Technology

As a concept that is somewhat under emergence, the notion of the Metaverse varies across different academic articles. Yet there is a shared view on the benefits to its ongoing implementation, particularly for digital art, where the technology can provide a new metric for artists to showcase and sell their artwork to a global audience with minimal barriers, and for consumers to have an unbounded experience not limited by physical space or museum entry fees. In this article, a contribution is provided to a broader conversation about the future of the digital art and the Metaverse and its role in shaping our online culture. We discuss the concept of the Metaverse, its structure, the role of artificial intelligence and the benefits (and limitations) the technology holds for digital art. For a case study, we develop a 3D art gallery housing an art collection generated using artificial-intelligence-based techniques such as diffusion models. A total of 67 individuals are surveyed from thre...

The identification and prioritization of chemically tractable therapeutic targets is a significant challenge in the discovery of new medicines. We have developed a novel method that rapidly screens multiple proteins in parallel using DNA-encoded library technology (ELT). Initial efforts were focused on the efficient discovery of antibacterial leads against 119 targets from Acinetobacter baumannii and Staphylococcus aureus. The success of this effort led to the hypothesis that the relative number of ELT binders alone could be used to assess the ligandability of large sets of proteins. This concept was further explored by screening 42 targets from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Active chemical series for six targets from our initial effort as well as three chemotypes for DHFR from M. tuberculosis are reported. The findings demonstrate that parallel ELT selections can be used to assess ligandability and highlight opportunities for successful lead and tool discovery.

L’acarien tarsoneme, Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks, est un important ravageur de l’aubergine Gboma (Solanum macrocarpon L.), un legume-feuille de grande consommation au Benin. La gestion de ce ravageur repose fondamentalement sur la lutte chimique avec toutes ses consequences sur la sante et sur l’environnement ; d’ou la necessite de rechercher des solutions alternatives. Ainsi, la performance de trois biopesticides notamment huile de neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss), extraits aqueux de hyptis (Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit, et du faux basilic (Ocimum gratissimum L), a ete testee sur les œufs et adultes de P. latus au laboratoire de paires avec celle de Acarius et Sunpyrifos, deux acaricides chimiques communement utilises au Benin. Aussi, leurs effets sur les densites de population du ravageur et la productivite du Gboma ont-ils ete evalues en plein champ. Au laboratoire, les taux moyens d’eclosion des œufs ont varie significativement entre traitements, allant 36 ± 5% a 80 ± 5% (P ...

For concepts to be communicated, sentences must be constructed properly. To achieve these goals, it is essential to keep the ability to modify grammatical rules. A review of ten credible research revealed that many students in Asia and Europe have grammar difficulties. The age range of these students is 6–24. Information was found on the Google Scholar website. All articles were published between 2019 and 2022. The writings’ themes center on improving grammar, speaking, and bilingual skills. The gathered data were analyzed using a systematic literature review method. Analyzing such data, it is found that all of the authors used bilingual instruction to teach the participants grammar in the English class. Implementing such a strategy leads to improvements in the pupils’ speaking abilities. The development of other abilities such as reading, writing, and listening is impacted. This discovery will help teachers teach related subjects. It also motivates other researchers to come up with...

Aureobasidium strains isolated from diverse unconventional environments belonging to the species A. pullulans, A. melanogenum, and A. subglaciale were evaluated for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) production as a part of their modes of action against Botrytis cinerea of tomato and table grape. By in vitro assay, VOCs generated by the antagonists belonging to the species A. subglaciale showed the highest inhibition percentage of the pathogen mycelial growth (65.4%). In vivo tests were conducted with tomatoes and grapes artificially inoculated with B. cinerea conidial suspension, and exposed to VOCs emitted by the most efficient antagonists of each species (AP1, AM10, AS14) showing that VOCs of AP1 (A. pullulans) reduced the incidence by 67%, partially confirmed by the in vitro results. Conversely, on table grape, VOCs produced by all the strains did not control the fungal incidence but were only reducing the infection severity (< 44.4% by A. pullulans; < 30.5% by A. melanogen...

Biosynthesis of nanoparticles has now become a novel trend in addressing some of the environmental issues by adopting eco-friendly approaches in manoeuvring nanoparticles for various applications. Plants and micro-organisms have been the potential sources of the biological mode of synthesizing nanoparticles as part of their bioremediation process. This principle has been harnessed for synthesizing nanoparticles either extra or intracellularly. In this line of phyto-mediated synthesis, eucalyptus buds have been used for synthesizing gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) under optimized laboratory conditions. The UV-visible spectrum of the Au NPs showed typical surface plasmon resonance at 550 nm (λmax) with a crystalline phase measuring <100 nm in size and monodispersed as revealed from XRD, FESEM, and AFM analyses. The biological role of phytochemical concoction in reducing and stabilizing the Au NPs was clearly identified from FT-IR studies. The antimicrobial effect of the Au NPs against ...

