bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Climate Change on Malaria Incidence in Bonaberi and Tombel Districts, Cameroon
Authors: fosah Sharlot , Mbouna Amelie D. , Achu Doroty Fosah , Djiondo Rinelle N. , Andre Andre Lenouo , Dikande Alain M.
Published: August 2023

Purpose Global warming and its impact on malaria incidence is a call for concern. Malaria a vector-borne disease is sensitive to weather and climate condition. Because of the increased concentration of human activities on wetlands, the lives of those living there are vulnerable to climate-related diseases including malaria.Methods This study examines malaria incidence and the impact of climate change on the population living in Bonaberi and Tombel. Parasite ratio Observed is obtained from the national malaria program as well as Precipitation data obtained from Famine Early Warning Systems Network. Temperature data is obtained from ECMWF ERA-Interim reanalysis data. Simulations are done using the VECTRI model. To study the observed parasite ratio(PR) and PR simulated in Tombel and Bonaberi and make projections of PR for the two areas using CORDEX projections data under two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5).Results Results show that both Tombel and Bonaberi had peaks of parasite ratio PR (0.8) for Tombel and a slight increase in Bonaberi to up to PR (0.9). Also, future projections reveal a fluctuating increase in the PR for the Bonaberi having a PR of (0.95) and Tombel having a peak PR of (0.9).Conclusion The results from this work are expected to guide community-based early-warning systems and adaptation strategies, future planning and implementation strategies in Bonaberi and Tombel, which will assist the national malaria program, in adapting to climate change.
Identify the influencing factors of economic toxicity status in patients with middle and advanced colorectal cancer: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Xiaofang HE , Lin ZHANG , LI Qiuping , Ying CHEN , Fang WEN , Guangxu RAN
Published: August 2023

Purpose
The purpose of the study is to explore the status of financial toxicity (FT) in advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and analyze the influencing factors, which will provide a basis for developing targeted intervention plans to reduce FT levels in advanced CRC patients.
Method
The convenience sampling method was used to select 264 patients with advanced CRC who were admitted to a tertiary A-level hospital in Guiyang City from January 2023 to April 2023. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the general information questionnaire, the economic toxicity scale of cancer patients' reported outcomes, the medical coping style questionnaire, the Andersen Symptom Assessment Scale, the stigma scale, and the social support scale. Multiple linear regression was performed to identify the risk factors for FT.
Result
The FT score of patients with advanced CRC was 16.27 ± 5.84. In univariate analysis, we found that the FT score was significantly correlated with family monthly income, medical expense payment method, work status, and whether surgical treatment was received. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the level of shame, and severity of symptoms are the main influencing factors of patient FT (P < 0.001).
Conclusion
The FT level of advanced CRC patients is relatively high. Clinical medical workers should develop a scientific and reasonable treatment plan based on the FT level and provide patients with positive psychological guidance to reduce FT levels and improve their quality of life.
The Brazilian Toxoplasma gondii strain BRI caused greater inflammation and impairment in anxiogenic behavior in mice, which was reverted by rosuvastatin treatment
Authors: Evangelista Fernanda Ferreira , Sant’Ana Priscilla de Laet , Ferreira Willian Costa , Ferreira Thaisa Andreia , Santos Milena Lopes dos , de Souza Amanda Hinobu , de Andrade Felipe Aparecido Lacerda , Silva Douglas Aparecido da , de Barros Luiz Daniel , Colli Cristiane Maria , de Melo Gessilda Ancântara Nogueira , Costa Idessania Nazareth , Falavigna-Guilherme Ana Lúcia
Published: August 2023

This study aimed to investigate the effect of rosuvastatin treatment on anxiety-related behavior and short- and long-term memory impairment in mice infected with acute RH and BRI strains of Toxoplasma gondii. Balb/C mice were infected intraperitoneally and after two hours, oral treatment with rosuvastatin (40 mg/kg/day) was initiated for four days. Behaviors related to anxiety and locomotion were evaluated in the open field (OF), and short- and long-term memory through the novel object recognition test (NOR). At the end of the experiments, peritoneal fluid, brain, liver, and lung were collected for T. gondii DNA quantification and histopathological analysis. Infection with BRI strain reduced the dwell time and central locomotion in the OF (p < 0.05), indicating anxiogenic type behavior, while treatment with rosuvastatin reversed this response (p < 0.05). RH strain infection did not alter any behavior in the OF (p > 0.05) and both strains impaired short- and long-term memory (NOR test), but with no significant treatment effect (p > 0.05). The BRI strain was shown to be more damaging in relation to anxiogenic type behavior when compared to the RH strain (p < 0.05), whereas rosuvastatin reduced this damaging effect in BRI. The treatment reduced the parasite load in the peritoneal lavage, liver, and lung of animals infected with both acute strains, however, it significantly (p < 0.05) attenuated the inflammatory process only in BRI-infected and treated animals, showing that non-archetypal genotypes are more damaging in rodents. This suggests that rosuvastatin may be a drug with great therapeutic potential against T. gondii mainly to reduce damage from virulent strains.
Mortality prediction of hospitalised type 2 diabetic foot ulcers using Wagner classification in Kaifeng, China: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Li Huan , Lv Yu-Quan , Zhou Yue-Min
Published: August 2023

