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Wound healing is a complex and dynamic process supported by several cellular events. Around 13 million individuals globally suffer from chronic wounds yearly, for which dressings with excellent antimicrobial activity and cell viability (>70%, as per ISO 10993) are needed. Excessive use of silver can cause cytotoxicity and has been linked to increasing antimicrobial resistance. In this study, HDI Ag foam was synthesized using a safer hexamethylene diisocyanate-based prepolymer (HDI prepolymer) instead of commonly used diisocyanates like TDI and MDI and substantially lower Ag content than that incorporated in other Ag foams. In vitro characteristics of the HDI Ag foam were evaluated in comparison with leading clinically used foam-based dressings. All dressings underwent a detailed characterization in accordance with industrially accepted BS EN 13726 standards. The HDI Ag foam exhibited highest antimicrobial efficiency againstS. aureusandP. aeruginosa(static condition), with the lowest amount of Ag (0.2 wt%) on the wound contact surface. The extracts from HDI Ag foam showed superior cell viability (>70%), when tested on the L929 mouse fibroblast cell line. Measurements of moisture vapor transmission, fluid handling, physico-chemical and mechanical properties ensured that the HDI foam was clinically acceptable for chronic wound patients.

<p>This paper introduces Strudel (or sometimes StrudelCycles), an alternative implementation of the Tidal (or Tidal-Cycles) live coding system, using the JavaScript programming language. Strudel is an attempt to make live coding more accessible, by creating a system that runs entirely in the browser, while opening Tidals approach to algorithmic patterns (Mclean 2020) up to modern audio/visual web technologies. The Strudel REPL is a live code editor dedicated to manipulating Strudel patterns while they play, with builtin visual feedback. While Strudel is written in JavaScript, the API is optimized for simplicity and readability by applying code transformations on the syntax tree level, allowing language operations that would otherwise be impossible. The application supports multiple ways to output sound, including Tone.js, Web Audio nodes, OSC (Open Sound Control) messages, Web Serial andWeb MIDI. The project is split into multiple packages, allowing granular reuse in other applications. Apart from TidalCycles, Strudel draws inspiration from many prior existing projects like TidalVortex (McLean et al. 2022), Gibber (Roberts and Kuchera-morin 2012), Estuary (Ogborn et al. 2017), Hydra (Jack [2022] 2022), Ocarina (Solomon [2021] 2022) and Feedforward (McLean 2020).</p>

The aim of the article is to compare the effects of mergers and acquisitions carried out by entities from developed and emerging countries. The article covers consolidation transactions completed between 2000 and 2018, exclusively by listed automotive companies. 764 consolidation transactions extracted from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database were observed, for which an efficiency measurement method based on the relationship of the share price to the stock market index was adopted. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics and statistical inference methods. A comparison of the efficiency of M&As completed in developed and emerging countries showed no significant differences in a statistical sense. This means that the macroeconomic conditions of the country from which the company originates have no significant impact on the chances of success of the consolidation implemented by the company. Companies from emerging countries were found to be more profitable, with higher liquidity and were less indebted. On the other hand, entities from developed countries had better operating efficiency ratios, suggesting that they achieved higher margins. The study thus also contradicts the thesis that cost position is important for the efficiency of entities, especially in emerging countries. In the context of the results of the comparison between the two groups of companies, it is reasonable to assume that the determinants of consolidation success are microeconomic in nature and are independent of the country in which the transaction takes place.

The motion dazzle hypothesis posits that high contrast geometric patterns can cause difficulties in tracking a moving target and has been argued to explain the patterning of animals such as zebras. Research to date has only tested a small number of patterns, offering equivocal support for the hypothesis. Here, we take a genetic programming approach to allow patterns to evolve based on their fitness (time taken to capture) and thus find the optimal strategy for providing protection when moving. Our ‘Dazzle Bug’ citizen science game tested over 1.5 million targets in a touch screen game at a popular visitor attraction. Surprisingly, we found that targets lost pattern elements during evolution and became closely background matching. Modelling results suggested that targets with lower motion energy were harder to catch. Our results indicate that low contrast, featureless targets offer the greatest protection against capture when in motion, challenging the motion dazzle hypothesis.

