bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Energy Efficient Dynamic Symmetric Key Based Protocol for Secure Traffic Exchanges in Smart Homes
Authors: Nyangaresi Vincent Omollo , Abduljabbar Zaid Ameen , Mutlaq Keyan Abdul-Aziz , Ma Junchao , Honi Dhafer G. , Aldarwish Abdulla J. Y. , Abduljaleel Iman Qays
Published: December 2022

Highly sensitive information about people’s social life and daily activities flows in smart home networks. As such, if attackers can manage to capture or even eavesdrop on this information, the privacy of the users can be compromised. The consequences can be far-reaching, such as knowing the status of home occupancy that can then facilitate burglary. To address these challenges, approaches such as data aggregation and signcryption have been utilized. Elliptic curve cryptography, bilinear pairing, asymmetric key cryptosystem, blockchain, and exponential operations are among the most popular techniques deployed to design these security solutions. However, the computational, storage and communication complexities exhibited by the majority of these techniques are too high. This renders these techniques unsuitable for smart home components such as smart switches and sensors. Some of these schemes have centralized architectures, which present some single points of failure. In this paper, symmetric key authentication procedures are presented for smart home networks. The proposed protocol leverages on cryptographic primitives such as one-way hashing and bitwise exclusive-Or operations. The results indicate that this scheme incurs the lowest communication, storage, and computation costs compared to other related state-of-the-art techniques. Empirically, our protocol reduces the communication and computation complexities by 16.7% and 57.7%, respectively. In addition, it provides backward key secrecy, robust mutual authentication, anonymity, forward key secrecy, and unlinkability. Moreover, it can effectively prevent attacks such as impersonation, session hijacking, denial of service, packet replays, man-in-the-middle, and message eavesdropping.
Application of Statistical Methods to Analyze the Quality of Electronic Circuits Assembly
Authors: Górecki Krzysztof , Kowalke Wojciech
Published: December 2022

The paper discusses selected statistical methods enabling the effective assessment of the influence of selected factors on the efficiency of the assembly process of RF systems. The considerations were carried out on the example of the investigations into the influence of the size of the voids appearing in the soldering area of RF power transistors on the value of selected electrical parameters of these devices in a considered electronic module. Selected quality tools were described and additional analyses were performed using the Six Sigma methodology and the Minitab application. With the use of the QFD (Quality Function Deployment) method and the HoQ (House of Quality) tool, all the relevant output quantities of the tested system and its components were defined. The obtained results of statistical analyses allow determining the existing correlations between particular quantities, which include, among others, the temperature of the transistor case, the size of the void spaces in the soldering area or the location of transistors on the PCB (Printed Circuit Board). From the performed investigations, it is clear that no correlation between the void size and the thermal resistance of the tested transistors was observed.
Biochemical Characteristics of Acid-Soluble Collagen from Food Processing By-Products of Needlefish Skin (Tylosurus acus melanotus)
Authors: Ramle Siti Zulaikha , Oslan Siti Nur Hazwani , Shapawi Rossita , Mokhtar Ruzaidi Azli Mohd , Noordin Wan Norhana Md. , Huda Nurul
Published: December 2022

The by-product of needlefish (Tylosurus acus melanotus) waste possesses important characteristics that could be used in food applications. Fish by-product collagen may be used in place of mammalian collagen due to ethical and religious considerations over environmental degradation. Different forms of acid-soluble collagen (ASC) were successfully extracted from needlefish skin. Based on dry weight, the collagen extracted using acetic acid (AAC), lactic acid (LAC), and citric acid (CAC) treatments was 3.13% with a significantly difference (p < 0.05), followed by 0.56% and 1.03%, respectively. Based on proximate analysis, the needlefish skin composition was found to be significantly different (p < 0.05) between compositions, with the highest moisture content at 61.65%, followed by protein (27.39%), fat (8.59%), and ash (2.16%). According to the SDS-PAGE results, all extracted collagen were identified as a type 1 collagen. Additionally, ATR-FTIR revealed that all collagens had amide A, B, amide I, II, and III peaks. AAC significantly outperforms LAC and CAC in terms of yield following physicochemical characterisation, including pH determination, colour (L* value), and hydroxyproline content. All collagens demonstrated strong heat resistance and structural stability with Tmax above 38 °C. Collagen was most soluble at pH 5 for AAC, pH 3 for LAC, and pH 7 for CAC. The effect of collagen solubility on NaCl concentration was discovered to be significantly reduced to 50 g/L for all collagen samples. All collagens can be used as alternatives to terrestrial collagen in a diverse range of applications.
Analysis of Telescope Wavefront Aberration and Optical Path Stability in Space Gravitational Wave Detection
Authors: Chen Zhiwei , Leng Rongkuan , Yan Changxiang , Fang Chao , Wang Zhi
Published: December 2022

