bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Atorvastatin Can Modulate DNA Damage Repair in Endothelial Cells Exposed to Mitomycin C
Authors: Sinitsky Maxim , Asanov Maxim , Sinitskaya Anna , Shishkova Daria , Khutornaya Maria , Minina Varvara , Ponasenko Anastasia
Published: April 2023

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) are widely used in the therapy of atherosclerosis and have a number of pleiotropic effects, including DNA repair regulation. We studied the cytogenetic damage and the expression of DNA repair genes (DDB1, ERCC4, and ERCC5) in human coronary artery (HCAEC) and internal thoracic artery endothelial cells (HITAEC) in vitro exposed to mitomycin C (MMC) (positive control), MMC and atorvastatin (MMC+Atv), MMC followed by atorvastatin treatment (MMC/Atv) and 0.9% NaCl (negative control). MMC/Atv treated HCAEC were characterized by significantly decreased micronuclei (MN) frequency compared to the MMC+Atv group and increased nucleoplasmic bridges (NPBs) frequency compared to both MMC+Atv treated cells and positive control; DDB1, ERCC4, and ERCC5 genes were upregulated in MMC+Atv and MMC/Atv treated HCAEC in comparison with the positive control. MMC+Atv treated HITAEC were characterized by reduced MN frequency compared to positive control and decreased NPBs frequency in comparison with both the positive control and MMC/Atv group. Nuclear buds (NBUDs) frequency was significantly lower in MMC/Atv treated cells than in the positive control. The DDB1 gene was downregulated in the MMC+Atv group compared to the positive control, and the ERCC5 gene was upregulated in MMC/Atv group compared to both the positive control and MMC+Atv group. We propose that atorvastatin can modulate the DNA damage repair response in primary human endothelial cells exposed to MMC in a cell line- and incubation scheme-dependent manner that can be extremely important for understanding the fundamental aspects of pleoitropic action of atorvastatin and can also be used to correct the therapy of patients with atherosclerosis characterized by a high genotoxic load.
Emoji, Text, and Sentiment Polarity Detection Using Natural Language Processing
Authors: Gupta Shelley , Singh Archana , Kumar Vivek
Published: April 2023

Virtual users generate a gigantic volume of unbalanced sentiments over various online crowd-sourcing platforms which consist of text, emojis, or a combination of both. Its accurate analysis brings profits to various industries and their services. The state-of-art detects sentiment polarity using common sense with text only. The research work proposes an emoji-based framework for cognitive–conceptual–affective computing of sentiment polarity based on the linguistic patterns of text and emojis. The proposed emoji and text-based parser articulates sentiments with proposed linguistic features along with a combination of different emojis to generate the part of speech into n-gram patterns. In this paper, the sentiments of 650 world-famous personages consisting of 1,68,548 tweets have been downloaded from across the world. The results illustrate that the proposed natural language processing framework shows that the existence of emojis in sentiments many times seems to change the overall polarity of the sentiment. By extension, the CLDR name of the emoji is utilized to evaluate the accurate polarity of emoji patterns, and a dictionary of sentiments is adopted for evaluating the polarity of text. Eventually, the performances of three ML classifiers (SVM, DT, and Naïve Bayes) are evaluated for proposed distinctive linguistic features. The robust experiments indicate that the proposed approach outperforms the SVM classifier as compared to other ML classifiers. The proposed polarity detection generator has achieved an exceptional perspective of sentiments presented in the sentence by employing the flow of concept established, based on linguistic features, polarity inversion, coordination, and discourse patterns, surpassing the performance of extant state-of-the-art approaches.
Fluid Overload in Pediatric Univentricular Patients Undergoing Fontan Completion
Authors: Luppes Victorien A. C. , Willems Ariane , Hazekamp Mark G. , Blom Nico A. , Ten Harkel Arend D. J.
Published: April 2023

Background: Fluid overload (FO) is known to occur frequently after pediatric cardiac surgery and is associated with morbidity and mortality. Fontan patients are at risk to develop FO due to their critical fluid balance. Furthermore, they need an adequate preload in order to maintain adequate cardiac output. This study aimed to identify FO in patients undergoing Fontan completion and the impact of FO on pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) length of stay (LOS) and cardiac events, defined as death, cardiac re-surgery or PICU re-hospitalization during follow-up. Methods: In this retrospective single center study, the presence of FO was assessed in 43 consecutive children undergoing Fontan completion. Results: Patients with more than 5% maximum FO had an extended PICU LOS (3.9 [2.9–6.9] vs. 1.9 [1.0–2.6] days; p < 0.001) and an increased length of mechanical ventilation (21 [9–121] vs. 6 [5–10] h; p = 0.001). Regression analysis demonstrated that an increase of 1% maximum FO was associated with a prolonged PICU LOS of 13% (95% CI 1.042–1.227; p = 0.004). Furthermore, patients with FO were at higher risk to develop cardiac events. Conclusions: FO is associated with short-term and long-term complications. Further studies are needed to determine the impact of FO on the outcome in this specific population.
Microwave-Assisted Incorporation of AgNP into Chitosan–Alginate Hydrogels for Antimicrobial Applications
Authors: Oe Takuma , Dechojarassri Duangkamol , Kakinoki Sachiro , Kawasaki Hideya , Furuike Tetsuya , Tamura Hiroshi
Published: April 2023

