Tail Region Research Articles

Numerical investigation into turbulent drag reduction via the application of pufferfish spine-inspired cone microstructures in Suboff models

The effective reduction of seawater drag is pivotal in enhancing the speed and minimizing the energy consumption of submarines, which has significant implications in the fields of energy and defense. Surface bionics has emerged as one of the leading techniques for drag reduction. Current research primarily focuses on replicating the groove-like structures observed on shark skins and the flexible properties of dolphin skins. However, the application of cone microstructures on submarine surfaces remains relatively underexplored. In this study, a novel arrangement of bionic drag-reducing microstructures is employed to modify the turbulence structure surrounding the submarine by incorporating bionic cone microstructures at both the front and rear ends of the submarine. Numerical simulations were performed using the SST k-ω turbulence model to evaluate the impact of these frontal microstructures on drag reduction under varying Reynolds numbers, spacings, and positions, as well as the tail microstructures’ effect at different Reynolds numbers, heights, and circumferential separation angles. The findings reveal that positioning microstructures at the submarine’s head increases the drag reduction rate proportionally with the distance from the apex, displaying an inverse relationship between spacing and drag reduction rate. Conversely, an increase in cone separation angle at the tail leads to a decrease in the overall drag reduction rate. At the same time, an inverse proportionality is observed between cone height and drag reduction rate. This suggests that cone microstructures play a dual role: mitigating friction drag greatly and augmenting pressure drag, thereby achieving overall drag reduction. Moreover, these cone microstructures disrupt eddy currents within the boundary layer surrounding the submarine, restraining the propagation of turbulent momentum transfer in both the head and tail regions. This research not only pioneers a novel drag reduction strategy for underwater vehicles but also sparks new avenues for their optimized surface design.

ROTATE: A Coordinate System for Analyzing Atmospheric Rivers

AbstractThis study introduces the ROTated Atmospheric river coordinaTE (ROTATE) system — a novel storm‐centric coordinate system designed specifically for analyzing atmospheric rivers (ARs). It effectively preserves key AR signals in the time mean that may be lost or obscured in simple averaging due to diverse AR orientations and shapes. By applying the ROTATE system, we compared climatological characteristics for northern hemisphere ARs. Composites of four key meteorological variables, integrated vapor transport, integrated water vapor, precipitation, and windspeed, indicate distinct and clearer patterns of ARs compared to the conventional non‐rotated AR centroid‐based compositing approach. Moreover, the ROTATE system improves precipitation rates, particularly around the AR center and its head and tail regions, providing more distinct delineations of the precipitation signals between landfalling and oceanic ARs. Overall, the ROTATE system has the potential to serve as a valuable tool for better comparing and understanding the characteristics, processes, and impacts of ARs across different regions.

DnaK duplication and specialization in bacteria correlates with increased proteome complexity.

The chaperone 70 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp70) is important for cells from bacteria to humans to maintain proteostasis, and all eukaryotes and several prokaryotes encode Hsp70 paralogs. Although the mechanisms of Hsp70 function have been clearly illuminated, the function and evolution of Hsp70 paralogs is not well studied. DnaK is a highly conserved bacterial Hsp70 family. Here, we show that dnaK is present in 98.9% of bacterial genomes, and 6.4% of them possess two or more DnaK paralogs. We found that the duplication of dnaK is positively correlated with an increase in proteomic complexity (proteome size, number of domains). We identified the interactomes of the two DnaK paralogs of Myxococcus xanthus DK1622 (MxDnaKs), which revealed that they are mostly nonoverlapping, although both prefer α and β domain proteins. Consistent with the entire M. xanthus proteome, MxDnaK substrates have both significantly more multi-domain proteins and a higher isoelectric point than that of Escherichia coli, which encodes a single DnaK homolog. MxDnaK1 is transcriptionally upregulated in response to heat shock and prefers to bind cytosolic proteins, while MxDnaK2 is downregulated by heat shock and is more associated with membrane proteins. Using domain swapping, we show that the nucleotide-binding domain and the substrate-binding β domain are responsible for the significant differences in DnaK interactomes, and the nucleotide binding domain also determines the dimerization of MxDnaK2, but not MxDnaK1. Our work suggests that bacterial DnaK has been duplicated in order to deal with a more complex proteome, and that this allows evolution of distinct domains to deal with different subsets of target proteins.IMPORTANCEAll eukaryotic and ~40% of prokaryotic species encode multiple 70 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp70) homologs with similar but diversified functions. Here, we show that duplication of canonical Hsp70 (DnaK in prokaryotes) correlates with increasing proteomic complexity and evolution of particular regions of the protein. Using the Myxococcus xanthus DnaK duplicates as a case, we found that their substrate spectrums are mostly nonoverlapping, and are both consistent to that of Escherichia coli DnaK in structural and molecular characteristics, but show differential enrichment of membrane proteins. Domain/region swapping demonstrated that the nucleotide-binding domain and the β substrate-binding domain (SBDβ), but not the SBDα or disordered C-terminal tail region, are responsible for this functional divergence. This work provides the first direct evidence for regional evolution of DnaK paralogs.

