Half Decades Research Articles

Discovery and development of tyrosine-click (Y-click) reaction for the site-selective labelling of proteins.

With the versatile utility of bio-conjugated peptides and proteins in the fields of agriculture, food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry, the design of smart protocols to conjugate and modulate biomolecules becomes highly desirable. During this process, the most important consideration for biochemists is the retention of configurational integrity of the biomolecules. Moreover, this type of bioconjugation of peptide and protein becomes frivolous if the reaction is not performed with precise amino acid residues. Hence, chemo-selective, as well as site-selective reactions, that are biocompatible and possess an appropriate level of reactivity are necessary. Based on click chemistry, there are so many tyrosine (Y) conjugation strategies, such as sulfur-fluoride exchange (SuFEx), sulfur-triazole exchange (SuTEx), coupling with π-allyl palladium complexes, diazonium salts, diazodicarboxyamide-based reagents etc. Among these techniques, diazodicarboxyamide-based Y-conjugation, which is commonly known as the "tyrosine-click (Y-click) reaction", has met the expectations of synthetic and biochemists for the tyrosine-specific functionalization of biomolecules. Over the past one and a half decades, significant progress has been made in the classical organic synthesis approach, as well as its biochemical, photochemical, and electrochemical variants. Despite such progress and increasing importance, the Y-click reaction has not been reviewed to document variations in its methodology, applications, and broad utility. The present article aims to provide a summary of the approaches for the modulation of biomolecules at the hotspot of tyrosine residue by employing the Y-click reaction. The article also highlights its application for the mapping of proteins, imaging of living cells, and in the fields of analytical and medicinal chemistry.

SHORT OVERVIEW AND HIGHLIGHTS OF THE HISTORY OF THE GERMAN GEL PROPULSION RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

Gel mono- and bipropellants (i.e., gelled fuels and/or gelled oxidizers) are interesting candidates for advanced low-hazard rocket or ramjet propulsion systems and gas dynamic systems. Gel propellants combine major advantages of solid propulsion systems and liquid propulsion systems, such as easy and simple storage and handling characteristics (solid systems) and excellent throttleability (liquid systems). This article gives a short overview of the themes and the obtained results about the work conducted in Germany within the last two and a half decades, whereas a focus is set on the progress achieved in the last years.

Recent Trends in Malaria Vaccine Research Globally: A Bibliometric Analysis From 2005 to 2022.

Aim: Malaria vaccine is one of the critical areas in tropical health research, considering the success recorded in other vaccine-preventable diseases. This study is aimed at reviewing recent trends in global malaria vaccine research from 2005 to 2022. Method: A validated search strategy was undertaken to identify scientific literature on the malaria vaccine in the Scopus database. Bibliometric indicators identified include a pattern of publication growth and citations over the study period; top authors, countries, funding organizations, and journals; keywords, including different malarial parasite species, and the overall research themes. Result: A total of 6457 documents were found from 2005 to 2022, published in 160 journals/sources in 189 countries/territories. Malaria Journal published the highest number of research outputs (478, 7.4%) within the study period, and the highest number of documents (468, 7.3%) were published in 2021. There were 214,323 total citations, with 33.2 average citations per document and 167 documents' h-index. The United States, United Kingdom, and Australia combined produced more than 60% of the publication output, with most collaboration with African countries such as Kenya. Plasmodium falciparum is the most occurring parasite species keyword (754, 11.7%), with a growing interest in Plasmodium knowlesi (30, 0.5%). Merozoite surface protein, characterization, trials, infant/children, traveler, and research/review were the six themes that emerged from the studies. Conclusion: The last one and half decades have seen a significant increase in malaria vaccine research and citations, mainly targeting vaccine development, safety, and efficacy in Africa. This necessitates more international efforts to improve the vaccines' effectiveness considering different Plasmodium species.

Evidence of Herding in the Indian Stock Market Over the Past Two and Half Decade: A Critical Incident Analysis

Evidence of Herding in the Indian Stock Market Over the Past Two and Half Decade: A Critical Incident Analysis

Shake, shear, and grind! - the evolution of mechanoredox polymerization methodology.