Space-based gravitational wave detection programs, such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) or Taiji program, obtain gravitational wave signals by measuring the change in the distance between three satellites by laser. The telescope is an important part of the measurement system, and its function is to transmit and receive laser signals. Due to changes in the space environment, the telescope will inevitably introduce additional dynamic aberrations, which will bring optical path errors to the inversion of gravitational wave signals. Taking LISA as an example, to achieve pm-level measurement accuracy at the detection frequency of 0.1 mHz–1 Hz, the stability requirements of the telescope are less than 1 pm/Hz1/2. This paper theoretically deduces the aberration types that affect the telescope’s stability and conducts simulation analysis according to the actual phase demodulation method, which verifies the theory’s correctness. In addition, using this theory, it can be concluded that under the condition that the total size of the telescope aberration is determined to be stable, reducing the ratio of rotationally symmetric aberrations such as “spherical aberration” and “defocusing” among common aberrations can significantly improve the stability of the telescope. The conclusion guides the optical system design of LISA or Taiji.
Based on Backpropagation Neural Network and Adaptive Linear Active Disturbance Rejection Control for Attitude of a Quadrotor Carrying a Load
Authors: Gao Yunlong , Zhu Guixin , Zhao Tong
Published: December 2022

A control method combining Backpropagation (BP) neural network and Adaptive Linear Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ALADRC) is proposed for the attitude control problem of quadrotor aircraft. The proposed controller can observe and compensate the total disturbance in the working process of the quadrotor system. At the same time, it has a good ability to suppress the disturbance of the quadrotor load mass change. In addition, adaptive control and BP neural network are used to adjust the controller parameters in real time to solve the problem of difficult parameter tuning. Finally, the stability of the system is proved based on Lyapunov theory. The simulation results show that the quadrotor system can still track the altitude and attitude angle commands stably in the presence of disturbances, and has strong adaptability to load mass changes, so that the quadrotor can still complete the given tasks in the presence of multi-source disturbances.
An Array SPRi Biosensor for Simultaneous VEGF-A and FGF-2 Determination in Biological Samples
Authors: Oldak Lukasz , Leśniewska Anna , Zelazowska-Rutkowska Beata , Latoch Eryk , Lukaszewski Zenon , Krawczuk-Rybak Maryna , Gorodkiewicz Ewa
Published: December 2022

A new method was developed for the simultaneous determination of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) in blood serum, using biosensors with array Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging (SPRi) detection. It can be applied as a single method for simultaneous VEGF-A and FGF-2 determination or as two separate methods for testing only one selected protein in each case. Validation was carried out for each method. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values were determined and were found not to differ significantly from the parameters obtained in comparisons with commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests. Tests were carried out to check the robustness of the method. The results indicate a lack of robustness of the analytical method to elevated temperature and pH values other than those recommended by the manufacturers of the reagents (recommended pH = 7.40). The values of recoveries were determined and confirmed the reliability of the results obtained with the use of the newly developed method. The selectivity studies showed no negative influence of other proteins present in the matrix of the tested samples on the results of the VEGF-A and FGF-2 concentration measurements. The developed method is also characterized by high reproducibility of the results obtained and agreement with the VEGF-A and FGF-2 concentration values obtained with commercial ELISA tests. The proposed method offers fast, reproducible, and accurate simultaneous quantification of VEGF-A and FGF-2 in human body fluids. Only 4 µL of test sample are required for simultaneous analysis. The total time for simultaneous analysis of both biomarkers does not exceed 20 min. The developed analytical method is superior to ELISA in terms of analysis time and sample volume for analysis, and it offers lower LOD and LOQ values and allows for the simultaneous analysis of two biomarkers. There is also no need to collect a large number of samples. Standard ELISAs usually have 96 reaction wells. The proposed biosensor can be used to analyse only one sample, without the need to waste reagents on unused reaction sites. In addition, it is possible to regenerate the biosensor and reuse it.
Adoption of Conceptual Model for Smartphones among Older People
Authors: Yousaf Azeem , Iqbal Muhammad , Arif Muhammad , Jaffar Arfan , Brezulianu Adrian , Geman Oana
Published: December 2022

A critical issue is the acceptance of current modern smartphone technology by older people. Smartphones are inventions that presently offer significant advantages to help individuals. However, around the world, every older user wants to perform tasks that are more user-friendly, and near their personal preferences. Considering these factors, this research aimed to explain, identify, and examine multiple external factors and usability for acceptance, adoption, and usage of smartphones by the 45-year-old-and-above population. To achieve the research objective, a new conceptual model, the smartphone acceptance model for older people, was proposed; it was principally based on Technology acceptance model (TAM), in order to identify the essential aging factors that may have a significant influence on smartphone usability, usage, acceptance, and adoption among older people. The data collection was conducted through a questionnaire that was administered to 240 persons above 40. Overall findings showed that multiple external factors such as comfortability (CA), social influence (SI), perceived enjoyment (PE), fear of failure (FOF), perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU), behavioral intention (BI), compatibility (COM), and attitude towards use (ATU) had significant impacts in the adoption of smartphones among older persons. For hypothesis testing, the collected data were additionally analyzed, and it was found that of the ten hypotheses, nine were positively significant overall. SEM-PLS and SPSS were used to analyze the collected data, and the findings were based on the supported hypotheses. This research contribution can be seen in terms the identification and examination of external factors that hinder or empower acceptance of smartphones among the older population. Moreover, it will help developers and manufacturers of smartphones concerning aspects that are appropriate for smartphone and app design, particularly for older users.
Data Clustering in Urban Computational Modeling by Integrated Geometry and Imagery Features for Probabilistic Navigation
Authors: Cai Chenyi , Zaghloul Mohamed , Li Biao
Published: December 2022