Fracture density reconstruction using direct sampling multiple-point statistics and extreme value theory

The aim of this work is to present a methodology for the reconstruction of missing fracture density within highly fractured intervals, which can represent preferential fluid flow pathways. The lack of record can be very common due to the intense presence of fractures, dissolution processes, or data acquisition issues. The superposition of numerous fractures makes the definition of fracture surfaces impossible, as a consequence, modeling such zones is challenging. In order to address this issue, the usage of direct sampling multiple-point statistics to perform gap filling in well logs is demonstrated as an alternative to other techniques. It reproduces data patterns and provides several models representing uncertainty. The method was tested in intervals from a highly fractured well, by removing previously known fracture density data, and simulating different scenarios with direct sampling. Simulation results are compared to the observed data using cross-validation and continuous rank probability score. The reference scenario training data set consists in one well and two variables: fracture density and fracture occurrence. A sensitivity analysis is carried out considering additional variables, additional wells, different intervals, resampling with extremes, and other gap filling techniques. The auxiliary variable plays an important role in pattern matching, but adding wells and logs increases the complexity of the method without improving pattern retrieval. Best results are obtained applying extreme values theory for stochastic process with the enrichment of the fracture density data at the tail region, followed by resampling of the new values. The enriched data is used for the gap filling resulting in lower continuous rank probability score, and the achievement of extreme fracture density values.

Pathophysiology of human hearing loss associated with variants in myosins.

Deleterious variants of more than one hundred genes are associated with hearing loss including MYO3A, MYO6, MYO7A and MYO15A and two conventional myosins MYH9 and MYH14. Variants of MYO7A also manifest as Usher syndrome associated with dysfunction of the retina and vestibule as well as hearing loss. While the functions of MYH9 and MYH14 in the inner ear are debated, MYO3A, MYO6, MYO7A and MYO15A are expressed in inner ear hair cells along with class-I myosin MYO1C and are essential for developing and maintaining functional stereocilia on the apical surface of hair cells. Stereocilia are large, cylindrical, actin-rich protrusions functioning as biological mechanosensors to detect sound, acceleration and posture. The rigidity of stereocilia is sustained by highly crosslinked unidirectionally-oriented F-actin, which also provides a scaffold for various proteins including unconventional myosins and their cargo. Typical myosin molecules consist of an ATPase head motor domain to transmit forces to F-actin, a neck containing IQ-motifs that bind regulatory light chains and a tail region with motifs recognizing partners. Instead of long coiled-coil domains characterizing conventional myosins, the tails of unconventional myosins have various motifs to anchor or transport proteins and phospholipids along the F-actin core of a stereocilium. For these myosins, decades of studies have elucidated their biochemical properties, interacting partners in hair cells and variants associated with hearing loss. However, less is known about how myosins traffic in a stereocilium using their motor function, and how each variant correlates with a clinical condition including the severity and onset of hearing loss, mode of inheritance and presence of symptoms other than hearing loss. Here, we cover the domain structures and functions of myosins associated with hearing loss together with advances, open questions about trafficking of myosins in stereocilia and correlations between hundreds of variants in myosins annotated in ClinVar and the corresponding deafness phenotypes.

