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For two decades, DNA barcoding and, more recently, DNA metabarcoding have been used for molecular species identification and estimating biodiversity. Despite their growing use, few studies have systematically evaluated these methods. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of barcoding methods in identifying species and estimating biodiversity, by assessing their consistency with traditional morphological identification and evaluating how assignment consistency is influenced by taxonomic group, sequence similarity thresholds and geographic distance. We first analysed 951 insect specimens across three taxonomic groups: butterflies, bumblebees and parasitic wasps, using both morphological taxonomy and single‐specimen COI DNA barcoding. An additional 25,047 butterfly specimens were identified by COI DNA metabarcoding. Finally, we performed a systematic review of 99 studies to assess average consistency between insect species identity assigned via morphology and COI barcoding and to examine the distribution of research effort. Species assignment consistency was influenced by taxonomic group, sequence similarity thresholds and geographic distance. An average assignment consistency of 49% was found across taxonomic groups, with parasitic wasps displaying lower consistency due to taxonomic impediment. The number of missing matches doubled with a 100% sequence similarity threshold and COI intraspecific variation increased with geographic distance. Metabarcoding results aligned well with morphological biodiversity estimates and a strong positive correlation between sequence reads and species abundance was found. The systematic review revealed an 89% average consistency and also indicated taxonomic and geographic biases in research effort. Together, our findings demonstrate that while problems persist, barcoding approaches offer robust alternatives to traditional taxonomy for biodiversity assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and Aspergillus sp. laccase (LC) were encapsulated in situ within two lanthanide-based MOFs (TbBTC and GdBTC) through a green one-pot synthesis (almost neutral aqueous solution, T = 25 °C, and atmospheric pressure) in about 1 h. Pristine MOFs and protein-encapsulated MOFs were characterized through wide angle X-ray scattering, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopies. The location of immobilized BSA molecules, used as a model protein, was investigated through small angle X-ray scattering. BSA occurs both on the inner and on the outer surface of the MOFs. LC@TbBTC, and LC@GdBTC samples were also characterized in terms of specific activity, kinetic parameters, and storage stability both in water and acetate buffer. The specific activity of LC@TbBTC was almost twice that of LC@GdBTC (10.8 μmol min-1 mg-1vs. 6.6 μmol min-1 mg-1). Both biocatalysts showed similar storage stabilities retaining -60% of their initial activity after 7 days and -20% after 21 days. LC@TbBTC dispersed in acetate buffer exhibited a higher storage stability than LC@GdBTC. Additionally, terbium-based MOFs showed interesting luminescent properties. Together, these findings suggest that TbBTC and GdBTC are promising supports for the in situ immobilization of proteins and enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocean acidification has become a major climate change concern requiring continuous observation. Additionally, in the industry, pH surveillance is of great importance. Consequently, there is a pressing demand to develop robust and inexpensive pH sensors. Ratiometric fluorescence pH sensing stands out as a promising concept. The application of carbon dots in fluorescent sensing presents a compelling avenue for the advancement of pH-sensing solutions. This potential is underpinned by the affordability of carbon dots, their straightforward manufacturing process, low toxicity, and minimal susceptibility to photobleaching. Thus, investigating novel carbon dots is essential to identify optimal pH-sensitive candidates. In this study, five carbon dots were synthesized through a simple solvothermal treatment, and their fluorescence was examined as a function of pH within the range of 5–9, across an excitation range of 200–550 nm and an emission range of 250–750 nm. The resulting optical features showed that all five carbon dots exhibited pH sensitivity in both the UV and visible regions. One type of carbon dot, synthesized from m-phenylenediamine, displayed ratiometric properties at four excitation wavelengths, with the best results observed when excited in the visible spectrum at 475 nm. Indeed, these carbon dots exhibited good linearity over pH values of 6–9 in aqueous Carmody buffer solution by calculating the ratio of the green emission band at 525 nm to the orange one at 630 nm ( I 525 nm / I 630 nm ), demonstrating highly suitable properties for ratiometric sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we dig to understand the nanoparticle (NP)–cell interaction and the roles of the NP surface charge and the cell membrane potential. While the interaction between negatively charged cadmium selenide/cadmium sulfide (CdSe/CdS) NPs and primary neurons was determined in our previous study, here, by using differentiated mouse neuroblastoma (N2a) cells, nondifferentiated N2a cells, and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, we are able to understand the relation between electrically excitable cells and non-excitable cells with the same type of NPs in a more systematic way. Indeed, we demonstrate that highly negatively charged CdSe/CdS NPs (−50 mV) interact with the cell membrane of electrically active cells, such as those of primary neurons and differentiated N2a cells, while no interaction occurs with non-electrically active cells, such as CHO cells and nondifferentiated N2a cells. Notably, by ad hoc designed patch-clamp experiments, we confirm that the interaction of the negatively charged NPs with neuronal cells is triggered by the membrane electrical activity. In contrast, no interaction with the cellular membrane is noted in the control unstimulated patch-clamp neuronal cells performed with NPs bearing an almost neutral charge. Furthermore, we show that the interaction between electrically excitable cells occurs with NPs independently of their inorganic nature. Indeed, by replacing the inorganic rod-shaped NPs with negatively charged polymeric micelles made of the same polymer used for the CdSe/CdS NPs surface coating but without the inorganic core (CdSe/CdS NPs), the cell surface interaction still occurs with neuronal excitable cells. These data suggest that, independent of the organic or inorganic nature of the NPs tested here, the specificity of the NP–cell membrane interaction is still affected by the electric activity of the neuronal cells when negatively charged nanoplatforms are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An LC–Orbitrap–HRMS method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of four tetracyclines—oxytetracycline (OTC), tetracycline (TC), doxycycline (DC), and chlortetracycline (CTC)—in milk. This method involves sample extraction with McIlvaine–EDTA buffer solution (pH 4) and solid-phase extraction (SPE) with Oasis HLB cartridges, followed by the evaporation of the extract and its reconstitution with a 14% methanol aqueous solution before injection into the instrumental system. This method has been validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, selectivity, precision, and accuracy, in accordance with Commission Decision 2002/657/EC requirements. Compared to existing methods, this approach optimally combines a quantitative procedure for extracting analytes from the milk of different species, including sheep, bovines, and goats, with a very short LC–Orbitrap–HRMS instrumental analysis time (only 8 min), simultaneously ensuring high precision, sensitivity, and applicability as a rapid confirmation method in official food control laboratories. The proposed method was applied to determine the concentration levels of OTC in milk samples derived from healthy Sardinian sheep and those naturally infected with Streptococcus uberis, after the intramuscular administration of an antibiotic, in order to evaluate how much of the drug was "subtracted" during penetration from blood into milk, with a potential effect of reducing its therapeutic efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association of bisphosphonates with outcomes related to radiographic changes and pain in hip osteoarthritis (OA) over 4 years. Methods: This study examined data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), which included 4088 hips from 2057 participants. Bisphosphonate users were identified as those who reported usage at least three times, including at baseline and during the subsequent 1, 2, 3, and 4‐year follow‐up visits. Non‐users were participants who did not use bisphosphonates in the 5 years preceding the baseline and at subsequent follow‐up visits. Generalized estimating equations were performed to assess the association between bisphosphonate use and outcomes related to radiographic changes and pain in hip OA over a 4‐year follow‐up. Results: The analysis revealed no statistically significant difference between bisphosphonate users and non‐users concerning outcomes related to radiographic changes and pain in hip OA over 4 years. Specifically, the odds ratios for the incidence and transition of radiographic hip OA were 0.55 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.26 to 1.17) and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.47 to 1.28), respectively. Furthermore, the odds ratios for the development and resolution of frequent hip pain were 1.04 (95% CI: 0.76 to 1.42) and 0.99 (95% CI: 0.72 to 1.36), respectively. Conclusion: The findings from this longitudinal study do not suggest an association between bisphosphonate use and the prevention, slowing, or delay of development and transition of radiographic changes or pain in hip OA over a 4‐year follow‐up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was argued in a series of experimental studies that Japanese tits (Parus minor) have an ABC call that has an alert function, a D call that has a recruitment function, and an ABC‐D call that is compositionally derived from ABC and D, and has a mobbing function. A key conclusion was that ABC‐D differs from the combination of separate utterances of ABC and of D (e.g. as played by distinct but close loudspeakers). While the logic of the argument is arguably sound, no explicit rule has been proposed to derive the meaning of ABC‐D from that of its parts. We compare two analyses. One posits a limited instance of semantic compositionality ('Minimal Compositionality'); the other does without compositionality, but uses instead a more sophisticated pragmatics ('Bird Implicatures'). Minimal Compositionality takes the composition of ABC and D to deviate only minimally from what would be found with two independent utterances: ABC means that 'there is something that licenses an alert', D means that 'there is something that licenses recruitment', and ABC‐D means that 'there is something that licenses both an alert and recruitment'. By contrast, ABC and D as independent utterances yield something weaker, namely: 'there is something that licenses an alert, and there is something that licenses recruitment', without any 'binding' across the two utterances. The second theory, Bird Implicatures, only requires that ABC‐D should be more informative than ABC, and/or than D. It builds on the idea, proposed for several monkey species, that a less‐informative call competes with a more informative one (the 'Informativity Principle'): when produced alone, ABC and D trigger an inference that ABC‐D is false. We explain how both Minimal Compositionality and Bird Implicatures could have evolved, and we compare the predictions of the two theories. Finally, we extend the discussion