Cities are considered complex and open environments with multidimensional aspects including urban forms, urban imagery, and urban energy performance. So, a platform that supports the dialogue between the user and the machine is crucial in urban computational modeling (UCM). In this paper, we present a novel urban computational modeling framework, which integrates urban geometry and urban visual appearance aspects. The framework applies unsupervised machine learning, self-organizing map (SOM), and information retrieval techniques. We propose the instrument to help designers navigate among references from the built environment. The framework incorporates geometric and imagery aspects by encoding urban spatial and visual appearance characteristics with Isovist and semantic segmentation for integrated geometry and imagery features (IGIF). A ray SOM and a mask SOM are trained with the IGIF, using building footprints and street view images of Nanjing as a dataset. By interlinking the two SOMs, the program retrieves urban plots which have similar spatial traits or visual appearance, or both. The program provides urban designers with a navigatable explorer space with references from the built environment to inspire design ideas and learn from them. Our proposed framework helps architects and urban designers with both design inspiration and decision making by bringing human intelligence into UCM. Future research directions using and extending the framework are also discussed.
Using Digital Twin in a Shipbuilding Project
Authors: Kunkera Zoran , Opetuk Tihomir , Hadžić Neven , Tošanović Nataša
Published: December 2022

Three-dimensional modelling software tools enable the creation of a digital replica of the product—“Digital Twin”—a representative of “Virtual Reality” as one of the prominent trends of Industry 4.0. The development of the Digital Twin can start simultaneously with the development of the product, primarily for the purpose of selecting optimal technical and technological solutions prior to and during physical construction, and, ultimately, with the intention of managing the entire product life cycle. The Digital Twin, as one of the key technological achievements in the implementation of the business system transformation from traditional to smart, should also be recognized as the cornerstone of the “Shipyard 4.0” model, i.e., its “Cyber-Physical Space.” This paper is based on statistical and empirical data of the observed shipyard with the aim to represent the significance of the Digital Twin ship in preserving and improving the competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry. Namely, with the emphasis this article places on the contribution of “advanced outfitting” in achieving savings in the shipbuilding process as well as its role in attaining high standards of environmental protection and workplace safety, the importance of its further improvement is an obvious conclusion—with Digital Twin being one of the recognized tools for this purpose.
Compressive Mechanical Behavior of Partially Oxidized Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogels for Cartilage Tissue Repair
Authors: Todros Silvia , Spadoni Silvia , Barbon Silvia , Stocco Elena , Confalonieri Marta , Porzionato Andrea , Pavan Piero Giovanni
Published: December 2022

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels are extensively used as scaffolds for tissue engineering, although their biodegradation properties have not been optimized yet. To overcome this limitation, partially oxidized PVA has been developed by means of different oxidizing agents, obtaining scaffolds with improved biodegradability. The oxidation reaction also allows tuning the mechanical properties, which are essential for effective use in vivo. In this work, the compressive mechanical behavior of native and partially oxidized PVA hydrogels is investigated, to evaluate the effect of different oxidizing agents, i.e., potassium permanganate, bromine, and iodine. For this purpose, PVA hydrogels are tested by means of indentation tests, also considering the time-dependent mechanical response. Indentation results show that the oxidation reduces the compressive stiffness from about 2.3 N/mm for native PVA to 1.1 ÷ 1.4 N/mm for oxidized PVA. During the consolidation, PVA hydrogels exhibit a force reduction of about 40% and this behavior is unaffected by the oxidizing treatment. A poroviscoelastic constitutive model is developed to describe the time-dependent mechanical response, accounting for the viscoelastic polymer matrix properties and the flow of water molecules within the matrix during long-term compression. This model allows to estimate the long-term Young’s modulus of PVA hydrogels in drained conditions (66 kPa for native PVA and 34–42 kPa for oxidized PVA) and can be exploited to evaluate their performances under compressive stress in vivo, as in the case of cartilage tissue engineering.
Molecular Detection of Microsporidia in Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Authors: Baz-González Edgar , Martin-Carrillo Natalia , García-Livia Katherine , Abreu-Acosta Néstor , Foronda Pilar
Published: December 2022

Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon spp. are microsporidia with zoonotic potential that have been identified in humans, as well as in a large group of wild and domestic animals. Several wildlife species have been studied as reservoirs of zoonotic microsporidia in mainland Spain, including the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Due to a lack of data on microsporidia infection in wildlife on the Canary Islands, the aim of this work was to analyze the prevalence and identify the species of microsporidia in rabbits in Tenerife. Between 2015 and 2017, a total of 50 fecal samples were collected from rabbits in eight municipalities of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Seven of the fifty samples (14%) were amplified using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the partial sequence of the 16S rRNA gene, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, and the partial sequence of the 5.8S rRNA gene. Sanger sequencing reveals the presence of Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotype I in two samples (4%), and undescribed microsporidia species in five samples (10%). This study constitutes the first molecular detection and genotyping of E. cuniculi in rabbits in Spain.
Predicting the Assembly of the Transmembrane Domains of Viral Channel Forming Proteins and Peptide Drug Screening Using a Docking Approach
Authors: Huang Ta-Chou , Fischer Wolfgang B.
Published: December 2022

A de novo assembly algorithm is provided to propose the assembly of bitopic transmembrane domains (TMDs) of membrane proteins. The algorithm is probed using, in particular, viral channel forming proteins (VCPs) such as M2 of influenza A virus, E protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus (SARS-CoV), 6K of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), SH of human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV), and Vpu of human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2). The generation of the structures is based on screening a 7-dimensional space. Assembly of the TMDs can be achieved either by simultaneously docking the individual TMDs or via a sequential docking. Scoring based on estimated binding energies (EBEs) of the oligomeric structures is obtained by the tilt to decipher the handedness of the bundles. The bundles match especially well for all-atom models of M2 referring to an experimentally reported tetrameric bundle. Docking of helical poly-peptides to experimental structures of M2 and E protein identifies improving EBEs for positively charged (K,R,H) and aromatic amino acids (F,Y,W). Data are improved when using polypeptides for which the coordinates of the amino acids are adapted to the Cα coordinates of the respective experimentally derived structures of the TMDs of the target proteins.
Identification of Novel Plasma Biomarkers for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm by Protein Array Analysis
Authors: Wu Jianqiang , Wang Wei , Xie Ting , Chen Zhaoran , Zhou Lei , Song Xiaohong , Kan Haoxuan , Lv Yanze , Wu Lianglin , Li Fangda , Yang Dan , Chen Yuexin , Liu Bao , Zheng Yuehong
Published: December 2022

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a potentially life-threatening disease that is common in the aging population. Currently, there are no approved diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic drugs for AAA. We aimed to identify novel plasma biomarkers or potential therapeutic targets for AAA using a high-throughput protein array-based method. Proteomics expression profiles were investigated in plasma from AAA patients and healthy controls (HC) using 440-cytokine protein array analysis. Several promising biomarkers were further validated in independent cohorts using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Thirty-nine differentially expressed plasma proteins were identified between AAA and HC. Legumain (LGMN) was significantly higher in AAA patients and was validated in another large cohort. Additionally, “AAA without diabetes” (AAN) patients and “AAA complicated with type 2 diabetes mellitus” (AAM) patients had different cytokine expression patterns in their plasma, and nine plasma proteins were differentially expressed among the AAN, AAM, and HC subjects. Delta-like protein 1 (DLL1), receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-3 (ERBB3), and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPPIV) were significantly higher in AAM than in AAN. This study identified several promising plasma biomarkers of AAA. Their role as therapeutic targets for AAA warrants further investigation.
A Novel Capsule Network with Attention Routing to Identify Prokaryote Phosphorylation Sites
Authors: Wang Shixian , Zhang Lina , Yang Runtao , Zhao Yujiao
Published: December 2022

By denaturing proteins and promoting the formation of multiprotein complexes, protein phosphorylation has important effects on the activity of protein functional molecules and cell signaling. The regulation of protein phosphorylation allows microbes to respond rapidly and reversibly to specific environmental stimuli or niches, which is closely related to the molecular mechanisms of bacterial drug resistance. Accurate prediction of phosphorylation sites (p-site) of prokaryotes can contribute to addressing bacterial resistance and providing new perspectives for developing novel antibacterial drugs. Most existing studies focus on human phosphorylation sites, while tools targeting phosphorylation site identification of prokaryotic proteins are still relatively scarce. This study designs a capsule network-based prediction technique for p-site in prokaryotes. To address the poor scalability and unreliability of dynamic routing processes in the output space of capsule networks, a more reliable way is introduced to learn the consistency between capsules. We incorporate a self-attention mechanism into the routing algorithm to capture the global information of the capsule, reducing the computational effort while enriching the representation capability of the capsule. Aiming at the weak robustness of the model, EcapsP improves the prediction accuracy and stability by introducing shortcuts and unconditional reconfiguration. In addition, the study compares and analyzes the prediction performance based on word vectors, physicochemical properties, and mixing characteristics in predicting serine (Ser/S), threonine (Thr/T), and tyrosine (Tyr/Y) p-site. The comprehensive experimental results show that the accuracy of the developed technique is close to 70% for the identification of the three phosphorylation sites in prokaryotes. Importantly, in side-by-side comparisons with other state-of-the-art predictors, our method improves the Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) by approximately 7%. The results demonstrate the superiority of EcapsP in terms of high performance and reliability.
Evaluation of Bodily Pain Associated with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Review of Health-Related Quality of Life and Potential Risk Factors
Authors: Lu Kuan-Ta , Ho Yu-Cheng , Chang Chen-Lin , Lan Kuo-Chung , Wu Cheng-Chun , Su Yu-Ting
Published: December 2022

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common reproductive disease affecting the hormone and metabolic status of women. Its associated symptoms are diverse among the patients, including hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance, anovulation, infertility, obesity, hirsutism, acne, and more. In addition, PCOS can potentially increase the risk of dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, endometrioma, and irritable bowel syndrome, which are highly related to pelvic pain and sexual difficulty. However, little known is whether PCOS exacerbates other chronic bodily pain or contributes to hyperalgesia. Health-related quality of Life (HRQoL) reflects the life satisfaction and quality derived by an individual from mental, physical, emotional, and social activities under specific conditions. In this study, we reviewed pain perception from HRQoL of PCOS patients (SF-36). The review data evidently indicated that pain perception is significantly more prevalent in patients with PCOS than in healthy controls, and obesity and infertile status could be the rationales associated with pain development. Nevertheless, underlying causes remain undetermined due to the limited information from SF-36. Furthermore, we reviewed pathophysiologic factors to pain development or exacerbation, such as the deregulation of inflammation levels, adipokines, and insulin resistance. Although current evidence of pain perception and pathophysiologic risk factors are solid in PCOS, patients’ pain perception is often ignored in clinical settings. Clinicians should note the perception and treatment of pain in PCOS patients. The correlation or causality between pain and PCOS warrants further clinical examination and basic studies, thereby providing new insights into this topic in the context of clinical diagnosis and health care.
R-PTP-κ Inhibits Contact-Dependent Cell Growth by Suppressing E2F Activity
Authors: Sohn Hyun Ahm , Kang Minho , Ha Hyunjung , Yeom Young Il , Park Kyung Chan , Lee Dong Chul
Published: December 2022

Density-dependent regulation of cell growth is presumed to be caused by cell-cell contact, but the underlying molecular mechanism is not yet clearly defined. Here, we report that receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase-kappa (R-PTP-κ) is an important regulator of cell contact-dependent growth inhibition. R-PTP-κ expression increased in proportion to cell density. siRNA-mediated R-PTP-κ downregulation led to the loss of cell contact-mediated growth inhibition, whereas its upregulation reduced anchorage-independent cell growth in soft agar as well as tumor growth in nude mice. Expression profiling and luciferase reporter system-mediated signaling pathway analysis revealed that R-PTP-κ induced under cell contact conditions distinctly suppressed E2F activity. Among the structural domains of R-PTP-κ, the cytoplasmic domain containing the tandemly repeated PTP motif acts as a potent downregulator of the E2F pathway. Specifically, R-PTP-κ suppressed CDK2 activity through the induction of p21Cip1/WAF-1 and p27Kip1, resulting in cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase. In transcriptome-based public datasets generated from four different tumor types, R-PTP-κ expression was negatively correlated with the expression pattern and prognostic value of two known E2F1 target genes (CCNE1 and CDC25A). Therefore, our results indicate that the R-PTP-κ-E2F axis plays a crucial role in cell growth-inhibitory signaling arising from cell-cell contact conditions.
Neopterin Levels in Periodontitis and after Nonsurgical Periodontal Therapy: Evaluation of Gingival Crevicular Fluid, Oral Fluid, Serum and Urinary Samples—A Case-Control Study
Authors: Heneberk Ondrej , Vernerova Andrea , Kujovska Krcmova Lenka , Wurfelova Eliska , Radochova Vladimira
Published: December 2022

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that leads to the destruction of the tooth-supporting tissues with complex immune response. Neopterin (Np), secreted via activated macrophages, is considered a biomarker of cellular immunity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of periodontitis and nonsurgical periodontal therapy. Np gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), oral fluid, serum and urine levels were compared in subjects with periodontitis before periodontal treatment, three months after and in a healthy control. Np GCF concentrations in the study group after treatment were significantly higher than the control group (p = 0.038). The GCF total amount (amount of substance) was significantly higher in the study group before periodontal treatment than in the control group (p = 0.001) and higher than the levels taken after treatment collection (p = 0.024). The oral fluid Np concentrations in the study group after treatment were significantly increased compared to the before treatment concentrations (p = 0.020). The same trend was observed in the urine samples. Significant correlation was found between the serum and oral fluid Np concentrations (p = 0.001, ρ = 0.40). Our results confirm the impact of cellular immunity and macrophages on periodontitis and on the resolution of periodontal inflammation. The presence of neopterin in oral fluid most likely originates in the serum.
More than Ninety Percent of the Light Energy Emitted by Near-Infrared Laser Therapy Devices Used to Treat Musculoskeletal Disorders Is Absorbed within the First Ten Millimeters of Biological Tissue
Authors: Kaub Leon , Schmitz Christoph
Published: December 2022