Background
To summarize the clinical characteristics of inpatients with type 2 diabetic foot ulcers (T2DFU) in a grade 3A hospital in China and observe the prediction effects of Wagner grades for the premature death.
Methods
309 Han Chinese inpatients who were diagnosed as T2DFU between September 2009 and November 2019 in a grade 3A hospital in Kaifeng, China. The patients were divided into six subgroups according to Wagner classification. The sociodemographic variables, clinical variables and mortality rate among the six subgroups were compared. Adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression models were conducted to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for the six Wagner grade subgroups.
Results
Of the 309 patients,in comparison with Wagner grade 0, grade 4 and grade 5 showed a significantly higher cumulative mortality, respectively. In the unadjusted regression model of Wagner grades, the HR [95% CI] for Grade 1 ~ 5 subgroups were 0.86 [0.46–1.61], 0.97 [0.54–1.74], 1.42 [0.78–2.58], 2.20 [1.29–3.75], and 5.39 [2.77–10.51] with grade 0 subgroup as reference (P < 0.001); In a multiple regression model adjusted with age, cardiovascular diseases, peripheral neuropathy, and diabetic nephropathy, the HR [95% CI] for Grade 1 ~ 5 subgroups were 0.95 [0.51–1.77], 1.04 [0.57–1.89], 1.56 [0.86–2.86], 2.27 [1.33–3.89], and 6.39 [3.24–12.61] with grade 0 subgroup as reference (P < 0.001).
Conclusions
Mortality rate of T2DFU patients increased with Wagner grades, mainly from grade 4 through grade 5 in comparison with grade zero in the present study.
Beam walking as a new measure of dynamic balance to predict falls
Authors: Hortobágyi Tibor , Vetrovsky Tomas , Uematsu Azusa , Sanders Lianne , Costa Andréia Abud da Silva , Batistela Rosangela Alice , Moraes Renato , Granacher Urs , Szabó-Kóra Szilvia , Csutorás Bence , Széphelyi Klaudia , Tollár József
Published: August 2023

Background
Beam walking is a functional test to estimate dynamic balance. We characterized dynamic balance measured by the distance walked on beams of different widths in individuals with and without neurological conditions and determined if beam walking distance predicted prospective falls over 12 months.
Methods
Individuals with (n = 97) and without neurological conditions (n = 99, healthy, age 20–60) participated in this prospective longitudinal study. Falls analyses over 12-months were conducted. The summed distance walked under single and dual-task conditions on three beams (4, 8, and 12-cm wide) was used in the analyses. Additional functional tests comprised grip strength and the Short Physical Performance Battery.
Results
Beam walking distance was unaffected on the 12-cm-wide beam in the healthy individuals. The distance walked on the 8-cm-wide beam decreased by 0.34m already in the 20-year-old group. This reduction was ~ 3x greater, 1.1m, in the 60-year-old group. In patients, beam walking distances decreased sharply by 0.8m on the 8 vs. 12cm beam and by additional 1.6m on the 4 vs. 8cm beam. Beam walking distance under single and dual-task conditions was linearly but weakly associated with age. Age, disease, and beam width affected distance walked on the beam. Beam walking distance predicted future falls. Based on receiver operating characteristic curve analyses, walking ~ 8.0 of the 12m maximum on low-lying beams predicted future fallers with reasonable accuracy.
Conclusion
Balance beam walking is a new but worthwhile measure of dynamic balance to predict falls in older adults and patients with neurological conditions. Future studies are needed to confirm our findings.
Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT03532984
Categorical Distributions of Maximum Entropy under Marginal Constraints
Authors: Loukas Orestis , Chung Ho Ryun
Published: August 2023

The estimation of categorical distributions under marginal constraints summarizing some sample from a population in the most-generalizable way is key for many machine-learning and data-driven approaches. We provide a parameter-agnostic theoretical framework that enables this task ensuring (i) that a categorical distributionof Maximum Entropy under marginal constraints always exists and (ii) that it is unique. The procedure of iterative proportional fitting (IPF) naturally estimates that distribution from any consistent set of marginal constraints directly in the space of probabilities, thus deductively identifying a least-biased characterization of the population. The theoretical framework together with IPF leads to a holistic workflow that enables modeling any class of categorical distributions solely using the phenomenological information provided.
Association between volume of lung damage and endoplasmic reticulum stress expression among severe COVID-19 ICU patients
Authors: Renard Domitille , Verdalle-Cazes Mikael , Leprêtre Perrine , Bellien Jérémy , Brunel Valery , Renet Sylvanie , Tamion Fabienne , Besnier Emmanuel , Clavier Thomas
Published: August 2023

