bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Minoxidil-Coated Lysozyme-Shelled Microbubbes Combined With Ultrasound for the Enhancement of Hair Follicle Growth: Efficacy In Vitro and In Vivo
Authors: Liao Ai-Ho , Huang Yu-Jhen , Chuang Ho-Chiao , Wang Chih-Hung , Shih Cheng-Ping , Chiang Chien-Ping
Published: April 2021

Lysozyme (Lyz) is an antimicrobial peptide, a safe adjunct, and it has been indicated that Lyz can promote vibrissae follicle growth by enhancing the hair-inductive capacity of dermal papilla cells in mice. The present study produced a new type of minoxidil (Mx)-coated antifungal Lyz-shelled microbubble (LyzMB) for inhibiting bacteria and allergies on the oily scalp. The potential of Mx-coated LyzMBs (Mx-LyzMBs) combined with ultrasound (US) and the role of LyzMB fragments in enhancing hair follicle growth were investigated. Mx grafted with LyzMBs were synthesized and the loading efficiency of Mx on cationic LyzMBs was 20.3%. The biological activity of Lyz in skin was determined using an activity assay kit and immunohistochemistry expression, and the activities in the US+Mx-LyzMBs group were 65.8 and 118.5 μU/mL at 6 and 18 h, respectively. In hair follicle cell culture experiments, the lengths of hair follicle cells were significantly enhanced in the US+Mx-LyzMBs group (108.2 ± 11.6 μm) compared to in the US+LyzMBs+Mx group (44.3 ± 9.8 μm) and the group with Mx alone (79.6 ± 12.0 μm) on day 2 (p < 0.001). During 21 days of treatment in animal experiments, the growth rates at days 10 and 14 in the US+Mx-LyzMBs group increased by 19.4 and 65.7%, respectively, and there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the US+Mx-LyzMBs group and the other four groups. These findings indicate that 1-MHz US (applied at 3 W/cm2, acoustic pressure = 0.266 MPa) for 1 min combined with Mx-LyzMBs can significantly increase more penetration of Mx and LyzMB fragments into skin and enhance hair growth than Mx alone.
Proteomics and Machine Learning Approaches Reveal a Set of Prognostic Markers for COVID-19 Severity With Drug Repurposing Potential
Authors: Suvarna Kruthi , Biswas Deeptarup , Pai Medha Gayathri J. , Acharjee Arup , Bankar Renuka , Palanivel Viswanthram , Salkar Akanksha , Verma Ayushi , Mukherjee Amrita , Choudhury Manisha , Ghantasala Saicharan , Ghosh Susmita , Singh Avinash , Banerjee Arghya , Badaya Apoorva , Bihani Surbhi , Loya Gaurish , Mantri Krishi , Burli Ananya , Roy Jyotirmoy , Srivastava Alisha , Agrawal Sachee , Shrivastav Om , Shastri Jayanthi , Srivastava Sanjeeva
Published: April 2021

The pestilential pathogen SARS-CoV-2 has led to a seemingly ceaseless pandemic of COVID-19. The healthcare sector is under a tremendous burden, thus necessitating the prognosis of COVID-19 severity. This in-depth study of plasma proteome alteration provides insights into the host physiological response towards the infection and also reveals the potential prognostic markers of the disease. Using label-free quantitative proteomics, we performed deep plasma proteome analysis in a cohort of 71 patients (20 COVID-19 negative, 18 COVID-19 non-severe, and 33 severe) to understand the disease dynamics. Of the 1200 proteins detected in the patient plasma, 38 proteins were identified to be differentially expressed between non-severe and severe groups. The altered plasma proteome revealed significant dysregulation in the pathways related to peptidase activity, regulated exocytosis, blood coagulation, complement activation, leukocyte activation involved in immune response, and response to glucocorticoid biological processes in severe cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, we employed supervised machine learning (ML) approaches using a linear support vector machine model to identify the classifiers of patients with non-severe and severe COVID-19. The model used a selected panel of 20 proteins and classified the samples based on the severity with a classification accuracy of 0.84. Putative biomarkers such as angiotensinogen and SERPING1 and ML-derived classifiers including the apolipoprotein B, SERPINA3, and fibrinogen gamma chain were validated by targeted mass spectrometry-based multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) assays. We also employed an in silico screening approach against the identified target proteins for the therapeutic management of COVID-19. We shortlisted two FDA-approved drugs, namely, selinexor and ponatinib, which showed the potential of being repurposed for COVID-19 therapeutics. Overall, this is the first most comprehensive plasma proteome investigation of COVID-19 patients from the Indian population, and provides a set of potential biomarkers for the disease severity progression and targets for therapeutic interventions.
Arabidopsis Carboxylesterase 20 Binds Strigolactone and Increases Branches and Tillers When Ectopically Expressed in Arabidopsis and Maize
Authors: Roesler Keith , Lu Cheng , Thomas Jill , Xu Qingzhang , Vance Peter , Hou Zhenglin , Williams Robert W. , Liu Lu , Owens Michaela A. , Habben Jeffrey E.
Published: April 2021