Design and analysis of a novel magnetic helical swimmer

Magnetic helical swimmers are one type of robots that swim at low Reynolds number environments by rotating around the helix axis. Considering the importance and dramatic increase in the use of robots and microrobots in the near future, optimizing and increasing their efficiency is very important and noteworthy. Propulsion force and translational velocity are among the most important features of the magnetic helical swimmer, which improves the function of the swimmer as each of them increases. In this paper, a new design has been proposed for the magnetic helical swimmer by changing the geometry of the tail region, which has increased the propulsion force and improved its translational velocity. A suitable experimental setup has been designed and built in accordance with the required experiments to evaluate the translational velocity of the proposed swimmer. Using the experimental results, two models have been presented to express the translational velocity and propulsion force of the swimmer in terms of its angular velocity. The results of the experiments show that the propulsion force of the built swimmer is 698.89 % higher than that of the common magnetic helical swimmer with similar dimensions and the same environmental conditions in Newtonian fluid. At the end of the experiments, the motion of the proposed swimmer is simulated in the COMSOL software, and the results of the experiments are used to validate the simulation results. Finally, the effect of parameters such as the helix pitch and the number of turns of the helix on the translational velocity of the swimmer is investigated using the computer simulations.

Identification, Prevalence, and Infestation Patterns of Ectoparasitic In MP Hybrid Type Culled Laying Ducks In Gedang Sub Village, Modopuro Village, Mojosari Sub District, Mojokerto District

The purpose of this study was to identify ectoparasites and to determine the prevalence and infestation patterns of ectoparasites that attack the MP hybrid type culled ducks in Gedang Hamlet, Modopuro Village, Mojosari District, Mojokerto Regency. This study used a sample of 100 culled laying ducks of the MP hybrid type. The obtained ectoparasites were identified at the labaroratory of division parasitology, Faculty of veterinary medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, using the permanent mounting method without staining and viewed using a microscope with 40-100x magnification. This study found 71 samples positively infested with ectoparasites out of 100 samples of culled MP hybrid ducks examined with (prevalence of 71%). The types of ectoparasites found in this study were Menacanthus stramineus (25%), Menopon gallinae (9%), and Anaticola crassicornis (59%). Correspondence analysis test was conducted to show the pattern of infestation of the ectoparasites. The head-neck region was infested by M. stramineus and M. gallinae, while the back, wings, abdomen and tail regions were infested by A. crassicornis. A. crassicornis mostly attacked the MP hybrid type of culled laying ducks on the wings, compared to the back, abdomen and tail. A. crassicornis is an ectoparasite that is typical for the wing region, while M. gallinae and M. stramineus are ectoparasites that are typical for the head-neck region.

Enhancing the lubrication performance of the oil films in piston/cylinder pairs by textures

The long-term wear of the piston/cylinder pair is the main failure reason for axial piston pumps. In this paper, the dynamics of textured films to enhance the lubrication performance of piston/cylinder pairs is investigated systematically. The oil film is divided into three regions: the head region, the texture region, and the tail region. The Reynolds equation is used to predict the dynamics, which includes the carrying capacity and the friction. Influences of the texture geometries and the working conditions are presented in sequence. The results show that the texture enhances the lubrication performance by the collective effect. A shorter head length and a larger area ratio always benefit the lubrication performance, while increasing the texture region length does not always lead to positive effects, and the cell length is found to have negligible influences. The texture effect is found to be enhanced with larger shearing velocities and to be restrained with higher inlet pressures. It is also shown that the texture is effective for small inclination angles. Furthermore, a one-dimensional model is performed to unravel the mathematical mechanism, and an explicit expression is given for the texture region length.

The record of Vannella species (Vannellidae, Discosea, Amoebozoa) from freshwater sources in Dakahlyia Governorate, Egypt

The River Nile is the main source of fresh water in Egypt, where its water is used for irrigation, drinking, fisheries, industrial uses, and recreation. For sustainable utilization of the River Nile and its branches in the Nile Delta region, it is necessary to monitor regular investigation for the biodiversity of protozoan fauna in the Damietta branch and other freshwater canals in Dakahlyia Governorate. Water samples were collected monthly from different water sources, for 1 year, and examined for protozoans, using phase-contrast microscopy and recorded video films, The genus Vannella Bovee 1965 is recorded for the first time in four freshwater localities: Demietta branch of the River Nile, Mansouria Canal, Bouhia Canal, and Bahr El-Saghir Canal. A detailed morphological description with a brief report of their locomotion has been given for four morphologically different Vannella species. The locomotive form of Vannella sp.1 has a long pointed posterior tail and 2 lateral posterior processes. Such a tail was absent in other Vannella species. Vannella sp.2 is unique among other recorded species, where its locomotive form possesses a long posterior rounded tail region and a frontal hyaloplasm provided with a wavy surface that forms several lobes and finger-like processes during locomotion. In addition, the hyaloplasm produces several transverse waves that vary in thickness and density. The floating form of Vannella sp.2 is of a radial type and has comparatively long hyaline pointed and spiral pseudopodia. The process of transformation of locomotive form to floating form in Vannella sp.2 has been followed up using several recorded video films. The locomotive form of Vannella sp.3 is bear-shaped, while that of Vannella sp.4 has variable shapes from semicircular to rectangular and sometimes fan-shaped. During movement in vivo, locomotive cells of all Vannella species, except Vannella sp.1, move in nearly a straight line, but there were variations in their rate of locomotion. Vannella sp.4 recorded the highest rate (6.8 µm/s), followed by Vannella sp.2 (4.5 µm/s), Vannella sp.3 (2.4 µm/s), and finally Vannella sp.1 (1.0 µm/s). Molecular studies and transmission electron microscope examinations are still needed to confirm the precise identity of each Vannella species.

