bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preparation of Dicationic Ionic Liquid Immobilized on Fe3O4@SiO2 and Evaluation of its Catalytic Efficiency in the Oxidation of Alcohols
Authors: Ebadi Amin , Vadie Sanaz , Shojaei Sanaz
Published: March 2023

A novel magnetic supported dicationic ionic liquid namely Fe3O4@SiO2⋅DIL has been prepared, and characterized by various analysis methods such as FT‐IR, TEM, SEM, XRD, EDX, EDX mapping, and TGA. Afterward, catalytic activity of the Fe3O4@SiO2⋅DIL has been examined in alcohols oxidation reaction. The resulting new nanocomposite as a heterogeneous catalyst displayed remarkable activity for the oxidation of various alcohols using H2O2 under mild reaction conditions. Eventually, the as‐prepared Fe3O4@SiO2⋅DIL catalyst was also stable and reused at least five times without losing its catalytic activity and selectivity. Magnetic recoverability of the catalyst, high yields, good compliance with green chemistry protocols and economical are some advantages of the work.
Brønsted Acid Mediated Annulation of α‐Hydroxy Amides with Cycloalkanones: Access to Double Spirocyclic Oxazolidin‐4‐ones
Authors: Laxman Rao Bachu S. V. , Mahesh Masna , Yacovan Avihai , Kumar Pillai Biju
Published: March 2023

A Brønsted acid mediated annulation of cyclic α‐hydroxy amides with cycloalkanones provide access to unusual double spirocyclic oxazolidin‐4‐one derivatives. This spirocyclization occurs in one‐pot and the overall process is highly efficient. The annulation reaction does not need metal‐catalyst. No self‐condensation of cycloalkanone occurs under acidic conditions. The synthetic technique is operationally simple and chemoselective. The transformation exhibits broad scope constructing a large array of highly functionalized complex double spirocyclic oxazolidin‐4‐one derivatives in good yields. Notably, all the reactions have been carried out in gram scale.
Double‐Walled NiTeSe–NiSe2 Nanotubes Anode for Stable and High‐Rate Sodium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Wu Han , Wang Ke , Li Mengjun , Wang Yutao , Zhu Zhu , JialeLiang  , Du Zhuzhu , Ai Wei , He Song , Yuan Ruilong , Wang Binwu , He Pan , Wu Jinsong
Published: March 2023

Electrodes made of composites with heterogeneous structure hold great potential for boosting ionic and charge transfer and accelerating electrochemical reaction kinetics. Herein, hierarchical and porous double‐walled NiTeSe–NiSe2 nanotubes are synthesized by a hydrothermal process assisted in situ selenization. Impressively, the nanotubes have abundant pores and multiple active sites, which shorten the ion diffusion length, decrease Na+ diffusion barriers, and increase the capacitance contribution ratio of the material at a high rate. Consequently, the anode shows a satisfactory initial capacity (582.5 mA h g−1 at 0.5 A g−1), a high‐rate capability, and long cycling stability (1400 cycles, 398.6 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1, 90.5% capacity retention). Moreover, the sodiation process of NiTeSe–NiSe2 double‐walled nanotubes and underlying mechanism of the enhanced performance are revealed by in situ and ex situ transmission electron microscopy and theoretical calculations.
Protein‐Precoated Surface of Metal‐Organic Framework Nanoparticles for Targeted Delivery
Authors: Oh Jun Yong , Choi Eunshil , Jana Batakrishna , Go Eun Min , Jin Eunji , Jin Seongeon , Lee Jinhyu , Bae Jong‐hoon , Yang Gyeongseok , Kwak Sang Kyu , Choe Wonyoung , Ryu Ja‐Hyoung
Published: March 2023

Metal‐organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles have recently emerged as a promising vehicle for drug delivery with high porosity and feasibility. However, employing a MOF‐based drug delivery system remains a challenge due to the difficulty in controlling interfaces of particles in a biological environment. In this paper, protein corona‐blocked Zr6‐based MOF (PCN‐224) nanoparticles are presented for targeted cancer therapy with high efficiency. The unmodified PCN‐224 surface is precoated with glutathione transferase (GST)‐fused targetable affibody (GST‐Afb) proteins via simple mixing conjugations instead of chemical modifications that can induce the impairment of proteins. GST‐Afb proteins are shown to stably protect the surface of PCN‐224 particles in a specific orientation with GST adsorbed onto the porous surface and the GST‐linked Afb posed outward, minimizing the unwanted interfacial interactions of particles with external biological proteins. The Afb‐directed cell‐specific targeting ability of particles and consequent induction of cell death is demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo by using two kinds of Afb, which targets the surface membrane receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) or epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). This study provides insight into the way of regulating the protein‐adhesive surface of MOF nanoparticles and designing a more effective MOF‐hosted targeted delivery system.
Lead Vacancy Promotes Sodium Solubility to Achieve Ultra‐High zT in Only Ternary Pb1‐xNaxTe
Authors: Lv Fangling , Zhong Yan , Zhao Xuanwei , An Xiang , Deng Qian , Gan Lin , Lin Liwei , Ang Ran
Published: March 2023

