In this work, we define Rad-oplus-supplemented and strongly Rad-oplus-supplemented lattices and give some properties of these lattices. We generalize some properties of Rad-oplus-supplemented modules to lattices.

In this paper, we prove a local equivariant index theorem for sub-signature operators which generalizes Weiping Zhang's index theorem for sub-signature operators.

In this article, we study the zero-Hopf bifurcation of a quartic system in the three-dimensional space which can be obtained from a scalar the third-order ordinary differential equation.

In this work, we first propose the concept of stepanov-like almost automorphic functions on time scales, and present some properties, including the translation invariance and completeness. Moreover, we also prove the connection between stepanov-like almost automorphic functions on time scales and on $\mathbb{R}$. Then we establish some existence and uniqueness result of almost automorphic solutions for some linear dynamic equation on time scales. As an application of the above results, we study the existence and global exponential stability of almost automorphic solutions for a class of cellular neural networks with time-varying delays on time scales.

A new beam switch antenna based on a composite right/left-handed (CRLH) Butler matrix is presented and experimentally validated. The CRLH transmission line (TL) is proposed to increase the number of beams. The proposed CRLH TL has more than 100◦ phase differences using variable bias voltages. Different combinations of phase shifts are achieved by applying different bias voltages between 0 and 8V. The CRLH TL is added to the conventional Butler matrix to increase the progressive phase difference between adjacent ports, and consequently, the beam pattern. A 5◦ beam resolution within a spatial range of 100◦ is achieved. The measurement results are in good agreement with the simulations.

Many scientific researches have shown an obvious fact that the quality control charts with variable sampling schemes are more effective than the classical ones in improving statistical measures. The average number of false alarms (ANF), the average number of samples (ANS), the average number of inspected items (ANI), and the adjusted average time to signal (AATS) are the most important statistical measures that have always been attending in the evaluation of control charts. In this paper, a comprehensive analytical review on the U control chart by the statistical measures have been explained. For this purpose, different levels of the possible factors are determined and presented the results of calculating the statistical measures with the obtained parameters on the sampling schemes of the U control chart. It is shown that the variable U control charts are able to improve the effectiveness statistical, especially for detecting shifts and number of false alarms.

While most people know the rich flavors, pleasant tastes, and numerous health benefits of teas, various contaminations with chemicals for controling weeds, insects, microbial pathogens and other tea garden managements, become increasingly concerned on tea products. Meanwhile most of tea secondary metabolites concentrated in tea leaves, such as catechins, affeine, volatiles, saponins, and theanine, are synthesized primarily for defenses against both biotic and abiotic stresses. However, few use of these plant natural products for weed, pest and disease control by tea producers disabled the sustainable and safty production of teas. This is partly because the lacking of detailed information about biosynthesis, regulation, defense mechanism of these tea specialized metabolites due to chemical diversity and metabolic complexicity. An in-depth understanding of the biosynthesis, regulation, and defensive mechanisms of these specialized metabolites would greatly facilitate the employment of the innate immunity of tea plants to minimaize the use of other health-harmful chemicals. The review highlights relevant contexts of metabolic genomics of tea plants, so as to guaide future research on genetic improvement of tea plants for both safety and nutritional quality of teas.

1. Numerous evidence agree that global changes have altered plant phenology, abiotic factors and functional traits are center drivers linking phenology. However, few studies have considered the joint effects of these factors on flowering phenology under nitrogen (N) inputs and biodiversity loss. 2. A common garden experiment with two N addition and six plant diversity levels was established in Beijing. We assessed the effects of N addition and plant diversity loss on three flowering phenology events of Medicago sativa via functional traits and abiotic factors. 3. The first flowering day (FFD) delayed, the last flowering day (LFD) advanced, and flowering duration (FD) shortened after N addition. While FFD advanced, LFD delayed, and FD extended an average of 0.31, 0.64, and 0.95 days per species lost, respectively. Importantly, three analysis methods had been used to prove that the contributions of functional traits for the variance in flowering phenology changes was significantly larger than abiotic factors under biodiversity loss and N addition. 4. Our findings illustrate the non-negligible effects of functional traits on flowering phenology, and highlight the importance of including functional traits in phenology models to improve predictions of the response of plant phenology to N inputs and biodiversity loss.

