bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Extraction of Antioxidant Compounds from Brazilian Green Propolis Using Ultrasound-Assisted Associated with Low- and High-Pressure Extraction Methods
Authors: Teixeira Thiago Dantas , Machado Bruna Aparecida Souza , Barreto Gabriele de Abreu , dos Anjos Jeancarlo Pereira , Leal Ingrid Lessa , Nascimento Renata Quartieri , Hodel Katharine Valéria Saraiva , Umsza-Guez Marcelo Andrés
Published: March 2023

The demand for bee products has been growing, especially regarding their application in complementary medicine. Apis mellifera bees using Baccharis dracunculifolia D.C. (Asteraceae) as substrate produce green propolis. Among the examples of bioactivity of this matrix are antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antiviral actions. This work aimed to verify the impact of the experimental conditions applied in low- and high-pressure extractions of green propolis, using sonication (60 kHz) as pretreatment to determine the antioxidant profile in the extracts. Total flavonoid content (18.82 ± 1.15–50.47 ± 0.77 mgQE·g−1), total phenolic compounds (194.12 ± 3.40–439.05 ± 0.90 mgGAE·g−1) and antioxidant capacity by DPPH (33.86 ± 1.99–201.29 ± 0.31 µg·mL−1) of the twelve green propolis extracts were determined. By means of HPLC-DAD, it was possible to quantify nine of the fifteen compounds analyzed. The results highlighted formononetin (4.76 ± 0.16–14.80 ± 0.02 mg·g−1) and p-coumaric acid (<LQ—14.33 ± 0.01 mg·g−1) as majority compounds in the extracts. Based on the principal component analysis, it was possible to conclude that higher temperatures favored the release of antioxidant compounds; in contrast, they decreased the flavonoid content. Thus, the obtained results showed that samples pretreated with 50 °C associated with ultrasound displayed a better performance, which may support the elucidation of the use of these conditions.
Kinetic Model of Urea-Related Deposit Reactions
Authors: Zhu Neng , Hong Yu , Qian Feng , Xu Xiaowei
Published: March 2023

The thermal analysis kinetic method was employed to solve the activation energies of the thermal decomposition reactions of urea and cyanuric acid, with the purpose of understanding the formation of deposits in the diesel engine SCR system. The deposit reaction kinetic model was established by optimizing the reaction paths and reaction kinetic parameters based on the thermal analysis test data of the key components in the deposit. The result shows that the established deposit reaction kinetic model can accurately describe the decomposition process of the key components in the deposit. Compared to the Ebrahimian model, the simulation precision of the established deposit reaction kinetic model is significantly improved above 600 K. The activation energies of the urea and cyanuric acid decomposition reactions are 84 kJ/mol and 152 kJ/mol, respectively, after model parameters identification. The identified activation energies were closest to those of the Friedman one-interval method indicating that the Friedman one-interval method is reasonable to solve the activation energies of deposit reactions.
Molecular Pathways for Polymer Degradation during Conventional Processing, Additive Manufacturing, and Mechanical Recycling
Authors: Ceretti Daniel V. A. , Edeleva Mariya , Cardon Ludwig , D’hooge Dagmar R.
Published: March 2023

The assessment of the extent of degradation of polymer molecules during processing via conventional (e.g., extrusion and injection molding) and emerging (e.g., additive manufacturing; AM) techniques is important for both the final polymer material performance with respect to technical specifications and the material circularity. In this contribution, the most relevant (thermal, thermo-mechanical, thermal-oxidative, hydrolysis) degradation mechanisms of polymer materials during processing are discussed, addressing conventional extrusion-based manufacturing, including mechanical recycling, and AM. An overview is given of the most important experimental characterization techniques, and it is explained how these can be connected with modeling tools. Case studies are incorporated, dealing with polyesters, styrene-based materials, and polyolefins, as well as the typical AM polymers. Guidelines are formulated in view of a better molecular scale driven degradation control.
Recent Advances in Two-Dimensional MXene for Supercapacitor Applications: Progress, Challenges, and Perspectives
Authors: Otgonbayar Zambaga , Yang Sunhye , Kim Ick-Jun , Oh Won-Chun
Published: March 2023

