cystatin NtCYS6. Our findings provide novel insight into whitefly–plant interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate maneuvering estimation is essential to establish autonomous berthing control. The system-based mathematical model is widely used to estimate the ship's maneuver. Commonly, the system parameters of the mathematical model are obtained by the captive model test (CMT), which is time-consuming to construct an accurate model suitable for complex berthing maneuvers. System identification (SI) is an alternative to constructing the mathematical model. However, SI on the mathematical model of ship's maneuver has been only conducted on much simpler maneuver: turning and zig-zag. Therefore, this study investigates the SI on a mathematical model capable of berthing maneuver. The main contributions of this study are as follows: (i) construct the system-based mathematical model on berthing by optimizing system parameters with a reduced amount of model tests than the CMT-based scheme; (ii) Find the favorable choice of objective function and type of training data for optimization. Global optimization scheme CMA-ES explored the system parameters of the MMG model from the free-running model's trajectories. The berthing simulation with the parameters obtained by the proposed method showed better agreement with the free-running model test than parameters obtained by the CMT. Furthermore, the proposed method required fewer data amounts than a CMT-based scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The docking station is usually deployed at seafloor as a charging node to enhance the endurance of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). However, for deep-sea observation requirements, it is nearly unaffordable to deploy extremely long cables to provide power for docking stations. Therefore, this paper proposes a possible power-supply solution by developing an underwater bidirectional wireless power transmission (UBWPT) system. To improve the efficiency of the UBWPT system in underwater scenarios, the power converters coupled with coils is designed by analyzing the eddy current loss and parasitic jumper capacitor in seawater. Additionally, two independent controllers are developed for the transmitting and receiving converters to achieve power flow control underwater. The effectiveness of the bidirectional power converters is verified by developing a 51-W charging prototype system, which improves the system efficiency by 3% in simulated seawater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane proteins play a critically important role, especially in molecular and cellular transport processes, which makes them the most prevalent drug targets and also to be a good sensing element for biosensing applications. However, the skill‐dependent and manual fashion to form bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) has limited their use for application purposes. Here, we introduce a fabrication technique of SU‐8 microchannel suitable for microfluidic‐based BLM formation and show a preliminary step of our ISFET‐based BLM sensor. Making notches on the corners of a rectangular through‐wafer hole etched in a silicon carrier substrate reduced the gap width between an embedded chip and the carrier as close as possible, leading to the gap depth of 4 μm. SU‐8 microchannel on the chip‐carrier assembly was directly fabricated by UV exposure through a bonded quartz lid and developing SU‐8 through the fluidic ports drilled in the lid, without needing a sealing process typically causes an alignment mismatch or void formation. Finally, the capability to form BLMs was tested and proven by the successfully encapsulated fluorescent dye in microwells fabricated on the embedded chip. This paper is the first report of the successful formation of BLMs on a chip‐in‐carrier assembly by the microfluidic method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) is a macronutrient for plants. Nitrogen is a component of chlorophyll, amino acids, nucleic acids, and secondary metabolites. The aim of this molecular review is to provide an overall picture of the numerous membrane proteins that mediate transportation processes in different plant tissues. Nitrate transporters (NRT) from the NRT1 and NRT2 families ensure the capacity of root cells to absorb nitrate from soil, through high- and low-affinity systems (HATS and LATS) depending on different nitrate concentrations in the soil solution. Other NRT1 family members are involved subsequently in loading and unloading of nitrate to and from the xylem vessels, allowing its distribution to aerial organs or its mobilization from old leaves of plants and transport to other organs. Once it enters into the plant cell, nitrate can be stored in the vacuole by passing through the tonoplast, a step that involves chloride channels (CLC) or a member of NRT2 family. Finally, with the exception of one NRT1 member, nitrate transport toward the chloroplast is still unknown. All of these fluxes are controlled by the major tour operators like the internal nutritional status of plants but also by external abiotic factors such as water, light, radiation, temperature, humidity, soil etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early 2019, an archaeological excavation was undertaken at the former docklands area of Leith, Scotland in advance of development works by CALA Homes (East) Ltd. The focus of excavation was an area of the docks that had long been infilled and the investigations sought to reveal surviving evidence of the West Old Docks, constructed in the early nineteenth century and later known as the Queen's Docks. Well-preserved structural remains and a suite of associated artefacts, including the rare survival of a ship's rope fender of likely nineteenth century date, have provided a valuable opportunity investigate the development and growth of this area of the docklands over time as well as affording the chance to assess the critical role of John Rennie, a renowned engineer, and one of the architects of Leith's early harbor design, in the success of Leith's nineteenth century growth. This study, incorporating archaeological, cartographic, and documentary research, has allowed a new understanding of the development of Leith's harbor and docks during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, enabling insights into the expansion and contraction in the fortunes of the port and its burgeoning industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Manually controlled docking of a spacecraft to a space station is an operational task that poses high demands on cognitive and perceptual functioning. Effective processing of visual information is crucial for success. Eye tracking can reveal the operator's attentional focus unobtrusively and objectively. Therefore, our aim was to test the feasibility of eye tracking during a simulation of manual docking and to identify links between visual information processing and performance. METHODS: We hypothesized that duration and number of gazes to specific regions of interest of the simulation (total dwell time and number of dwells) would be associated with docking accuracy. Eye movements were recorded in 10 subjects (30% women, M 5 33.4 yr old) during the 6° head-down tilt bed rest study AGBRESA during 20 training sessions with the 6df learning program for spacecraft docking. RESULTS: S ubjects' gaze was directed most frequently and longest to the vizor (185 dwells and 22,355 ms per task) followed by the two instrument displays (together 75 dwells and 4048 ms per task). We observed a significant positive relationship between number and duration of visual checks of speed and distance to the docking point and the accuracy of the docking maneuver. DISCUSSION: In conclusion, eye tracking provides valuable information related to docking accuracy that might prospectively offer the opportunity to improve docking training effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like many estuaries worldwide, the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), has seen a decline in resources and overall water quality due to human activities. One method to help restore water quality and benthic habitats is to construct and deploy oyster restoration mats on dock pilings, known as the Living Docks program. This community-driven program was founded to promote the growth of filter-feeding benthic organisms and improve local water quality. The purpose of this study was to assess the growth and performance at four of the Living Dock locations and to provide feedback to the citizens who were involved in the initial process and deployments. Four docks were biologically assessed for temporal changes during three-time points throughout the year, as denoted by changes in temperature in October, February, and June. The back of each mat was also analyzed for organism cementation to the piling. The presence of filter-feeding organisms was found to vary both spatially and temporally, especially for the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), encrusting bryozoan (Schizobrachiella verrilli), sponges (Demospongiae), and barnacles (Amphibalanus amphitrite, Amphibalanus eburneus). A greater diversity in the sessile benthic flora and fauna was seen during the June sampling period. Cementation on the pilings was due to a combination of barnacles and sponge growth. Cementation was observed to increase from October and decrease for all but one dock for the June sampling period. The results demonstrate this restoration project to be successful in promoting the growth of benthic organisms, while also providing understanding into seasonal trends amongst species. Hopefully, the positive output will encourage more community members and citizen scientists to participate in the ongoing effort to help restore water quality in the IRL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes an unscented Kalman filter‐based visual docking controller for underactuated underwater vehicles using a position‐based visual servoing (PBVS) approach. The relative pose of an underwater vehicle with respect to a moving docking station is estimated by an unscented Kalman filter with the visual measurements of multiple point features installed on the station. Based on the estimated pose, the Euler angles commands are designed via an integral cross‐tracking docking method to drive the underwater vehicle to move along the desired docking path. Then, an adaptive neural network (NN) controller is designed to track the desired yaw and pitch angles using command filtered backstepping, in which a single‐hidden‐layer (SHL) neural network is employed to compensate for dynamic uncertainties and external disturbances. A barrier Lyapunov function is defined to improve the stability of tracking