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We investigate and observe the behavior and performance of Large Language Model (LLM)‐backed chatbots in addressing misinformed prompts and questions with demographic information within the domains of Climate Change and Mental Health. Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, we assess the chatbots' ability to discern the veracity of statements, their adherence to facts, and the presence of bias or misinformation in their responses. Our quantitative analysis using True/False questions reveals that these chatbots can be relied on to give the right answers to these close‐ended questions. However, the qualitative insights, gathered from domain experts, shows that there are still concerns regarding privacy, ethical implications, and the necessity for chatbots to direct users to professional services. We conclude that while these chatbots hold significant promise, their deployment in sensitive areas necessitates careful consideration, ethical oversight, and rigorous refinement to ensure they serve as a beneficial augmentation to human expertise rather than an autonomous solution. Dataset and assessment information can be found at https://github.com/tolusophy/Edge‐of‐Tomorrow.

Cool steam is an innovative distillation technology based on low-temperature thermal distillation (LTTD), which allows obtaining fresh water from non-safe water sources with substantially low energy consumption. LTTD consists of distilling at low temperatures by lowering the working pressure and making the most of low-grade heat sources (either natural or artificial) to evaporate water and then condensate it at a cooler heat sink. To perform the process, an external heat source is needed that provides the latent heat of evaporation and a temperature gradient to maintain the distillation cycle. Depending on the available temperature gradient, several stages can be implemented, leading to a multi-stage device. The cool steam device can thus be single or multi-stage, being raw water fed to every stage from the top and evaporated in contact with the warmer surface within the said stage. Acting as a heat carrier, the water vapor travels to the cooler surface and condensates in contact with it. The latent heat of condensation is then conducted through the conductive wall to the next stage. Net heat flux is then established from the heat source until the heat sink, allowing distilling water inside every parallel stage.

Livestock manure has a high ammonium content that can limit its direct application on soil as a fertiliser in nitrate-vulnerable zones. Treatment technologies that are able to extract ammonium from livestock manure allow it to be concentrated in small volumes, making it cheaper and easier to transport and use as fertiliser in crop areas where there is a deficit of nitrogen. This study proposed using low-temperature vacuum evaporation to treat pig slurry in order to obtain marketable products that can be used as fertilisers and help close the nitrogen cycle. Two different configurations and scales were used. The first was a seven-litre laboratory-scale evaporator complemented with a condenser, a condensate trapper, an acid trap and a vacuum pump operated at −90 kPa vacuum pressure and at three different temperatures: 50.1 ± 0.2 °C, 46.0 ± 0.1 °C and 45.3 ± 1.3 °C. The second, Ammoneva, is an on-farm pilot-scale evaporator (6.4 m3), capable of working in four-hour batches of 1 t of liquid fraction of pig slurry with an operating temperature of 40–45 °C and −80 kPa vacuum pressure. The laboratory-scale evaporator, which features several novel improvements focused on increasing ammonia recovery, showed a higher nitrogen removal efficiency from the liquid fraction of pig slurry than the on-farm pilot plant, achieving 84% at 50.1 °C operation, and recovering most of it in ammonia solution (up to 77% of the initial nitrogen), with 7% of the ammonia not recovered. The Ammoneva pilot plant achieved a treated liquid fraction with 41% of initial nitrogen on average, recovering 15% in the ammonia solution in the acid trap; so, the NH3 gas absorption step needs to be further optimised. However, due to the simplicity of the Ammoneva pilot plant, which is easily placed inside a 20-foot container, and the complete automation of the process, it is suitable as an on-farm treatment for decentralised pig slurry management. The implementation of the novel design developed at laboratory-scale could help further increase recovery efficiencies at the pilot-plant scale.

The Mediterranean and Black Seas are micro-tidal and less than 3 x 10 super(6) km super(2) and 500 km super(2) in area, respectively. The latter is connected to the Mediterranean Sea by the narrow Bosphorus-Dardanelles Strait. Both seas have an important continental influence because they are semi-enclosed basins with relatively large riverine sediment inputs. The most important fluvial systems flowing into the Mediterranean and Black Seas are the Ebro, Rhone, Po, Danube, and Nile Rivers. They represent the largest sediment contribution to Mediterranean margins.

We investigate and observe the behaviour and performance of Large Language Model (LLM)-backed chatbots in addressing misinformed prompts and questions with demographic information within the domains of Climate Change and Mental Health. Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, we assess the chatbots' ability to discern the veracity of statements, their adherence to facts, and the presence of bias or misinformation in their responses. Our quantitative analysis using True/False questions reveals that these chatbots can be relied on to give the right answers to these close-ended questions. However, the qualitative insights, gathered from domain experts, shows that there are still concerns regarding privacy, ethical implications, and the necessity for chatbots to direct users to professional services. We conclude that while these chatbots hold significant promise, their deployment in sensitive areas necessitates careful consideration, ethical oversight, and rigorous refinement to ensure they serve as a beneficial augmentation to human expertise rather than an autonomous solution.