Severe drought stress can delay maize silk emergence relative to the pollen shedding period, resulting in poor fertilization and reduced grain yield. Methods to minimize the delay in silking could thus improve yield stability. An Arabidopsis enhancer-tagged carboxylesterase 20 (AtCXE20) line was identified in a drought tolerance screen. Ectopic expression of AtCXE20 in Arabidopsis and maize resulted in phenotypes characteristic of strigolactone (SL)-deficient mutants, including increased branching and tillering, decreased plant height, delayed senescence, hyposensitivity to ethylene, and reduced flavonols. Maize silk growth was increased by AtCXE20 overexpression, and this phenotype was partially complemented by exogenous SL treatments. In drought conditions, the transgenic maize plants silked earlier than controls and had decreased anthesis-silking intervals. The purified recombinant AtCXE20 protein bound SL in vitro, as indicated by SL inhibiting AtCXE20 esterase activity and altering AtCXE20 intrinsic fluorescence. Homology modeling of the AtCXE20 three-dimensional (3D) protein structure revealed a large hydrophobic binding pocket capable of accommodating, but not hydrolyzing SLs. The AtCXE20 protein concentration in transgenic maize tissues was determined by mass spectrometry to be in the micromolar range, well-above known endogenous SL concentrations. These results best support a mechanism where ectopic expression of AtCXE20 with a strong promoter effectively lowers the concentration of free SL by sequestration. This study revealed an agriculturally important role for SL in maize silk growth and provided a new approach for altering SL levels in plants.
The Nurse or Midwife at the Crossroads of Caring for Patients With Suicidal and Rigid Religious Ideations in Africa
Authors: Aziato Lydia , Pwavra Joyce B. P. , Paarima Yennuten , Konlan Kennedy Dodam
Published: April 2021

Nurses and midwives are the majority of healthcare professionals globally, including Africa, and they provide care at all levels of the health system including community levels. Nurses and midwives contribute to the care of patients with rigid or dogmatic religious beliefs or those with suicidal ideations. This review paper discusses acute and chronic diseases that have suicidal tendencies such as terminal cancer, diseases with excruciating pain, physical disability, stroke, end-stage renal failure, and diabetics who are amputated. It was reiterated that nurses and midwives taking care of these patients should be alert and observant to identify their suicidal tendencies. The paper also discusses religious or spiritual inclinations that negatively affect healthcare access and adherence, especially to biomedical or western medicine. It was emphasized that some religious beliefs do not allow their followers to employ biomedical treatment and nurses and midwives should not impose their faith on patients and their families. The paper ends with a discussion on the specific roles of nurses and midwives in the care of patients with suicidal ideations such as assessment, counseling, administering medication, observation, social interaction, ensuring safety measures, and providing an enabling environment for the family to part of the care and for the observation of religious coping strategies. Nurses and midwives should enhance their knowledge and skills on suicide and increase public education on suicide prevention and identification of those at risk.
The Effects of TIME-IN on Emotion Regulation, Externalizing, and Internalizing Problems in Promoting School Readiness
Authors: Weymeis Henk , Van Leeuwen Karla , Braet Caroline
Published: April 2021

Children’s readiness for school is often threatened by the occurrence of both externalizing and internalizing problems. Previous research has shown that Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is particularly effective for fostering children’s behavioral skills and reducing externalizing problems. However, whether PBIS can enhance children’s emotional skills and reduce internalizing problems is less clear. Therefore, TIME-IN was developed, which extends PBIS by also including emotional support systems. It was tested whether TIME-IN was effective for (a) improving emotion regulation and (b) reducing depressive symptoms. Furthermore, it was tentatively explored whether TIME-IN is accompanied by more than natural fluctuations in both children’s externalizing and internalizing problems. The effectiveness of TIME-IN was evaluated in a non-randomized study, in which an intervention group was compared with a matched control group. Both research questions were addressed in a sample consisting of 81 children between 8 and 12 years of age with special educational needs. Questionnaires for teachers (i.e., TRF), children (i.e., FEEL-KJ and CDI), and their parents (i.e., CBCL) were administered at the beginning (T0) and the end of the school year (T1) using multi-informant assessment. Only indicative evidence was found for the hypothesis that TIME-IN improved children’s emotion regulation. Practical implications, strengths, and limitations were discussed.

Clinical Trial Registration:This work was retrospectively registered at International Standard Registered Clinical/soCial sTudy Number (ISRCTN) registry ISRCTN54456609 (Weymeis, 2017). Registered 28 March 2017.
The Layered Syntactic Structure of the Complementizer System: Functional Heads and Multiple Movements in the Early Left-Periphery. A Corpus Study on Italian
Authors: Moscati Vincenzo , Rizzi Luigi
Published: April 2021

In this paper we document the developmental trajectory of the complementizer system (CP-system) in Italian by looking at the earliest spontaneous production of eleven young children, whose transcriptions are available on CHILDES. We conducted a novel corpus analysis, tracking down a number of constructions in which the clausal left-periphery is activated. First, we considered the appearance of the different complementizer particles in the CP-system, which overtly realize the three distinct functional projections ForceP, IntP, and FinP. The analysis revealed that children acquiring Italian correctly use these complementizer particles already in the third year of life. Second, we looked for the simultaneous activation of different functional projections within the CP-system. We went through our corpus searching for complex sentences in which more than one constituent was moved to the left periphery. This option is allowed by the adult grammar of Italian and, as our search revealed, it is also attested in the grammar of young children. Soon after their second birthday, sequences in which a left-dislocated Topic and a Wh- element co-occur are attested, directly supporting the existence of a (high) Topic position above FocusP. Moreover, movement in general conforms to the constraints of the adult grammar, with no attested violation of obligatory inversion (a consequence of the Q-Criterion). Importantly, “why-questions” did not require inversion, much as in the adult grammar of Italian. Taken together, children's use of complementizer particles and their activation of multiple landing sites for movement show that 2-year-olds already possess a richly articulated functional structure of the CP-system, aligned to the layered adult structure. In concluding the paper, we also discuss some temporal differences between constructions activating high and low portions of the CP-system. In particular, we detect a temporal precedence for wh-questions over why-questions. Since the former activate a lower projection, this is consistent with the recently proposedGrowing Treeshypothesis, according to which the development of the CP-system proceeds stepwise.
Changes in Vitamin A Levels and the Effect of Early Vitamin A Supplementation on Vitamin A Levels in Infants Throughout the First 6 Months of Life: A Prospective Cohort Study in Chongqing, China
Authors: Liu Huan , Chen Qixiong , Yu Linchao , Yang Ting , Chen Jie , Miao Jingkun , Li Tingyu
Published: April 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the changes in infant vitamin A (VA) status and the effect of early VA supplementation on VA level throughout the first 6 months of life.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in Chongqing, China. A total of 1,016 healthy infants were enrolled at birth. Then, 930, 882, 854 and 822 healthy infants were followed up at postnatal day 7 and postnatal months 1, 3, and 6, respectively. Blood samples and dietary survey and physical development data were collected. Serum VA was measured by chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry and was classified according to the VA deficiency (VAD) criteria for older children aged 6–70 months (<0.70, 0.70–1.05, ≥1.05 μmol/L). Normally distributed continuous variables are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. The categorical variables are described by the frequency and percentage (%). The reference interval for the VA level was the 2.5th−97.5th percentile. Changes in VA status with age and the relationship of VA supplementation with VA level were investigated by generalized estimating equations followed by Bonferroni post hoc test, controlling for the effects of feeding pattern and sex.

Results: Infant VA levels increased significantly from 0.499 ± 0.146 to 1.061 ± 0.414 μmol/L with age at 6 months, even without VA supplementation (P < 0.05). From birth to 6 months, the percentage of infants with a VA level <0.70 μmol/L decreased from 88.6 to 19.5%. During follow-up, no infant demonstrated clinical VAD conditions, such as night blindness, conjunctival xerosis or Bitot's spots. Less than 7.0% of infants were underdeveloped in terms of weight, length and head circumference. The VA status of infants with VA≥0.588 μmol/L at birth gradually increased to adequate VA (VA ≥ 1.05 μmol/L) at 6 months. For these infants, there was no significant difference in VA level between the VA supplementation and non-supplementation groups (P > 0.05). Infants with VA <0.430 μmol/L at birth still had VA <0.70 μmol/L at 6 months; in this group, VA levels increased by 0.08 μmol/L more among supplemented infants than among non-supplemented infants (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: A low VA level among neonates at birth may be a normal physiological state and may increase with age; thus, not all neonates may need early VA supplementation. More multicenter studies are needed to determine a new cutoff point for the diagnosis of neonatal VAD and the administration of nutritional intervention.
A Muscle-First, Electromechanical Hybrid Gait Restoration System in People With Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Nandor Mark , Kobetic Rudi , Audu Musa , Triolo Ron , Quinn Roger
Published: April 2021

The development of a hybrid system for people with spinal cord injuries is described. The system includes implanted neural stimulation to activate the user's otherwise paralyzed muscles, an exoskeleton with electromechanical actuators at the hips and knees, and a sensory and control system that integrates both components. We are using a muscle-first approach: The person's muscles are the primary motivator for his/her joints and the motors provide power assistance. This design philosophy led to the development of high efficiency, low friction joint actuators, and feed-forward, burst-torque control. The system was tested with two participants with spinal cord injury (SCI) and unique implanted stimulation systems. Torque burst addition was found to increase gait speed. The system was found to satisfy the main design requirements as laid out at the outset.
PROMETHEE-SAPEVO-M1 a Hybrid Approach Based on Ordinal and Cardinal Inputs: Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Helicopters to Support Brazilian Navy Operations
Authors: Moreira Miguel Ângelo Lellis , de Araújo Costa Igor Pinheiro , Pereira Maria Teresa , dos Santos Marcos , Gomes Carlos Francisco Simões , Muradas Fernando Martins
Published: April 2021

