This paper aims to establish the global well-posedness of the free boundary problem for the incompressible viscous resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations. Under the framework of Lagrangian coordinates, a unique global solution exists in the half-space provided that the norm of the initial data in the critical homogeneous Besov space B _ p , 1 – 1 + N / p ( R + N ) is sufficiently small, where p∈[ N,2 N–1). Building upon prior work such as (Danchin and Mucha, J. Funct. Anal. 256 (2009) 881–927) and (Ogawa and Shimizu, J. Differ. Equations 274 (2021) 613–651) in the half-space setting, we establish maximal L 1 -regularity for both the Stokes equations without surface stress and the linearized equations of the magnetic field with zero boundary condition. The existence and uniqueness of solutions to the nonlinear problems are proven using the Banach contraction mapping principle.

Abstract Background IL4 is a versatile cytokine essentially known for differentiation, proliferation, and cell death in cells. Its dysregulation has been found to be associated with the development of inflammatory disorders. Objective The goal of the current investigation is to identify and select non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) in the IL-4 gene by employing computational methods which may have a potential functional impact on the occurrence of disease. Method & Result Six different nsSNPs were predicted to be deleterious based on the consensus of different algorithms: SIFT, Polyphen2 (Humdiv and HumVar), PredictSNP, and SNP&GO.I-mutant and MuPro assessment revealed a decrease in the stability of these mutants except K150M. Modelling was then carried out to build the wild-type along with its mutants, followed by superimposition of the wild-type with mutants to evaluate the RMSD value, which lies between 0.26-0.34. Simulation results of mutant models, along with wild-type, showed that four of the mutants (N113Y, A118G, R109W, and K150M) deviated most and were unstable. A118G showed a significant deviation from the wild-type, while V53A and C123R were stable. Conclusion The finding establishes the evidence that the identified six nsSNPs of IL-4 can be the new entrant presenting their candidature for genetic testing.

This paper presents a collaborative control strategy for landing the nose of an aircraft on a mobile target platform, addressing the issue of total landing gear malfunction during the landing phase. The strategy guides the aircraft along a desired trajectory while controlling the target platform’s speed to ensure simultaneous arrival at the designated position. The system model comprises the kinematic model of a Boeing 747 and a ground platform. A nonlinear aircraft controller, based on the sliding mode control technique, is designed for autonomous landing maneuvers. System stability is ensured using Lyapunov stability theory. The proposed controller’s effectiveness is demonstrated through numerical simulations and compared with the conventional proportional-integral controller, validating its superior performance.

The effective prioritization of drug resistance mutations affecting protein folding and interactions is crucial for treatment success. To address this, a bioinformatics pipeline, AMIA, is introduced, integrating various structural analysis tools into a simplified workflow. By optimizing computational resources, data transformations are automated, enhancing scalability and reproducibility. AMIA automates mutation introduction into protein structures, calculates polar interaction changes, and analyses protein fold energy through pre-established software tools. Furthermore, it includes automated molecular dynamics analysis, reducing the need for constant user input and output management. This open-source pipeline facilitates the visualization of mutation effects on protein structure and dynamic states, aiding in prioritizing variants for experimental validation. AMIA (available at: https://github.com/kbrown3687524/amia) streamlines computational analysis, contributing to improved treatment regimen development against drug-resistant mutations.

Climate change poses threats to biodiversity, particularly in tropical rainforests. How tropical rainforest tree species will respond to climate change is uncertain because their extent of local adaptation, its drivers and genetic basis remain poorly known. Characterizing these and the risks of maladaptation in future climates can inform on possible responses and help design strategies for the conservation. This study focuses on Dicorynia guianensis (Fabaceae), a widespread tree species in French Guiana, known for its sensitivity to drought. We performed genome resequencing on 87 individuals sampled in 11 sites across French Guiana to investigate the genetic structure, diversity, the drivers and the genetic basis of local adaptation. Genetic structure analysis identified three distinct groups: western, inland, and eastern, with similar levels of genetic diversity and distributed in areas with different environmental conditions. Six methods applied to detect genomic signatures of selection revealed region-specific selective sweeps and overlap between SNPs identified through outlier analysis or genome-environment association analyses. The most relevant environmental drivers of selection were potential evapotranspiration of the wettest quarter and precipitation of the coldest quarter, indicating that environmental variables related to high rainfall during the wet season are stronger drivers of local adaptation of D. guianensis than drought. Sites located in inland French Guiana had higher risks of climatic maladaptation than coastal sites. Our results contribute to the understanding of local adaptation and risk of maladaptation in tropical trees. They emphasize the need for area-specific approaches in managing tropical tree under the pressures of climate change.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a standard treatment for advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD). The precise positioning of the electrode can significantly influence the results of DBS and the overall improvement in the quality of life for PD patients receiving this therapy. We hypothesize that single unit activity (SUA) features can serve as a valid marker of the optimal DBS-electrode insertion trajectory, leading to the most favorable outcome of STN-DBS surgery. We analyzed spontaneous SUA data recorded during Microelectrode Recording (MER) for 21 patients with PD who underwent DBS surgery. We compared 29 linear and 6 nonlinear characteristics of the STN neural activity recorded along different microelectrode insertion paths to determine features corresponding to favorable stimulation outcomes. Our research indicated that the SUA features of pause neurons in a dorsal STN region significantly affected stimulation outcomes. For the trajectories chosen for lead insertion, firing rate, burst rate, and oscillatory activity at 8-12 and 12-20 bands were significantly decreased. Moreover, nonlinear feature analysis showed a significant increase in mutual information for the chosen trajectories. Our findings highlight the significance of specific indicators, such as the activity of pause neurons in the dorsal region and numerous linear SUA characteristics, in determining the optimal lead installation trajectory. Furthermore, our findings emphasize the importance of investigating paths rejected during test-stimulation to understand motor impairment in Parkinson’s disease and its treatment mechanisms.