Background Gut microbial involvement has been speculated in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). The aim of the study was to compare the gut microbiome composition and diversity in CSU patients uncontrolled with second‐generation antihistamines (sgAHs) and healthy individuals, as well as to explore any association between gut microbiome and disease characteristics. Methods A cross‐sectional case‐control study including 20 CSU patients unresponsive to standard doses of sgAHs, and 15 age‐and‐sex matched healthy controls was conducted. Clinico‐demographic profile, laboratory investigations and stool analysis were conducted in all study participants. 16S RNA gene sequencing and DNA isolation was performed for all stool samples, followed by bioinformatic analysis. Results The CSU patients (mean age 39.5 ± 9.3, M:F 1:4) and healthy controls (mean age 35 ± 13, M:F 1:2) were statistically comparable. The median (IQR) duration of CSU was 42 months (7–81). Concomitant angioedema and concomitant symptomatic dermographism were present in 30% and 20% CSU patients, respectively. At inclusion, 60% patients were receiving add‐on omalizumab, while the remaining 40% were on up‐dosed sgAHs. Stool microbial analysis revealed increased diversity and higher microbial richness in CSU patients compared with healthy individuals. CSU patients showed reduced load of short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA) producing microbiota and increased load of opportunistic pathogens. The Firmicutes/Bacteroides (F/B) ratio was higher in CSU patients. Among CSU patients, higher Bacteroides and reduced Firmicutes count were associated with higher disease activity and poor control; however, there was no link with the type of therapy. Conclusion Gut microbial dysbiosis is seen in CSU and is linked with disease control.

Astrocytes take up glucose from the bloodstream to provide energy to the brain, thereby allowing neuronal activity and behavioural responses 1 – 5 . By contrast, astrocytes are under neuronal control through specific neurotransmitter receptors 5 – 7 . However, whether the activation of astroglial receptors can directly regulate cellular glucose metabolism to eventually modulate behavioural responses is unclear. Here we show that activation of mouse astroglial type-1 cannabinoid receptors associated with mitochondrial membranes (mtCB 1 ) hampers the metabolism of glucose and the production of lactate in the brain, resulting in altered neuronal functions and, in turn, impaired behavioural responses in social interaction assays. Specifically, activation of astroglial mtCB 1 receptors reduces the phosphorylation of the mitochondrial complex I subunit NDUFS4, which decreases the stability and activity of complex I. This leads to a reduction in the generation of reactive oxygen species by astrocytes and affects the glycolytic production of lactate through the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 pathway, eventually resulting in neuronal redox stress and impairment of behavioural responses in social interaction assays. Genetic and pharmacological correction of each of these effects abolishes the effect of cannabinoid treatment on the observed behaviour. These findings suggest that mtCB 1 receptor signalling can directly regulate astroglial glucose metabolism to fine-tune neuronal activity and behaviour in mice. In mice, persistent activation of mitochondrial cannabinoid receptors in astroglia impairs cellular glucose metabolism and lactate production, leading to an increase in redox stress in neurons and altered behavioural responses.

Background and Objectives: Adjuvant treatment with aromatase inhibitors (AIs) in breast cancer (BC) survivors can cause adverse effects such as metabolic syndrome (MS) (insulin resistance, central obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, and hypertension) associated with morbidity and premature mortality. We evaluate the effect of a multimodal program based on physical exercise and health education on MS and health-related quality of life (QoL) in postmenopausal women with BC under AIs. Methods: A total of 56 postmenopausal women, diagnosed with BC, aged 60 years or older (mean age 67.2 years) and on hormonal treatment with AIs, were included in the multimodal physical exercise and health education program, and evaluated before and after their participation. The assessment of the five criteria of the MS included the following: waist circumference, high blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Two main instruments were used to evaluate the impact of the intervention on QoL: the EORTC QLQ C30 (questionnaire for cancers in general) and the EORTC QLQ BR23 (specifically for breast cancer patients). The EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D) was also used to compare these results. Results: The percentage of women meeting the MS criteria was 37.7% at baseline and fell to 15.1% at 3 months after the intervention (p = 0.02). The intervention significantly reduced hypertension (p < 0.001), central obesity (p < 0.001), and the concentration of triglycerides (p = 0.016). No significant changes were observed in fasting glucose and HDL concentration. A statistically significant improvement was found in QoL (on both the QLQ30 and BR23 scales). A multivariate regression model analysis identified marital status (being married) (95% CI: 1.728–131.615, p = 0.014), and percentage of attendance at health education sessions (95% CI: 1.010–1.211, p = 0.029) as positive predictive variables of improvement in MS. Conclusions: The implementation of multimodal, community-based programs of physical exercise and health education improve the prevalence of MS and specific criteria of MS and QoL in postmenopausal women with breast cancer receiving AI treatment.