A nationwide insurance database including all members of the Swedish Equestrian Federation and acute injuries reported to Folksam Insurance Group during 2017 was used to investigate horse-related injuries and calculate injury incidence nationally. Of the 152 069 insured members during 2017, 907 were injured, an average of 1.2 injuries per injured person. Females represented 96.9% of all those injured and had a higher risk of injury than males (RR = 3.18). The average age of injured equestrians was 30 years, and the highest injury incidence was for riders aged 21-40 years (RR = 8.83) and 41+− year-olds (RR = 7.33). The most common diagnoses included soft-tissue injuries (39%), fractures (36.7%), and concussions (17.3%). The most frequently injured body regions were the head and neck (36.4%) and the upper limbs (22.3%). Horse-related injuries occurred most frequently while riding a horse (86.2%), and the most frequent incident type was a fall (77.4%). The type of incident and activity was not independent from injury type. Injuries to equestrians represent a sizable public health concern. Injury prevention methods should be directed toward females, and protection against injury should be targeted for different incidents. Focus should be on preventing fall injuries, with appropriate matching of horse and rider and horsemanship skills.

Infectious diseases can alter the demography of their host populations, reducing their viability even in the absence of mass mortality. Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates globally, and emerging infectious diseases play a large role in their continued population declines. Viruses belonging to the genus Ranavirus are responsible for one of the deadliest and most widespread of these diseases. To date, no work has used individual level data to investigate how ranaviruses affect population demographic structure. We used skeletochronology and morphology to evaluate the impact of ranaviruses on the age structure of populations of the European common frog (Rana temporaria) in the UK. We compared ecologically similar populations that differed most notably in their historical presence or absence of ranavirosis (the acute syndrome caused by ranavirus infection). Our results suggest that ranavirosis may truncate the age structure of R. temporaria populations. One potential explanation for such a shift might be increased adult mortality and subsequent shifts in the life history of younger age classes that increase reproductive output earlier in life. Additionally, we constructed population projection models which indicated that such increased adult mortality could heighten the vulnerability of frog populations to stochastic environmental challenges.

Infectious diseases can alter the demography of their host populations, reducing their viability even in the absence of mass mortality. Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates globally, and emerging infectious diseases play a large role in their continued population declines. Viruses belonging to the genus Ranavirus are responsible for one of the deadliest and most widespread of these diseases. To date, no work has used individual level data to investigate how ranaviruses affect population demographic structure. We used skeletochronology and morphology to evaluate the impact of ranaviruses on the age structure of populations of the European common frog (Rana temporaria) in the United Kingdom. We compared ecologically similar populations that differed only in their historical presence or absence of ranavirosis (the acute syndrome caused by ranavirus infection). Our results suggest that ranavirosis may truncate the age structure of R. temporaria populations. One potential explanation for such a shift might be increased adult mortality and subsequent shifts in the life history of younger age classes that increase reproductive output earlier in life. Additionally we constructed population projection models which indicated that such increased adult mortality could heighten the vulnerability of frog populations to stochastic environmental challenges.

Infectious diseases can alter the demography of their host populations, reducing their viability even in the absence of mass mortality. Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates globally, and emerging infectious diseases play a large role in their continued population declines. Viruses belonging to the genus Ranavirus are responsible for one of the deadliest and most widespread of these diseases. To date, no work has used individual level data to investigate how ranaviruses affect population demographic structure. We used skeletochronology and morphology to evaluate the impact of ranaviruses on the age structure of populations of the European common frog (Rana temporaria) in the United Kingdom. We compared ecologically similar populations that differed only in their historical presence or absence of ranavirosis (the acute syndrome caused by ranavirus infection). Our results suggest that ranavirosis may truncate the age structure of R. temporaria populations. One potential explanation for such a shift might be increased adult mortality and subsequent shifts in the life history of younger age classes that increase reproductive output earlier in life. Additionally we constructed population projection models which indicated that such increased adult mortality could heighten the vulnerability of frog populations to stochastic environmental challenges.