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Although Saudi Arabia has experienced very high rates of urbanization, little interest has been given to investigating national and provincial trends in urbanization in space and time. Night-time lights satellite sensor data are considered as a suitable source of imagery for mapping urban areas across large regions. This study uses night-time lights data to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns and dynamics of urban growth in Saudi Arabia between 1992 and 2013 at the national and provincial levels. A hybrid method was applied to ensure the continuity and consistency of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Line-Scan System (OLS) of stable night-time (SNT) data through time. As a result of spatial variation in the character of urban areas across Saudi Arabia, different thresholds were used to derive urban areas from the imagery. The extracted urban morphology was assessed using socio-economic data and finer resolution imagery, and accuracy assessment revealed excellent agreement. Based on the rigorous stepwise calibration analysis undertaken here, urban areas in Saudi Arabia were found to have increased three-fold between 1992 and 2013, with most of the increase concentrated in three provinces (Makkah, Riyadh and Eastern). In addition, significant variation was observed in urbanization at the provincial level. The observed high rates of urban growth are aligned with the prosperity and socio-economic development of Saudi Arabia over the last 40 years. The research shows that DMSP-OLS SNT data can provide a valuable source of information for mapping the space–time dynamics of urban growth across very large areas. Such data are required by urban and regional planners, as well as policy makers, for characterizing urban growth patterns, interpreting the drivers of such dynamics and for forecasting future growth, as well as achieving sustainable development management.

The objective of this study is to elucidate the therapeutic mechanisms underlying silver needle thermal therapy (SNT) in alleviating skeletal muscle mitochondrial damage in a rat model of myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), with particular emphasis on its regulatory role concerning TRPV1/CaMKII. The MPS rat model was established through blunt impact and eccentric movement. Interventions included SNT and local intramuscular injections of anti-TRPV1 miRNA. Behavioral assessments were conducted to measure the mechanical and thermal pain thresholds of the rats. Histopathological staining was performed to evaluate muscle structure, while mitochondrial damage was assessed using transmission electron microscopy. Western blotting analysis was employed to quantify expression levels of TRPV1, CaMKII, and CytC. Additionally, immunofluorescence techniques were applied to analyze both the expression levels of TRPV1 and its co-localization with CaMKII. Following administration of SNT and anti-TRPV1 miRNA injections, a downregulation in the expression levels of TRPV1, CaMKII, and CytC within the muscle tissue of MPS rats was observed; concurrently, mitochondrial damage exhibited improvement. The implementation of SNT and the inhibition of TRPV1 lead to a reduction in CaMKII, thereby alleviating mitochondrial damage, indicating that TRPV1 is a potential target for silver needle thermal therapy of MPS.

Neutralizing antibodies are an important part of the humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2. It is currently unclear to what extent such antibodies are produced after non-severe disease or asymptomatic infection. We studied a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 infections among a homogeneous population of 332 predominantly male Swiss soldiers and determined the neutralizing antibody response with a serum neutralization assay using a recombinant SARS-CoV-2-GFP. All patients with non-severe COVID-19 showed a swift humoral response within two weeks after the onset of symptoms, which remained stable for the duration of the study. One month after the outbreak, titers in COVID-19 convalescents did not differ from the titers of asymptomatically infected individuals. Furthermore, symptoms of COVID-19 did not correlate with neutralizing antibody titers. Therefore, we conclude that asymptomatic infection can induce the same humoral immunity as non-severe COVID-19 in young adults.