Normal value of virtual touch imaging quantification elastography in measurements of pancreas.

To evaluate pancreatic tissue stiffness and provide a normal reference shear wave velocity (SWV) value of pancreas from healthy adults by Virtual Touch Imaging Quantification (VTIQ) measurements. Healthy adult volunteers without known history of hepatobiliary or pancreatic diseases were included. VTIQ elastography (Siemens ACUSON Sequoia, 5C-1 transducer) was used. SWV values were measured at the cephalic, corpus and tail of pancreas and replicated different operators' obtained data. Subgroups were classified according to the volunteers' gender, age, body mass index (BMI), depth of measurements and the echogenicity of the pancreas. From February 2023 to July 2023, 33 healthy adult volunteers were included. The success rate of VTIQ measurements in cephalic, corpus and tail regions was 90.90 % (30/33), 96.97 % (32/33) and 90.90 % (30/33) respectively. The color elastograms of healthy adult pancreas showed uniform blue or simultaneously blue and green. The average SWV values were 0.97±0.26 m/s for cephalic, 0.91±0.24 m/s for corpus and 0.97±0.25 m/s for pancreatic tail respectively (P = 0.198). The mean SWV values of pancreas did not show significant difference with age, gender or depth (P > 0.05). BMI was an influence factor in the measurements of SWV values of cephalic and tail of pancreas (P < 0.05). Pancreas with hyperechoic parenchyma showed higher mean SWV values (P < 0.05). The intra-observer (ICC = 0.938 [95% CI: 0.869-0.971]) and the inter-observer (ICC = 0.887 [95% CI: 0.760-0.947]) agreements of VTIQ measurements were excellent. The mean SWV value of the pancreas in healthy adults was 0.96±0.20 m/s (range: 0.52-1.74 m/s). VTIQ technique can be used in pancreatic stiffness measurements with good reliability.

A multiscale approach reveals the molecular architecture of the autoinhibited kinesin KIF5A

Kinesin-1 is a microtubule motor that transports cellular cargo along microtubules. KIF5A is one of three kinesin-1 isoforms in humans, all of which are autoinhibited by an interaction between the motor and an IAK motif in the proximal region of the C-terminal tail. The C-terminal tail of KIF5A is ∼80 residues longer than the other two kinesin-1 isoforms (KIF5B and KIF5C) and it is unclear if it contributes to autoinhibition. Mutations in KIF5A cause neuronal diseases and could affect autoinhibition, as reported for a mutation that skips exon 27, altering its C-terminal sequence. Here, we combined negative-stain electron microscopy, crosslinking mass spectrometry (XL-MS) and AlphaFold2 structure prediction to determine the molecular architecture of the full-length autoinhibited KIF5A homodimer, in the absence of light chains. We show that KIF5A forms a compact, bent conformation, through a bend between coiled coils 2 and 3, around P687. XL-MS of WT KIF5A revealed extensive interactions between residues in the motor, between coiled-coil 1 and the motor, between coiled-coils 1 and 2, with coiled coils 3 and 4, and the proximal region of the C-terminal tail and the motor in the autoinhibited state, but not between the distal C-terminal region and the rest of the molecule. While negative stain electron microscopy of exon-27 KIF5A splice mutant showed the presence of autoinhibited molecules, XL-MS analysis suggested that its autoinhibited state is more labile. Our model offers a conceptual framework for understanding how mutations within the motor and stalk domain may affect motor activity.