MXene is a type of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbide and nitride, and its promising energy storage materials highlight its characteristics of high density, high metal-like conductivity, tunable terminals, and charge storage mechanisms known as pseudo-alternative capacitance. MXenes are a class of 2D materials synthesized by chemical etching of the A element in MAX phases. Since they were first discovered more than 10 years ago, the number of distinct MXenes has grown substantially to include numerous MnXn−1 (n = 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5), solid solutions (ordered and disordered), and vacancy solids. To date, MXenes used in energy storage system applications have been broadly synthesized, and this paper summarizes the current developments, successes, and challenges of using MXenes in supercapacitors. This paper also reports the synthesis approaches, various compositional issues, material and electrode topology, chemistry, and hybridization of MXene with other active materials. The present study also summarizes MXene’s electrochemical properties, applicability in pliant-structured electrodes, and energy storage capabilities when using aqueous/non-aqueous electrolytes. Finally, we conclude by discussing how to reshape the face of the latest MXene and what to consider when designing the next generation of MXene-based capacitors and supercapacitors.
Core and Shell Contributions to the Phonon Spectra of CdTe/CdS Quantum Dots
Authors: Dzhagan Volodymyr , Mazur Nazar , Kapush Olga , Selyshchev Oleksandr , Karnaukhov Anatolii , Yeshchenko Oleg A. , Danylenko Mykola I. , Yukhymchuk Volodymyr , Zahn Dietrich R. T.
Published: March 2023

The parameters of the shell and interface in semiconductor core/shell nanocrystals (NCs) are determinant for their optical properties and charge transfer but are challenging to be studied. Raman spectroscopy was shown earlier to be a suitable informative probe of the core/shell structure. Here, we report the results of a spectroscopic study of CdTe NCs synthesized by a facile route in water, using thioglycolic acid (TGA) as a stabilizer. Both core-level X-ray photoelectron (XPS) and vibrational (Raman and infrared) spectra show that using thiol during the synthesis results in the formation of a CdS shell around the CdTe core NCs. Even though the spectral positions of the optical absorption and photoluminescence bands of such NCs are determined by the CdTe core, the far-infrared absorption and resonant Raman scattering spectra are dominated by the vibrations related with the shell. The physical mechanism of the observed effect is discussed and opposed to the results reported before for thiol-free CdTe Ns as well as CdSe/CdS and CdSe/ZnS core/shell NC systems, where the core phonons were clearly detected under similar experimental conditions.
Molecular Plasmonic Silver Forests for the Photocatalytic-Driven Sensing Platforms
Authors: Fatkullin Maxim , Rodriguez Raul D. , Petrov Ilia , Villa Nelson E. , Lipovka Anna , Gridina Maria , Murastov Gennadiy , Chernova Anna , Plotnikov Evgenii , Averkiev Andrey , Cheshev Dmitry , Semyonov Oleg , Gubarev Fedor , Brazovskiy Konstantin , Sheng Wenbo , Amin Ihsan , Liu Jianxi , Jia Xin , Sheremet Evgeniya
Published: March 2023

Structural electronics, as well as flexible and wearable devices are applications that are possible by merging polymers with metal nanoparticles. However, using conventional technologies, it is challenging to fabricate plasmonic structures that remain flexible. We developed three-dimensional (3D) plasmonic nanostructures/polymer sensors via single-step laser processing and further functionalization with 4-nitrobenzenethiol (4-NBT) as a molecular probe. These sensors allow ultrasensitive detection with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). We tracked the 4-NBT plasmonic enhancement and changes in its vibrational spectrum under the chemical environment perturbations. As a model system, we investigated the sensor’s performance when exposed to prostate cancer cells’ media over 7 days showing the possibility of identifying the cell death reflected in the environment through the effects on the 4-NBT probe. Thus, the fabricated sensor could have an impact on the monitoring of the cancer treatment process. Moreover, the laser-driven nanoparticles/polymer intermixing resulted in a free-form electrically conductive composite that withstands over 1000 bending cycles without losing electrical properties. Our results bridge the gap between plasmonic sensing with SERS and flexible electronics in a scalable, energy-efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly way.
Evaluation of a Single Determination of Gluten Immunogenic Peptides in Urine from Unaware Celiac Patients to Monitor Gluten-Free Diet Adherence
Authors: Lombardo Vincenza , Scricciolo Alice , Costantino Andrea , Elli Luca , Legnani Giorgia , Cebolla Ángel , Doneda Luisa , Mascaretti Federica , Vecchi Maurizio , Roncoroni Leda
Published: March 2023