The hydrosilylation is one of the largest scale applications for homogeneous catalysis and is widely used to commercialize silicon products. However, the development of highly versatile heterogeneous catalytic systems to efficiently catalyze the hydrosilylation of alkenes remains a significant challenge. This work used a heat-assisted impregnation method followed by a mild reduction with sodium borohydride to will support a catalyst of platinum (Pt/IDA-MIL-101) supported on amine and carboxyl functionalized Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) allowing for alkenes hydrosilylation reaction. IDA plays a key role in forming platinum nanoparticles that are uniform and well dispersed. More interestingly, IDA changes the pore size of the MIL-101 during the experiment. The Hydrosilylation experiments of olefins show that the reaction can effectively catalyze alkenes without solvents. Also, the synthetic heterogeneous catalyst Pt/IDA-MIL-101 achieves reasonable utilization of Pt in terms of cycle number and atomic utilization, demonstrating the potential for achieving a green hydrosilation industry.

Rationale, aims, and objectives: Management of pregnant women with sickle cell disease (SCD) represents a challenge to maternal healthcare services due to its potential complications with associated morbidity and mortality. Trustworthy evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have a major impact on supporting appropriate healthcare positive outcomes. The objective of this study was to critically appraise the quality of recent CPGs for SCD in pregnancy. Methods: We identified clinical questions and eligibility criteria, searched, and screened for CPGs using CPG databases, DynaMed, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Each included CPG was appraised by four independent appraisers using the Appraisal of Guidelines for REsearch & Evaluation II (AGREE-II) instrument. An additional inter-rater analysis was conducted. Results: Four eligible CPGs were appraised: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG); National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE); and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG). The AGREE-II standardized domain scores revealed variation between the quality of these CPGs. Overall, the recommendations were not significantly different between these four CPGs. Conclusions: In recent years, there has been an improvement in the reporting of CPG development methodology. CPG development working groups should aim to adhere to the AGREE II criteria to improve the standards and quality of CPGs. RCOG followed by NHLBI CPGs showed the highest quality and were strongly recommended. We recommend incorporating AGREE-II appraisal of CPGs in the education of obstetricians, gynecologists and hematologists to guide their selection of CPGs for their daily practice.

La produzione energetica attraverso fonti rinnovabili come acqua, vento e sole, sembra essere una soluzione sempre più concreta per ridurre le varie problematiche arrecate all’ambiente, attraverso l'utilizzo di risorse non rinnovabili quali gas, petrolio, carbone e nucleare.  Questa esigenza nasce per via di molteplici fattori quali : carenza di combustibili fossili, crisi petrolifera globale ed impatti ambientali che hanno prodotto diverse problematiche, quale incremento di effetto serra e surriscaldamento globale. L’analisi proposta pone la sua attenzione nel mettere a confronto sette diverse tipologie di impianti e di effettuare una valutazione che conduca alla soluzione che meglio rispetta lo scenario ambientale preesistente. Il metodo utilizzato è quello AHP, basato sulla valutazione del ciclo di vita della tipologia di impianto, al fine di comprenderne la variabilità in base a diversi criteri selezionati. L'obiettivo è quello di scegliere la miglior proposta e di ottenere quella più ecosostenibile, al fine di incentivare i portatori d'interesse ad adottare misure alternative da utilizzare nel campo della produzione energetica, informare e sensibilizzare l'opinione pubblica su quali possono essere i possibili miglioramenti e quindi per aprire uno scenario futuro nell'ottica della sostenibilità e di conseguenza della compatibilità ambientale. 

This paper presents a logarithmic barrier method without line search for solving linear programming problem. The descent direction is the classical Newton's one. However, the displacement step is determined by a simple and efficient technique based on the notion of the minorant function approximating the barrier function. Numerical tests show the efficiency of this approach versus classical line search methods.