errors under attitude constraints to ensure the features are in the field of view, and hyperbolic tangent functions are utilized to deal with input saturation. Simulation studies and pool experiments are provided to demonstrate the performances of the proposed visual docking controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonsense‐mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is governed by the three conserved factors—UPF1, UPF2, and UPF3. While all three are required for NMD in yeast, UPF3B is dispensable for NMD in mammals, and its paralog UPF3A is suggested to only weakly activate or even repress NMD due to its weaker binding to the exon junction complex (EJC). Here, we characterize the UPF3A/B‐dependence of NMD in human cell lines deleted of one or both UPF3 paralogs. We show that in human colorectal cancer HCT116 cells, NMD can operate in a UPF3B‐dependent and ‐independent manner. While UPF3A is almost dispensable for NMD in wild‐type cells, it strongly activates NMD in cells lacking UPF3B. Notably, NMD remains partially active in cells lacking both UPF3 paralogs. Complementation studies in these cells show that EJC‐binding domain of UPF3 paralogs is dispensable for NMD. Instead, the conserved "mid" domain of UPF3 paralogs is consequential for their NMD activity. Altogether, our results demonstrate that the mammalian UPF3 proteins play a more active role in NMD than simply bridging the EJC and the UPF complex. Synopsis: Mammalian cells are known to express two paralogs of the nonsense‐mediated mRNA decay (NMD) factor UPF3, yet their individual roles in NMD are still debated. Here the two forms are found to activate NMD without binding to the exon junction complex (EJC). UPF3A, previously suggested to function as an NMD repressor, largely activates NMD in human cell lines in the absence of its paralog, UPF3B.UPF3 paralogs can activate NMD without binding to EJC.NMD activation ability of UPF3 paralogs differs based on their mid domains.mRNAs targeted to NMD in the presence of UPF3 proteins can also be subjected to NMD in their absence, but with a lower efficiency [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of floating docks from single pontoon to multi pontoon is a beneficial alternative for shipyards to enhance the performance of the facilities owned. The objective of this research is to analyze technically and economically the conversion of single pontoon floating dock to multi pontoon. The results of calculations used the 2.2 Finite Element Method software was the amount of the stress at the floating dock after the conversion of 14.635 MPa is smaller than the permitted stress of 160 MPa. Besides that, the pump ballast filling capability after conversion is 54.16 minutes. The decrease in Ton Lifting Capacity (TLC) can be determined by the difference in the load that occurs in the floating dock. After the floating dock is converted using the same TLC, it changes from 2.07 m to 2.11 m. The freeboard height is >300 mm so it is still able to work on the same TLC. There are 4 stages at the production stage, making access to the pontoon, installing bulkhead and additional reinforcement, removing the pontoon, dismantling and installing the pump, and reconnecting with the sidewall. The analysis results found that the conversion costs was IDR 20,051,463,949, the economic analysis conducted also obtained savings for floating dock reparation costs of IDR 6,559,475,128 to IDR 4,143,346,112. When one pontoon is repaired, the rest of the pontoon can still be used and get an income of IDR 3,292,265,120 thus the total cost is IDR 851,080,992. Saving amounting to IDR 5,708,394,136 is used to pay off investment costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Large gear components widely exist in the transmission system of helicopters, ships, etc. Due to the small assembly clearance of large gear components, using an automatic docking system based on position control will lead to forced assembly. The purpose of this paper is to reduce the assembly stress of large gear components by an active compliant docking technology based on distributed force sensors. Design/methodology/approach: Firstly, aiming at the noise interference in three-dimensional force sensor (TDFS), Kalman filter and Savitzky–Golay filter are used to process the sensor's output signal. Secondly, the active compliant docking control model is constructed according to the principle of impedance control. Thirdly, the contact force is calculated based on the Euler equation, and the impedance control parameters are tuned by the particle swarm optimization algorithm. Finally, an active compliant docking system of a large gear structure based on distributed force sensor is built in the laboratory to verify the proposed method. Findings: The experimental results show that the contact force and contact torque gradually decrease in all directions and are always in the safe range during the docking process. The feasibility of this method in practical application is preliminarily demonstrated. Originality/value: The distributed TDFSs are used to replace the traditional six-dimensional force sensor in the active compliant docking system of gear components, which solves the problem of the small bearing capacity of the conventional active compliant docking system. This method can also be used for the docking of other large