We revisit processes generated by iterated random functions driven by a stationary and ergodic sequence. Such a process is called strongly stable if a random initialization exists for which the process is stationary and ergodic, and for any other initialization the difference of the two processes converges to zero almost surely. Under some mild conditions on the corresponding recursive map, without any condition on the driving sequence we show the strong stability of iterations. Several applications are surveyed such as generalized autoregression and queuing. Furthermore, new results are deduced for Langevin-type iterations with dependent noise and for multitype branching processes.

Many traditional theists maintain that God is the ultimate explanation of the universe, for why anything exists at all. For the traditional theist, only a being who is fundamental and transcendent can provide an ultimate ground and explanation of the universe. This requirement that God transcend the universe in order to ultimately explain it poses a challenge for pantheism, the view that God is numerically identical with the universe. If God is identical with the universe, and God is supposed to be the ultimate explanation of the universe, the result is an instance of circular explanation. And circular explanations are allegedly illegitimate. In this article, I develop two explanatory models in an attempt to show that pantheism is consistent with non-circular explanations of the universe. All else being equal, I argue that pantheism is not explanatorily deficient in comparison to traditional theism.

Bayesian confirmation does not generally agglomerate over conjunction. That is, whenever a piece of evidence $E$ confirms two hypotheses ${H_1}$ and ${H_2}$ individually, it does not follow that $E$ also confirms them conjunctively. Here, I present a condition under which the latter does follow from the former. But this new condition reveals a surprising fact: Bayesian confirmation agglomerates over conjunction whenever the evidence in question also confirms that both target hypotheses are false.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex reproductive and endocrine disorder affecting 5–10% of women of reproductive age, but the pathophysiology of PCOS still remains unknown. Here, the aim of our study was to analyze the effects of rapamycin treatment that may regulate impaired hormonal levels and folliculogenesis in dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)-treated PCOS mouse. We hypothesized that rapamycin may ameliorate the negative effects of PCOS in DHEA-induced PCOS mouse model. The target of rapamycin (TOR) gene product is a serine/threonine kinase that has been implicated in the control of cell growth, proliferation and autophagy, and rapamycin is a potent inhibitor of mTORC1 pathway. In this study, for the first time, mTORC1 and activation products are presented at protein and mRNA levels after rapamycin treatment in DHEA-induced PCOS mouse ovary. We showed that rapamycin treatment may regulate follicular development, hormonal levels and provide ovulation in DHEA-induced PCOS mouse. Additionally, we assessed decreased primordial follicle reserve, increased number of primary and secondary follicles, corpus luteum structure forms again after 10 days of rapamycin treatment. This study presented here suggests rapamycin treatment regulates hormonal phenotype and folliculogenesis in the ovary and also mTOR signalling pathway in granulosa cells of DHEA-induced PCOS mouse ovary which may have potential to attenuate understanding the mechanism of dominant follicle selection and anovulatory infertility.

Phylogenetic studies of aberrant species are of considerable scientific interest because their taxonomic rank in traditional systems based on morphological characters is not infrequently overestimated. Apopharynx bolodes (Braun, 1902) is one of the few psilostomid digeneans devoid of the pharynx. This is considered a sufficient basis for assigning it and similar species to the subfamily Apopharynginae. We found A. bolodes in Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758 from Belarus, described it morphologically, and genotyped it by the 28S rRNA gene and the ITS2 region. It is the first molecular data on A. bolodes and the first record of this digenean species in Belarus. The phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequences of the 28S rRNA gene showed that A. bolodes is closely related to the Sphaeridiotrema spp. (Sphaeridiotrematinae). However, this phylogenetic inference has not received yet support with data on the ITS2 region.

