bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLNs) and Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLCs) as Food-Grade Nanovehicles for Hydrophobic Nutraceuticals or Bioactives
Authors: Tang Chuan-He , Chen Huan-Le , Dong Jin-Ru
Published: January 2023

Although solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) have been successfully used as drug delivery systems for about 30 years, the usage of these nanoparticles as food-grade nanovehicles for nutraceuticals or bioactive compounds has been, relatively speaking, scarcely investigated. With fast-increasing interest in the incorporation of a wide range of bioactives in food formulations, as well as health awareness of consumers, there has been a renewed urge for the development of food-compatible SLNs and/or NLCs as nanovehicles for improving water dispersibility, stability, bioavailability, and bioactivities of many lipophilic nutraceuticals or poorly soluble bioactives. In this review, the development of food-grade SLNs and NLCs, as well as their utilization as nanosized delivery systems for lipophilic or hydrophobic nutraceuticals, was comprehensively reviewed. First, the structural composition and preparation methods of food-grade SLNs and NLCs were simply summarized. Next, some key issues about the usage of such nanoparticles as oral nanovehicles, e.g., incorporation and release of bioactives, oxidative stability, lipid digestion and absorption, and intestinal transport, were critically discussed. Then, recent advances in the utilization of SLNs and NLCs as nanovehicles for encapsulation and delivery of different liposoluble or poorly soluble nutraceuticals or bioactives were comprehensively reviewed. The performance of such nanoparticles as nanovehicles for improving stability, bioavailability, and bioactivities of curcuminoids (and curcumin in particular) was also highlighted. Lastly, some strategies to improve the oral bioavailability and delivery of loaded nutraceuticals in such nanoparticles were presented. The review will be relevant, providing state-of-the-art knowledge about the development of food-grade lipid-based nanovehicles for improving the stability and bioavailability of many nutraceuticals.
MSmart: Smart Contract Vulnerability Analysis and Improved Strategies Based on Smartcheck
Authors: Fei Jiajia , Chen Xiaohan , Zhao Xiangfu
Published: January 2023

As is well known, smart contracts on the blockchain store plenty of digital assets, and these contracts deployed on the blockchain are difficult to be modified. For this reason, the analysis and detection of smart contract vulnerabilities have received extensive attention. Smartcheck, a typical Java-implemented static analysis tool of smart contracts, is capable of converting Solidity source code into path diagrams based on the lexical and syntactic analysis, and finds smart contract vulnerabilities by path matching. Although Smartcheck can analyze most of the real-world vulnerabilities, some imperceptible vulnerabilities may be ignored, causing huge economic losses. In order to address these issues, we develop a new tool named MSmart to analyze the vulnerabilities of high risk such as timestamp dependence vulnerabilities, integer overflow vulnerabilities, self-destruct vulnerabilities, etc. MSmart converts the smart contract source code into an intermediate representation, and looks for smart contract vulnerabilities based on intermediate representation and XPath rules. We add new intermediate representation rules of Smartcheck to detect more kinds of vulnerabilities and optimize existing rules to suit the complexity of smart contract. We also implemented smart contract batch detection to shorten the time it takes to find vulnerabilities. To analysis the performance of MSmart, we collect 6000 real-world contracts from Etherscan and design some comparative experiments with other tools. The results of experiment show that MSmart is able to analyze related vulnerabilities better, and false positives and false negatives have been reduced due to our improvements.
Defocus Effect Correction for Back Focal Plane Ellipsometry for Antivibration Measurement of Thin Films
Authors: Wang Jian , Yang Jun , Peng Lihua , Tang Dawei , Gao Feng , Chen Rong , Zhou Liping
Published: January 2023

Back focal plane (BFP) ellipsometry, which acquires the ellipsometric parameters of reflected light at different incident and azimuthal angles through a high-NA objective lens, has recently shown great potential in industrial film measurement. In on-line metrology cases for film manufacturing, the film vibration, which is caused by equipment vibrations or environmental disturbances, results in defocus blur and distortion of the received BFP images. Thus, subsequently extracted ellipsometric spectra and film parameters significantly deviate from the ground truth values. This paper proposes a cost-effective method for correcting vibration-induced BFP ellipsometric spectral errors. The method relies on an initial incident angle calibration of BFP radii at different defocus positions. Then, corresponding ellipsometric spectral errors are corrected by inserting a calibrated Jones compensation matrix into a system model. During measurement, the defocus position of the vibrational film is first determined. Then, BFP ellipsometric spectral errors, including incident angle mapping distortion and ellipsometric parameter variations, are corrected for a bias-free film analysis using the previous calibration results. Experimental results showed that this method significantly improved measurement accuracy without vibrational defocus compensation, from over 30 nm down to less than 1 nm.
Sargassum horneri Extract Ameliorates DSS-Induced Colitis through Modulation of mTOR Axis and Intestinal Microbiota
Authors: Im Yuri , Wang Qunzhe , Park Jumin , Lee Heeseob , Kim Hyemee
Published: January 2023

