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Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are a revolutionary class of drugs for the treatment of a number of oncological diseases by harnessing the immune system to coun-teract malignant cells. However, their use as antitumor agents is accompanied by a wide range of immune-mediated adverse effects, including endocrinopathies. Among the latter, thyroid dysfunction stands out as one of the most common. This article presents six different clinical cases of thyroid damage with an emphasis on thorough clinical examination aided by imaging and precise interpretation of hormonal studies. The management of thyroid-related immune-mediated side effects requires an individualized approach, taking into account the severity and dynamics of the abnormalities, the clinical condition of the patient and the stage of the malignancy.

Enterobiasis is one of the most common human parasitic infections worldwide and in Bulgaria. The objective of this study was to ascertain the levels of intestinal secretory IgA antibodies in patients with enterobiasis, to determine the local immune response in this helminthiasis, and to evaluate its influence on clinical manifestations during infection. Faecal samples from 102 enterobiasis patients and 40 clinically healthy controls were examined. In individuals infected with , the range of values for SIgA was higher (from 27.5 μg/ml to 13916 μg/ml). However, no statistically significant difference was found between them and those in persons without evidence of infection (from 27.5 to 8999 μg/ml). In both groups of individuals (infected and non-infected), we observed differences in the levels of SIgA, which appeared to be dependent on the age and gender of the subjects. Significantly, higher values were observed in children and adolescents, as well as in males. In individuals with enterobiasis, a higher level of SIgA was observed in those with pronounced clinical symptoms (mean value = 2198.74) compared to asymptomatic individuals (mean value = 1588.54). The highest levels were observed in patients presenting with perianal pruritus (mean value = 3559.54). Our study of the local humoral immune response in people with enterobiasis is the first of its kind in the country. The results clearly show a direct correlation between the presence of clinical symptoms in enterobiasis and elevated levels of secretory IgA in faeces.

There is conflicting literature evidence regarding the independent effects of insulin resistance and concomitant hyperinsulinemia on bone mineral density. In addition, it is still under debate whether the net effect is favorable or unfavorable for the fracture risk. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study.To assess the correlation between bone mineral density and fracture risk with insulin resistance and circulating insulin levels in non-diabetic postmenopausal women.The study analyzed 84 women. The mean age of the participants was 60.54 ± 7.07 years, and the mean postmenopausal period was 11.45 ± 6.62 years. A standard oral glucose tolerance test was performed with measurement of blood glucose and insulin levels at 0 and 120 min. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to determine bone mineral density at lumbar spine and proximal femur. Fracture risk was calculated using the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool.We found that in non-diabetic postmenopausal women lower basal insulin levels (fasting insulin) were associated with a higher 10-year risk of major osteoporotic fracture when insulin sensitivity was preserved (HOMA-IR index < 2). Fasting insulin levels under 6.15 μIU/ml were considered high-risk regarding the fracture risk. On the other hand, higher stimulated insulin levels at 120 min (post-load insulin) were associated with a higher 10-year risk of major osteoporotic fracture at HOMA-IR index greater than 2. Stimulated insulin levels above 39.7 μIU/ml were considered high-risk regarding the fracture risk.Our results revealed a negative relationship between stimulated insulin levels at HOMA-IR index above 2 and bone integrity in postmenopausal age. On the other hand, higher basal insulin levels at HOMA-IR index lower than 2 were associated with better parameters of postmenopausal bone health.

A grand challenge from the wind energy industry is to provide reliable forecasts on mountain winds several hours in advance at microscale (∼100 m) resolution. This requires better microscale wind-energy physics included in forecasting tools, for which field observations are imperative. While mesoscale (∼1 km) measurements abound, microscale processes are not monitored in practice nor do plentiful measurements exist at this scale. After a decade of preparation, a group of European and U.S. collaborators conducted a field campaign during 1 May–15 June 2017 in Vale Cobrão in central Portugal to delve into microscale processes in complex terrain. This valley is nestled within a parallel double ridge near the town of Perdigão with dominant wind climatology normal to the ridges, offering a nominally simple yet natural setting for fundamental studies. The dense instrument ensemble deployed covered a ∼4 km × 4 km swath horizontally and ∼10 km vertically, with measurement resolutions of tens of meters and seconds. Meteorological data were collected continuously, capturing multiscale flow interactions from synoptic to microscales, diurnal variability, thermal circulation, turbine wake and acoustics, waves, and turbulence. Particularly noteworthy are the extensiveness of the instrument array, space–time scales covered, use of leading-edge multiple-lidar technology alongside conventional tower and remote sensors, fruitful cross-Atlantic partnership, and adaptive management of the campaign. Preliminary data analysis uncovered interesting new phenomena. All data are being archived for public use.

C-FOG is a comprehensive bi-national project dealing with the formation, persistence, and dissipation (life cycle) of fog in coastal areas (coastal fog) controlled by land, marine, and atmospheric processes. Given its inherent complexity, coastal-fog literature has mainly focused on case studies, and there is a continuing need for research that integrates across processes (e.g., air–sea–land interactions, environmental flow, aerosol transport, and chemistry), dynamics (two-phase flow and turbulence), microphysics (nucleation, droplet characterization), and thermodynamics (heat transfer and phase changes) through field observations and modeling. Central to C-FOG was a field campaign in eastern Canada from 1 September to 8 October 2018, covering four land sites in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia and an adjacent coastal strip transected by the Research Vessel Hugh R. Sharp. An array of in situ, path-integrating, and remote sensing instruments gathered data across a swath of space–time scales relevant to fog life cycle. Satellite and reanalysis products, routine meteorological observations, numerical weather prediction model (WRF and COAMPS) outputs, large-eddy simulations, and phenomenological modeling underpin the interpretation of field observations in a multiscale and multiplatform framework that helps identify and remedy numerical model deficiencies. An overview of the C-FOG field campaign and some preliminary analysis/findings are presented in this paper.

