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This study delves into writing scores in both tests, aiming to uncover the reasons behind score differences. Through comprehensive comparative analysis, this research explores scoring patterns, criteria, and score distributions in IELTS and PTE writing sections. It investigates sources of score variation, including task design, rating criteria, and test administration. This study utilizes interviews as the primary instruments for data collection. The combination of these instruments allows for a comprehensive exploration of the factors leading to disparity scores in writing between the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Pearson Test of English (PTE). The culmination of this journey traverses the intricate pathways of language proficiency assessment, revealing that the writing score differences between PTE and IELTS are not mere numerical variations. They encapsulate a lot of factors, from automated scoring intricacies and assessment criteria nuances to task types and test takers' perspectives. These differences, rather than being divisive, reflect the diverse dimensions of linguistic communication and evaluation. These findings serve as guideposts. They illuminate the nuanced forces that shape candidates' performance, perceptions, and trajectories in these assessments.

Incremental intelligence plays an important role in self-regulating and enhancing writing performance among language learners. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship among variables of the incremental theory of intelligence, self-regulatory writing strategies, implicit theory of writing, and writing performance in EFL learners. To do so, 320 Iranian IELTS candidates were invited to participate in the study. Three questionnaires, namely incremental intelligence, self-regulatory writing strategy, and implicit theory of writing, were utilized. The participants included male and female IELTS candidates aged 19-27 years with a minimum band score of 6.5 in their writing skill. Furthermore, their educational qualifications included BA and MA degrees. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS and structural equation modeling (SEM). The correlation analysis showed that the incremental theory of intelligence had a significant relationship with self-regulatory writing strategy, implicit theory of writing, and writing performance. Moreover, the obtained results of SEM confirmed the findings of the correlational analysis, indicating statistically significant positive correlations among the variables of the study. The findings revealed that a growth-oriented mindset could affect students' use of four types of self-regulatory writing strategies. Self-regulatory writing strategies also played a pivotal role in guiding, stimulating, motivating, and sustaining learners' efforts, thus predicting writing performance. The results of this study can help EFL learners learn how to regulate and manage themselves in writing skills. Learners can assess the extent of their professionalism and endeavor to identify their weaknesses in the learning process.

IntroductionThe BIN1 coding variant rs138047593 (K358R) is linked to Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease (LOAD) via targeted exome sequencing.MethodsTo elucidate the functional consequences of this rare coding variant on brain amyloidosis and neuroinflammation, we generated BIN1K358R knock-in mice using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. These mice were subsequently bred with 5xFAD transgenic mice, which serve as a model for Alzheimer's pathology.ResultsThe presence of the BIN1K358R variant leads to increased cerebral amyloid deposition, with a dampened response of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, but not microglia, at both the cellular and transcriptional levels. This correlates with decreased neurofilament light chain in both plasma and brain tissue. Synaptic densities are significantly increased in both wild-type and 5xFAD backgrounds homozygous for the BIN1K358R variant.DiscussionThe BIN1 K358R variant modulates amyloid pathology in 5xFAD mice, attenuates the astrocytic and oligodendrocytic responses to amyloid plaques, decreases damage markers, and elevates synaptic densities.HighlightsBIN1 rs138047593 (K358R) coding variant is associated with increased risk of LOAD. BIN1 K358R variant increases amyloid plaque load in 12-month-old 5xFAD mice. BIN1 K358R variant dampens astrocytic and oligodendrocytic response to plaques. BIN1 K358R variant decreases neuronal damage in 5xFAD mice. BIN1 K358R upregulates synaptic densities and modulates synaptic transmission.

In this research, thermodynamic and absorption rate of carbon dioxide in monoethanolamine (MEA) solution was investigated. A correlation based on both liquid and a gas phase variable for carbon dioxide absorption rate was presented using the π-Buckingham theorem. The correlation was constructed based on dimensionless numbers, including carbon dioxide loading, carbon dioxide partial pressure, film parameter and the ratio of liquid phase film thickness and gas phase film thickness. The film parameter is used to apply the effect of chemical reactions on absorption rate. A thermodynamic model based on the extended-UNIQUAC equations for the activity coefficients coupled with the Virial equation of state for representing the non-ideality of the vapor phase was used to predict the CO2 solubility in the CO2-MEA-H2O system. The average absolute error of the results for the correlation was 6.4%, which indicates the accuracy of the proposed correlation.

