Linear growth of spherically symmetric solutions to Navier-Stokes equations in R N with degenerate viscosity and free boundary

Tunnel oxide passivated contact TOPCon is poised to emerge as the predominant technology in photovoltaic (PV) cells, yet significant reliability issues remain unresolved. This study conducts a comparative analysis of 20 TOPCon PV module types, utilizing a range of electrical characterization and accelerated aging assessments. This investigation provides a detailed evaluation of the electrical performance, resulting in an Energy Rating of the modules, establishing a benchmark for cutting-edge TOPCon technology. While some failure modes, such as LeTID, appear to be non-critical, the findings confirm previously identified degradation pathways in TOPCon modules due to moisture penetration. During UV exposure, a novel degradation pattern was observed during the indoor tests, showing severe losses (up to -12% after 120 kWh/m 2), followed by recovery after humidity freeze-testing, which may influence outdoor performance and the outcomes of certification tests (IEC61730-2, Sequence B). The results highlight the areas of need for more targeted testing and technological refinement.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of seasonal climate change on safflower genotype productivity in Central Anatolian conditions during 2021 and 2022. The research focused on seed yield, oil content, and oil yield, considering variations in Growing Degree Days (GDD) at different growth stages. In both years, seed yield was significantly affected by rainfall deficiency. In 2021, safflower genotypes had an average seed yield of 1540 kg ha -1, while in 2022, it increased to 2390 kg ha -1 due to higher precipitation during critical growth stages. Different genotypes showed distinct performances in seed yield each year, highlighting the importance of selecting drought-tolerant genotypes for breeding programs. Oil content also exhibited significant variations between genotypes and years. Drought stress during flowering and seed filling periods generally led to a decrease in safflower oil content. However, in 2021, despite drought during the seedling stage, there was an increase in average oil content, potentially due to compensatory mechanisms related to reduced seed yield and dry matter content. Moreover, the study explored GDD values at different growth stages, revealing substantial variation among genotypes in GDD accumulation. Genotypes with higher GDD accumulation typically displayed higher seed and oil yields, indicating their better stress tolerance. Conversely, early maturing genotypes with lower GDD values were better suited for regions with lower average temperatures. The findings underscore the importance of considering both rainfall and temperature factors when selecting safflower genotypes for specific regions. In conclusion, the study emphasizes the impact of seasonal climate change on safflower productivity and highlights the need to develop new safflower varieties capable of adapting to predicted hotter and drier conditions due to climate change.

Adaptive differentiation of traits and underlying loci can occur at a small geographic scale if natural selection is stronger than gene flow and drift. We investigated this hypothesis using coupled quantitative genetic and genomic approaches for a wind-pollinated tree species, Quercus rubra, along the steep, narrow gradient of the Lake Superior coast that encompasses four USDA Hardiness Zones within 100 km. For the quantitative genetic component, we examined phenotypic differentiation among eight populations in a common garden. For the genomic component, we quantified genetic differentiation for 26 populations using RAD-seq. Because hybridization with the congener Quercus ellipsoidalis has been documented elsewhere, we also included two populations of this species for comparison. In the common garden study, we found a strong signal of population differentiation that was significantly associated with at least one climate factor for nine of ten measured traits. In contrast, we found no evidence of genomic differentiation among populations based on FST or other measures. However, distance-based, and genotype-environment association analyses identified loci showing the signature of selection, with one locus in common across five analyses. This locus was associated with the minimum temperature of the coldest month, a climate factor was also significant in the common garden analyses. In addition, we documented introgression from Q. ellipsoidalis into Q. rubra, with rates of introgression correlated with the climate gradient. In sum, this study reveals signatures of selection at the quantitative trait and genomic level consistent with climate adaptation occurring at a small geographic scale.

There is a general expectation that urban populations will be fragmented, and the movement of individuals will be restricted leading to low effective population sizes, low genetic diversity, higher inbreeding, and higher differentiation than populations living in more continuous habitat. Most studies have been conducted on birds and mammals living in large urban areas while very few studies have been conducted on the genetic structure of small reptiles living within the urban matrix. In this study, we compare the genetic diversity and differentiation of Texas horned lizards that are found in four small towns (Kenedy, Karnes City, Rockdale, Smithville) in Texas and at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma to populations that occur in 16 natural areas and to an introduced population in South Carolina. We also present more detailed spatial genetic data and home range data for several of the towns. Texas horned lizards (ii) living in small towns have lower genetic diversity, higher differentiation, and smaller effective population sizes than populations located in more natural mainland areas. There was evidence for human-mediated movement of lizards into town, however it has not been enough to counteract the effects of drift. Home range size is smaller in town than more natural areas. Genetic patterns suggest dispersal occurs over short distances and is inhibited across areas with a high percent of impervious surface and major roads. These data suggest that effective planning to maintain suitable habitat and corridors to facilitate movement are critical to maintaining small terrestrial species like the Texas horned lizard and must be integrated into the early stages of urban development.