Chemical doping of sodium is an indispensable means to optimize thermoelectric properties of PbTe materials, while a bottleneck is that an aliovalent atom doping leads to spontaneous intrinsic defects in the PbTe matrix, resulting in low dopant solubility. Therefore, it is urgent to improve the doping efficiency of Na for maximizing optimization. Here, an amazing new insight that the intentionally introduced Pb vacancies can promote Na solubility in ternary Pb1‐xNaxTe is reported. Experimental analysis and theoretical calculations provide new insights into the inherent mechanism of the enhancement of Na solubility. The Pb vacancies and the resultant more dissolved Na not only synergistically optimize the carrier concentration and further facilitate the band convergence, but also induce a large number of dense dislocations in the grains. Consequently, benefiting from the self‐enhancement of Seebeck coefficient and the minimization of lattice thermal conductivity, an 18% growth is obtained for the figure of merit zT in vacancy‐containing Pb0.95Na0.04Te sample, reaching maximum zTmax ≈ 2.0 at 823 K, which achieves an ultra‐high performance in only Na‐doped ternary Pb1‐xNaxTe materials. The strategy utilized here provides a novel route to optimize PbTe materials and represents an important step forward in manipulating thermoelectrics to improve dopant solubility.
Zwitterionic Ionic Liquid as Additive for High‐Performance FAPbI3 Perovskite Solar Cells with Negligible Hysteresis
Authors: Li Xiangdong , Zou Yu , Yu Shangbo , Zhao Xin , Yu Wenjin , Yang Shuang , Guo Haoqing , Xiao Lixin , Chen Zhijian , Qu Bo
Published: March 2023

Imidazolium‐based ionic liquids have been established as promising candidates for additives in perovskite solar cells. Herein, 1‐(1‐ethyl‐3‐imidazolium)propane‐3‐sulfonate (EIMS) zwitterionic ionic liquid is studied as additive to enhance the performance of the FAPbI3 perovskite solar cells. The addition of EIMS leads to the generation of porous PbI2 film, which promotes the reaction of PbI2 with FAI solution and thus improves the quality of FAPbI3 perovskite film during the two‐step sequential spin coating. It is revealed that EIMS accelerates the extraction of electron, inhibits the formation of pinhole, and reduces the defect density, which leads to an increased efficiency of 22.1%. The hysteresis index is also reduced from 0.142 to 0.009, which indicates the addition of EIMS can realize a negligible hysteresis behavior in the solar cells. Moreover, devices prepared with EIMS retain above 96% of the original power conversion efficiency (PCE) value after being stored in dry air for 45 days. All these results demonstrate that the imidazolium‐based zwitterionic ionic liquid additive strategy is a promising way for high‐performance perovskite solar cells.
Synergistic Electric Metal (Ni SAs)‐Semiconductor (CdS NPs) Interaction for Improved H2O‐to‐H2 Conversion Performance under Simulated Sunlight
Authors: Li Wei , Dang Yanyan , Ma Tenghao , Li Jiayuan , Liao Guocheng , Gao Fanfan , Duan Wen , Wang Xuechuan , Wang Chuanyi
Published: March 2023

Single‐atom (SA) cocatalysis has obvious superiority in promoting solar‐to‐chemical energy conversion. However, easy aggregation of SAs is very unfavorable to its catalysis for high surface energy. Herein, a photoreduction procedure is adopted to immobilize Ni SAs on CdS nanoparticles (NPs) to construct the synergistic electric metal–semiconductor interaction (EMSI) for highly promoting the simulated sunlight‐driven H2O‐to‐H2 (HTH) conversion in alkaline condition (pH = 14.0) without any sacrificial agent addition, and the nanocatalyst with 1.25‰ of Ni carrying capacity (CdS–Ni1.25‰) achieves the highest HTH conversion rate (8149.71 μmol h−1 g−1, 13.0‐fold greater of that of CdS NPs) and stable photostability accompanied by 27.60% of apparent quantum yield (AQY400 nm). Characterizations and density functional theory calculations indicate that the EMSI on CdS–Ni1.25‰ nanocatalyst greatly improves the light absorption capacity and promotes the orderly bulk‐to‐surface migration of photoexcitons, effectively suppressing their recombination kinetics for higher photoexciton utilization efficiency. Under alkaline conditions, high concentration of OH− ions is easy to react with photogenerated holes to generate hydroxyl radicals for effectively inhibiting the oxidation half‐reaction and obtaining higher HTH conversion performance due to significantly reduced energy barriers on atomic Ni sites. This study provides an insight for improving the performance of a conventional photocatalyst through non‐noble metallic SAs cocatalysis.
A Multifunctional Acoustic Tweezer for Heterogenous Assembloids Patterning
Authors: Gao Zeping , Wang Shuo , Sui Yufei , Zhang Qi , Yang Ye , Huang Jiqing , Xiong Yucui , Ma Teng , Zhang Xiao , Zheng Hairong
Published: March 2023