Objective and design : single-center retrospective study to explore association between endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and lung damage volume (LDV) among severe COVID-19 patients in intensive unit care (ICU) .Subjects : 63 severe COVID-19 ICU patients with a chest computer tomography 24hours before/after admission.Methods two multivariate linear regression models looking for factors associated with plasma levels of 78kDa-Glucose-Regulated Protein (GRP78; ERS marker) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6; inflammation marker).Results GRP78 was associated with LDV in both multivariate models (β = 22.23 [4.08;40.38]; p = 0.0179, β = 20.47 [0.74;40.20]; p = 0.0423) but not with organ failure (SOFA score) at admission (r = 0.03 [-0.22;0.28]; p = 0.2559). GRP78 was lower among ICU survivors (1539.4 [1139.2;1941.1] vs. 1714.2 [1555.2;2579.1] pg/mL. respectively; p = 0.0297). IL-6 was associated with SOFA score at admission in both multivariate models (β = 136.60 [65.50;207.70]; p = 0.0003, β = 193.70 [116.60;270.90]; p < 0.0001) but not with LDV (r = 0.13 [-0.14;0.39]; p = 0.3219). IL-6 was no different between ICU survivors and non-survivors (12.2 [6.0;43.7] vs. 30.4 [12.9;69.7] pg/ml. respectively; p = 0.1857). There was no correlation between GRP78 and IL-6 plasma levels (r = 0.13 [-0.13;0.37]; p = 0.3106).Conclusion Among severe COVID-19 patients, ERS was associated with LDV but not with systemic inflammation, while systemic inflammation was associated with organ failure but not with LDV.
Preparation of palladium-based catalyst by plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition and its applications in CO2 hydrogenation reduction
Authors: Tang Shouxian , Tian Di , Li Zheng , Wang Zhengduo , Liu Bowen , Cheng Jiushan , Liu Zhongwei
Published: August 2023

Supported Pd catalyst is an important noble metal material in recent years due to its high catalytic performance in CO2 hydrogenation. An fluidized-bed plasma assisted atomic layer deposition (FP-ALD) process is reported to fabricate Pd nanoparticle catalyst over γ-Al2O3 or Fe2O3/γ-Al2O3 support, using palladium hexafluoroacetylacetonate as the Pd precursor and H2 plasma as counter-reactant. Scanning transmission electron microscopy exhibits that high-density Pd nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed over Fe2O3/γ-Al2O3 support with an average diameter of 4.4 nm. The deposited Pd-Fe2O3/γ-Al2O3 shows excellent catalytic performance for CO2 hydrogenation in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor. Under a typical condition of H2 to CO2 ratio of 4 in the feed gas, the discharge power of 19.4 W, and gas hourly space velocity of 10000 h− 1, the conversion of CO2 is as high as 16.3% with CH3OH and CH4 selectivities of 26.5% and 3.9%, respectively.
A New Machining Test to Identify Position-independent Geometric Errors of Rotary Axes for Five-axis Machine Tools
Authors: Chen Kejian , Xiang Sitong , Cheng Tao , Zhang Hainan
Published: August 2023

Rotary axes of five-axis machine tools have highly coupled geometric errors, which are crucial factors affecting the machining accuracy. In this study, a new feature workpiece is designed, including two features of arc surface and square groove. Based on the on-machine measurement of the workpiece, five position-independent geometric errors of the two rotary axes can be identified. The cutting and measuring steps of the workpiece are described in detail, the identification principle of each error is revealed, and the uncertainty analysis is carried out. During the identification process, the machining domain and measurement domain of the same feature remain unchanged to eliminate the influence of linear axis errors on the identification results, hence the identification accuracy is improved. In the experimental verification, the result is 90.8% consistent with the ball-bar method, which verifies the feasibility of this method.
Ferroptosis-related genes are involved in the activity of resveratrol against esophageal cancer
Authors: Chen Xiujing , Chen Hongjie , Hu Penghui , Lin Yiguang , Zou Zengcheng , Chen Size
Published: August 2023

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent programmed cell death closely associated with cancer oncogenesis, and resveratrol could regulate ferroptosis resulting in an anticancer effect. However, how resveratrol regulates ferroptosis leading to anticancer activity in esophageal cancer (ESCA) has not been studied. The targets related to resveratrol, ferroptosis, and ESCA were obtained from databases. The hub targets for resveratrol regulating ferroptosis in ESCA were identified from the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and performed by functional enrichment analysis. Furthermore, we analyzed the TP53 gene by the Kaplan-Meier Plotter, TIMER2.0, UALCAN, cBioPortal and CAMOIP databases. Finally, the potential targets and mechanisms were validated through in vitro experiments. We screened 43 targets from the databases, with central targets covering TP53, STAT3, PTGS2, RELA, and SRC. The key target for resveratrol regulating ferroptosis-related genes in ESCA was mutant TP53, which was correlated with immune infiltration in ESCA. Validated experiments showed that resveratrol possessed potent activity against ESCA cell line and decreased the cell migration capacity of KYSE30 cells. RT-qPCR results indicated that resveratrol down-regulated the expression of TP53, CCND1, CDK2, STAT3, IL-6, and AKT and up-regulated CDKN1A expression. In conclusion, our data suggest that resveratrol suppressed ESCA by regulating ferroptosis-related genes, such as mutant TP53, and is through signaling pathways involving TP53, STAT3/IL-6, AKT, and the cell cycle, advancing our understanding of the anticancer effect of resveratrol.
Increasing Epigenome-Wide Association Study and Differential Expression Analysis Specificity Through Tumor Microenvironment Correction in Prostate Cancer
Authors: Reynolds Samuel R. , Zhang Ze , Salas Lucas A. , Christensen Brock C.
Published: August 2023