1. The relationship between plant size and trait characteristics is a fundamental aspect of the global spectrum that encompasses plant form and function. However, it remains unclear whether plant size affects interspecific variation in leaf structural traits at a specific ontogenetic stage. 2. In this research, we investigated the leaf structural traits, plant height, and diameter at breast height (or basal diameter) of 10 shrub and tree species. This study was carried out along an intertidal gradient within a mangrove forest located in Southeast China. 3. We found that leaf traits differed significantly between shrubs and trees in their response to intertidal gradients, which contributes to the advancement of our understanding of plant adaptive strategies and the evolution of traits within varying environmental contexts. Among all species, leaf carbon economics (leaf dry mass content, leaf mass per area, and leaf density) decreased significantly with increasing plant height and diameter. For each growth form and intertidal zone, the plant size-trait patterns were consistent with those in the pooled dataset. 4. Collectively, these findings suggest that mangrove plants undergo a size-dependent shift from resource conservation to resource acquisition strategies with increasing stature. Therefore, plant size serves as an indicator of the “slow-fast” spectrum of plant performance and the dichotomy between conservation and acquisition strategies.

Human rotavirus A (RVA) causes acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children. The LLR RVA vaccine, which licensed in 2000 and widely used in China, significantly reduced rotavirus disease burden in China. With the exchanges of RV circulating strains and the emergence of new genotypes, the LLR vaccine against RVGE needed to be upgraded. In this study, we aimed to establish an RG system for the RVA vaccine strain LLR (G10P[15]). Transfection with plasmids expressing 11 genomic RNA segments of LLR along with the pCMV/868CP helper plasmid, resulted in rescue of the infectious virus with an artificially introduced genetic marker on its genome, indicating that an RG system for the LLR strain was successfully established. Furthermore, the plasmid‐based reverse genetics system was used to generate lamb RVA reassortants with VP4 and VP7 genes derived from human RVA strains in China, which were not previously adapted to cell culture. We were able to rescue the six VP7 (G1, G2, G3, G4, G8, and G9) mono‐reassortants, but no VP4 (P[4] or P[8]) mono‐reassortant was rescued. The six VP7 reassortants covered all G-genotypes currently circulating in China and stably replicated in MA104 cells, which should be exploited as the next generation rotavirus vaccines candidates in China. Furthermore, the LLR RG system in this study will be a useful vaccine vector for intestinal pathogens such as norovirus and Vibrio cholerae.

Correction to “Allergy to Theobroma Cacao ”Nin Valencia A, Retes LS, Bartolomé-Zavala B, Perdomo Gutiérrez G, Bigorra T. Allergy to Theobroma Cacao. Clin Case Rep. 2024 Jun 14;12(6):e8803 In the article entitled “Allergy to Theobroma Cacao” that was previously published in Volume 12 Issue 6 of Clinical Case Reports, an author’s name was incorrectly formatted in the citation. Lorena Soto Rates’ name should be formatted as Soto Retes L.We apologize for this error.

Patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) are at greater risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections requiring intravenous vancomycin. Close vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring is warranted in HD patients as renal clearance is the primary elimination pathway. Clinically, population pharmacokinetics (popPK) model‐informed dosing is commonly used. This study aimed to perform an external evaluation of published vancomycin popPK models developed for adults undergoing high-flux intermittent HD, and to create a dosing nomogram derived from the best performing model. A literature review was conducted through PubMed and EMBASE to identify relevant popPK models. External dataset was collected retrospectively from patients of two healthcare centers in Quebec, Canada. Selected models were implemented in NONMEM (v7.5; ICON Development Solutions). Predictive performance was assessed through prediction and simulation-based diagnostics. Results analyses and graphical representations were then performed with Microsoft Excel (v16.69.1; Microsoft Office), R (v4.3.1; Posit Software) and R Studio (v1.4; Posit Software). A total of 2386 vancomycin concentrations were collected from 274 patients and 476 antibiotic courses. Four vancomycin popPK models were selected for evaluation. None of the models demonstrated overall satisfactory and clinically acceptable predictive performance. Nonetheless, Bae et al.’s model was the best performing with a MDPE of 16.25% and MDAPE of 34.66%. Different predictive performance was also observed for vancomycin concentrations from samples collected during and between HD sessions. All evaluated models presented poor overall predictive performance. Further studies are required, through existing popPK model parameters re-estimation or new model development, to adequately describe vancomycin pharmacokinetics for our high-flux intermittent HD patients’ cohort.

