bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How Does Being Overweight Moderate Associations between Diet and Blood Pressure in Male Adolescents?
Authors: Yap Jia , Ng Hwei Min , Peddie Meredith C. , Fleming Elizabeth A. , Webster Kirsten , Scott Tessa , Haszard Jillian J.
Published: June 2021

Diet is one of the strongest modifiable risk factors for hypertension. In this study, we described the associations between dietary factors and blood pressure; and explored how weight status moderated these associations in a sample of New Zealand male adolescents. We collected demographics information, anthropometric, blood pressure, and dietary data from 108 male adolescents (15–17 years old). Mixed effects and logistic regression models were used to estimate relationships between dietary variables, blood pressure, and hypertension. Moderation effects of overweight status on the relationship between hypertension and diet were explored through forest plots. One-third (36%) of the sample was classified as hypertensive. Fruit intake was related to significantly lower systolic (−2.4 mmHg, p = 0.005) and diastolic blood pressure (−3.9 mmHg, p = 0.001). Vegetable and milk intake was related to significantly lower diastolic blood pressure (−1.4 mmHg, p = 0.047) and (−2.2 mmHg, p = 0.003), respectively. In overweight participants, greater vegetable and milk, and lower meat intake appeared to reduce the odds of hypertension. Certain dietary factors may have more prominent effects on blood pressure depending on weight status.
A Review on Antifungal Efficiency of Plant Extracts Entrenched Polysaccharide-Based Nanohydrogels
Authors: Kaur Navkiranjeet , Bains Aarti , Kaushik Ravinder , Dhull Sanju B. , Melinda Fogarasi , Chawla Prince
Published: June 2021

Human skin acts as a physical barrier; however, sometimes the skin gets infected by fungi, which becomes more severe if the infection occurs on the third layer of the skin. Azole derivative-based antifungal creams, liquids, or sprays are available to treat fungal infections; however, these formulations show various side effects on the application site. Over the past few years, herbal extracts and various essential oils have shown effective antifungal activity. Additionally, autoxidation and epimerization are significant problems with the direct use of herbal extracts. Hence, to overcome these obstacles, polysaccharide-based nanohydrogels embedded with natural plant extracts and oils have become the primary choice of pharmaceutical scientists. These gels protect plant-based bioactive compounds and are effective delivery agents because they release multiple bioactive compounds in the targeted area. Nanohydrogels can be applied to infected areas, and due to their contagious nature and penetration power, they get directly absorbed through the skin, quickly reaching the skin’s third layer and effectively reducing the fungal infection. In this review, we explain various skin fungal infections, possible treatments, and the effective utilization of plant extract and oil-embedded polysaccharide-based nanohydrogels.
Antimicrobial Activity of a Library of Thioxanthones and Their Potential as Efflux Pump Inhibitors
Authors: Durães Fernando , Palmeira Andreia , Cruz Bárbara , Freitas-Silva Joana , Szemerédi Nikoletta , Gales Luís , da Costa Paulo Martins , Remião Fernando , Silva Renata , Pinto Madalena , Spengler Gabriella , Sousa Emília
Published: June 2021

The overexpression of efflux pumps is one of the causes of multidrug resistance, which leads to the inefficacy of drugs. This plays a pivotal role in antimicrobial resistance, and the most notable pumps are the AcrAB-TolC system (AcrB belongs to the resistance-nodulation-division family) and the NorA, from the major facilitator superfamily. In bacteria, these structures can also favor virulence and adaptation mechanisms, such as quorum-sensing and the formation of biofilm. In this study, the design and synthesis of a library of thioxanthones as potential efflux pump inhibitors are described. The thioxanthone derivatives were investigated for their antibacterial activity and inhibition of efflux pumps, biofilm formation, and quorum-sensing. The compounds were also studied for their potential to interact with P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1), an efflux pump present in mammalian cells, and for their cytotoxicity in both mouse fibroblasts and human Caco-2 cells. The results concerning the real-time ethidium bromide accumulation may suggest a potential bacterial efflux pump inhibition, which has not yet been reported for thioxanthones. Moreover, in vitro studies in human cells demonstrated a lack of cytotoxicity for concentrations up to 20 µM in Caco-2 cells, with some derivatives also showing potential for P-gp modulation.
Cytostatics in Indoor Environment: An Update of Analytical Methods
Authors: Portilha-Cunha M. Francisca , Alves A. , Santos Mónica S. F.
Published: June 2021

Periodic and adequate environmental monitoring programs are crucial to assess and reduce the occupational exposure of healthcare workers to cytostatics. The analytical methods employed should be rapid, reliable, sensitive, standardized, and include multiple compounds. A critical overview of recent overall procedures for surface and air contamination with cytostatics in workplace settings is presented, with a focus on sampling, sample preparation, and instrumental considerations. Limitations are also addressed and some recommendations and advice are provided. Since dermal absorption is the main exposure route, surface contamination is the preferred indicator of biological uptake and its methods have significantly improved. In contrast, cytostatics’ inhalation is rare; thus, air contamination has been poorly studied, with little improvement. Still, some elements of the analytical methods have not been extensively explored, namely: the amount of wetting solution, the extraction procedure, surface chemistry and roughness, recovery studies from specific surfaces, and cytostatics stability (in surfaces and during shipping and storage). Furthermore, complete validation data (including precision, accuracy, and instrumental and method detection limits) and estimation of global uncertainty are still lacking in most studies, thus preventing method comparison and proposal of standardized procedures.
Natural Polymer Chitosan as Super Disintegrant in Fast Orally Disintegrating Meloxicam Tablets: Formulation and Evaluation
Authors: Draksiene Gailute , Venclovaite Brigita , Pudziuvelyte Lauryna , Ivanauskas Liudas , Marksa Mindaugas , Bernatoniene Jurga
Published: June 2021

The aim of the present investigation was to formulate fast disintegrating tablets of meloxicam by wet granulation technique using medium molecular weight chitosan. The orally disintegrating tablets of meloxicam with chitosan showed good mechanical and disintegration properties and good dissolution rate when prepared in tablet press using 10.8 kN and 11.0 kN compression force. Chitosan is a suitable biopolymer to moderate the disintegration process in orally disintegrating tablets.
Quality by Design Methodology Applied to Process Optimization and Scale up of Curcumin Nanoemulsions Produced by Catastrophic Phase Inversion
Authors: Adena Sandeep Kumar Reddy , Herneisey Michele , Pierce Eric , Hartmeier Paul R. , Adlakha Suneera , Hosfeld Marco A. I. , Drennen James K. , Janjic Jelena M.
Published: June 2021

In the presented study, we report development of a stable, scalable, and high-quality curcumin-loaded oil/water (o/w) nanoemulsion manufactured by concentration-mediated catastrophic phase inversion as a low energy nanoemulsification strategy. A design of experiments (DoE) was constructed to determine the effects of process parameters on the mechanical input required to facilitate the transition from the gel phase to the final o/w nanoemulsion and the long-term effects of the process parameters on product quality. A multiple linear regression (MLR) model was constructed to predict nanoemulsion diameter as a function of nanoemulsion processing parameters. The DoE and subsequent MLR model results showed that the manufacturing process with the lowest temperature (25 °C), highest titration rate (9 g/minute), and lowest stir rate (100 rpm) produced the highest quality nanoemulsion. Both scales of CUR-loaded nanoemulsions (100 g and 500 g) were comparable to the drug-free optimal formulation with 148.7 nm and 155.1 nm diameter, 0.22 and 0.25 PDI, and 96.29 ± 0.76% and 95.60 ± 0.88% drug loading for the 100 g and 500 g scales, respectively. Photostability assessments indicated modest loss of drug (<10%) upon UV exposure of 24 h, which is appropriate for intended transdermal applications, with expected reapplication of every 6–8 h.
Impact of Th-17 Cytokines on the Regulation of Transporters in Human Placental Explants
Authors: Mirdamadi Kamelia , Kwok Jacinda , Nevo Ori , Berger Howard , Piquette-Miller Micheline
Published: June 2021

Activated T helper 17 (Th-17) cytokines play a role in the pathophysiology of autoimmune and infectious diseases. While these diseases affect many women of childbearing age, little is known about the effect of these cytokines on placental transporters. As several pro-inflammatory cytokines impact the expression of ABC and SLC placental transporters, we hypothesized that these transporters may be similarly altered by elevated levels of circulating Th-17 cytokines. Cultured term human villous explants were treated with IL-17A, IL-22, or IL-23, alone or in combination. Samples were analyzed using qRT-PCR and Western blotting. The mRNA expression of OATP2B1 was significantly downregulated in explants by all individual cytokines and combination treatments, while decreased protein expression was seen with IL-23 and combination (p < 0.01). Combination treatment decreased the mRNA expression of BCRP and OAT4 but increased that of OCT3 (p < 0.01). Decreased accumulation of the OATP substrate, cascade blue, was seen in IL-23-treated choriocarcinoma JAr cells (p < 0.01). Elevated Th-17 cytokines, which are seen in infectious and autoimmune diseases, affect the expression and activity of OATP2B1, as well as mRNA expression of placental BCRP, OAT4, and OCT3. This dysregulation could impact the fetal exposure to endogenous and exogenous substrates.
Liposomal Ellagic Acid Alleviates Cyclophosphamide-Induced Toxicity and Eliminates the Systemic Cryptococcus neoformans Infection in Leukopenic Mice
Authors: Khan Masood Alam , Khan Arif , Azam Mohd , Allemailem Khaled S. , Alrumaihi Faris , Almatroudi Ahmad , A. Alhumaydhi Fahad , Azam Faizul , Khan Shaheer Hasan , Zofair Syeda Fauzia Farheen , Ahmad Sumbul , Younus Hina
Published: June 2021

