Low Fluctuations Research Articles

Thermo-energetic performance of two dwellings during a heat wave in the Buenos Aires province, Argentina: On-site response assessment and adaptation strategies testing

This study evaluates the effects of heat waves on habitability conditions, energy consumption and cooling expenses through on-site measurements in two houses in Buenos Aires Province: an urban house located in La Plata, with low thermal quality of the envelope and two air conditioners; and a rural one in Brandsen, with an intermediate thermal quality of the envelope and one fan. Energy strategies were simulated on both houses that, simultaneously, allow the adaptation to heat waves and reduce, or generate the least possible, impact on electricity grids: a photovoltaic (PV) system and a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system. Both locations experienced similar average outdoor temperatures (∼28°C), but La Plata had fewer fluctuations due to heat accumulation in built surroundings. Indoor temperatures were comparable (∼29°C living spaces/∼27°C bedrooms), but the house in La Plata experienced lower thermal fluctuations due to its air-conditioning (ACs) and outdoor temperatures. Average heat index values were alike (∼30°C living spaces/∼29°C bedrooms). Although La Plata’s dwelling had ACs, results show the influence of envelope performance and nighttime ventilation in the Brandsen’s rural setting. Adaptation assessment revealed that PV and GSHP systems are adequate measures to face heat waves; however, they require important incentives to achieve massiveness.

Reliable wavelength detection method of sapphire fiber Bragg gratings using added multimode fiber

Sapphire fiber Bragg gratings (SFBGs) are promising high-temperature sensors, which can be applied to measure temperature and strain in extreme environments. However, the multimode operation of SFBGs is susceptible to disturbance, leading to unreliable wavelength detection. Here, we propose by using added multimode fibers (AMMF) and tracing the longwave edge of reflection envelope to enhance the stability of wavelength detection for SFBG. The near-field profiles of transmission modes are investigated in sapphire fiber with different lengths of AMMF. It is found that the mode-field distribution of sapphire fiber can be improved by using AMMF with a length of 1000 m, which results in a reduction of relative standard deviation (RSD) from 57 % to 10 %. Then, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the reflection spectrum of SFBG is improved to 16 dB by polishing inclined end faces of sapphire fiber using the removal mechanism of hard-brittle materials. Furthermore, we detect the wavelengths of both the longwave edge and peak on the reflection envelope, which reveals lower fluctuations (i.e., SD = 0.02 nm) of the longwave edge, since lower-order modes are more stable during transmission. The effect of external disturbances (i.e., torsion and vibration) on demodulation of SFBG is also evaluated, with a maximum fluctuation of 0.06 nm (SD = 0.01 nm). A temperature experiment is carried out with the assembly and polynomial fitting curves with high fitness are obtained. Thus, our proposed methods enhance the reliability of wavelength detection in the reflection spectrum of SFBG, which is beneficial to improving the sensing performance of SFBG-based sensors.

A novel multi-objective robust optimization method based on improved Gray Wolf optimizer and Kriging model

A novel multi-objective robust optimization method for mechanical structure products is introduced. Firstly, the method introduces Bernoulli Dynamic Adaptive Gray Wolf Optimizer (BDAGWO) to address inherent limitations within the original Gray Wolf Optimizer (GWO), such as falling into local optimal solutions and low convergence rate. Subsequently, BDAGWO is utilized to search optimal correlation coefficients of Kriging. The proposed surrogate model exhibits high fitting accuracy on different test cases, with coefficients of determination reaching above 0.99 on the test set, and mean relative error, mean absolute error, mean absolute percentage error and root mean squared error are all close to 0. To solve multi-objective optimization problems, an improved NSGA-II is introduced to amplify search capabilities. Then based on robust optimization method, combine BDAGWO-Kriging and improved NSGA-II to establish a multi-objective robust optimization framework with high accuracy and high solution efficiency. The proposed method is implemented to an EMU bogie frame, demonstrating that the robust optimization scheme reduces the maximum equivalent stress and mass, and exhibits lower fluctuation compared to deterministic optimization. This substantiates the method’s effectiveness and provides an optimization approach of large and complex mechanical products.

