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Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2) (∼ 93.5 Ma) is characterized by widespread marine anoxia and elevated burial rates of organic matter. However, the factors that led to this widespread marine deoxygenation and the possible link with climatic change remain debated. Here, we report long-term biomarker records of water-column anoxia, water-column and photic zone euxinia (PZE), and sea surface temperature (SST) from Demerara Rise in the equatorial Atlantic that span 3.8 Myr of the late Cenomanian to Turonian, including OAE 2. We find that total organic carbon (TOC) content is high but variable (0.41 wt %–17 wt %) across the Cenomanian and increases with time. This long-term TOC increase coincides with a TEX86-derived SST increase from ∼ 35 to 40 ∘C as well as the episodic occurrence of 28,30-dinorhopane (DNH) and lycopane, indicating warming and expansion of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) predating OAE 2. Water-column euxinia persisted through much of the late Cenomanian, as indicated by the presence of C35 hopanoid thiophene but only reached the photic zone during OAE 2, as indicated by the presence of isorenieratane. Using these biomarker records, we suggest that water-column anoxia and euxinia in the equatorial Atlantic preceded OAE 2 and this deoxygenation was driven by global warming.

Abstract Potential breeding containers for Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are found in different environments, these places are considered by the National Dengue Control Program in Brazil as strategic points (SP), which have favorable conditions for the development of those insects. The aim of this study is to identify potential breeding containers for A. aegypti and A. albopictus at strategic points in the city of Codó, Maranhão. This study was conducted in five districts, one in each administrative area of the city. A survey of the types and quantity of existing strategic points in each neighborhood was carried out, and surveys of these properties were carried out to inspect the potential breeding containers, with the collection of the vectors’ number of immatures found at them. 125 properties were inspected of which 76.91% and 81.25% were vacant lots in the dry and rainy seasons, respectively. There was a difference between the median of the different strategic points (H = 21.96; p < 0.0001), For A. aegypti, there was no difference between the medians of number of immatures regarding the strategic points (H = 3.71; p = 0.28). The total number of immature A. albopictus was higher in vacant lots than in workshops (H = 9.41; p = 0.02, p < 0.05). 4,356 and 4,911 potential breeding containers were found in the dry and rainy seasons, respectively. Regarding the potential breeding containers, 7 (0.16%) and 47 (0.96%) were found with immature vectors, in the dry and rainy seasons, respectively. There were more positive containers in the rainy season for which there was a difference between the median of the number of mosquitoes per positive container (H = 15.66; p = 0.01), the number of immatures for the tires group was greater than Vases and Fixed groups (p < 0.05); the same result was observed in the analyses of the species in the separate form. The impressive number of potential breeding containers found in the SP in both seasons highlights the importance of developing control strategies for these vectors, with emphasis on places such as vacant lots, workshops, tire shops and junkyards, which are serving as dispersal urban sites of vectors.

Abstract The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) trimer is the key target for vaccines aimed at inducing neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against HIV-1. The clinical candidate immunogen ConM SOSIP.v7 is a stabilized native-like HIV-1 Env trimer based on an artificial consensus sequence of all HIV-1 isolates in group M. In preclinical studies ConM SOSIP.v7 trimers induced strong autologous NAb responses in non-human primates (NHPs). To fine-map these responses, we isolated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from six cynomolgus macaques that were immunized three times with ConM SOSIP.v7 protein and boosted twice with the closely related ConSOSL.UFO.664 immunogen. A total of 40 ConM and/or ConS-specific mAbs were isolated, of which 18 were retrieved after the three ConM SOSIP.v7 immunizations and 22 after the two immunizations with ConSOSL.UFO.664. 22 mAbs (55%) neutralized the ConM and/or ConS virus. Cross-neutralization of ConS virus by approximately one-third of the mAbs was seen prior to ConSOSL.UFO.664 immunization, albeit with modest potency. Neutralizing antibodies predominantly targeted the V1 and V2 regions of the immunogens, with an apparent extension towards the V3 region. Thus, the V1V2V3 region is immunodominant in the potent NAb response elicited by two consensus sequence native-like HIV-1 Env immunogens. Immunization with these soluble consensus Env proteins also elicited non-neutralizing mAbs targeting the trimer base. These results inform the use and improvement of consensus-based trimer immunogens in combinatorial vaccine strategies.