A comparison study was conducted to explore the best internationally available adjuvant that could be used in production of a highly potent foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccine, that could stimulate a strong immune response and possibly give greater protection against FMD. Four experimental batches of trivalent FMD vaccine were prepared with different available oil adjuvants which included Montanide ISA 201, 206, 61 and 50. The results indicated that vaccines emulsified using Montanide ISA 201 and Montanide ISA 206 adjuvants elicited a protective humoral immune response from the 2(nd) week postvaccination (WPV) as for ISA 201 with serum neutralization test (SNT) and enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) antibody titers of 1.62±0.047(a) and 1.8±0.049(a), 1.59±0.076(a) and 1.836±0.077(a), and 1.71±0.06(b) and 1.96±0.074(b) for serotypes O, A, SAT2, respectively, and for ISA 206 at SNT and ELISA antibody titers of 1.5±0.082(a) and 1.84±0.084(a), 1.56±0.037(a) and 1.818±0.052(a), and 1.5±0.106(a,b) and 1.81±0.104(a,b) for FMD virus serotypes O, A and SAT2, respectively. For ISA 61 and ISA 50, the protective antibody titer appeared in the 3(rd) WPV. In the ISA 61 FMD vaccine, SNT and ELISA titer were 1.59±0.076(a) and 1.9±0.094(a), 1.53±0.056(a) and 1.83±0.070(a), and 1.5±0.082(a) and 1.84±0.094(a) for serotypes O, A and SAT2, respectively, and in the case of ISA 50 FMD vaccine, the SNT, and ELISA titer were recorded for serotypes O, A and SAT2 respectively, 1.59±0.037(a) and 1.8±0.030(a), 1.68±0.056(a,b) and 1.916±0.065(a,b), and 1.65±0.082(a) and 1.9±0.09(a). On estimating the cellular immune response, the highest delta optical density levels for ISA 201 (0.395-0.460) and ISA 206 (0.375-0.428) were observed on 14 and 21 days post vaccination (DPV) respectively, while the highest levels of lymphoproliferation for ISA 61 (0.375-0.455) and ISA 50 (0.411-0.430) were on 21 and 28 DPV, respectively. The duration of immunity from Montanide ISA oils (201, 206, 61 and 50) FMD vaccines is a long-lived immunity which ranged between 32 and 38 weeks post vaccination but the Montanide ISA 201 FMD vaccine is superior to the others in the rapid cellular immune response of the vaccinated animals which showed its highest level within 14 days post vaccination.

Reactive astrocytes are a hallmark of several neurological diseases in multiple sclerosis and experimental demyelination models. Their morphological alterations are commonly assessed by qualitative histopathology, yet quantitative tools are required to better capture astrocytic heterogeneity and to allow correlations with imaging-derived biomarkers. Here, we present a workflow for the quantitative analysis of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) network remodeling in astrocytes in the cuprizone model of demyelination. C57BL/6 mice were intoxicated with cuprizone for 3 or 5 weeks to induce progressive demyelination, microglial activation, and reactive astrogliosis. Brain sections were processed for anti-GFAP immunohistochemistry, and individual astrocytes from the stratum oriens of the hippocampus were digitally reconstructed. Diverse parameters of GFAP topology, including soma size, process length, branching order, convex hull area, and ramification index, were extracted using either the commercial Neurolucida 360 software or the open-source Simple Neurite Tracer (SNT) plugin in ImageJ. Principal component analysis revealed clear differences between control astrocytes and astrocytes in cuprizone-intoxicated animals, with reactive astrocytes displaying increased numbers of primary processes, enhanced bifurcation, and process complexity. Comparative evaluation of Neurolucida 360 and SNT demonstrated that both tools are suitable for astrocyte reconstruction, although Neurolucida 360 enabled faster and more detailed tracing. This protocol provides a reproducible pipeline for the quantitative assessment of astrocyte morphology under control and pathological conditions, thereby supporting future efforts to link cellular remodeling to functional outcomes in neuroinflammatory disease models.

Science and Technology Conference (SnT) of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is committed to advancing the scientific and technological progress of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), relying on scientific and technological innovation to strengthen the treaty verification system capabilities of CTBT and accelerating the progress of its entry into force. As seismology is an important means for nuclear-test-ban monitoring, and the scientific advances of the SnT conference is helpful to review the development of earthquake science and technology, this paper systematically analyzes the scientific topic setting and the advances of seismic event discrimination research in the SnT conference. The analysis showed that the themes of “the earth as a complex system” and “advances in sensors, networks and processing”, as well as the seismological approaches of the nuclear-test-ban monitoring, attracted more attention. Seismic event discrimination remains a critical CTBT-related