Plants are an intrinsic part of the soil community, which is comprised of a diverse range of organisms that interact in the rhizosphere through continuous molecular communications. The plant-microbe continuum forms a network of underground nutrient and information highways that benefit both plant and microbial communities, as well as ultimately serve as a significant sink for atmospheric CO 2. The molecular dialogue at the rhizosphere interface is crucial not only for plants to discriminate between harmful, benign, and beneficial microorganisms but also to actively participate in crop productivity and resilience to environmental stresses. Although many facets of the chemistry of inter-organism communication remain to be discovered, and the molecular mechanisms that underly hormone-regulated symbiosis are largely unexplored, biological fertilization is an attractive tool for the sustainable production of high-value crops. Here, we discuss our increasing knowledge of the chemical repertoire that underpins plant-microbe communication and host-range specificity, highlighting how the regulated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is used in inter-organism communication between plants and microbes and within the communities that shape the soil microbiome.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the correlation between changes in Bone Mineral Density (BMD) in postmenopausal women and circulating inflammatory markers. Methods: This retrospective study focused on postmenopausal women admitted to the orthopedic department of Suzhou Benq Medical Center from June 2022 to December 2023, following predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. We retrospectively collected data on initial blood routine test results and bone density measurements for all study subjects upon admission, including parameters such as White Blood Cell count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and Procalcitonin (PCT). Additionally, the Systemic Immune-inflammation Index (SII) was calculated using Neutrophil Count, Lymphocyte Count, and Platelet Count. Statistical analyses using SPSS and GraphPad software were performed to assess the correlation between bone density and inflammatory markers. Results: Patients were classified into three groups based on BMD results, including 60 individuals in the Osteoporosis (OP) group, 127 individuals in the Osteopenia (ON) group, and 37 individuals in the Normal (NO) group, respectively. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) analysis suggested that WBC, SII, and PMOP held significant feature values. Correlation analysis indicated a correlation between WBC (P=0.021), IL-6 (P=0.044), SII (P=0.034), and PMOP. One-way ANOVA analysis revealed significant differences in IL-6 (P=0.0179), SII (P=0.0210), and PCT (P=0.0200) among the three groups. Finally, ROC curve analysis demonstrated that SII (area under the curve = 0.716) has predictive value for PMOP. Conclusion: This study identified a certain predictive value for PMOP through the assessment of inflammatory markers in peripheral blood using routine blood tests.

Chronic wounds significantly burden healthcare systems worldwide, requiring novel strategies to ease their impact. Many physiological processes underlying wound healing are well studied but the role of mast cells is controversial. Mast cells are innate immune cells and play an essential role in barrier function by inducing inflammation to defend the host against chemical irritants, infections, etc. Many mast cell-derived mediators have proposed roles in wound healing; however, in vivo evidence using mouse models has produced conflicting results. Recently, studies involving more complex wound models such as infected wounds, diabetic wounds and wounds healing under psychological stress, suggest that mast cells play critical roles in these processes. This review briefly summarizes the existing literature regarding mast cells in normal wounds and potential reasons for the contradictory results. A focus will be placed on examining more recent work emerging in the last 5 years exploring mast cells in more complex systems of wound healing including infection, psychological stress and diabetes with a discussion of how these discoveries may inspire future work in the field.

The increased drought risk, stemming from global warming, has intensified ecological issues and consequently, positioned ecological drought as a significant research topic within the field of eco-hydrology. Nevertheless, due to limitations in the precision of spatiotemporal data, there remains a divergence of opinions regarding the primary water resources for vegetation growth in the northwest region of China, whether it be precipitation or groundwater. Consequently, this study endeavors to construct meteorological drought index, groundwater drought index, and ecological drought index, utilizing precipitation, groundwater storage anomaly, and ecological water deficit, respectively. The maximum correlation coefficient and residual analysis methods were used to analyze the joint and relative impacts of meteorological drought and groundwater drought on ecological drought. The primary findings can be summarized as follows: (1) The area dominated by the joint impact of precipitation and groundwater on the ecological drought variation accounts for about 60%, mainly distributed in arid and semi-arid regions. (2) In spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the average contribution of the joint impact of precipitation and groundwater to the increase in ecological drought variation is between 0.26 and 0.43. (3) In contrast to precipitation variation, ecological drought induced by groundwater scarcity predominantly impacts regions like southern Shaanxi, southeastern Gansu, and southern Qinghai. These areas represent between 12.7% and 21.8% of the total area.