In the last half decade, mechanoredox catalysis has enabled an entirely new genre of polymerization methodology. In this paradigm, mechanical force, such as ultrasonic cavitation bubble collapse or ball mill grinding, polarizes piezoelectric nanoparticles; the resultant piezopotential drives the redox processes necessary for free- and controlled-radical polymerizations. Since being introduced, evolution of these methods facilitates exploration of mechanistic underpinnings behind key electron-transfer events. Mechanical force has not only been identified as a "greener" alternative to more traditional reaction stimuli (e.g., heat, light) for the synthesis of commodity polymers, but also a potential technology to enable the production of novel thermoplastic and thermoset materials that are either challenging, or even impossible, to access using conventional solution-state approaches. In this Feature Article, significant contributions to such methods are highlighted within. Advances and ongoing challenges in both ultrasound and ball milling driven reactions for radical polymerization and crosslinking are identified and discussed.

Outstanding Discoveries in Paleomammalogy in the Last One and a Half Decade

Outstanding Discoveries in Paleomammalogy in the Last One and a Half Decade

Reflecting on two and a half decades of restoration ecology in Applied Vegetation Science (1998–2023)

Reflecting on two and a half decades of restoration ecology in <i>Applied Vegetation Science</i> (1998–2023)

Fiber Lasers – Advancing the Frontier of High Power Light

During the last two and a half decades fiber lasers underwent a revolutionary transformation in their power from initially operating at Watt level to currently capable of producing multi-kW beams. This enabled a widespread use of fiber lasers in a wide range of industrial and defense applications. These revolutionary advances in power and energy are continuing, mostly along the path of coherent and incoherent combining of multiple fiber lasers, which exploits the advantage inherent in fiber technologies for monolithic integration to achieve compact and robust systems even with a large number of parallel laser channels. This is a particularly promising pathway for scaling powers and energies of ultrashort pulse lasers for driving secondary radiation sources of energetic accelerated electrons and positrons, as well as generating high energy neutrons, protons, gamma rays and high-brightness X-rays, which promise new application areas ranging from fundamental science to material science, biology, medicine, and numerous new industrial uses. This summer school lecture will cover fundamentals of rare-earth doped fiber lasers, will describe numerous innovations that enabled ultra-large core fibers constituting the foundation of high power lasers, will survey state-of-the-art performance of different types of laser systems, and will review recent progress in coherently combined fiber lasers.

Discourse on the Classification of Information in Nepal

Even after one and a half decades since the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act in Nepal, the classification of information tasks has not been completed. Although attempts were made to classify the information three times during this period, none of the classifications were valid, and there was difficulty in the implementation of the RTI Act. This study has employed the principle of maximum disclosure, and the contents have been analyzed by adopting descriptive and explanatory methods. Instead of being active by classifying information to fulfill the policy objectives of the RTI Act, such as making the functions of the state open and transparent in accordance with the democratic system, making it accountable and responsible to the citizens, and making the access of citizens simple and easy to the information of public importance held in public bodies, the state has become indifferent.

Examining Foreign Development Assistance in Africa through Emerging Power Dynamics: A Focus on Turkey’s Engagement in the Horn of Africa

In the last two and a half decades of the 21st century, a modern-day “scramble” for Africa, led by traditional Western powers, has taken shape. This coincides with Africa’s expanding external relations, notably with non-traditional powers like Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS). The emerging powers share an objective of advancing their interests in Africa, particularly through exploiting its strategic resources. Turkey has also joined this narrative, yet existing scholarly literature focuses disproportionately on the BRICS, sidelining other players like Turkey. This article addresses this gap by comprehensively investigating Turkey’s distinctive role and its ramifications in Africa. It specifically probes Turkey’s contributions to development in the Horn of Africa, encompassing diverse forms of aid and investments. Turkey strategically wields soft power tools, including humanitarian aid, loans, grants, and technical expertise, to bolster its political and economic sway, thus fostering trade and investment prospects across the Horn of Africa. This engagement has been warmly received, particularly in nations like Somalia and Ethiopia, which have long sought constructive developmental partnerships. This development assistance, however needs to be taken with caution and accompanied by a clear strategy on the mode of response by the Horn of Africa countries in regards to self-guarding themselves from being sucked into a deeper dependence relationship where power is heavily weighted in favor of global powers. This necessitates a clear roadmap to prevent unwarranted dependency on external forces and to preserve a balanced power dynamic. In essence, this study underscores the importance of equitable engagement for sustainable growth and self-determination in the continent.

