Detection and isolation of Leishmania infantum from natural infected dog in Türkiye

Some clinical signs such as cachexia, alopecia, exfoliative dermatitis, hair loss, and swollen lymph nodes were observed in a one-year-old crossbred male dog living in a rural area of Kirikkale province, T & uuml;rkiye, was presented to the veterinary clinic by its owner. Anaemia, leucopenia, hyperglobulinemia, and bilirubinemia were detected. Seropositivity was detected using Leishmania IgG/IgM Rapid Test. The amastigote forms of the parasite were observed in the lymph node aspirates. Viable promastigotes were observed in the samples obtained from the Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle medium (NNN) tubes. The parasite DNA was extracted from the promastigotes produced in the NNN medium using a DNA extraction kit according to the manufacturer's instructions. The specific bands indicating the gene regions of L. infantum (350 bp and 730 bp for HSP20 and HSP70, respectively) were observed. Additionally, BLASTn analysis revealed 100 % similarity with GenBank-deposited L. infantum sequences. The sequences were submitted to GenBank (Accession numbers: OR806945 and OR806946). According to the author's knowledge, it is the first dog isolate deposited in the collection of the Microbiology Reference Laboratories and Biological Products Department, General Directorate of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Ankara, T & uuml;rkiye. The isolate (TR_L. infantum CanL-1_damla) has been preserved by cryopreservation at -150 degrees C for further studies

Advanced forecast models for the climate and energy crisis: The case of the California independent system operator

Climate change across the globe, especially extreme temperature events, is increasing pressures on energy systems. The extraordinary situation that California and the West faced in late August and early September 2022, when record temperatures led to a spike in electricity demand, provided an important backdrop for the resilience and sustainability of clean energy technologies. The electricity market managed by the California Independent System Operator is considered in this study to examine the potential impacts on electricity demand spikes and system resilience. The methodology of the research involves analyzing the system operator's responses to electricity demand using advanced deep learning algorithms, convolutional neural network - long-short term memory and attention mechanism models. 1, 3 and 7-days forecasts of electricity demand were made using models in the day ahead market. In 1-day forecasts, while the former models have a mean absolute percentage error value of 12.40%, the latter model has a lower error rate of 10.36%. Overall findings obtained from various scenarios show that the long-short term memory - attention mechanism can more effectively understand complex patterns in energy demand and has the potential to increase system stability against such extreme weather events. The advanced horizon of the study offers an important perspective on how clean energy technologies, especially battery energy storage systems, can provide solutions to today's priority problems such as climate change and extreme temperature

Determination of wearable technological devices according to their use in improvement of health and safety in the mining sector

Miners may be exposed to injuries or even death due to safety and lack of communication problems. It is essential for those working in mining, an important economic sector, to take the necessary safety precautions. The advanced technology used by turning it into wearable technological devices will be healthier, safer, and beneficial in improving the professionalism of the personnel in the mining industry. In this study, the importance of wearable devices was rated according to their usage areas in the mining industry to contribute to improving occupational health and safety. Situations where precautions must be taken as a priority to protect miners’ lives have been selected as alternatives. The ranking of alternatives was carried out by integrating the Analytical Network Process (ANP) and Preference Ranking Organization for Enrichment of Evaluations (PROMETHEE) methods from the Multi-Criteria Decision Making Methods (MCDM). The alternatives are listed as environmental, vital signs, and location information. The study will contribute to the literature by focusing on employee health and safety beyond the acceptance and use of wearable technologies and ensuring the widespread use of MCDM methods in health and safety. © 2024 Elsevier Lt

Some bivariate Schur-constant distributions and application to life insurance

Schur-constant models play a particular role when modelling time in fields such as actuarial science, insurance, reliability and survival models. These models describe random lifetimes with a certain dependence. In this study, a relation between proportional hazard rate distributions and Schur-constant models is established. Bivariate Schur-constant models, whose marginals are proportional hazard rate distributed, are introduced. Then, the dependency analysis in life insurances is performed through Schur-constant and copula models. It is revealed that there are differences in pricing when individuals' future lifetimes are dependent

Factors influencing the prescription of add-on long-acting muscarinic antagonists in real-world asthma management: Insights from a national registry

