Search Results (1,279)

Crossing between selected lines could combine the additive genetic variance accumulated within the lines and the non-additive genetic variance between the lines in the genetic improvement of aquatic animals, thus obtaining progeny with favorable traits. However, the value of this breeding strategy has not been investigated in the Fujian oyster Crassostrea angulata due to the lack of available sufficiently selected lines. In this study, a complete 3 × 3 diallel cross was established between the normal (N), golden (G), and black (B) shell lines of C. angulata. The growth (shell height and living weight) and survival of three purebred groups and six hybrid groups under three environments (Luoyu, Jiangkou, and Houhai) were comprehensively evaluated during the larval and grow-out stages. The general combining ability (GCA) of the parental lines and the specific combining ability (SCA) of the hybrid groups were also estimated. The shell heights of the hybrid groups were significantly lower than those of their parental groups on day 25, exhibiting negative heterosis (MPH: −13.01 to −1.45; HPH: −16.69 to −5.76). Meanwhile, the survival rates of the hybrids were significantly higher than those of the parental groups. A negative value of SCA was recorded for NG (N♀ × G♂) (−0.031), which was in line with its lower survival rate on day 25. Significant heterosis was observed in the growth and survival of each hybrid group during the grow-out stage. The shell height and living weight of the hybrid groups were significantly higher in Houhai than in Luoyu and Jiangkou, but the survival rate in Houhai was significantly lower than in the other two sites. BG (B♀ × G♂) and GB (G♀ × B♂) had higher SCA values than the other four groups, which was consistent with their superior traits. The heterosis of shell height, living weight, and survival rate of BG was significantly greater than in the other five hybrid groups, which could be used as potential parents for breeding high-quality diploid and triploid Fujian oysters. This study demonstrated that the traits of C. angulata could be significantly improved by crossing between different selected lines, providing a reference for evaluating the utilization value of non-additive genetic effects (heterosis) between selected lines in bivalves. Full article

Background: Leptin, a protein predominantly produced by adipocytes, plays a crucial role in regulating energy balance, inflammation, immunity, and fetal growth. During pregnancy, maternal serum leptin levels increase, peaking in the second trimester, with placental production contributing to this rise. Leptin has also been identified in fetal tissues, and its concentration in umbilical cord blood correlates with birth weight. This study aimed to evaluate serum and umbilical cord blood leptin concentrations in rural Burundian women living in marginal nutritional conditions, and investigate potential gender differences in fetal leptin levels. Methods: We analyzed data from 38 healthy singleton pregnancies (20 male and 18 female newborns) delivered at Hôpital Autonome de Ngozi, Burundi. Leptin concentrations were measured in maternal and umbilical cord blood samples. Results: Our results revealed that neonatal leptin levels were significantly higher in female compared to male newborns, consistent with findings in other populations. Leptin concentrations in umbilical cord blood were positively correlated with neonatal birth weight and the Kaup index, while maternal leptin levels did not show such associations. Conclusions: Despite the challenging nutritional environment in this rural African setting, our findings suggest that leptin’s role in fetal growth regulation may transcend maternal nutritional status. The gender difference observed in leptin levels could be linked to genetic or epigenetic factors rather than fat content or reproductive hormones. This study supports the notion that leptin may be an important regulator of fetal development, even in malnourished populations, and underscores the need for further research to elucidate its mechanisms in pregnancy. Full article

X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, and other social media forums have dramatically changed the way society interacts with live events in this day and age. The huge amount of data generated by these platforms presents challenges, especially in terms of processing speed and the complexity of finding meaningful patterns and events. These data streams are generated in multiple formats, with constant updating, and are real-time in nature; thus, they require sophisticated algorithms capable of dynamic event detection in this dynamic environment. Event detection techniques have recently achieved substantial development, but most research carried out so far evaluates only single methods, not comparing the overall performance of these methods across multiple platforms and types of data. With that view, this paper represents a deep investigation of complex state-of-the-art event detection algorithms specifically customized for streams of data from X. We review various current techniques based on a thorough comparative performance test and point to problems inherently related to the detection of patterns in high-velocity streams with noise. We introduce some novelty to this research area, supported by appropriate robust experimental frameworks, to performed comparisons quantitatively and qualitatively. We provide insight into how those algorithms perform under varying conditions by defining a set of clear, measurable metrics. Our findings contribute new knowledge that will help inform future research into the improvement of event detection systems for dynamic data streams and enhance their capabilities for real-time and actionable insights. This paper will go a step further than the present knowledge of event detection and discuss how algorithms can be adapted and refined in view of the emerging demands imposed by data streams. Full article