Systematic Literature Review of Art Archive Management in Indonesia

Several studies on the management of art archives in Indonesia have been carried out in line with the discourse, awareness, and practice of art archiving which have also become increasingly visible in the last one and a half decades. Seeing these developments, this study aims to explore studies of actors, processes, and conditions for managing art archives that have been running in Indonesia, using the Systematic Literature Review method. The results show that archiving actors can be categorized into government institutions, non-governmental organizations, as well as individual and community initiatives. The archive management processes studied cover a series of stages from upstream to downstream, or focus on certain stages such as acquisition, preservation, and dissemination. In the process, several obstacles were encountered; high utilization of digital technology and internet; and emphasized the importance of collaboration, creativity, and public involvement and interaction in the art archive itself. Based on the results of the discussion, it can be said that there is a need for further research on art archives in order to help improve the quality of their management.

Long-term experience of the thermo-active ground source system at the metro station Taborstrasse in Vienna

Four of the stations newly opened during the underground extension of the U2 line in Vienna in 2008 have been covering a large part of their heating and cooling needs for now almost one and a half decades by using geothermal energy, which is generated by means of energy diaphragm walls, energy piles and energy bottom slabs of the station buildings. As this was the first infrastructure building of this type and scale worldwide at the time of construction, one of the diaphragm walls of the Taborstraße station was equipped with numerous sensors to obtain data sets for the thermo-mechanical long-term behavior of these wall elements for the very first time. Continuous measurements with automatic data recording were initially carried out from April 2008 until May 2011. In October 2020, the measurements were resumed with the existing sensors, this time manually and once a month, in order to carry out a long-term comparison of the measurement data and to create a basis for assessing the effects of the geothermal operation on its structural components. This paper gives an overview of the Taborstraße station with a focus on the thermally activated geostructures and their instrumentation. A comparison of the recorded generated energy with the predicted heating and cooling demand is discussed in the context of the energy data. In addition, the temperature and the strain behavior of the observed energy diaphragm wall is discussed based on the measurement data collected over a period of around 14 years of operational experience.

Un recorrido de 35 años: la transformación de la revista Comunicación y Sociedad y del campo de estudios de la comunicación a través de un análisis hemerográfico

A 35 años de la edición del primer número de la revista Comunicación y Sociedad se llevó a cabo una sistematización documental, de base estadística y hemerométrica, sobre lo producido y publicado a lo largo de esas tres y media décadas con el objetivo de exponer una perspectiva revisionista de los cambios, retos y agendas a los que se ha enfrentado el campo académico de la comunicación en ese periodo. Como parte central de los resultados se reporta la mayor internacionalización de la revista, el protagonismo de España, en tanto bolsa de colaboradores e instituciones, que sigue manteniendo un lugar prominente en la producción científica, mientras que las colaboraciones procedentes de países latinoamericanos, así como entre autores, instituciones y tradiciones de investigación, aumentan y se renuevan en el nuevo periodo comparado, así como la cada vez mayor presencia de investigación sobre cultura digital.

The Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) Medical Records Abstraction Project: A resource for research on the aging brain and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