Theoretical and experimental investigation of a bubble collapsing near an asymmetric hydrofoil

In the present paper, the restricted cavitation bubble dynamics near an asymmetric Joukowsky hydrofoil are investigated theoretically and experimentally. This investigation employs the conformal transformation, the image method, and the Kelvin impulse model, together with high-speed photographic experiments. The characteristics of bubble collapse deformation and bubble wall movement are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, and the spatial distributions of the liquid velocity and Kelvin impulse are revealed by theoretical predictions. The main conclusions include (1) the bubble collapse deformations can be divided into three typical cases: penetrating deformation (mostly occurs when γ&amp;lt;2 with γ defined as the bubble-hydrofoil dimensionless distance), triangular depression (mostly occurs when 2&amp;lt;γ&amp;lt;4), and arc-shaped depression (mostly occurs when γ&amp;gt;4). (2) The impulse acting on the bubble is governed by a point source and a point sink, which is dominant, and the impulse is inversely correlated with the bubble-hydrofoil distance, which corresponds to the experimental results. (3) The Kelvin impulse exhibits different distributions at the tail, head, and middle regions of the hydrofoil, and the impulse angle remains basically unchanged in the concave region of the asymmetric hydrofoils (i.e., the range of 240°&amp;lt;θz&amp;lt;350° with θz defined as the bubble position angle).

Vibrational spectrum perturbations of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers with noble gases and chlorinated species

This study aims to improve our understanding of some differences in odd and even chain-length alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) using infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) and density functional theory (DFT). Xe, Kr, CH2Cl2, CD2Cl2, and CDCl3 were used experimentally to perturb the CH2 and CH3 stretches arising from the tail region of the SAM films and changes in position and intensity were monitored in the infrared. Using DFT methods, noble gases and CH2Cl2 were added to models of the SAM monolayers, and energies and vibrational spectra were calculated. It was observed that perturbing species affected the CH3 symmetric and asymmetric stretches on hexadecanethiol SAMs (an “even” SAM with a 16-carbon backbone) while on pentadecanethiol SAMs (an “odd” SAM with a 15-carbon backbone) both CH2 and CH3 symmetric and asymmetric stretches were affected. Films formed with shorter chain-length species, hexanethiol (even) and pentanethiol (odd), had less consistent results, likely due to more disorder in the alkanethiol chains from weaker van der Waals interactions. Adsorption energies for different perturbing species on the monolayers were higher for the hexanethiol than the pentanethiol. The vibrational spectrum of pentanethiol monolayers with adsorbed species mainly showed shifts to higher frequencies for CH2 and CH3 stretches; for hexanethiol, shifts to lower frequencies for CH2 stretches and higher frequencies for CH3 stretches were observed. Thus, the odd and even alkanethiol SAMs were affected differently by the perturbing species as observed both experimentally and computationally.

Performance analysis of FSO communications over a generalized turbulence fading channel with pointing error

SummaryQuantitatively assessing the performance of free space optical (FSO) communication systems requires an accurate description of turbulence induced fading. However, it is well known that common irradiance distributions inaccurately model intensity tail regions. Recently, a general fading model as the product of arbitrary number of Gamma with inverse Gamma was proposed and shown to accurately predict measurements, besides containing many well‐known models as special cases. This paper is concerned with analyzing the effect of discrepancies among different fading distributions on optical system performance in terms of bit error rates and capacity. Based on the general fading model a unified analysis of the channel structure effects on FSO communications in the presence of turbulence and pointing error is presented. The outage probability is investigated for both homodyne and direct detection schemes. Closed form expressions for the average probability of bit error for intensity modulation, phase shift keying and polarization shift keying, single‐input‐single‐output systems are given and verified by Monte‐Carlo simulations. Spatial diversity is also studied through single‐input‐multiple‐output systems. Also, the ergodic capacity is derived. Comparisons between the proposed distributions and other widely used distributions are carried out and show significant differences among existing fading models. This suggests possible improvements in the spectral efficiency and error performance design of optical wireless communication systems.

Studies on the Arrott plots of inhomogeneous first order magnetic phase transitions

First order ferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition is studied using the Bean-Rodbell model within the mean-field framework. The presence of sample inhomogeneities is modeled by considering distributions of the Bean-Rodbell parameter. The corresponding Arrott plots with and without distributions of the Bean-Rodbell parameter are generated and compared. Results indicate that in the presence of inhomogeneities, ferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition is broadened. The initial negative slopes in the Arrott plots due to first order phase transition changes to positive slopes for temperatures lying in the broadened tail region of the ferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase transitions. However, the initial negative slopes in the paramagnetic regime (for temperatures above the broadened tail region) are preserved even in the presence of sample inhomogeneities. Also, the effect of inhomogeneities on the magnetic entropy change near the first order transition is studied.

