Synergistic Relationship Research Articles

A Garden of Sounds and Flavours: Establishing a synergistic relationship between music and food in live performance settings

During the past decade, there has been a surge in the literature about crossmodal correspondences, consistent associations our minds establish between stimuli that are perceived through different senses. Correspondences between sound/music and flavour/taste have received particular scholarly attention, which has lead to a variety of practical applications in the form of food and music pairings, mostly examples of so-called ‘sonic seasoning’, a way to use sound to enhance or modify the tasting experience. This thesis aims to explore the pairing of food and music from an artistic perspective. Its goal is to find tools that would allow to present both music and food as components of coherent live performances in which neither of them is a mere ‘seasoning’ to the other. Through the description and exploration of different ‘mediating elements’ between them (such as crossmodal correspondences, but also structure, ritual, narrative, and others), a wide range of possibilities is presented to whoever wants to match food and music in a truly synergistic manner. Readers interested in multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary artistic practices of any kind might find the outcomes of this research useful for their own work.

Transcriptome-based analysis of the effects of compound microbial agents on gene expression in wheat roots and leaves under salt stress.

Salt stress inhibits the beneficial effects of most plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. The synergistic relationship between beneficial rhizosphere microorganisms and plants helps achieve more stable growth-promoting effects. This study aimed 1) to elucidate changes in gene expression profiles in the roots and leaves of wheat after inoculation with compound microbial agents and 2) to determine the mechanisms by which plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria mediate plant responses to microorganisms. Following inoculation with compound bacteria, transcriptome characteristics of gene expression profiles of wheat, roots, and leaves at the flowering stage were investigated using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. Gene ontology (GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed on the genes that were significantly differentially expressed. The expression of 231 genes in the roots of bacterial preparations (BIO) -inoculated wheat changed significantly (including 35 upregulated and 196 downregulated genes) compared with that of non-inoculated wheat. The expression of 16,321 genes in leaves changed significantly, including 9651 upregulated genes and 6670 downregulated genes. The differentially expressed genes were involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids, and secondary compounds as well as signal transduction pathways. The ethylene receptor 1 gene in wheat leaves was significantly downregulated, and genes related to ethylene-responsive transcription factor were significantly upregulated. GO enrichment analysis showed that metabolic and cellular processes were the main functions affected in the roots and leaves. The main molecular functions altered were binding and catalytic activities, among which the cellular oxidant detoxification enrichment rate was highly expressed in the roots. The expression of peroxisome size regulation was the highest in the leaves. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that linoleic acid metabolism expression was highest in the roots, and the expression of photosynthesis-antenna proteins was the highest in leaves. After inoculation with a complex biosynthesis agent, the phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) gene of the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway was upregulated in wheat leaf cells while 4CL, CCR, and CYP73A were downregulated. Additionally, CYP98A and REF1 genes involved in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway were upregulated, while F5H, HCT, CCR, E2.1.1.104, and TOGT1-related genes were downregulated. Differentially expressed genes may play key roles in improving salt tolerance in wheat. Compound microbial inoculants promoted the growth of wheat under salt stress and improved disease resistance by regulating the expression of metabolism-related genes in wheat roots and leaves and activating immune pathway-related genes.

Exploring the Impact of Grain-for-Green Program on Trade-Offs and Synergies among Ecosystem Services in West Liao River Basin, China

Natural ecosystems of the West Liao River basin (WLRB) in northeast China have been damaged by both natural and human factors from the 1990s. Since 2000, China’s Grain-for-Green Program (GFGP) has been widely adopted with the aim of improving ecosystem services. An accurate evaluation of the eco-hydrological effects for policy implementation is essential to provide references for further restoration of ecosystem services. This study quantified and characterized the ecosystem services and their trade-offs/synergies using models and statistical methods in the WLRB from 1990 to 2020. Moreover, the impact of key drivers on ecosystem services was evaluated by the difference-in-differences model. Among them, the study mainly investigated how GFGP affects ecosystem services. The results confirmed that the water yield, carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and total ecosystem service of the WLRB decreased in the pre-GFGP period (1990–2000). However, this tendency was reversed in the regions where the GFGP was implemented during the period of 2001–2020. Furthermore, a synergistic relationship was shown among carbon sequestration, soil conservation, and habitat quality. Additionally, there were tradeoffs between water yield and the other three ecosystem services, especially in mountain areas. The GFGP could restore carbon sequestration, habitat quality, and total ecosystem services by 1.3%, 2.1%, and 0.6%, respectively. Nevertheless, GFCP may enlarge the tradeoff and imbalance between water yield and habitat quality. Results highlight the need for the governance of ecosystem protection and suggest natural restoration in the mountain area for maintaining water yield and helping ecosystem restoration. Timely adjustment of the policy implementation areas is the key to improving and balancing multiple ecosystem services in the future.