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease characterized by colonic mucosal inflammation, intestinal microflora imbalance, and intestinal permeability. It is essential to develop natural compounds with anti-inflammatory and intestinal bacterial imbalance correction properties. The brown alga Sargassum horneri is rich in polyphenols, such as fucoxanthin and chromene, which have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties. In results, S. horneri ethanol extract (SHE) reduced TNF-α and IL-6 levels as well as Pi3k/Mtor/S6k mRNA expression in LPS-treated RAW264.7 and Caco-2 cells. In addition, SHE treatment decreased the expression of genes associated with inflammation and the mTOR axis in the co-culture system while increasing the expression of tight junction factors. In a mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis, SHE treatment improved intestinal length, histological scores, and the expression of genes related to tight junctions while decreasing the expression of genes related to inflammatory markers and the mTOR axis. The gut microbiota of mice treated with SHE exhibited a decrease in the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidota, which had been increased by DSS treatment and an increase in beneficial bacteria. Therefore, SHE consumption may be a useful natural alternative, as it improves gut microbiota, alleviates colitis symptoms, and prevents their onset.
Model Test Analysis of Groundwater Level Fluctuations on Karst Cover Deformation Taking the Monolithic Structure of Guilin as an Example
Authors: Chen Xuejun , Gao Xiaotong , Li Hui , Xue Mingming , Gan Xiaohui , Song Yu
Published: January 2023

Engineering practice and real-life cases show that the geological conditions of the Guilin overlying karst site are complex. In particular, the groundwater, which drives the accelerated formation of soil cavities, and the thickness of the overlying soil layer, which affects the speed of the groundwater subsidence process. Therefore, this paper is based on a physical model to evaluate the effects of groundwater level changes caused by different factors on the deformation of karst cover. The model tests are simulated for different cover thicknesses (6 cm, 9 cm, 12 cm, 15 cm, 18 cm) under rainfall and other recharge, cavity supply, and drainage conditions at the same density (1.40 g/cm3) and initial water content (30%), respectively. The results show that with the increase of rainfall and other recharge time, the basic change trend of different cover thicknesses is that the infiltration curve changes faster at the beginning and slows down at the end, but the thicker the cover, the slower the overall deformation; at a certain rate of cavity recharge and drainage, the thicker the cover, the smaller the deformation caused by the fluctuation of groundwater level. The cavity recharge makes the cover displacement obvious, in the order of 0.304 cm, 0.173 cm, 0.118 cm, 0.068 cm, and 0.056 cm. After the formation of the cavity, the rainfall, other recharge, and the cavity supply and drainage accelerate the destruction and deformation of the soil body and the upward development of the cavity. The research results provide theoretical support for the subsequent prevention and control of karst collapse in covered karst areas, and have certain practical engineering significance.
Preparation of Cementitious Material with Wet Fly Ash by Hydrothermal Reaction and Calcination
Authors: Shi Peiyu , Huang Bei
Published: January 2023

A large amount of wet-discharged fly ash has caused serious harm to the ecological environment, so the utilization of fly ash has received attention. This paper analyzes the formation of products of fly ash–lime system under the autoclave process by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and thermogravimetric–differential thermal (TG-DSC) analysis. The hydrothermal reaction product generation was quantitatively analyzed using the hydrochloric acid selective dissolution method to quantify the degree of reaction of fly ash in the pressure evaporation specimens in combination with the reaction degree of lime in the autoclave specimens. The hydrothermal reaction products were calcined and hydrated, and the mineral composition of the calcined products and the mechanical and microstructure of the hydrated products were analyzed. The results show that hydrothermal reactions occur in the fly ash–lime pressure evaporation system to produce C2SH, C3AH6, C3ASH4, and other products. The optimum ratio of lime is 22%, and the appropriate autoclave parameter is 140 °C for 8 h. Under this condition, the reaction degree of fly ash is 15.39%, the reaction degree of CaO is 78.63%, and its f-CaO value is 4.93%. The formation of C2SH in the hydrothermal reaction ranged from 14.33% to 18.53%, and the formation of C3ASH4 ranged from 14.06% to 15.26%. The hydrothermal reaction products were calcined at 850 °C for 1.5 h to produce new gelling materials with gelling phases, such as C12A7, α’L-C2S, β-C2S, and C2AS. The compressive and flexural strengths of the new gelling materials reached 34.4 MPa and 6.4 MPa, respectively, at the age of 180 days.
Design and Experiment of Discharge Control Methods for Three-Stage Coil Gun Experiments
Authors: Kim Seonmyeong , Jang Changhwan , Kim Jinho
Published: January 2023

The aim of this study was to design operation methods for three-stage coil gun experiments and to fabricate and compare prototypes of control systems using these methods. Two methods are proposed: (1) recognizing the position of a projectile using a photointerrupter and (2) operating a control circuit to supply power to a silicon-controlled rectifier when the projectile reaches an intended position by registering the delay time between coil gun operations. The distance between the projectile and the solenoid coil during a coil gun operation is a key design factor. For the multi-stage coil gun manufactured in this study, the discharge time must be determined according to the position of the projectile, which moves at high velocity. Therefore, the selected method should have minimal operation error and allow the circuit to be easily used according to the coil gun stage and configuration. This study compares the prototypes of coil gun discharge circuits that were fabricated based on the proposed methods by applying them to three-stage coil guns and measuring their velocities. The findings of this study could be used to suggest design methods for experimental models for coil guns with fewer stages according to the final velocity and coil gun stage to be manufactured.
Assessment of Phenolic Content, Antioxidant and Anti-Aging Activities of Honey from Pittosporum undulatum Vent. Naturalized in the Azores Archipelago (Portugal)
Authors: Santos Soraia , Maia Miguel , Barros Ana , Gouvinhas Irene
Published: January 2023