Current guidelines recommend adding long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) in patients with uncontrolled asthma, despite the use of moderate to high doses of inhaled steroid-long-acting beta agonists (ICS/LABA). This study aims to analyze the factors related to the prescription of add-on LAMA in clinical practice for asthma patients, shedding light on physicians’ preferences. This study included adult asthma patients on add-on LAMA and ICS/LABA monitored for at least one year in a national registry comprising 2053 asthmatics. Patients’ characteristics and disease profiles were analyzed to identify factors associated with the prescription of add-on LAMA across the entire cohort. A comparative analysis was performed among three groups: MART (ICS/formoterol as a maintenance and reliever therapy) plus LAMA, Conventional (ICS/LABA as a maintenance and short-acting beta agonist as reliever) plus LAMA and Triple (ICS/LABA/LAMA single inhaler). LAMAs were added to ICS/LABA in 11.7 % of patients in the national registry. Logistic regression analysis revealed that older age, low FEV1 (%), Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores less than 20, and severe exacerbation were the main factors influencing the initiation of LAMA in our registry. However, demographic characteristics of asthma, control status, pulmonary function test results were similar among the three groups of LAMA users (p > 0.05). Physicians used LAMAs without phenotyping based on allergic status or eosinophil levels (p > 0.05). Mepolizumab was added after LAMA in all patients, while omalizumab was initiated before LAMA in 16.9 % of the patients receiving LAMA along with biologics. Add-on LAMAs were predominantly prescribed for older, uncontrolled, and exacerbated asthma patients with low FEV1. © 2024 Elsevier LtdTurkish Thoracic Society, (Y-083-2021

Hospital Food Waste Trends: A Bibliometric Analysis

Objective: Food waste in hospitals has a significant impact on environmental sustainability. The effect of food waste includes the potential for pollution, eutrophication, and global warming, all of which are highly destructive to the Earth’s ecology. This study aims to determine the trends of hospital food service based on hospital waste to achieve a sustainable hospital. Material and Methods: This study examined 137 articles from the Scopus database using the descriptive-analytic method. The records issued between 2018 to 2022 that were gathered based on the keywords “hospital,” and “food,” and “waste” were used in this exploration investigation. Results: The result indicated that the three-year (93 papers) analysis trend of hospital food waste has been toward developing sustainable hospitals. The top three keywords are waste (3.3%), food (3.09%), and hospital (2.06%). The hospital food waste was positively associated with the food, food service, and hospital assessment, with correlation values ranging from 0.76 to 0.85 (p-value?0.70). The cluster’s themes on hospital food were waste food contamination (36.13%), environmental sustainability (34.45%), and hospital food services (29.4%). Conclusion: Addressing hospital food waste is crucial for achieving sustainable hospital development. Managing food waste is essential to achieve sustainability in hospitals as it produces the highest amount compared to other sectors. © 2024 JHSMR. Hosted by Prince of Songkla University. All rights reserved

Role of different type nanoparticles on exergy, thermoeconomic, exergoeconomic, environmental, and enviroeconomic indicators in a CI engine fueled with rapeseed oil biodiesel

This present study conducts energy, exergy, thermoeconomic, exergoeconomic, environmental, and enviroeconomic analyses for a CI engine fuelled with rapeseed oil biodiesel that includes varying proportions of TiO2, Ag2O, and CeO2 nanoparticles. Experiments are performed on four different engine torques (between 10 Nm and 40 Nm engine torque ranges) and 1800 1/min shaft speed. The addition of nanoparticles to 100 % rapeseed oil biodiesel (R100) fuel positively impacts energy, exergy, thermoeconomic, and exergoeconomic results. Among all the test fuels, the best energy, exergy, thermoeconomic, and exergoeconomic performance results are obtained with the R + Ti75 fuel containing 75 ppm TiO2, followed by the R + Ce75 and R + Ti50 fuels. The R + Ti75 and R + Ce75 fuels reduce exergy destruction by an average of 7 % and 5.5 % respectively compared to the R100 fuel, while increasing exergy efficiency by an average of 5 % and 4 %. Additionally, the maximum reduction in capital cost (reduction in thermoeconomic impact) is achieved with the R + Ti75 fuel, with an average reduction of approximately 12 %. On the other hand, the lowest environmental impact is obtained with the R100 fuel, while the highest environmental impact is observed with the R + Ti75 and R + Ce75 fuels. In conclusion, the most efficient blends in terms of energy, exergy, thermoeconomic, and exergoeconomic aspects are the R + Ti75 and R + Ce75 fuels. © 202

Sustainable brand logo selection using an AI-Supported PF-WENSLO-ARLON hybrid method