Background:
Among men, prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death. Etiologic factors associated with both prostate carcinogenesis and somatic alterations in tumors are incompletely understood. While genetic variants associated with PCa have been identified, epigenetic alterations in PCa are relatively understudied. To date, DNA methylation (DNAm) and gene expression (GE) in PCa have been investigated; however, these studies did not correct for cell type proportions of the tumor microenvironment (TME), which could confound results.
Methods:
The data (GSE183040) consisted of DNAm and GE data from both tumor and adjacent non-tumor prostate tissue of 56 patients who underwent radical prostatectomies prior to any treatment. This study builds upon previous studies that examined methylation patterns and GE in PCa patients by using a novel tumor deconvolution approach to identify and correct for cell type proportions of the TME in its epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) and differential expression analysis (DEA).
Results:
The inclusion of cell type proportions in EWASs and DEAs reduced the scope of significant alterations associated with PCa. We identified 2,093 significantly differentially methylated CpGs (DMC), and 51 genes associated with PCa, including PCA3, SPINK1, and AMACR.
Conclusions:
This work illustrates the importance of correcting for cell types of the TME when performing EWASs and DEAs on PCa samples, and establishes a more confounding-adverse methodology. We identified a more tumor-cell-specific set of altered genes and epigenetic marks that can be further investigated as potential biomarkers of disease or potential therapeutic targets.
Dimensional Correlations Between Maxillary Sinus and Nasal Cavity Aiming Implant Supported Rehabilitation: Edentulous Patients Tomographic Study
Authors: Farias Illa Oliveira Bitencourt , Bahia Roberta Rodrigues Casali , Rebello Iêda Margarida Crusoé Rocha , Dantas Juliana Borges de Lima , Medrado Alena Ribeiro Alves Peixoto , Barreto Maurício Andrade , Fernandes Atson Carlos de Souza
Published: August 2023

Objectives: Correlate dimensions of the maxillary sinus and nasal cavity, in addition to evaluate their implications for the implants insertion in the maxilla posterior region.
Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional tomographic study of 58 totally edentulous adult patients, totaling 116 maxillary sinuses. The RadiAnt DICOM Viewer™ 2020.2 (64-bit) software was used to measure basal/alveolar widths and maxillary length, in addition to linear distances from the maxillary sinus and nasal cavity to calculate volumes.
Results: There was no significant correlation between the maxillary sinus nasal cavity volumes (ρ=0.048 / p=0.609). The volume of the nasal cavity showed a significant difference between genders (p=0.007), bigger in males. Greater alveolar and basal maxillary widths correlated with greater maxillary sinus volume. Maxilla length was significantly correlated with nasal cavity volume (ρ=0.425 / p<0.001). Sinus membrane thickness was not significantly associated with maxillary sinus volume. There was no significant correlation between sinus thickness lateral wall and sinus membrane thickness.
Conclusion: Maxillary sinus volume did not present a significant correlation with nasal cavity volume and no correlation was found between these volumes and the age factor.
Clinical relevance: Tomographic analysis of the maxillary sinus and associated anatomical structures, such as the nasal cavity, is the most reliable resource for planning and carrying out implant-supported rehabilitation of the maxilla posterior region.
Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinase 2 (RPS6KB2) is a Potential immunotherapeutic target for cancer with up-regulating pro-inflammatory cytokines
Authors: Ma Qiang , Yang Yipin , Chen Shuwen , Cheng Hao , Gong Peng , Hao Jiqing
Published: August 2023

Tumors are one of the main causes of death in people with illnesses. The therapy of tumors has evolved in recent years along with science and technology, and one such area of drug discovery is developing therapeutic targets for tumor treatment. Finding new pharmacological targets is increasingly urgent since tumor resistance affects how well current medications work. The chromosome 11 gene RPS6KB2 has been implicated in cell cycle regulation and has been found to express at much greater levels in tumor tissue. The association between RPS6KB2 and tumors raises the possibility that this gene could be a target for cancer treatment. Therefore, our study used data analysis and molecular biology methods to examine the potential involvement of RPS6KB2 in tumor therapy carefully. The data demonstrated that RPS6KB2, which has a poor prognosis, is aberrantly expressed in most tumors. Further data showed that RPS6KB2 is involved in tumor cell apoptosis and migration. RPS6KB2 also plays a role in tumor immune processes. We further verified the role of RPS6KB2 in liver cancer, and found that RPS6KB2 can up-regulate pro-inflammatory cytokines. In summary, RPS6KB2 maybe a novel therapeutic target.
CDDO-imidazolide ameliorates sepsis-mediated alveolar macrophage pyroptosis by promoting mitophagy via the Nrf2/PINK1 pathway
Authors: Liu Yajing , Zhao Yupeng , Tang Cijun , Shen Yiru , Liu Chunzheng , Wang Qingxiu , Liu Zhenyuan , Yang Zhongwei , Wang Xiangrui , Hou Lei
Published: August 2023