AbstractBackgroundAdult Changes in Thought (ACT) is a prospective cohort study of older adults from Seattle, Washington, USA. Participants are enrolled from Kaiser Permanente Washington membership and may consent for autopsy. Many participants have decades of medical records prior to ACT enrollment. We describe an ambitious project to abstract medical records to facilitate epidemiological investigation.MethodAbstractions include medication data preceding 1977 (the start of automated pharmacy data), laboratory data preceding 1988 (the start of automated laboratory data), women’s health history elements, blood pressures, several cardiovascular conditions, several neurological conditions, physical injuries, psychiatric conditions, and other medical conditions, among many others. Data are entered in a Microsoft Access front‐end interface linked to a Microsoft SQL Server database engine. The database comprises 15 tables in a relational structure. We summarize chart review data and other data according to dementia status.ResultWe have completed abstractions on 1329 individuals, of whom 908 had an autopsy. For the first 380 people with an autopsy, it took an average of 6.2 hours (SD 3.8 hours) to abstract &gt;30 years of medical data. More recent electronic medical record data take longer to abstract. In this sample, 236 (62%) died without Alzheimer’s Disease or Related Dementias (ADRD) dementia, and 144 (38%) died with an ADRD dementia diagnosis. Demographic and clinical data are summarized in the Table. Over 60% had pharmacy data preceding 1977 with a median of more than a half decade’s worth. Over 90% of the cohort had additional laboratory data preceding 1988, with a median of a decade’s worth. Medical conditions were similarly common across people without and with ADRD, except cerebrovascular accidents, diabetes, depression, and confusion during hospitalization were more common among people with dementia. We will update all numbers for AAIC.ConclusionThe ACT Medical Records Abstraction Project transforms medical records into data ready for analyses of associations with outcomes derived from other data from the ACT study. For the autopsy cohort in particular, the Medical Records Abstraction Project provides unmatched detailed longitudinal clinical data to support a wide variety of epidemiological research on clinical‐pathological correlations.

Comments: Unconventional Shale Reservoirs Meet Cancer Genome Sequencing

The cross-industry development and application of technologies is the epitome of innovation and ingenuity. The more divergent the industries are, the more the unique ways of thinking strike us as remarkable. Technology transfer between the oil and gas industry and other sectors isn’t new. Many examples can be found in medical science, space exploration, and renewable and sustainable technologies. In this JPT issue, the technologies of Oceaneering Space Systems and Impossible Sensing Energy are featured. A case study presented at the 2023 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition took medical science to a new low—into the depths of the Permian Basin for downhole reservoir drainage diagnostics (RDD). The coauthors, a subsurface and wells manager and a chapter manager, surveillance, analysis, and optimization and pilots at Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV), described using genome sequencing for cancer detection and treatment in a successful proof-of-concept (POC) test conducted from 2017 to 2019. Nampetch Yamali and Daniel Emery explained in SPE 215052 how in 2017 CTV was given the task of identifying technology to assess vertical drainage dimensions to estimate drainage volumes from fractured wells. The goal was to minimize interference from offset wells and co-developments to optimize reservoir recovery in unconventional fields. At that time, the technologies and their capabilities were limited. Although subsurface microbial DNA sequencing for upstream assets has found applications in enhanced biocide and corrosion inhibition, reservoir sweet spot indicators, and tracer technology, use of the technique was thought also to have potential in horizontal well development planning via RDD. Learning of a genomic sequencing technique for cancer cell identification in humans at the biology and biochemistry department at the University of Houston, the wheels started turning at CTV with thoughts it could be developed and adopted for RDD. Similarities were seen because RDD uses in-situ subsurface microbial DNA to infer the depths from which fluids drain after fracturing a horizontal well and optimizes well spacing on a pad, especially in stacked reservoirs. The predictive analytics platform mapped the hydrocarbon footprints of geologic subzones by using noninvasive DNA testing tools. The unique DNA markers for RDD were extracted from mud and cuttings from the horizontal and vertical drilling sections. DNA from produced fluids was also collected. The authors wrote, “Produced fluids collected at two-to-four-week intervals at the wellhead are mapped to the RDD framework. They are ‘lineage traced’ back to shale and tight rock. Drainage heights and percentage of contribution from these locations is computed adapting DNA sequencing and data analytics pipelines which were developed for lineage tracing cancer cells, breaking off from the primary tumor and metastasizing to distant sites back to the tissue of origin.” After validating the DNA extractions, CTV conducted a blind test using only the DNA data to determine the landing zones for each of the four wells in the pad. Using clustering methods, the results of the blind test accurately identified all landing zones within an acceptable margin, according to Yamali and Emery. The next step in the trial analyzed the DNA of the produced fluids. “Preliminary results showed drainage height estimates for each horizontal well.” In 2021, the study continued with an additional four new field trials in the Permian Basin for application of the technique to zonal production identification. The authors wrote, “Although the results from the POC were positive, subsurface DNA RDD technology is a novel technique within the oil and gas industry, and advanced applications are still evolving. This combination naturally gives rise to more general skepticism and a need to thoroughly evaluate the technology from operational, economic, and accuracy perspectives.” The paper describes the ongoing cross-disciplinary work being done by petroleum engineers, geologists, microbiologists, and stratigraphers to fully evaluate this method of RDD. It further details CTV’s wider approach to “accelerate the innovation life cycle, from pilot stages to widespread adoption at scale,” emphasizing the need for leaders’ support for nonconventional thinking and approaches. As the close of 2023 approaches, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you the best in 2024 on behalf of the JPT Editorial Review Board and the JPT staff. We’ll be kicking off the new year with the commemoration of JPT’s 75th anniversary. Each issue will include an article dedicated to the evolution of technology and industry practices over the seven and a half decades JPT has covered the upstream industry. In January, Trent Jacobs and Stephen Rassenfoss will revisit technological advancements since JPT’s 50th anniversary in 1999. Since then, over 25 million B/D have been added to the global supply thanks in very large part to advancements in drilling, completions, and reservoir technologies. Join us as we explore these along with some predictions made 25 years ago and the surprising realities of where the industry stands today.