Herein, improving the antibacterial activity of a hydrogel system of sodium alginate (SA) and basic chitosan (CS) using sodium hydrogen carbonate by adding AgNPs was investigated. SA-coated AgNPs produced by ascorbic acid or microwave heating were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity. Unlike ascorbic acid, the microwave-assisted method produced uniform and stable SA-AgNPs with an optimal reaction time of 8 min. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the formation of SA-AgNPs with an average particle size of 9 ± 2 nm. Moreover, UV-vis spectroscopy confirmed the optimal conditions for SA-AgNP synthesis (0.5% SA, 50 mM AgNO3, and pH 9 at 80 °C). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed that the –COO− group of SA electrostatically interacted with either the Ag+ or –NH3+ of CS. Adding glucono-δ-lactone (GDL) to the mixture of SA-AgNPs/CS resulted in a low pH (below the pKa of CS). An SA-AgNPs/CS gel was formed successfully and retained its shape. This hydrogel exhibited 25 ± 2 mm and 21 ± 1 mm inhibition zones against E. coli and B. subtilis and showed low cytotoxicity. Additionally, the SA-AgNP/CS gel showed higher mechanical strength than SA/CS gels, possibly due to the higher crosslink density. In this work, a novel antibacterial hydrogel system was synthesized via 8 min of microwave heating.
Alternative Approaches to Osteoarthritis-Related Knee Pain: Transvenous Arteriovenous Malformation Embolization
Authors: Cusimano Frank A. , Czarnik Martyna , Ciuffo Nicole , Vaglica Adriana , Mitchell Christine , Ziffer Christa , Hernandez Glenys , Gentile Nicole , Watkins Anthony , Tonis Adam , Greuner David A.
Published: April 2023

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is an inflammatory joint disorder of the cartilage, joint capsule, synovium, and surrounding bone. Intraarticular inflammation induces angiogenesis leading to pain and inflammation. Research suggests a relationship between patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and venous insufficiency or contributing arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Similar to genicular artery embolization (GAE), transvenous or transmalformation cannulation and embolization offers a minimally invasive treatment modality for patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis. Case presentations: Here, we present the successful treatment of OA of the knee using direct puncture transmalformation cannulation and embolization in five patients. Direct puncture, a technique used to embolize peripheral AVMs, is a safe, less invasive method for the treatment of osteoarthritis with associated AVMs. Conclusions: For patients with OA-related knee pain and associated AVMs, the advancement of endovascular techniques offers alternative approaches to the treatment of mild to moderate OA. Direct puncture and transmalformation cannulation and embolization reduce the risk of intra- and post-operative complications, improve recovery time, and minimize operating time and operating costs. In review of the literature, this is one of the first published reports describing the use of direct puncture transvenous or transmalformation cannulation and embolization to treat OA-related pain.
Effect of Random Lateral Ballast Resistance on Force-Deformation Characteristics of CWR with a Small-Radius Curve
Authors: Wang Huan , Xing Chengwei , Deng Xiaohui
Published: April 2023

To address the randomness of lateral ballast resistance in the field and its effect on the force-deformation behavior of Continuous Welded Rail (CWR) with small-radius curves, field tests were first conducted to investigate longitudinal and lateral ballast resistance on a 250 m-radius curve. It was found that the lateral ballast resistance follows a normal distribution based on the Shapiro–Wilk test. A finite element model of a small-radius curve CWR track was then established based on actual field conditions, and the force-deformation characteristics were analyzed under thermal loading. The results showed that it is of great significance to incorporate the randomness of the lateral ballast resistance as the deformation mode is closer to the actual field situation. In particular, attention should be given to areas where the lateral ballast resistance is weak. The research presented here has significant implications for railway maintenance practice.
Side-Chain-Assisted Transition of Conjugated Polymers from a Semiconductor to Conductor and Comparison of Their NO2 Sensing Characteristics
Authors: Ahn Yejin , Hwang Sooji , Kye Hyojin , Kim Min Seon , Lee Wi Hyoung , Kim Bong-Gi
Published: April 2023

To investigate the effect of a side chain on the electrical properties of a conjugated polymer (CP), we designed two different CPs containing alkyl and ethylene glycol (EG) derivatives as side chains on the same conjugated backbone with an electron donor-acceptor (D-A) type chain configuration. PTQ-T with an alkyl side chain showed typical p-type semiconducting properties, whereas PTQ-TEG with an EG-based side chain exhibited electrically conductive behavior. Both CPs generated radical species owing to their strong D-A type conjugated structure; however, the spin density was much greater in PTQ-TEG. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that the O atoms of the EG-based side chains in PTQ-TEG were intercalated with the conjugated backbone and increased the carrier density. Upon application to a field-effect transistor sensor for PTQ-T and resistive sensor for PTQ-TEG, PTQ-TEG exhibited a better NO2 detection capability with faster signal recovery characteristics than PTQ-T. Compared with the relatively rigid alkyl side chains of PTQ-T, the flexible EG-based side chains in PTQ-TEG have a higher potential to enlarge the free volume as well as improve NO2-affinity, which promotes the diffusion of NO2 in and out of the PTQ-TEG film, and ultimately resulting in better NO2 detection capabilities.
In Situ Study of the Microstructural Evolution of Nickel-Based Alloy with High Proportional Twin Boundaries Obtained by High-Temperature Annealing
Authors: Zhang Chao , Sun Ming , Ya Ruhan , Li Lulu , Cui Jingyi , Li Zhipeng , Tian Wenhuai
Published: April 2023