Resumo As argamassas são compósitos heterogêneos cujo ganho de resistência ocorre por meio de uma sucessão de reações químicas entre a água e o cimento Portland. Nesse sentido, polímeros hidrofílicos capazes de absorver água e liberá-la posteriormente vêm sendo desenvolvidos para melhorar as propriedades das argamassas. Assim, hidrogel à base de poliacrilamida, carboximetilcelulose e nanoargila foi sintetizado e aplicado em argamassas cimentícias preparadas com diferentes relações água/cimento (a/c = 0,40, 0,48 e 0,50). A sua aplicação nas argamassas reduziu o índice de consistência e a taxa de exsudação, e não ocasionou variação na densidade no estado endurecido destas. Já os índices de absorção de água das argamassas com hidrogel com a/c= 0,40 e 0,50 reduziram cerca de 6,1% e 6,7%, respectivamente. Esse mesmo comportamento também foi observado para a resistência à compressão. Em suma, o desenvolvimento e aplicação de hidrogéis capazes de absorver e liberar água é uma área bastante promissora para a construção civil.

Abstract Background Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are the cornerstone of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment. However, the full benefits of DMARDs are often not realized because many patients are sub-optimally adherent to their medication. In order to optimize adherence, it is essential that healthcare professionals (HCPs) understand patients’ barriers and facilitators for medication use. Insight in these barriers and facilitators may foster the dialogue about adequate medication use between HCPs and patients. What HCPs perceive as barriers and facilitators has, so far, scarcely been investigated. This study aimed to identify the perceptions of HCPs on patients’ barriers and facilitators that might influence their adherence. Methods This qualitative study was performed using semi structured in-depth interviews with HCPs. An interview guide was used, based on an adjusted version of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Thematic analysis was conducted to identify factors that influence barriers and facilitators to DMARD use according to HCPs. Results Fifteen HCPs (5 rheumatologists, 5 nurses and 5 pharmacists) were interviewed. They mentioned a variety of factors that, according to their perceptions, influence DMARD adherence in patients with RA. Besides therapy-related factors, such as (onset of) medication effectiveness and side-effects, most variation was found within patient-related factors and reflected patients’ beliefs, ways of coping, and (self-management) skills toward medication and their condition. In addition, factors related to the condition (e.g., level of disease activity), healthcare team and system (e.g., trust in HCP), and social and economic context (e.g. support, work shifts) were reported. Conclusions This study provided insights in HCPs’ perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to DMARD use patients with RA. Most factors that were mentioned were patient-related and potentially modifiable. When physicians understand patients’ perceptions on medication use, adherence to DMARDs can probably be optimized in patients with RA leading to more effectiveness of treatment outcomes.

Abstract Background Neuroinflammation has been identified to be the key player in most neurodegenerative diseases. If neuroinflammation is left to be unresolved, chronic neuroinflammation will be establish. Such situation is due to the overly-activated microglia which have the tendency to secrete an abundance amount of pro-inflammatory cytokines into the neuron microenvironment. The abundance of pro-inflammatory cytokines will later cause toxic and death to neurons. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/MD-2 complex found on the cell surface of microglia is responsible for the attachment of LPS and activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) downstream signalling pathway. Albeit vitexin has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory property, however, little is known on its ability to bind at the binding site of TLR4/MD-2 complex of microglia as well as to be an antagonist for LPS. Results The present study reveals that both vitexin and donepezil are able to bind at the close proximity of LPS binding site located at the TLR4/MD-2 complex with the binding energy of − 4.35 and − 9.14 kcal/mol, respectively. During molecular dynamic simulations, both vitexin and donepezil formed stable complex with TLR4/MD-2 throughout the 100 ns time length with the root mean square deviation (RMSD) values of 2.5 Å and 4.0 Å, respectively. The root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) reveals that both compounds are stable. Interestingly, the radius of gyration (rGyr) for donepezil shows notable fluctuations when compare with vitexin. The MM-GBSA results showed that vitexin has higher binding energy in comparison with donepezil. Conclusions Taken together, the findings suggest that vitexin is able to bind at the binding site of TLR4/MD-2 complex with more stability than donepezil throughout the course of 100 ns simulation. Hence, vitexin has the potential to be an antagonist candidate for LPS.