Acoustic tweezers, capable of complicated manipulation of bioparticles by acoustic radiation forces using a noninvasive and noncontact approach, are an innovative technology for patterning assemble organoids. Hence, acoustic tweezers exhibit considerable potential for forming programmable patterning of organoids with specific spatial structures. Furthermore, heterogeneous assembloids with complex arrangement patterns can be built through sequential assembling and culturing to explore polarized tissue development or disease metastasis in multiple organs. This study focuses on the structural assembly of organoids using an ultrasonic 2D matrix array to generate real‐time switching of different acoustic fields. In addition, a local renal injured assembloid is fabricated to study and verify its application in tissue engineering and disease modeling.
AData‐DrivenAnalysis of Myocardial Tissue Contraction on Mild Transverse Aortic Constriction
Authors: Fujino Kento , Sato Tatsuyuki , Wang Yuanbo , Sugino Masato , Takeda Norihiko , Jimbo Yasuhiko , Kotani Kiyoshi
Published: March 2023

In recent years, the number of patients with heart failure (HF) has been increasing, and there is an urgent need to elucidate the mechanism and establish treatment methods. Although ejection fraction (EF) is one of the most used indices of cardiac function, some HF patients have preserved EF. Therefore, it is important to identify small changes that do not appear in indices such as EF to elucidate the mechanisms of HF and/or cardiac hypertrophy. In this study, we proposed a semi‐automatic method for extracting regions inside the ventricle for analysis. Furthermore, we proposed a data‐driven analysis method and applied it to mice with mild transverse aortic constriction (TAC) in which EF did not change much. We created a model that distinguishes the echo images of mice before and after mild TAC using bag‐of‐features and evaluated the differences in phase and position. After parameter optimization, the best models showed greater than 89% classification performance. In these models, end‐systolic phase and proximity to the ventricular boundary were found to be important in discriminating between the two types of mice. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Influence of sex in alcohol‐related liver disease: Pre‐clinical and clinical settings
Authors: Bizzaro Debora , Becchetti Chiara , Trapani Silvia , Lavezzo Bruna , Zanetto Alberto , D'Arcangelo Francesca , Merli Manuela , Lapenna Lucia , Invernizzi Federica , Taliani Gloria , Burra Patrizia ,   AISF Special Interest Group on Gender in Hepatology
Published: March 2023

Alcohol‐related liver disease (ArLD) is a major cause of chronic liver disease globally. Traditionally, ArLD was mostly a concern in men rather than in women; however, such a sex gap is rapidly narrowing due to increasing chronic alcohol consumption among women. Female sex is more vulnerable to the harmful effects of alcohol with a higher risk of progression to cirrhosis and development of associated complications. The relative risk of cirrhosis and liver‐related mortality is significantly higher in women than in men. Our review endeavors to summarize the current knowledge on sex differences in alcohol metabolism, pathogenesis of ArLD, disease progression, indication for liver transplant and pharmacological treatments of ArLD, and provide evidence in support of a sex‐specific management of these patients.
Corpus callosal reference ranges: systematic review of methodology of biometric chart construction and measurements obtained
Authors: Corroenne R. , Grevent D. , Kasprian G. , Stirnemann J. , Ville Y. , Mahallati H. , Salomon L. J.
Published: March 2023

Objective

Adequate reference ranges of size of the corpus callosum (CC) are necessary to improve characterization of CC abnormalities and parental counseling. The objective of this study was to evaluate the methodology used in studies developing references charts for CC biometry.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review of studies on fetal CC biometry using a set of predefined quality criteria of study design, statistical analysis and reporting methods. We included observational studies whose primary aim was to create ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging charts for CC size in a normal population of fetuses. Studies were scored against a predefined set of independently agreed methodological criteria, and an overall quality score was given for each study.

Results

Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Quality scores ranged between 17.4% and 95.7%. The greatest potential for bias was noted for the following items: sample selection and sample‐size calculation, as only 17% of the studies were population‐based and had consecutive or random recruitment of patients and with a justification of the sample size; number of measurements obtained for CC biometry, as only 17% of the studies performed more than one measurement per fetus and per scan; and description of characteristics of the study population, as only 8% of the studies clearly reported a minimum dataset of demographic characteristics.

Conclusions

Our review demonstrates substantial heterogeneity in methods and final biometric values of the fetal CC across the evaluated studies. The use of uniform methodology of the highest quality is essential in order to define a ‘short’ CC and provide appropriate parental counseling. © 2023 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Theranostic applications of multifunctional carbon nanomaterials
Authors: Masoudi Asil Shima , Guerrero Erick Damian , Bugarini Georgina , Cayme Joshua , De Avila Nydia , Garcia Jaime , Hernandez Adrian , Mecado Julia , Madero Yazeneth , Moncayo Frida , Olmos Rosario , Perches David , Roman Jacob , Salcido‐Padilla Diana , Sanchez Efrain , Trejo Christopher , Trevino Paulina , Nurunnabi Md , Narayan Mahesh
Published: March 2023

Nanobiotechnology is one of the leading research areas in biomedical science, developing rapidly worldwide. Among various types of nanoparticles, carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) have attracted a great deal of attention from the scientific community, especially with respect to their prospective application in the field of disease diagnosis and therapy. The unique features of these nanomaterials, including favorable size, high surface area, and electrical, structural, optical, and chemical properties, have provided an excellent opportunity for their utilization in theranostic systems. Carbon nanotubes, carbon quantum dots, graphene, and fullerene are the most employed CNMs in biomedical fields. They have been considered safe and efficient for non‐invasive diagnostic techniques such as fluorescence imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, and biosensors. Various functionalized CNMs exhibit a great capacity to improve cell targeting of anticancer drugs. Due to their thermal properties, they have been extensively used in cancer photothermal and photodynamic therapy assisted by laser irradiation and CNMs. CNMs also can cross the blood‐brain barrier and have the potential to treat various brain disorders, for instance, neurodegenerative diseases, by removing amyloid fibrils. This review has summarized and emphasized on biomedical application of CNMs and their recent advances in diagnosis and therapy.
New Design Solutions and Procedures for Ensuring Meaningful Human Control and Interaction with Autonomy: Automated Ferries in Profile
Authors: Thieme Christoph A. , Ramos Marilia A. , Holte Even A. , Johnsen Stig O. , Myklebust Thor , Smogeli Øyvind
Published: March 2023