The prescription of medications should be a constant concern in the daily practice of doctors, focusing not only on potential interactions with other prescription drugs, but also with herbal medicines, natural remedies, substances of misuse, and even certain foods. Minimizing the risks of interactions between these substances is the duty of all doctors.

The human gut microbiota (GM) is a community of microorganisms that reside in the gastrointestinal tract. Recognized as a critical element of human health, the functions of the GM extend beyond gastrointestinal well-being to influence overall systemic health and susceptibility to disease. Among the other omic sciences, metaproteomics highlights additional facets that make it a highly valuable discipline in the study of GM. Indeed, it allows the protein inventory of complex microbial communities; peptides identified and quantified by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry analyses and then are mapped to the most likely proteins, taxa and functions by querying specific databases. The aim of this review was to compile comprehensive information on metaproteomic studies of the human GM, with a focus on the bacterial component, to assist newcomers in understanding the methods and types of research conducted in this field. The review outlines key steps in a metaproteomic-based study, such as protein extraction, database selection, and bioinformatic workflow. The importance of standardization is emphasized. In addition, a list of previously published studies is provided as hints for researchers interested in investigating the role of GM in health and disease states.

Marine intervention tasks for retrieving large and heavy objects from vessels at sea is significantly important for maritime security. However, it remains a challenging task due to the lack of effective retrieval methods. Harsh open-sea conditions, unreliable GNSS due to either interruptions or deliberate spoofing by the vessels and the limitations of single robots in localizing and manipulating these objects pose significant challenges for the operations. To address these challenges, this article proposes an autonomous heterogeneous multi-robot system comprising two UAVs and a 6-DOF robot arm mounted on a USV to perform this complex task in a GNSS-denied marine environment. GNSS limitations for UAV localization are addressed using UWB beacons specially installed on the USV. Our approach involves the robot arm initially estimating the object’s position. Then the UAVs fly over the target vessel and search for the object using this information. Once object is located, a custom-designed tethered bar mechanism attached to the UAVs drags the object towards the workspace of the robot arm mounted in the USV. This work also introduces a decentralized framework to facilitate effective information sharing and collaboration among the robots. Field trials in maritime conditions demonstrate that by combining these elements, our system possesses significant potential for real-world maritime security and rescue applications. Videos for the field trails can be found at https://youtu.be/a_JzZf7QqWM

Body colorations have been investigated intensely concerning their adaptive significance from the ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Melanism has gathered growing attention thanks to its marked variability across space, time and taxon and, in ectotherms, it has been hypothesised to be driven by thermal advantages. Among reptiles, vipers show conspicuous inter- and intraspecific patterns of variation, making them excellent models to address evolutionary and adaptive patterns. We investigated the thermal melanism hypothesis across Viperidae by performing a phylogenetic comparative approach to assess whether its occurrence is phylogenetically driven or, alternatively, whether it is influenced by climate. We found no phylogenetic signal of melanism and reconstructed the ”non-melanic” form as the ancestral state at the root of their phylogeny, whereas a climatic effect was found so that melanism is more frequent in colder environments. With this work we provide, for the first time and on a large scale, strong support to the TMH in ectotherms; moreover, we hypothesize that melanism has evolved in multiple events throughout the diversification of vipers, and that it has been maintained only when its role as a response to sub-optimal environments counterbalances and overcomes the trade-off with fitness decrease due to higher predation risk.