There is increasing interest in the application of near-infrared (NIR) laser light for the treatment of various musculoskeletal disorders. The present study thoroughly examined the physical characteristics of laser beams from two different laser therapy devices that are commercially available for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. Then, these laser beams were used to measure the penetration depth in various biological tissues from different animal species. The key result of the present study was the finding that for all investigated tissues, most of the initial light energy was lost in the first one to two millimeters, more than 90% of the light energy was absorbed within the first ten millimeters, and there was hardly any light energy left after 15–20 mm of tissue. Furthermore, the investigated laser therapy devices fundamentally differed in several laser beam parameters that can have an influence on how light is transmitted through tissue. Overall, the present study showed that a laser therapy device that is supposed to reach deep layers of tissue for treatments of musculoskeletal disorders should operate with a wavelength between 800 nm and 905 nm, a top-hat beam profile, and it should emit very short pulses with a large peak power.
Beyond Imaging and Genetic Signature in Glioblastoma: Radiogenomic Holistic Approach in Neuro-Oncology
Authors: Gatto Lidia , Franceschi Enrico , Tosoni Alicia , Di Nunno Vincenzo , Tonon Caterina , Lodi Raffaele , Agati Raffaele , Bartolini Stefania , Brandes Alba Ariela
Published: December 2022

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a malignant brain tumor exhibiting rapid and infiltrative growth, with less than 10% of patients surviving over 5 years, despite aggressive and multimodal treatments. The poor prognosis and the lack of effective pharmacological treatments are imputable to a remarkable histological and molecular heterogeneity of GBM, which has led, to date, to the failure of precision oncology and targeted therapies. Identification of molecular biomarkers is a paradigm for comprehensive and tailored treatments; nevertheless, biopsy sampling has proved to be invasive and limited. Radiogenomics is an emerging translational field of research aiming to study the correlation between radiographic signature and underlying gene expression. Although a research field still under development, not yet incorporated into routine clinical practice, it promises to be a useful non-invasive tool for future personalized/adaptive neuro-oncology. This review provides an up-to-date summary of the recent advancements in the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiogenomics for the assessment of molecular markers of interest in GBM regarding prognosis and response to treatments, for monitoring recurrence, also providing insights into the potential efficacy of such an approach for survival prognostication. Despite a high sensitivity and specificity in almost all studies, accuracy, reproducibility and clinical value of radiomic features are the Achilles heel of this newborn tool. Looking into the future, investigators’ efforts should be directed towards standardization and a disciplined approach to data collection, algorithms, and statistical analysis.
Zinc in Prostate Health and Disease: A Mini Review
Authors: Karunasinghe Nishi
Published: December 2022

Introduction-With the high global prevalence of prostate cancer and associated mortalities, it is important to enhance current clinical practices for better prostate cancer outcomes. The current review is towards understanding the value of Zn towards this mission. Method-General information on Zn in biology and multiple aspects of Zn involvement in prostate health and disease were referred to in PubMed. Results-The most influential feature of Zn towards prostate health is its ability to retain sufficient citrate levels for a healthy prostate. Zn deficiencies were recorded in serum, hair, and prostate tissue of men with prostate cancer compared to non-cancer controls. Zn gut absorption, albumin binding, and storage compete with various factors. There are multiple associations of Zn cellular influx and efflux transporters, Zn finger proteins, matrix metalloproteinases, and Zn signaling with prostate cancer outcomes. Such Zn marker variations associated with prostate cancer recorded from biological matrices may improve algorithms for prostate cancer screening, prognosis, and management when coupled with standard clinical practices. Discussion-The influence of Zn in prostatic health and disease is multidimensional, therefore more personalized Zn requirements may be beneficial. Several opportunities exist to utilize and improve understanding of Zn associations with prostate health and disease.
Fibrosis-Associated Signaling Molecules Are Differentially Expressed in Palmar Connective Tissues of Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Dupuytren’s Disease
Authors: Tripković Ivo , Ogorevc Marin , Vuković Dubravka , Saraga-Babić Mirna , Mardešić Snježana
Published: December 2022