This chapter summarizes the findings concerning the operation of automated ferries. First, a use-case on a planned passenger ferry in Norway is presented. Next, a gap analysis is carried out on the proposed solution against applicable rules. Finally, the outcome of the gap analysis is used as input for operational procedures, including decision criteria for a safety supervisor and the remote supervision center onshore and the information they need to make decisions. The results can be used when setting requirements for the infrastructure and human–machine interfaces for the safety supervisor and the remote supervision center. The outcome of this study is used in the AutoSafe project to further develop safety measures for automated passenger ferries. Additionally, gaps in the current regulations regarding the operation of automated passenger ferries are described
Conformal model for gravitational waves and dark matter: a status update
Authors: Kierkla Maciej , Karam Alexandros , Świeżewska Bogumiła
Published: March 2023

Abstract

We present an updated analysis of the first-order phase transition associated with symmetry breaking in the early Universe in a classically scale-invariant model extended with a new SU(2) gauge group. Including recent developments in understanding supercooled phase transitions, we compute all of its characteristics and significantly constrain the parameter space. We then predict gravitational wave spectra generated during this phase transition and by computing the signal-to-noise ratio we conclude that this model is well-testable (and falsifiable) with LISA. We also provide predictions for the relic dark matter abundance. It is consistent with observations in a rather narrow part of the parameter space. We strongly constrain the so-called supercool dark matter scenario based on an improved description of percolation and reheating after the phase transition as well as the inclusion of the running of couplings. Finally, we devote attention to the renormalisation-scale dependence of the results. Even though our main results are obtained with the use of renormalisation-group improved effective potential, we also perform a fixed-scale analysis which proves that the dependence on the scale is not only qualitative but also quantitative.
Light lepton portal dark matter meets the LHC
Authors: Iguro Syuhei , Okawa Shohei , Omura Yuji
Published: March 2023

Abstract

We examine the sensitivity of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to light lepton portal dark matter with its mass below 10 GeV. The model features an extra doublet scalar field and singlet Dirac dark matter, which have Yukawa interactions with left-handed leptons. To correctly produce the dark matter abundance via the thermal freeze-out, a large mass splitting among the extra scalars is required, thus providing a light neutral scalar below $$ \mathcal{O}(10)\textrm{GeV} $$
O

10

GeV
and heavy neutral and charged scalars at the electroweak scale. In this paper, we focus on the electroweak pair-production of the extra scalars with subsequent model-specific scalar decays and evaluate the current constraints with the LHC Run 2 data and the discovery potential at the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). It turns out that a large part of the theoretically allowed parameter space can be tested at the HL-LHC by taking into account complementarity between slepton searches and mono-Z plus missing transverse energy search. We also discuss same-sign charged scalar production as a unique prediction of the model, and the implication of the collider searches in the thermal dark matter scenario.
First results on QCD+QED with C* boundary conditions
Authors:   The RCstar collaboration, Bushnaq Lucius , Campos Isabel , Catillo Marco , Cotellucci Alessandro , Dale Madeleine , Fritzsch Patrick , Lücke Jens , Marinković Marina Krstić , Patella Agostino , Tantalo Nazario
Published: March 2023

Abstract

Accounting for isospin-breaking corrections is critical for achieving subpercent precision in lattice computations of hadronic observables. A way to include QED and strong-isospin-breaking corrections in lattice QCD calculations is to impose C⋆ boundary conditions in space. Here, we demonstrate the computation of a selection of meson and baryon masses on two QCD and five QCD+QED gauge ensembles in this setup, which preserves locality, gauge and translational invariance all through the calculation. The generation of the gauge ensembles is performed for two volumes, and three different values of the renormalized fine-structure constant at the U-symmetric point, corresponding to the SU(3)-symmetric QCD in the two ensembles where the electromagnetic coupling is turned off. We also present our tuning strategy and, to the extent possible, a cost analysis of the simulations with C⋆ boundary conditions.
Smearing and unsmearing KKLT AdS vacua
Authors: Graña Mariana , Kovensky Nicolas , Toulikas Dimitrios
Published: March 2023