Does Reform Lead to Change in The Import Pattern of Oil and Oilseeds of India?

India has completed two and a half decades of economic reforms. The present study is an attempt to evaluate the impact of reforms on India’s oil and oil seeds export and imports in terms of quantity and also value. The impact has been measured through decadal value, Compound Growth Rate (CGR), Instability Index (II) and Dummy Semi-Logarithmic Regression Estimation. The CGR of export of oilseeds has moved from negative to positive during the reform period viz. cotton seed, rapeseed oil, coconut oil, and copra. most of the oilseed has fallen under a low Instability Index group. The import of other oilseeds, olive oil, sesame seed and oil palm has been increased during the reform period compared to the pre-reform period. The estimation of the semi-log regression model confirmed that there has been a positive and significant change in the import of oilseeds and oils during the reform period.

A Study on Challenges of Small-Scale Industries in India

A form of art that demonstrates skills of artisans in the form of metal and pottery can be termed as ‘craftwork’. Also referred to as crafts, it could also include work that can be done on flower, paper, leather, fiber to name a few. In a developing country like India, this finds its presence as a Small Sector Industry (SSI herewith). In the last seven and a half decades of independence, this sector has seen its share of ups and downs and managed to weather many challenges. Two most challenging areas has always been the rise in population and consequently unemployment. The purpose of this article is to provide readers with a better understanding of the SSI industry by outlining its features, difficulties, and possibilities for development and improvement. We believe that stakeholders, legislators, and entrepreneurs will find our work useful in their pursuit of launching and growing successful businesses in the modern day.

984. Detection of Mycobacterial Species from Specimens Submitted for Metagenomic Analysis

Abstract Background A national U.S. epidemic of non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections is occurring at rates unseen over earlier decades, resulting in substantial numbers of pathogenic sequelae. Culture of mycobacteria is laborious, often requiring weeks for cultivation and speciation. Next generation sequencing (NGS) to detect NTM from clinical specimens has advantages over culture methods. From January 2018 to June 2022 we queried a large national NGS database to detect NTM rates and species. Methods DNA was isolated from 431,716 patient specimens collected from a variety of body sites: sputum, urine, sinus, wound or an unspecified swabs. Employing an Illumina’s 16S and ITS targeted-gene, deep sequencing approach, bacterial and/or fungal species resident in the specimen were determined. The identity and relative abundance of mycobacterial DNA recovered for each specimen were reported by species as the primary outcomes. Results Of the 431,716 specimens analyzed in this 4.5 year retrospective study, 0.001% (468) contained mycobacterial DNA. Forty different species of mycobacteria were detected with the most common frequency including: M abscessus, 40%; M mucogenicum, 13%; M. tuberculosis, 8.5% and M immunogenum 4.6%. M. avian and M. intracellulare were each detected in only 4% of the positive NTM specimens. 15% were other NTM species and 15% were not speciated NTM. Between 2018-2022 of the 468 NTM, the annual number of M. abscessus was 38, 53, 41 and 41, respectively. The concentration or relative abundance of mycobacterial DNA within each specimen varied from 4 to 100% of the total bacterial DNA recovered. Conclusion Over 4.5 years , NGS performed at a national molecular diagnostic laboratory detected 40 NTM species with a predominant fraction as M. abscessus (40%), supporting the clinical concern for an epidemic increase in M. abscessus infections during the last half decade. These data support the view that NGS metagenomics can uncover NTM epidemiological trends and implicate NTM infections. Disclosures Joseph F. John, Jr., MD, FACP, FIDSA, MicroGenDx: Advisor/Consultant Michael G. Schmidt, PhD, MicroGenDx: Advisor/Consultant Courtney L. Jarvis, PhD, MicroGenDX: Employee Niccole Diaz, BS, MicroGenDX: Advisor/Consultant Rick Martin, BS, MicroGenDX: Ownership Interest