This paper presents a new approach based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), named PROMETHEE-SAPEVO-M1, through its implementation and feasibility related to the decision-making process regarding the evaluation of helicopters of attack of the Brazilian Navy. The proposed methodology aims to present an integration of ordinal evaluation into the cardinal procedure from the PROMETHEE method, enabling to perform qualitative and quantitative data and generate the criteria weights by pairwise evaluation, transparently. The modeling provides three models of preference analysis, as partial, complete, and outranking by intervals, along with an intra-criterion analysis by veto threshold, enabling the analysis of the performance of an alternative in a specific criterion. As a demonstration of the application, is carried out a case study by the PROMETHEE-SAPEVO-M1 web platform, addressing a strategic analysis of attack helicopters to be acquired by the Brazilian Navy, from the need to be evaluating multiple specifications with different levels of importance within the context problem. The modeling implementation in the case study is made in detail, first performing the alternatives in each criterion and then presenting the results by three different models of preference analysis, along with the intra-criterion analysis and a rank reversal procedure. Moreover, is realized a comparison analysis to the PROMETHEE method, exploring the main features of the PROMETHEE-SAPEVO-M1. Moreover, a section of discussion is presented, exposing some features and main points of the proposal. Therefore, this paper provides a valuable contribution to academia and society since it represents the application of an MCDA method in the state of the art, contributing to the decision-making resolution of the most diverse real problems.
The Impact of Entrepreneurial Passion on the Entrepreneurial Intention; Moderating Impact of Perception of University Support
Authors: Anjum Temoor , Heidler Petra , Amoozegar Azadeh , Anees Rao Tahir
Published: April 2021

Passion is fundamental to starting a business because it stimulates motivation, improves intellectual activity, and provides meaning for daily work. This research investigates the role of entrepreneurial passion as a prelude to entrepreneurial intention. The theory of planned behavior was used as an underpinning theory. A conceptual framework was developed and tested to determine their contributions to entrepreneurial intentions. The correlation between entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial intentions is moderated by perception of university support to determine if it enhances the entrepreneurial intention to become a successful entrepreneur. The sample (N = 395) was identified using a convenience sampling technique and is comprised of university business students in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. The questionnaire comprised two sections used for data collection, and Smart-PLS was used to analyze the hypotheses. The findings have indicated that there is a strong positive relationship between entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial intentions. The analysis showed that the concept of university support alleviates the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial intention. The moderation effect of perception of university support on the association between entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial intention was recognized in this study. Thus, it called for exploring this moderating effect from other perspectives. As an implication to policy, the government bodies should ensure students have access to an entrepreneurial atmosphere. Specifically, the ministry of education and HEC Pakistan could consider this for the design of university syllabuses, thereby leading to more impactful education of entrepreneurship.
Classification of Amanita Species Based on Bilinear Networks with Attention Mechanism
Authors: Wang Peng , Liu Jiang , Xu Lijia , Huang Peng , Luo Xiong , Hu Yan , Kang Zhiliang
Published: April 2021

The accurate classification of Amanita is helpful to its research on biological control and medical value, and it can also prevent mushroom poisoning incidents. In this paper, we constructed the Bilinear convolutional neural networks (B-CNN) with attention mechanism model based on transfer learning to realize the classification of Amanita. When the model is trained, the weight on ImageNet is used for pre-training, and the Adam optimizer is used to update network parameters. In the test process, images of Amanita at different growth stages were used to further test the generalization ability of the model. After comparing our model with other models, the results show that our model greatly reduces the number of parameters while achieving high accuracy (95.2%) and has good generalization ability. It is an efficient classification model, which provides a new option for mushroom classification in areas with limited computing resources.
Productive and Ecological Aspects of Mixed Cropping System
Authors: Wenda-Piesik Anna , Synowiec Agnieszka
Published: April 2021

Mixed cropping, also known as inter-cropping, polyculture, or co-cultivation, is a type of plant production system that involves planting two or more species (or cultivars) simultaneously in the same field in a variable order (row or rowless) [...]
Blue-Green Algae (Spirulina platensis) Alleviates the Negative Impact of Heat Stress on Broiler Production Performance and Redox Status
Authors: Moustafa Eman S. , Alsanie Walaa F. , Gaber Ahmed , Kamel Nancy N. , Alaqil Abdulaziz A. , Abbas Ahmed O.
Published: April 2021

The modern broiler industry faces huge challenges to keep high production quality and quantity, especially under environmental heat stress conditions. The negative effect of heat stress on broiler productivity is mediated by oxidative stress induction. The blue-green alga (Spirulina platensis) has many applications in poultry nutrition with the high levels of bioactive antioxidant compounds, which can alleviate the oxidative stress damage induced by high ambient temperature. The current study was designed to investigate the effects of dietary Spirulina inclusion at different levels on growth performance, redox status, carcass traits, meat quality, blood hematology, and metabolites profile of broilers subjected to cyclic heat stress. A total of 300 one-day-old Cobb-500 broiler chicks were recruited. Starting from day 21 to 42 of age, birds were randomly divided into five treatment groups with 6 replicates × 10 birds per group, where the first one was provided with the basal diet and reared under normal thermal conditions (23 ± 1 °C) to serve as a negative control. Meanwhile, the other four groups were exposed to cyclic heat stress (34 ± 1 °C for 8 h per day) and were fed a basal diet supplemented with Spirulina at a concentration of 0, 0.5, 1 or 1.5%. Spirulina supplementation to heat-stressed broilers was able to alleviate the negative impacts of heat stress on the final average daily gain, body weight and feed conversion ratio, with the best impact observed among the chickens fed 1% Spirulina. Hematological results indicate increasing hemoglobin and hematocrit levels with Spirulina supplementation compared to the non-supplemented stressed group. Further, Spirulina supplementation significantly influenced blood lipid metabolites marked by reduced serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. The lipid peroxidation level was reduced (p < 0.05), while the antioxidant enzyme activity was increased with Spirulina supplementation to the heat-stressed group. Spirulina supplementation at 0.5 or 1% improved carcass dressing, breast and leg percentages. It can be concluded that dietary Spirulina supplementation at 0.5 or 1% to broiler reared under heat stress conditions can effectively improve broiler production performance and balance the redox status.
Antioxidation Defenses of Apis mellifera Queens and Workers Respond to Imidacloprid in Different Age-Dependent Ways: Old Queens Are Resistant, Foragers Are Not
Authors: Paleolog Jerzy , Wilde Jerzy , Miszczak Artur , Gancarz Marek , Strachecka Aneta
Published: April 2021