Brands use logos to reflect their identities and convey their company character to target customers. Logos not only represent brand value but also provide various information about brands. Companies aiming to emphasize sustainable brand value also seek to showcase this aspect in their logos. Therefore, sustainable brand design and development are preferred. The focus of this research is on sustainable brand development through Artificial Intelligence-supported logo design and developing a decision support system for selecting the best logo among Artificial Intelligence-generated logos. In this study, Artificial Intelligence-supported logo design is explained, and the Multi Attribute Group Decision Making approach is adopted for identifying the best logo among the obtained logos. The Picture Fuzzy - Weights by Envelope and Slope - Alternative Ranking using Two-Step Logarithmic Normalization hybrid method is proposed for logo decision-making, combining the Weights by Envelope and Slope criterion weighting method using picture fuzzy sets with Alternative Ranking using Two-Step Logarithmic Normalization alternative ranking methods. Additionally, the Picture Fuzzy Yager Weighted Average aggregation operator based on Yager t-norm and t-conorm operations is employed. The steps of the hybrid method are outlined, and its algorithm is formulated. To test the applicability and robustness of the algorithm, sustainable logo design for an architectural firm is developed and executed as a real-case study. The research concludes that Artificial Intelligence-supported sustainable logo design can be achieved, and the hybrid method can support determining the best logo based on expert opinions. Based on the research findings, the hybrid method is recommended for sustainable logo design and selection

A critical review of the refractory high-entropy materials: RHEA alloys, composites, ceramics, additively manufactured RHEA alloys

In this study, the traits, production methods, and applications of refractory high-entropy materials-including refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs), refractory high-entropy composites (RHE-Cs), and refractory high- entropy ceramics (RHE-Ce)-which are part of the broader category of refractory high-entropy materials with a wide range of applications, have been thoroughly examined and discussed. RHEAs have emerged as materials that exhibit superior properties, such as high melting temperatures, excellent temperature resistance, and high wear and corrosion resilience, in addition to high mechanical and fatigue strength. These attributes have made them extensively studied materials in recent times. The properties of RHEAs suggest their safe operation in challenging environments such as nuclear reactors, gas turbines, aerospace, and energy production. Among refractory materials, RHE-Cs stand out for their high strength and low density, showing significant potential for use in the automotive, aerospace, and space industries. Another group with a wide range of applications, RHE-Ce materials, is distinguished by their high-temperature resilience, high hardness, and low thermal conductivity, making them suitable for high-temperature environments. Refractory materials are generally fabricated using traditional techniques such as arc melting, powder metallurgy, and magnetron sputtering. In this study, along with traditional production methods, additive manufacturing techniques which have revolutionized the manufacturing field are discussed concerning their applications in refractory material production. Additive manufacturing methods enable the achievement of high temperatures and the production of homogeneous, single-phase solid solutions, making them suitable for fabricating refractory materials with high melting points

Reveal of relationship between microscopy architecture and mechanical performance of Y/Bi substituted Bi-2212 engineering ceramics

This study aims to find out how the crystallinity quality, surface morphology, and mechanical performances change with the substitution of yttrium (Y) for bismuth (Bi) impurity within molar ratios of 0.00 ? x ? 0.12 in the Bi2.0?xYxSr2.0Ca1.1Cu2.0Oy (Bi-2212) cuprates to reveal the dependence of micro surface topology on the substitution mechanism and achieve a strong relation between the impurity ions and crystallization mechanism. The materials are prepared by ceramic method. It is found that all the experimental findings improve remarkably with increasing yttrium impurity molar ratio of x = 0.01. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicate that the optimum Y ions strengthen the formation of flaky adjacent stacked layers due to the changes of thermal expansion, vibration amplitude of atoms, heat capacitance, reaction kinetics, activation energy, nucleation temperature, thermodynamic stability, and intermolecular forces. Besides, new engineering novel compound produced by optimum Y ions presents the best crystallinity quality, uniform surface view, greatest coupling interaction between grains, largest particle size distributions/orientations, and densest/smoothest surface morphology. Hardness measurement results totally support the surface morphology view. Moreover, mechanical design properties and durability of the tetragonal phase improve significantly with increasing replacement level of x = 0.01 due to the induction of new surface residual compressive stress areas, slip systems, and chemical bonding between the foreign and host atoms. Besides, the same sample exhibits the maximum strength and minimum sensitivity to loads depending on reduction of stored internal strain energy and degree of granularity. Consequently, cracks tend to propagate predominantly within the transcrystalline regions. Furthermore, each material investigated exhibits the characteristic behavior of the indentation size effect. In summary, the optimum Y-doped Bi-2212 sample paves the way for the expanded use of engineering ceramics across various applications based on the enhanced service life. Research Highlights: The presence of the optimum yttrium impurity significantly decreases the Ea value. As the Y/Bi replacement increases up to the molar substitution level of x = 0.01, the mechanical design properties and durability of the tetragonal phase enhance significantly. © 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC