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The oldest articulated bony fish from the early Silurian period
Longevity and foraging performance of honey bees treated with an RNAi-based Varroa destructor biopesticide
Significance of amino acid recycling from vacuoles for viability and sporulation of yeast cells under starvation conditions
Prevalence of excessive screen time and its associated factors among schoolchildren in Damascus, Syria: a cross-sectional study
Direct nuclear spectroscopic evidence against lithium incorporation in aqueous chemical bath deposition-grown ZnO nanorods
Integrated deep learning-driven multi-stage steam forecasting and scheduling optimization for converter energy systems
A cross-sectional serological study of bats in the United States Virgin Islands during 2019 to 2020 reveals no evidence of rabies virus exposure
Abstract Bats are a known reservoir of rabies virus in 10 Caribbean nations. A cross-sectional survey of five species of native bats on U.S. Virgin Islands of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas was performed during September 2019–January 2020. Serological testing was used to determine whether native bat populations have been exposed to rabies virus. Bats (n = 72) from seven sampling locations in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) all tested negative for rabies neutralizing antibodies. The sensitivity of detection of rabies virus antibodies ranged from 49.4% to 100%, depending on geography, bat species clustering, and presumed prevalence. A previous rabies cross-sectional survey conducted during 2019–2020 led by the USVI Department of Health determined freedom-from-rabies for small Indian mongoose ( Urva auropunctata ) populations in U.S. Virgin Islands. These findings, along with a historical absence of rabies detections in passive surveillance of dogs, cats, and wildlife, supports an evidence base that USVI may be rabies-free. These surveillance activities built local One Health capacity and fostered federal, university, and territory collaboration in USVI. Continued surveillance will help determine a declaration of rabies freedom for USVI.
Articulating while listening supports the emerging perception-production link in early infancy
Largest Silurian fish illuminates the origin of osteichthyan characters
Navigating menopausal health in Oman (Marie Oman WP2a)
Transmission of MPXV from fire-footed rope squirrels to sooty mangabeys
Abstract Mpox, caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV; Orthopoxvirus monkeypox ), is on the rise in West and Central Africa 1–3 . African rodents, especially squirrels, are suspected to be involved in MPXV emergence, but no evidence of a direct transmission to humans or non-human primates has been established 4–9 . Here we describe an outbreak of MPXV in a group of wild sooty mangabeys ( Cercocebus atys ) in Taï National Park (Côte d’Ivoire). The outbreak affected one-third of the group, killing four infants. To track its origin, we analysed rodents and wildlife carcasses from the region. We identified a MPXV-infected fire-footed rope squirrel ( Funisciurus pyrropus ), found dead 3 km from the mangabey territory 12 weeks before the outbreak. MPXV genomes from the squirrel and the mangabey were nearly identical. A video record from 2014 showed a mangabey from this group eating the same squirrel species and diet metabarcoding of faecal samples collected from mangabeys before the outbreak identified two samples containing fire-footed rope squirrel DNA. One of these samples was also the first positive for MPXV. This represents a rare case of direct detection of interspecies transmission. Our findings indicate that rope squirrels were the source of the MPXV outbreak in mangabeys. Because squirrels and non-human primates are hunted, traded and consumed by humans in West and Central Africa 10,11 , exposure to these animals probably represents risk for zoonotic transmission of MPXV.
Selection criteria for foaming agent and mechanical performance evaluation of conditioned soil for EPB shield tunneling in water-rich sand strata
Abstract The selection of a suitable foaming agent for soil conditioning in the Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) shield tunnelling through water-rich sand strata currently lacks a standardized test method and mechanical indices. This paper presents systematic investigations on several key factors influencing the soil conditioning of EPB shield tunnelling regarding foam. The mechanical properties of the foaming agent solution and foam have been assessed for eight different foaming agents through a series of specifically devised laboratory tests. The efficacy of the foaming agent solution has been validated through laboratory tests on conditioned water-rich sandy soil for three types of foaming agent solutions. Furthermore, a standardized method has been proposed for selecting foaming agent and a mechanical characterisation scheme for conditioned soil of EPB tunnelling in water-rich sand strata. Experimental results indicate that the optimum foaming concentration should be controlled to be at 3% for EPB shield tunnelling in water-rich sand strata. At an optimal foaming concentration of 3%, the investigation test results indicate the following mechanical indices of foaming agent should be satisfied: 1) surface tension < 40 mN/m at the critical micelle concentration; 2) the foam volume > 150 mL after 15 min with the Roche foam meter; 3) the foam expansion ratio under the atmospheric pressure > 12; and 4) the half-life time > 400 s. Furthermore, the concave decay type of foam (class II) is preferred over the linear decay type (Class I), as confirmed by the tests on the mechanical performance of foam conditioned sand. It has also found that the conditioned soils having indices with the slump of 150–200 mm, permeability coefficient k < 10–5 m/s, and undrained shear strength of 3–7 kPa, work well for EPB shield TBM tunnelling through sandy soils in Nanchang.