We investigated how different antioxidant defenses (ADSs) were shaped by evolution in young/old Apis mellifera workers and queens to broaden the limited knowledge on whether ADSs are effective in contemporary pesticide environments and to complete bee oxidative-aging theory. We acquired 1-day-old, 20-day-old, and 2-year-old queens and 1-day-old and 20-day-old workers (foragers) fed 0, 5, or 200 ppb imidacloprid, a pesticide oxidative stressor. The activities of catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase and the level of total antioxidant potential were determined in hemolymph. The ADS was upregulated in workers with age but downregulated in queens. Imidacloprid suppressed the ADS in all workers, particularly in foragers with an upregulated ADS, but it did not affect the ADS in 1-day-old queens. In contrast to foragers, the downregulated ADS of 2-year-old queens was unexpectedly highly upregulated by imidacloprid, which has not been previously shown in such old queens. The principal component analysis confirmed that queen and worker ADSs responded to imidacloprid in opposite ways, and ADS of 2-year-queens was markedly different from those of others. Thus, evolutionary shaped ADSs of older queens and workers may be of the limited use for foragers dwelling in pesticide ecosystems, but not for old queens.
Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger Co-Cultivation Extract Affects In Vitro Degradation, Fermentation Characteristics, and Bacterial Composition in a Diet-Specific Manner
Authors: Kong Fanlin , Lu Na , Liu Yanfang , Zhang Shu , Jiang Hongqin , Wang Haomin , Wang Wei , Li Shengli
Published: April 2021

AOAN may provide enzymes to improve the digestibility of feeds and enhance rumen fermentation. This study determined the effects of AOAN on digestibility, fermentation characteristics, and bacterial composition using in vitro gas recording fermentation system. A total of 30 mg of AOAN was supplemented into 500 mg of TMR, corn silage, oat hay, and alfalfa hay. Fermentation parameters and bacterial communities were determined after 48 h fermentation, and digestibility was determined after 7, 24, 30, and 48 h fermentation. Gas production and dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) digestibility were significantly increased by AOAN supplementation at 48 h (p < 0.05), except for digestibility of CP of the TMR (p > 0.05). AOAN increased starch digestibility in corn silage (p < 0.05) and tended to increase that in TMR (0.05 < p < 0.10). AOAN supplementation increased total volatile fatty acid production (p < 0.05). The molar proportions of acetate and acetate to propionate ratio of oat hay and alfalfa hay were increased (p < 0.05). The 16S rRNA analysis revealed that the microbial richness of TMR and oat hay, and microbial evenness of TMR were increased (p < 0.05). AOAN did not affect the α diversity, β diversity, and bacterial composition of the corn silage. The relative abundance of Prevotella was increased and Ruminococcus was decreased in TMR, oat hay, and alfalfa hay. In conclusion, results suggest that AOAN has the potential to improve the utilization of diets differently, including providing enzymes with changing microbiota (TMR, oat hay, and alfalfa hay) or providing enzymes alone (corn silage).
Microencapsulation of Anthocyanins—Critical Review of Techniques and Wall Materials
Authors: Mohammadalinejhad Samira , Kurek Marcin Andrzej
Published: April 2021

Anthocyanins are value-added food ingredients that have health-promoting impacts and biological functionalities. Nevertheless, there are technological barriers to their application in the food industry, mainly because of their poor stability and susceptibility to harsh environmental conditions, such as oxygen, temperature, pH, and light, which could profoundly influence the final food product′s physicochemical properties. Microencapsulation technology is extensively investigated to enhance stability, bioaccessibility, and impart controlled release properties. There are many varieties of microencapsulation methods and diverse types of wall materials. However, choosing a proper approach involves considering the processing parameters, equipment availability, and application purposes. The present review thoroughly scrutinizes anthocyanins′ chemical structure, principles, benefits, and drawbacks of different microencapsulation methods, including spray drying, freeze drying, electrospinning/electrospraying, inclusion complexes, emulsification, liposomal systems, ionic gelation, and coacervation. Furthermore, wall materials applied in different techniques plus parameters that affect the powders′ encapsulation efficiency and physicochemical properties are discussed. Future studies should focus on various processing parameters and the combination of different techniques and applications regarding microencapsulated anthocyanins in functional foods to assess their stability, efficiency, and commercialization potentials.
A Survey of Low-Cost 3D Laser Scanning Technology
Authors: Bi Shusheng , Yuan Chang , Liu Chang , Cheng Jun , Wang Wei , Cai Yueri
Published: April 2021