Abstract

Gaugino condensation on D-branes wrapping internal cycles gives a mechanism to stabilize the associated moduli. According to the effective field theory, this gives rise, when combined with fluxes, to supersymmetric AdS4 solutions. In this paper we provide a ten-dimensional description of these vacua. We first find the supersymmetry equations for type II AdS4 vacua with gaugino condensates on D-branes, in the framework of generalized complex geometry. We then solve them for type IIB compactifications with gaugino condensates on smeared D7-branes. We show that supersymmetry requires a (conformal) Calabi-Yau manifold and imaginary self-dual three-form fluxes with an additional (0,3) component. The latter is proportional to the cosmological constant, whose magnitude is determined by the expectation value of the gaugino condensate and the stabilized volume of the cycle wrapped by the branes. This confirms, qualitatively and quantitatively, the results obtained using effective field theory. We find that exponential separation between the AdS and the KK scales seems possible as long as the three-form fluxes are such that their (0,3) component is exponentially suppressed. As for the localized solution, it requires going beyond SU(3)-structure internal manifolds. Nevertheless, we show that the action can be evaluated on-shell without relying on the details of such complicated configuration. We find that no “perfect square” structure occurs, and the result is divergent. We compute the four-fermion contributions, including a counterterm, needed to cancel these divergences.
Distinct roles for SOX2 and SOX21 in differentiation, distribution and maturation of pulmonary neuroendocrine cells
Authors: Eenjes Evelien , Benthem Floor , Boerema-de Munck Anne , Buscop-van Kempen Marjon , Tibboel Dick , Rottier Robbert J.
Published: March 2023

Pulmonary neuroendocrine (NE) cells represent a small population in the airway epithelium, but despite this, hyperplasia of NE cells is associated with several lung diseases, such as congenital diaphragmatic hernia and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The molecular mechanisms causing the development of NE cell hyperplasia remains poorly understood. Previously, we showed that the SOX21 modulates the SOX2-initiated differentiation of epithelial cells in the airways. Here, we show that precursor NE cells start to develop in the SOX2 + SOX21 + airway region and that SOX21 suppresses the differentiation of airway progenitors to precursor NE cells. During development, clusters of NE cells start to form and NE cells mature by expressing neuropeptide proteins, such as CGRP. Deficiency in SOX2 resulted in decreased clustering, while deficiency in SOX21 increased both the numbers of NE ASCL1 + precursor cells early in development, and the number of mature cell clusters at E18.5. In addition, at the end of gestation (E18.5), a number of NE cells in Sox2 heterozygous mice, did not yet express CGRP suggesting a delay in maturation. In conclusion, SOX2 and SOX21 function in the initiation, migration and maturation of NE cells.
Patterns of Visual Task-based Functional MRI Activation in Chronic Posterior Cerebral Artery Stroke Patients
Authors: Alkolfat Fatma , Abdel Galeel Aya , Bassiouny Ahmad R. , Eldeeb Hany , Radwan Ahmed , Ashram Yasmine A.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Stroke is a principal cause of disability worldwide. In motor stroke, the tools for stratification and prognostication are plentiful. Conversely, in stroke causing mainly visual and cognitive problems, there is still no gold standard modality to use. The purpose of this study was to explore the fMRI recruitment pattern in chronic posterior cerebral artery (PCA) stroke patients and to investigate fMRI as a biomarker of disability in these patients.

Methods

The study included 10 chronic PCA stroke patients and another 10 age-matched volunteer controls. The clinical presentation, cognitive state, and performance in visual perceptual skills battery (TVPS-3) were determined for both patients and control groups. Task-based fMRI scans were acquired while performing a passive visual task. Individual and group analyses of the fMRI scans as well as correlation analysis with the clinical and behavioral data were done.

Results

At the level of behavioral assessment there was non-selective global impairment in all visual skills subtests. On visual task-based fMRI, patients recruited more brain areas than controls. These activations were present in the ipsilesional side distributed in the ipsilesional cerebellum, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex mainly Brodmann area (BA) 9, superior parietal lobule (somatosensory associative cortex, BA 7), superior temporal gyrus (BA 22), supramarginal gyrus (BA 40), and contralesional associative visual cortex (BA 19). Spearman’s rank correlation was computed to assess the relationship between the TVPS scores and the numbers of fMRI neuronal clusters in each patient above the main control activations, there was a negative correlation between the two variables, r(10) = −0.85, p ≤ 0.001.

Conclusion

In chronic PCA stroke patients with residual visual impairments, the brain attempts to recruit more neighboring and distant functional areas for executing the impaired visual skill. This intense recruitment pattern in poorly recovering patients appears to be a sign of failed compensation. Consequently, fMRI has the potential for clinically relevant prognostic assessment in patients surviving PCA stroke; however, as this study included no longitudinal data, this potential should be further investigated in longitudinal imaging studies, with a larger cohort, and multiple time points.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Vitamin D alleviates cognitive dysfunction and brain damage induced by copper sulfate intake in experimental rats: focus on its combination with donepezil
Authors: Elseweidy Mohamed M. , Mahrous Mohamed , Ali Sousou I. , Shaheen Mohamed A. , Younis Nahla N.
Published: March 2023