Nowadays, catalyst supports are extensively used to decrease the costs and increase the contact surface area in chemical reactions. Specific surface area, compressive strength, pore volume and pore size are some of the most important characteristics of a catalyst support. In this work, Sol-gel and peptization methods were applied to produce alumina catalyst support. Also the roles of aluminum salts and precipitating agents on the specific surface area and compressive strength of alumina catalyst support were investigated. In addition, various additives and common methods in the increasing surface area, compressive strength and adjusting the porosity and pore size are used in this study. The results show that using caustic soda as precipitating agent and aluminum chloride salt yields catalyst supports with the best compressive strength. Also, using aluminum nitrate and ammonia as precipitating agent produced alumina catalyst support with the highest specific surface area.

Herein, a non-boiling two-phase flow containing air and water through a downward flow in a vertical tube with helical corrugations has been investigated. In this simulation, various flow rates for air and water are considered, and three corrugation pitches 1, 1.5, and 2 cm are included. It can be seen in the results that the pressure drop values decrease with an increase in volume fraction. It should be noted that the reduction of pressure drop values with the reduction of volume fraction (VF) is based on the reduction of the water flow rate, which is visible. By comparing the pressure drop values for each corrugation pitch, it can be seen that as the pitch decreases, the pressure drop values increase significantly. The results for Nusselt number show that Nusselt number decreased with an increase in the volume fraction. By reducing the water flow rate, the intensity of the main flow is reduced the intensity of turbulence is also reduced and the heat transfer coefficient is reduced. Ultimately, the cost-benefit ratio has been utilized to show real results for each studied case.

Abstract SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has undergone various genetic alterations due to evolutionary pressures exerted by host cells, including intracellular antiviral mechanisms such as targeting by human microRNAs (miRNAs). This study investigates the impact of miRNAs hsa-miR-3132 and hsa-miR-4650 on the viral genome. Sequence alignment revealed conserved mutations in the binding sites of these miRNAs in adapted strains compared to the original Wuhan-Hu-1 strain, leading to their deletion. Despite modest expression of these miRNAs in SARS-CoV-2 target tissues, their efficacy against mutant strains is reduced due to the loss of binding sites. Structural analysis indicates that the mutant genome is more stable than the Wuhan-Hu-1 genome. Luciferase and virus titration assays demonstrate that hsa-miR-3132 and hsa-miR-4650 effectively target the Nsp3 gene in the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain but not in mutant strains lacking their binding sites. These findings suggest that the observed mutations help the virus evade selective pressure from human miRNAs, contributing to its adaptation

Because the success of treating Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) mastitis depends on numerous factors, different cure rates have been reported. Since biofilm production is one of the most critical factors for pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance, this study aimed to assess the ability of S. aureus to produce biofilm and compare antibiotic resistance in biofilm-positive and negative S. aureus strains. Milk samples (n=110) were collected from two herds of cows and subjected to bacteriological analysis. PCR (nucA gene) was used to detect accurately the cause of mastitis. Colorimetric microtiter plate assay was used to evaluate the biofilm formation capacity of the strains. The agar disk diffusion tech-nique was utilised to specify the susceptibility to common antibiotics, including ampicillin, enrofloxa¬cin, tylosin, penicillin, tetracycline, lincomycin, erythromycin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, ox-acillin, ceftriaxone, methicillin, vancomycin, and cefazolin. From isolated S. aureus strains in this study, 31.8% were able to produce biofilm. In general, compared to biofilm-negative isolates, a higher percentage of biofilm-positive strains showed antibiotic resistance to antibiotics used, except for tylosin, cefazolin, and enrofloxacin. Resistance or susceptibility to penicillin, lincomycin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, oxacillin, methicillin and vancomycin was significantly distinct (P

Abstract The study examined mass transfer coefficients in a structured CO2 absorption column using machine learning (ML) and response surface methodology (RSM). Three correlations for the fractional effective area (af), gas phase mass transfer coefficient (kG), and liquid phase mass transfer coefficient (kL) were derived with coefficient of determination (R2) values of 0.9717, 0.9907 and 0.9323, respectively. To develop these correlations, four characteristics of structured packings, including packing surface area (ap), packing corrugation angle (θ), packing channel base (B), and packing crimp height (h), were used. ML used five models, represented as random forest (RF), radial basis function neural network (RBF), multilayer perceptron (MLP), XGB Regressor, and Extra Trees Regressor (ETR), with the best models being radial basis function neural network (RBF) for af (R2 = 0.9813, MSE = 0.00088), RBF for kG (R2 = 0.9933, MSE = 0.00056), and multilayer perceptron (MLP) for kL (R2 = 0.9871, MSE = 0.00089). The channel base had the most impact on af and kL, while crimp height affected kG the most. Although the RSM method produced adequate equations for each output variable with good predictability, the ML method provides superior modeling capabilities.