Pittosporum undulatum Vent. is an invasive species scattered across all of the Azores’s Islands. Identifying processes to obtain economic returns from the plant is of great interest. This work aims to evaluate honey from P. undulatum from the Azores by determining its phenolic content and biological activities, to enhance its value and equate its potential applications in the food, cosmetic, and/or pharmaceutical industries. Herein, the phenolic content and antioxidant capacity were evaluated by spectrophotometric methods. Furthermore, and for the first time, anti-aging capacity was determined in honey samples. The total phenols content revealed values from 20.82 to 112.13 mg GA/100 g, from 10.25 to 103.26 mg GA/100 g for ortho-diphenols, and from 2.94 to 40.96 mg CAT/100 g for flavonoids content. Regarding the antioxidant capacity, the values ranged from 0.05 to 2.27 mmol Trolox/100g. Concerning the anti-aging capacity, promising results were obtained, namely for tyrosinase inhibitory capacity, with values ranging between 4.36% and 9.37%, while the values of elastase inhibitory capacity ranged from 37.52% to 45.88%. This study allowed us to understand the phytochemicals and biological activities of honey from P. undulatum, enhancing the possible health benefits, namely for potential anti-aging treatment, valorizing, at the same time, a national food product.
Predictive Maintenance and Fault Monitoring Enabled by Machine Learning: Experimental Analysis of a TA-48 Multistage Centrifugal Plant Compressor
Authors: Achouch Mounia , Dimitrova Mariya , Dhouib Rizck , Ibrahim Hussein , Adda Mehdi , Sattarpanah Karganroudi Sasan , Ziane Khaled , Aminzadeh Ahmad
Published: January 2023

In an increasingly competitive industrial world, the need to adapt to any change at any time has become a major necessity for every industry to remain competitive and survive in their environments. Industries are undergoing rapid and perpetual changes on several levels. Indeed, the latter requires companies to be more reactive and involved in their policies of continuous improvement in order to satisfy their customers and maximize the quantity and quality of production, while keeping the cost of production as low as possible. Reducing downtime is one of the major objectives of these industries of the future. This paper aimed to apply machine learning algorithms on a TA-48 multistage centrifugal compressor for failure prediction and remaining useful life (RUL), i.e., to reduce system downtime using a predictive maintenance (PdM) approach through the adoption of Industry 4.0 approaches. To achieve our goal, we followed the methodology of the predictive maintenance workflow that allows us to explore and process the data for the model training. Thus, a comparative study of different prediction algorithms was carried out to arrive at the final choice, which is based on the implementation of LSTM neural networks. In addition, its performance was improved as the data sets were fed and incremented. Finally, the model was deployed to allow operators to know the failure times of compressors and subsequently ensure minimum downtime rates by making decisions before failures occur.
Computer-Aided Formalization of Internal Consistent Product Family Models
Authors: Liu Hongbo , Wang Xi , Wang Weiwei
Published: January 2023

The product line approach enables the rapid building of software products by reusing core assets. How to manage the commonality and variability of product family is the core problem of product line engineering. The feature modeling approach is one of the main approaches to solve this problem. However, this approach does not define the internal functions of features. Some researchers use formal descriptions to define the function of features, but they do not consider the connection between feature specification and feature model. These product family modeling approaches result in product family models that suffer from inconsistent descriptions, which are difficult to resolve manually. To this end, this paper proposes a computer-aided approach to construct an internally consistent product family model. The method performs an inconsistency check during the formalization of each feature in the given initial feature model, pushing the evolution of the feature model and feature specification. The creation and evolution of feature models are achieved through a template-based feature modeling approach. The method is implemented by means of templates, each of which contains two parts of knowledge: the elements required for a class of feature model, and a way to convert the given elements into a formal description. An inconsistency check is achieved through a rule-based detection approach. Each rule contains two parts: a class of conditions that the feature model and the feature specification satisfy, and the actions to resolve inconsistencies once the conditions are satisfied. We have developed a tool. The tool guides the user to build an internally consistent product family model that contains the feature model and feature specifications. Experiments have shown that our approach can provide effective automation support for the process of formal product family modeling.
Intimacy and Darkness: Feminist Sensibility in (Post)socialist Art
Authors: Kukaine Jana
Published: January 2023

This article assembles feminist articulations scattered across art histories and theories of Eastern and Central Europe, in order to reveal their potential, not only for foregrounding postsocialist feminist perspectives, but also for enriching the vocabulary and expanding temporal geographies of transnational feminist debates. By attending to intuitive, latent, reluctant, proto-, para-, unofficial and soft feminisms, this article establishes a peculiar feminist sensibility that is attuned to Central and Eastern European women artists’ approaches to everyday, embodied and affective experiences via the critical endorsement of intimacy and darkness.
Analysis of Groundwater Storage Changes and Influencing Factors in China Based on GRACE Data
Authors: Shao Chunxiu , Liu Yonghe
Published: January 2023