Background
NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated alveolar macrophage pyroptosis has been reported in promoting sepsis-related acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS).The nuclear factor E2-related factor (Nrf2) is involved in regulating NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis. CDDO-imidazole (CDDO-Im), a forceful Nrf2 activator, in sepsis-related ARDS is lacking and its underling mechanism are still unclear. In this study, we aim to investigate the effect of CDDO-Im on lung protection and explored its underlying molecular mechanisms.
Methods
CDDO-Im (10, 50, 100nM) and 3-methyladenine (3-MA) were individually added into LPS and ATP stimulated alveolar macrophage cell line J774A.1 pyroptosis model. The Nrf2-/- and Nrf2+/+ mice were administered intraperitoneally with CDDO-Im (3µmol/kg body weight) before cecal ligation perforation surgery.
Results
In vitro studies we found that NLRP3 inflammasome activation mediated pyroptosis and slightly PINK1-meditaed mitophagy in alveolar macrophage cell line J774A.1 cells after LPS and ATP exposure. The autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) significantly aggravated NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis in J774A.1 cells by blocking PINK1-meditaed mitophagy. CDDO-Im obviously prevented NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis and HMGB1 release by Nrf2 pathway to enhance mitophagy in J774A.1 cells after LPS and ATP exposure. In vivo studies we found CDDO-Im significantly alleviated sepsis-related ARDS by blocking NLRP3 inflammasome activation via Nrf2 pathway to enhance mitophagy.
Conclusion
Our results demonstrate that CDDO-Im exhibits prominent lung protective role owing to its Nrf2 activation and mitophagy-enhancing properties, which provide a new insight into the strategies of ARDS clinical prevention and treatment.
Assessment of Heavy Metal Contents in Some Common Spices Available in the Local Market of North Shewa Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia
Authors: Geleta Girma Selale , Adugna Teshome , Regassa Girma
Published: August 2023

The objective of this study was to determine the heavy metal contents of some common spices commercially available in the North Shewa Zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia. Korarima seeds (Aframomumcorrorima), ginger rhizomes (Zingiberofficinale), red pepper fruit (Capsicum annum), and turmeric rhizomes(Curcuma longa) samples were randomly collected from the Fiche open market. These spices samples were digested using a mixture of 3 mL of HNO3 (69–72%) and 1 mL of HClO4 (70%). The content of heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cd, and Pb) in spices was determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The results obtained showed that the concentrations of heavy metals in the korarima, red pepper, ginger and turmeric samples in mg kg− 1 dry weight were in the range of Fe (38.7–98.9), Mn (10.5-257.3), Zn (7.3–29.2), Cu (1.7–6.5), Cr (5.4–9.7), Cd (1.5–2.9), Pb (14.5–28.4) and Ni (3.9–6.7. The heavy metal contents in korarima, red pepper, ginger, and turmeric samples were compared with the maximum values given by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the vegetables. Accordingly, Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, and Cd values in the spice samples were found to be lower than the maximum limit of WHO, while the levels of Pb in four spices samples were higher than WHO permissible limit. Moreover, Mn (only in ginger) exceeded the maximum allowable concentrations among spices. This study shows that consumption of korarima, red pepper, ginger, and turmeric may have a serious health threat to consumers due to the high content of lead and manganese in spices. Therefore, it is suggested that further study be conducted on spices samples based on the origin of cultivation to determine which hotspot is responsible for high levels of contamination of lead and manganese to protect consumers.
HyperFPGA: An Experimental Testbed for Heterogeneous Supercomputing
Authors: Samayoa Werner Florian , Crespo Maria Liz , Carrato Sergio , Silva Agustin , Cicuttin Andres
Published: August 2023

The HyperFPGA is a scalable SoC-FPGA cluster aimed at exploring new architectures for improved performance and energy efficiency in high-performance computing.Recently, it has become evident that the scaling trend of von Neumann-based supercomputers is unsustainable in terms of energy and performance, stressing a change in the computing paradigm.By exploiting the flexibility, reconfigurability, and programmability offered by the HyperFPGA infrastructure, which combines FPGAs, CPUs, and high-speed general-purpose connectors, it is possible to experiment with novel computing paradigms. The Linux OS and custom drivers, along with a Message Passing Interface (MPI), offer a programmable framework for firmware and task deployment.In addition to describing the design and implementation of the HyperFPGA, we report results obtained by testing its scalability with the N-Queens problem, which is a classic benchmark for evaluating the performance of parallel computing systems.Overall, the testing of the HyperFPGA using the N-Queens problem highlights the platform's ability to handle computationally intensive tasks and demonstrates its suitability for its use in supercomputing.
A new efficient multiobject detection and size calculation for blended tobacco shred using an improved YOLOv7 network and LWC algorithm
Authors: Wang Li , Jia Kunming , Niu Qunfeng , Niu Yang , Ma Wentao
Published: August 2023