Aim/Purpose: In this paper, we analyze the phenomenon of “classroom WhatsApp groups”, in which a teacher and students from a particular classroom interact with one another, while specifically focusing on the student perspective of these interactions. Background: The instant messaging application WhatsApp enables quick, interactive multimedia communication in closed groups, as well as one-on-one interactions between selected group members. Yet, very little is known about the extent, nature, and purposes of these practices, the limitations and affordances, the type of discourse and conflicts that develop in these spaces, and the extent to which it affects teacher-student interactions outside of WhatsApp (e.g., the social climate in class, the teacher’s status, teacher-student and student-student relations), especially from the students’ perspective. Methodology: Our methodology combines questionnaires, personal interviews, and focus groups with Israeli secondary school students (N = 88). Contribution: The present study adds to the expanding body of empirical research on social media use in educational settings by specifically focusing on a heretofore underexposed aspect, namely, secondary school student-teacher communication in the popular instant messaging application WhatsApp. We report on findings from the student perspective and discuss the advantages and limitations of this form of communication sphere, and on the social functions of the different classroom WhatsApp groups in secondary school students’ everyday life. Findings: The combined findings reveal that classroom WhatsApp groups have become a central channel of communication for school-related topics. It is used primarily for organizational purposes (sending and receiving updates and managing learning activities), as well as a means for teachers to enforce discipline. Students mentioned many advantages of WhatsApp communication, such as easy access, the ability to create communities, the ability to safeguard personal privacy, and the communication format (written, mediated, personal, or group). However, they also recognized limitations (i.e., communication overload) and challenged teacher ability to monitor and affect student interactions in social media, even when they are present in these WhatsApp classroom groups. Finally, we report on the role of parallel, sans-teacher WhatsApp groups, which are characterized as back stage discourse arenas that accompany the front stage offline classroom activities and the “official” classroom WhatsApp group. Recommendations for Practitioners: The combined findings of this study indicate how WhatsApp-based, joint teacher-student groups can serve a variety of educational purposes, namely, organizational, instructional, and educational-disciplinary. In addition, and in spite of teachers concerns, students are aware of the challenges inherent to the use of WhatsApp for communication with their teachers. Some of the main characteristics that prevent teachers from using other ubiquitous digital communication media, such as Facebook or Twitter, are not relevant when it comes to WhatsApp. Both teachers and students view WhatsApp as a favored channel of communication because of the low exposure to personal information and minimal invasion of privacy. Future Research: The qualitative methodology of this paper limits the ability to generalize the current findings to other contexts and population groups. Future research should preferably explore the generalizability of our findings to larger sections of teenage populations. It should also explore similarities and differences with other age groups. Finally, the present study was set in a particular country (Israel). Local norms of cellphone use and of appropriate teacher-student interaction, as well as locally developed media domestication patterns, may differ from country to country and/or from one cultural group to another. Future research should then include and compare the current findings with data from different countries and cultures in order to complete the picture.

Background In 2008, a program to eradicate bovine virus diarrhea (BVD) in cattle in Switzerland was initiated. After targeted elimination of persistently infected animals that represent the main virus reservoir, the absence of BVD is surveilled serologically since 2012. In view of steadily decreasing pestivirus seroprevalence in the cattle population, the susceptibility for (re-) infection by border disease (BD) virus mainly from small ruminants increases. Due to serological cross-reactivity of pestiviruses, serological surveillance of BVD by ELISA does not distinguish between BVD and BD virus as source of infection. Results In this work the cross-serum neutralisation test (SNT) procedure was adapted to the epidemiological situation in Switzerland by the use of three pestiviruses, i.e., strains representing the subgenotype BVDV-1a, BVDV-1h and BDSwiss-a, for adequate differentiation between BVDV and BDV. Thereby the BDV-seroprevalence in seropositive cattle in Switzerland was determined for the first time. Out of 1,555 seropositive blood samples taken from cattle in the frame of the surveillance program, a total of 104 samples (6.7%) reacted with significantly higher titers against BDV than BVDV. These samples originated from 65 farms and encompassed 15 different cantons with the highest BDV-seroprevalence found in Central Switzerland. On the base of epidemiological information collected by questionnaire in case- and control farms, common housing of cattle and sheep was identified as the most significant risk factor for BDV infection in cattle by logistic regression. Conclusion This indicates that pestiviruses from sheep should be considered as a source of infection of domestic cattle and might well impede serological BVD surveillance.