to some chimpanzee and meerkat sequences that might raise related theoretical problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As sex-gender differences have been described in the responses of patients to certain medications, we hypothesized that the responses to medications recommended for neuropathic pain may differ between men and women. We conducted a literature review to identify articles reporting potential sex-gender differences in the efficacy and safety of these medications. Only a limited number of studies investigated potential sex-gender differences. Our results show that women seem to achieve higher blood concentrations than men during treatment with amitriptyline, nortriptyline, duloxetine, venlafaxine, and pregabalin. Compared to men, higher rates of women develop side effects during treatment with gabapentin, lidocaine, and tramadol. Globally, the sex-gender differences would suggest initially administering smaller doses of these medications to women with neuropathic pain compared to those administered to men. However, most of these differences have been revealed by studies focused on the treatment of other diseases (e.g., depression). Studies focused on neuropathic pain have overlooked potential sex-gender differences in patient responses to medications. Despite the fact that up to 60% of patients with neuropathic pain fail to achieve an adequate response to medications, the potential role of sex-gender differences in the efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapy has not adequately been investigated. Targeted studies should be implemented to facilitate personalized treatments for neuropathic pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Metal contacts in semiconductor quantum electronic devices can offer advantages over doped contacts, primarily due to their reduced fabrication complexity and lower temperature requirements during processing. Some metals can also facilitate ambipolar device operation or form superconducting contacts. Furthermore, a sharp metal–semiconductor interface allows for contact placement in close proximity to the active device area avoiding damage caused by dopant implantation. However, in the case of gate-defined quantum dots in intrinsic silicon, the formation of a Schottky barrier at the silicon–metal interface can lead to large, nonlinear contact resistances at cryogenic temperatures. We investigate this issue by examining hole transport through metal oxide-semiconductor transistors with platinum silicide contacts on intrinsic silicon substrates. We extract the contact and channel resistances as a function of temperature and improve the cryogenic conductance of the device by more than an order of magnitude by implementing meander-shaped contacts. In addition, we observe signatures of enhanced transport through localized defect states, which we attribute to platinum clusters in the depletion region of the Schottky contacts that form during the silicidation process. These results showcase the prospects of silicide contacts in the context of cryogenic quantum devices and address associated challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of the present study were (i) to characterize the dichloromethane extract of the fresh aerial parts of S. somalensis, cultivated in Liguria (Italy), (ii) to quantify carnosic acid production and (iii) to find an eco-friendly alternative approach to control diseases caused by phytopathogenic fungi. The phytochemical investigation yielded several known terpenoids, as well as a diterpene, 4α,9α-epoxy-2H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-7(5H)-one, not previously described as a plant metabolite before. The results showed a noteworthy quantity of carnosic acid (113.90 µg/mg of dried extract). The potential antifungal activity of the plant surface extract and carnosic acid against five phytopathogenic fungi (Colletotrichum coccodes, Fusarium oxysporum, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Botrytis cinerea and Rhizoctonia solani) was considered. A complete inhibition of C. coccodes, S. sclerotiorum and R. solani mycelium growth was observed by carnosic acid at 500 µg/mL. High inhibition values were observed against B. cinerea and F. oxysporum compared to reference active ingredients. Four different B. cinerea strains exhibited a pronounced sensitivity to carnosic acid, as well as those originating from agricultural crop scenarios where a high load of active ingredient for gray mold control was historically adopted. Additionally, the formation and development of the germinative tube in B. cinerea were greatly slowed down. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 15 years, significant advances have been made in public health education in the United States, creating new opportunities for community colleges, especially in terms of clarifying career and general transfer pathways for students. In 2014, a national taskforce published two curricular models for public health education in community colleges. One model was an associate degree for academic transfer to a baccalaureate program and the other an applied degree or applied certificate for entry into the workforce. This paper provides perspectives from eight diverse institutions that have developed public health programming based on these curricular models.

In this paper, we, a collective of wahine 'Oiwi (Native Hawaiian women), reflect on how we may ho'oko (fulfill) our kuleana lahui (nation-building responsibilities) through our positions in the academy. While doing this work has always already been tenuous given the occupied state of ka Lahui Hawai'i (the Hawaiian nation), this tenuousness and the stakes of this work are perhaps even higher within the current political climate of the United States. Through dialogue, we consider the ways that we have striven to ku'e (resist, stand up) through our research, teaching, and service and express our hopes for the students and broader community we hope to serve.