Transcriptomic, mutational and structural bioinformatics approaches to explore the therapeutic role of FAP in predominant cancer types

Fibroblast activating protein (FAP) is a cell surface marker of cancer-associated fibroblasts with a distinct pro-tumorigenic role. The present study analyzed the pan-cancer expression; and clinical and mutational profiles of the FAP coding gene. Molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) deciphered the backbone dynamics and energetics of FAP. Virtual screening and subsequent pharmacokinetic-profiling (PK) filtered lead molecules, which were subjected to molecular docking. MDS projected a stable trajectory for the protein, as dynamics evidenced by low residue-level fluctuations, stable backbone dynamics, and energetics. Around five stabilization and deleterious mutations in the catalytic domain were identified. The low binding energy (BE) profiles from molecular docking studies screened the top five lead molecules for site-specific intermolecular interaction studies. Lead-16 (ZINC000245289699) exhibited a significant BE and inhibition constant of −6.87 kcal/mol and 12.27 μM, respectively, across FAP and its mutants. Interestingly, the docked complexes of Lead-16 interacted with the catalytic triad residues (S624, D702, and H734). The docked complexes of Lead-16 with FAP showed lower average root-mean-square fluctuations compared to the unbound protein, suggesting a stable ligand–protein complex. The tumor-specific expression and its critical overall survival suggest the inhibitors of FAP for potential cancer therapeutic intervention and hindering tumor microenvironment-driven cancer progression.

Impact of sample preparation on bitumen content measurement using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

The impact of sample preparation on bitumen content measurement using LIBS was investigated by collecting spectra from wet and dry tailings. A multivariate data analysis model was developed using optimal wavelength selection for bitumen content classification and prediction in tailings. Wet tailings can be classified into three classes (low, medium, and high bitumen) with 12.1 % error, while dry tailings have a classification error of 6.1 %. Quantitative analysis showed a bitumen content prediction error of 4.7 % for wet tailings and 8.9 % for dry tailings. Wet tailings showed a 1.8–2.5 times improvement in the limit of detection range compared to dry tailings. Plasma density and crater size measurements revealed that plasma density fluctuation was 2.7 times lower in wet tailings due to consistent crater formation from laser-tailings interaction. The lower plasma density fluctuation indicates a stable mass ablation for wet samples, which is attributed as the primary reason for significant LIBS performance improvement on wet tailings.

Crossover detection based on variances of slope differences for multi-fractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA)

AbstractMulti-fractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) describes long-range correlations across scales in time series in terms of the linear fittings of the fluctuation functions $$F_q(s)$$ F q ( s ) for every moment q considered. It is relatively common to find time scales, also called crossovers, where different linearities are found at each side of the $$F_q(s)$$ F q ( s ) , leading to different (multi-)fractal properties. Generally, crossovers are manually identified by experts, subject then to their skills and possible bias. In this work, a novel methodology based on the variances of the slope differences (CDV-A) is proposed to automatically detect crossovers. A set of synthetic fluctuation functions with different mono-fractal and multi-fractal features, different noise levels and known crossovers is generated to assess the CDV-A. Moreover, the proposed methodology is also applied to state of the art fluctuation functions in order to compare the proposed manual and automated locations of the crossovers. Results show the proposed methodology is highly accurate, specially in low noise synthetic fluctuation functions and in most of the real cases.