ObjectiveResting Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) brain imaging and neuropsychological testing were used to investigate the usefulness of a spatial navigation task (SNT) as a performance benchmark for cognitive impairment related to anti-N-methyl D-aspartate (anti-NMDA) receptor antibodies (DNRAb) in SLE.MethodsNeuropsychological assessments, including a desktop 3-D virtual SNT, were performed on 19 SLE participants and 9 healthy control (HC) subjects. SLE participants had stable disease activity and medication doses and no history of neuropsychiatric illness or current use of mind-altering medications. Resting FDG-PET scans were obtained on all SLE participants and compared with a historical set from 25 age-matched and sex-matched HCs. Serum DNRAb titres were measured by ELISA.Results11/19 (58%) of SLE participants failed to complete the SNT (SNT−) compared with 2/9 (22%) of HCs. Compared with 7/9 (78%) in HCs, only 2/9 (22%; p=0.037) of SLE participants with high serum DNRAb titres completed the SNT, in contrast to 6/10 (60%; p=0.810) in SLE participants with low DNRAb titres. Voxel-wise comparison of FDG-PET scans between the 8 SLE participants successfully completing the SNT task (SNT+) and the 11 SNT− SLE participants revealed increased metabolism in the SNT+ participants (p<0.001) in the left anterior putamen/caudate, right anterior putamen, left prefrontal cortex (BA 9), right prefrontal cortex (BA 9/10) and left lateral and medial frontal cortex (BA 8). Compared with HCs, the SNT+ group demonstrated increased metabolism in all regions (p<0.02) except for the right prefrontal cortex (BA 9), whereas the SNT− group demonstrated either significantly decreased or similar metabolism in these seven regions.ConclusionsSNT performance is associated with serum DNRAb titres and resting glucose metabolism in the anterior putamen/caudate and frontal cortex, suggesting compensatory neural recruitment in SNT-associated regions is necessary for successful completion of the task. The SNT therefore has potential for use as a marker for SLE-mediated cognitive impairment.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is viral disease affecting cattle production and productivity in Ethiopia. As a prevention method, vaccinations have been used for a long period with a questionable output due to the existence of LSD outbreaks in vaccinated herds in different parts of Ethiopia. A longitudinal study was performed from October 2019 to April 2020 with the objective of assessing the humoral immune response of cattle with a serum neutralization test (SNT) from different management systems in central Ethiopia. In this study, theserum was collected from 113 cattle (extensive (60/113) and intensive (53/113) management systems) before and after vaccination. From collected sera, a limited number of cattle had seroconversion before vaccination (7.08%). On the other hand, it is obvious the seroconversion rises post vaccination. Accordingly, seroconversion starts to increase after a week (8.85% at 7 dpv) post-vaccination which proceeds to significantly increase at 30 days post vaccination (dpv) (41.65% (25/60)). Furthermore, the risk factor study before and after vaccination showed intensively managed cattle with significantly higher levels of antibody titer at 7 dpv (OR = 1.17; 95% CI = 0.22, 6.2; p = 0.016) and 30 dpv (OR = 3.67; 95% CI = 1.1, 12.29; p = 0.035) compared with that of extensively managed cattle. The other animal-related risk factor that showed a significant difference was breeds and a specific age group ([4½, 7] years) at 15 dpv (OR = 6.69; 95% CI = 2.02, 22.08; p = 0.002) and 30 dpv (OR = 4.24; 95% CI = 1.22, 14.71; p = 0.023); respectively. This study showed an overall lower antibody detection across the study, posing a question on the current LSD-vaccine efficacy. Therefore, a circulating strain of LSDV should be cross-checked with the vaccine strain and adaptations should be made from it.