This study aimed to demonstrate the potential benefits of donepezil (DPZ) and vitamin D (Vit D) in combination to counteract the neurodegenerative disorders induced by CuSO4 intake in experimental rats. Neurodegeneration (Alzheimer-like) was induced in twenty-four male Wistar albino rats by CuSO4 supplement to drinking water (10 mg/L) for 14 weeks. AD rats were divided into four groups: untreated AD group (Cu-AD) and three treated AD groups; orally treated for 4 weeks with either DPZ (10 mg/kg/day), Vit D (500 IU/kg/day), or DPZ + Vit D starting from the 10th week of CuSO4 intake. Another six rats were used as normal control (NC) group. The hippocampal tissue content of β-amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), phosphorylated Tau (p-tau), clusterin (CLU), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), caspase-9 (CAS-9), Bax, and Bcl-2 and the cortical content of acetylcholine (Ach), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. Cognitive function tests (Y-maze) and histopathology studies (hematoxylin and eosin and Congo red stains) and immunohistochemistry for neurofilament. Vit D supplementation alleviated CuSO4-induced memory deficits including significant reduction hippocampal BACE1, p-tau, CLU, CAS-9, Bax, and TNF-α and cortical AChE and MDA. Vit D remarkably increased cortical Ach, TAC, and hippocampal Bcl-2. It also improved neurobehavioral and histological abnormalities. The effects attained by Vit D treatment were better than those attained by DPZ. Furthermore, Vit D boosted the therapeutic potential of DPZ in almost all AD associated behavioral and pathological changes. Vit D is suggested as a potential therapy to retard neurodegeneration.
Toward the future of OECD/ISO biodegradability testing-new approaches and developments
Authors: Strotmann Uwe , Thouand Gerald , Pagga Udo , Gartiser Stefan , Heipieper Hermann J.
Published: March 2023

In the past decades, industrial and scientific communities have developed a complex standardized system (e.g., OECD, ISO, CEN) to evaluate the biodegradability of chemical substances. This system includes for OECD three levels of testing (ready and inherent biodegradability tests, simulation tests). It was adopted by many countries and is completely integrated into European legislation (registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of chemicals, REACH). Nevertheless, the different tests have certain deficiencies, and the question arises of how accurately these tests display the situation in the real environment and how the results can be used for predictions. This review will focus on the technical advantages and weaknesses of current tests concerning the technical setup, the inoculum characterization, and its biodegradation potential as well as the use of adequate reference compounds. A special focus of the article will be on combined test systems offering enhanced possibilities to predict biodegradation. The properties of microbial inocula are critically discussed, and a new concept concerning the biodegradation adaptation potential (BAP) of inocula is proposed. Furthermore, a probability model and different in silico QSAR (quantitative structure-activity relationships) models to predict biodegradation from chemical structures are reviewed. Another focus lies on the biodegradation of difficult single compounds and mixtures of chemicals like UVCBs (unknown or variable composition, complex reaction products, or biological materials) which will be an important challenge for the forthcoming decades.

Key points

• There are many technical points to be improved in OECD/ISO biodegradation tests

• The proper characterization of inocula is a crucial point in biodegradation tests

• Combined biodegradation test systems offer extended possibilities for biodegradation tests
The role of adjuvant pharmacotherapy with liraglutide for patients with inadequate weight loss following bariatric surgery
Authors: Colbourne James R. M. , Fisher Oliver M. , Mo Shirley , Rigas Georgia S. , Talbot Michael L.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Despite the benefits of bariatric surgery for many patients, there are a proportion of patients who do not achieve adequate weight loss. We evaluate the role of liraglutide as adjuvant pharmacotherapy in those who respond poorly to weight loss surgery.

Materials and Methods

A non-controlled, prospective, open-label cohort study in which participants are prescribed liraglutide following inadequate response to weight loss surgery. The efficacy and tolerability of liraglutide was measured through measurement of BMI and monitoring of side effect profile.

Results

A total of 68 partial responders to bariatric surgery were included in the study, 2 participants were lost to follow-up. Overall 89.7% lost weight on liraglutide, with 22.1% showing a good response (>10% total body weight loss). There were 41 patients who discontinued liraglutide mainly due to cost.

Conclusion

Liraglutide is efficacious in achieving weight loss and reasonably well tolerated in patients who have inadequate weight loss post-bariatric surgery.
Differential–algebraic systems with dissipative Hamiltonian structure
Authors: Mehrmann Volker , van der Schaft Arjan
Published: March 2023

Different representations of linear dissipative Hamiltonian and port-Hamiltonian differential–algebraic equations (DAE) systems are presented and compared. Using global geometric and algebraic points of view, translations between different representations are presented. Characterizations are also derived when a general DAE system can be transformed into one of these structured representations. Approaches for computing the structural information and the described transformations are derived that can be directly implemented as numerical methods. The results are demonstrated with a large number of examples.
Rendering massive indoor point clouds in virtual reality
Authors: Casado-Coscolla Alvaro , Sanchez-Belenguer Carlos , Wolfart Erik , Sequeira Vitor
Published: March 2023

This paper addresses the challenges of rendering massive indoor point clouds in Virtual Reality. In these kind of visualizations the point of view is never static, imposing the need of a one-shot (i.e. non-iterative) rendering strategy, in contrast with progressive refinement approaches that assume that the camera position does not change between most consecutive frames. Our approach benefits from the static nature of indoor environments to pre-compute a visibility map that enables us to boost real-time rendering performance. The key idea behind our visibility map is to exploit the cluttered topology of buildings in order to effectively cull the regions of the space that are occluded by structural elements such as walls. This does not only improve performance but also the visual quality of the final render, allowing us to display in full detail the space and preventing the user to see the contiguous spaces through the walls. Additionally, we introduce a novel hierarchical data structure that enables us to display the point cloud with a continuous level of detail with a minimal impact on performance. Experimental results show that our approach outperforms state-of-the-art techniques in complex indoor environments and achieves comparable results in outdoor ones, proving the generality of our method.
Association between periodontal diseases and COVID-19 infection: a case–control study with a longitudinal arm
Authors: Sari Aysegul , Dikmen Nursel Kaya , Nibali Luigi
Published: March 2023