Introduction and aim: Usually, adherence to the gluten-free diet (GFD) in celiac patients is indirectly assessed through serological analysis, questionnaires, or invasive methods such as intestinal biopsy. The detection of gluten immunogenic peptides in urine (urinary gluten immunogenic peptides—uGIP) is a novel technique that directly evaluates the ingestion of gluten. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of uGIP in the follow-up of celiac disease (CD). Methods: From April 2019 to February 2020, CD patients reporting complete adherence to the GFD were prospectively enrolled but were unaware of the reason for the tests. Urinary GIP, the celiac dietary adherence test (CDAT), symptomatic visual analog scales (VAS), and tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTGA) titres were evaluated. Duodenal histology and capsule endoscopy (CE) were performed when indicated. Results: A total of 280 patients were enrolled. Thirty-two (11.4%) had a positive uGIP test (uGIP+). uGIP+ patients did not show significant differences in demographic parameters, CDAT, or VAS scores. The tTGA+ titre was not related to the positivity of uGIP (14.4% vs. 10.9% in patients with tTGA+ and tTGA−). Regarding histology, 66.7% of the GIP+ patients had atrophy compared to 32.7% of the GIP patients (p-value 0.01). However, the presence of atrophy did not correlate with tTGA. Mucosal atrophy was detected in 29 (47.5%) out of 61 patients by CE. With this method, no noticeable dependence on uGIP results (24 GIP− vs. 5 GIP+) was observed. Conclusions: The single uGIP test was positive in 11% of CD cases referring a correct GFD adherence. Furthermore, uGIP results significantly correlated with the duodenal biopsy, formerly considered the gold standard for assessing CD activity.
Long-Term Exposure to Isoflavones Alters the Hormonal Steroid Homeostasis-Impairing Reproductive Function in Adult Male Wistar Rats
Authors: Caceres Sara , Crespo Belén , Alonso-Diez Angela , de Andrés Paloma Jimena , Millan Pilar , Silván Gema , Illera María José , Illera Juan Carlos
Published: March 2023

The consumption of isoflavones is gaining popularity worldwide due to their beneficial effects on health. However, isoflavones are considered to be endocrine disruptors and cause deleterious effects on hormone-sensitive organs, especially in males. Therefore, this study aimed to determine if a continuous and prolonged exposure to isoflavones in adult males altered the endocrine axis effect of testicular function. For this purpose, seventy-five adult male rats were administered with low and high mixtures of isoflavones (genistein and daidzein) for 5 months. The determination of steroid hormones (progesterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, 17β-estradiol, and estrone sulphate) was carried out in serum and testicular homogenate samples. Sperm quality parameters and testicular histology were also determined. The results revealed that low and high doses of isoflavones promote a hormonal imbalance in androgen and estrogen production, resulting in a decrease in circulating and testicular androgen levels and an increase in estrogen levels. These results are associated with a reduction in the sperm quality parameters and a reduction in the testicular weight, both in the diameter of the seminiferous tubules and the height of the germinal epithelium. Altogether, these results suggest that a continuous exposure to isoflavones in adult male rats causes a hormonal imbalance in the testes that disrupts the endocrine axis, causing defects in testicular function.
Bifidobacterium as a Potential Biomarker of Sarcopenia in Elderly Women
Authors: Wang Zhengyuan , Xu Xin , Deji Yangzong , Gao Shanxi , Wu Chunxiang , Song Qi , Shi Zehuan , Xiang Xuesong , Zang Jiajie , Su Jin
Published: March 2023

Gut microbial dysbiosis influences the development of sarcopenia. This case-control study explored the gut microbiota composition in elderly Chinese women with sarcopenia. The information from 50 cases and 50 controls was collected. Grip strength, body weight, body mass index, skeletal muscle mass, energy intake, and total and high-quality protein intake were lower in cases than in controls (p < 0.05). Gut microbiota metagenomic sequencing showed that phylum Bacteroides was significantly reduced in the case group, whereas genus Prevotella was more abundant (p < 0.05). Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size showed that 9 and 13 distinct microbial taxa were enriched in the case and control groups, respectively (LDA > 2, p < 0.05), among which Prevotella copri and Bifidobacterium longum were significantly different (LDA > 4, p < 0.05). The AUC of Bifidobacterium longum was 0.674 (95% CI: 0.539–0.756). Elderly women with sarcopenia exhibited significantly different gut microbiota compositions than healthy controls.
Detection and Genotyping of Human Papillomavirus (HPV16/18), Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV), and Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in Endometrial Endometroid and Ovarian Cancers
Authors: Grabarek Beniamin Oskar , Ossowski Piotr , Czarniecka Justyna , Ożóg Mateusz , Prucnal Justyna , Dziuba Ireneusz , Ostenda Aleksander , Dziobek Konrad , Boroń Dariusz , Peszek Wojciech , Kras Piotr , Januszyk Szymon , Dąbala Maciej , Kasela Tomasz , Opławski Marcin
Published: March 2023

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between human papillomavirus (HPV16/18), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infections and the occurrence of ovarian cancer in 48 women, of whom 36 underwent surgery and chemotherapy (group A), 12 in whom surgery was sufficient (group B), and 60 with endometroid endometrial cancer stage G1-G3 (group C), compared to patients in whom the uterus and its appendages were removed for nononcological reasons (control group). The detection of HPV, EBV, and HCMV in tumor tissue and normal tissue was performed using the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique. A statistically significantly higher risk of endometrial cancer was noted in patients infected only with HCMV (OR > 1; p < 0.05). In contrast, a significantly higher risk of ovarian cancer in group A was associated with HPV16, HPV18, and EBV (OR > 1; p < 0.05); a significantly higher risk of ovarian cancer in group B was associated with HPV18 and HMCV (OR > 1; p < 0.05). The obtained results suggest that HCMV infection is associated with the development of a stage of ovarian cancer when treatment can be completed with surgery alone. Meanwhile, EBV appears to be responsible for the development of ovarian cancer in more advanced stages.
Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) Measurement Using Biosensors by Community-Based Village Malaria Workers and Hospital Laboratory Staff in Cambodia: A Quantitative Study
Authors: Adhikari Bipin , Tripura Rupam , Dysoley Lek , Peto Thomas J. , Callery James J. , Heng Chhoeun , Vanda Thy , Simvieng Ou , Cassidy-Seyoum Sarah , Thriemer Kamala , Dondorp Arjen M. , Ley Benedikt , Seidlein Lorenz von
Published: March 2023