Detection of the four tobacco shred varieties, including tobacco silk, cut stem, expended tobacco silk, and reconstituted tobacco shred, and the subsequent calculation of the tobacco shred component ratio and unbroken tobacco shred rate are the primary tasks in cigarette inspection lines. The accuracy, speed and recognizable complexity of tobacco shred images affect the feasibility of practical applications directly in the inspection line field. In cigarette quality inspection lines, there are bound to be a large number of single tobacco shreds and a certain amount of overlapped tobacco shreds at the same time, and it is especially critical to identify both single and overlapped tobacco shreds at once, that is, fast blended tobacco shred detection based on multiple targets. However, it is difficult to classify tiny single tobacco shreds with complex morphological characteristics, not to mention classifying and locating tobacco shreds with 24 types of overlap alone, which poses significant difficulties for machine vision-based blended tobacco shred multiobject detection and unbroken tobacco shred rate calculation tasks. This study focuses on the two challenges of identifying blended tobacco shreds with single tobacco shreds and overlapped tobacco simultaneously in the field application and calculating the unbroken tobacco shred rate. In this paper, a new multiobject detection model is developed for blended tobacco shred images based on an improved YOLOv7-tiny. YOLOv7-tiny is used as the mainframe of the multiobject detection network. The lightweight ResNet19 is used as the model backbone. The original SPPCSPC and coupled detection head are replaced with a new spatial pyramid SPPFCSPC and a decoupled joint detection head, respectively. An algorithm for the two-dimensional size calculation of the blended tobacco shred (LWC) is also proposed, which is applied to blended tobacco shred object detection images to obtain independent tobacco shred objects and calculate the unbroken tobacco shred rate. The experimental results showed that the final detection precision, mAP@.5, mAP@.5:.95, and testing time were 0.883, 0.932, 0.795, and 4.12 ms, respectively. The average length and width detection accuracies of blended tobacco shred samples were -1.7% and 13.2%, respectively. It achieved high multiobject detection accuracy and 2D dimensional size calculation accuracy, which also conformed to the manual inspection process in the field. This study provides a new efficient implementation method for multiobject detection and size calculation of blended tobacco shreds in the field of cigarette quality inspection lines and a new approach for other similar blended image multiobject detection tasks.
The role of psychological flexibility components in predicting anxiety and insomnia severity
Authors: Nikzadi Hanieh , Zakiei Ali , Ahmadi Vahid
Published: August 2023

Objectives Insomnia and anxiety are prevalent disorders that often co-occur in individuals, making it important to study these disorders. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the predictive role of psychological flexibility components in anxiety and insomnia severity among university students. Methods For this study, a descriptive-correlational design was employed, and a sample of Iranian university students was selected to complete the questionnaires. Ultimately, data analysis was conducted for 393 individuals, using statistical methods such as Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. Results The results showed that there is a relationship between the total score of psychological flexibility and anxiety and insomnia severity, and there is a relationship between psychological flexibility components (except for experiential avoidance) and insomnia severity and anxiety. Additionally, the results indicated that regression models based on psychological flexibility components for prediction of insomnia severity and anxiety are significant. Conclusion Based on the research results, it can be said that there is a relationship between psychological flexibility and anxiety, sleep quality, and the insomnia severity. The strength of this relationship is greater in the defusion than in other ACT components. This is an important point that should be considered by therapists in the treatment of anxiety, insomnia, and sleep quality improvement.
Analytical Solutions for the Guided Modes of Rectangular Silicon Optical Waveguides
Authors: RAMADAN TAREK A.
Published: August 2023

Marcatili’s analytical solution for the guided modes of rectangular optical waveguides (ROWGs) depends on (1) using the separation of variables (SOVs) and (2) applying the paraxial approximation. It results in two classes of modes: the TE-like and the TM-like modes which are supported by these waveguides. These modes are uncoupled under low-index-contrast conditions. In the case of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides, the coupling between them can no longer be neglected. This paper extends using the SOVs to find analytical modal solutions of SOI-ROWGs. It expands these solutions in quadruples of plane waves and develops a novel non-paraxial scattering model to account for the polarization coupling between these waves under high-index-contrast conditions. This model yields approximate analytical expressions of the field components of the guided modes which are the sum of major and minor Marcatili’s TE-like and TM-like modal fields.
Aerodynamics Simulation of Prototype Car Based on CFD Technology
Authors: Duc Tran Duy , Xuan Duc Pham , Duy Vinh Nguyen
Published: August 2023

The characteristics of the drag and lift coefficients are closely related to the vehicle's fuel economy. For this reason, measuring the car's economy requires an analysis of its aerodynamic performance. The automobile industry and research analyze a vehicle's aerodynamics using various current techniques. One of the techniques uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate the flow around the automobile numerically. This article discusses the creation of aerodynamically optimized prototype automobile designs using examples of cars that have competed in local and international contests for fuel-efficient vehicles, such as the Shell Eco-Marathon. The designs are CFD-simulated at speeds ranging from 15 km/h to 60 km/h in 5 km/h increments. The findings are verified using the car body. Results for drag coefficients and lift, pressure, and velocity contours are graphically shown. This demonstrates how aerodynamically effective the prototype car's profile is designed.
QOAOA based optimal controller for frequency regulation in smart grid system incorporating renewable sources and hybrid energy storage system
Authors: Ranjan Mrinal , Shankar Ravi
Published: August 2023