Some studies have suggested potential relationships between periodontal disease and COVID-19, explained by many possible pathological pathways. The aim of this case–control study with a longitudinal arm was to investigate this association. 80 systemically healthy individuals (apart from COVID-19) were involved in this study, divided into 40 patients who had recently had COVID-19 (test, divided into severe and mild/moderate cases) and 40 who had not had COVID-19 (control). Clinical periodontal parameters and laboratory data were recorded. Mann–Whitney U test, Wilcoxon test, and chi-square test were performed to compare variables. Multiple binary logistic regression method was used to estimate adjusted ORs and 95% confidence interval. Hs-CRP-1 and 2, Ferritin-1 and 2, lymphocyte count-1 values, and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio-1 were higher in patients with severe COVID-19 than patients with mild/moderate COVID-19 (p < 0.05). All of these laboratory values significantly decreased after COVID-19 treatment (p < 0.05) in the test group. Presence of periodontitis (p = 0.015) was higher and periodontal health was lower (p = 0.002) in the test group than in the control group. All clinical periodontal parameters were significantly higher in the test group than in the control group (p < 0.05), except plaque index. Prevalence of periodontitis was associated with increased odds of having COVID-19 infection (PR = 1.34; 95% CI 0.23–2.45) in the multiple binary logistic regression. COVID-19 is associated with periodontitis prevalence, through a series of possible mechanisms including local and systemic inflammatory responses. Further studies should investigate whether the maintenance of periodontal health may be a factor in the reduction of the severity of COVID-19 infections.
Heuristics Facilitates the Evolution of Transitive Inference and Social Hierarchy in a Large Group
Authors: Doi Kazuto , Nakamaru Mayuko
Published: March 2023

Transitive inference (TI) refers to social cognition that facilitates the discernment of unknown relationships between individuals using known relationships. It is extensively reported that TI evolves in animals living in a large group because TI could assess relative rank without deducing all dyadic relationships, which averts costly fights. The relationships in a large group become so complex that social cognition may not be developed adequately to handle such complexity. If members apply TI to all possible members in the group, TI requires extremely highly developed cognitive abilities especially in a large group. Instead of developing cognitive abilities significantly, animals may apply simplified TI we call reference TI in this study as heuristic approaches. The reference TI allows members to recognize and remember social interactions only among a set of reference members rather than all potential members. Our study assumes that information processes in the reference TI comprises (1) the number of reference members based on which individuals infer transitively, (2) the number of reference members shared by the same strategists, and (3) memory capacity. We examined how information processes evolve in a large group using evolutionary simulations in the hawk–dove game. Information processes with almost any numbers of reference members could evolve in a large group as long as the numbers of shared reference member are high because information from the others’ experiences is shared. TI dominates immediate inference, which assesses relative rank on direct interactions, because TI could establish social hierarchy more rapidly applying information from others’ experiences.
Stakeholder evaluation of sustainability in a community-led wastewater treatment facility in Jakarta, Indonesia
Authors: Cecilia Shandy , Murayama Takehiko , Nishikizawa Shigeo , Suwanteep Kultip
Published: March 2023

Indonesia’s severely flawed centralized wastewater treatment system has caused economic and socioeconomic losses for decades. An alternative system has been called for under a national-scale program called Sanimas or Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), which would cater to 50–100 urban families in every intervention with urgent needs through the operation of a decentralized wastewater treatment system. Through household participation, this program features a co-production system wherein the national-level government initiates and provides initial funding until construction, after which a community-appointed social organization takes over. This study implemented a multicriteria approach to assess sustainability in Sanimas communities in Jakarta: 67 in Menteng (Central Jakarta) and At-Taubah in Koja (North Jakarta). Connected households and facility-operating committees were questioned separately for their opinions on six aspects that explained the survival of the establishment of a facility: technical, management, community participation, financial, institutional, and environmental. We found that although the facility’s excellence and overall satisfaction with the program were unanimous, Koja and Menteng showed substantial differences in management, institutional, and financial aspects, largely due to administrative policies, payment contributions, and committee commitments. Interviews revealed that periodic testing of the treated water was neglected, against the provided guidance. In conclusion, communities have come to focus more on the technical functionalities of the installation, regardless of the state of the management, which is indisputable not only in Menteng but also in Koja. Finally, we argue that although decentralized systems can substitute centralized systems, they still require stringent and adequate support in quality control and troubleshooting.
A Novel Design Eco-friendly Microwave-assisted Cu–N@CQDs Sensor for the Quantification of Eravacycline via Spectrofluorimetric Method; Application to Greenness Assessments, Dosage Form and Biological Samples
Authors: Salman Baher I.
Published: March 2023

