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Vision–Language–Action (VLA) policies promise flexible long-horizon manipulation, but deployment under domain shift requires both reliable uncertainty estimates and a workable runtime-assurance policy. We study a model-agnostic uncertainty-calibrated safety-gating wrapper that estimates online failure risk and routes control among policy execution, pause-and-reobserve, and a fallback planner. Using a cleaned and consistently aggregated benchmark pipeline, we evaluate two long-horizon manipulation tasks in NVIDIA Isaac Sim 5.0 under lighting, texture, occlusion, sensor, and combined shifts. Relative to an ungated VLA baseline, calibrated gating improves mean shifted success from 57.5% to 77.2% and reduces aggregate expected calibration error from 0.303 to 0.100. The largest success gains occur under occlusion and combined shift, including improvements from 48.3% to 85.2% on the drawer task and from 59.4% to 87.8% on clutter sort. The results also expose a systems trade-off: an aggressive uncalibrated threshold baseline attains stronger raw success and collision metrics, but requires nearly twice as many interventions per shifted episode (21.6 vs. 11.5). The main contribution is, therefore, an empirical characterization of the reliability–intervention trade-off created by calibrated supervision, not a claim that the calibrated supervisor is universally the best terminal controller. We frame calibrated gating as a better-calibrated, lower-intervention supervisor that materially improves robustness relative to an ungated VLA while revealing the open problem of mapping calibrated risk into efficient intervention policies. Additional threshold-sensitivity, signal-diagnostic, overhead, and residual-failure analyses show that the selected operating point is meaningful but not universal: the calibrated risk threshold captures most shifted failures in retrospective logs, yet residual contacts still arise during pause and fallback states. These findings provide controlled simulation evidence for trustworthy VLA supervision under distribution shift and clarify the reliability–intervention frontier that future embodied-control systems must navigate.

Airborne dust and dust storms are natural disasters that transport dust over long distances from the source basin, sometimes reaching hundreds of kilometers. Today, Iraq is a basin that produces dust storms that strike all neighboring countries such as Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. These storms affect the productivity and capacity of the photovoltaic modules and reduce the amount of electricity that is generated clearly. Airborne dust reduces the intensity of solar radiation by scattering and absorbing it. In addition, the dust accumulated on the photovoltaic modules causes a deterioration in their productivity. In this study, an extensive review of wind movement and its sources, especially those that hit the city of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, was conducted. Practical experiments were also carried out during a storm to measure important variables that had not been measured practically before at this site. The experimental tests were carried out starting from 1 April 2022 and continued until 12 April. Within this period, a dust storm occurred that lasted for three consecutive days that was considered one of the most severe storms that the city of Baghdad had experienced in the last few years. Practical measurements showed a deterioration in the solar radiation intensity by up to 54.5% compared to previous days. The air temperature during the storm decreased by 21.09% compared to the days before the storm. From the measurements of ultrafine aerosol particles PM1 and PM2.5, there was a significant increase of 569.9% and 441% compared to the days before the storm, respectively. Additionally, the measurements showed an increase of 217.22% and 319.21% in PM10 and total suspended particles, respectively. Indoor performance experiments showed a deterioration of current, voltage, power and electrical efficiency by 32.28%, 14.45%, 38.52% and 65.58%, respectively, due to dust accumulated during the storm days compared to the previous days. In the outdoor experiments, the rates of deterioration of current, voltage, power and electrical efficiency were greater, reaching 60.24%, 30.7%, 62.3% and 82.93%, respectively, during the storm days compared to the days before it. During a storm, cleaning the panels is futile due to the high concentration of dust in the air, especially by water. However, the photovoltaic modules can be dry cleaned with bristle brushes after the storm has subsided.

Thermally evaporated Azure A chloride thin films were deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates with thicknesses ranging from 75 to 175 nm, and their structural, optical, and optoelectronic properties were systematically investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the deposited films exhibit an amorphous structure, while optical measurements reveal strong absorption in the visible region with absorption coefficients on the order of 10 4 -10 5  cm -1 . The optical bandgap shows a clear thickness dependence, with the lower-energy transition increasing from 1.27 to 1.57 eV and the higher-energy transition decreasing from 3.5 to 2.8 eV as the film thickness increases. Dispersion analysis reveals thickness-dependent refractive index and dielectric response, reflecting enhanced photon–matter interactions in thicker films. The optical conductivity and related parameters further confirm the influence of film thickness on charge carrier excitation under optical illumination. In addition, A simple Au/Azure A chloride/FTO device was fabricated to demonstrate the photoresponse behavior of the films under illumination. These results highlight the suitability of Azure A chloride thin films for optical and photonic applications.