Introduction. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in Kyrgyzstan. The study aimed at exploring the CVD prevalence depending on various risk factors across diverse ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan Materials and Methods.A cross-sectional study was carried out among six ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan, aged 18 years and above. The sample was stratified for age, education, family status, and income. We used a questionnaire with 47 questions to explore the health status, behaviour and lifestyle determinants and prevalence of CVD. We used Chi-Square Test to investigate differences between groups, and ANCOVA to determine differences between mean scores on analysed variable. Logistic regression was used to analyse the relationship between independent and dependent variables. Confounding variables were only included if they correlated with both the independent and dependent variables. Interaction analyses were conducted with logistic regression to investigate if there were any differences between the nationalities in the relationships between the independent and dependent variables. Results. Our study confirmed that the CVD prevalence across diverse ethnic groups can be significantly different: In Kyrgyzstan, the most disadvantaged group in this context were East European and the least – Western Asian. There was no difference between studied groups found in the ethnicity-stratified prevalence of such CVD risk factors as low fruit and vegetable consumption, alcohol intake, smoking, and BMI. There was no statistically significant association between educational attainment and CVD risk markers within the studied ethnic groups. The analysis of ethnicity-stratified prevalence of CVD risk markers resulted in a significant difference in physical activity across ethnicity groups. Conclusion. The study results provided an understanding of the ethnicity-stratified prevalence of CVD risk markers in the population in Kyrgyzstan. They could serve as instrumental in tailoring targeted public health interventions to address the burden of CVDs in specific subpopulations.

The European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) is the flagship initiative under the novel eIDAS1 regulation, aiming at enhancing digital identification by providing all EU citizens with a universal and secure digital ID. This ID will facilitate a wide range of activities, including travel, work, cross-border education, access to online services, payments, document signing, and more. Current efforts concentrate on specifications for Person Identification Data (PID) and other attribute attestations via Verifiable Credentials (VC) and the requirements for PID Providers, Qualified and Electronic Attribute Authorities (QAA and EAA), EUDI Wallet Providers, Relying Parties, and other actors within the EUDI Wallet ecosystem. This paper delves into further essential requirements of the eIDAS 2.01 regulation and proposes the FIDO framework as a solution for central aspects such as strong customer authentication, user sole control and device attestation. FIDO is not only an efficient framework for Strong User Authentication (SUA), but has also been recognized by the EU Cybersecurity Agency (ENISA)2 and the ETSI TR 119 460 report3 as compliant with eIDAS eID schemes. In this paper, we first briefly state the requirements of the EUDI Wallet Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF) for online and proximity identification and authentication, and propose leveraging the FIDO framework for authentication in the EUDI Wallet (section 1). Next, we highlight the potential complementarity of the current ARF design effort and the FIDO framework, explaining how the use of FIDO can achieve economies of standardization and accelerate the adoption of the EUDI Wallet by service providers that rely on additional security guarantees for LoA High, such as financial institutions and critical infrastructure operators (section 2). In section 3 we outline the technical details for seamlessly integrating a FIDO authenticator into the EUDI Wallet architecture. Finally, we introduce the need for protected confirmation, as a means to enable EUDI Wallet users to “reliably control what they confirm on their device”, and recommend to also leverage protected confirmation for selective disclosure (section 4).

Real-time, proportional deployment of an Active Gurney Flap (AGF) located near the trailing edge of the wind turbine blade on the pressure surface is used to modulate aerodynamic performance. Wind tunnel experiments are conducted using an AGF model based on the geometry of a commonly used wind turbine blade over a range of Re numbers from 160 ,000 to 414 ,000, angle of attack (AOA) from - 1 0 ◦ to 1 5 ◦ , and AGF deployment positions from 0 ◦ to 1 3 5 ◦ . The torque required to raise and lower the AGF was measured and found to be approximately C T = 0 . 1 , independent of the deployment rate and the Re number. Aerodynamic force measurements demonstrate that the deployment of the AGF is capable of improving the lift and pitch moment performance with an increased lift-to-drag ratio. Aerodynamic changes are proportional to the AGF deployment angle, with a maximum effect observed at 7 0 ◦ to the chord. The aerodynamic changes occur instantly as the flap is deployed, although sudden changes in aerodynamic loading induce mechanical vibration of the wind tunnel model on the supporting sting.

Sac7d is a 7 kDa protein belonging to the class of the small chromosomal proteins from archeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. Sac7d was discovered in 1974 in Yellowtone National Parks geysers, and studied extensively since then for its remarkable stability at large pH and temperature ranges. Sac7d binds to DNA minor groove, thereby protecting the host genome from extreme conditions by increasing the DNA melting temperature. In this study, we analyzed the Sac7d-DNA complex using 1 µs molecular dynamics simulations. The interaction energy of the interface was decomposed using Molecular Mechanics with Generalized Born Surface Area (MM/GBSA) to determine the residues that contributed most significantly to DNA binding. Out of twelve amino acids considered essential for DNA binding, three were newly identified in this study and had not been previously reported. One of these new amino acids, R63, may be involved in a dynamic protein-DNA interaction. The simulations performed also revealed a sliding motion of Sac7d over double-stranded DNA, suggesting a minimal sequence dependence interaction. Our analysis thus provides novel insights into how the Sac7d chaperones allow to protect DNA from degradation in extreme conditions.