The article deals with the correct solvability of some dierential equations in two-dimensional weighted Stepanov spaces. The solution is sought by methods of semigroup theory and related methods using fractional powers of operators. The results of the paper are important for the theory of dierential equations in Stepanov's spaces. Also they are important and form a basis for computational methods for dierential equations considered based on explicit integral representations for solutions. The results are obtained using ideas of S.G.Krein on fractional powers of operators in Banach spaces.

Abstract. In this work we consider the hyponormality of Toeplitz operators on the Bergman space of the annulus with a logarithmic weight. We give necessary conditions when the symbol is of the form ψ + φ where ψ and φ are analytic on the annulus {z ∈ C,1/2 < |z| < 1} .

For having adapted to the various national spectral regulatory authorities, it is preferred to have a design of antenna that can be easily modified to be compatible with the different requirements. To fulfill the demand, a double-sided bowtie antenna operating within K and Ku band is investigated in this project. This antenna consists of two modified bow-tie structures patched on opposite sides of the substrate, where the lower one acts as a ground plane. It is composed on TSM- DS3M substrate and has dimensions of 17.8 x 14.2 x 0.51 mm3. The partial ground plan shows significant effects on antenna characteristics such as radiation pattern and bandwidth. This model can also work for different wideband technology because the percentage bandwidth can be easily switched from 26.995% to 71.84% by changing the length of the partial ground plane. Overall system performance of this model is improved by investigating different array configurations. Four and eight elements array have been designed in this research. The output characteristics of the array, such as radiation pattern, return loss, and peak realized gain are studied along with the single antenna parameters.

A document by Chao Zhang, written on Authorea.

Response surface methodology was applied as a valuable tool for the optimization of the extraction of tocopherols from palm fatty acid distillate. The extraction procedure and experimental set-up improved the yield of total tocopherol from an initial value of 0.39% to 4.67%. It was found that extraction by enzymatic hydrolysis followed by neutralization increased the yield of total tocopherol from palm fatty acid distillate. In the optimisation approach, the central composite design was employed as a means of experimental set-up, as analysis of variance and several correlation functions were statistical tools applied in the optimisation of process conditions of enzymatic hydrolysis of palm fatty acid distillate. Water weight of 60.604 %(v/w), lipase weight of 7.130 %(w/w) and reaction time of 2.713 hrs gave the best (at optimized state) experimental protocol for the enzymatic hydrolysis PFAD in terms of yield of total tocopherol (as vitamin E) with a desirability of unity.

With increase in human population, waste generation has also increased. Effective disposal of these wastes has been a problem, it is in this light that economic use of these waste such as rice husk has been in the fore-burner. Combustion of rice husk produces rice husk ash (RHA), a pozollanic material, which can be effectively used in partial replacement of the expensive cement in soil stabilization. Also, since carrying out of fundamental tests such as California bearing ratio (CBR) in road construction is time consuming, thus, resulting to reduced efficiency, developing of credible models such as the Artificial neural network (ANN) becomes imperative. In going about this, the soil sample was subjected to preliminary tests, such as; particle size distribution, atterbergs limits and specific gravity tests for purpose of classification. Thereafter, cement at varying proportions of 0-12% at 2% intervals was mixed with RHA in proportions of 0-16% at 2% intervals. The mixes at each stage was subjected to compaction, atterberg limits and CBR tests. The laboratory results served as inputs in developing the ANN model, which predicted both soaked and the unsoaked CBR results. The feed forward neural network with Levenberg-Marquardt back propagation ANN model of MATLAB training was employed to determine the best model. It can therefore be concluded that the ANN models developed can adequately predict the CBR values of cement-treated A-7-5 soil stabilized Rice husk ash (RHA).