Investigation on the development of Novel PAM structure as high-performance clay inhibitor in HT/HP conditions by using functional groups

Polyacrylamide (PAM) molecular structures are not stable at higher temperatures, limiting their effectiveness in water-based drilling fluid (WBDF) applications. This study focuses on identifying functional groups that can enhance the thermal stability of PAM structure. It presents a comprehensive and comparative analysis of the swelling inhibition capacity of both low and high molecular weight (MW) PAM-based polymers at high temperature and high pressure (HT/HP). The mechanism by which modified PAM interacts with and adsorbs to the clay (Na-MMT) surface is examined, along with an analysis of the surface properties of the clay minerals. Therefore, molecular dynamic (MD) simulation results revealed that the Novel PAM polymers with high MW containing ethyl and benzyl groups demonstrate greater stability and more controlled deformation behavior compared to conventional PAM at HT conditions. Surface modification and hydrophobic effects were observed in the interactions between polymers and Na-MMT. Low MW PAM-based polymers showed larger fluctuations in d-spacing, indicating various or more disruptive interactions. In contrast, the insertion of high MW PAM-based polymer resulted in significantly narrower and lower d-spacing fluctuation ranges. The Novel PAM exhibited superior performance, providing lower d-spacing fluctuations compared to both low MW PAM-based polymers and standard PAM. Across a temperature range from 300 to 600°K, the Novel PAM consistently improved polymer adsorption on the Na-MMT surface compared to standard PAM. Indicating that the modifications effectively reduce the interaction between Na-MMT particles and water molecules while enhancing the interaction between the polymer and Na-MMT, potentially leading to more stable structures in HT/HP environments. The enhanced stability suggests that Novel PAM is more suitable for WBDF applications, as it is less prone to structural changes and can maintain its integrity under harsh conditions. The modifications provide the polymer with better resilience, potentially leading to improved performance in practical applications.

Impact of a Cancer-Associated Mutation on Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase1 Inhibition.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase1 (PARP1) plays a vital role in DNA repair and its inhibition in cancer cells may cause cell apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the effects of a PARP1 variant, V762A, which is strongly associated with several cancers in humans, on the inhibition of PARP1 by three FDA approved inhibitors: niraparib, rucaparib and talazoparib. Our work suggests that these inhibitors bind to the V762A mutant more effectively than to the wild-type (WT), with similar binding free energies between them. Talazoparib inhibition uniquely lowers the average residue fluctuations in the mutant than the WT including lower fluctuations of mutants N- and C-terminal residues, conserved H-Y-E traid residues and donor loop (D-loop) residues which important for catalysis more effectively than other inhibitions. However, talazoparib also enhances destabilizing interactions between the mutation site in the HD domain in the mutant than WT. Further, talazoparib inhibition significantly disrupts the functional fluctuations of terminal regions in the mutant, which are otherwise present in the WT. Lastly, the mutation and inhibition do not significantly affect PARP1s essential dynamics.

Safety and Efficacy of opioid-sparing Anesthesia Compared with Traditional opioid-anesthesia

Objectives: The rationale of adoption opioid sparing anesthesia (OSA) is to achieve perioperative analgesia with a minimal amount of opioid combined to non-opioid adjuvants during and after surgery, namely multimodal anesthesia. The OSA approach was originally developed to overcome the known complications of opioid-based anesthesia (OA) and the present scoping review (ScR) aims at providing the clinical evidence of safety and efficacy of OSA with respect to OA. Methods: This ScR is mainly focused on studies presenting evidence on the safety and efficacy of OSA versus OA. PubMed, EMBASE databases were utilized to find relevant studies. Search strategy included the following keywords: “opioid sparing anesthesia complications, opioid sparing anesthesia efficacy, opioid sparing anesthesia safety”. The findings from the 25 included studies were categorized into the following subsections: article characteristics, goals of the studies, OSA protocols, and surgical settings analyzed. Results: In the 25 reviewed studies, evidence related to the impact of OSA versus OA was considered. Intraoperative safety and efficacy endpoints include hemodynamic stability and anesthetic/analgesic requirements. Postoperative endpoints include early cognitive dysfunction, opioid-induced bowel disorder, the physical status of mothers and newborns after labor and emergency cesarean, systemic immune and inflammation modifications, postoperative recovery, in-hospital and long-term opioid requirement, early postoperative pain, chronic postsurgical pain. The studies reported a lower intraoperative mean arterial pressure and heart rate fluctuations when α2 agonists are adopted, while no differences were recorded for other complication rates. Analysis of OSA approaches for the postoperative conditions includes α2 agonists, NMDA receptor blocking agents, gabapentinoids, nefopam hydrocloride and locoregional anesthesia techniques with a positive impact on most of the endpoints considered. Discussion: The clinical implementation of OSA encompasses the perioperative use of non-opioid drugs and locoregional anesthesia techniques. The reviewed studies reported OSA as a feasible approach to reduce opioid-related complications with no impact on patient’s safety.