By moving a commercial 2D LiDAR, 3D maps of the environment can be built, based on the data of a 2D LiDAR and its movements. Compared to a commercial 3D LiDAR, a moving 2D LiDAR is more economical. A series of problems need to be solved in order for a moving 2D LiDAR to perform better, among them, improving accuracy and real-time performance. In order to solve these problems, estimating the movements of a 2D LiDAR, and identifying and removing moving objects in the environment, are issues that should be studied. More specifically, calibrating the installation error between the 2D LiDAR and the moving unit, the movement estimation of the moving unit, and identifying moving objects at low scanning frequencies, are involved. As actual applications are mostly dynamic, and in these applications, a moving 2D LiDAR moves between multiple moving objects, we believe that, for a moving 2D LiDAR, how to accurately construct 3D maps in dynamic environments will be an important future research topic. Moreover, how to deal with moving objects in a dynamic environment via a moving 2D LiDAR has not been solved by previous research.
Impact of Encouraging Vehicles to Refuel at Night on Ozone and Non-Methane Hydrocarbons (NMHCs): A Case Study in Ji’nan, China
Authors: Chai Wenxuan , Shi Yaolong , Hu Kun , Hou Yujing , Liang Siyuan , Chen Wentai , Wang Ming , Tang Guigang
Published: April 2021

Gasoline evaporation is a potential source of ambient non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) during summer, and thus the policy of encouraging vehicles to refuel at night has been implemented to control ground-level ozone (O3) and NMHCs. In this study, NMHCs and trace gases were observed online at an urban site of Ji’nan during May–July in 2019 and 2020 to assess the impact of this policy. After the implementation of this policy, the average concentration of daily maximum 8 h moving average O3 decreased from 198 μg/m3 to 181 μg/m3. Meanwhile, the average mixing ratio of NMHCs decreased from 19.89 ppbv to 18.02 ppbv. Sources of NMHCs were then apportioned using the positive matrix factorization model. Four factors were resolved and identified, including vehicle exhaust, paint and solvents usage, gasoline evaporation, and biogenic emission. Relative contributions of these four sources were 52.5%, 20.6%, 18.3%, and 8.6%, respectively. After the implementation of this policy, relative contributions of gasoline evaporation in 1:00–4:00 increased from 20.2–22.7% to 25.4–28.2%, while those for 16:00–18:00 decreased from 16.8–18.7% to 13.9–15.7%. The non-linear relationship of O3 with NMHCs and NOx was investigated using a box model based on observations. Results suggest that O3 production was mainly controlled by NMHCs. Aromatics and alkenes were the key NMHC species in O3 formation. Furthermore, two scenarios of encouraging vehicles to refuel at night were designed to evaluate their impact on O3. The relative decreases of O3 peak concentrations were lower than 1%, indicating that this policy had a limited impact on O3 during the observation period.
Neural Processing of Cognitive Control in an Emotionally Neutral Context in Anxiety Patients
Authors: König Nicola , Steber Sarah , Borowski Anna , Bliem Harald , Rossi Sonja
Published: April 2021

Impaired cognitive control plays a crucial role in anxiety disorders and is associated with deficient neural mechanisms in the fronto-parietal network. Usually, these deficits were found in tasks with an emotional context. The present study aimed at investigating electrophysiological and vascular signatures from event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in anxiety patients versus healthy controls during an inhibition task integrated in an emotionally neutral context. Neural markers were acquired during the completion of a classical Eriksen flanker task. The focus of data analysis has been the ERPs N200 and P300 and fNIRS activations in addition to task performance. No behavioral or neural group differences were identified. ERP findings showed a larger N2pc and a delayed and reduced P300 for incongruent stimuli. The N2pc modulation suggests the reorienting of attention to salient stimuli, while the P300 indicates longer lasting stimulus evaluation processes due to increased task difficulty. FNIRS did not result in any significant activation potentially suggesting a contribution from deeper brain areas not measurable with fNIRS. The missing group difference in our non-emotional task indicates that no generalized cognitive control deficit but rather a more emotionally driven deficit is present in anxiety patients.
Role of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Cervical Cancer: From Preclinical to Clinical Data
Authors: Duranti Simona , Pietragalla Antonella , Daniele Gennaro , Nero Camilla , Ciccarone Francesca , Scambia Giovanni , Lorusso Domenica
Published: April 2021

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the recognized cause of almost all cervical cancers. Despite the reduction in incidence due to a wide use of screening programs and a specific vaccine, the prognosis of cervical cancer remains poor, especially for late-stage and relapsed disease. Considering the elevated rates of PD-L1 expression in up to 80% of cervical cancers, a strong rationale supports the use of immunotherapy to restore the immune response against tumor. The aim of this review is to analyze the possible role of immune checkpoint inhibitors in cervical cancer treatment, with a particular focus on the rationale and on the results of phase I and II clinical trials. An overview of ongoing phase III studies with possible future areas of development is also provided.
De-Escalation of Therapy for Patients with Early-Stage Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anus
Authors: Miller Eric , Bazan Jose
Published: April 2021