Optically active phthalides are prevalent in many natural and bioactive products. Herein, a novel dynamic kinetic resolution of iso-benzofuranone derivatives through palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation has been developed to synthesize phthalide de-rivatives bearing vicinal quaternary and tertiary stereocenters with high yields, showing excellent regio-, enantio- and diastereoselec-tivity. Furthermore, gram-scale experiment underwent smoothly and the transformation of product could build a bridged bicyclic skeleton.

A mechanistically distinctive visible-light-promoted metal-free aerobic oxidation of alkenyl silanes with alcohols was disclosed to efficiently construct α-alkoxy ketones under mild conditions. The primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols could be used as reactants. The protocol could be carried out on a gram-scale. The various derivatizations of products could be conducted. Mechanistic studies indicated the reaction was initiated by single-electron oxidation of the alkenyl silanes.

Salimabromide, a unique and scarce marine tetracyclic polyketide, was synthesized in both racemic and optically active forms. A novel carboxylic acid-directed method for tandem oxidative difunctionalization of olefins was developed, whereby the formation of bridged butyrolactone and enone moieties occurs concurrently. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that this reaction follows a [3+2] process rather than the [2+2] process. In the meantime, the distinctive benzo-fused [4.3.1] carbon skeleton and highly hin-dered vicinal quaternary stereocentres were simultaneously constructed through a challenging intramolecular Giese-Baran radical cyclization. Furthermore, deuterium kinetic isotopic effects were utilized to enhance the efficacy of this pivotal step. This represents a new illustration of the application of kinetic isotope effects in natural product synthesis. Then, short asymmetric syntheses of (+)-salimabromide (13 or 15 steps) was accomplished by combing this method with rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogena-tion of a cycloheptenone derivative (97% ee) or conjugate addition of an aryl boronic acid with 2-cyclohepten-1-one (> 99% ee).

Acetylcholine esterases (AChEs) are essential enzymes in cholinergic synapses, terminating neurotransmission by hydrolyzing acetylcholine. Membrane bound AChEs at synaptic clefts efficiently perform this task, while soluble AChEs are less stable and effective, but function over broader areas. Vertebrates typically have one AChE gene producing alternatively spliced forms, whereas some invertebrates have multiple AChE genes, producing both synaptic and soluble enzymes. Despite extensive research of invertebrate AChEs as pesticide targets, their physiological roles remain largely elusive. We characterized seven AChEs in the wandering spider, Cupiennius salei, a model species for developmental and neurophysiological studies. Structural and phylogenetic analyses identified CsAChE7 as the sole stable, membrane-bound enzyme likely functioning at synaptic clefts, while the other six are soluble enzymes. In situ hybridization revealed CsAChE7 expression in the nervous system, particularly in cells also expressing choline acetyltransferase and exhibiting AChE activity. In the periphery, CsAChE7 was found in a subgroup of rapidly adapting mechanosensory neurons, facilitating precise and transient activation of postsynaptic cells. Conversely, slowly adapting neurons, also cholinergic, within the same sensory organ, express only soluble AChEs, leading to prolonged postsynaptic activation. Therefore, cholinergic transmission is not only dictated by postsynaptic receptors but also by the characteristics of the enzymes clearing acetylcholine from the synapse. We also show that acetylcholine is a crucial neurotransmitter in the spider’s visual system, sensory and motor pathways, but absent in excitatory motor neurons at neuromuscular junctions, consistent with other arthropods. Our findings on sequence structures may significantly impact the development of neurological drugs and pesticides.

Species distribution modeling is increasingly used to describe and anticipate consequences of a warming ocean. These models often identify statistical associations between distribution and environmental conditions such as temperature and oxygen, but rarely consider the mechanisms by which these environmental variables affect metabolism. Oxygen and temperature jointly govern the rate of oxygen supply to oxygen demand, and theory predicts thresholds in these rates below which species population densities are diminished. However, parameterizing models with this joint dependence is challenging because of the paucity of experimental work for most species, and the limited applicability of experimental findings in situ. Here we ask whether the joint effects of temperature and oxygen can be reliably inferred from species distribution observations in the field, using the U.S. Pacific Coast as a model system. Through simulation testing, we found that our statistical model—which adapted the metabolic index to jointly consider oxygen and temperature by applying an Arrhenius equation and used a non-linear threshold function to link the index to fish distribution—could not precisely estimate the parameters due to inherent features of the distribution data. However, the model reliably estimated an overall metabolic index threshold effect, and provided a better fit to sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) spatial distribution than previously used models. This mechanistic approach may improve predictions of species distribution, even in novel environmental conditions. Further efforts to combine insights from mechanistic responses and realized species distributions will improve forecasts of species’ responses to future environmental changes.