The design of a combustion chamber operated in MILD regime — Numerical modeling of hydrogen combustion in oxygen–steam mixtures

The goal of the current work is to develop a combustion chamber that can operate on recirculated steam produced by burning hydrogen in oxygen under conditions of Moderate or Intense oxygen Dilution (MILD) in atmospheric and stoichiometric conditions. The study investigates several configurations of combustor with nozzles, taking into account the overall temperature, OH radicals, and heat release rate distribution throughout the combustor’s domain. Thermal power variations of the steam generator (5 to 20 kW) were examined in conjunction with different oxygen dilutions with steam, down to 3% of O2 (by mol.). The outcomes reveal that a rise in dilution degree promotes a drop in the mean temperature across every case and reagents’ recirculation with homogeneous temperature field, suggesting the presence of MILD combustion. The highest temperature values were observed at the stoichiometric mixture fraction. Higher dilution degree revealed more efficient heat release across the domain with low fluctuations from the reference MILD combustion data. Of the two combustion models studied, the Partially Stirred Reactor model did not show flame extinction at the highest dilution degrees, unlike the Eddy Dissipation model. The selected final design of the combustion chamber was used for constructing the actual combustor dedicated for lab-scale operation.

In silico exploration of phytochemicals as inhibitors for acute myeloid leukemia by targeting LIN28A gene: A cheminformatics study

BackgroundRecent discoveries have illustrated that Lin28A is an oncogene in various cancers, particularly acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The upregulation of Lin28A can actively contribute to tumorigenesis and migration processes in multiple organs. Hence, the inhibition of Lin28A can be achieved by applying phytochemical herbals and targeting Lin28A protein using a computer-aided drug design (CAAD) approach. MethodsIn this study, we comprehensively applied several bioinformatics tools, including gene ontologies, gene enrichment analysis, and protein-protein interactions (PPI), to determine the biological pathways, functional gene ontology, and biological pathway. Furthermore, we investigated a list of phytochemical herbs as a candidate drug by applying a computation technique involving molecular docking, density functional theory (DFT), molecular dynamics simulation (MDs), and pharmacokinetic and physiochemical properties by applying the SwissADME, pkCSM, and Molsoft LLC web-servers. ResultsThe Lin28A gene is related to two significant enrichment pathways, including proteoglycans in cancer and the pluripotency of stem cells through interactions with different genes such as MAPK12, MYC, MTOR, and PIK3CA. Interestingly, limonin, 18β Glycyrrhetic Acid, and baicalein have the highest binding energy scores of −8.4, −8.2, and −7.3 kcal/mol, respectively. The DFT study revealed that baicalein has a higher reactivity than limonin and 18β-Glycyrrhetic due to a small energy gap between LUMO and HUMO. Molecular dynamics simulation exhibited that baicalein complex with Lin28A protein is more stable than other complexes during simulation time due to low fluctuation with simulation periods as compared with other complexes, which indicated that baicalein was more fitting to docking and combining in the protein cave because of the largest number of H-bonds available for the docking simulation process. Furthermore, the drug-likeness and ADMET profiles revealed the activity of limonin, baicalein, and 18β-glycyrrhizic Acid, which possess significant inhibiting Lin28A proteins. ConclusionThis study elucidated that baicalein, 18β-glycyrrhizic, and limonin may be applied as potential candidates for targeting Lin28A as an active oncogene for acute myeloid leukemia.