The incidence of squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) is increasing, particularly in the elderly, with increased mortality in this age group. While the current standard of care for localized SCCA remains chemoradiation (CRT), completion of this treatment can be challenging with risks for severe acute and late toxicity. It remains unclear if full course CRT is required for the management of early-stage SCCA or if de-escalation of treatment is possible without compromising patient outcomes. Alternative therapies include radiation therapy alone or local excision for appropriate patients. Modifying standard CRT may also reduce toxicity including the routine use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy for treatment delivery, modification of treatment volumes, and selection and dosing of concurrent systemic therapy agents. Finally, we provide an overview of currently accruing prospective trials focused on defining the role of de-escalation of therapy in patients with early-stage SCCA.
BLBP Is Both a Marker for Poor Prognosis and a Potential Therapeutic Target in Paediatric Ependymoma
Authors: Sabnis Durgagauri H. , Liu Jo-Fen , Simmonds Lucy , Blackburn Sophie , Grundy Richard G. , Kerr Ian D. , Coyle Beth
Published: April 2021

Paediatric ependymomas are aggressive, treatment-resistant tumours with a tendency towards relapse, consistent with a sub-population of therapy-resistant cancer stem cells. These cells are believed to derive from brain lipid binding protein (BLBP)-expressing radial glia, hence we proposed that BLBP may be a marker for ependymoma therapy resistance. BLBP protein expression correlated with reduced overall survival (OS) in patients from two trials (CNS9204, a chemotherapy-led infant trial—5 y OS 45% vs. 80%, p = 0.011—and CNS9904, a radiotherapy-led trial—OS 38% vs. 85%, p = 0.002). All ependymoma cell lines examined by qRT-PCR expressed BLBP, with expression elevated in stem cell-enriched neurospheres. Modulation of BLBP function in 2D and 3D assays, using either peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) antagonists or BLBP’s fatty acid substrate docosahexaneoic acid (DHA), potentiated chemotherapy response and reduced cell migration and invasion in ependymoma cell lines. BLBP is therefore an independent predictor of poor survival in paediatric ependymoma, and treatment with PPAR antagonists or DHA may represent effective novel therapies, preventing chemotherapy resistance and invasion in paediatric ependymoma patients.
Efferocytosis Mediated Modulation of Injury after Neonatal Brain Hypoxia-Ischemia
Authors: Mike Jana Krystofova , Ferriero Donna Marie
Published: April 2021

Neonatal brain hypoxia-ischemia (HI) is a leading cause of morbidity and long-term disabilities in children. While we have made significant progress in describing HI mechanisms, the limited therapies currently offered for HI treatment in the clinical setting stress the importance of discovering new targetable pathways. Efferocytosis is an immunoregulatory and homeostatic process of clearance of apoptotic cells (AC) and cellular debris, best described in the brain during neurodevelopment. The therapeutic potential of stimulating defective efferocytosis has been recognized in neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we will explore the involvement of efferocytosis after a stroke and HI as a promising target for new HI therapies.
Transmembrane and Tetratricopeptide Repeat Containing 4 Is a Novel Diagnostic Marker for Prostate Cancer with High Specificity and Sensitivity
Authors: Makboul Rania , Abdelkawi Islam F. , Badary Dalia M. , Hussein Mahmoud R. A. , Rhim Johng S. , Toraih Eman A. , Zerfaoui Mourad , Abd Elmageed Zakaria Y.
Published: April 2021

The histopathologic diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) from biopsies is a current challenge if double or triple staining is needed. Therefore, there is an urgent need for development of a new reliable biomarker to diagnose PCa patients. We aimed to explore and compare the expression of TMTC4 in PCa cells and tissue specimens and evaluate its sensitivity and specificity. The expression of TMTC4 in PCa and normal prostate epithelial cells was determined by real-time PCR and Western blot analyses. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of TMTC4 was performed on tissues collected from PCa and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Our results show a high expression of TMTC4 on mRNA and protein levels in PCa versus BPH1 and normal cells (p < 0.05). IHC results show strong cytoplasmic expressions in PCa cases (p < 0.001) as compared to BPH cases. The overall accuracy as measured by the AUC was 1.0 (p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of the protein were 100% and 96.6%, respectively. Taken together, we report a high TMTC4 expression in PCa cells and tissues and its ability to differentiate between PCa and BPH with high sensitivity and specificity. This finding can be carried over to clinical practice after its confirmation by further studies.
Educators Perspectives on the Value of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Fundamental Movement Skills for Early Years Foundation Stage Children in England
Authors: Dobell Alexandra , Pringle Andy , Faghy Mark , Roscoe Clare
Published: April 2021

There is a lack of information available for physical education (PE) provision in the early years foundation stage (EYFS), prompting concern about what is currently delivered in schools and the values behind the approaches taken. Using semi-structured interviews, this study investigated educators’ perspectives on the value of PE and physical activity (PA) for EYFS children across England in relation to opportunities for, barriers to, and benefits of PA and PE. This study collected important stakeholder views and can help shape the impact and implementation of fundamental movement skills (FMS) and PA interventions at the EYFS.
Design of New Au–NiCo MEMS Vertical Probe for Fine-Pitch Wafer-Level Probing
Authors: Le Xuan Luc , Choa Sung-Hoon
Published: April 2021