Introduction: Women wear exterior breast support for most of the day. A female’s breast tissue and skin affect the comfort of the ADLs, exercise, health, and work environments. Understanding the breast tissue’s normal anatomy and mechanical and material properties is related to a woman’s daily health and quality of life outcomes. Considering the importance and impact of female breasts throughout one’s lifespan, additional research is needed to address the research gaps to provide solutions to improve daily lives and clinical interventions. Breast stability and behavior are dependent on its internal mechanical properties and applied external forces. Objective: To evaluate the current knowledge and research gaps on the adult female breast tissue’s anatomy, the factors that impact its growth and development, variations among racial populations, the internal and external mechanical properties of the tissue, and the factors employed to evaluate the pathology risk. Review sections: The review sections are as follows: 3. Anatomy of Breast, 4. Effects of Age and Stages of Breast Development, 5. Breast Skin, and 6. Breast Tissue Mechanics. Conclusions: Numerous research gaps have been identified within the field of female breasts. Full article

Unlike traditional remote control systems for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones, active research is being carried out in the domain of vision-based hand gesture recognition systems for drone control. However, contrary to static and sensor based hand gesture recognition, recognizing dynamic hand gestures is challenging due to the complex nature of multi-dimensional hand gesture data, present in 2D images. In a real-time application scenario, performance and safety is crucial. Therefore we propose a hybrid lightweight dynamic hand gesture recognition system and a 3D simulator based drone control environment for live simulation. We used transfer learning-based computer vision techniques to detect dynamic hand gestures in real-time. The gestures are recognized, based on which predetermine commands are selected and sent to a drone simulation environment that operates on a different computer via socket connectivity. Without conventional input devices, hand gesture detection integrated with the virtual environment offers a user-friendly and immersive way to control drone motions, improving user interaction. Through a variety of test situations, the efficacy of this technique is illustrated, highlighting its potential uses in remote-control systems, gaming, and training. The system is tested and evaluated in real-time, outperforming state-of-the-art methods. The code utilized in this study are publicly accessible. Further details can be found in the “Data Availability Statement”. Full article

For many years, there has been a growing pollution of the aquatic environment with personal care products and industrial chemicals, the main source of which is municipal and industrial wastewater. This raises the need to assess the impact of these pollutants on ecosystems, including plants living in the aquatic environment. It is important to develop methods for their removal from wastewater, among which using plants for phytoremediation is a promising solution. This study aimed to evaluate the response of the aquatic plant Wolffia arrhiza (Lemnaceae) to low concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA), N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET), triclosan (TRC), benzophenone (BPH), endosulfan alpha (α-END), and endosulfan beta (β-END). The plant growth, the content of cellular components, and oxidative stress markers were assessed in response to plant contact with single compounds at concentrations of 0.1 mg/L and 1 mg/L, and their mixture at a total concentration of 1 mg/L. All of the pollutants used in the study inhibited the W. arrhiza growth and stimulated the degradation of proteins but enhanced the level of saccharides. TRC, BPH, α-END, and β-END had a negative impact on the content of photosynthetic pigments. Increased concentrations of the oxidative stress markers MDA and H₂O₂ were registered in the plants exposed to BPA, TRC, and β-END. The mixture of pollutants had higher toxic effects than individual substances. Full article

Green open space in high-density cities has positive significance in terms of improving the quality of the living environment and solving problems such as “urban diseases”. Taking the high-density urban districts of the Macau Peninsula and Monaco as examples, this study divides the planning index of open space green quantity into two dimensions: the blue-green spaces occupancy rate (BGOR) within urban land areas and the blue-green spaces visibility rate (BGVR) of the main streetscape. Using satellite remote-sensing maps, GIS databases, and street-view images, this study evaluates the current green quantity in both regions and compares them to identify best practices. This study aims to assess and enhance the green quantity found in the open spaces of high-density cities, using the Macau Peninsula and Monaco as case studies. The primary research questions are as follows: (1) How can the green quantity in open spaces be effectively measured in high-density urban environments? (2) What planning strategies can be implemented to increase the green quantity and improve the urban living environment in such areas? Therefore, this study proposes planning strategies such as three-dimensional greening, converting grey spaces to green spaces, and implementing policies to encourage public participation in greening efforts. These strategies aim to enhance the green quantity in open spaces, thereby improving the urban living environment in high-density cities like Macau and providing a reference for similar urban areas in the world. Full article