Cryptococcus neoformans infections rose sharply due to rapid increase in the numbers of immunocompromised individuals in recent years. Treatment of Cryptococcosis in immunocompromised persons is largely very challenging and hopeless. Hence, this study aimed to determine the activity of ellagic acid (EA) in the treatment of C. neoformans in cyclophosphamide injected leukopenic mice. A liposomal formulation of ellagic acid (Lip-EA) was prepared and characterized, and its antifungal activity was assessed in comparison to fluconazole (FLZ). The efficacy of the drug treatment was tested by assessing survival rate, fungal burden, and histological analysis in lung tissues. The safety of the drug formulations was tested by investigating hepatic, renal function, and antioxidant levels. The results of the present work demonstrated that Lip-EA, not FLZ, effectively eliminated C. neoformans infection in the leukopenic mice. Mice treated with Lip-EA (40 mg/kg) showed 70% survival rate and highly reduced fungal burden in their lung tissues, whereas the mice treated with FLZ (40 mg/kg) had 20% survival rate and greater fungal load in their lungs. Noteworthy, Lip-EA treatment alleviated cyclophosphamide-induced toxicity and restored hepatic and renal function parameters. Moreover, Lip-EA treatment restored the levels of superoxide dismutase and reduced glutathione and catalase in the lung tissues. The effect of FLZ or EA or Lip-EA against C. neoformans infection was assessed by the histological analysis of lung tissues. Lip-EA effectively reduced influx of inflammatory cells, thickening of alveolar walls, congestion, and hemorrhage. The findings of the present study suggest that Lip-EA may prove to be a promising therapeutic formulation against C. neoformans in immunocompromised persons.
Effects of a Novel Thiadiazole Derivative with High Anticancer Activity on Cancer Cell Immunogenic Markers: Mismatch Repair System, PD-L1 Expression, and Tumor Mutation Burden
Authors: Sagredou Sofia , Dalezis Panagiotis , Papadopoulou Eirini , Voura Maria , Deligiorgi Maria V. , Nikolaou Michail , Panayiotidis Mihalis I. , Nasioulas George , Sarli Vasiliki , Trafalis Dimitrios T.
Published: June 2021

Microsatellite instability (MSI), tumor mutation burden (TMB), and programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) are particularly known as immunotherapy predictive biomarkers. MSI and TMB are closely related to DNA mismatch repair (MMR) pathway functionality, while the PD-L1 checkpoint mediates cancer cell evasion from immune surveillance via the PD-L1/PD-1 axis. Among all the novel triazolo[3,4-b]thiadiazole derivatives, the compound KA39 emerged as the most potent anticancer agent. In the present study, potential alterations in MSI, TMB, and/or PD-L1 expression upon cell treatment with KA39 are explored. We tested three MMR-deficient (DLD-1, LS174T, and DU-145) and two MMR-proficient (HT-29 and PC-3) human cancer cell lines. Our findings support KA39-induced PD-L1 overexpression in all cancer cell lines, although the most outstanding increase was observed in MMR-proficient HT-29 cells. MSI analysis showed that KA39 affects the MMR system, impairing its recognition or repair activity, particularly in MMR-deficient DLD-1 and DU-145 cells, enhancing oligonucleotide production. There were no remarkable alterations in the TMB between untreated and treated cells, indicating that KA39 does not belong to mutagenic agents. Taking together the significant in vitro anticancer activity with PD-L1 upregulation and MSI increase, KA39 should be investigated further for its implication in chemo-immunotherapy of cancer.
Hybrid-Type SELEX for the Selection of Artificial Nucleic Acid Aptamers Exhibiting Cell Internalization Activity
Authors: Uemachi Hiro , Kasahara Yuuya , Tanaka Keisuke , Okuda Takumi , Yoneda Yoshihiro , Obika Satoshi
Published: June 2021

Nucleic acid aptamers have attracted considerable attention as next-generation pharmaceutical agents and delivery vehicles for small molecule drugs and therapeutic oligonucleotides. Chemical modification is an effective approach for improving the functionality of aptamers. However, the process of selecting appropriately modified aptamers is laborious because of many possible modification patterns. Here, we describe a hybrid-type systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) approach for the generation of the artificial nucleic acid aptamers effective against human TROP2, a cell surface protein identified by drug discovery as a promising target for cancer therapy. Capillary electrophoresis SELEX was used for the pre-screening of multiple modified nucleic acid libraries and enrichment of TROP2 binding aptamers in the first step, followed by functional screening using cell-SELEX in the second step for the generation of cell-internalizing aptamers. One representative aptamer, Tac-B1, had a nanomolar-level affinity to human TROP2 and exhibited elevated capacity for internalization by cells. Because of the growing interest in the application of aptamers for drug delivery, our hybrid selection approach has great potential for the generation of functional artificial nucleic acid aptamers with ideal modification patterns in vitro.
Drug-Rich Phases Induced by Amorphous Solid Dispersion: Arbitrary or Intentional Goal in Oral Drug Delivery?
Authors: Qian Kaijie , Stella Lorenzo , Jones David S. , Andrews Gavin P. , Du Huachuan , Tian Yiwei
Published: June 2021

Among many methods to mitigate the solubility limitations of drug compounds, amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) is considered to be one of the most promising strategies to enhance the dissolution and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. The enhancement of ASD in the oral absorption of drugs has been mainly attributed to the high apparent drug solubility during the dissolution. In the last decade, with the implementations of new knowledge and advanced analytical techniques, a drug-rich transient metastable phase was frequently highlighted within the supersaturation stage of the ASD dissolution. The extended drug absorption and bioavailability enhancement may be attributed to the metastability of such drug-rich phases. In this paper, we have reviewed (i) the possible theory behind the formation and stabilization of such metastable drug-rich phases, with a focus on non-classical nucleation; (ii) the additional benefits of the ASD-induced drug-rich phases for bioavailability enhancements. It is envisaged that a greater understanding of the non-classical nucleation theory and its application on the ASD design might accelerate the drug product development process in the future.
Silver-Assembled Silica Nanoparticles in Lateral Flow Immunoassay for Visual Inspection of Prostate-Specific Antigen
Authors: Kim Hyung-Mo , Kim Jaehi , Bock Sungje , An Jaehyun , Choi Yun-Sik , Pham Xuan-Hung , Cha Myeong Geun , Seong Bomi , Kim Wooyeon , Kim Yoon-Hee , Song Hobeom , Kim Jung-Won , Park Seung-min , Lee Sang Hun , Rho Won-Yeop , Lee Sangchul , Jeong Dae Hong , Lee Ho-Young , Jun Bong-Hyun
Published: June 2021

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the best-known biomarker for early diagnosis of prostate cancer. For prostate cancer in particular, the threshold level of PSA <4.0 ng/mL in clinical samples is an important indicator. Quick and easy visual detection of the PSA level greatly helps in early detection and treatment of prostate cancer and reducing mortality. In this study, we developed optimized silica-coated silver-assembled silica nanoparticles (SiO2@Ag@SiO2 NPs) that were applied to a visual lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) platform for PSA detection. During synthesis, the ratio of silica NPs to silver nitrate changed, and as the synthesized NPs exhibited distinct UV spectra and colors, most optimized SiO2@Ag@SiO2 NPs showed the potential for early prostate cancer diagnosis. The PSA detection limit of our LFIA platform was 1.1 ng/mL. By applying each SiO2@Ag@SiO2 NP to the visual LFIA platform, optimized SiO2@Ag@SiO2 NPs were selected in the test strip, and clinical samples from prostate cancer patients were successfully detected as the boundaries of non-specific binding were clearly seen and the level of PSA was <4 ng/mL, thus providing an avenue for quick prostate cancer diagnosis and early treatment.
Condition-Invariant Robot Localization Using Global Sequence Alignment of Deep Features
Authors: Oh Junghyun , Han Changwan , Lee Seunghwan
Published: June 2021

Localization is one of the essential process in robotics, as it plays an important role in autonomous navigation, simultaneous localization, and mapping for mobile robots. As robots perform large-scale and long-term operations, identifying the same locations in a changing environment has become an important problem. In this paper, we describe a robust visual localization system under severe appearance changes. First, a robust feature extraction method based on a deep variational autoencoder is described to calculate the similarity between images. Then, a global sequence alignment is proposed to find the actual trajectory of the robot. To align sequences, local fragments are detected from the similarity matrix and connected using a rectangle chaining algorithm considering the robot’s motion constraint. Since the chained fragments provide reliable clues to find the global path, false matches on featureless structures or partial failures during the alignment could be recovered and perform accurate robot localization in changing environments. The presented experimental results demonstrated the benefits of the proposed method, which outperformed existing algorithms in long-term conditions.
Optimization of End-to-End Convolutional Neural Networks for Analysis of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Rhythms during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Authors: Jekova Irena , Krasteva Vessela
Published: June 2021

High performance of the shock advisory analysis of the electrocardiogram (ECG) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is important for better management of the resuscitation protocol. It should provide fewer interruptions of chest compressions (CC) for non-shockable organized rhythms (OR) and Asystole, or prompt CC stopping for early treatment of shockable ventricular fibrillation (VF). Major disturbing factors are strong CC artifacts corrupting raw ECG, which we aimed to analyze with optimized end-to-end convolutional neural network (CNN) without pre-filtering or additional sensors. The hyperparameter random search of 1500 CNN models with 2–7 convolutional layers, 5–50 filters and 5–100 kernel sizes was done on large databases from independent OHCA interventions for training (3001 samples) and validation (2528 samples). The best model, named CNN3-CC-ECG network with three convolutional layers (filters@kernels: 5@5,25@20,50@20) presented Sensitivity Se(VF) = 89%(268/301), Specificity Sp(OR) = 91.7%(1504/1640), Sp(Asystole) = 91.1%(3325/3650) on an independent test OHCA database. CNN3-CC-ECG’s ability to effectively extract features from raw ECG signals during CPR was comprehensively demonstrated, and the dependency on the CPR corruption level in ECG was tested. We denoted a significant drop of Se(VF) = 74.2% and Sp(OR) = 84.6% in very strong CPR artifacts with a signal-to-noise ratio of SNR < −9 dB, p < 0.05. Otherwise, for strong, moderate and weak CC artifacts (SNR > −9 dB, −6 dB, −3 dB), we observed insignificant performance differences: Se(VF) = 92.5–96.3%, Sp(OR) = 93.4–95.5%, Sp(Asystole) = 92.6–94.0%, p > 0.05. Performance stability with respect to CC rate was validated. Generalizable application of the optimized computationally efficient CNN model was justified by an independent OHCA database, which to our knowledge is the largest test dataset with real-life cardiac arrest rhythms during CPR.
Electrospun PEO/PEDOT:PSS Nanofibers for Wearable Physiological Flex Sensors
Authors: Verpoorten Eve , Massaglia Giulia , Pirri Candido Fabrizio , Quaglio Marzia
Published: June 2021

Flexible sensors are fundamental devices for human body monitoring. The mechanical strain and physiological parameters coupled sensing have attracted increasing interest in this field. However, integration of different sensors in one platform usually involves complex fabrication process-flows. Simplification, even if essential, remains a challenge. Here, we investigate a piezoresistive and electrochemical active electrospun nanofibers (NFs) mat as the sensitive element of the wearable physiological flex sensing platform. The use of one material sensitive to the two kinds of stimuli reduces the process-flow to two steps. We demonstrate that the final NFs pH-Flex Sensor can be used to monitor the deformation of a human body joint as well as the pH of the skin. A unique approach has been selected for pH sensing, based on Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). A linear dependence of the both the double layer capacitance and charge transfer re-sistance with the pH value was obtained by EIS, as well as a linear trend of the electrical resistance with the bending deformation. Gauge factors values calculated after the bending test were 45.84 in traction and 208.55 in compression mode, reflecting the extraordinary piezoresistive behavior of our nanostructured NFs.
Deterministic and Empirical Approach for Millimeter-Wave Complex Outdoor Smart Parking Solution Deployments
Authors: Rodríguez-Corbo Fidel Alejandro , Azpilicueta Leyre , Celaya-Echarri Mikel , Lopez-Iturri Peio , Alejos Ana V. , Shubair Raed M. , Falcone Francisco
Published: June 2021

The characterization of different vegetation/vehicle densities and their corresponding effects on large-scale channel parameters such as path loss can provide important information during the deployment of wireless communications systems under outdoor conditions. In this work, a deterministic analysis based on ray-launching (RL) simulation and empirical measurements for vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications for outdoor parking environments and smart parking solutions is presented. The study was carried out at a frequency of 28 GHz using directional antennas, with the transmitter raised above ground level under realistic use case conditions. Different radio channel impairments were weighed in, considering the progressive effect of first, the density of an incremental obstructed barrier of trees, and the effect of different parked vehicle densities within the parking lot. On the basis of these scenarios, large-scale parameters and temporal dispersion characteristics were obtained, and the effect of vegetation/vehicle density changes was assessed. The characterization of propagation impairments that different vegetation/vehicle densities can impose onto the wireless radio channel in the millimeter frequency range was performed. Finally, the results obtained in this research can aid communication deployment in outdoor parking conditions.
Underlying Topography Inversion Using Dual Polarimetric TomoSAR
Authors: Peng Xing , Long Shilin , Wang Youjun , Xie Qinghua , Du Yanan , Pan Xiong
Published: June 2021

Underlying topography plays an important role in the national economic construction, military security, resource exploration and investigation. Since synthetic aperture radar tomography (TomoSAR) can achieve the three-dimensional imaging of forests, it has been widely used in underlying topography estimation. At present, there are two kinds of TomoSAR based on the applied datasets: single polarimetric TomoSAR (SP-TomoSAR) and fully polarimetric TomoSAR (FP-TomoSAR). However, SP-TomoSAR cannot obtain the underlying topography accurately due to the lack of enough observations. FP-TomoSAR can improve the estimation accuracy of underlying topography. However, it requires high-cost data acquisition for the large-scale application. Thus, this paper proposes the dual polarimetric TomoSAR (DP-TomoSAR) as another suitable candidate to estimate the underlying topography because of its wide swath and multiple polarimetric observations. Moreover, three frequently used spectral estimation algorithms, namely, Beamforming, Capon and MUSIC, are used in DP-TomoSAR. For validation, a series of simulated experiments was carried out, and the airborne P-band multiple polarimetric SAR data over the Lope, Gabon was also acquired to estimate the underlying topography. The results suggest that DP-TomoSAR in HH & HV combination is more suitable to estimate underlying topography over forest areas than other DP combinations. Moreover, the estimation accuracy of DP-TomoSAR is slightly lower than that of FP-TomoSAR but is higher than that of SP-TomoSAR.
Integration of Remote Sensing and Mexican Water Quality Monitoring System Using an Extreme Learning Machine
Authors: Arias-Rodriguez Leonardo F. , Duan Zheng , Díaz-Torres José de Jesús , Basilio Hazas Mónica , Huang Jingshui , Kumar Bapitha Udhaya , Tuo Ye , Disse Markus
Published: June 2021

Remote Sensing, as a driver for water management decisions, needs further integration with monitoring water quality programs, especially in developing countries. Moreover, usage of remote sensing approaches has not been broadly applied in monitoring routines. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the efficacy of available sensors to complement the often limited field measurements from such programs and build models that support monitoring tasks. Here, we integrate field measurements (2013–2019) from the Mexican national water quality monitoring system (RNMCA) with data from Landsat-8 OLI, Sentinel-3 OLCI, and Sentinel-2 MSI to train an extreme learning machine (ELM), a support vector regression (SVR) and a linear regression (LR) for estimating Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), Turbidity, Total Suspended Matter (TSM) and Secchi Disk Depth (SDD). Additionally, OLCI Level-2 Products for Chl-a and TSM are compared against the RNMCA data. We observed that OLCI Level-2 Products are poorly correlated with the RNMCA data and it is not feasible to rely only on them to support monitoring operations. However, OLCI atmospherically corrected data is useful to develop accurate models using an ELM, particularly for Turbidity (R2 = 0.7). We conclude that remote sensing is useful to support monitoring systems tasks, and its progressive integration will improve the quality of water quality monitoring programs.
A Reinforcement Learning Routing Protocol for UAV Aided Public Safety Networks
Authors: Minhas Hassan Ishtiaq , Ahmad Rizwan , Ahmed Waqas , Waheed Maham , Alam Muhammad Mahtab , Gul Sufi Tabassum
Published: June 2021

In Public Safety Networks (PSNs), the conservation of on-scene device energy is critical to ensure long term connectivity to first responders. Due to the limited transmit power, this connectivity can be ensured by enabling continuous cooperation among on-scene devices through multipath routing. In this paper, we present a Reinforcement Learning (RL) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle- (UAV) aided multipath routing scheme for PSNs. The aim is to increase network lifetime by improving the Energy Efficiency (EE) of the PSN. First, network configurations are generated by using different clustering schemes. The RL is then applied to configure the routing topology that considers both the immediate energy cost and the total distance cost of the transmission path. The performance of these schemes are analyzed in terms of throughput, energy consumption, number of dead nodes, delay, packet delivery ratio, number of cluster head changes, number of control packets, and EE. The results showed an improvement of approximately 42% in EE of the clustering scheme when compared with non-clustering schemes. Furthermore, the impact of UAV trajectory and the number of UAVs are jointly analyzed by considering various trajectory scenarios around the disaster area. The EE can be further improved by 27% using Two UAVs on Opposite Axis of the building and moving in the Opposite directions (TUOAO) when compared to a single UAV scheme. The result showed that although the number of control packets in both the single and two UAV scenarios are comparable, the total number of CH changes are significantly different.
Short-Time Fourier Transform Based on Metaprogramming and the Stockham Optimization Method
Authors: Rybak Grzegorz , Strzecha Krzysztof
Published: June 2021

The extension for high-performance STFT (Short-Time Fourier Transform) algorithm written entirely in Java language for non-parallel computations is presented in the current paper. This solution could compete with the best available and most common algorithms supplied by libraries such as FFTW or JTransform. The main idea was to move complex computations and expensive functions to the program generation phase. Thus, only core and essential operations were executed during the runtime phase. Furthermore, new approach allows to eliminate the necessity for a rearrangement operation that uses the bit-reversal permutation technique. This article presents a brief description of the STFT solution that was worked out as an extension for the original application, in order to increase its efficiency. The solution remains a Stockham algorithm adapted using metaprogramming techniques and entails an additional reduction its execution time. Performance tests and experiments were conducted using a Java Platform and JMH library, which allowed for accurate execution time measurements. Major aspects of the Java VM like warm-up effects were also taken into consideration. Solution was applied into Electrical Capacitance Tomography measurement system in order to measure the material changes during the silo discharging industrial process.
Characterization of Phytochemical Components of Crocus sativus Leaves: A New Attractive By-Product
Authors: Mykhailenko Olha , Ivanauskas Liudas , Bezruk Ivan , Sidorenko Lyudmila , Lesyk Roman , Georgiyants Victoriya
Published: June 2021

Crocus sativus L. is one of the world’s most famous saffron production crops and its enormous by-products, such as leaves, are an excellent source of bioactive compounds with potential nutritional applications. The total phenolic content of Crocus leaves was 5.44 ± 0.01 mg GAE/g, and the total flavonoid content was 2.63 ± 0.05 mg RE/g, respectively. The main bioactive compounds in the leaves, such as polyphenols, flavonoids by HPLC and carboxylic acids, and amino acids, were also identified by GC-MS. HPLC analyses revealed mangiferin as a dominant constituent (1.26 ± 0.02 mg/g). C. sativus contains seven essential amino acids (ILE, LEU, LYS, MET, PHE, THR, TRP, VAL) in high concentration. Among them, isoleucine (7965 µg/g) was the dominant compound. In addition, the K and Ca concentrations in the leaves were significant (p < 0.05). The chemical composition revealed α-linolenic acid (22,490 µg/g) and linoelaidic acid (9880 µg/g) to be major constituents among all the acids found in the Crocus leaves. The extracts of C. sativus leaves showed the highest inhibitory activity for Gram-positive (B. subtilis and S. aureus) bacteria in the in vitro assay. The current results identify and underline the potential of natural products from C. sativus leaves that can add value to saffron production.
Reliable Requirements Engineering Practices for COVID-19 Using Blockchain
Authors: Shahzad Basit , Javed Iqra , Shaikh Asadullah , Sulaiman Adel , Abro Ahsanullah , Ali Memon Muhammad
Published: June 2021

Improvement in the requirements for engineering practices is needed in areas such as requirement elicitation, validation, prioritization, and negotiations between stakeholders to create successful projects for COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) software. Many algorithms and techniques are used to create quality software projects, but they still need more improvement to work effectively for global pandemic COVID-19 software. By improving the reliability of requirement engineering practices using blockchain-based technology, the software will be reliable and will make it easier for the users working in a lockdown situation because of COVID-19. Therefore, our purpose is to identify the factors for reliable software engineering practices using blockchain-oriented technology for COVID-19 software. A systematic literature review is conducted to identify challenges and offer solutions. Through using blockchain-based technology for requirement engineering practices, the requirements will be gathered accurately and validated, and the conflicts between stakeholders will also be solved. It will improve the quality and reliability of COVID-19 software projects, which will help society work effectively from home. Improvement in the quality and reliability of COVID-19 software will improve users’ interest, and their working capacity will be increased.
E-Commerce Calls for Cyber-Security and Sustainability: How European Citizens Look for a Trusted Online Environment
Authors: D’Adamo Idiano , González-Sánchez Rocío , Medina-Salgado Maria Sonia , Settembre-Blundo Davide
Published: June 2021