Abstract Introduction Facilitators and barriers of adherence to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) have been identified by patients with inflammatory arthritis earlier. However, the relative importance from the patients’ perspective of these factors is unknown. Knowledge on this ranking might guide the development of interventions and may facilitate targeted communication on adherence. This study aims to examine 1) the relative importance patients attach to facilitators and barriers for DMARDs adherence, and 2) the relationship between patient characteristics and ranking of these factors. Methods One hundred twenty-eight outpatients with inflammatory arthritis; (60% female, mean age 62 years (SD = 12), median disease duration 15 years, IQR (7, 23) participated in a Maximum Difference scaling exercise and ranked 35 items based upon previously identified facilitators and barriers to medication adherence. Hierarchical Bayes estimation was used to compute mean Rescaled Probability Scores (RPS; 0–100) (i.e. relative importance score). Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to examine a possible association between patients’ characteristics (i.e. age, sex and educational level) and ranking of the items. Results The three most important items ranked by patients were: Reduction of symptoms formulated as “Arthritis medications help to reduce my symptoms” (RPS = 7.30, CI 7.17–7.44), maintaining independence formulated as “I can maintain my independence as much as possible” (RPS = 6.76, CI 6.54–6.97) and Shared decision making formulated as “I can decide –together with my physician- about my arthritis medications” (RPS = 6.48, CI 6.24–6.72). No associations between patient characteristics and ranking of factors were found. Conclusions Reducing symptoms, maintaining independency and shared decision making are patients’ most important factors for DMARDs adherence. This knowledge might guide the development of interventions and may facilitate communication between health professionals and their patients on medication adherence.

The High-Intensity Long-Duration and Continuous AE Activities (HILDCAA) intervals are capable of causing a global disturbance in the terrestrial ionosphere. However, the ionospheric storms' behavior due to these intervals is still not widely understood. In the current study, we seek to comprise the HILDCAA disturbance time effects in the total electron content (TEC) values with respect to the quiet days' pattern by analyzing local time and seasonal dependences, and the influences of the solar wind velocity on a sample of 10 intervals that occurred in the years 2015 and 2016. The main results showed that the hourly distribution of the disturbance TEC may vary substantially between one HILDCAA interval and another. An equinoctial anomaly was found since the equinoxes represent more ionospheric TEC responses than the solstices. Regarding the solar wind velocities, although HILDCAA intervals are associated with high-speed streams, this association does not present a direct relation to TEC disturbance magnitudes at low and equatorial latitudes.

Resumo Pigmentos inorgânicos foram preparados com estrutura espinélio para aplicações em revestimentos cerâmicos. Pigmentos com composição CoCr2O4 e Co0,8Zn0,2Cr2O4 foram sintetizados por uma rota química usando gelatina de uso farmacêutico como precursor orgânico. Foram investigadas a influência da dopagem e a temperatura de tratamento térmico na coloração dos pigmentos e dos esmaltes cerâmicos. Os materiais foram caracterizados por análise termogravimétrica, difração de raios X, microscopia eletrônica de varredura, espectroscopia por energia dispersiva, espectroscopia na região do UV-visível e colorimetria. Os pós apresentaram estrutura espinélio a partir de 500 °C, com formação de fase secundária residual de Cr2O3 nas amostras Co0,8Zn0,2Cr2O4 tratadas termicamente a 500 e 1000 °C. Os pigmentos e os esmaltes preparados apresentaram cores em tons de azul esverdeado para as amostras CoCr2O4 e verde para a amostra Co0,8Zn0,2Cr2O4. Os resultados confirmaram a efetividade da rota de síntese utilizada para produzir óxidos com estrutura espinélio.

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Abstract The present study was carried out to determine incidence of overweight and obesity in Pakistani servicemen with reference to their area of duty, feeding habits and also to identify risk factors. Accordingly, 2,501 servicemen selected from all over Pakistan using multiple stage stratified sampling protocol. Nutrition assessment performed using body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR) and dietary assessment using food frequency questionnaire. Collected data was analyzed using the SPSS version 25. Regression was used to find risk factors of obesity and WHR. Results indicated that about 1/4th of servicemen were smokers. Approximately, 1/5th of them were overweight and about one quarter were eating fruits and vegetables for