Marine life exploration is constrained by factors such as limited scuba diving time, depth restrictions for divers, costly expeditions, safety risks to divers’ health, and minimizing harm to marine ecosystems, where traditional diving often risks disturbing marine life. This paper introduces Nu (named after an ancient Egyptian deity), a 3D-printed Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROUV) designed in an attempt to address these challenges. Nu employs Long Range (LoRa), a low-power and long-range communication technology, enabling wireless operation via a manual controller. The vehicle features an onboard live-feed camera with a separate communication system that transmits video to an external real-time machine learning (ML) pipeline for fish species classification, reducing human error by taxonomists. It uses Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motors for long-distance movement and water pump motors for precise navigation, minimizing disturbance, and reducing damage to surrounding species. Nu’s functionality was evaluated in a controlled 2.5-m-deep body of water, focusing on connectivity, maneuverability, and fish identification accuracy. The fish detection algorithm achieved an average precision of 60% in identifying fish presence, while the classification model achieved 97% precision in assigning species labels, with unknown species flagged correctly. The testing of Nu in a controlled environment has met the system design expectations. Full article

The concept of the 15-minute city is increasingly being adopted globally as a pathway towards the vision of a just city. However, this distributive justice-based discourse is also used to justify and depoliticize radical planning interventions, particularly relocation, which profoundly impact the lifeworlds of affected individuals. Despite improved accessibility and the reallocation of resources, relocatees’ perceived injustice persists. This study aims to address a critical question: How does relocation planning impact the lifeworlds of affected communities, and how does this contribute to the sense of injustice experienced by relocatees? The theoretical framework we used critically examines spatial justice theories, emphasizing their inherent “logic of equation”, which reduces people’s complex lived experiences and subjective realities to measurable data and numbers, thereby disrupting individuals’ lifeworlds. Empirically, this study conducted a case study of a relocation project in Shanghai’s inner city, utilizing mind mapping to visualize the spatial perceptions and activities of 15 residents before and after relocation, complemented by interviews with these residents and two planning officials. While the planners’ evaluations indicate improved built environments post relocation, the findings reveal significant disruptions to the residents’ socio-spatial networks, particularly among the elderly. These disruptions diminished their capacity and willingness to engage with the new space, fostering a persistent sense of injustice. This study concludes that addressing planning disruptions requires policies that go beyond material redistribution to restore and reshape people’s lifeworlds. Full article

The evaluation of nanoplastics bioaccumulation in living organisms is still considered an emerging challenge, especially as global plastic production continues to grow, posing a significant threat to humans, animals, and the environment. The goal of this work is to advance the development of standardized methods for reliable biomonitoring in the future. It is crucial to employ sensitive techniques that can detect and measure nanoplastics effectively, while ensuring minimal impact on the environment. To understand nanoplastics retention by freshwater organisms, phyto- and zooplankton, and mussels were exposed to gold-doped polymeric nanoparticles synthesized in our laboratory. The results demonstrated that measuring gold content using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), along with confirmation of its presence through electron microscopy in selected exposed samples provides insight into the accumulation and release of nanoplastics by organisms playing a relevant ecological role at the early levels of aquatic food webs. Full article

The convergence of IT and OT networks has gained significant attention in recent years, facilitated by the increase in distributed computing capabilities, the widespread deployment of Internet of Things devices, and the adoption of Industrial Internet of Things. This convergence has led to a drastic increase in external access capabilities to previously air-gapped industrial systems for process control and monitoring. To meet the need for remote access to system information, protocols designed for the OT space were extended to allow IT networked communications. However, OT protocols often lack the rigor of cybersecurity capabilities that have become a critical characteristic of IT protocols. Furthermore, OT protocol implementations on individual devices can vary in performance, requiring the comprehensive evaluation of a device’s reliability and capabilities before installation into a critical infrastructure production network. In this paper, the authors define a framework for identifying vulnerabilities within these protocols and their on-device implementations, utilizing formal modeling, hardware in the loop-driven network emulation, and fully virtual network scenario simulation. Initially, protocol specifications are modeled to identify any vulnerable states within the protocol, leveraging the Construction and Analysis of Distributed Processes (CADP) software (version 2022-d “Kista”, which was created by Inria, the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation, in France). Device characteristics are then extracted through automated real-time network emulation tests built on the OMNET++ framework, and all measured device characteristics are then used as a virtual device representation for network simulation tests within the OMNET++ software (version 6.0.1., a public-soucre, open-architecture software, initially developed by OpenSim Limited in Budapest, Hungary), to verify the presence of any potential vulnerabilities identified in the formal modeling stage. With this framework, the authors have thus defined an end-to-end process to identify and verify the presence and impact of potential vulnerabilities within a protocol, as shown by the presented results. Furthermore, this framework can test protocol compliance, performance, and security in a controlled environment before deploying devices in live production networks and addressing cybersecurity concerns. Full article