The demand for a sustainable and environmentally friendly power source is increasing in the modern era, and an interconnected power system that can integrate electric vehicles and renewable energy sources is seen as a solution. However, this technology has some drawbacks, such as its lower system inertia, which limits its ability to respond to load capabilities. To overcome this issue, a Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS) can be integrated with new techniques to enhance performance. This paper proposes a new Quasi Opposition Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm (QOAOA) optimized cascade FOPIDN-(1+TD) controller with HESS of super-capacitor and Redox Flow Battery (RFB) to mitigate frequency and tie-line power variations in a multi-area restructured smart-grid system. The proposed controller's performance is evaluated under various conditions, such as load fluctuations, wind speed variations, solar irradiation, Governor Dead Band (GDB), and generation rate limitation. The system performance is also analyzed when HESS devices are integrated into the three-area system, taking into account the varying nature of wind speed and solar irradiation. The proposed controller's outcomes are validated using real-time Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) simulation with OPAL-RT.
Micropropagation of eucheumatoids using liquid extracts from the brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum (Fucales) and Laminaria digitata (Laminariales)
Authors: Borlongan Iris Ann , Gaya Hazel Coleen , Dimaano Antoniette Lorain , Hennequart Franck , Critchley Alan , Hurtado Anicia
Published: August 2023

Eucheuma denticulatum and Kappaphycus alvarezii, two tropical red seaweeds, are two of the most commercially important, cultivated carrageenophytes in Southeast Asia. Their large-scale farming through repeated vegetative propagation and virtual mono-cropping has resulted in a variety of phyconomic issues. The efficacy of two European, commercial liquid extracts from the brown seaweeds, i.e., Ascophyllum nodosum (ANE), a fucoid, and Laminaria digitata (LDE), a kelp, on the direct formation of axes and survival of these two eucheumatoids was examined using tissue culture techniques. Seaweed apical sections (3–5 mm long) were cultured for 45 days, with different concentrations of ANE and LDE (i.e., 0.005, 0.05, 0.5, 1.5, and 2.5 mL L− 1) and compared with a control (UV-filtered seawater). Both liquid extracts improved the growth and morphogenesis of E. denticulatum and K. alvarezii in tissue culture. This study recommends a dilution rate of 0.05 mL LDE per L for E. denticulatum tissue culture resulting in a high percentage survival (i.e., 95.3 ± 0.9%), formation of direct axes (i.e., 95.3 ± 0.9%), and the longest length (i.e., 10.0 ± 0.3 mm) after a typical 45-day culture period. These data combined with the highest percentage formation of axes on day 14 (i.e., 88.0 ± 4.9%). However, 0.5 mL ANE per L is recommended for the tissue culture of K. alvarezii, given the relatively high final survival and direct axis formation (i.e., 96.2 ± 2.2%) and shoot length (i.e., 8.2 ± 0.1 mm). This study supports the application of these temperate, brown seaweed-derived extracts as phycobiostimulant enrichment in eucheumatoid micropropagation for mass production of plantlets for out-planting purposes.
Genome-wide analysis of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) indicates isolation-by-distance across the North Atlantic and local adaptation in adjacent waters
Authors: Autenrieth Marijke , Havenstein Katja , Westbury Binia Cahsan , Canitz Julia , Benke Harald , Roos Anna , Pampoulie Christophe , Sigurðsson Guðjón Már , Siebert Ursula , Olsen Morten Tange , Biard Vincent , Heide-Jørgensen Mads Peter , Özturk A. Amaha , Özturk Bayram , Lawson John W. , Tiedemann Ralph
Published: August 2023

The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), a highly mobile cetacean species of the Northern hemisphere, inhabits basins that vary broadly in salinity, temperature, and food availability, and can drive divergent adaptation among local populations. To shed light on range-wide population structure and local adaptation, we generated ddRAD sequencing data spanning the entire North Atlantic and Baltic Sea, as well as the Black Sea as outgroup, and mapped this data to the high-quality draft genome of the species. We identified 11,978 genome-wide SNPs from 150 individuals, which we used for population genetic inferences. Our results support a genetic differentiation between North Atlantic and Baltic Sea populations, with the Kattegat as transition zone. Across the North Atlantic the population differentiation is subtle from west to east, displaying an isolation-by-distance pattern, but indicates a separation of southern North Sea harbour porpoises. We identified genomic outlier regions, i.e., scaffold regions where SNPs with high FST across North Atlantic populations co-occur. Together with the draft genome annotation, these regions could point towards candidate genes for differential local adaptation processes among populations. Furthermore, they enable the development of a SNP panel for routine population assignment which will be useful in a conservation and management context. So far, we identified six outlier loci putatively under positive selection, along the population structure inferred from the complete SNP set. Our study highlights the value of genome resources in conservation and management and provides a crucial additional resource for the study of harbour porpoise evolution and phylogeny.
Small Intestinal Stromal Tumors Detection Based on Knowledge Distillation Technique and Computational Intelligence
Authors: Xie Fei , Liu Jindong , Wang Qian , Cao Ziran , Wang Hexu
Published: August 2023