Building the case for mitochondrial transplantation as an anti-aging cardiovascular therapy.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a common denominator in both biological aging and cardiovascular disease (CVD) pathology. Understanding the protagonist role of mitochondria in the respective and independent progressions of CVD and biological aging will unravel the synergistic relationship between biological aging and CVD. Moreover, the successful development and implementation of therapies that can simultaneously benefit mitochondria of multiple cell types, will be transformational in curtailing pathologies and mortality in the elderly, including CVD. Several works have compared the status of mitochondria in vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in CVD dependent context. However, fewer studies have cataloged the aging-associated changes in vascular mitochondria, independent of CVD. This mini review will focus on the present evidence related to mitochondrial dysfunction in vascular aging independent of CVD. Additionally, we discuss the feasibility of restoring mitochondrial function in the aged cardiovascular system through mitochondrial transfer.

Ni nanoparticles on Co3O4 catalyze the reverse water–gas shift with 95 % CO selectivity at 300 °C

Ni nanoparticles (NPs) supported on Al2O3, ZnO, Fe2O3 and Co3O4 activate CO2 for the reverse water–gas shift (RWGS) reaction at ambient pressure. The highly dispersed Ni NPs at a loading of0.02 g g−1minimized agglomeration and hydrogen adsorption to the surface, thus CO hydrogenation. Irreducible (Al2O3, ZnO) and reducible (Fe2O3, Co3O4) supports promoted the catalytic properties of Ni. The metal-support interaction (MSI) between Ni and semi-conductors ZnO and Co3O4 suppresses CH4 formation, increases the selectivity towards the RWGS, and promotes the catalytic activity and stability of Ni. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) formed during the reaction dispersed Ni/Co3O4 and promoted its catalytic properties by forming a synergistic relationship between Ni/Co3O4 and CNTs. Ni/Co3O4 converted the most CO2 among all catalysts at ∼ 36 % of CO2 with traces of CH4, while Ni/Al2O3 converted ∼ 33 % with a ∼ 96 % CO selectivity at 600 °C. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Ni/Co3O4 converts 4 % of the CO2 in the feed with a 95 % CO selectivity at 300 °C due to the reducibility of Co3O4 promoting the catalytic properties of Ni.

Proliferation, Plasticity, and Migration: Exploring the synergistic relationship between eosinophils and TH2 cells in development of HES-like syndrome

Abstract Aberrancies in eosinophil proliferation, activation and chemotaxis can lead to acute eosinophilic leukemia, paraneoplastic eosinophilia associated with T cell lymphoma and carcinomas, and Hypereosinophilic Syndrome (HES), respectively. HES is an idiopathic disease affecting humans and veterinary patients characterized by persistent eosinophilia (>1,500 cells/uL) and eosinophilic infiltration of solid organs leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have demonstrated the role of NF-κB inducing kinase, NIK, an upstream regulator of the noncanonical NF-κB signaling pathway, in development of a HES-like syndrome due to aberrant TH2 polarization in the Nik−/−murine model. However, the intricacies of eosinophilic granulopoiesis, eosinophil/neutrophil plasticity, and chemotactic ability has not been assessed during development of HES-like syndrome in Nik−/−mice. Here we show that loss of NIK potentially enhances eosinophilic chemotaxis to CCL11, enhances eosinophilic/neutrophilic plasticity, and affects granulopoiesis in the bone marrow and spleen beginning at the level of eosinophilic metamyelocytes, despite potentially decreasing the proliferative potential of these cells. Taken together, these results suggest that NIK and the noncanonical NF-κB signaling pathway plays a role in dictating the hematopoietic and chemotactic potential of eosinophils and highlights a synergistic relationship with TH2 cells and their respective cytokines during development of HES-like syndrome in Nik−/−mice. Overall, these findings warrant further study to better characterize the synergistic relationship described above to better understand development of HES and HES-like diseases. Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science