Background/Objectives: School teachers need to have a better understanding of oral health aspects as schools serve as an effective environment for learning. Educators hold a significant position in conveying the importance they attribute to oral health in their lives. According to the World Health Organization, school teachers should include oral health promotion activities to evaluate students’ oral health, track injuries, illnesses, and absenteeism related to oral health, advocate oral health prevention, and serve as role models. The aim of this study was to evaluate the conceptual understanding of oral health among primary school teachers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: Data for this study were collected from 404 primary school teachers using a structured and pre-validated comprehensive measure of oral health knowledge (CMOHK) questionnaire. Results: The distribution of CMOHK scores indicated that 247 (61.2%) participants demonstrated good conceptual knowledge, 95 (23.5%) participants exhibited fair knowledge, and 62 (15.3%) participants were classified as having poor knowledge. The male group exhibited lower values for the CMOHK score in comparison with the female group; however, these findings were not statistically significant. The findings indicated that the group of government school teachers exhibited higher values for the dependent variable CMOHK score compared to their private school counterparts. Conclusions: The average CMOHK score observed in this study is regarded as fair. It is crucial for school teachers to possess strong oral health knowledge, as they significantly influence the oral health knowledge and behaviors of children. Full article

Previous studies indicate that individuals at high altitudes have a lower pain threshold than those living at sea level. This study evaluates the differences in pain perception among young people living at an altitude of 3800 m and after acute exposure to a severe hypoxic environment at more than 5100 m. Fourteen people (BMI of 22.6 ± 1.2 and age of 23.3 ± 1.9 years) residing in the city of Puno (3825 m) participated in an ascent to the Populated Center of La Rinconada (>5100 m). The unilateral ischemia pain provocation test was used, applying pressure with a manual sphygmomanometer to generate transient ischemia in the arm while the patient opens and closes their hand. Onset, peak, and resolution times of pain, heart rate, and oxygen saturation were recorded. At their residence altitude of 3828 m, the mean hemoglobin was 16.16 ± 2.29, while at 5100 m, mean hemoglobin increased to 17.57 ± 1.74. The average time to pain onset in the right arm was 30.43 s ± 14.15 at 3828 m, whereas at 5100 m above sea level, the pain perception was at 31.00 s ± 19.01. At 3828 m, the average time until pain sensation in the left arm was 19.93 s ± 9.44 and increased to 23.07 s ± 10.83 at 5100 m. During exposure to a severe hypoxic environment, the pain perception threshold was similar between 3828 m and 5100 m above sea level. Full article

In this study, a focus on the populations of bryophytes living in aquatic and humid habitats of Sicily is presented. This investigation aims to evaluate the consistency and diversity of this group of taxa. The complete list of taxa known to date in these habitats is provided, with reference to hornworts, liverworts, and mosses, and the patterns related to the biological, ecological, and chorological features of this bryophyte flora are also illustrated. Since climate change is currently the major threat of extinction for many of these species growing in aquatic and humid environments, these taxa constitute a component of the flora worthy of particular interest in studies on the quantification of the impact of global warming on biodiversity. Overall, the analysis found that, with a total of 224 taxa, this group constitutes 36% of the Sicilian bryophyte flora; it is quite diversified from a taxonomic point of view, being represented by 55 families and 106 genera. Related to ecological features and reproductive biology, some aspects of possible vulnerability are highlighted, as well as others of resilience. Moreover, the importance of future monitoring of these taxa is underlined, also in consideration of the fact that some of them, such as Sciuro-hypnum ornellanum, are species of conservation interest in Italy and in Europe, and that four other taxa are threatened in Italy. Full article

The possibilities of the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL)/Enhanced Living Environments (ELE) concept in the environment of a smart home were investigated to improve accessibility and improve the quality of life of a person with disabilities. This paper focuses on the concept of predictive information for a person with disabilities in a smart home environment concept where artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) systems use data on the user’s preferences, habits, and possible incident situations. A conceptual mathematical model is proposed, the purpose of which is to provide predictive user information from defined data sets. This paper defines the taxonomy of communication technologies, devices, and sensors in the environment of the user’s smart home and shows the interaction of all elements in the environment of the smart home. Through the integration of assistive technologies, it is possible to adapt the home to users with diverse types of disabilities and needs. The smart home environment with diverse types of sensors whose data are part of sets defined by a mathematical model is also evaluated. The significance of establishing data sets as a foundation for future research, the development of ML models, and the utilization of AI is highlighted in this paper. Full article