In this paper, we report an in situ study regarding the microstructural evolution of a nickel-based alloy with high proportional twin boundaries by using electron backscatter diffraction techniques combined with the uniaxial tensile test. The study mainly focuses on the evolution of substructure, geometrically necessary dislocation, multiple types of grain boundaries (especially twin boundaries), and grain orientation. The results show that the Cr20Ni80 alloy can be obtained with up to 73% twin boundaries by annealing at 1100 °C for 30 min. During this deformation, dislocations preferentially accumulate near the twin boundary, and the strain also localizes at the twin boundary. With the increasing strain, dislocation interaction with grain boundaries leads to a decreasing trend of twin boundaries. However, when the strain is 0.024, the twin boundary is found to increase slightly. Meanwhile, the grain orientation gradually rotates to a stable direction and forms a Copper, S texture, and α-fiber <110>. Above all, during this deformation process, the alloy is deformed mainly by two deformation mechanisms: mechanical twinning and dislocation slip.
Antiviral Activity of Active Materials: Standard and Finger-Pad-Based Innovative Experimental Approaches
Authors: Szpiro Lea , Bourgeay Clara , Hoareau Alexandre Loic , Julien Thomas , Menard Camille , Marie Yana , Rosa-Calatrava Manuel , Moules Vincent
Published: April 2023

Environmental surfaces, including high-touch surfaces (HITS), bear a high risk of becoming fomites and can participate in viral dissemination through contact and transmission to other persons, due to the capacity of viruses to persist on such contaminated surface before being transferred to hands or other supports at sufficient concentration to initiate infection through direct contact. Interest in the development of self-decontaminating materials as additional safety measures towards preventing viral infectious disease transmission has been growing. Active materials are expected to reduce the viral charge on surfaces over time and consequently limit viral transmission capacity through direct contact. In this study, we compared antiviral activities obtained using three different experimental procedures by assessing the survival of an enveloped virus (influenza virus) and non-enveloped virus (feline calicivirus) over time on a reference surface and three active materials. Our data show that experimental test conditions can have a substantial impact of over 1 log10 on the antiviral activity of active material for the same contact period, depending on the nature of the virus. We then developed an innovative and reproducible approach based on finger-pad transfer to evaluate the antiviral activity of HITS against a murine norovirus inoculum under conditions closely reflecting real-life surface exposure.
The Use of Infrared Spectroscopy for the Quantification of Bioactive Compounds in Food: A Review
Authors: Johnson Joel B. , Walsh Kerry B. , Naiker Mani , Ameer Kashif
Published: April 2023

Infrared spectroscopy (wavelengths ranging from 750–25,000 nm) offers a rapid means of assessing the chemical composition of a wide range of sample types, both for qualitative and quantitative analyses. Its use in the food industry has increased significantly over the past five decades and it is now an accepted analytical technique for the routine analysis of certain analytes. Furthermore, it is commonly used for routine screening and quality control purposes in numerous industry settings, albeit not typically for the analysis of bioactive compounds. Using the Scopus database, a systematic search of literature of the five years between 2016 and 2020 identified 45 studies using near-infrared and 17 studies using mid-infrared spectroscopy for the quantification of bioactive compounds in food products. The most common bioactive compounds assessed were polyphenols, anthocyanins, carotenoids and ascorbic acid. Numerous factors affect the accuracy of the developed model, including the analyte class and concentration, matrix type, instrument geometry, wavelength selection and spectral processing/pre-processing methods. Additionally, only a few studies were validated on independently sourced samples. Nevertheless, the results demonstrate some promise of infrared spectroscopy for the rapid estimation of a wide range of bioactive compounds in food matrices.
SPE–UPLC–MS/MS for Determination of 36 Monomers of Alkylphenol Ethoxylates in Tea
Authors: Lin Qin , Qin Yujie , Sun Hezhi , Wang Xinru , Yang Mei , Zhang Xinzhong , Zhou Li , Luo Fengjian
Published: April 2023

Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEOs) represent a non-ionic surfactant widely used as adjuvants in pesticide formulation, which is considered to cause an endocrine-disrupting effect. In the current study, we established a detection method for the APEOs residue in tea based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) for the simultaneous analysis of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs) and octylphenol ethoxylates (OPEOs) by UPLC–MS/MS. In the spiked concentrations from 0.024 to 125.38 μg/kg for 36 monomers of APEOs (nEO = 3–20), the recoveries of APEOs range from 70.3–110.7% with RSD ≤ 16.9%, except for OPEO20 (61.8%) and NPEO20 (62.9%). The LOQs of OPEOs and NPEOs are 0.024–6.27 and 0.16–5.01 μg/kg, respectively. OPEOs and NPEOs are detected in 50 marketed tea samples with a total concentration of 0.057–12.94 and 0.30–215.89 µg/kg, respectively. The detection rate and the range of the monomers of NPEOs are generally higher than those of OPEOs. The current study provides a theoretical basis for the rational use of APEOs as adjuvants in commercial pesticide production.
Partial Least Squares, Experimental Design, and Near-Infrared Spectrophotometry for the Remote Quantification of Nitric Acid Concentration and Temperature
Authors: Sadergaski Luke R. , Irvine Sawyer B. , Andrews Hunter B.
Published: April 2023