Groundwater is a primary freshwater resource for human consumption and an essential source for industry and agriculture. Therefore, understanding its spatial and temporal trends and drivers is crucial for governments to take appropriate measures to manage water resources. This paper uses Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) to derive groundwater storage anomalies (GWSAs) and to analyze the spatial and temporal trends of GWSA in different regions of China (Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, North China Plain, South China, and Northeast China). It used groundwater-level observation data to verify the accuracy of GWSA estimates and analyzed the drivers of regional GWSA changes. The results showed that: (1) GWSA in South China increased at a rate of 4.79 mm/a from 2003 to 2016, and GWSA in other regions in China showed a decreasing trend. Among them, the decline rates of GWSA in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, North China Plain, and Northeast China were −6.24 mm/a, −3.33 mm/a, −3.17 mm/a, −7.35 mm/a, and −0.75 mm/a, respectively. (2) The accuracy of the annual-scale GWSA estimates was improved after deducting gravity losses due to raw coal quality, and the correlation coefficient between GWSA and groundwater levels monitored by observation wells increased. (3) In Xinjiang, the annual water consumed by raw coal mining, industrial, and agricultural activities had a greater impact on GWSA than rainfall and temperature, so these human activities might be the main drivers of the continued GWSA decline in Xinjiang. Water consumption by raw coal mining and industry might be the main drivers of the continued decline in GWSA in Inner Mongolia and the North China Plain. The increase in groundwater storage in South China was mainly due to the recharge of rainfall.
Classification Analysis of Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Intensity Changes Prior to Landfall
Authors: Bhowmick Rupsa , Trepanier Jill C. , Haberlie Alex M.
Published: January 2023

This study evaluates the ability of a random forest classifier to identify tropical cyclone (TC) intensification or weakening prior to landfall over the western region of the Southwest Pacific Ocean (SWPO) basin. For both Australia mainland and SWPO island cases, when a TC first crosses land after spending ≥24 h over the ocean, the closest hour prior to the intersection is considered as the landfall hour. If the maximum wind speed (Vmax) at the landfall hour increased or remained the same from the 24-h mark prior to landfall, the TC is labeled as intensifying and if the Vmax at the landfall hour decreases, the TC is labeled as weakening. Geophysical and aerosol variables closest to the 24 h before landfall hour were collected for each sample. The random forest model with leave-one-out cross validation and the random oversampling example technique was identified as the best-performing classifier for both mainland and island cases. The model identified longitude, initial intensity, and sea skin temperature as the most important variables for the mainland and island landfall classification decisions. Incorrectly classified cases from the test data were analyzed by sorting the cases by their initial intensity hour, landfall hour, monthly distribution, and 24-h intensity changes. TC intensity changes near land strongly impact coastal preparations such as wind damage and flood damage mitigations; hence, this study will contribute to improve identifying and prioritizing prediction of important variables contributing to TC intensity change before landfall.
Research on Cement Demand Forecast and Low Carbon Development Strategy in Shandong Province
Authors: Xu Chongqing , Gong Yangyang , Yan Guihuan
Published: January 2023

The dual carbon targets and environmental quality constraints have released a clear transition signal for the green and low-carbon development of the cement industry. This study builds a CDI model based on the terminal sector forecasting method, predicts the cement demand in Shandong Province from 2020 to 2035, constructs a CO2 emission scenario in combination with green and low-carbon technical measures, uses the life-cycle assessment method to systematically simulate the CO2 emission trend of the cement industry in Shandong Province from 2020 to 2035, and discusses the low-carbon development path of the cement industry. The research shows that the overall demand for cement in Shandong Province shows a downward trend. Under the HD scenario, the cement demand has reached a historical peak of 166 Mt in 2021, and the per capita cement consumption is 1.63 t. In terms of CO2 emission structure, industrial production process CO2 accounts for 50.89–54.32%, fuel combustion CO2 accounts for 25.12–27.76%, transportation CO2 accounts for 10.65–11.36%, and electricity CO2 accounts for 9.20–10.71%. Through deepening supply-side structural reforms and implementing green and low-carbon technologies, the CO2 emissions and carbon intensity of the cement industry in Shandong Province will be significantly reduced. Under the EL scenario, CO2 emissions will be reduced from 92.96 Mt in 2020 to 56.31 Mt in 2035, the carbon intensity will be reduced from 581.32 kg/tc in 2020 to 552.32 kg/tc in 2035. In the short term, the decarbonization path of the cement industry in Shandong Province is mainly based on improving energy efficiency and comprehensive utilization of resources and energy technologies. In the long term, alternative raw materials and fuels are of great significance to improving the green and low-carbon development level of the cement industry.
Simultaneous Use of Ground-Based and Satellite Observation to Evaluate Atmospheric Air Pollution over Amman, Jordan
Authors: Panahifar Hossein , Bayat Farizeh , Hussein Tareq
Published: January 2023