Vivax malaria can relapse after an initial infection due to dormant liver stages of the parasite. Radical cure can prevent relapses but requires the measurement of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme (G6PD) activity to identify G6PD-deficient patients at risk of drug-induced haemolysis. In the absence of reliable G6PD testing, vivax patients are denied radical curative treatment in many places, including rural Cambodia. A novel Biosensor, ‘G6PD Standard’ (SD Biosensor, Republic of Korea; Biosensor), can measure G6PD activity at the point of care. The objectives of this study were to compare the G6PD activity readings using Biosensors by village malaria workers (VMWs) and hospital-based laboratory technicians (LTs), and to compare the G6PD deficiency categorization recommended by the Biosensor manufacturer with categories derived from a locally estimated adjusted male median (AMM) in Kravanh district, Cambodia. Participants were enrolled between 2021 and 2022 in western Cambodia. Each of the 28 VMWs and 5 LTs received a Biosensor and standardized training on its use. The G6PD activities of febrile patients identified in the community were measured by VMWs; in a subset, a second reading was done by LTs. All participants were tested for malaria by rapid diagnostic test (RDT). The adjusted male median (AMM) was calculated from all RDT-negative participants and defined as 100% G6PD activity. VMWs measured activities in 1344 participants. Of that total, 1327 (98.7%) readings were included in the analysis, and 68 of these had a positive RDT result. We calculated 100% activity as 6.4 U/gHb (interquartile range: 4.5 to 7.8); 9.9% (124/1259) of RDT-negative participants had G6PD activities below 30%, 15.2% (191/1259) had activities between 30% and 70%, and 75.0% (944/1259) had activities greater than 70%. Repeat measurements among 114 participants showed a significant correlation of G6PD readings (rs = 0.784, p < 0.001) between VMWs and LTs. Based on the manufacturer’s recommendations, 285 participants (21.5%) had less than 30% activity; however, based on the AMM, 132 participants (10.0%) had less than 30% activity. The G6PD measurements by VMWs and LTs were similar. With the provisions of training, supervision, and monitoring, VMWs could play an important role in the management of vivax malaria, which is critical for the rapid elimination of malaria regionally. Definitions of deficiency based on the manufacturer’s recommendations and the population-specific AMM differed significantly, which may warrant revision of these recommendations.
Targeting Mitochondrial Therapy in the Regulation of HPV Infection and HPV-Related Cancers
Authors: Cruz-Gregorio Alfredo , Aranda-Rivera Ana Karina , Roviello Giovanni N. , Pedraza-Chaverri José
Published: March 2023

It has been previously proposed that some types of cancer cells reprogram their metabolic pathways, favoring the metabolism of glucose by aerobic glycolysis (Warburg effect) instead of oxidative phosphorylation, mainly because the mitochondria of these cells are damaged, thus displaying mitochondrial dysfunction. However, in several cancers, the mitochondria do not exhibit any dysfunction and are also necessary for the tumor’s growth and maintenance. Remarkably, if the mitochondria are dysfunctional, specific processes associated with the release of cytochrome c (cyt c), such as apoptosis, are significantly impaired. In these cases, cellular biotherapies such as mitochondrial transplantation could restore the intrinsic apoptotic processes necessary for the elimination of cancers. On the other hand, if the mitochondria are in good shape, drugs that target the mitochondria are a valid option for treating the related cancers. Famously, the mitochondria are targeted by the human papillomavirus (HPV), and HPV-related cancers depend on the host’s mitochondria for their development and progression. On the other hand, the mitochondria are also important during treatment, such as chemotherapy, since they are key organelles for the increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS), which significantly increases cell death due to the presence of oxidative stress (OS). In this way, the mitochondria in HPV infection and in the development of HPV-related cancer could be targeted to reduce or eliminate HPV infections or HPV-related cancers. To our knowledge, there was no previous review specifically focusing on this topic, so this work aimed to summarize for the first time the potential use of mitochondria-targeting drugs, providing molecular insights on the main therapeutics developed so far in HPV infection and HPV-related cancer. Thus, we reviewed the mechanisms associated with HPV-related cancers, with their early proteins and mitochondrial apoptosis specifically induced by different compounds or drugs, in which these molecules induce the production of ROS, the activation of proapoptotic proteins, the deactivation of antiapoptotic proteins, the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), cyt c release, and the activation of caspases, which are all events which lead to the activation of mitochondrial apoptosis pathways. This makes these compounds and drugs potential anticancer therapeutics that target the mitochondria and could be exploited in future biomedical strategies.
Mild COVID-19 in an APECED Patient with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) and High Titer of Type 1 IFN-Abs: A Case Report
Authors: Valenzise Mariella , Foti Randazzese Simone , Toscano Fabio , Lombardo Fortunato , Salzano Giuseppina , Pajno Cristina , Wasniewska Malgorzata , Cascio Antonio , Su Maureen A
Published: March 2023