The main purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of various ball milling duration on the surface morphology, hardness and wear properties of nickel- quarry dust (Ni-QD) composite coating on aluminium alloy 6061 (AA6061) substrate. Ni-QD composite coatings were deposited on zincated AA6061 substrate by using electrodeposition technique. The quarry dust particles were prepared by ball milling process at 5, 10, 15 and 20 hours. Later, the quarry dust particles were added to nickel citrate bath at 50 g/l for electrodeposition of Ni-QD composite coating. The electrodeposition process was carried out for 1 hour at 40º C, under the current density of 3 A/dm2. X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses were carried out in order to investigate the influence of ball milling duration on the prepared quarry dust as well as the produced composite coating. In addition, microhardness and wear testing of Ni-QD composite coatings were also performed in this study. The microhardness values of the nickel composite coatings using ball milled quarry dust are higher than using crushed quarry dust. The microhardness values for all nickel composite coatings produced from crushed and ball milled quarry dust increases from 190.6 to 282.2. The increase in microhardness values is due to the high density of quarry dust in the electrolyte. The damage of the wear scar was improved, as the ball milling duration increases from 0 to 20 hours.

Subject and purpose. The article is devoted to the investigation of the photovoltaic effect in n-InSb under optical transitions between the spin subbands of the Landau levels for the ultraquantum limit. The geometry is considered when the polarization is perpendicular, and the current is directed along the magnetic field. The effect is due to the cubic terms in the Hamiltonian that exist due to the absence of an inversion center. The dependence of the current on the magnetic field has a resonance character. Such an effect is associated with resonance in the intermediate state and interference of the second-order transition amplitudes with respect to relativistic contributions to the Hamiltonian. The aim of the work is a theoretical and experimental study of the photovoltaic effect for spin resonance. Methods and methodology. The photovoltaic effect in optical transitions between the spin-subzones of the Landau le-vels is considered in the article. The geometry of the system under investigation is as follows: the polarization of the electric field is perpendicular, and the current is directed along the lines of force of the magnetic field. Calculation of the magnetic field components and current density was carried out using the finite element method, which is implemented in the ANSYS software. The dependence of the current density on the magnetic field strength is analyzed. This dependence has a resonance character and contains field contributions with even and odd numbers. This effect is associated with resonance in the intermediate state and interference of the amplitudes of relativistic second-order contributions to the Hamiltonian. Results. The practical value and scientific novelty lie in the study of the photovoltaic effect at spin resonance. Since a weakly absorbing medium is considered, an increase in the photovoltaic effect is observed as a result of the divergence of the mean square electric field modulus. The practical significance of the results lies in the development of a methodology for studying band parameters, and the terms in the Hamiltonian can lead to electrodipole transitions and photocurrents. Conclusions. The results of the photovoltaic effect study supplement the experimental measurements of light absorption in a weakly absorbing medium. The same components in the Hamiltonian can lead to electric dipole transitions.

This paper presents a new statistical-based method of cutting tool wear progression in a milling process called Z-rotation method in association with tool wear progression. The method is a kurtosis-based that calculates the signal element variance from its mean as a measurement index. The measurement index can be implicated to determine the severity of wear. The study was conducted to strengthen the shortage in past studies notably considering signal feature extraction for the disintegration of non-deterministic signals. The Cutting force and vibration signals were measured as a tool of sensing element to study wear on the cutting tool edge at the discrete machining conditions. The monitored flank wear progression by the value of the RZ index, which then outlined in the model data pattern concerning wear and number of samples. Throughout the experimental studies, the index shows a significant degree of nonlinearity that appears in the measured impact. For that reason, the accretion of force components by Z-rotation method has successfully determined the abnormality existed in the signal data for both force and vibration. It corresponds to the number of cutting specifies a strong correlation over wear evolution with the highest correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.8702 and the average value of R2 = 0.8147. The index is more sensitive towards the end of the wear stage compared to the previous methods. Thus, it can be utilised to be the alternative experimental findings for monitoring tool wear progression by using threshold values on certain cutting condition.