An Overview of RF and Microwave Research in Latin America: Scanning Latin American Research on Microwaves

We present, in this article, an up-to-date general and brief scan of the main research activities in RF and microwaves in Latin America. First, we geographically identify the main research and development clusters in RF and microwaves in this large region of the world. We next describe the most recent and representative research work developed in the most active Latin American countries in this technical field, namely, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Puerto Rico. To develop this updated survey of RF and microwaves in Latin America, we started by considering previous similar reviews available in the literature <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[1]</xref> , <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[2]</xref> , including some focused on specific Latin American countries <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[3]</xref> , <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[4]</xref> . In our review, we essentially focus on the past five or six years of scientific research production. Given the synergistic relationship between the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S) and the level of activities and maturity in RF and microwaves, we finalize our article by summarizing the status as well as the main challenges and opportunities for the MTT-S in Latin America.

Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia: Current Guidance and Unmet Needs.

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common cause of hair loss in men and women. Traditionally, topical minoxidil and oral finasteride have been the standard of care yielding mixed results. New treatments such as Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), microneedling, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and others have been extensively studied in the literature, and the purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive discussion of the latest treatment methods and their efficacy in treating AGA. Novel therapies such as oral minoxidil, topical finasteride, topical spironolactone, botulinum toxin, and stem cell therapy offer interesting alternatives to standard of care therapies for patients. In this review, we present data from recent studies on the clinical efficacy of these treatments. Furthermore, as new treatments have emerged, clinicians have tested combination therapies to assess whether there may be a synergistic relationship between multiple modalities. While there has been a great increase in the treatments available for AGA, the quality of evidence varies greatly and there is still a great need for randomized double blinded clinical trials to adequately assess the clinical efficacy of some treatments. While PRP and LLLT have demonstrated encouraging results, standardized treatment protocols are needed to adequately inform clinicians on how to use such therapies. Given the abundance of new therapeutic options, clinicians and patients must weigh the benefits and risks of each treatment option for AGA.

Expanding Access to Mindfulness Education in Adaptive Learning: Enhancing Student Well-Being and Academic Success

This article explores the benefits of expanding access to mindfulness education in adaptive learning environments for enhancing student well-being and academic success. It discusses the synergistic relationship between adaptive education and mindfulness education, highlighting how mindfulness practices support attention, focus, and cognitive flexibility. The article emphasizes the positive impact of mindfulness education on academic performance, well-being, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, metacognitive skills, and self-care practices. It also suggests strategies for implementing mindfulness in adaptive learning environments, including teacher training, creating a mindful school culture, and tailoring mindfulness practices to meet diverse student needs. By combining personalized instruction with self-regulation skills, educators can create inclusive learning environments where students can thrive academically and personally.