Autoimmune-Poly-Endocrinopathy-Candidiasis-Ectodermal Dystrophy (APECED), caused by mutations in the Autoimmune Regulator (AIRE) gene, is an autosomal recessive multi-organ autoimmunity syndrome usually defined by high serum titers of type I Interferon Autoantibodies (Type 1 IFN-Abs). These antibodies have recently been found in individuals in the general population who develop life-threatening Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), but the significance of pre-existing Type 1 IFN-Abs in APECED patients with COVID-19 remains unclear. Previous reports of COVID-19 outcomes in APECED patients have been divergent, and protective roles have been proposed for female sex, age <26 years, and immunomodulatory medications including intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). We report the case of a 30-year-old male APECED patient who experienced a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection with mild symptoms of fatigue and headache without respiratory distress and did not require hospitalization. He received a stress dose of hydrocortisone for adrenal insufficiency and continued on his baseline medications, including subcutaneous administration of Immunoglobulins (SCIgs) for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). Mild COVID-19 in a 30-year-old male patient with APECED and pre-existing Type 1 IFN-Abs was unexpected. Younger age and management of autoimmunity may have played a role.
Selenized Polymer-Lipid Hybrid Nanoparticles for Oral Delivery of Tripterine with Ameliorative Oral Anti-Enteritis Activity and Bioavailability
Authors: Ren Yuehong , Qi Chunli , Ruan Shuxian , Cao Guangshang , Ma Zhiguo , Zhang Xingwang
Published: March 2023

The oral delivery of insoluble and enterotoxic drugs has been largely plagued by gastrointestinal irritation, side effects, and limited bioavailability. Tripterine (Tri) ranks as the hotspot of anti-inflammatory research other than inferior water-solubility and biocompatibility. This study was intended to develop selenized polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles loading Tri (Se@Tri-PLNs) for enteritis intervention by improving its cellular uptake and bioavailability. Se@Tri-PLNs were fabricated by a solvent diffusion-in situ reduction technique and characterized by particle size, ζ potential, morphology, and entrapment efficiency (EE). The cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, oral pharmacokinetics, and in vivo anti-inflammatory effect were evaluated. The resultant Se@Tri-PLNs were 123 nm around in particle size, with a PDI of 0.183, ζ potential of −29.70 mV, and EE of 98.95%. Se@Tri-PLNs exhibited retardant drug release and better stability in the digestive fluids compared with the unmodified counterpart (Tri-PLNs). Moreover, Se@Tri-PLNs manifested higher cellular uptake in Caco-2 cells as evidenced by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The oral bioavailability of Tri-PLNs and Se@Tri-PLNs was up to 280% and 397% relative to Tri suspensions, respectively. Furthermore, Se@Tri-PLNs demonstrated more potent in vivo anti-enteritis activity, which resulted in a marked resolution of ulcerative colitis. Polymer-lipid hybrid nanoparticles (PLNs) enabled drug supersaturation in the gut and the sustained release of Tri to facilitate absorption, while selenium surface engineering reinforced the formulation performance and in vivo anti-inflammatory efficacy. The present work provides a proof-of-concept for the combined therapy of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using phytomedicine and Se in an integrated nanosystem. Selenized PLNs loading anti-inflammatory phytomedicine may be valuable for the treatment of intractable inflammatory diseases.
Polydopamine-Coated Cu-BTC Nanowires for Effective Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Photothermal Therapy
Authors: Thirumurugan Senthilkumar , Samuvel Muthiah Kayalvizhi , Sakthivel Rajalakshmi , Liao Mei-Yi , Kasai Hitoshi , Chung Ren-Jei
Published: March 2023