The disturbing effect of a short-term cooling period during summer on planktonic bacterial community structure of an alpine lake was investigated using 16S rDNA pyrosequencing. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes constituted the most abundant phyla. During the sampling period (from July to August 2010), a sudden cooling period with high precipitation occurred, as indicated by a decrease in conductivity, calcium, and dissolved organic carbon concentration resulting from increased runoff. The relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Cyanobacteria decreased during this short-term cooling period. Instead, a rapid shift from Betaproteobacteria to Gammaproteobacteria occurred, which was mainly caused by an increase of Acinetobacter rhizosphaerae. Soon after the short-term cooling period, warmer weather conditions got re-established and Betaproteobacteria recovered and became again dominant. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling analysis and Venn diagrams revealed a planktonic bacterial community composition with high similarity at the beginning and the end of the growing season. Air temperature and precipitation were significantly correlated with the observed variation in operational taxonomic unit (OTU) relative abundance. It is concluded that, in response to the short-term cooling period, a distinct planktonic bacterial OTU community developed. It rapidly diminished, however, as summer conditions became re-established, implying the recovery of the original bacterial community structure.

Objective Study analyzes mutation in mtDNA (Mitochondrial DNA) among diabetic women with PCOS in non-diabetic diabetic women and compared with the healthy control. Women with known case of hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction and/or polycystic ovaries were selected and anthropometric and demographic variables were collected during their clinical visit. Biochemical estimation of glucose, FSH, LH, estradiol (E2), and insulin levels were analyzed. Mutational analysis of mt-tRNA genes of each individual was compared with the updated consensus Cambridge sequence. The mtDNA content was determined in triplicate using SYBR green PCR mastermix. Results The clinical and biochemical characteristics of participants showed no statistical difference in age and/or FSH, PRL, E2, PRGE or fasting glucose value between patients of different groups. Women with PCOS-D had significantly higher LH, LH/FSH, TT and fasting insulin levels and HOMA-IR with respect to the control group. Ten different type of mutation were seen in POCS group. Most of these mutations were confined to evolutionarily conserved region. The mtDNA copy numbers were considerably lower PCOS group irrespective of diabetic status. To conclude, the current study inferred that the mutations occur in the mitochondrial genome, mt-tRNA in specific, are the important causal factor in PCOS.

IntroductionCholera remains a substantial public health challenge in Somalia. Ongoing droughts in the country have caused significant outbreaks which have negatively affected the lives of many individuals and overwhelmed health facilities. We aimed to estimate the costs associated with cholera cases for households and health facilities in Somalia.MethodsThis cost-of-illness study was conducted in five cholera treatment centres in Somalia and 400 patients treated in these facilities. Data collection took place during October and November 2023. Given that a significant portion of the patients were children, we interviewed their caregivers to gather cost data. We interviewed staff at the centres and the patients. The data obtained from the household questionnaire covered direct (medical and non-medical) and indirect (lost wages) costs, while direct costs were estimated for the health facility (personnel salaries, drugs and consumables used to treat a patient, and utility expenses). All costs were calculated in US dollars (USD), using 2023 as the base year for the estimation.ResultsThe average total cost of a cholera episode for a household was US $ 33.94 (2023 USD), with 50.4% (US$17.12) being direct costs and 49.6% (US $ 16.82) indirect costs. The average total cost for a health facility to treat an episode of cholera was US$82.65. The overall average cost to households and health facilities was US $ 116.59. The average length of stay for a patient was 3.08 days. In the households, patients aged 41 years and older incurred the highest mean total cost (US$73.90) while patients younger than 5 years had the lowest cost (US$ 21.02). Additionally, 61.8% of households had to use family savings to cover the cost of the cholera episode, while 14.5% had to borrow money. Most patients (71.8%) were younger than 16 years– 45.3% were 5 years or younger– and 94.0% had never received a cholera vaccine.ConclusionOur study suggests that preventing one cholera episode in Somalia could avert substantial losses for both the households and cholera treatment centres. The findings shed light on the expenses associated with cholera that extend beyond healthcare, including substantial direct and indirect costs borne by households. Preventing cholera cases could lead to a decrease in this economic burden, consequently our study supports the need for preventive measures.