Crashworthiness design and enhanced energy absorption of multi-cell thin-walled circular tubes

In order to improve the crashworthiness and enhance the energy absorption capacity of thin-walled structures, a new multi-cell thin-walled circular tube was established by combining the advantages of type I (bending-dominant) and type II (tension-dominant) structures in this paper. The crush resistance and specific energy absorption (SEA) of multi-cell empty and multi-cell foam-filled tubes (MFTs) subjected to axial crushing loads were experimentally investigated. It was shown that due to the introduction of ribbed structures, the crush resistance and energy absorption efficiency of multi-cell empty tubes can be obviously enhanced. Filling the empty tube with foam, the peak force of foam filled thin-walled circular tube structure is improved distinctly. The MFTs have a higher crushing load efficiency and lower average loading fluctuation than the corresponding multi-cell empty tubes, which are mainly affected by the ribbed angles. With the increase in ribbed angles, the load-carrying capacity and the SEA of the MFTs can also be enhanced, but the undulation of the load-carrying capacity is simultaneously reduced. When the ribbed angle is more than 45°, the MFTs have better energy absorption and crushing load efficiency. Compared with a multi-cell empty tube, the SEA of the MFT increased by about 19%.

Multi-Epitopic Peptide Vaccine Against Newcastle Disease Virus: Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Experimental Validation.

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a highly contagious and economically devastating pathogen affecting poultry worldwide, leading to significant losses in the poultry industry. Despite existing vaccines, outbreaks continue to occur, highlighting the need for more effective vaccination strategies. Developing a multi-epitopic peptide vaccine offers a promising approach to enhance protection against NDV. Here, we aimed to design and evaluate a multi-epitopic vaccine against NDV using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. We retrieved NDV sequences for the fusion (F) protein and hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein. Subsequently, B-cell and T-cell epitopes were predicted. The top potential epitopes were utilized to design the vaccine construct, which was subsequently docked against chicken TLR4 and MHC1 receptors to assess the immunological response. The resulting docked complex underwent a 1 microsecond (1000 ns) MD simulation. For experimental evaluation, the vaccine's efficacy was assessed in mice and chickens using a controlled study design, where animals were randomly divided into groups receiving either a local ND vaccine or the peptide vaccine or a control treatment. The 40 amino acid peptide vaccine demonstrated strong binding affinity and stability within the TLR4 and MHC1 receptor-peptide complexes. The root mean square deviation of peptide vaccine and TLR4 receptor showed rapid stabilization after an initial repositioning. The root mean square fluctuation revealed relatively low fluctuations (below 3 Å) for the TLR4 receptor, while the peptide exhibited higher fluctuations. The overall binding energy of the peptide vaccine with TLR4 and MHC1 receptors amounted to -15.7 kcal·mol-1 and -36.8 kcal·mol-1, respectively. For experimental evaluations in mice and chicken, the peptide vaccine was synthesized using services of GeneScript Biotech® (Singapore) PTE Limited. Experimental evaluations showed a significant immune response in both mice and chickens, with the vaccine eliciting robust antibody production, as evidenced by increasing HI titers over time. Statistical analysis was performed using an independent t-test with Type-II error to compare the groups, calculating the p-values to determine the significance of the immune response between different groups. Multi-epitopic peptide vaccine has demonstrated a good immunological response in natural hosts.

CFD analysis of non-Newtonian blood flow through human carotid artery bifurcation: Carotid sinus susceptible to atherosclerosis

Fat accumulation on the arteries' walls has become a serious health concern. This study conducted an in-depth hemodynamic analysis to identify the regions of a human carotid artery most susceptible to fat accumulation or atherosclerosis, considering the following factors: blood velocity, secondary flow regions, pressure, and wall shear stress. The hemodynamic analysis used a generalized geometric model to analyze these factors at various locations within the carotid bifurcation over different time points. Results showed that the bifurcation region is comparatively more affected by the factors contributing to atherosclerosis. Especially, the sinus region experiences all the key factors: a larger secondary flow, higher blood pressure, lower mean WSS, and lower fluctuation in temporal WSS. The findings indicate that the bifurcation region, particularly the sinus is prone to fat accumulation. These results are consistent with clinical observations, emphasizing the bifurcation and sinus regions as key sites for plaque accumulation. Insights from this analysis will serve as a foundation for optimizing geometric models of bifurcated arteries to improve blood flow and, consequently, reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.