Herein, we present a one-pot hydrothermal approach for synthesizing metal–organic framework-derived copper (II) benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate (Cu-BTC) nanowires (NWs) using dopamine as the reducing agent and precursor for a polydopamine (PDA) surface coating formation. In addition, PDA can act as a PTT agent and enhance NIR absorption, producing photothermal effects on cancer cells. These NWs displayed a photothermal conversion efficiency of 13.32% after PDA coating and exhibited good photothermal stability. Moreover, NWs with a suitable T1 relaxivity coefficient (r1 = 3.01 mg−1 s−1) can be effectively used as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents. By increasing concentrations, cellular uptake studies showed a greater uptake of Cu-BTC@PDA NWs into cancer cells. Further, in vitro studies showed PDA-coated Cu-BTC NWs possess exceptional therapeutic performance by 808 nm laser irradiation, destroying 58% of cancer cells compared with the absence of laser irradiation. This promising performance is anticipated to advance the research and implementation of copper-based NWs as theranostic agents for cancer treatment.
Chitosan-Based Nanoparticles for Targeted Nasal Galantamine Delivery as a Promising Tool in Alzheimer’s Disease Therapy
Authors: Georgieva Dilyana , Nikolova Denitsa , Vassileva Elena , Kostova Bistra
Published: March 2023

Natural alkaloid galantamine is widely used for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s dementia. Galantamine hydrobromide (GH) is available as fast-release tablets, extended-release capsules, and oral solutions. However, its oral delivery can cause some unwanted side effects, such as gastrointestinal disturbances, nausea, and vomiting. Intranasal administration is one possible way to avoid such unwanted effects. In this work, chitosan-based nanoparticles (NPs) were studied as potential GH delivery vehicles for nasal application. The NPs were synthesized via ionic gelation and studied using dynamic light scattering (DLS) as well as by spectroscopic and thermal methods. The GH-loaded chitosan–alginate complex particles were also prepared as a way to modify the release of GH. The high loading efficiency of the GH was confirmed for both types of particles, at 67% for the GH-loaded chitosan NPs and 70% for the complex chitosan/alginate GH-loaded particles. The mean particle size of the GH-loaded chitosan NPs was about 240 nm, while the sodium alginate coated chitosan particles loaded with GH were expectedly bigger, with a mean particle size of ~286 nm. GH release profiles in PBS at 37 °C were obtained for both types of NPs, and it was found that the GH-loaded chitosan NPs allowed the prolonged release of the incorporated drug for a period of 8 h, while the complex GH-loaded chitosan/alginate NPs released the incorporated GH faster. The stability of the prepared GH-loaded NPs was also demonstrated after 1 year of storage at 5 °C ± 3 °C.
Network of miR396-mRNA in Tissue Differentiation in Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis)
Authors: Li Ying , Vasupalli Naresh , Cai Ou , Lin Xiaofang , Wu Hongyu
Published: March 2023

MiR396 plays an essential role in various developmental processes. However, the miR396-mRNA molecular network in bamboo vascular tissue differentiation during primary thickening has not been elucidated. Here, we revealed that three of the five members from the miR396 family were overexpressed in the underground thickening shoots collected from Moso bamboo. Furthermore, the predicted target genes were up/down-regulated in the early (S2), middle (S3) and late (S4) developmental samples. Mechanistically, we found that several of the genes encoding protein kinases (PKs), growth-regulating factors (GRF), transcription factors (TFs), and transcription regulators (TRs) were the potential targets of miR396 members. Moreover, we identified QLQ (Gln, Leu, Gln) and WRC (Trp, Arg, Cys) d omains in five PeGRF homologs and a Lipase_3 domain and a K_trans domain in another two potential targets, where the cleavage targets were identified via degradome sequencing (p < 0.05). The sequence alignment indicated many mutations in the precursor sequence of miR396d between Moso bamboo and rice. Our dual-luciferase assay revealed that ped-miR396d-5p binds to a PeGRF6 homolog. Thus, the miR396-GRF module was associated with Moso bamboo shoot development. Fluorescence in situ hybridization localized miR396 in the vascular tissues of the leaves, stems, and roots of pot Moso bamboo seedlings at the age of two months. Collectively, these experiments revealed that miR396 functions as a regulator of vascular tissue differentiation in Moso bamboo. Additionally, we propose that miR396 members are targets for bamboo improvement and breeding.
Silver Inhibits Lemna minor Growth at High Initial Frond Densities
Authors: Tran Indigo T. , Heiman Jordan A. , Lydy Victoria R. , Kissoon La Toya
Published: March 2023

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are the most popular engineered nanomaterials in consumer products due to their antimicrobial properties. They enter aquatic ecosystems via insufficient purified wastewaters from manufacturers or consumers. AgNPs inhibit growth of aquatic plants, including duckweeds. Growth media nutrient concentration and initial duckweed frond density can affect growth. However, it is not well understood how frond density affects nanoparticle toxicity. We investigated the toxicity of 500 µg/L AgNPs and AgNO3 on Lemna minor at different initial frond densities (20, 40, and 80 fronds per 28.5 cm2) over 14 days. Plants were more sensitive to silver at high initial frond densities. Growth rates based on frond number and area were lower for plants at 40 and 80 initial frond density in both silver treatments. AgNPs had no effect on frond number, biomass, and frond area at 20 initial frond density. However, AgNO3 plants had lower biomass than control and AgNP plants at 20 initial frond density. Competition and crowding at high frond densities resulted in reduced growth when silver was present, therefore plant density and crowding effects should be considered in toxicity studies.
Genome-Wide Characterization and Expression Profiling of ABA Biosynthesis Genes in a Desert Moss Syntrichia caninervis
Authors: Liu Xiujin , Li Xiaoshuang , Yang Honglan , Yang Ruirui , Zhang Daoyuan
Published: March 2023