A comprehensive analytical study of solitons and nonlinear dynamics in a concatenated DNLS-type model
Effectiveness of post-grouting on the vertical response improvement for extra-long bored piles: case studies on field tests
Assessing antitumor effects of plasma-activated phosphate buffered saline in breast cancer cell 2D and 3D models
Advanced hybrid 3DCNN-SGAN framework for high-precision gas mixture analysis with sensor arrays
Abstract In controlled dynamic laboratory conditions representative of real-world variability, the gases are usually mixtures rather than individual components. In chemometrics and electronic-nose (E-nose) systems, accurate concentration is a key challenge. Standard algorithms like support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbors (KNN), and shallow multi-layer perceptron (SMLP) have limited feature extraction and poor generalization ability when faced with overlapping responses from sensors, as well as strong cross-gas interactions. While deep learning methods offer enhanced performance, they generally rely on large labeled datasets and cannot inherently maintain robustness in mixed gas scenarios. In order to overcome this limitation, the paper presents a hybrid approach of 3D convolutional neural networks (3DCNNs) with semi-supervised generative adversarial network (SGAN). The 3DCNN component captures spatiotemporal dynamics of sensor array responses, while the SGAN improves generalization under limited labeled data by generating realistic synthetic samples. Experimental results demonstrated that the model obtains a classification accuracy of 99.10%, which is higher than SVM (93.80%), KNN (92.60%), and SMLP (95.30%). These results indicate that the model can be well used for high-precision gas mixture analysis. This work supports SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) through advanced AI-based gas sensing, SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by enabling accurate air-quality monitoring, and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) by improving detection of hazardous gas mixtures that impact public health.
Silver nanoparticles obtained using cyclodextrin derivatives and pectin as a key component of titanium dioxide-based composites for water purification
Effect of drying methods on Acetobacter xylinum bacterial cellulose aerogels and cryogels
Abstract Bacterial cellulose (BC) pellicles were produced from Acetobacter xylinum using a simple, additive-free, and low-cost static cultivation method consistent with sustainable and green bioprocessing principles. Two post-synthesis drying routes were compared: supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ) drying following acetone solvent exchange and direct lyophilization without chemical additives or pre-freezing. The resulting BC aerogels and cryogels were characterized by SEM, confocal microscopy, BET analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, EDS, and geometrical evaluation with a particular emphasis on nanostructure, porosity, and network integrity. scCO 2 -dried BC aerogels exhibited a well-preserved three-dimensional nanofibrillar network, achieving a BET surface area (123 m 2 /g), large pore volume (0.36 cm 3 /g), and an average pore diameter of 10 nm. Confocal microscopy revealed higher surface roughness (Rz up to ~ 58 μm), reflecting a more developed and heterogeneous surface topography. Lyophilized BC cryogels showed lower surface area (51 m 2 /g) and pore volume (0.13 cm 3 /g); however, SEM and confocal analyses indicated that the nanofibrillar network and three-dimensional architecture were largely retained, with only localized fibril aggregation and reduced roughness (~ 28–30 μm). EDS confirmed high chemical purity in scCO 2 -dried aerogels, while minor inorganic traces detected in cryogels were attributed to residual components from the tea-based culture medium. Although scCO 2 drying provided slightly superior structural preservation and textural properties, the porous architecture remained comparable between the two methods. Overall, additive-free BC pellicles produced by static cultivation and processed via limited pre-freezing followed by lyophilization provided a structurally comparable and more sustainable alternative, offering a practical balance between textural performance and processing simplicity. These findings underscore the potential of simplified drying strategies for the sustainable fabrication of BC-based porous materials without compromising structural functionality. .