Recent advances in Internet of Things (IoT) and the rising of the Internet of Behavior (IoB) have made it possible to develop real-time improved traveler assistance tools for mobile phones, assisted by cloud-based machine learning, and using fog computing in between IoT and the Cloud. Within the Horizon2020-funded mF2C project an Android app has been developed exploiting the proximity marketing concept and covers the essential path through the airport onto the flight, from the least busy security queue through to the time to walk to gate, gate changes, and other obstacles that airports tend to entertain travelers with. It gives chance to travelers to discover the facilities of the airport, aided by a recommender system using machine learning, that can make recommendations and offer voucher according with the traveler’s preferences or on similarities to other travelers. The system provides obvious benefits to the airport planners, not only people tracking in the shops area, but also aggregated and anonymized view, like heat maps that can highlight bottlenecks in the infrastructure, or suggest situations that require intervention, such as emergencies. With the emerging of the COVID pandemic the tool could be adapted to help in the social distancing to guarantee safety. The use of the fog-to-cloud platform and the fulfilling of all centricity and privacy requirements of the IoB give evidence of the impact of the solution. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2021-02-04-01 Full Text: PDF

Abstract Physical mobility is essential to health, and patients often rate it as a high-priority clinical outcome. Digital mobility outcomes (DMOs), such as real-world gait speed or step count, show promise as clinical measures in many medical conditions. However, current research is nascent and fragmented by discipline. This scoping review maps existing evidence on the clinical utility of DMOs, identifying commonalities across traditional disciplinary divides. In November 2019, 11 databases were searched for records investigating the validity and responsiveness of 34 DMOs in four diverse medical conditions (Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hip fracture). Searches yielded 19,672 unique records. After screening, 855 records representing 775 studies were included and charted in systematic maps. Studies frequently investigated gait speed (70.4% of studies), step length (30.7%), cadence (21.4%), and daily step count (20.7%). They studied differences between healthy and pathological gait (36.4%), associations between DMOs and clinical measures (48.8%) or outcomes (4.3%), and responsiveness to interventions (26.8%). Gait speed, step length, cadence, step time and step count exhibited consistent evidence of validity and responsiveness in multiple conditions, although the evidence was inconsistent or lacking for other DMOs. If DMOs are to be adopted as mainstream tools, further work is needed to establish their predictive validity, responsiveness, and ecological validity. Cross-disciplinary efforts to align methodology and validate DMOs may facilitate their adoption into clinical practice.

Abstract One of the main limitations in state-of-the art solid-state quantum processors is qubit decoherence and relaxation due to noise from adsorbates on surfaces, impurities at interfaces, and material defects. For the field to advance towards full fault-tolerant quantum computing, a better understanding of these microscopic noise sources is therefore needed. Here, we use an ultra-high vacuum package to study the impact of vacuum loading, UV-light exposure, and ion irradiation treatments on relaxation and coherence times, as well as slow parameter fluctuations of flux tunable superconducting transmon qubits. The treatments studied do not significantly impact the relaxation rate Γ1 and the echo decay rate $${{{\Gamma }}}_{2,{{{\rm{SS}}}}}^{{{{\rm{e}}}}}$$ Γ 2 , SS e at the sweet spot, except for Ne ion bombardment which reduces Γ1. In contrast, flux noise parameters are improved by removing magnetic adsorbates from the chip surfaces with UV-light and NH3 treatments. Additionally, we demonstrate that SF6 ion bombardment can be used to adjust qubit frequencies in situ and post-fabrication without affecting qubit relaxation and coherence times at the sweet spot.

The purpose of the study was to find out how the educational process with autistic students intervention services at the Al-Achsaniyyah Kudus Islamic Islamic Boarding School. This research is a type of qualitative research with data analysis model of Miles and Huberman, data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and data verification. Data obtained through the process of interviews, observation, and documentation. The results of this study indicate that the educational model of Al-Achsaniyyah Kudus Islamic Islamic Boarding School is different from other Islamic boarding schools. Kyai/ Caregiver at Al-Achsaniyyah Kudus Islamic Islamic Boarding Schoolis not only a religious expert but also a doctor, Santri are children with autism syndrome. Al-Achsaniyyah Islamic Islamic Boarding School is not only a shelter but also a place of treatment and madrasa for autistic students. While the intervention service uses intervention services from an early age with the principle of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) on autistic students.