Syntrichia caninervis can survive under 80–90% protoplasmic water losses, and it is a model plant in desiccation tolerance research. A previous study has revealed that S. caninervis would accumulate ABA under dehydration stress, while the ABA biosynthesis genes in S. caninervis are still unknown. This study identified one ScABA1, two ScABA4s, five ScNCEDs, twenty-nine ScABA2s, one ScABA3, and four ScAAOs genes, indicating that the ABA biosynthesis genes were complete in S. caninervis. Gene location analysis showed that the ABA biosynthesis genes were evenly distributed in chromosomes but were not allocated to sex chromosomes. Collinear analysis revealed that ScABA1, ScNCED, and ScABA2 had homologous genes in Physcomitrella patens. RT-qPCR detection found that all of the ABA biosynthesis genes responded to abiotic stress; it further indicated that ABA plays an important role in S. caninervis. Moreover, the ABA biosynthesis genes in 19 representative plants were compared to study their phylogenetic and conserved motifs; the results suggested that the ABA biosynthesis genes were closely associated with plant taxa, but these genes had the same conserved domain in each plant. In contrast, there is a huge variation in the exon number between different plant taxa; it revealed that ABA biosynthesis gene structures are closely related to plant taxa. Above all, this study provides strong evidence demonstrating that ABA biosynthesis genes were conserved in the plant kingdom and deepens our understanding of the evolution of the phytohormone ABA.
Tartary Buckwheat Grain as a Source of Bioactive Compounds in Husked Groats
Authors: Kreft Ivan , Golob Aleksandra , Vombergar Blanka , Germ Mateja
Published: March 2023

Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.) originates in mountain regions of Western China, and is cultivated in China, Bhutan, Northern India, Nepal, and Central Europe. The content of flavonoids in Tartary buckwheat grain and groats is much higher than in common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench), and depends on ecological conditions, such as UV-B radiation. Buckwheat intake has preventative effects in chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity, due to its content of bioactive substances. The main bioactive compounds in Tartary buckwheat groats are flavonoids (rutin and quercetin). There are differences in the bioactivities of buckwheat groats obtained using different husking technologies, based on husking raw or pretreated grain. Husking hydrothermally pretreated grain is among the traditional ways of consuming buckwheat in Europe and some parts of China and Japan. During hydrothermal and other processing of Tartary buckwheat grain, a part of rutin is transformed to quercetin, the degradation product of rutin. By adjusting the humidity of materials and the processing temperature, it is possible to regulate the degree of conversion of rutin to quercetin. Rutin is degraded to quercetin in Tartary buckwheat grain due to the enzyme rutinosidase. The high-temperature treatment of wet Tartary buckwheat grain is able to prevent the transformation of rutin to quercetin.
Pachydermoperiostosis Mimicking Inflammatory Arthritis: Case Description and Narrative Review
Authors: Kamruzzaman AKM , Farzana Maisha , Sohel Md Mainuddin , Kaiser Emrul , Chowdhury Nobendu , Rahman Md Hafizur , Haq Syed Atiqul , Rasker Johannes J.
Published: March 2023

Pachydermoperiostosis (PDP), also called primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA), is a rare genetic disease with typical thickening of the skin (pachydermia) and rheumatic manifestations, with clubbing of the fingers and toes and periostosis of the long bones visible on X-rays, as well as arthritis in large joints sometimes. Case: We describe a 23-year-old man with a complete form of PDP who presented with polyarthritis of the ankles and knees, with clubbing of the fingers and toes. He was treated with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), etoricoxib, and with bisphosphonates (initially pamidronic acid i.v. and later oral risedronate 35 mg weekly). His joint pains and swelling disappeared, so that he could resume his daily activities. After eight years, the periostosis on the X-rays had disappeared. Discussion: The case is discussed, the literature regarding PDP is summarized and the differential diagnosis and treatment options are reviewed. Conclusions: PDP may present as polyarthritis. Clinicians should be aware of this diagnosis, as treatment is available and may improve the outcome of the patient. It is important to rule out secondary HOA due to pulmonary or cardiac disease, gastrointestinal malignancies and liver cirrhosis, especially when the dermatological findings are not typical. Further, acromegaly, thyroid acropachy and rheumatologic diseases should be excluded.
Analysis and Verification of Building Changes Based on Point Clouds from Different Sources and Time Periods
Authors: Marmol Urszula , Borowiec Natalia
Published: March 2023