This paper investigates a load frequency control issue for multi-area interconnected unknown power systems with random communication delays. First, a model-free adaptive control scheme is established by building an equivalent data relationship model between area control error and corresponding control input. Then, a dynamic event-triggered scheme is designed to improve resource utilization and reduce computational burden. Furthermore, random communication delays in the feedback and forward channels are considered. The results show that the proposed method is independent of any model information about the power system, only using the controlled system's control input and output data. Several simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

European (Anguilla anguilla) and American eel (A. rostrata) represent a remarkable case of interspecific hybridization. They are both panmictic and spawn in partial sympatry in the Sargasso Sea, occasionally producing viable, fertile hybrids, primarily found in Iceland. We studied introgressive hybridization from American into European eel based on whole-genome sequences of 78 individuals, encompassing European, American and 21 putative hybrid eels. Previous studies using few genetic markers could not resolve whether hybridization involved simple unidirectional backcrossing or a more complex hybrid swarm scenario. However, local ancestry inference along individual chromosomes revealed Icelandic hybrids were primarily F1 hybrids or first-generation backcrosses toward European eel, with a few showing more complex backcrossing histories. All European eels outside Iceland contained short chromosomal blocks from American eel, indicating a porous genome. We found no evidence for previously stated hypotheses about geographical gradients of introgression in European eel outside Iceland. Several chromosomal regions showed high divergence between the species, but haplotype blocks introgressed from American eel were identified both within and outside these regions. There was little correspondence between regions of high relative and high absolute divergence (dXY), and they presumably reflect selective sweeps within species or regions of reduced recombination rather than barrier loci. We identified a single genomic region with evidence of introgression from American into European eel at multiple occasions, under positive selection in both species. Thus, although the two species maintain genetic integrity, their gene pools are not independent and represent a common pool of standing variation for future adaptive responses.

Extraordinary events are rarely observable in a single rainfall gauge, and this make extremely challenging the correct prediction of their arrivals. However, it may be possible to develop a more robust approach by employing a space-time modelling scheme that is able to capture the spatial dynamics of such phenomena. Therefore, a space-time Poisson model of rainfall cells with circular shape and random depth has been exploited for the first time to interpret the behaviour of this family of extraordinary events. This category of events that may be connected to larger meteorological phenomena not necessarily connected with local heterogeneity of the landscape. Following the identification of the observed extraordinary event across southern Italy, six zones with significantly different dynamics in terms of the frequency of such extremes were identified. Subsequently, a simple mathematical representation was adopted to calibrate the model parameters, leading to an estimate of regional probability distributions defined on the space-time occurrences of extraordinary events over homogeneous zones. The approach allows to overcome the limitations posed by point observations allowed the definition of a probability distribution that pertains to an entire area rather than just a point. The obtained quantiles of rainfall estimated seems to align well with the upper bound of the probability distribution of the annual maxima observed over the areas of interests.

The achira crop (Canna edulis) is a symbol of the ancestral productive potential of the department of Huila. According to the Regional Information System (SIR) of the Governor’s Office of Huila, the area planted with annual achira in the department in 2020 will be 82.3 hectares and the local demand for starch (400 tons/year) will be imported from other departments (Cundinamarca and Nariño). Apart from its economic potential, its importance in ecosystem services is added, since its management is organic, limited to cultural work, making this crop valuable in mitigating the effects of the decline in pollinator populations, especially wild bees, due to the problems caused by the rapid growth of coffee monoculture and other conventionally managed crops, making it crucial to better understand the relationship between biodiversity and agricultural production, and to develop sustainable management strategies that promote the conservation of pollinators and biodiversity in general. The objective was to characterize the diversity of floral visitors associated with the Achira (Canna edulis KER) crop in different thermal soils in the department of Huila, characterizing the study area, identifying native bees and visitors in the crop through field visits to three farms located in the municipalities of Garzón and San Agustín, concluding that altitudinal or thermal soil variations may affect the distribution of native bee species and other visitors, reducing their abundance. In order to determine the direct relationship between altitude and diversity, it is suggested to make new efforts in this aspect, since factors such as the management of neighboring agroecosystems and proximity to forest remnants intervene. Organic crops of high cultural value, such as (Canna edulis), represent an alternative of safe conditions to stimulate the visit of wild bees and other insects that can be considered of high economic value due to their biological importance in agroecosystems.