components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among novel strategies proposed in pest management, synergistic agents are used to improve insecticide efficacy through an elevation of intracellular calcium concentration that activates the calcium-dependent intracellular pathway. This leads to a changed target site conformation and to increased sensitivity to insecticides while reducing their concentrations. Because virus-like particles (VLPs) increase the intracellular calcium concentration, they can be used as a synergistic agent to synergize the effect of insecticides. VLPs are self-assembled viral protein complexes, and by contrast to entomopathogen viruses, they are devoid of genetic material, which makes them non-infectious and safer than viruses. Although VLPs are well-known to be used in human health, we propose in this study the development of a promising strategy based on the use of VLPs as synergistic agents in pest management. This will lead to increased insecticides efficacy while reducing their concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation, we studied the mixing of two ligands, isonicotinohydrazide (L1) and 3‐hydroxyisonicotinic acid (L2), with different metal ions to afford the corresponding stable metal complexes. Consequently, intensive physico‐chemical analysis including elemental analysis, UV–visible, Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), mass, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), magnetic, and molar conductance measurements has been performed. The thermal stability of all complexes was determined using TGA, and the kinetic parameters were obtained using the Coats–Redfern method. Both the degree of crystallinity and the unit cell of all complexes were determined utilizing XRD studies. Furthermore, these metal complexes exhibited excellent anti‐proliferative activity against human breast cancer (MCF‐7) and human liver cancer (HepG2) cell lines against the doxorubicin drug. The Co(II) complex outperformed all other metal complexes in terms of activity, which was confirmed by molecular docking stimulation via the binding energy with amino acids in a structural complex of Kaposi's sarcoma‐associated herpesvirus (KSHV) thymidylate synthase (PDBID:5H38) and the ternary complex of KRIT1 bound to both the Rap1 GTPase and the Heart of Glass (HEG1) cytoplasmic tail (PDBID:4hdq) and shortage. Moreover, these metal complexes were optimized via theoretical investigation through a density functional theory (DFT)/B3LYP/LANL2DZ basis set to confirm the stability of these metals theoretically and detect frontier molecular orbitals (FMO), electrostatic potential (ESP), energy gap, and physical computational calculations. Eventually, the electrochemical features were explored using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Autonomous rendezvous and docking (RVD) fuel optimization with field-of-view and obstacle avoidance constraints is a nonlinear and nonconvex optimization problem, making it computationally intensive for onboard computation on CubeSats. This paper proposes an RVD fuel optimization and guidance technique suitable for onboard computation on CubeSats, considering the shape, size and computational limitations of CubeSats. The computation time is reduced by dividing the guidance problem into separate orbit and attitude guidance problems, formulating the orbit guidance problem as a convex optimization problem by considering the CubeSat shape, and then solving the orbit guidance problem with a convex optimization solver and the attitude guidance problem analytically by exploiting the attitude geometry. The performance of the proposed guidance method is demonstrated through simulations, and the results are compared with those of conventional methods that perform orbit guidance optimization with attitude quaternion feedback control. The proposed method shows better performance, in terms of fuel efficiency, than conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degradation by the 26 S proteasome is an intricately regulated process fine tuned by the precise nature of ubiquitin modifications attached to a protein substrate. By debranching ubiquitin chains composed of K48 linkages, the proteasome-associated ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase UCHL5/UCH37 serves as a positive regulator of protein degradation. How UCH37 achieves specificity for K48 chains is unclear. Here, we use a combination of hydrogen-deuterium mass spectrometry, chemical crosslinking, small-angle X-ray scattering, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), molecular docking, and targeted mutagenesis to uncover a cryptic K48 ubiquitin (Ub) chain-specific binding site on the opposite face of UCH37 relative to the canonical S1 (cS1) ubiquitin-binding site. Biochemical assays demonstrate the K48 chain-specific binding site is required for chain debranching and proteasome-mediated degradation of proteins modified with branched chains. Using quantitative proteomics, translation shutoff experiments, and linkage-specific affinity tools, we then identify specific proteins whose degradation depends on the debranching activity of UCH37. Our findings suggest that UCH37 and potentially other DUBs could use more than one S1 site to perform different biochemical functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy transport within biological systems is critical for biological