Implication of heart rhythm complexity in predicting long-term outcomes in pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a serious disease, however simple tools to predict outcomes are lacking. In our previous investigation, we found that heart rate variability (HRV) and heart rhythm complexity (HRC) were associated with the detection and severity of PH, however their association with PH mortality remains unclear.The aim of this study was to investigate these metrics as a tool for determining long-term outcomes in PH patients. We enrolled 74 Asian PH patients with WHO PH group 1 or 4 at a single hospital in Taiwan between March 2012 and June 2018. After a median follow-up duration of 58 months (to January 2023), 22 patients had died. The patients who died had a significantly lower lean body mass index (BMI), impaired renal function, higher N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level, lower very low-frequency (VLF), lower short-term detrended fluctuation analysis α1 (DFAα1), and lower multiscale entropy scale 5 value. In multivariable analysis, BMI, VLF and multiscale entropy scale 5 were significantly associated with survival. The best cut-off VLF and scale 5 values were 115.13 and 0.738, respectively. We then categorized the study population into three groups: both elevated VLF/scale 5 (group 1), either depressed VLF or depressed scale 5 (group 2), and both depressed VLF/scale 5 (group 3). The results showed that group 1 had the best outcomes, whereas group 3 had the worst survival (P < 0.001).Combining HRV and HRC metrics appears to be a good non-invasive tool to predict the long-term outcomes of patients with PH.

When softer sounds are more distracting: Task-irrelevant whispered speech causes disruption of serial recall.

Two competing accounts propose that the disruption of short-term memory by irrelevant speech arises either due to interference-by-process (e.g., changing-state effect) or attentional capture, but it is unclear how whispering affects the irrelevant speech effect. According to the interference-by-process account, whispered speech should be less disruptive due to its reduced periodic spectro-temporal fine structure and lower amplitude modulations. In contrast, the attentional account predicts more disruption by whispered speech, possibly via enhanced listening effort in the case of a comprehended language. In two experiments, voiced and whispered speech (spoken sentences or monosyllabic words) were presented while participants memorized the order of visually presented letters. In both experiments, a changing-state effect was observed regardless of the phonation (sentences produced more disruption than "steady-state" words). Moreover, whispered speech (lower fluctuation strength) was more disruptive than voiced speech when participants understood the language (Experiment 1), but not when the language was incomprehensible (Experiment 2). The results suggest two functionally distinct mechanisms of auditory distraction: While changing-state speech causes automatic interference with seriation processes regardless of its meaning or intelligibility, whispering appears to contain cues that divert attention from the focal task primarily when presented in a comprehended language, possibly via enhanced listening effort.

Vaccination Coverage Against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) : A Study on Vaccination in the Municipality of Ananindeua, Brazil

Objective: to analyze HPV vaccination coverage in the municipality of Ananindeua – Pará, from 2020 to 2024. Method: This is a quantitative study based on data from 2020 to 2024 collected by the Department of Informatics of the Unified System of Health (DATASUS), which allowed the analysis of HPV vaccination coverage. Results: The study revealed low adherence and significant fluctuations in HPV vaccination coverage, identifying as the main barriers the lack of information, the stigmatization of sexual transmission and the resistance of parents to vaccinating their children. Conclusion: The study showed a decline in HPV vaccination uptake from 2020 to 2024, threatening the WHO’s global goal of 90% by 2030. Key barriers include parental misinformation, vaccine myths, and a lack of trained professionals.