Community-acquired pneumonia is one of the most common infectious diseases and a substantial cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Therefore eravacycline (ERV) was approved by the FDA in 2018 for the treatment of acute bacterial skin infections, GIT infections, and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia caused by susceptible bacteria. Hence, a green highly sensitive, cost-effective, fast, and selective fluorimetric approach was developed for the estimation of ERV in milk, dosage form, content uniformity, and human plasma. The selective method is based on the utilization of plum juice and copper sulphate for the synthesis of green copper and nitrogen carbon dots (Cu–N@CDs) with high quantum yield. The quantum dots' fluorescence was enhanced after the addition of ERV. The calibration range was found to be in the range 1.0 – 80.0 ng mL−1 with LOQ equal to 0.14 ng mL−1 and LOD was found to be 0.05 ng mL−1. The creative method is simple to deploy in clinical labs and therapeutic drug health monitoring system. The current approach has been bioanalytically validated using US-FDA and validated ICH criteria. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS), Zeta potential measurements, fluorescence, UV–VIS, and FTIR spectroscopy have all been used to fully characterize the Cu–N@CQDs. The Cu–N@CQDs were effectively applied in human plasma and milk samples with a high percentage of recovery ranging from 97.00 to 98.80%.
Co-Delivery of D-LAK Antimicrobial Peptide and Capreomycin as Inhaled Powder Formulation to Combat Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
Authors: Shao Zitong , Chow Michael Y. T. , Chow Shing Fung , Lam Jenny K. W.
Published: March 2023

Introduction

The emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) posed a severe challenge to tuberculosis (TB) management. The treatment of MDR-TB involves second-line anti-TB agents, most of which are injectable and highly toxic. Previous metabolomics study of the Mtb membrane revealed that two antimicrobial peptides, D-LAK120-A and D-LAK120-HP13, can potentiate the efficacy of capreomycin against mycobacteria.

Aims

As both capreomycin and peptides are not orally available, this study aimed to formulate combined formulations of capreomycin and D-LAK peptides as inhalable dry powder by spray drying.

Methods and Results

A total of 16 formulations were prepared with different levels of drug content and capreomycin to peptide ratios. A good production yield of over 60% (w/w) was achieved in most formulations. The co-spray dried particles exhibited spherical shape with a smooth surface and contained low residual moisture of below 2%. Both capreomycin and D-LAK peptides were enriched at the surface of the particles. The aerosol performance of the formulations was evaluated with Next Generation Impactor (NGI) coupled with Breezhaler®. While no significant difference was observed in terms of emitted fraction (EF) and fine particle fraction (FPF) among the different formulations, lowering the flow rate from 90 L/min to 60 L/min could reduce the impaction at the throat and improve the FPF to over 50%.

Conclusions

Overall, this study showed the feasibility of producing co-spray dried formulation of capreomycin and antimicrobial peptides for pulmonary delivery. Future study on their antibacterial effect is warranted.
Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Coronal Features: A Python Tool for Geometric Triangulation
Authors: Nisticò Giuseppe
Published: March 2023

The determination of the three-dimensional (3D) geometry of coronal features is important for understanding the magnetic structuring of the solar atmosphere. In this context, the length of a coronal loop, which is subject to standing transverse oscillations, is a crucial parameter in coronal seismology for the correct estimation of the phase speed of the wave and, consequently, of the Alfvén speed and coronal magnetic-field strength. Simultaneous space-based observations of the solar corona from different vantage points, e.g. one from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the second from the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO), have permitted the reconstruction of the geometry of coronal loops. Nisticò, Verwichte, and Nakariakov (Entropy15, 4520, 2013) proposed a method based on principal component analysis for fitting an ensemble of 3D points that sample a coronal loop. This method was shown to retrieve easily the main geometric parameters that define a loop, such as the loop axes and the loop plane. In this article, an extension of that work is presented that includes a Python tool for performing geometric triangulation of coronal features seen by two different observers.
MECInOT: a multi-access edge computing and industrial internet of things emulator for the modelling and study of cybersecurity threats
Authors: Ruiz-Villafranca Sergio , Carrillo-Mondéjar Javier , Castelo Gómez Juan Manuel , Roldán-Gómez José
Published: March 2023

In recent years, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has grown rapidly, a fact that has led to an increase in the number of cyberattacks that target this environment and the technologies that it brings together. Unfortunately, when it comes to using tools for stopping such attacks, it can be noticed that there are inherent weaknesses in this paradigm, such as limitations in computational capacity, memory and network bandwidth. Under these circumstances, the solutions used until now in conventional scenarios cannot be directly adopted by the IIoT, and so it is necessary to develop and design new ones that can effectively tackle this problem. Furthermore, these new solutions must be tested in order to verify their performance and viability, which requires testing architectures that are compatible with newly introduced IIoT topologies. With the aim of addressing these issues, this work proposes MECInOT, which is an architecture based on openLEON and capable of generating test scenarios for the IIoT environment. The performance of this architecture is validated by creating an intelligent threat detector based on tree-based algorithms, such as decision tree, random forest and other machine learning techniques. Which allows us to generate an intelligent and to demonstrate, we could generate an intelligent threat detector and demonstrate the suitability of our architecture for testing solutions in IIoT environments. In addition, by using MECInOT, we compare the performance of the different machine learning algorithms in an IIoT network. Firstly, we present the benefits of our proposal, and secondly, we describe the emulation of an IIoT environment while ensuring the repeatability of the experiments.