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and Dupuytren’s disease (DD) are fibrotic conditions that affect the connective tissue of the hand and limit its functionality. The exact molecular mechanism underlying the fibrosis is unknown, and only some profibrotic factors have been investigated. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the expression of FGF signaling pathway molecules associated with fibrotic changes in the palmar fascia and the flexor retinaculum of 15 CTS patients and both clinically affected and unaffected palmar fascia of 15 DD patients, using immunofluorescence techniques. The expression of FGFR1, FGFR2, and CTGF in the blood vessel walls and surrounding connective tissue cells differed significantly between the analyzed groups, with changes in expression present even in clinically unremarkable tissues from DD patients. We also found altered expression of the analyzed factors, as well as TGF-β1 and syndecan-1 in DD-associated sweat glands, possibly implicating their role in the pathophysiology of the disease. The increased expression of profibrotic factors in the clinically unaffected palmar fascia of DD patients may indicate that more extensive excision is needed during surgical treatment, while the profibrotic factors could be potential targets for developing pharmacological therapeutic strategies against DD-associated fibrosis.
Siderol Inhibits Proliferation of Glioblastoma Cells and Acts Synergistically with Temozolomide
Authors: Giannakopoulou Maria , Dimitriadis Kiriakos , Koromili Maria , Zoi Vasiliki , Vartholomatos Evrysthenis , Galani Vasiliki , Kyritsis Athanassios P. , Alexiou George A. , Lazari Diamanto
Published: December 2022

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive primary central nervous system (CNS) tumor in adults with dismal prognosis. Currently, the therapeutic interventions include gross total resection, when possible, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, despite treatment, tumor usually recurs within 7–9 months. The presence of glioma cells with stem-like properties and tumor’s heterogeneity have been identified as the most important factors driving recurrence. Recently, research efforts have been focused on the use of natural substances as treatment for GBM. Siderol is an ent-kaurane diterpenoid, isolated from the genus Sideritis. Sideritis extracts have already been investigated for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer effects. In this study, we investigated the antitumoral effects of siderol in GBM T98 and U87 cell lines, as well as the effects of combined treatment with temozolomide (TMZ). Cell viability was evaluated by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and trypan blue exclusion assay. Different concentrations of siderol were used in order to calculate the IC50 values at 72 h after treatment. Flow cytometry used for the DNA cell cycle analysis after treatment with siderol in concentrations of IC50 and twice the IC50 values for 72 h. Furthermore, the effect of siderol in cell’s migratory ability was tested using wound healing assay. Cell viability and proliferation, after combined treatment with siderol and TMZ, also were evaluated with the trypan blue exclusion assay and the effects of the combination treatment were analyzed with CompuSyn software. Treatment with siderol significantly reduced cell viability in T98 and U87 cell lines in a dose-dependent manner and IC50 values were calculated, 18 μM and 13 μM, respectively. Moreover, siderol induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in a dose-dependent manner and inhibited the migration in both cell lines. In addition, siderol and TMZ seem to have synergistic action in the majority of tested concentrations in both T98 and U87 cells. In conclusion, siderol may represent an innovative strategy for the treatment of GBM, and further studies are needed on siderol’s efficacy and mode of action.
Methyl Aminolaevulinic Acid versus Aminolaevulinic Acid Photodynamic Therapy of Actinic Keratosis with Low Doses of Red-Light LED Illumination: Results of Long-Term Follow-Up
Authors: Fernández Guarino Montserrat , Fernández-Nieto Diego , Montes Laura Vila , Lobo Dario de Perosanz
Published: December 2022

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) treatment for multiple actinic keratosis (AK) has been found effective when lower doses of red light were used with methyl aminolaevulinic acid (MAL). The aim of this study was to compare the results of lower doses of red light conventional PDT (h-PDT, 16 J/cm2) with MAL and aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) in a long-term follow-up. Patients with more than five symmetrical AK on the scalp who were candidates for PDT were selected and divided randomly between MAL and ALA treatment and patients were followed at 3 and 12 months. The responses were assessed by counting the total AK and the AK per patient. Pain and adverse events were also compiled. A total of 46 patients were treated, 24 with MAL, and 22 with ALA. The two groups were comparable at baseline (p > 0.005). No significant differences were found in the results of both treatments at 12 months, despite ALA exhibiting slightly better results at 3 months. No differences in pain and adverse events were assessed. Both ALA and MAL were effective when lower doses of red light were used in c-PDT. Long term efficacy was also documented. Further studies are necessary to determine the inferior point of red-light illumination without losing efficacy.
Stable Gastric Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 and Striated, Smooth, and Heart Muscle
Authors: Staresinic Mario , Japjec Mladen , Vranes Hrvoje , Prtoric Andreja , Zizek Helena , Krezic Ivan , Gojkovic Slaven , Smoday Ivan Maria , Oroz Katarina , Staresinic Eva , Dretar Vilim , Yago Haidi , Milavic Marija , Sikiric Suncana , Lovric Eva , Batelja Vuletic Lovorka , Simeon Paris , Dobric Ivan , Strbe Sanja , Kokot Antonio , Vlainic Josipa , Blagaic Alenka Boban , Skrtic Anita , Seiwerth Sven , Sikiric Predrag
Published: December 2022