Abstract Background In recent years, Iran has witnessed a remarkable increase in the incidence of cancer. This has led to an emerging challenge in the field of oncofertility, which seeks to address the impact of cancer treatments on fertility and endeavors to preserve reproduction. The study assessed healthcare providers’ awareness, attitudes, and practices regarding fertility preservation (FP) in Iran. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess healthcare providers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding oncofertility. An online self-made oncofertility survey of twenty-four items was administered to randomly selected participants from a list of healthcare providers registered with the Medical Council. The data were collected anonymously via Google Forms. Descriptive statistics, including number (n), prevalence (%), mean, and standard deviation, were calculated using SPSS 26.0. Additionally, chi-square tests were used to examine associations between categorical variables. Participants were categorized into oncology, obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), and other specialties. Results A total of 423 responses were received and analyzed. Approximately 60% of the participants were obstetrics and gynecology subspecialists, while the remaining participants represented various disciplines such as surgery (9.7%), radiotherapy (6.4%), nuclear medicine (5.2%), and pediatrics (1.4%). More than 30% of the participants had not received any specific education about oncofertility, and more than 20% stated that FP strategies are not part of their routine treatment plan for young cancer patients. Oncologists had more education than those in the Obstetrics & Gynecology group. Half the participants were unaware of insurance coverage, and FP options were infrequently recommended. Conclusions These findings highlight the urgent need to enhance healthcare workers’ knowledge and attitudes toward FP in Iran and enable them to provide comprehensive support and guidance to cancer patients.

Abstract This research developed a novel composite of MOF-NH2 and graphene oxide (GO) for enhanced CO2 capture. Employing the response surface methodology-central composite design (RSM-CCD) for experiments design, various MOF-NH2/GO samples with GO loadings from 0 to 30 wt% were synthesized. The results of SEM, XRD, EDS, and BET analysis revealed that the materials maintained their MOF crystal structure, confirmed by X-ray diffraction, and exhibited unique texture, high porosity, and oxygen-enriched surface chemistry. The influence of temperature (25–65 °C) and pressure (1–9 bar) on CO2 adsorption capacity was assessed using a volumetric adsorption system. Optimum conditions were obtained at weight percent of 22.6 wt% GO, temperature of 25 °C, and pressure of 9 bar with maximum adsorption capacity of 303.61 mg/g. The incorporation of amino groups enhanced the CO2 adsorption capacity. Isotherm and kinetic analyses indicated that Freundlich and Fractional-order models best described CO2 adsorption behavior. Thermodynamic analysis showed the process was exothermic, spontaneous, and physical, with enthalpy changes of − 16.905 kJ/mol, entropy changes of − 0.030 kJ/mol K, and Gibs changes energy of − 7.904 kJ/mol. Mass transfer diffusion coefficients increased with higher GO loadings. Regenerability tests demonstrated high performance and resilience, with only a 5.79% decrease in efficiency after fifteen cycles. These findings suggest significant potential for these composites in CO2 capture technologies.

In this research, stage efficiency has been measured in a 113 mm Oldshue-Rushton column for two systems including toluene-acetone-water and n-butyl acetate-acetone-water. The experiments performed in two directions of mass transfer. The effects of different parameters such as rotor speed, dispersed and continuous phase velocities and direction of mass transfer on the stage efficiency were investigated. The experimental data show that the stage efficiency is strongly dependent on the agitation rate and interfacial tension, but only slightly dependent on phase velocities. It was observed that the stage efficiency is better when the mass transfer direction of acetone is from the continuous to the dispersed phase in comparison to opposite direction due to the presence of oscillations created by surface tension gradient. The investigated column is one of the extraction columns with high stage efficiency. An empirical correlation is proposed to describe the stage efficiency in terms of Reynolds and Froude numbers. The predictions of the equation had good agreement with the experimental data.