Abstract A02: High-capacity drug screen identification of novel synergistic drug pairs with venetoclax in acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract Advancements in the development of targeted therapies have changed the therapeutic paradigm in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in recent years. The orally available BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax is effective and well tolerated in combination with either a hypomethylating agent (HMA) or low-dose cytarabine (LDAC). BCL-2 is a anti-apoptotic protein which binds to and sequesters pro-apoptotic proteins such as BAX, BAK, PUMA and NOXA and prevents pro-apoptotic proteins from initiating mitochondrial apoptosis leading to sustained survival in cancer cells. Venetoclax specifically antagonizes BCL-2 protein and allows unbound pro-apoptotic proteins to initiate apoptosis. Venetoclax antagonizes BCL-2 and allows pro-apoptotic proteins to initiate apoptosis. Venetoclax with HMA or LDAC received FDA approval in 2020 for the frontline treatment of AML patients unfit for standard chemotherapy. However, therapeutic resistance is common and there is an urgent need to improve the efficacy and durability of venetoclax in this setting. Combinatory drug approaches allow for targeting of multiple molecular drivers/pathogenic mutations, lower therapeutic concentrations, increased efficacy, and overcoming resistance. Here, we aimed to develop novel synergistic drug combinations with venetoclax to improve venetoclax safety, efficacy and overcome resistance in cell lines with potential clinical applications in AML. Venetoclax IC50 values in eight AML cell lines range from &amp;lt;0.01 µM to &amp;gt;5 µM highlighting differential response among the panel. THP-1 cells were identified as the most venetoclax resistant cell line with little response observed at any concentration up to 72 hours exposure. Western blot and qPCR analyses demonstrated BCL-2 is ubiquitously expressed across the cell lines. A single agent drug screen of 1,971 FDA approved compounds was performed at two concentrations (100 nM and 1 µM), in THP-1 cells at three timepoints (24, 48, and 72 hours). 364 of 1971 compounds (18.5%) induced &amp;gt;50% cell death and were identified as hits. A secondary screen was performed to investigate the top 180 most effective compounds in combination with venetoclax. Dose response matrices and cell viability data were used to calculate synergy scores. Combinations with synergy scores of &amp;gt;10 were considered synergistic. Many combinations were synergistic at one timepoint (n=117, 65%), others were synergistic at 2 timepoints (n=45, 25%) and few were synergistic at all 3 timepoints (n=5, 2.78%). Validation experiments are currently ongoing to investigate the synergistic relationship of top candidate combinations and identify an optimum dose for further investigations including additional validation experiments, mechanistic studies, and toxicity studies. Citation Format: Ruairidh Harrigan, Evangeline Johnston, Kyle B Matchett, Tony J Bjourson. High-capacity drug screen identification of novel synergistic drug pairs with venetoclax in acute myeloid leukemia [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome; 2023 Jan 23-25; Austin, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Blood Cancer Discov 2023;4(3_Suppl):Abstract nr A02.

Characterization of bubble population morphology in direct contact heat transfer process under different flow regimes and its influence on heat transfer performance

In this study, the effect of bubble population morphological characteristics and heat transfer performance in the direct contact boiling heat transfer process under two different flow modes are comparatively investigated. Based on the visualization method and homogeneity theory, the relationships between the bubble population morphological characteristics, distribution homogeneity, specific interface area, and volumetric heat transfer coefficient were investigated. The obtained results show that the bubble morphology tends to flatten with the increase of the dispersed phase flow rate in both flow modes. The more uniform the distribution of the bubble population, the better the specific interface area, and the trend is more obvious in the two-phase reverse flow mode. In addition, it was found that the specific interface area was positively correlated with the volumetric heat transfer coefficient. The synergistic relationship between the uniformity of bubble population distribution and the improvement of heat transfer is explained from the perspective of a specific interface area. It is concluded that different flow patterns affect the morphological characteristics of the bubble population and its distribution, which in turn affects the specific interface area of the two-phase contact heat transfer and ultimately the heat transfer performance. The morphology of the bubble population and its uneven distribution has a strong correlation with the flow pattern. This thesis provides a new idea to study the influence of bubble cluster morphology characteristics and heat transfer performance in direct contact boiling heat transfer process under different flow patterns and provides a new way for heat exchanger design.

Mechanism for control of ball spin rate by the upper limb in baseball pitching based on singular value decomposition