This study evaluates the maintenance of a clinically meaningful weight loss (≥ 5 %) after 12 and 36 months of participation in an intervention to promote fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption. A randomised controlled trial was conducted in a primary health care service. For 7 months, participants in the control group (CG) and in the intervention group (IG) performed guided physical exercise three times/week; the IG also participated in collective activities to promote FV consumption. This study selected participants (n 267) who showed clinically meaningful weight loss after nutritional intervention. Sociodemographic, health and body weight data were collected in a face-to-face interview at baseline (T0) and after intervention (T1). Participants were reassessed after 12 (T2) and 36 months (T3) by telephone interview, and the self-reported weight was corrected. The outcome measures weight changes at three time points: M1, comparing T2 with T1; M2, comparing T3 with T2; and M3, comparing T3 with T1. The generalised estimating equation, adjusted for individual characteristics, was used. Participants in the CG showed an increase of 4·2 kg (P < 0·001) at M1 and 4·6 kg (P < 0·001) at M3, while IG individuals showed an increase of 3·6 kg (P < 0·001) at M1 and 3·8 kg (P < 0·001) at M3. The between-group analyses show the effect of nutritional intervention on the maintenance of weight loss at M2 (P = 0·033). Although CG and IG participants increased in weight, the nutritional intervention was associated with maintenance over the long term. This reveals the importance of the promotion of FV consumption for body weight maintenance.

Community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) relies on a food-based approach. However, a comprehensive assessment of their nutrient composition and its impact on treatment outcomes is currently lacking in the extant literature. This narrative review summarises recent evidence on the efficacy of formulations that contain dairy protein and maintain the density of essential nutrients (type I and type II) in managing uncomplicated acute malnutrition at the community level. The literature used for the evidence synthesis was identified using a two-stage screening process. An electronic search was run on PubMed and Cochrane Library, followed by a backward snowball search to identify efficacy studies. A total of twenty-six efficacy studies involving food formulations used to treat uncomplicated severe and moderate acute malnutrition were identified. The review found that, while more evidence favours the inclusion of dairy in formulations as efficacious in supporting recovery from malnutrition, ambiguity in the conclusive findings between dairy and non-dairy formulations remains due to the varied percentages of dairy protein in different formulations. The type of protein source used in a formulation matters, but other approaches, including fortification, can aid in maintaining the nutrient density of formulations, thereby improving the chances of recovery. However, the inclusion of high amounts of added sugar in therapeutic formulations exceeding the World Health Organization norms is a concern that warrants more attention. Future clinical research should assess outcomes such as lean or fat mass changes to confirm the benefits of using dairy or non-dairy formulations to treat moderate and severe acute malnutrition.

The fault-tolerant control issue of aircraft engines with actuator dynamics and faults is investigated in this paper. By proposing a novel intelligent sliding mode fault-tolerant control (ISMFTC) method, which combines an adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) sliding surface with Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) for controller parameter optimisation, the goal is to achieve quality steady-state and dynamic performance in aircraft engines while maintaining strong fault-tolerance properties. Firstly, by considering not only actuator dynamics but also actuator faults, an uncertain nonlinear cascaded model of aircraft engines is developed according to characteristic of aircraft engines and their actuators. Secondly, an ADP-based sliding surface is proposed for considered aircraft engine uncertain nonlinear cascaded system. It can obtain a certain sense of optimised performance, and could be solved by ADP strategy off-line as well. Thirdly, fault-tolerant controller is obtained on the basis of sliding mode theory and adaptive fault estimation law, namely, ADP-based ISMFTC controller. Meanwhile, GWO is integrated into the investigation of ADP-based ISMFTC controller, optimised designable control parameters are obtained subsequently. Besides, robustness analysis is elaborated according to Lyapunov theory, fault estimation error is bounded and states of closed-loop system are uniformly ultimately bounded. Simulation on a twin-shaft turbofan aircraft engine, indicates the effect of proposed ADP-based ISMFTC method.