The pandemic has changed the citizens’ behavior, inducing them to avoid any real contact. This has given an incredible impulse to e-commerce; however, the complexity of the topic has not yet been adequately explored in the literature. To fill this gap, this study has a twofold purpose: (1) to investigate how European countries comparatively perform in e-commerce, and (2) to describe what are the most important challenges for the further expansion of e-commerce. To this end, we adopted a hybrid methodology based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and a Likert scale survey. The first method allows to us rank the e-commerce performance of different European countries, while the second one looks at the problems and barriers that characterize online shopping. The results of the study show that European countries have different sensitivities to the issue of cyber-security, and among them it is possible to identify three groups with different levels of attention to the critical issues of e-commerce. The Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark belong to the group of countries most responsive to e-commerce. This request is part of a broader framework of transition toward sustainable development, i.e., a reliable digital environment where citizens and businesses can exercise their rights and freedoms in complete security. Finally, from a theoretical perspective, this paper adds a new baseline to the literature on the state of the art of e-commerce in Europe that addresses the effects of the pandemic. From a managerial point of view, decision makers can find in the results of this analysis a support for the setting of business strategies for the expansion of firms in certain markets and guidance for public authorities when defining regulatory policies for e-commerce.
Dengue Transmission Mapping with Weather-Based Predictive Model in Three Southernmost Provinces of Thailand
Authors: Sriklin Teerawad , Kajornkasirat Siriwan , Puttinaovarat Supattra
Published: June 2021

This study aimed to show maps and analyses that display dengue cases and weather-related factors on dengue transmission in the three southernmost provinces of Thailand, namely Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat provinces. Data on the number of dengue cases and weather variables including rainfall, rainy day, mean temperature, min temperature, max temperature, relative humidity, and air pressure for the period from January 2015 to December 2019 were obtained from the Bureau of Epidemiology, Ministry of Public Health and the Meteorological Department of Southern Thailand, respectively. Spearman rank correlation test was performed at lags from zero to two months and the predictive modeling used time series Poisson regression analysis. The distribution of dengue cases showed that in Pattani and Yala provinces the most dengue cases occurred in June. Narathiwat province had the most dengue cases occurring in August. The air pressure, relative humidity, rainfall, rainy day, and min temperature are the main predictors in Pattani province, while air pressure, rainy day, and max/mean temperature seem to play important roles in the number of dengue cases in Yala and Narathiwat provinces. The goodness-of-fit analyses reveal that the model fits the data reasonably well. The results provide scientific information for creating effective dengue control programs in the community, and the predictive model can support decision making in public health organizations and for management of the environmental risk area.
Measures for Ensuring Sustainability during the Current Spreading of Coronaviruses in the Czech Republic
Authors: Božek František , Tušer Irena
Published: June 2021

This manuscript focuses on the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in the Czech Republic and its impact on economic and social sustainability in this country. The topic of this manuscript is the topical issue of how to manage the outbreak of this infectious disease and thereby reduce any disruption to economic and social sustainability. The aim of the authors was to identify serious risks and to propose priority measures that can lead to their significant mitigation. A modified semi-quantitative three-component probability method Pj, consequences Cj and opinion of evaluators OEj were used to assess active risks. The manuscript also presents risk analysis and risk management and the construction of developmental regression models. The manuscript presents a proposal for preventive measures to mitigate risks in the period of the third wave of the occurrence and spread of the coronavirus. Most of the proposed preventive measures were based on brainstorming of the views and experience of the implementation team. Consultation with and materials by experts in the field of developmental biology, parasitology, epidemiology and virology were also used. As such, this survey provides lessons for other cities and regions involved in coping with COVID-19 infection and implementing the policy of a positive and timely return to work.
Factors Shaping the Recycling Systems for Plastic Packaging Waste—A Comparison between Austria, Germany and The Netherlands
Authors: Picuno Caterina , Van Eygen Emile , Brouwer Marieke T. , Kuchta Kerstin , Thoden van Velzen Eggo U.
Published: June 2021