This study aims to examine the mechanism by which the ball spin rate during fastball pitching is controlled by synergistic joint torque. The participants were seven baseball players. The kinematics and kinetics of the fingers, wrist, elbow, and shoulder were calculated using the inverse dynamics method. The synergistic relationship between the joint torques was calculated using singular value decomposition. The similarity of the spatial pattern of the joint torque in each participant was evaluated using cosine similarity. The results indicated that there were three types of synergistic torque control: (1) two pitchers had a synergistic torque control that was primarily based on shoulder internal rotation torque, (2) two pitchers had a synergistic torque control that was primarily based on elbow extension torque, and (3) three pitchers had a synergistic torque control that was primarily based on shoulder horizontal adduction torque. In particular, pitchers with a high spin rate relative to the ball velocity (SPV) had a torque control of the shoulder internal rotation type. In contrast, pitchers with a low SPV had a torque control of the shoulder horizontal adduction type. It is considered that pitchers with a high SPV execute shoulder internal rotation torque, which has the same direction as that of ball spin, based on hierarchical control to increase the ball spin rate. These results suggest that pitchers with high and low SPVs exhibit different motor patterns. Pitchers and coach need to focus on the shoulder joint as well as the fingers when they throw fastball.

Manuring improves soil health by sustaining multifunction at relatively high levels in subtropical area

As an effective field management practice for better crop productivity, fertilization showed profound impacts on soil health by altering soil chemical, physical, and biological processes. But, how soil health and related ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) respond to long-term fertilization remains unclear. In this study, based on a 29-year field experiment, we evaluated soil health and EMF under chemical fertilization versus manure application. Long-term manure application maintained soil pH, significantly increased water-stable aggregate, total and available nutrients, microbial biomass and community (bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes, etc.), and enzyme activities compared with treatments under chemical fertilizers. Edaphic factors of soil organic carbon (SOC), available phosphorous (AP), fungi, cation exchange capacity, and clay content were identified as key indicators of soil health evaluation by network analysis. The soil health indices (SHIs) of chemical fertilizer treatments were 39–52% lower than that of natural vegetation recovery, with carbon and nutrient cycling, soil biodiversity maintenance, and productivity at low ecosystem function levels. Manure application enhanced soil health by 150–196% compared to unfertilized control by improving SOC, P availability, and sustaining ecosystem functions with carbon and nutrient cycling, soil biodiversity maintenance, buffering and filtering capacity, and productivity at relatively high ecosystem function levels. The individual functions of carbon and nutrient cycling, physical structure stability, and productivity illustrated sensitive responses to the increase in soil health, while inherent soil functions of buffering and filtering capacity and soil biodiversity maintenance were only correlated with high soil health. Manuring improved soil functions and soil health simultaneously, indicating a synergistic relationship. Our findings highlight the significance of manure application to improve soil health and sustain functions in intensive agricultural systems.

Molecular characteristics and pathogenicity of infectious cDNA clones of the Chinese isolates of pea enation mosaic virus 1 and pea enation mosaic virus 2

The pea enation mosaic disease (PEMD) causes significant yield losses worldwide. PEMD is caused by two taxonomically unrelated but symbiotic viruses, pea enation mosaic virus 1 (PEMV-1) and pea enation mosaic virus 2 (PEMV-2). In this study, the complete genomes of four isolates of PEMV-1 and PEMV-2 from Yunnan Province of China were determined and analyzed. The four isolates of PEMV-1 or PEMV-2 shared ≥ 98.7% nucleotide sequence identities at whole genome level. The four Chinese PEMV-1 isolates were most closely related to PEMV-1-Ramsey-1 with nucleotide sequence identities of 97.8–98.0%, while the four Chinese PEMV-2 isolates were most closely related to PEMV-2-DSMZ PV-0088, with nucleotide sequence identities of 94.3–94.5%. The two full-length infectious cDNA clones of the Yunnan-Dali isolates of the two viruses (PEMV-1-YDL and PEMV-2-YDL) were constructed. Co-inoculation of PEMV-1-YDL and PEMV-2-YDL in pea seedlings caused systemic infection, with typical enation and mosaic symptoms on new leaves after inoculation, while the inoculated Nicotiana benthamiana plants showed curling symptoms. Inoculation of pea seedlings with either PEMV-1-YDL or PEMV-2-YDL did not cause obvious symptoms on the new leaves. It has been known that PEMV-2 helps the systemic infection of PEMV-1. However, our results showed that PEMV-1-YDL alone could cause a systemic infection. The pathogenicity of the two infectious clones was tested on different pea cultivars, and some cultivars were PEMD-tolerant. This is the first report of the infectious clones constructed from the Chinese isolates of PEMV-1 and PEMV-2. The current approach will facilitate determination of the synergistic relationship between PEMV-1 and PEMV-2 and their interactions with the host plant by reverse genetic analysis.