First, we review the definitively severed myotendinous junction and recovery by the cytoprotective stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 therapy, its healing that might combine both transected and detached tendon and transected muscle, ligament and bone injuries, applied alone, as native peptide therapy, effective in rat injury, given intraperitoneally or in drinking water or topically, at the site of injury. As a follow up, we reviewed that with the BPC 157 therapy, its cytoprotective ability to organize simultaneous healing of different tissues of and full recovery of the myotendinous junction might represent the particular muscle therapy against distinctive etiopathology muscle disabilities and weakness. In this, BPC 157 therapy might recover many of muscle disabilities (i.e., succinylcholine, vascular occlusion, spinal cord compression, stroke, traumatic brain injury, severe electrolyte disturbances, neurotoxins, neuroleptics, alcohol, serotonin syndrome and NO-system blockade and tumor-cachexia). These might provide practical realization of the multimodal muscle-axis impact able to react depending on the condition and the given agent(s) and the symptoms distinctively related to the prime injurious cause symptoms in the wide healing concept, the concept of cytoprotection, in particular. Further, the BPC 157 therapy might be the recovery for the disabled heart functioning, and disabled smooth muscle functioning (various sphincters function recovery). Finally, BPC 157, native and stable in human gastric juice, might be a prototype of anti-ulcer cytoprotective peptide for the muscle therapy with high curing potential (very safe profile (lethal dose not achieved), with suited wide effective range (µg-ng regimens) and ways of application).
Classification of Mental Stress from Wearable Physiological Sensors Using Image-Encoding-Based Deep Neural Network
Authors: Ghosh Sayandeep , Kim SeongKi , Ijaz Muhammad Fazal , Singh Pawan Kumar , Mahmud Mufti
Published: December 2022

The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it, and experiencing challenges causes our body to produce physical and mental responses and also helps our body to adjust to new situations. However, stress becomes a problem when it continues to remain without a period of relaxation or relief. When a person has long-term stress, continued activation of the stress response causes wear and tear on the body. Chronic stress results in cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, and diabetes, and thus is deeply detrimental to our health. Previous researchers have performed a lot of work regarding mental stress, using mainly machine-learning-based approaches. However, most of the methods have used raw, unprocessed data, which cause more errors and thereby affect the overall model performance. Moreover, corrupt data values are very common, especially for wearable sensor datasets, which may also lead to poor performance in this regard. This paper introduces a deep-learning-based method for mental stress detection by encoding time series raw data into Gramian Angular Field images, which results in promising accuracy while detecting the stress levels of an individual. The experiment has been conducted on two standard benchmark datasets, namely WESAD (wearable stress and affect detection) and SWELL. During the studies, testing accuracies of 94.8% and 99.39% are achieved for the WESAD and SWELL datasets, respectively. For the WESAD dataset, chest data are taken for the experiment, including the data of sensor modalities such as three-axis acceleration (ACC), electrocardiogram (ECG), body temperature (TEMP), respiration (RESP), etc.
Feeling One Thing and Doing Another: How Expressions of Guilt and Shame Influence Hypocrisy Judgment
Authors: Choi Hyeman
Published: December 2022

The present study investigated how people, as uninvolved social observers (i.e., those not affected by the emotion expresser’s behavior), judge hypocrisy in a target who publicly expresses their self-conscious emotions (i.e., shame and guilt) after making an immoral decision, then repeats the same immoral behavior again. Results across the two studies conducted showed that participants viewed the target as more hypocritical when the target expressed guilt (vs. shame) for their past misdeed and then committed the same act again. The present study suggests that social perceivers tend to infer expressions of guilt (and of shame to a lesser degree) as signaling future changes, which is reflected in judgments of hypocrisy. The study further discusses implications for the social functions of emotional expression and communication.
OctCarb—A GNU Octave Script for the Analysis and Evaluation of Wide-Angle Scattering Data of Non-Graphitic Carbons
Authors: Osswald Oliver , Smarsly Bernd M.
Published: December 2022

We present a free software script operating in GNU Octave for the refinement of wide-angle X-ray and neutron scattering (WAXS/WANS) data of non-graphitic carbons (NGCs). The refinement script (OctCarb) is based on the evaluation approach of Ruland and Smarsly (2002). As result, up to 14 physically meaningful parameters such as the layer extension La, the stack height Lc, as well as the degree of disorder of the graphenes and their stacking are obtained through a well-established fitting routine. In addition, background scattering based on specific physical phenomena and different correction parameters such as polarization and absorption can be considered. Since the complex mathematical calculations are implemented and performed in the background, with only a few settings to be made, the software was designed to be usable by inexperienced users. As another key feature, Octave and thus OctCarb run on all common operating systems (Windows, MacOS and Linux), and can even be used on high-performance computing clusters (HPCs) to perform multiple calculations at once. In addition to this, the whole refinement can be performed within minutes, and it is possible to tweak and optimize it for special purposes and measuring geometries. These features make OctCarb useful for all scientists dealing with the characterization of NGCs by X-ray or neutron scattering techniques.
Special Issue “10th Anniversary of Catalysts: Biocatalysis in Analysis and Synthesis—Past, Present and Future”
Authors: Topakas Evangelos , Boehr David , Wohlgemuth Roland
Published: December 2022

The milestone of the 10th anniversary of Catalysts is a great time to reflect on past accomplishments, present progress and challenges, as well as to identify future challenges and opportunities [...]