Near-infrared spectrophotometry and partial least squares regression (PLSR) were evaluated to create a pleasantly simple yet effective approach for measuring HNO3 concentration with varying temperature levels. A training set, which covered HNO3 concentrations (0.1–8 M) and temperature (10–40 °C), was selected using a D-optimal design to minimize the number of samples required in the calibration set for PLSR analysis. The top D-optimal-selected PLSR models had root mean squared error of prediction values of 1.4% for HNO3 and 4.0% for temperature. The PLSR models built from spectra collected on static samples were validated against flow tests including HNO3 concentration and temperature gradients to test abnormal conditions (e.g., bubbles) and the model performance between sample points in the factor space. Based on cross-validation and prediction modeling statistics, the designed near-infrared absorption approach can provide remote, quantitative analysis of HNO3 concentration and temperature for production-oriented applications in facilities where laser safety challenges would inhibit the implementation of other optical techniques (e.g., Raman spectroscopy) and in which space, time, and/or resources are constrained. The experimental design approach effectively minimized the number of samples in the training set and maintained or improved PLSR model performance, which makes the described chemometric approach more amenable to nuclear field applications.
Recent Advances in the Transition-Metal-Free Synthesis of Quinazolines
Authors: Tamatam Rekha , Shin Dongyun
Published: April 2023

Quinazolines are a privileged class of nitrogen-containing heterocycles, widely present in a variety of natural products and synthetic chemicals with a broad spectrum of biological and medicinal activities. Owing to their pharmaceutical applications and promising biological value, a variety of synthetic methodologies have been reported for these scaffolds. From the perspective of green and sustainable chemistry, transition-metal-free synthesis provides an alternative method for accessing several biologically active heterocycles. In this review, we summarize the recent progress achieved in the transition-metal-free synthesis of quinazolines and we cover the literature from 2015 to 2022. This aspect is present alongside the advantages, limitations, mechanistic rationalization, and future perspectives associated with the synthetic methodologies.
A Turn-On and Colorimetric Probe Based on Isophorone Skeleton for Detecting Nerve Agent Mimic Diethyl Chlorophosphite
Authors: Yu Xue-Shuang , Zhu Mao-Mei , Zuo Rui , Peng Yu , Wang Ya-Wen
Published: April 2023

A new turn-on probe (SWJT-20) based on isophorone fluorophore for the detection of nerve agent mimic diethyl chlorophosphite (DCP) was designed and synthesized. SWJT-20 could rapidly respond to DCP within 2 s using UV-Vis or fluorescent spectra, accompanied by a significant change in the solution color under visible light or UV light, which could be observed by the naked eyes. The detection limit of SWJT-20 to DCP was as low as 8.3 nM, which is lower than those of most reported fluorescent probes for DCP detection. Additionally, SWJT-20 could quantitatively measure DCP using ratio changes in A427/A645 in absorption spectra. Furthermore, facile paper as sensors with the visualization of colorimetric/fluorometric responses based on SWJT-20 has been fabricated. Notably, this probe could detect DCP vapor through gas diffusion experiments.
Identification of Flavone Derivative Displaying a 4′-Aminophenoxy Moiety as Potential Selective Anticancer Agent in NSCLC Tumor Cells
Authors: Mobbili Giovanna , Romaldi Brenda , Sabbatini Giulia , Amici Adolfo , Marcaccio Massimo , Galeazzi Roberta , Laudadio Emiliano , Armeni Tatiana , Minnelli Cristina
Published: April 2023

Five heterocyclic derivatives were synthesized by functionalization of a flavone nucleus with an aminophenoxy moiety. Their cytotoxicity was investigated in vitro in two models of human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells (A549 and NCI-H1975) by using MTT assay and the results compared to those obtained in healthy fibroblasts as a non-malignant cell model. One of the aminophenoxy flavone derivatives (APF-1) was found to be effective at low micromolar concentrations in both lung cancer cell lines with a higher selective index (SI). Flow cytometric analyses showed that APF-1 induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase through the up-regulation of p21 expression. Therefore, the aminophenoxy flavone-based compounds may be promising cancer-selective agents and could serve as a base for further research into the design of flavone-based anticancer drugs.
Silver Nanoparticles Loaded on Chitosan-g-PVA Hydrogel for the Wound-Healing Applications
Authors: Aldakheel Fahad , Mohsen Dalia , El Sayed Marwa , Alawam Khaled , Binshaya AbdulKarim , Alduraywish Shatha
Published: April 2023