Role of the C-Terminal β Sandwich of Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis Thermophilic Esterase in Hydrolysis of Long-Chain Acyl Substrates.

To search for a novel thermostable esterase for optimized industrial applications, esterase from a thermophilic eubacterium species, Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis MB4, was purified and characterized in this work. Sequence analysis of T. tengcongensis esterase with other homologous esterases of the same family revealed an apparent tail at the C-terminal that is not conserved across the esterase family. Hence, it was hypothesized that the tail is unlikely to have an essential structural or catalytic role. However, there is no documented report of any role for this tail region. We probed the role of the C-terminal domain on the catalytic activity and substrate preference of T. tengcongensis esterase EstA3 with a view to see how it could be engineered for enhanced properties. To achieve this, we cloned, expressed, and purified the wild-type and the truncated versions of the enzyme. In addition, a naturally occurring member of the family (from Brevibacillus brevis) that lacks the C-terminal tail was also made. In vitro characterization of the purified enzymes showed that the C-terminal domain contributes significantly to the catalytic activity and distinct substrate preference of T. tengcongensis esterase EstA3. All three recombinant enzymes showed the highest preference for paranitrophenyl butyrate (pNPC4), which suggests they are true esterases, not lipases. Kinetic data revealed that truncation had a slight effect on the substrate-binding affinity. Thus, the drop in preference towards long-chain substrates might not be a result of substrate binding affinity alone. The findings from this work could form the basis for future protein engineering allowing the modification of esterase catalytic properties through domain swapping or by attaching a modular protein domain.

NOVEL STEM CELL STRATEGIES FOR TENDON REGENERATIVE MEDICINE

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are an effective alternative for Teno-regeneration. Despite their applications in tendon engineering, the mechanisms promoting tendon healing still need to be understood. Since there is scattered information on ovine ADSCs, this research aims to investigate in vitro their teno-differentiation for potential use in preclinical tendon regeneration models.Ovine ADSCs were isolated from the tail region according to FAT-STEM laboratories, expanded until passage six (P6), and characterized in terms of stemness, adhesion and MHC markers by Flow Cytometry (FCM) and immunocytochemistry (ICC). Cell proliferation and senescence were evaluated with MTT and Beta-galactosidase assays, respectively. P1 ADSCs’ teno-differentiation was assessed by culturing them with teno-inductive Conditioned Media (CM) or engineering them on tendon-mimetic PLGA scaffolds. ADSCs teno-differentiation was evaluated by morphological, molecular (qRT-PCR), and biochemical (WesternBlot) approaches.ADSCs exhibited mesenchymal phenotype, positive for stemness (SOX2, NANOG, OCT4), adhesion (CD29, CD44, CD90, CD166) and MHC-I markers, while negative for hematopoietic (CD31, CD45) and MHC-II markers, showing no difference between passages. ICC staining confirmed these results, where ADSCs showed nuclear positivity for SOX2 (≅ 56%) and NANOG (≅ 67%), with high proliferation capacity without senescence until P6. Interestingly, ADSCs cultured with the teno-inductive CM did not express tenomodulin (TNMD) protein or gene. Conversely, ADSCs seeded on scaffolds teno-differentiated, acquiring a spindle shape supported by TNMD protein expression at 48h (p&lt;0.05 vs. ADSCs 48h) with a significant increase at 14 days of culture (p&lt;0.05 vs. ADSCs + fleece 48h).Ovine ADSCs respond differently upon distinct teno-inductive strategies. While the molecules on the CM could not trigger a teno-differentiation in the cells, the scaffold's topological stimulus did, resulting in the best strategy to apply. More insights are requested to better understand ovine ADSCs’ tenogenic commitment before using them in vivo for tendon regeneration.Acknowledgements: This research is part of the P4FIT project ESR5, under the H2020MSCA-ITN-EJD-P4 FIT-Grant Agreement ID:955685.