In this study, a combination of ground-based particulate matter measurements in synergy with space-borne CALIOP lidar recordings, meteorological observations, and reanalysis models have been used to study atmospheric air pollution over Amman, Jordan. The measurement was conducted over a 24-month period spanning from January 2018 to the end of December 2019. The CALIOP aerosol profiles and aerosol layer products version 4.21, level 2, with 5 km horizontal resolution were used to evaluate the vertical structure of the atmospheric constituent over the Amman region. The particle depolarization ratio (PDR) was extracted from CALIOP recordings and has been utilized to classify the type of atmospheric aerosols. This method reveals that the atmosphere above Amman mostly contains three different aerosol types including coarse-mode dust, fine-mode dust (polluted dust), and non-dust aerosols (pollution). Aerosols with 0 < δp≤ 0.075 are categorized as pollution, aerosols with 0.075 < δp≤ 0.20 as polluted dust, and aerosols with 0.20 < δp≤ 0.40 are classified as dust. Both the one- and two-step POlarization-LIdar PHOtometer Networking (POLIPHON) approaches have been applied to the CALIOP aerosol profile product to retrieve the vertical profile of the optical and micro-physical properties of each aerosol type. Lofted-layer top heights and layer thickness in the atmosphere above Amman during the study period were also extracted from the CALIOP aerosol layer products. The highest frequency of occurrence was observed for layers with a top height of 0.5 to 2.5 km with a second smaller peak at 3.5 km. The maximum frequency of the lofted layers (40% of cases) were observed with layer thickness below 0.5 km. For layers with a top height lower than 500 m above ground level, the atmosphere was mostly impacted by polluted dust and pollution aerosols. On the other hand, for layers with a top height above 2500 m agl, the atmosphere was contaminated by depolarizing dust particles.
Analysis and Evaluation of the Layered Precipitable Water Vapor Data from the FENGYUN-4A/AGRI over the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Song Yunfan , Han Lin , Huang Xiaolong , Wang Ge
Published: January 2023

The Layered Precipitable Water Vapor (LPW) product derived from the Advanced Geosynchronous Radiation Imager (AGRI) onboard the first of the Chinese new generation geostationary satellite Fengyun-4A (FY-4A) has great significance for weather forecasting and climate monitoring of the Tibetan Plateau. To analysis and evaluation the reliability of the FY-4A/AGRI LPW, with respect to the complex terrain on the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, the atmospheric precipitable water vapor values were calculated based on the radiosonde observations (RAOB TPW) of 11 radiosonde stations in the research area from 2019 to 2020, and a comparative analysis was performed with the FY-4A/AGRI LPW. The results indicated that: (1) FY-4A/AGRI LPW and RAOB TPW demonstrate excellent consistency in all of the vertical height layers, but the atmospheric precipitable water vapor was underestimated by FY-4A/AGRI LPW; (2) The mean values of FY-4A/AGRI LPW in various months were all lower than those of RAOB TPW. The low layer FY-4A/AGRI LPW was the most stable in precision from the dimension of months; and (3) The precision of FY-4A/AGRI LPW, and the deviation between FY-4A/AGRI LPW and RAOB TPW were related with RDLS. The evaluation results of the study demonstrated that FY-4A/AGRI LPW underestimated the total water vapor in the research area, but the Bias and RMSE values were relatively low. FY-4A/AGRI LPW had a relatively high precision, and the data from it had superior quality and stability in terms of time changes and spatial distribution. Therefore, the product can perfectly reflect the spatial and temporal variation of the atmospheric water vapor on the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau.
A Study on Fixed-Point Techniques under the α-ϝ-Convex Contraction with an Application
Authors: Nallaselli Gunasekaran , Gnanaprakasam Arul Joseph , Mani Gunaseelan , Ege Ozgur , Santina Dania , Mlaiki Nabil
Published: January 2023

In this paper, we consider several classes of mappings related to the class of α-ϝ-contraction mappings by introducing a convexity condition and establish some fixed-point theorems for such mappings in complete metric spaces. The present result extends and generalizes the well-known results of α-admissible and convex contraction mapping and many others in the existing literature. An illustrative example is also provided to exhibit the utility of our main results. Finally, we derive the existence and uniqueness of a solution to an integral equation to support our main result and give a numerical example to validate the application of our obtained results.
A Novel Approach for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Using Asymmetric Deep Learning Features
Authors: Jena Pradeep Kumar , Khuntia Bonomali , Palai Charulata , Nayak Manjushree , Mishra Tapas Kumar , Mohanty Sachi Nandan
Published: January 2023

Automatic screening of diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a well-identified area of research in the domain of computer vision. It is challenging due to structural complexity and a marginal contrast difference between the retinal vessels and the background of the fundus image. As bright lesions are prominent in the green channel, we applied contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) on the green channel for image enhancement. This work proposes a novel diabetic retinopathy screening technique using an asymmetric deep learning feature. The asymmetric deep learning features are extracted using U-Net for segmentation of the optic disc and blood vessels. Then a convolutional neural network (CNN) with a support vector machine (SVM) is used for the DR lesions classification. The lesions are classified into four classes, i.e., normal, microaneurysms, hemorrhages, and exudates. The proposed method is tested with two publicly available retinal image datasets, i.e., APTOS and MESSIDOR. The accuracy achieved for non-diabetic retinopathy detection is 98.6% and 91.9% for the APTOS and MESSIDOR datasets, respectively. The accuracies of exudate detection for these two datasets are 96.9% and 98.3%, respectively. The accuracy of the DR screening system is improved due to the precise retinal image segmentation.
Machine Learning-Based Respiration Rate and Blood Oxygen Saturation Estimation Using Photoplethysmogram Signals
Authors: Shuzan Md Nazmul Islam , Chowdhury Moajjem Hossain , Chowdhury Muhammad E. H. , Murugappan Murugappan , Hoque Bhuiyan Enamul , Arslane Ayari Mohamed , Khandakar Amith
Published: January 2023

