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Galileo Galilei was a skilled writer and explored several genres, from the well-known scientific writings (often in the form of dialogs) to theater and poetry. His last published poem, \"Mostro son io\" (A Monster am I), is a riddle written in the form of a sonnet. We suggest that the solution to Galileo's riddle is the Zodiac.

The confident high-throughput identification of small molecules is one of the most challenging tasks in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. Annotating the molecular formula of a compound is the first step towards its structural elucidation. Yet even the annotation of molecular formulas remains highly challenging. This is particularly so for large compounds above 500 daltons, and for de novo annotations, for which we consider all chemically feasible formulas. Here we present ZODIAC, a network-based algorithm for the de novo annotation of molecular formulas. Uniquely, it enables fully automated and swift processing of complete experimental runs, providing high-quality, high-confidence molecular formula annotations. This allows us to annotate novel molecular formulas that are absent from even the largest public structure databases. Our method re-ranks molecular formula candidates by considering joint fragments and losses between fragmentation trees. We employ Bayesian statistics and Gibbs sampling. Thorough algorithm engineering ensures fast processing in practice. We evaluate ZODIAC on five datasets, producing results substantially (up to 16.5-fold) better than for several other methods, including SIRIUS, which is the state-of-the-art algorithm for molecular formula annotation at present. Finally, we report and verify several novel molecular formulas annotated by ZODIAC. To infer a previously unknown molecular formula from mass spectrometry data is a challenging, yet neglected problem. Ludwig and colleagues present a network-based approach to ranking possible formulas.

Salvia schimperi is widely used in Ethiopian folk medicine, particularly its raw and roasted seeds for treating ailments such as diarrhea. While numerous reports on its traditional uses and biological activities exist, limited chemical datasets are available on this plant. This study aimed to annotate and identify the phytochemical constituents in S. schimperi seed extracts. The ground samples of S. schimperi seeds (raw and roasted) were extracted with 80% methanol prior to metabolomic analysis using LCMS. Data processing and compound identification were conducted using MZmine, SIRIUS and XCMS platforms. Multivariate statistical analyses and biological targets prediction were carried out via XCMS, MetaboAnalyst, BindingDB and Therapeutic Target Databases. Annotation by SIRIUS based on ZODIAC, SIRIUS and confidence scores criteria, validated 99 of the 689 identified compounds. Among the compounds annotated by METLIN in XCMS, 105 were predicted to be of significant value based on multivariate analysis of MetaboAnalyst. Compounds annotated comprised of primary and secondary metabolites. Two alkaloid compounds (actinonin and indole acrylate) were identified as significant from SIRIUS and METLIN/MetaboAnalyst, with actinonin described as a potent antibacterial metabolite. To our knowledge, this study represents the first metabolomic fingerprinting of S. schimperi seed extracts, revealing diverse bioactive phytochemicals with nutritional and therapeutic potential. The consistent identification of actinonin suggests promising antibacterial applications. Roasting significantly alters the metabolite profile, reducing certain nutritional components such as isoleucine. These findings underline the importance of processing methods in determining phytochemical composition and bioactivity. Further research would explore the toxicity and potential functional food applications.

The present study aims to investigate the astronomical calendar-dial display of the Antikythera Mechanism Front Plate. The design, position and role of the Zodiac ring, are investigated and discussed. Special photographs taken from the ancient prototype, give us new information about the design and operation of the front dial. From these new findings about the Zodiac ring, we conclude that the user of the mechanism was able to easily perform astronomical calculations at any selected time - of past or future date. Based on the new findings during ‘’The Functional Reconstruction of Antikythera Mechanism Project’’ (FRAMe), we reconstructed the new bronze front plate and we placed it in our functional model of the Antikythera Mechanism.

The present study aims to investigate the astronomical calendar-dial display of the Antikythera Mechanism Front Plate. The design, position and role of the Zodiac ring, are investigated and discussed. Special photographs taken from the ancient prototype, give us new information about the design and operation of the front dial. From these new findings about the Zodiac ring, we conclude that the user of the mechanism was able to easily perform astronomical calculations at any selected time - of past or future date. Based on the new findings during ‘’The Functional Reconstruction of Antikythera Mechanism Project’’ (FRAMe), we reconstructed the new bronze front plate and we placed it in our functional model of the Antikythera Mechanism.

The present study aims to investigate the astronomical calendar-dial display of the Antikythera Mechanism Front Plate. The design, position and role of the Zodiac ring, are investigated and discussed. Special photographs taken from the ancient prototype, give us new information about the design and operation of the front dial. From these new findings about the Zodiac ring, we conclude that the user of the mechanism was able to easily perform astronomical calculations at any selected time - of past or future date. Based on the new findings during ‘'The Functional Reconstruction of Antikythera Mechanism Project'' (FRAMe), we reconstructed the new bronze front plate and we placed it in our functional model of the Antikythera Mechanism.