As fine-pitch 3D wafer-level packaging becomes more popular in semiconductor industries, wafer-level prebond testing of various interconnect structures has become increasingly challenging. Additionally, improving the current-carrying capacity (CCC) and minimizing damage to the probe and micro-interconnect structures are very important issues in wafer-level testing. In this study, we propose an Au–NiCo MEMS vertical probe with an enhanced CCC to efficiently reduce the damage to the probe and various interconnect structures, including a solder ball, Cu pillar microbump, and TSV. The Au–NiCo probe has an Au layer inside the NiCo and an Au layer outside the surface of the NiCo probe to reduce resistivity and contact stress. The current-carrying capacity, contact stress, and deformation behavior of the probe and various interconnect structures were evaluated using numerical analyses. The Au–NiCo probe had a 150% higher CCC than the conventional NiCo probe. The maximum allowable current capacity of the 5000 µm-long Au–NiCo probe was 750 mA. The Au–NiCo probe exhibited less contact force and stress than the NiCo probe. The Au–NiCo probe also produced less deformation of various interconnect structures. These results indicate that the proposed Au–NiCo probe will be a prospective candidate for advanced wafer-level testing, with better probing efficiency and higher test yield and reliability than the conventional vertical probe.
Comparison of Outdoor Compost Pile Detection Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Images and Various Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Song Bonggeun , Park Kyunghun
Published: April 2021

Since outdoor compost piles (OCPs) contain large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, they act as a major pollutant that deteriorates water quality, such as eutrophication and green algae, when the OCPs enter the river during rainfall. In South Korea, OCPs are frequently used, but there is a limitation that a lot of manpower and budget are consumed to investigate the current situation, so it is necessary to efficiently investigate the OCPs. This study compared the accuracy of various machine learning techniques for the efficient detection and management of outdoor compost piles (OCPs), a non-point pollution source in agricultural areas in South Korea, using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images. RGB, multispectral, and thermal infrared UAV images were taken in August and October 2019. Additionally, vegetation indices (NDVI, NDRE, ENDVI, and GNDVI) and surface temperature were also considered. Four machine learning techniques, including support vector machine (SVM), decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), and k-NN, were implemented, and the machine learning technique with the highest accuracy was identified by adjusting several variables. The accuracy of all machine learning techniques was very high, reaching values of up to 0.96. Particularly, the accuracy of the RF method with the number of estimators set to 10 was highest, reaching 0.989 in August and 0.987 in October. The proposed method allows for the prediction of OCP location and area over large regions, thereby foregoing the need for OCP field measurements. Therefore, our findings provide highly useful data for the improvement of OCP management strategies and water quality.
Using Phenomenological Methodology with Thematic Analysis to Examine and Reflect on Commonalities of Instructors’ Experiences in MOOCs
Authors: Chang Chi-Cheng , Wang Yao-Hua
Published: April 2021

Instructors’ experiences in MOOCs assist their curriculum development and teaching skills as well as professional growth, which is seldom explored. The study examined and reflected on the commonalities of instructors’ experiences in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) based on phenomenological methodology with thematic analysis. By summarizing the commonalities in phenomenology from the implicit experiences of the instructors who were interviewed, commonalities of MOOC instructors’ experiences were found to be the following: (1) affinity—knowing how to provide MOOC material that is approachable; (2) ability to tell a story—knowing how to write and direct a video that contains a story or scenarios for classes as innovative teaching; (3) macro attitude—broadening a learner’s horizon is more important than lecturing on knowledge; (4) altruism—concerning the welfare of students rather than personal fame and fortune; and (5) learning by doing—having a passion for innovative teaching and bravely implementing it. Finally, several suggestions and inspirations were given based upon the reflections on the commonalities of MOOC instructors’ experiences.
Rational Design and Simulation of Two-Dimensional Perovskite Photonic Crystal Absorption Layers Enabling Improved Light Absorption Efficiency for Solar Cells
Authors: Zou Jian , Liu Mengnan , Tan Shuyu , Bi Zhijie , Wan Yong , Guo Xiangxin
Published: April 2021

A two-dimensional perovskite photonic crystal structure of Methylamine lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3, MAPbI3) is rationally designed as the absorption layer for solar cells. The photonic crystal (PC) structure possesses the distinct “slow light” and band gap effect, leading to the increased absorption efficiency of the absorption layer, and thus the increased photoelectric conversion efficiency of the battery. Simulation results indicate that the best absorption efficiency can be achieved when the scattering element of indium arsenide (InAs) cylinder is arranged in the absorption layer in the form of tetragonal lattice with the height of 0.6 μm, the diameter of 0.24 μm, and the lattice constant of 0.4 μm. In the wide wavelength range of 400–1200 nm, the absorption efficiency can be reached up to 82.5%, which is 70.1% higher than that of the absorption layer without the photonic crystal structure. In addition, the absorption layer with photonic crystal structure has good adaptability to the incident light angle, presenting the stable absorption efficiency of 80% in the wide incident range of 0–80°. The results demonstrate that the absorption layer with photonic crystal structure can realize the wide spectrum, wide angle, and high absorption of incident light, resulting in the increased utilization efficiency of solar energy.