The continuous monitoring of respiratory rate (RR) and oxygen saturation (SpO2) is crucial for patients with cardiac, pulmonary, and surgical conditions. RR and SpO2 are used to assess the effectiveness of lung medications and ventilator support. In recent studies, the use of a photoplethysmogram (PPG) has been recommended for evaluating RR and SpO2. This research presents a novel method of estimating RR and SpO2 using machine learning models that incorporate PPG signal features. A number of established methods are used to extract meaningful features from PPG. A feature selection approach was used to reduce the computational complexity and the possibility of overfitting. There were 19 models trained for both RR and SpO2 separately, from which the most appropriate regression model was selected. The Gaussian process regression model outperformed all the other models for both RR and SpO2 estimation. The mean absolute error (MAE) for RR was 0.89, while the root-mean-squared error (RMSE) was 1.41. For SpO2, the model had an RMSE of 0.98 and an MAE of 0.57. The proposed system is a state-of-the-art approach for estimating RR and SpO2 reliably from PPG. If RR and SpO2 can be consistently and effectively derived from the PPG signal, patients can monitor their RR and SpO2 at a cheaper cost and with less hassle.
Morphological Study of the Mandibular Lingula and Antilingula by Cone-Beam Computed Tomography
Authors: Chen Chun-Ming , Lee Hui-Na , Liang Shih-Wei , Hsu Kun-Jung
Published: January 2023

The patterns of the lingula and antilingula are crucial surgical reference points for ramus osteotomy. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) provides three-dimensional images, and patient radiation dose is significantly lower for CBCT than for medical CT. The morphology of the mandibular lingula and antilingula of ninety patients (180 sides) were investigated using CBCT. The lingula were classified as having triangular, truncated, nodular, and assimilated shapes. The antilingula were classified as having hill, ridge, plateau, and plain shapes. The patients’ sex, skeletal patterns (Classes I, II, and III), and right and left sides were recorded. The most to least common lingula shapes were nodular (37.8%), followed by truncated (32.8%), triangular (24.4%), and assimilated (5%). The most to least common antilingulae were hill (62.8%), plain (18.9%), plateau (13.9%), and ridge (4.4%) patterns, respectively. The lingula and antilingula had identical patterns on both sides in 47 (52.2%) and 46 patients (51.1%), respectively. Sex and skeletal pattern were not significantly correlated to lingula and antilingula shapes. No significant correlation was observed between lingula and antilingula shapes.
Optimized Conditions for the Long-Term Maintenance of Precision-Cut Murine Myocardium in Biomimetic Tissue Culture
Authors: Cao-Ehlker Xiaochun , Fischer Carola , Lu Kun , Bruegmann Tobias , Sasse Philipp , Dendorfer Andreas , Tomasi Roland
Published: January 2023

Organotypic heart slices from mice might provide a promising in vitro model for cardiac research because of the vast availability of genetically modified specimens, combined with the unrestricted feasibility of experimental interventions. However, murine heart slices undergo rapid degeneration in culture. Therefore, we developed optimal conditions to preserve their structure and function in culture. Mouse ventricular heart samples were transversely cut into 300 µm thick slices. Slices were then cultured under various conditions of diastolic preload, systolic compliance and medium agitation. Continuous stimulation was performed either by optical stimulation or by electrical field stimulation. Contractility was continuously measured, and cellular survival, structure and gene expression were analyzed. Significant improvements in viability and function were achieved by elastic fixation with the appropriate diastolic preload and the rapid shaking of a ß-mercaptoethanol-supplemented medium. At 1 Hz pacing, mouse heart slices maintained stable contractility for up to 48 h under optogenetic pacing and for one week under electrical pacing. In cultured slices, the native myofibril structure was well preserved, and the mRNAs of myosin light chain, titin and connexin 43 were constantly expressed. Conclusions: Adult murine heart slices can be preserved for one week and provide a new opportunity to study cardiac functions.
Cognitive Healthy Aging in Mice: Boosting Memory by an Ergothioneine-Rich Hericium erinaceus Primordium Extract
Authors: Roda Elisa , De Luca Fabrizio , Ratto Daniela , Priori Erica Cecilia , Savino Elena , Bottone Maria Grazia , Rossi Paola
Published: January 2023