In the present investigation, extremely fine Hydroxyapatite (HAP) powder was prepared through chemical precipitation technique under the influence of a nonionic surfactant (Brij 35-Polyoxyethylene lauryl ether). The samples were sintered at 800 °C to obtain highly pure HAP phase. The functional group present in the HAP powder was confirmed by using Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. The change in Phase transformation, the crystallite size and the percentage of crystallinity of the synthesized sample were studied by X-ray diffractometer technique. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) were used for the structural analysis of porous rod-shaped HAP crystal. Further, drug loading and In Vitro leaching kinetics were conducted for antibiotics-ciproflaxin (CPF). Antimicrobial activity against S. aureus (Gram-positive bacterium) and E. coli (Gram-negative bacterium) was executed for pure HAP as well...

In this work, a simple, co-precipitation technique was used to prepare un-doped, pure tin oxide (SnO2). As synthesized SnO2 nanoparticles were doped with Cu2+ ions. Detailed characterization was carried out to observe the crystalline phase, morphological features and chemical constituents with opto-electrical and magnetic properties of the synthesized nanoparticles (NPs). X-ray diffraction analysis showed the existence of crystalline, tetragonal structure of SnO2. Both the sample synthesized here showed different crystalline morphology. The band gap energy (Eg) of the synthesized sample was estimated and it was found to decrease from 3.60 to 3.26 eV. The band gap energy reduced due to increase in Cu2+ dopant amount inside the SnO2 lattice. Optical properties were analyzed using absorption spectra and Photoluminescence (PL) spectra. It was observed that Cu2+ ions incorporated SnO2 NPs exhibited more degradation efficiencies for Rhodamine B (RhB) dye compared to un-doped sample under ...

Molecular docking is a powerful and significant approach for the identification of lead molecules on the basis of virtual screening. With it a large number of compounds can be tested and based on the scoring function and ranking, the conclusion can be made about how the selected compounds can inhibit the targeted protein/receptor. Considering the importance of selective inhibitors of cholinesterase in the treatment of Alzheimer disease, this research is focused on the determination of the mechanism of binding interactions of few benzene-1,3-diol derivatives within the active site of both acetyl-cholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). All the selective ligands were found to have a greater binding affinity with the BChE when compared to that of AChE, by an average value of ~?28.4 and ~?12.5 kJ/mol, respectively. The results suggested that the identified inhibitors can be used as the lead compounds for the development of novel inhibitors of the targeted enzymes against ...

To date, it is not known whether animal breeding values in Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) can be estimated using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated from new high-throughput genotyping by sequencing platforms. The principal aim of the present study was to assess the genomic prediction accuracy for growth traits, survival, cannibalism, and disease resistance against Streptococcus iniae in this species L. calcarifer. Additionally, this study attempted to identify markers associated with the five traits studied as well as to understand if the genotype data can be used to estimate genetic parameters for these complex traits. The genomic best linear unbiased prediction (gBLUP) method was used to analyze 11,084 SNPs and showed that the prediction accuracies for growth traits (weight and length) were high (0.67–0.75). By contrast, these estimates for survival were low (0.25). Multi-locus mixed model analyses identified four SNPs significantly associated with body weight (p &...

In shrimp farming, major production losses are caused by viruses. Hepatopancreatic parvovirus (HPV) is one of the viral pathogens that infect banana shrimp (Fenneropenaeus merguiensis). HPV is thought to slow down growth and cause mortality in the juvenile stages of banana shrimp. Genetic improvement through selection of shrimp resistant to viral diseases is one approach to address this issue. This is the first detailed report on an aquaculture species that investigates whether viral titre varies among families and is heritable, and thus whether viral titre per se is a possible candidate trait for selection to produce resistant stock. HPV titre was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction of DNA extracted from 1137 offspring (from 48 full-sib families). Estimated heritability of HPV titre, based on the linear animal mixed model, was moderate (h(2) = 0.41). Genetic correlations of HPV with body traits (weight, length and width of body, head and tail) ranged from -0.13 to -0...

A vizsgált téma aktualitását indokolja, hogy az űripar ma az egyik leginnovatívabb, gyorsan fejlődő, válságokra kevésbé érzékeny, világméretekben rendkívül dinamikusan növekvő iparág. Rezilienciáját1 mutatja a 2020 tavaszától indult világméretű pandémiás járvány időszakában elért fejlődése. Világszerte munkahelyeket őrzött meg és újakat hozott létre, valamint technológiai-innovációs teljesítménye is töretlennek bizonyult. A cikk megalapozását szolgáló, módszerében felmérésekre, statisztikai és más adatbázisokra támaszkodó kutatás azt a célt szolgálta, hogy felvázolja a hazai űrszektor és űripar kontúrjait, és a magyarországi űrszektor számára fejlődési utat nyitó állami szerepvállalás lehetséges irányát, összetevőit. A tanulmány megállapította, hogy a magyar űripar - jóllehet, ma még szerény a hozzájárulása a társadalmi teljesítményhez - kis létszámú, de arányában máris jelentős, magasan képzett munkaerőt foglalkoztat, élenjáró technológiákat honosít meg. Magas innovációs teljesítmé...