TRENDS IN THE INCIDENCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE IN LOPBURI PROVINCE, CENTRAL THAILAND, 2017-2021

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the newborn’s most common congenital anomaly. Nevertheless, limited evidence is available of CHD incidence in Thailand. Therefore, we aimed to determine the trends in CHD incidence from 2017 to 2021.&#x0D; Methods: A descriptive epidemiology study was conducted using data from 2017-2021. We collected data from the medical records of pediatric patients with CHD at the Pediatric Cardiology Clinic at Ananda Mahidol Hospital, central Thailand. The pediatric cardiologist reviewed medical records to obtain participants’ characteristics and medical data, including CHD diagnosis, sex, child order and maternal risk factors during pregnancy.&#x0D; Results: In total, 27,882 live births were recorded between 2017 and 2021 in Lopburi Province, Thailand. The study included 584 pediatric patients with CHD born between 2017 and 2021. Of these, 312 (53.4%) were males, and 89 (15.2%) presented cyanotic CHD. Sex-adjusted CHD incidence was 22.4 per 1000 live-births (95% CI: 17.6-34.5) in 2017; then rose to 25.7 per 1000 live-births (95% CI 21.7- 30.2) in 2019 and dropped to 15.4 per 1000 live-births (95% CI 12.1-19.3) in 2021 (p for trend = 0.317). Two hundred and fourteen patients (36.6%) presented a ventricular septal defect. In 2017, the proportion of patients receiving a diagnosis of CHD before one year of age was 57.7% and continuously rose to 100% in 2021 (p-for trend &lt;0.001). The proportion of alcohol consumption during pregnancy was consistently high, ranging from 61.6 to 74.8% (p for trend = 0.189). In addition, contraindicated drug use during the first trimester of pregnancy was also constantly high (73.1%) among study participants over five years (p for trend = 0.235).&#x0D; Conclusion: CHD incidence in Lopburi Province has been persistently high from 2017 to 2021. The average age at diagnosis with CHD in this study population continuously declined over five years. Characteristics of CHD risk factors during pregnancy constituted a constantly high proportion among these study participants over one half decade.

Microbial Biosurfactant Screening: Diversity in Assessment Methods

Abstract Biosurfactants are a group of surface-active agents mainly produced by microorganisms and have a wide range of applications in industries as well as agriculture. Global usage of such biologically active compounds as detergents, bioremediation agents, cosmetic products is hugely dependent on their high production. New avenues of research have opened up due to this increased interest, most of which are focused on identifying specialized microorganisms capable of biosurfactant production. Screening methods for selection of biosurfactant producing bacteria are, therefore, of utmost importance in this endeavor. The aim of this review was to discuss various conventional and novel methods that can overcome the hurdles encountered in time effective, economical microbial biosurfactant screening. This review lists several important biosurfactant screening methods based on supernatant, biomass as well as culture media. New methods devised for biosurfactant screening in the last half decade such as surfactant dependent dye solubilization, metagenomic studies etc. are also explained in detail. A thorough grasp of both contemporary and anachronistic screening methodologies will not only lead to discoveries of novel native strains capable of biosurfactant production but also form the basis on which new screening methods can be devised.