Silver nanoparticle composites have abundant biomedical applications due to their unique antibacterial properties. In the current work, green tea leaf extract was used as a natural reducing agent to synthesize AgNPs (AgNPs) using microwave irradiation technology. Furthermore, microwave irradiation has been used for the preparation of AgNPs/chitosan (Ch) grafted polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel samples. To approve the accomplishment of AgNPs hydrogel polymer, UV-spectrum, TEM, and FT-IR spectrum analyses and the release of silver ions, actions were taken. The wound-healing ability of the prepared hydrogel samples was measured via both the in vitro (fibroblast cells) and the in vivo using rat models. It was found that chitosan-grafted polyvinyl alcohol, including AgNPs, exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus using the agar diffusion method. It can be said that microwave irradiation was successful in creating a hydrogel that contained silver nanoparticles. A wound that was still open was successfully treated with these composites.
Perspective on Development of Piezoelectric Micro-Power Generators
Authors: Wang Zehuan , Liu Shiyuan , Yang Zhengbao , Dong Shuxiang
Published: April 2023

Anthropogenetic environmental deterioration and climate change caused by energy production and consumption pose a significant threat to the future of humanity. Renewable, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective energy sources are becoming increasingly important for addressing future energy demands. Mechanical power is the most common type of external energy that can be converted into useful electric power. Because of its strong electromechanical coupling ability, the piezoelectric mechanism is a far more successful technique for converting mechanics energy to electrical energy when compared to electrostatic, electromagnetic, and triboelectric transduction systems. Currently, the scientific community has maintained a strong interest in piezoelectric micro-power generators because of their great potential for powering a sensor unit in the distributed network nodes. A national network usually has a large mass of sensor units distributed in each city, and a self-powered sensor network is eagerly required. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the development of piezoelectric micro-power generators. The fundamentals of piezoelectric energy conversion, including operational modes and working mechanisms, are introduced. Current research progress in piezoelectric materials including zinc oxide, ceramics, single crystals, organics, composite, bio-inspired and foam materials are reviewed. Piezoelectric energy harvesting at the nano- and microscales, and its applications in a variety of fields such as wind, liquid flow, body movement, implantable and sensing devices are discussed. Finally, the future development of multi-field coupled, hybrid piezoelectric micropower generators and their potential applications are discussed.
Changes in Food Consumption Trends among American Adults since the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Monroe-Lord Lillie , Harrison Elgloria , Ardakani Azam , Duan Xuejling , Spechler Lily , Jeffery Tia D. , Jackson Phronie
Published: April 2023

The quality and quantity of food consumption have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we examined how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the consumption of different food groups in order to close the research gap by providing current evidence that reflects a later stage of the pandemic compared to other circulating research conducted at earlier stages. Data collection for this cross-sectional study was performed via an online Qualtrics survey from 10,050 adults aged 40–100 years. Nutritional status was measured using the 24-item short-form Dietary Screening Tool (DST) twice: before and since the COVID-19 pandemic. The DST questions were categorized based on MyPlate items, along with fat, sugar, and sweet items, as well as nutritional supplement intake. In addition, the total DST score was calculated for each participant, which categorized them into one of three groups: “at risk”, “possible risk”, and “not at risk”. The results revealed that the consumption of grains, fruit, lean protein, and dairy decreased significantly, while the consumption of fat, sugar, and sweet items increased significantly due to COVID-19. The biggest decreases in consumption of food subcategories were related to whole grain bread and cereal, followed by fruit as a snack, in comparison with other types of grain and fruit. No changes in the consumption of vegetables, processed meat, or supplement intake were seen. The total DST score showed that, before and since COVID-19, the overall nutrition status of adult Americans has been at risk. In addition, of those participants who were not at risk before COVID-19, 28.5% were either at risk or at possible risk since COVID-19; moreover, of those participants who were at possible risk before COVID-19, 21% were at risk since COVID-19. As a good nutritional status can reduce the risk of severe illness or even mortality rate in times of crisis, the findings of this study can help policymakers and health educators to develop heath-protecting behavior sessions against future pandemics to manage crises.
One-Stage Methods of Computer Vision Object Detection to Classify Carious Lesions from Smartphone Imaging
Authors: Salahin S. M. Siamus , Ullaa M. D. Shefat , Ahmed Saif , Mohammed Nabeel , Farook Taseef Hasan , Dudley James
Published: April 2023

The current study aimed to implement and validate an automation system to detect carious lesions from smartphone images using different one-stage deep learning techniques. 233 images of carious lesions were captured using a smartphone camera system at 1432 × 1375 pixels, then classified and screened according to a visual caries classification index. Following data augmentation, the YOLO v5 model for object detection was used. After training the model with 1452 images at 640 × 588 pixel resolution, which included the ones that were created via image augmentation, a discrimination experiment was performed. Diagnostic indicators such as true positive, true negative, false positive, false negative, and mean average precision were used to analyze object detection performance and segmentation of systems. YOLO v5X and YOLO v5M models achieved superior performance over the other models on the same dataset. YOLO v5X’s mAP was 0.727, precision was 0.731, and recall was 0.729, which was higher than other models of YOLO v5, which generated 64% accuracy, with YOLO v5M producing slightly inferior results. Overall mAPs of 0.70, precision of 0.712, and recall of 0.708 were achieved. Object detection through the current YOLO models was able to successfully extract and classify regions of carious lesions from smartphone photographs of in vitro tooth specimens with reasonable accuracy. YOLO v5M was better fit to detect carious microcavitations while YOLO v5X was able to detect carious changes without cavitation. No single model was capable of adequately diagnosing all classifications of carious lesions.
A Novel Electrochemical Differentiation between Exosomal-RNA of Breast Cancer MCF7 and MCF7/ADR-Resistant Cells
Authors: Abdelaziz Mohammed H. , El Sawy Ehab N. , Abdelnaser Anwar
Published: April 2023