Co-pyrolysis of rubberwood sawdust (RWS) waste and polypropylene (PP) was carried out at different temperatures (450,500,550, and 600°C) with biomass to plastics ratio 1:1 by using fixed bed drop-type pyrolyzer. The yield of pyrolysis oil has an increasing trend as the temperature increased from 450°C to 550°C. However, the pyrolysis oil yield dropped at a temperature of 600°C. Co-pyrolysis of RWS and PP generated maximum pyrolysis oil with 36.47 wt.% at 550°C. The result is compared with the pyrolysis of RWS only without plastics, with the same feedstock, and the maximum pyrolysis oil yield obtained was 33.3 wt.%. The water content in pyrolysis oil of co-pyrolysis RWS with PP is lower than RWS only with 54.2 wt.% and 62 wt.% respectively. Hydrocarbons, acyclic olefin, alkyl, and aromatic groups are the major compound in the pyrolysis oil from the co-pyrolysis process. Carbon monoxide (52.2 vol.%) and carbon dioxide (38.2 vol.%) are the major gas components.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been clinically characterized by a progressive degeneration of neurons which resulted in a gradual and irreversible cognitive impairment. The accumulation of Aβ and τ proteins in the brain contribute to the severity of the disease. Recently, vitexin compound has been the talk amongst researchers due to its pharmacological properties as anti-inflammation and anti-AD. However, the epigenetic mechanism of the compound in regulating the neuroinflammation activity is yet to be fully elucidated. Hence, this review discusses the potential of vitexin compound to have the pharmacoepigenetic property in regulating the neuroinflammation activity in relation to AD. It is with hope that the review would unveil the potential of vitexin as the candidate in treating AD.

This study provides an overview of precipitation processes and their sensitivities to environmental conditions in the Central Amazon Basin near Manaus during the GoAmazon2014/5 and ACRIDICON-CHUVA experiments. This study takes advantage of the numerous measurement platforms and instrument systems operating during both campaigns to sample cloud structure and environmental conditions during 2014 and 2015; the rainfall variability among seasons, aerosol loading, land surface type, and topography has been carefully characterized using these data. Differences between the wet and dry seasons were examined from a variety of perspectives. The rainfall rates distribution, total amount of rainfall, and raindrop size distribution (the mass-weighted mean diameter) were quantified over both seasons. The dry season generally exhibited higher rainfall rates than the wet season and included more intense rainfall periods. However, the cumulative rainfall during the wet season was 4 times greater than that during the total dry season rainfall, as shown in the total rainfall accumulation data. The typical size and life cycle of Amazon cloud clusters (observed by satellite) and rain cells (observed by radar) were examined, as were differences in these systems between the seasons. Moreover, monthly mean thermodynamic and dynamic variables were analysed using radiosondes to elucidate the differences in rainfall characteristics during the wet and dry seasons. The sensitivity of rainfall to atmospheric aerosol loading was discussed with regard to mass-weighted mean diameter and rain rate. This topic was evaluated only during the wet season due to the insignificant statistics of rainfall events for different aerosol loading ranges and the low frequency of precipitation events during the dry season. The impacts of aerosols on cloud droplet diameter varied based on droplet size. For the wet season, we observed no dependence between land surface type and rain rate. However, during the dry season, urban areas exhibited the largest rainfall rate tail distribution, and deforested regions exhibited the lowest mean rainfall rate. Airplane measurements were taken to characterize and contrast cloud microphysical properties and processes over forested and deforested regions. Vertical motion was not correlated with cloud droplet sizes, but cloud droplet concentration correlated linearly with vertical motion. Clouds over forested areas contained larger droplets than clouds over pastures at all altitudes. Finally, the connections between topography and rain rate were evaluated, with higher rainfall rates identified at higher elevations during the dry season.

In the present paper, the analysis of structures of modern photoelectric solar energy converters is carried out. The solution of ecological problems at increasing energy consumption and limitations of traditional earthly resources makes the tasks of using alternative and renewable energy sources actual. The sun is a practically unlimited energy source for earthly applications. Development of effective structures and designs of photoelectric converters provides the access to this source. Currently, their practical application is limited due to the high cost of solar batteries. The paper generalizes the known results of solving the problems of creating photoelectric converters. The design and operation principles of photoelectric converters are shown, single- and 3-stage elements are considered. Conditions for efficient operation of photoelectric converters are determined. Particular attention is paid to materials for creating elements of photoelectric converters. The paper considers the peculiarities of materials in which potential barriers are formed and pairs of electrons and holes are generated. In addition, the paper deals with the materials that are used for forming the constructions of photoelectric converters, namely, the materials of plates, contacts etc. These materials must provide a considerable barrier height in a semiconductor junction. The generated electrons and holes are effectively collected at contact electrodes. The considered conditions of efficient operation of photoelectric converters determine their practical importance. It is shown that the further increase of efficiency of photoelectric converters requires the development of technologies, improvement of structures, and application of physical principles that are not used yet, as well as new combinations of those that are already being used.