The spatio‐temporal interactive effects between ecological urbanization and industrial ecologization in the Yangtze River Delta region

AbstractIn this study, we investigated the spatio‐temporal synergistic relationship between ecological urbanization (EU) and industrial eco‐efficiency (IEE) in the context of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region. The main findings are as follows: (1) EU and IEE generally exhibited similar spatial distribution patterns, with high values concentrated in the southern part of the delta and low values in the northern part and Anhui Province; there was also a high degree of coupling between the two systems. (2) IEE and EU's relationship presented a U‐shaped positive correlation trend from 2001 to 2019, and a positive correlation was observed in most cities, with highly correlated cities clustered in southern Zhejiang and Anhui province, while negative correlation cities scattered in a few cities in northern Zhejiang, northern Anhui, and southern Jiangsu. (3) Significantly spatial association characteristics were found between EU and IEE, with HEUHIEE type clustering mainly in southeastern delta cities, while the LEULIEE type slowly encroached upon northwest delta cities. (4). Synergistic promoting effects were identified between IEE and EU, whereby, the improvement of IEE in both local and neighboring cities contributed to promoting EU, and the progress of EU in both local and neighboring cities helped to promote IEE.

On the role of hydrogen in the stress corrosion cracking behavior of Q345R steel in HF vapor environment

The stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of Q345R steel in hydrofluoric acid (HF) vapor environment was investigated. It is shown that Q345R has a high susceptibility to SCC in HF vapor environment, which is negatively correlated with the strain rate. Several different crack morphologies and cracking factors are verified: flat cracks in ferrite are associated with anodic dissolution triggered by micro-galvanic corrosion, and porous cracks at the pearlite and pearlite-ferrite interfaces are mainly influenced by hydrogen. The results of hydrogen charging tests show that pre-charging has little effect on the hydrogen embrittlement of Q345R steel, while in-situ charging leads to severe brittle fracture of the material, because hydrogen interacts with large number of moving dislocations generated by in-situ stretching process and penetrates more readily into the material. The synergistic relationship between hydrogen and dislocation motion is found to be the main mechanism for the transition from ductile to brittle fracture.

Comprehensive Evaluation Method for Cooling Effect on Process Thermal Dissipation Rate during Continuous Casting Mold

Cooling in the continuous casting mold is the essential process of the molten steel solidifying into a slab shell. The synergistic relationship of casting state, process operation, continuous casting equipment, and other factors is complex and has a significant influence on thermal transfer in the mold. Therefore, a concept of “process thermal dissipation rate” defined by mold system thermal input and output was proposed in this work. The thermal input of molten steel was calculated through the casting temperature, and the slab residual thermal at the outlet of the mold was calculated by the solidification heat transfer model. Consequently, the thermal dissipation rate was calculated to quantify the multi-factor cooperative relationship of mold. The industrial case reflected that the thermal dissipation rates of three stable castings were 12.5%, 14.3%, and 18.8%, respectively, and all of them were obviously abnormal in unsteady casting such as start casting, changing tundish, and end casting. The results above indicated that the thermal dissipation rate could characterize the mold cooling target under the cooperation of complex factors and provide a new method for the dynamic evaluation of the mold system cooling effect with different casting states. Accordingly, the correlation analysis between superheat, casting speed, cooling water flow, and thermal dissipation rate revealed the synergistic influence law of multi-operation on mold cooling effect, which provided a new idea for the precise control of multi-process collaboration in continuous casting.