Setting up strategies for a sound management of plastic packaging waste (PPW) is becoming increasingly crucial at many levels of the value chain in Europe. After the very first implementation of an extended producer responsibility scheme in Germany in 1991, many EU Countries followed. This resulted in a complex network of schemes that differ from one member state to another. This paper brings together the three latest studies describing the current flows of PPW across the waste value chain from Austria (reference year 2013), Germany and the Netherlands (reference year 2017). With this aim, the models of the three single studies have been adapted to fit into a common model, allowing to perform a comparative analysis. Although with a relatively comparable product market, the three countries have different management systems (e.g., separate collection systems, target sorting products and treatment of residual waste), reflecting different national strategies to achieve the circular economy targets. Recycling rates (in terms of washed milled goods at the output of the recycling process) for the three countries resulted in 23%, 43% and 30% of the total mass of PPW generated in, respectively, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. The fraction of mixed recycled plastics, relevant for Germany and the Netherlands only, was determined to be one of the major determinants of the differences in recycling rates. Furthermore, the discussion revolves around new political targets that have the potential to contribute to addressing the issue of tradeoff between quantity and quality of recycled plastics placed on the market, with measures such as design-for-recycling and eco-modulation of EPR fees playing a critical role, while also pointing out the aspects that inevitably hinder closed-loop recycling.
Collaborative Governance Mechanism of Climate Change and Air Pollution: Evidence from China
Authors: Wang Bing , Wang Yifan , Zhao Yuqing
Published: June 2021

Since entering the industrialized era, China’s greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutant emissions have increased rapidly. China is the country with the most greenhouse gas emissions, and it is also facing serious local air pollution problems. China’s industrial sector is the largest contributor to CO2 and air pollutants. The resulting climate change and air pollution issues have caused China to face double pressures. This article uses the CO2 and comprehensive air pollutant emission data of China’s industrial sector as a starting point and uses econometric research methods to explore the synergy between China’s industrial carbon emission reduction and industrial comprehensive air pollutant emission reduction. The synergistic effect between industrial carbon emissions and industrial comprehensive air pollutant emissions has been quantified, and the transmission path of the synergistic effect has been explored. The empirical results show that there are benefits of synergistic governance between climate change and air pollution in China’s industrial sector. Every 1000 tons of carbon reduction in the industrial sector will result in 1 ton of comprehensive air pollutant reduction. The increase in R&D expenditure in the energy and power sector can significantly promote the reduction of air pollutants in the industrial sector. Increasing the intensity of environmental regulations is the main expansion path for synergy. However, in eastern, central, and western China, the synergy is not the same. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate regionally differentiated emission reduction policies. The research conclusions of this article can provide policy references for the coordinated governance of climate change and air pollution in China.
Generalizing Normality: Different Estimation Methods for Skewed Information
Authors: Nascimento Diego Carvalho do , Ramos Pedro Luiz , Elal-Olivero David , Cortes-Araya Milton , Louzada Francisco
Published: June 2021

Normality is the most commonly used mathematical supposition in data modeling. Nonetheless, even based on the law of large numbers (LLN), normality is a strong presumption, given that the presence of asymmetry and multi-modality in real-world problems is expected. Thus, a flexible modification in the normal distribution proposed by Elal-Olivero adds a skewness parameter called Alpha-skew-normal (ASN) distribution, which enables bimodality and fat-tail, if needed, although it is sometimes not trivial to estimate this third parameter (regardless of the location and scale). This work analyzed seven different statistical inferential methods towards the ASN distribution on synthetic data and historical data of water flux from 21 rivers (channels) in the Atacama region. Moreover, the contributions of this paper are related to the estimations of probability surrounding rivers’ flux levels in the surroundings of Copiapó city, which is the most economically important city of the third Chilean region and is known to be located in one of the driest areas on Earth (excluding the North and the South Poles). The results show the competitiveness of the MPS and RADE methods with respect to the MLE method, as well as their excellent performance.
Enhanced Effect of Botulinum Toxin A Injections into the Extensor Digitorum Brevis Muscle after Local Mechanical Leg Vibration: A Case Report
Authors: Hefter Harald , Beek Judith , Rosenthal Dietmar , Samadzadeh Sara
Published: June 2021

Background: The aim of this study was to demonstrate an increase in muscle action potentials and an enhancement of the efficacy of botulinum toxin (BoNT) after mechanical leg vibration. Methods: A 53-year-old healthy male volunteer underwent vibration ergometry training (VET) every morning and every evening for 10 min for 14 days. Compound muscle action potential (CMAP) of the right (R) and left (L) extensor digitorum brevis (EDB) muscle was analyzed by supramaximal peroneal nerve stimulation before and after VET 12 times during the 14 days. Thereafter, VET was stopped and 20 U incobotulinumtoxin (incoBoNT/A) were injected into the right EDB. During the following 10 days, CMAP of both EDBs was tested 12 times. Results: Under VET, the CMAP of both EDBs significantly increased (L: p < 0.01; R: p < 0.01). During the first 14 days, CMAP of the left EDB before VET was significantly (<0.008) lower than 20 min later after VET. This was not the case for the better trained right EDB. After day 14, CMAP of the untreated left EDB further increased for 6 days and then decreased again. In the right EDB, BoNT-treated EDB CMAP rapidly and highly significantly (p < 0.0001) decreased during the first 48 h by about 90%, from a level of about 14 mV down to a plateau of around 1.5 mV. Conclusion: Local mechanical leg vibration has a short- and long-term training effect. Compared to other studies analyzing the reduction in EDB CMAPs after BoNT injections, the reduction of EDB CMAPs in the present study observed after combined application of BoNT and VET was much faster and more pronounced.
Features of nursing intervention in pneumonia of children before the spread of new coronavirus infection
Authors: Kropotova Svetlana
Published: June 2021

The article is devoted to the content of the professional activity of the nursing staff of the pediatric service, aimed at providing medical care to children with pneumonia.