A small intestinal stromal tumor is a type of gastrointestinal tumor with hidden clinical manifestations. The present diagnostic approaches mostly depend on the examination and diagnosis of patients' abdominal Computed Tomography (CT), which heavily depends on the expertise of physicians and exhibits inefficiency. Although tumor detection methods based on neural networks can overcome the shortcomings of artificial diagnosis, the detection of small intestinal stromal tumors exhibits characteristics such as blurred boundaries and low discrimination, resulting in difficulties in data annotation and insufficient training data. Therefore, this paper introduces the knowledge distillation technologies, applies computational intelligence methods, and then proposes a self-correction mechanism based on deformable convolution and a regional weight Loss function based on pathGAN to enhance the distillation effect. In the procession of knowledge distillation, a threshold constraint is set on the loss of the teacher network: when the threshold is exceeded, the offset matrix between the output and the label is calculated to perform deformable convolution on the teacher network feature map to correct its errors; When the threshold is below it, the pathGAN network is used to calculate the distillation loss, so as to achieve regional key learning in the student network. This method prevents the error of the teacher network from being transmitted to the student network for further iteration, while assigning different weights to each region of the image to guide the student network to strengthen its learning of the foreground region. The experimental results prove that, compared to other knowledge distillation methods, the proposed method better balances the computational speed and detection accuracy of the model.
A Method for Sugarcane Disease Identification Based on Improved ShuffleNetV2 Model
Authors: Xu Yanlei , Lu Zhenhuan , Zhai Yuting , Jiao Yubin , Zhou Yang
Published: August 2023

Rapid and accurate identification of sugarcane diseases is an important way to improve sugarcane yield. Therefore, this study proposes an improved model based on ShuffleNetV2 network (Im-ShuffleNetV2) for sugarcane disease identification. Firstly, we incorporated the ECA (Enhanced Channel Attention) attention mechanism into ShuffleNetV2, enhancing the network's ability to extract features and detect sugarcane lesion areas. Secondly, a new multi-scale feature extraction branch and Transformer module have been introduced, further improving the independent learning ability of the network. Finally, a large number of numerical results have demonstrated the advantages of the proposed model in terms of parameter size and sugarcane disease identification accuracy. Just as Im-ShuffleNetV2 only has a parameter of 0.4MB, it has significant advantages over parameters such as EfficientV2-S (55.6MB), MobileNetV2 (8.73MB), MobileViT XX small (3.76MB), FasterNetT2 (52.4MB), AlexNet (55.6MB), and MobileNetV3 Large (16.2MB). In addition, compared with the ShuffleNetV2 network, the accuracy has improved by 3.4%. This model not only improves the accuracy of sugarcane leaf disease detection, but also demonstrates the advantage of lightweight, providing valuable reference for future research in the field of sugarcane.
Enhanced Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activity through Esterification of polycaprolactone with Oleic Acid Catalyzed by Maghnite-H +
Authors: Bezzekhami Mohammed Amin , Belkhir Nacera Leila , Zaoui Somia , Sid Asma Nour El Houda , Mostefai Amina , Harrane Amine
Published: August 2023

Biodegradable polymers, such as poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), have gained significant attention due to their potential applications in various fields. To enhance the properties of PCL, researchers have focused on developing composites by blending it with other polymers or incorporating bioactive agents. One approach is the synthesis of PCL with oleic acid (OA), a natural fatty acid, resulting in improved mechanical, thermal, and in vitro activities. In this study, the synthesis of PCL modified with oleic acid was investigated using Maghnite-H+ as a sustainable heterogeneous solid catalyst. The Maghnite clay was treated with sulfuric acid to activate its catalytic properties. The impact of various synthesis conditions, such as the temperature and duration of the reaction, as well as the quantity of catalyst used, is evaluated using a response surface technique. This method employs a central composite design with three factors, each having three different levels. The resulting PCL-OA composite showed enhanced properties and in vitro activities, including antioxidant and antibacterial properties. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using the DPPH radical scavenging assay, where PCL-OA exhibited a significant increase in inhibition rate. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) was used as a standard, demonstrating remarkable scavenging activity. The enhanced scavenging activity of PCL-OA can be attributed to the chemical modifications occurring during the grafting process of PCL with oleic acid. The antimicrobial properties of PCL-OA were investigated against various microorganisms, and the results showed different sensitivities of the strains to the compounds. Combinations of caprolactone, oleic acid, and PCL-OA resulted in increased antimicrobial activity for most of the tested strains, indicating a synergistic effect. Physicochemical characterization techniques, including FTIR and NMR, confirmed the successful synthesis and structural changes of PCL-OA. Thermal stability analysis revealed the decomposition behavior of the composite.
Optimal Controller Design for a Hybrid AC-DC Microgrid System
Authors: Amer Ragab A. , Mosalam Hanan A. , El-Ela Adel. A. Abou
Published: August 2023

In this paper, an optimal control scheme for a Hybrid-Microgrid System (H- MGS) that has been tuned using the arithmetic optimization algorithm (AOA) is presented. This method is suggested in this study to obtain the optimal PI controller parameters for the H-MG when connecting to and disconnecting from the grid. The proposed system consists of Direct Current Microgrids (DC-MG) and Alternating Current Microgrids (AC-MG). A solar photovoltaic system (PVS), a hydrogen storage energy system, and a DC load coupled via a DC-DC buck converter make up the DC-MG. The AC-MG is made up of a wind turbine system, a battery system that powers a variable AC load, and an induction motor. The results are contrasted with those obtained from designing a control system using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Cuckoo Search (CS) and Gray Wolf Optimization (GWO) approaches for a variety of test situations. In comparison to previous methodologies, the AOA simulation results are more accurate and have reduced settling time, rising time, and overshoot.