Allostery governing two conformational states is one of the proposed mechanisms for catch-bond behavior in adhesion proteins. In FimH, a catch-bond protein expressed by pathogenic bacteria, separation of two domains disrupts inhibition by the pili domain. Thus, tensile force can induce a conformational change in the lectin domain, from an inactive state to an active state with high affinity. To better understand allosteric inhibition in two-domain FimH (H2 inactive), we use molecular dynamics simulations to study the lectin domain alone, which has high affinity (HL active), and also the lectin domain stabilized in the low-affinity conformation by an Arg-60-Pro mutation (HL mutant). Because ligand-binding induces an allostery-like conformational change in HL mutant, this more experimentally tractable version has been proposed as a “minimal model” for FimH. We find that HL mutant has larger backbone fluctuations than both H2 inactive and HL active, at the binding pocket and allosteric interdomain region. We use an internal coordinate system of dihedral angles to identify protein regions with differences in backbone and sidechain dynamics beyond the putative allosteric pathway sites. By characterizing HL mutant dynamics for the first time, we provide additional insight into the transmission of allosteric information across the lectin domain and build upon structural and thermodynamic data in the literature to further support the use of HL mutant as a “minimal model.” Understanding how to alter protein dynamics to prevent the allosteric conformational change may guide drug development to prevent infection by blocking FimH adhesion.

Although photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective, minimally-invasive therapeutic modality with advantages in highly localized and specific tumor treatments, large and deep-seated cancers within the body cannot be successfully treated due to low transparency to visible light. To improve the therapeutic efficiency of tumor treatment in deep tissue and reduce the side effects in normal tissue, this study developed a near-infrared (NIR)-triggered upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP)-based photosensitizer (PS) carrier as a novel theranostics system. The NaYF4:Yb/Er UCNPs were synthesized by a hydrothermal method, producing uniformly small size (≈20 nm) nanoparticles and crystalline morphology of the hexagonal phase. These UCNPs were modified with folic acid-conjugated biocompatible block copolymers through a bidentate dihydrolipoic acid linker. The polymer modified hexagonal phase UCNPs (FA-PEAH-UCNPs) showed an improved dispersibility in the aqueous solution and strong NIR-to-vis upconversion fluorescence. The hydrophobic PS, pheophorbide a (Pha), was then conjugated to the stable vectors through a pH-sensitive linkage. Moreover, these UCNP-based Pha carriers containing tumor targeting folic acid ligands exhibited the significantly enhanced cellular uptake efficiency as well as PDT treatment efficiency. These results suggested that this system could extend the excitation wavelength of PDT to the NIR region and effectively improve therapeutic efficiency of PSs.

The biodiverse Neotropical ecoregion remains insufficiently assessed, poorly managed, and threatened by unregulated human activities. Novel, rapid and cost-effective DNA-based approaches are valuable to improve understanding of the biological communities and for biomonitoring in remote areas. Here, we evaluate the potential of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding for assessing the structure and distribution of fish communities by analysing sediments and water from 11 locations along the Jequitinhonha River catchment (Brazil). Each site was sampled twice, before and after a major rain event in a five-week period and fish diversity was estimated using high-through-put sequencing of 12S rRNA amplicons. In total, 252 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) and 34 fish species were recovered, including endemic, introduced, and previously unrecorded species for this basin. Spatio-temporal variation of fish assemblages was detected, richness during the first campaign was nearly twice as high as in the second sampling round; though peaks of diversity were primarily associated with only four locations. No correlation between β-diversity and longitudinal distance or presence of dams was detected, but low species richness observed at sites located near dams indicates that these anthropogenic barriers might have an impact on local fish diversity. Unexpectedly high α-diversity levels recorded at the river mouth suggest that these sections should be further evaluated as putative “eDNA reservoirs” for rapid monitoring. By uncovering spatio-temporal changes, unrecorded biodiversity components, and putative anthropogenic impacts on fish assemblages, we further strengthen the potential of eDNA metabarcoding as a biomonitoring tool, especially in regions often neglected or difficult to access.