Hemopexin and albumin inhibit heme-induced macrophage activation while also enabling heme-LPS synergistic promotion of TNF production

Free heme released from hemoglobin contributes to exacerbated inflammation and tissue damage in hemolytic diseases. While a moderate level of free heme does not cause intravascular inflammation by itself, its presence during infection greatly enhances inflammation. Although specific serum proteins have been found to affect heme-induced inflammation, the selective contribution of serum proteins inhibiting macrophage activation by heme or, conversely, amplifying the production of cytokines by macrophages stimulated with heme and microbial molecules, is poorly defined. Here we identified a serum fraction containing proteins with >50 KDa which was capable of inhibiting heme-stimulated TNF production and capable of enabling TNF production under conditions of a heme-LPS synergy. The inhibition of heme-induced TNF production was mimicked by Hemopexin (Hx), human serum albumin (HSA), serum from Hx-knockout mice, and less efficiently by serum from albumin-knockout mice, but not by serum LDL. Hx and HSA inhibited heme-induced ROS generation, MAPK/ Syk phosphorylation and cell death. However, Hx and HSA each also promoted the synergistic relationship between heme and LPS upon TNF production. Serum from Hx-knockout mice was fully capable of enabling this synergy, while serum from albumin-knockout mice was less efficient to promote TNF production under these conditions. Low concentrations of HSA mimicked the ability of serum to enable heme-stimulated IL-1β production after LPS priming, while high concentrations inhibited it. Together, our findings indicate how heme inflammatory effects are restrained in the blood upon sterile hemolysis, yet exacerbate inflammation in the presence of microbes. Moreover, it is interesting to note that opposing effects of serum proteins on heme-induced macrophage activation were selected through evolution, with both effects exerted by Hx and albumin.

Collaboration, not Confrontation: Understanding General Practitioners’ Attitudes Towards Natural Language and Text Automation in Clinical Practice

General Practitioners are among the primary users and curators of textual electronic health records, highlighting the need for technologies supporting record access and administration. Recent advancements in natural language processing facilitate the development of clinical systems, automating some time-consuming record-keeping tasks. However, it remains unclear what automation tasks would benefit clinicians most, what features such automation should exhibit, and how clinicians will interact with the automation. We conducted semi-structured interviews with General Practitioners uncovering their views and attitudes toward text automation. The main emerging theme was doctor-AI collaboration, addressing a reciprocal clinician-technology relationship that does not threaten to substitute clinicians, but rather establishes a constructive synergistic relationship. Other themes included: (i) desired features for clinical text automation; (ii) concerns around clinical text automation; and (iii) the consultation of the future. Our findings will inform the design of future natural language processing systems, to be implemented in general practice.

The first Brazilian bovine breed: structure and genetic diversity of the Curraleiro Pé-duro.

The production of animal-based foods from native breeds have a synergistic relationship with the regional culture, the local climate, and mainly the maintenance of alternative genetic resources for a system with a lower environmental impact. Thus the efficiency of conservation and production depends on assessing the variability of these local breeds. In the case of Curraleiro Pé-duro cattle, the most adapted individuals have undergone natural selection over five hundred years in the Brazilian savannas, mating with little or no human interference. The peculiarities of these biomes, where the regional flora is the food base and cattle is raised in extensive areas, likely influenced the genetic composition of the different groups that make up the first cattle breed of Brazil. To evaluate the composition, diversity, variation, differentiation, and genetic structure of the populations studied, samples of hair follicles from 474 individuals of different animal categories (calves, yearlings, heifers, cows, and bulls) from three farms, defined as subpopulations "A", "B", and "C", were collected. The animals were genotyped for 17 microsatellite markers using a DNA sequencer. After verification of monomorphic alleles, alleles outside the expected size range, and for the presence of stutter bands, the results were subjected to statistical analysis. The markers used were suitable for the proposed application with a mean Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) of 0.62. On average, the effective alleles were 4.25 per marker, with mean heterozygosities of 0.74 (observed and expected), which was lower in herd A (0.70) in comparison to herds B (0.77) and C (0.74). The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed a higher rate of variation within herds (98.5%) and lower among herds (1.5%) (FSTranging from 0.00723 and 0.03198; p-values < 0.05). However no significant differences among herds where found with the Mantel test based on geographic distances. The formation of genetic clusters of all animals sampled with the software Structure resulted in minimum cluster values, with two main genetic groups (K=2) observed among the evaluated animals. Therefore, based on PIC and heterozygosity values, a wide genetic diversity was observed, despite little differences in population structure (AMOVA, FST, and Structure results) among sampling sites.