Brain aging is a crucial risk factor for several neurodegenerative disorders and dementia. The most affected cognitive function is memory, worsening early during aging. Inflammation and oxidative stress are known to have a role in pathogenesis of cognitive impairments, and a link exists between aging/frailty and immunosenescence/inflammaging. Based on anti-aging properties, medicinal mushrooms represent a source to develop medicines and functional foods. In particular, Hericium erinaceus (He) displays several actions ranging from boosting the immune system to fighting senescence, due to its active ingredients/metabolites. Among these, Ergothioneine (ERGO) is known as the longevity vitamin. Currently, we demonstrated the efficacy of an ERGO-rich He primordium extract (He2) in preventing cognitive decline in a murine model of aging. We focused on recognition memory deterioration during aging, monitored through spontaneous behavioral tests assessing both memory components and frailty index. A parallel significant decrease in key markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, i.e., IL6, TGFβ1, GFAP, Nrf2, SOD1, COX2, NOS2, was revealed in the hippocampus by immunohistochemistry, accompanied by an enhancement of NMDAR1and mGluR2, crucially involved in glutamatergic neurotransmission. In summary, we disclosed a selective, preventive and neuroprotective effect of He2 on aged hippocampus, both on recognition memory as well on inflammation/oxidative stress/glutamate receptors expression.
Spatially and Temporally Confined Response of Gastrointestinal Antibiotic Resistance Gene Levels to Sulfadiazine and Extracellular Antibiotic Resistance Gene Exposure in Mice
Authors: Wei Xin , Zhang Jian , Wang Bianfang , Wang Wenjia , Sun Yuqing , Li Ling , Xu Hai , Wang Mingyu
Published: January 2023

This work aims to investigate the impact of antibiotics and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes (eARGs) on the dynamics of gastrointestinal antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) levels of different segments of the gastrointestinal tract of mouse models were analyzed and compared after exposure to clinical concentrations of sulfadiazine and environmental levels of eARGs carried by the conjugative plasmid pR55. Exposure to sulfadiazine and eARGs led to significant changes in ARG levels by as many as four log-folds. Further analysis showed that the response of ARG levels appeared from 12–16 days after exposure and diminished 20 days after exposure. The responses in ARG levels were also restricted to different gastrointestinal segments for sulfadiazine and eARGs. Combined exposure of sulfadiazine and eARGs was unable to further increase ARG levels. From these findings, we concluded that the short-term consumption of environmental levels of eARGs and uptake of clinical levels of antibiotics lead to a spatially and temporally confined response in gastrointestinal AMR. These findings further clarify the detrimental impacts of antibiotic and eARG uptake, and the complexity of AMR development and dissemination dynamics in the gastrointestinal tract.
Characterization and Expression Analysis of Four Cadmium-Tolerance-Associated Genes of Avicennia marina (Forsk.)
Authors: Yu Jinfeng , Zhang Jicheng , Hong Hualong
Published: January 2023

Mangroves colonize the intertidal area of estuaries (e.g., Pichavaram, Payardia, and Mai Po) with remarkable cadmium (Cd) pollution. A study on the mechanism of mangrove plant response to Cd pollution can help to understand the adaptive characteristics of plants under Cd stress. This study explored the roles of peroxidase (PRX), pectate lyase (PL), and phytosulfokine (PSK) genes in cadmium tolerance of mangrove Avicennia marina. Full-length sequences of four genes (i.e., AmPRX1, AmPRX2, AmPL, and AmPSK) associated with metal tolerance were identified with suppression subtractive hybridization and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. These genes showed the characteristic features of the respective protein family, indicating functions similar to other plant proteins. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis demonstrated that cadmium exposure resulted in differences in expression patterns among the tissues. Our findings emphasize the complex regulatory mechanism of these four genes in response to trace metal pollution and reveal their functions in metabolic signaling during the stress response.
Organismal Roles of Hsp90
Authors: van Oosten-Hawle Patricija
Published: January 2023

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a highly conserved molecular chaperone that assists in the maturation of many client proteins involved in cellular signal transduction. As a regulator of cellular signaling processes, it is vital for the maintenance of cellular proteostasis and adaptation to environmental stresses. Emerging research shows that Hsp90 function in an organism goes well beyond intracellular proteostasis. In metazoans, Hsp90, as an environmentally responsive chaperone, is involved in inter-tissue stress signaling responses that coordinate and safeguard cell nonautonomous proteostasis and organismal health. In this way, Hsp90 has the capacity to influence evolution and aging, and effect behavioral responses to facilitate tissue-defense systems that ensure organismal survival. In this review, I summarize the literature on the organismal roles of Hsp90 uncovered in multicellular organisms, from plants to invertebrates and mammals.
Suppressing Hepatic UGT1A1 Increases Plasma Bilirubin, Lowers Plasma Urobilin, Reorganizes Kinase Signaling Pathways and Lipid Species and Improves Fatty Liver Disease
Authors: Bates Evelyn A. , Kipp Zachary A. , Martinez Genesee J. , Badmus Olufunto O. , Soundarapandian Mangala M. , Foster Donald , Xu Mei , Creeden Justin F. , Greer Jennifer R. , Morris Andrew J. , Stec David E. , Hinds Terry D.
Published: January 2023