Cancer is considered one of the most burdensome diseases affecting lives and, hence, the economy. Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. Patients with breast cancer are divided into two groups: one group responds to the chemotherapy, and the other group resists the chemotherapy. Unfortunately, the group which resists the chemotherapy is still suffering the pain associated with the severe side effects of the chemotherapy. Therefore, there is a critical need for a method to differentiate between both groups before the administration of the chemotherapy. Exosomes, the recently discovered nano-vesicles, are often used as cancer diagnostic biomarkers as their unique composition allows them to represent their parental cells, which makes them promising indicators for tumor prognosis. Exosomes contain proteins, lipids, and RNA that exist in most body fluids and are expelled by multiple cell types, including cancer cells. Furthermore, exosomal RNA has been significantly used as a promising biomarker for tumor prognosis. Herein, we have developed an electrochemical system that could successfully differentiate between MCF7 and MCF7/ADR depending on the exosomal RNA. The high sensitivity of the proposed electrochemical assay opens the door for further investigation that will address the other type of cancer cells.
Therapeutic Potential of Molecular Hydrogen in Metabolic Diseases from Bench to Bedside
Authors: Xie Fei , Song Yifei , Yi Yang , Jiang Xue , Ma Shiwen , Ma Chen , Li Junyu , Zhanghuang Ziyi , Liu Mengyu , Zhao Pengxiang , Ma Xuemei
Published: April 2023

Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation have been implicated in the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases, including diabetes mellitus (DM), metabolic syndrome (MS), fatty liver (FL), atherosclerosis (AS), and obesity. Molecular hydrogen (H2) has long been considered a physiologically inert gas. In the last two decades, accumulating evidence from pre-clinical and clinical studies has indicated that H2 may act as an antioxidant to exert therapeutic and preventive effects on various disorders, including metabolic diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying the action of H2 remain unclear. The purpose of this review was to (1) provide an overview of the current research on the potential effects of H2 on metabolic diseases; (2) discuss the possible mechanisms underlying these effects, including the canonical anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects, as well as suppression of ER stress, activation of autophagy, improvement of mitochondrial function, regulation of gut microbiota, and other possible mechanisms. The potential target molecules of H2 will also be discussed. With more high-quality clinical trials and in-depth mechanism research, it is believed that H2 will eventually be applied to clinical practice in the future, to benefit more patients with metabolic disease.
Discovery of Small-Molecule Antagonists of Orexin 1/2 Receptors from Traditional Chinese Medicinal Plants with a Hypnotic Effect
Authors: He Jia , Fang Jing , Wang Yuxin , Ge Chengyu , Liu Shao , Jiang Yueping
Published: April 2023

Insomnia is an important public health problem. The currently available treatments for insomnia can cause some adverse effects. Orexin receptors 1 (OX1R) and 2 (OX2R) are burgeoning targets for insomnia treatment. It is an effective approach to screening OX1R and OX2R antagonists from traditional Chinese medicine, which contains abundant and diverse chemical components. This study established an in-home ligand library of small-molecule compounds from medicinal plants with a definite hypnotic effect, as described in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Molecular docking was applied to virtually screen potential orexin receptor antagonists using molecular operating environment software, and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology was used to detect the binding affinity between potential active compounds and orexin receptors. Finally, the results of virtual screening and SPR analysis were verified through in vitro assays. We successfully screened one potential lead compound (neferine) as an orexin receptor antagonist from the in-home ligand library, which contained more than 1000 compounds. The screened compound was validated as a potential agent for insomnia treatment through comprehensive biological assays. This research enabled the discovery of a potential small-molecule antagonist of orexin receptors for the treatment of insomnia, providing a novel screening approach for the detection of potential candidate compounds for corresponding targets.
Advances in Protozoan Epigenetic Targets and Their Inhibitors for the Development of New Potential Drugs
Authors: Gaona-López Carlos , Vazquez-Jimenez Lenci K. , Gonzalez-Gonzalez Alonzo , Delgado-Maldonado Timoteo , Ortiz-Pérez Eyrá , Nogueda-Torres Benjamín , Moreno-Rodríguez Adriana , Vázquez Karina , Saavedra Emma , Rivera Gildardo
Published: April 2023