functions in living cells and for technological applications in molecular motors. Biological systems have very complex dynamics supporting a large number of biochemical and biophysical processes. In the current work, we study the energy transport along protein chains. We examine the influence of different factors such as temperature, salt concentration, and external mechanical drive on the energy flux through protein chains. We obtain that energy fluctuations around the average value for short chains are greater than for longer chains. In addition, the external mechanical load is the most effective agent on bioenergy transport along the studied protein systems. Our results can help design a functional nano-scaled molecular motor based on energy transport along protein chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfur related prokaryotes residing in hot spring present good opportunity for exploring the limitless possibilities of integral ecosystem processes. Metagenomic analysis further expands the phylogenetic breadth of these extraordinary sulfur (S) metabolizing microorganisms as well as their complex metabolic networks and syntrophic interactions in environmental biosystems. Through this study, we explored and expanded the microbial genetic repertoire with focus on S cycling genes through metagenomic analysis of S contaminated hot spring, located at the Northern Himalayas. The analysis revealed rich diversity of microbial consortia with established roles in S cycling such as Pseudomonas , Thioalkalivibrio , Desulfovibrio , and Desulfobulbaceae (Proteobacteria). The major gene families inferred to be abundant across microbial mat, sediment, and water were assigned to Proteobacteria as reflected from the reads per kilobase (RPKs) categorized into translation and ribosomal structure and biogenesis. An analysis of sequence similarity showed conserved pattern of both dsrAB genes (n = 178) retrieved from all metagenomes while other S disproportionation proteins were diverged due to different structural and chemical substrates. The diversity of S oxidizing bacteria (SOB) and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) with conserved (r) dsrAB suggests for it to be an important adaptation for microbial fitness at this site. Here, (i) the oxidative and reductive dsr evolutionary time–scale phylogeny proved that the earliest (but not the first) dsrAB proteins belong to anaerobic Thiobacillus with other (rdsr) oxidizers, also we confirm that (ii) SRBs belongs to δ- Proteobacteria occurring independent lateral gene transfer (LGT) of dsr genes to different and few novel lineages. Further, the structural prediction of unassigned DsrAB proteins confirmed their relatedness with species of Desulfovibrio (TM score = 0.86, 0.98, 0.96) and Archaeoglobus fulgidus (TM score = 0.97, 0.98). We proposed that the genetic repertoire might provide the basis of studying time–scale evolution and horizontal gene transfer of these genes in biogeochemical S cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type III Secretion Systems (T3SS) deliver subunits from the bacterial cytosol to nascent cell surface flagella. Early flagellar subunits that form the rod and hook substructures are unchaperoned and contain their own export signals. A gate recognition motif (GRM) docks them at the FlhBc component of the FlhAB-FliPQR export gate, but the gate must then be opened and subunits must be unfolded to pass through the flagellar channel. This induced us to seek further signals on the subunits. Here, we identify a second signal at the extreme N-terminus of flagellar rod and hook subunits and determine that key to the signal is its hydrophobicity. We show that the two export signal elements are recognised separately and sequentially, as the N-terminal signal is recognised by the flagellar export machinery only after subunits have docked at FlhBC via the GRM. The position of the N-terminal hydrophobic signal in the subunit sequence relative to the GRM appeared to be important, as a FlgD deletion variant (FlgDshort), in which the distance between the N-terminal signal and the GRM was shortened, 'stalled' at the export machinery and was not exported. The attenuation of motility caused by FlgDshort was suppressed by mutations that destabilised the closed conformation of the FlhAB-FliPQR export gate, suggesting that the hydrophobic N-terminal signal might trigger opening of the flagellar export gate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the problem of cooperative substructure transportation using multiple modular robots in an on-orbit assembly mission. Two kinds of modular robots, termed as force and torque robots, are used to provide control forces and torque for the substructure, respectively. Using the framework of cooperative games, a set of Pareto optimal control problems are formulated to solve for the optimal control forces and torque of modular robots, such that they can cooperatively bring the substructure to dock with the main body of a large space structure. Additionally, an event-triggered coordinated compensatory control mechanism using the model predictive control principles is designed for modular robots, which guarantees that the substructure can follow the desired optimal trajectories with the computation and communication burden of modular robots being reduced. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]