Several population studies have observed lower serum bilirubin levels in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Yet, treatments to target this metabolic phenotype have not been explored. Therefore, we designed an N-Acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) labeled RNAi to target the enzyme that clears bilirubin from the blood, the UGT1A1 glucuronyl enzyme (GNUR). In this study, male C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD, 60%) for 30 weeks to induce NAFLD and were treated subcutaneously with GNUR or sham (CTRL) once weekly for six weeks while continuing the HFD. The results show that GNUR treatments significantly raised plasma bilirubin levels and reduced plasma levels of the bilirubin catabolized product, urobilin. We show that GNUR decreased liver fat content and ceramide production via lipidomics and lowered fasting blood glucose and insulin levels. We performed extensive kinase activity analyses using our PamGene PamStation kinome technology and found a reorganization of the kinase pathways and a significant decrease in inflammatory mediators with GNUR versus CTRL treatments. These results demonstrate that GNUR increases plasma bilirubin and reduces plasma urobilin, reducing NAFLD and inflammation and improving overall liver health. These data indicate that UGT1A1 antagonism might serve as a treatment for NAFLD and may improve obesity-associated comorbidities.
Two-Photon Excited Fluorescence of NADH-Alcohol Dehydrogenase Complex in a Mixture with Bacterial Enzymes
Authors: Gorbunova Ioanna A. , Sasin Maxim E. , Yachkov Dmitry V. , Volkov Denis A. , Vedyaykin Alexei D. , Nikiforov Andrey A. , Vasyutinskii Oleg S.
Published: January 2023

Thorough study of composition and fluorescence properties of a commercial reagent of active equine NAD-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase expressed and purified from E. coli has been carried out. Several experimental methods: spectral- and time-resolved two-photon excited fluorescence, sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, fast protein liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry were used for analysis. The reagent under study was found to contain also a number of natural fluorophores: free NAD(P)H, NADH-alcohol dehydrogenase, NADPH-isocitrate dehydrogenase, and pyridoxal 5-phosphate—serine hydroxymethyltransferase complexes. The results obtained demonstrated the potential and limitations of popular optical methods as FLIM for separation of fluorescence signals from free and protein-bound forms of NADH, NADPH, and FAD that are essential coenzymes in redox reactions in all living cells. In particular, NADH-alcohol dehydrogenase and NADPH-isocitrate dehydrogenase complexes could not be optically separated in our experimental conditions although fast protein liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis undoubtedly indicated the presence of both enzymes in the molecular sample used. Also, the results of fluorescence, fast protein liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry analysis revealed a significant contribution of the enzyme-bound coenzyme pyridoxal 5-phosphate to the fluorescence signal that could be separated from enzyme-bound NADH by using bandpass filters, but could effectively mask contribution from enzyme-bound FAD because the fluorescence spectra of the species practically overlapped. It was shown that enzyme-bound pyridoxal 5-phosphate fluorescence can be separated from enzyme-bound NAD(P)H and FAD through analysis of short fluorescence decay times of about tens of picoseconds. However, this analysis was found to be effective only at relatively high number of peak photon counts in recorded fluorescence signals. The results obtained in this study can be used for interpretation of fluorescence signals from a mixture of enzyme-bound fluorophores and should be taken into consideration when determining the intracellular NADH/FAD ratio using FLIM.
Silk-Based Biomaterials for Designing Bioinspired Microarchitecture for Various Biomedical Applications
Authors: Kumar Sahi Ajay , Gundu Shravanya , Kumari Pooja , Klepka Tomasz , Sionkowska Alina
Published: January 2023

Biomaterial research has led to revolutionary healthcare advances. Natural biological macromolecules can impact high-performance, multipurpose materials. This has prompted the quest for affordable healthcare solutions, with a focus on renewable biomaterials with a wide variety of applications and ecologically friendly techniques. Imitating their chemical compositions and hierarchical structures, bioinspired based materials have elevated rapidly over the past few decades. Bio-inspired strategies entail extracting fundamental components and reassembling them into programmable biomaterials. This method may improve its processability and modifiability, allowing it to meet the biological application criteria. Silk is a desirable biosourced raw material due to its high mechanical properties, flexibility, bioactive component sequestration, controlled biodegradability, remarkable biocompatibility, and inexpensiveness. Silk regulates temporo-spatial, biochemical and biophysical reactions. Extracellular biophysical factors regulate cellular destiny dynamically. This review examines the bioinspired structural and functional properties of silk material based scaffolds. We explored silk types, chemical composition, architecture, mechanical properties, topography, and 3D geometry to unlock the body’s innate regenerative potential, keeping in mind the novel biophysical properties of silk in film, fiber, and other potential forms, coupled with facile chemical changes, and its ability to match functional requirements for specific tissues.
Using Nanomaterials as Excellent Immobilisation Layer for Biosensor Design
Authors: Idris Azeez Olayiwola , Akanji Seyi Philemon , Orimolade Benjamin O. , Olorundare Foluke Omobola Grace , Azizi Shohreh , Mamba Bhekie , Maaza Malik
Published: January 2023

The endless development in nanotechnology has introduced new vitality in device fabrication including biosensor design for biomedical applications. With outstanding features like suitable biocompatibility, good electrical and thermal conductivity, wide surface area and catalytic activity, nanomaterials have been considered excellent and promising immobilisation candidates for the development of high-impact biosensors after they emerged. Owing to these reasons, the present review deals with the efficient use of nanomaterials as immobilisation candidates for biosensor fabrication. These include the implementation of carbon nanomaterials—graphene and its derivatives, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanoparticles, carbon nanodots—and MXenes, likewise their synergistic impact when merged with metal oxide nanomaterials. Furthermore, we also discuss the origin of the synthesis of some nanomaterials, the challenges associated with the use of those nanomaterials and the chemistry behind their incorporation with other materials for biosensor design. The last section covers the prospects for the development and application of the highlighted nanomaterials.