Protozoan parasite diseases cause significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. Factors such as climate change, extreme poverty, migration, and a lack of life opportunities lead to the propagation of diseases classified as tropical or non-endemic. Although there are several drugs to combat parasitic diseases, strains resistant to routinely used drugs have been reported. In addition, many first-line drugs have adverse effects ranging from mild to severe, including potential carcinogenic effects. Therefore, new lead compounds are needed to combat these parasites. Although little has been studied regarding the epigenetic mechanisms in lower eukaryotes, it is believed that epigenetics plays an essential role in vital aspects of the organism, from controlling the life cycle to the expression of genes involved in pathogenicity. Therefore, using epigenetic targets to combat these parasites is foreseen as an area with great potential for development. This review summarizes the main known epigenetic mechanisms and their potential as therapeutics for a group of medically important protozoal parasites. Different epigenetic mechanisms are discussed, highlighting those that can be used for drug repositioning, such as histone post-translational modifications (HPTMs). Exclusive parasite targets are also emphasized, including the base J and DNA 6 mA. These two categories have the greatest potential for developing drugs to treat or eradicate these diseases.
Phenomenology Out of Bounds? Jean-Yves Lacoste’s Phenomenology and the Presence of God
Authors: Schrijvers Joeri
Published: April 2023

This article articulates Jean-Yves Lacoste’s account of phenomenology. It does so by tracing Lacoste’s relation to Husserl. Although the influence of Heidegger on Lacoste’s thinking has been sufficiently studied, his relation to the father of phenomenology perhaps is not. The aim of this essay is to see whether Lacoste’s practice of phenomenology still qualifies as phenomenology proper or whether, as some might be inclined to think, it is an improper venturing into the terrain of theology. For this, we offer an account both of Lacoste’s conception of “theological thinking” and of the phenomenon he describes so beautifully, the presence of God in liturgical and sacramental presence. This article concludes by, perhaps, putting into parentheses some of Lacoste’s findings by pointing to Jacques Derrida’s take on Husserl’s Origin of Geometry, questioning once more the bounds and boundaries of Lacoste’s phenomenology of faith and opening avenues for further research.
Shamanic Culture’s Reconnection of Earth and Heaven (Xu Ditiantong) in the New Era in China: The Dialectical Relationship between Material Civilization and Cultural Intimacy
Authors: Liu Xiaoshuang
Published: April 2023

Shamanic culture, which adheres to the worldview of connecting earth and heaven, has been marginalized in the discourse of the modern material world and separated from mainstream society. However, with the increase in personal problems in civil society and the rise of regional cultural identity since the reform and opening up in China, shamanic practitioners have again become active. Adapting to the official ideology, shamanic culture has emerged in China as a new form of folk culture and cultural heritage. Using Michael Herzfeld’s theory of “cultural intimacy” to a limited extent, this paper regards the new image of the shamanic tradition that has appeared in the new era as a manifestation of “cultural intimacy”, which does not infringe the authority of official discourse, nor damage the interests of government departments, and is in line with the imagination of official discourse about culture. Within the shaman cultural community, the shamanic tradition continues to connect earth and heaven, helping to solve difficult personal problems, alleviating the pressure of the material world, and at the same time making the sacred expression of the members of the shaman cultural community possible. In this way, the shaman tradition, which has emerged in a new image since the new era, has maintained the ecological balance between government and folk practices and formed a more stable pattern of cooperation.
Dynamics of Forest Vegetation in an Urban Agglomeration Based on Landsat Remote Sensing Data for the Period 1990–2022: A Case Study
Authors: Yankovich Elena Petrovna , Yankovich Ksenia Stanislavovna , Baranovskiy Nikolay Viktorovich
Published: April 2023

In recent years, the vegetation cover in urban agglomerations has been changing very rapidly due to technogenic influence. Satellite images play a huge role in studying the dynamics of forest vegetation. Special programs are used to process satellite images. The purpose of the study is to analyze forest vegetation within the territory of the Tomsk agglomeration based on Landsat remote sensing data for the period from 1990 to 2022. The novelty of the study is explained by the development of a unique program code for the analysis of Landsat satellite data on the previously unexplored territory of the Tomsk agglomeration with the prospect of moving to the scale of the entire state in the future. In this study, the authors present an algorithm implemented in Python to quantify the change in the area of vegetation in an urban agglomeration using Landsat multispectral data. The tool allows you to read space images, calculate spectral indices (NDVI, UI, NDWI), and perform statistical processing of interpretation results. The created tool was applied to study the dynamics of vegetation within the Tomsk urban agglomeration during the period 1990–2022. Key findings and conclusions: (1) The non-forest areas increased from 1990 to 1999 and from 2013 to 2022. It is very likely that this is due to the deterioration of the standard of living in the country during these periods. The first time interval corresponds to the post-Soviet period and the devastation in the economy in the 1990s. The second period corresponds to the implementation and strengthening of sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation. (2) The area of territories inhabited by people has been steadily falling since 1990. This is due to the destruction of collective agriculture in the Russian Federation and the outflow of the population from the surrounding rural settlements to Tomsk and Seversk.
Novel Investigation of Higher Order Spectral Technologies for Fault Diagnosis of Motor-Based Rotating Machinery
Authors: Ciszewski Tomasz , Gelman Len , Ball Andrew , Abdullahi Abdulmumeen Onimisi , Jamabo Biebele , Ziolko Michal
Published: April 2023