The study examined the noise levels in selected areas within Akure Metropolis, Nigeria with a view to generate noise maps using ArcGIS which will help to identify high impact areas and support environmental management in the study area. Some selected areas within Akure metropolis were selected for this study namely; Oja-oba Market (commercial Land use), Ijoka (Residential land use), and the Federal University of Technology, Akure (Futa as an Educational Land Use). The digital sound level meter (IEC651 Type 2) was used to measure noise level in the morning (8:00am-9:00am), afternoon (1:00pm-2:00pm) and evening (4:00pm-5:00pm) for a period of 7days in each of the selected areas. The compiled data were imported into the ArcGIS 10.5 Software for analysis and geo-referencing whereby transforming the data and presenting it on noise contour maps. The study revealed that Sunday bus stop has the highest mean noise level with 64.3 decibel (A) while the lowest noise level was found in Olowookere street with 38.1 dB(A) for the Residential area. Ijomu recorded the highest noise level with 78.6 dB(A) and Erekesan market has the lowest noise level of 61.5 dB(A) for the commercial area. Finally, Northgate has the highest noise level, which recorded 76.3 dB(A) and the lowest noise level was recorded at Library area with 41.0 dB(A) for the Institutional area. 80% of the commercial area is exposed to the highest risk of noise pollution. The residential area was exposed to 18.7% noise pollution which makes the area suitable for housing. The institutional land use recorded 36.6% for total area exposed to noise pollution. This research has provided valuable information for decision makers as a guidance for noise pollution risk management and serve as a reference for future noise limit regulations to be executed in urban areas of Nigeria and other developing countries

Sugars will eventually be exported transporters (SWEET) are involved in plant biological processes. CsSWEET1a and CsSWEET17, were found to be induced by cold acclimation in Camellia sinensis. Particularly, CsSWEET17 was differentially alternatively spliced and its inclusion/exclusion ratio was higher in the cold-resistant cultivar than in the cold-susceptible cultivars. Both CsSWEET1a and CsSWEET17 were located in the plasma membrane, and their interaction was confirmed using yeast two-hybrid and biomolecular fluorescence complementation. The C-terminal of the CsSWEET17, which was different from AtSWEET17, did not affect its plasma membrane localization but promoted its sugar transport activities. Overexpression (OE) of CsSWEET1a and CsSWEET17 resulted in an increased uptake of sugars in Arabidopsis, affecting plant germination and growth. The leaf and seed size of CsSWEET17-OE lines were significantly bigger than wild-type. Moreover, OE of CsSWEET1a and CsSWEET17 significantly reduced the relative electrolyte leakage levels under cold stress. Compared with those in wild-type, the expressions of AtCWINV genes were suppressed in both CsSWEET1a-OE and CsSWEET17-OE lines, indicating the alteration of sugar contents in the cell wall of OE lines. Our results suggest that CsSWEET1a and CsSWEET17 form homo/heterodimers in the plasma membrane to import sugars into the cytoplasm, thereby regulating plant growth and cold tolerance.

Geo-environmental hazards associated with abandoned borrow pits in Nigeria are on the rise and a major concern to citizens, environmentalists and governments. Several highway failure spots are directly linked to the action of erosion initiated by active or abandoned (inactive) borrow pits situated close to the roads. This study examines the negative environmental impacts of the continuous removal of soil from borrow pits in some areas of Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. Four borrow pits were selected; two active sites and two abandoned sites. At inception, topographical and 3-Dimensional maps of the borrow pits were drawn and modelled. The area of the borrow pits and the volume of overburden excavated soils were calculated. The soil over burden pressure at the average height of the borrow pits were measured. The active borrow pit sites were checked again after two months to know the difference in the volume of overburden removed in the pit for that period. The volume of soil removed from borrow pit 1 (Active site), 2 (Active site), 3(Abandoned) and 4 (Abandoned) are 37000 m3, 34000 m3, 114000 m3 and 81000 m3 respectively. Environmental assessment of the study area through photographs showed prevalence of landslides, erosion, flooding, vegetation removal and structural failure. The volume of soil overburden removed from the abandoned borrow pit is more than the volume extracted from the active sites, this significant change in the value of overburden removed causes significant change to the terrain of the borrow pit. Some measures were then suggested to curb the problem occurring from the uncontrolled and indiscriminate borrow pits excavation thereby improving environmental sustainability. This study serves as a basis for government to put in place laws that help protect the environment from indiscriminate mining of borrow pits.