This study investigates the transcriptomic variations in the jejunum and liver of Golden Montazah (GM) chickens to better understand the biological mechanisms influencing poultry growth and production. Given the vital role of poultry in fulfilling global protein demands, especially with the rising consumer preference for chicken, it is essential to explore these underlying genetic and molecular factors that drive growth. From a larger cohort of 480 GM chickens, the top 10 males in both the high-weight (HW) and low-weight (LW) groups were selected for RNA sequencing. Tissues from their jejunum and liver were collected for transcriptomic analysis. The results revealed 38 up- and 36 down-regulated genes in the jejunum, while the liver exhibited 109 up- and 74 down-regulated genes. Among these, notable differentially expressed genes (DEGs) such as CHST14 and LOC429682 in the jejunum, alongside RBP2 and STC2 in the liver, appeared to be integral to growth regulation, immune response, and metabolic processes. Functional enrichment analyses using GO and KEGG pathways highlighted processes like cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions in the jejunum and steroid biosynthesis in the liver. Additionally, protein–protein interaction networks identified key hub genes essential for various biological functions. Overall, our findings emphasize the distinct gene expressions profiles associated with body weight in the jejunum and liver, providing valuable insights for genetic improvement in poultry breeding. Understanding these molecular mechanisms paves the way for targeted strategies to enhance growth performance in the poultry industry.

This paper aims to develop a new mobile robot path planning algorithm, called generalized laser simulator (GLS), for navigating autonomously mobile robots in the presence of static and dynamic obstacles. This algorithm enables a mobile robot to identify a feasible path while finding the target and avoiding obstacles while moving in complex regions. An optimal path between the start and target point is found by forming a wave of points in all directions towards the target position considering target minimum and border maximum distance principles. The algorithm will select the minimum path from the candidate points to target while avoiding obstacles. The obstacle borders are regarded as the environment’s borders for static obstacle avoidance. However, once dynamic obstacles appear in front of the GLS waves, the system detects them as new dynamic obstacle borders. Several experiments were carried out to validate the effectiveness and practicality of the GLS algorithm, including path-planning experiments in the presence of obstacles in a complex dynamic environment. The findings indicate that the robot could successfully find the correct path while avoiding obstacles. The proposed method is compared to other popular methods in terms of speed and path length in both real and simulated environments. According to the results, the GLS algorithm outperformed the original laser simulator (LS) method in path and success rate. With application of the all-direction border scan, it outperforms the A-star (A*) and PRM algorithms and provides safer and shorter paths. Furthermore, the path planning approach was validated for local planning in simulation and real-world tests, in which the proposed method produced the best path compared to the original LS algorithm.

Fifty-five years ago, the extremophilic “Solar Lake” was discovered on the Red Sea shores, garnering microbiologists’ interest worldwide from the 1970s to 1990s. Nevertheless, research on the lake paused at the turn of the millennium. In our study, we revisited the Solar Lake benthic community using a genome-centric approach and described the distinct microbial communities in the exposed versus shallow-water mat unveiling microbial zonation in the benthic communities surrounding the Solar Lake. Our findings highlighted the unique structural and functional adaptations employed by these microbial mat communities. Moreover, we report new methanogens and phototrophs, including an intriguing methanogen from the Archaeoglobales family. We describe how the Solar Lake’s flat mat microbial community adapts to stressors like oxygen intrusion and drought due to summer water level changes, which provides insights into the genomic strategies of microbial communities to cope with altered and extreme environmental conditions.

In this manuscript, efficiency of the used organic solvent for recovering, separating and producing highly purified zirconium oxide from zirconium chloride leach liquor of Rosetta white zircon concentrate was investigated. Zircon mineral was thermally decomposed with caustic soda, cooled, washed with distilled water and then dissolved in hydrochloric acid. Zirconium extraction efficiency reached 91.4% using 10% bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate dissolved in kerosene, 15 min contact time and volume phase ratio O/A 1:1 after 3 stages. Zirconium re-extraction efficiency reached 99.95% using the following optimum conditions 4 molL−1 H2SO4 as an effective stripping agent, 15 min contact time and volume phase ratio O:A 1:1 after 2 stages. Finally, Zr (OH)4 was precipitated in presence and absence of H2O2 by NH4OH solution, filtrated, rinsed with double distilled H2O to remove any impurities several times and dehydrated at 200 °C for 2 h. From XRF and EDAX analysis the produced zirconium oxide in presence of H2O2 is purer than that produced in absence of H2O2.