Robust adaptive analysis of extreme dynamic responses of wave energy converters

In the current study, a new adaptive binned kernel density estimation method has been introduced. In the proposed new method, Fourier transforms have been utilized to accomplish the convolution rather than performing the convolution by hand. By utilizing the fast Fourier transform, direct and inverse Fourier transforms have been found in a relatively short amount of time when implementing the new method. Upon analyzing the computed results, it has been observed that the newly proposed adaptive binned kernel density estimation distribution curve exhibits a high level of smoothness in the tail region. Furthermore, it demonstrates a strong alignment with the histogram derived from the recorded ocean wave dataset obtained at the NDBC station 46053. These are the major advantages of the proposed new method comparing with other existing methods such as the parametric method, the ordinary KDE method, and Abramson's adaptive KDE method. The specific research gap identified in the field is that none of the existing methods can predict the sea state parameter probability distribution tails both accurately and efficiently, and the proposed new method has successfully addressed this research gap. Upon careful examination of the calculation results, it becomes evident that the projected 50-year extreme power-take-off heaving force value, derived using the newly proposed method, is 1989300N. This value significantly surpasses (by more than 9.5%) the forecasted value of 1816200N obtained through the application of the Rosenblatt-I-SORM contour method. The findings of this study suggest that the newly proposed adaptive binned kernel density estimation method exhibits robustness and demonstrates accurate forecasting capabilities for the 50-year extreme dynamic responses of wave energy converters.

Exploring CRY1 Protein Residue Associations with Diurnal and Nocturnal Behaviors Across Vertebrate Species

Background/Aim: Core clock genes exert influence over a spectrum of behavioral consequences and physiological processes. In mammals, distinct transcription-translation feedback loops oscillate approximately every 24 hours, aligning peripheral tissues with the dark-light cycle. Consequently, species manifest diverse activity patterns in their daily routines; for instance, diurnal species exhibit sleep during dark periods and heightened activity during light periods. Over the course of evolution, subtle changes in protein sequences can lead to divergent phenotypic traits. This study aims to scrutinize core clock protein residues to identify significant amino acid sites that might underlie diurnal or non-diurnal tendencies from an evolutionary standpoint. Methods: We performed multiple sequence alignment on coding sequences of vertebrate core clock protein, CRY1, orthologs obtained from the NCBI database. This was achieved using the Constraint-based Multiple Alignment Tool (COBALT). Vertebrate species were classified into diurnal (n=127) and nocturnal (n=92) categories. Statistical methods were applied to analyze the non-random distribution of amino acid residues between the two groups. Results: Our analysis of the CRY1 protein provides initial insights into specific amino acid residues exhibiting non-random associations with both nocturnal and diurnal behaviors. Notably, we identified five residues subject to purifying selection and 21 residues under positive selection within CRY1 orthologs. These residues span across exons 1, 4, and 9-12, predominantly concentrated in the tail region. Conclusion: This preliminary investigation highlights the importance of particular amino acids within core clock proteins, offering valuable insights into their functional significance. The observed discrepancies in conservation patterns between diurnal and nocturnal groups underscore the potential disruption of essential folding processes or post-translational mechanisms by mutations in these regions. This research marks a pioneering advancement in understanding the phenotypic outcomes of core clock proteins and their direct correlation with behavioral traits within evolutionary contexts, potentially linking to sleep disorders.

Body Size and Ectoparasitic Infestations in the Mediterranean Pond Turtle Mauremys leprosa (Testudines, Geoemydidae) in Majen Belahriti Pond (North-Eastern Algeria)

Morphological parameters were measured on a population of the Mediterranean pond turtle Mauremys leprosa (Schweigger, 1812) in Majen Belahriti pond in the region of Guelma (North-east of Algeria). Females exhibited a longer carapace length (CL) at 177 ± 23.85 mm, surpassing that of males (151.45 ± 31.12 mm), and they also displayed a higher body weight (BW) at 756.52 ± 243.91 g, which was notably greater than that of males (453.09 ± 224.42 g). Placobdella nabeulensis Ben Ahmed, Gajda, Utevsky, Kwist &amp; Świątek, 2023 (Hirudinida, Glossiphoniidae) was identified as the only ectoparasite affecting M. leprosa, with an average body length and width of 11 ± 5.83 mm and 5.1 ± 2.89 mm respectively. The intensity, represented by the average number of leeches per turtle, was calculated to be 2.21 ± 1.31 for this specific population and a prevalence rate of 21.17 %. The tail region showed the highest parasite load, indicating its increased susceptibility compared to other body parts.