The manuscript came from the Greek Orthodox St Catherine's Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, but most of its 146 leaves, or folios, are now owned by the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. Location, location, location Babylonian astronomers had previously measured the positions of some stars around the zodiac, the constellations that lie along the ecliptic - the Sun's annual path against the fixed stars, as seen from Earth. [...]whereas Ptolemy based his coordinate system on the ecliptic, Hipparchus used the celestial equator, as is more common in modern star maps. The Babylonians had no interest in modelling how the Solar System was arranged in three dimensions but, because of their belief in celestial omens, they made accurate observations and developed mathematical methods to model and predict the timing of events such as lunar eclipses.

Objectives: Many causes have been put forward in the etiology of pneumothorax, but the specific atmospheric factors causing this condition have been a popular topic of discussion. Our study aimed to investigate the effects of atmospheric parameters on the occurrence of spontaneous pneumothorax, as well as the effects of the lunar cycle, important astrological events, and superstitions. Methodology: We conducted a retrospective review of 302 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax who applied to Kocaeli University Hospital between January 2013 to December 2022. The study time period was divided into two as days with and without pneumothorax, and the effects of climatic parameters, the moon, important astrological events, zodiac signs, and superstitions such as Friday the 13th on spontaneous pneumothorax were investigated. Results: It was determined that between days with and without pneumothorax, the maximum temperature on the day of the event, as well as one and two days before, and the minimum temperature on the day of the event, as well as one, two and three days before, were statistically significantly low. Although numerical differences in other parameters, no statistically significant difference was detected. On lunar days, the highest number of pneumothorax cases was observed on the 28th day, 17 (13.7%) and the lowest number of pneumothorax cases was observed on the 13th day, 2 (1.6%) (p=0.310). The highest number of pneumothoraces was in the waning crescent phase 68 (%25.37); the lowest number of pneumothoraces was in the first quarter phase 6 (%2.99). No significant difference was found in pneumothorax numbers in relation to the date ranges of zodiac signs or superstitions. Conclusions: Atmospheric parameters are associated with the occurrence of pneumothorax. The effect of the moon, on spontaneous pneumothorax increases during certain periods. Astrological conditions, zodiac date ranges, and superstitions are not associated with the occurrence of spontaneous pneumothorax.

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Internet of Things (IoT) are the trends of network evolution. SDN mainly focuses on the upper level control and management of networks, while IoT aims to bring devices together to enable sharing and monitoring of real-time behaviours through network connectivity. On the one hand, IoT enables us to gather status of devices and networks and to control them remotely. On the other hand, the rapidly growing number of devices challenges the management at the access and backbone layer and raises security concerns of network attacks, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS). The combination of SDN and IoT leads to a promising approach that could alleviate the management issue. Indeed, the flexibility and programmability of SDN could help in simplifying the network setup. However, there is a need to make a security enhancement in the SDN-based IoT network for mitigating attacks involving IoT devices. In this article, we discuss and analyse state-of-the-art DDoS attacks under SDN-based IoT scenarios. Furthermore, we verify our SDN sEcure COntrol and Data plane (SECOD) algorithm to resist DDoS attacks on the real SDN-based IoT testbed. Our results demonstrate that DDoS attacks in the SDN-based IoT network are easier to detect than in the traditional network due to IoT traffic predictability. We observed that random traffic (UDP or TCP) is more affected during DDoS attacks. Our results also show that the probability of a controller becoming halt is 10%, while the probability of a switch getting unresponsive is 40%.

In Hong Kong, parental preference for babies born in the Chinese Zodiac dragon year causes spikes in fertility. The larger number of “dragon babies” born in 1988 resulted in a schooling cohort which was 5% larger on average every school-year. Using an innovative identification strategy that avoids selection bias, I find that dragon cohort students increase their time spent studying math by an average of 0.26 hours per week (a 9% increase relative to the mean). These effort responses are strongest for girls and for students whose parents do not have post-secondary education. Being in the dragon cohort also results in higher math scores. These empirical findings are consistent with competitive behavior changes of dragon cohort members responding to the presence of additional students. I cannot, however, rule out other possible mechanisms, such as cooperation, peer quality, and educational investments, acting in conjunction to improve academic outcomes. This paper is the first to document the test score and effort impacts of such zodiac cohorts; its findings highlight the importance of cultural forces in determining population changes, and their potential to influence education and other societal outcomes.