Circadian heart rate fluctuations predict 21-year cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in type 2 and type 1 diabetes

Abstract Background Alterations in circadian heart rate (HR) fluctuations have been associated with cardiovascular events in the general population. This study aimed at defining their long-term prognostic value for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in patients with diabetes. Methods We examined a cohort of 349 patients with type 2 or type 1 diabetes (52% women, age 57.1±11.9 years, BMI 29.4±5.9 kg/m2, HbA1c 8.6±2.1%, 81% type 2 diabetes) who underwent 24h ambulatory blood pressure and HR monitoring (ABPM) and assessment of diabetic microvascular complications. The median standard deviation (SD) value of ABPM-derived HR measurements was used to define patients with low daily HR fluctuations (low 24h-HR SD), while a &amp;lt;10% decline in average night-time vs day-time HR identified patients with blunted nocturnal HR dip (n=107, 31%). The clinical features and time-dependent prognostic impact of these conditions were evaluated over a 21-year observational follow-up. Results Low 24h-HR SD and blunted nocturnal HR dip were associated with an adverse cardiometabolic risk profile and high prevalence of cardiac autonomic neuropathy and nephropathy. After 6,251 person-years of follow-up (21.0 [14.0-21.0] years), a total of 136 (39%) deaths occurred, of which 100 (68%) of cardiovascular cause. After adjustment for potential confounders, the low 24h-HR SD group had a higher risk for both cardiovascular (hazard ratio 1.99, 95% CI 1.29–3.06, p=0.002) and all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 1.50, 95% CI 1.03–2.18, p=0.033), compared with high 24h-HR SD. Consistently, patients with blunted nocturnal HR dip had a higher adjusted risk for cardiovascular (1.61, 95% CI 1.07–2.43, p=0.023) and all-cause mortality (1.61, 95% CI 1.11–2.34, p=0.012), compared with those with preserved nocturnal HR dip. Conclusions Impaired circadian HR fluctuations are frequent in patients with long-standing diabetes and are associated with microvascular disease and increased long-term cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Identifying these conditions via 24h-ABPM may provide a cost-effective risk stratification tool in this high-risk population.Kaplan-Meier curves

Peran Kelompok Wanita Tani dalam Meningkatkan Ekonomi Keluarga di Kelurahan Tambakrejo Kecamatan Simokerto Kota Surabaya

The assistance of the Women's Farming Group (KWT) in Tambakrejo Village, Simokerto District, Surabaya City aims to utilize the potential of vegetable crops such as mustard greens, kale, Brazilian spinach, pakchoy and lettuce so that they have economic value. Through the Forum Group Discussion (FGD), innovations were proposed in processing harvested produce into vegetable juice, which not only increases economic value but also family health. The main challenge faced is the low fluctuation in prices of fresh vegetables, so innovation in processing is needed. This assistance is expected to increase the capacity of KWT members, efficient resource management, and support from the government and non-governmental organizations. Women's involvement in KWT has the opportunity to increase their economic and social role, creating independence and solidarity among members. Further development steps include product diversification, ongoing training, provision of adequate infrastructure, and environmentally friendly waste management. With innovation and collaborative support, this program is expected to be able to empower women, improve family welfare, and strengthen the local economy in a sustainable manner, providing a positive impact on society.

Inter- and Intra-Annual Variations in Oak Tree Ring δ13C Values across Different Elevations and Their Climatic Responses in Qinling Mountains

The Qinling Mountains, serving as a natural geographical and climatic boundary in China, require comprehensive climatic records to elucidate the trends in climate changes across the country. While stable isotopes in tree rings are widely employed to indicate historical environmental changes, investigations into tree ring isotopes in the Qinling Mountains, particularly within the widespread broad-leaf oaks, remain limited. In this study, we investigated both intra- and inter-annual variations in the δ13C values of tree rings and their correlations with climatic signals over the past two decades for Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata, a dominant species among oak trees on the main peak of the Qinling Mountains. Our results reveal that responses to climate differ among altitudes and individual trees, with trees at higher altitudes exhibiting higher sensitivity to extreme climate, which is low temperatures and rainfall fluctuations during the growth period in intra-annual δ13C variations. Furthermore, the positive correlations are observed between temperature during growing season and both tree growth and the inter-annual δ13C variations. However, the climate signal appears to be hampered by oak-specific factors, such as intense competition among individuals and the age of trees. Therefore, we suggest a more rigorous selection of sampling and propose further investigations into isotopic fractionation processes in oaks for future studies.