The composition of grape seeds from two white dessert (‘Bolgar’ and ‘Super ran Bolgar’) and two red wine Bulgarian varieties (‘Mavroud’ and ‘Shiroka melnishka loza’) was investigated. The content of proteins was established by Kjeldhal method and was found to be 6.3 – 8.9%. The content of carbohydrates - calculated as the difference of mean values: 100 - (amount in percentage of oil, moisture, protein and ash) - was 65.5 – 70.9%. The content of oil – by extraction with n-hexane - was 11.6 - 16.5%. The content of phospholipids was determined spectrophotometrically after isolation by chromatographic methods and was found to be 0.6 - 0.9%, including phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidic acids. The sterol content determined by gas chromatography was 0.3 – 0.4% while β-sitosterol (70.0 – 72.1%) and campesterol (18.5 – 19.9%) were the major components. In the phospholipids and sterol esters, saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids presented higher amount than the triacylglycerols. Fatty acids of sterol esters and phospholipids were determined by gas chromatography after isolation. The quantity of palmitic acid in the phospholipid fraction was 43.4 – 59.4%, the content of oleic acid was 9.0 – 14.0% and the content of linoleic acid was 10.0 – 24.5% while in the sterol esters, the predominant ones were mainly linoleic (40.7 – 53.8%), oleic (24.9 – 35.5%) and palmitic acids (13.0 – 16.7%). Linoleic (68.5 – 72.3%) and oleic acids (16.3 – 18.7%) were found to be the main components of the triacylglycerols. The tocopherol content varied from 67.7 mg kg-1 to 290.5 mg kg-1 where α-tocopherol (74.8 – 84.4%) was the predominant component.

Emerging application areas such as air pollution in megacities, wind energy, urban security, and operation of unmanned aerial vehicles have intensified scientific and societal interest in mountain meteorology. To address scientific needs and help improve the prediction of mountain weather, the U.S. Department of Defense has funded a research effort—the Mountain Terrain Atmospheric Modeling and Observations (MATERHORN) Program—that draws the expertise of a multidisciplinary, multiinstitutional, and multinational group of researchers. The program has four principal thrusts, encompassing modeling, experimental, technology, and parameterization components, directed at diagnosing model deficiencies and critical knowledge gaps, conducting experimental studies, and developing tools for model improvements. The access to the Granite Mountain Atmospheric Sciences Testbed of the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground, as well as to a suite of conventional and novel high-end airborne and surface measurement platforms, has provided an unprecedented opportunity to investigate phenomena of time scales from a few seconds to a few days, covering spatial extents of tens of kilometers down to millimeters. This article provides an overview of the MATERHORN and a glimpse at its initial findings. Orographic forcing creates a multitude of time-dependent submesoscale phenomena that contribute to the variability of mountain weather at mesoscale. The nexus of predictions by mesoscale model ensembles and observations are described, identifying opportunities for further improvements in mountain weather forecasting.

Manganese (Mn) removal in drinking water filters is facilitated by biological and physico-chemical processes. However, there is limited information about the dominant processes for Mn removal in full-scale matured filters with different filter materials over filter depth. Water and filter material samples were collected from 10 full-scale drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) to characterise the Mn removal processes, to evaluate the potential use of enhancers and to gain further insight on operational conditions of matured filters for the efficient Mn removal. The first-order Mn removal constant at the DWTPs varied from 10−2 to 10−1 min−1. The amount of Mn coating on the filter material grains showed a strong correlation with the amount of iron, calcium and total coating, but no correlation with the concentration of ATP. Inhibition of biological activity showed that Mn removal in matured filters was dominated by physico-chemical processes (59–97%). Addition of phosphorus and trace metals showed limited effect on Mn removal capacity, indicating that the enhancement of Mn removal in matured filters is possible but challenging. There was limited effect of the filter material type (quartz, calcium carbonate and anthracite) on Mn removal in matured filters, which can be relevant information for the industry when assessing filter designs and determining returns of investments.

The work is aimed at investigating the tribological properties of aluminium surface modified by electron beam with TiCN nanoparticles as a reinforcing phase. In the course of study, the microstructure is observed and the surface of treated and untreated specimens are tested and compared in order to determine the influence of the reinforcing TiCN phase on the coefficient of friction, the friction force, and the linear mass wear. The tribological properties are evaluated by the pin-on-disk technique in a lubricating medium. The TiCN nanoparticles embedded in the aluminium matrix are obstacles to any dislocation motion, which improves the tribological properties of the samples' surfaces. The acting wear mechanisms are discussed.

TiCN nanopowder deposited in an appropriate way on the surface of an AlSi12Cu2NiMg substrate was incorporated in the matrix using an electron beam technology. The samples were studied by means of light microscopy, SEM, and EDX; their microhardness was also determined. The formation was found of a uniform and dense coating with a thickness of 7 - 10 μgm with a good adherence to the substrate. A modified zone appeared under the coating with a thickness of 100 - 150 μgm containing dendrites of an α-solid solution and a fine eutectic between them, as well as primary silicon crystals. The microhardness of this modified zone was up to 2.4 times higher than that of the matrix. The results of SEM and EDX studies revealed unambiguously the presence of titanium in the coating and in the zones below it. Obviously, the electron beam treatment resulted in the TiCN nanoparticles penetrating into the coating and the substrate immediately below the coating.