Gecarcinid crabs have their life cycles in antagonistic scenarios, with their larvae developing in the sea and the juvenile/adult phases occurring on land. Adults migrate from land to sea to release their larvae, which return to land upon reaching the megalopa stage. Recruitment and early instar traits in gecarcinids crabs remain unknown, leading to some species lacking age-specific information. Despite massive recruitment observed in some insular gecarcinid species (e.g. Gecarcoidea natalis), recruits are generally expected to be few and exhibit cryptic behaviour, potentially occupying the burrows of conspecifics. We evaluated whether recruits of Johngarthia lagostoma on Trindade Island, Brazil, co-inhabit larger conspecific burrows, analysing this occurrence and examining their growth patterns, density, and body size across different lunar phases. Johngarthia lagostoma recruits inhabit conspecific burrows, either abandoned or occupied by adult crabs, but always with leaves stored in the inner chamber. Recruits in co-inhabiting behaviour reach a maximum carapace width of 7.3 mm, and after that, they are likely detected by the adults and possibly cannibalized or leave burrows naturally. During the full moon, the higher density and smaller size of recruits were recorded, indicating a recruitment lunar phase. It is crucial to ascertain the prevalence of co-inhabitation behaviours in other land crab species to expand the knowledge about recruitment patterns in these key community species.

This study compared the efficacy and tolerability of three enteral formulas in critically ill patients with COVID-19 who were ventilated and in the prone position: (a) immunomodulatory (IMM), (b) ω3 and (c) maltodextrins (MD). Primary outcome was the percentage of patients who received both 80 % of their protein and calorie targets at 3 d after enrolment. Secondary, mechanical ventilation-free time, ICU mortality and markers of nutritional status. Tolerance of enteral nutrition was evaluated by diarrhoea and gastroparesis rate. A total of 231 patients were included, primary outcome achieved was in ω3 group (76·5 % v. 59·7 and 35·2 %, P < 0·001) v. IMM and MD groups. Mechanical ventilation-free time was longer in ω3 and MD groups: 23·11 (sd 34·2) h and 22·59 (sd 42·2) h v. 7·9 (sd 22·6) h (P < 0·01) in IMM group. Prealbumin final was 0·203 ± 0·108 g/L and 0·203 ± 0·095 g/L in IMM and ω3 groups v 0·164 ± 0·070 g/L (p < 0·01) MD group. Transferrin were 1·515 ± 0·536 g/L and 1·521 ± 0·500 g/L in IMM and ω3 groups v 1·337 ± 0·483 g/L (p < 0·05) MD group. Increase of lymphocytes was greater in ω3 group: 1056·7 (sd 660·8) cells/mm3 v. 853·3 (sd 435·9) cells/mm3 and 942·7 (sd 675·4) cells/mm3 (P < 0·001) in IMM and MD groups. Diarrhoea and gastroparesis occurred in 5·1 and 3·4 %, respectively. The findings of this study indicate that enteral nutrition is a safe and well-tolerated intervention. The ω3 formula compared with IMM and MD did improve protein and calorie targets.

This paper considers fossil fuel infrastructure alongside the punctuation infrastructure of writing. It focuses, in particular, on the period—as both punctuation and time frame—to ask how one demarcates the Victorian period in the context of climate change impacts that exceed it. The paper itself traverses different temporal periods and different forms of punctuation to make its point that infrastructure, while often unnoticed, shapes both ideas and action.

Maize is one of the major agricultural commodities in the world, and a source of food in Africa, representing more than 40 million ha currently harvested on the continent. Despite sub-Saharan Africa's dependence on grain, the maize actual yield (Ya) of the crop is low when compared to its potential yield. In Brazil, the yield-gap between Ya and water-limited yield (Yw) is approximately 50% of Yw. The objective of this study was to carry out a case study, using upland maize as a reference to identify a set of agricultural areas with similar soil and climate in Brazil and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The climatic similarity between Brazil and SSA countries was verified, seeking homogeneous climatic zones that occur in both regions. The Ya was determined including the data of at least the last three years of cultivation and were taken from the database of the national institutes of agricultural statistics. The climatic data showed that the SSA had well-distributed rainfall throughout the crop season, being higher than in Brazil, as well as the average air temperature. The average Yw was 11.3 and 7.4 Mg/ha for Brazil and SSA, respectively. Maize Ya in SSA was 1.4 Mg/ha, while in Brazil Ya was 5.2 Mg/ha. Ya represented approximately 9% of Yw in the SSA. The low Ya shows the large yield-gap found in SSA. With this, it is evident that the technologies used and the crop management are largely responsible for the yield differences between Brazil and SSA.