In the last decade, research centered around the fault diagnosis of rotating machinery using non-contact techniques has been significantly on the rise. For the first time worldwide, innovative techniques for the diagnosis of rotating machinery, based on electrical motors, including generic, nonlinear, higher-order cross-correlations of spectral moduli of the third and fourth order (CCSM3 and CCSM4, respectively), have been comprehensively validated by modeling and experiments. The existing higher-order cross-correlations of complex spectra are not sufficiently effective for the fault diagnosis of rotating machinery. The novel technology CCSM3 was comprehensively experimentally validated for induction motor bearing diagnosis via motor current signals. Experimental results, provided by the validated technology, confirmed high overall probabilities of correct diagnosis for bearings at early stages of damage development. The novel diagnosis technologies were compared with existing diagnosis technologies, based on triple and fourth cross-correlations of the complex spectra. The comprehensive validation and comparison of the novel cross-correlation technologies confirmed an important non-traditional novel outcome: the technologies based on cross-correlations of spectral moduli were more effective for damage diagnosis than the technologies based on cross-correlations of the complex spectra. Experimental and simulation validations confirmed a high probability of correct diagnosis via the CCSM at the early stage of fault development. The average total probability of incorrect diagnosis for the CCSM3 for all experimental results of 8 tested bearings, estimated via 6528 diagnostic features, was 1.475%. The effectiveness gains in the total probability of incorrect diagnosis for the CCSM3 in comparison with the CCCS3 were 26.8 for the experimental validation and 18.9 for the simulation validation. The effectiveness gains in the Fisher criterion for the CCSM3 in comparison with the CCCS3 were 50.7 for the simulation validation and 104.7 for the experimental validation.
Motion-Based Extrinsic Sensor-to-Sensor Calibration: Effect of Reference Frame Selection for New and Existing Methods
Authors: Välimäki Tuomas , Garigipati Bharath , Ghabcheloo Reza
Published: April 2023

This paper studies the effect of reference frame selection in sensor-to-sensor extrinsic calibration when formulated as a motion-based hand–eye calibration problem. As the sensor trajectories typically contain some composition of noise, the aim is to determine which selection strategies work best under which noise conditions. Different reference selection options are tested under varying noise conditions in simulations, and the findings are validated with real data from the KITTI dataset. The study is conducted for four state-of-the-art methods, as well as two proposed cost functions for nonlinear optimization. One of the proposed cost functions incorporates outlier rejection to improve calibration performance and was shown to significantly improve performance in the presence of outliers, and either match or outperform the other algorithms in other noise conditions. However, the performance gain from reference frame selection was deemed larger than that from algorithm selection. In addition, we show that with realistic noise, the reference frame selection method commonly used in the literature, is inferior to other tested options, and that relative error metrics are not reliable for telling which method achieves best calibration performance.
Discussions on Some Key Issues of Two-Dimensional Rotational Ultrasonic Combined Electro-Machining of Composite Materials
Authors: Chen Wanwan , Zhu Yongwei , Li Jing
Published: April 2023

In order to improve the surface forming quality and machining efficiency of composite materials and reduce tool wear, a two-dimensional rotary ultrasonic combined electro-machining (2DRUEM) technology with low electrical conductivity and low current density was proposed in this study. Additionally, a gap detection unit of the machining system was designed with the integration of grinding force and gap current, and the average errors and maximum errors of the model were 5.61% and 12.08%, respectively, which were better than single detection. Furthermore, the machining parameters were optimally selected via NSGA-II, and the maximum machining surface roughness error was 5.9%, the maximum material removal rate error was 5.5%, and the maximum edge accuracy error was 8.9%, as established through experiments.
Sparse Decomposition of Heart Rate Using a Bernoulli-Gaussian Model: Application to Sleep Apnoea Detection
Authors: Muller Bruno H. , Lengellé Régis
Published: April 2023

In this paper, we propose a sparse decomposition of the heart rate during sleep with an application to apnoea–RERA detection. We observed that the tachycardia following an apnoea event has a quasi-deterministic shape with a random amplitude. Accordingly, we model the apnoea-perturbed heart rate as a Bernoulli–Gaussian (BG) process convolved with a deterministic reference signal that allows the identification of tachycardia and bradycardia events. The problem of determining the BG series indicating the presence or absence of an event and estimating its amplitude is a deconvolution problem for which sparsity is imposed. This allows an almost syntactic representation of the heart rate on which simple detection algorithms are applied.
A Localization and Mapping Algorithm Based on Improved LVI-SAM for Vehicles in Field Environments
Authors: Han Lanyi , Shi Zhiyong , Wang Huaiguang
Published: April 2023

Quickly grasping the surrounding environment’s information and the location of the vehicle is the key to achieving automatic driving. However, accurate and robust localization and mapping are still challenging for field vehicles and robots due to the characteristics of emptiness, terrain changeability, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-denied in complex field environments. In this study, an LVI-SAM-based lidar, inertial, and visual fusion using simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm was proposed to solve the problem of localization and mapping for vehicles in such open, bumpy, and Global Positioning System (GPS)-denied field environments. In this method, a joint lidar front end of pose estimation and correction was designed using the Super4PCS, Iterative Closest Point (ICP), and Normal Distributions Transform (NDT) algorithms and their variants. The algorithm can balance localization accuracy and real-time performance by carrying out lower-frequency pose correction based on higher-frequency pose estimation. Experimental results from the complex field environment show that, compared with LVI-SAM, the proposed method can reduce the translational error of localization by about 4.7% and create a three-dimensional point cloud map of the environment in real time, realizing the high-precision and high-robustness localization and mapping of the vehicle in complex field environments.