Routine cloud, precipitation and thermodynamic observations collected by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF) and Aerial Facility (AAF) during the 2-year US Department of Energy (DOE) ARM Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) campaign are summarized. These observations quantify the diurnal to large-scale thermodynamic regime controls on the clouds and precipitation over the undersampled, climatically important Amazon basin region. The extended ground deployment of cloud-profiling instrumentation enabled a unique look at multiple cloud regimes at high temporal and vertical resolution. This longer-term ground deployment, coupled with two short-term aircraft intensive observing periods, allowed new opportunities to better characterize cloud and thermodynamic observational constraints as well as cloud radiative impacts for modeling efforts within typical Amazon wet and dry seasons.

Abstract Background Success rates of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) are approximately 30%, with the most important limiting factor being embryo implantation. Mechanical endometrial injury, also called ‘scratching’, has been proposed to positively affect the chance of implantation after embryo transfer, but the currently available evidence is not yet conclusive. The primary aim of this study is to determine the effect of endometrial scratching prior to a second fresh in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) cycle on live birth rates in women with a failed first IVF/ICSI cycle. Method Multicenter randomized controlled trial in Dutch academic and non-academic hospitals. A total of 900 women will be included of whom half will undergo an endometrial scratch in the luteal phase of the cycle prior to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation using an endometrial biopsy catheter. The primary endpoint is the live birth rate after the 2nd fresh IVF/ICSI cycle. Secondary endpoints are costs, cumulative live birth rate (after the full 2nd IVF/ICSI cycle and over 12 months of follow-up); clinical and ongoing pregnancy rate; multiple pregnancy rate; miscarriage rate and endometrial tissue parameters associated with implantation failure. Discussion Multiple studies have been performed to investigate the effect of endometrial scratching on live birth rates in women undergoing IVF/ICSI cycles. Due to heterogeneity in both the method and population being scratched, it remains unclear which group of women will benefit from the procedure. The SCRaTCH trial proposed here aims to investigate the effect of endometrial scratching prior to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in a large group of women undergoing a second IVF/ICSI cycle. Trial registration NTR 5342 , registered July 31st, 2015. Protocol version Version 4.10, January 4th, 2017.

We present a new version of the Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (BRAMS), in which different previous versions for weather, chemistry, and carbon cycle were unified in a single integrated modeling system software. This new version also has a new set of state-of-the-art physical parameterizations and greater computational parallel and memory usage efficiency. The description of the main model features includes several examples illustrating the quality of the transport scheme for scalars, radiative fluxes on surface, and model simulation of rainfall systems over South America at different spatial resolutions using a scale aware convective parameterization. Additionally, the simulation of the diurnal cycle of the convection and carbon dioxide concentration over the Amazon Basin, as well as carbon dioxide fluxes from biogenic processes over a large portion of South America, are shown. Atmospheric chemistry examples show the model performance in simulating near-surface carbon monoxide and ozone in the Amazon Basin and the megacity of Rio de Janeiro. For tracer transport and dispersion, the model capabilities to simulate the volcanic ash 3-D redistribution associated with the eruption of a Chilean volcano are demonstrated. The gain of computational efficiency is described in some detail. BRAMS has been applied for research and operational forecasting mainly in South America. Model results from the operational weather forecast of BRAMS on 5 km grid spacing in the Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies, INPE/Brazil, since 2013 are used to quantify the model skill of near-surface variables and rainfall. The scores show the reliability of BRAMS for the tropical and subtropical areas of South America. Requirements for keeping this modeling system competitive regarding both its functionalities and skills are discussed. Finally, we highlight the relevant contribution of this work to building a South American community of model developers.

Tumour-associated macrophage (TAM) serves as the site in which most inflammatory cells coreside. It plays an important role in determining the progression and metastasis of a tumour. The characteristic of TAM is largely dependent on the stimuli present in its tumour microenvironment (TME). Under this environment, however, M2 macrophages are found to be in abundance compared to M1 macrophages which later promote tumour progression. Numerous studies have elucidated the relationship between TAM and the progression of tumour; hence, TAM has now been the subject of interest among researchers for anticancer therapy. This review discusses the role of TAM in colorectal cancer (CRC) and some of the potential candidates that could reeducate TAM to fight against CRC. It is with hope that this review will serve as the foundation in understanding TAM in CRC and helping other researchers to select the most suitable candidate to reeducate TAM that could assist in enhancing the tumouricidal activity of M1 macrophage and eventually repress the development of CRC.