Detecting changes in buildings over time is an important issue in monitoring urban areas, landscape changes, assessing natural disaster risks or updating geospatial databases. Three-dimensional (3D) information derived from dense image matching or laser data can effectively extract changes in buildings. This research proposes an automated method for detecting building changes in urban areas using archival aerial images and LiDAR data. The archival images, dating from 1970 to 1993, were subjected to a dense matching procedure to obtain point clouds. The LiDAR data came from 2006 and 2012. The proposed algorithm is based on height difference-generated nDSM. In addition, morphological filters and criteria considering area size and shape parameters were included. The study was divided into two sections: one concerned the detection of buildings from LiDAR data, an issue that is now widely known and used; the other concerned an attempt at automatic detection from archived aerial images. The automation of detection from archival data proved to be complex, so issues related to the generation of a dense point cloud from this type of data were discussed in detail. The study revealed problems of archival images related to the poor identification of ground control points (GCP), insufficient overlap between images or poor radiometric quality of the scanned material. The research showed that over the 50 years, the built-up area increased as many as three times in the analysed area. The developed method of detecting buildings calculated at a level of more than 90% in the case of the LiDAR data and 88% based on the archival data.
Unsupervised SAR Image Change Detection Based on Structural Consistency and CFAR Threshold Estimation
Authors: Zhu Jingxing , Wang Feng , You Hongjian
Published: March 2023

Despite the remarkable progress made in recent years, until today, the automatic detection of changes in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images remains a difficult task due to speckle noise. This inherent multiplicative noise tends to increase false alarms and misdetections. As a solution, we developed an unsupervised method that detects SAR changes by analyzing structural differences. By this method, the spatial structure cues of a pixel are represented by a set of similarity weight vectors calculated from the non-local scale of the pixel. The difference image (DI) is then derived by measuring the structural consistency of the corresponding pixels. A new statistical distance that is insensitive to speckle noise was used to measure the similarity weights between patches in order to obtain an accurate structure. It was derived by applying the Nakagami–Rayleigh distribution to a statistical test and customizing the approximation based on change detection. The CFAR threshold estimator in conjunction with the Rayleigh hypothesis was then employed to attenuate the effect of the unimodal histogram of the DI. The results indicated that the proposed method reduces the false alarm rate and improves the kappa and F1-scores, while providing satisfactory visual results.
YOLO-FR: A YOLOv5 Infrared Small Target Detection Algorithm Based on Feature Reassembly Sampling Method
Authors: Mou Xingang , Lei Shuai , Zhou Xiao
Published: March 2023

The loss of infrared dim-small target features in the network sampling process is a major factor affecting its detection accuracy. In order to reduce this loss, this paper proposes YOLO-FR, a YOLOv5 infrared dim-small target detection model, based on feature reassembly sampling, which refers to scaling the feature map size without increasing or decreasing the current amount of feature information. In this algorithm, an STD Block is designed to reduce the loss of features during down-sampling by saving spatial information to the channel dimension, and the CARAFE operator, which increases the feature map size without changing the feature mapping mean, is adopted to ensure that features are not distorted by relational scaling. In addition, in order to make full use of the detailed features extracted by the backbone network, the neck network is improved in this study so that the feature extracted after one down-sampling of the backbone network is fused with the top-level semantic information by the neck network to obtain the target detection head with a small receptive field. The experimental results show that the YOLO-FR model proposed in this paper achieved 97.4% on mAP50, which is a 7.4% improvement compared to the original network, and it also outperformed J-MSF and YOLO-SASE.
CORDIC-Based General Multiple Fading Generator for Wireless Channel Digital Twin
Authors: Fang Chen , Mao Kai , Fang Sheng , Zhao Zikun , Hua Boyu , Liu Tao , Zhu Qiuming
Published: March 2023

A wireless channel digital twin is a useful tool to evaluate the performance of a communication system at the physical or link level by generating the physical channel controllably. In this paper, a stochastic general fading channel model is proposed, which considered most of the channel fading types for various communication scenarios. By using the sum-of-frequency-modulation (SoFM) method, the phase discontinuity of the generated channel fading was well addressed. On this basis, a general and flexible generation architecture for channel fading was developed on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) platform. In this architecture, improved CORDIC-based hardware circuits for the trigonometric function, exponential function, and natural logarithm were designed and implemented, which improved the real-time performance of the system and the utilization rate of the hardware resources compared with the traditional LUT and CORDIC method. For a 16-bit fixed-point data bit width single-channel emulation, the hardware resource consumption was significantly reduced from 36.56% to 15.62% for the overall system by utilizing the compact time-division (TD) structure. Moreover, the classical CORDIC method brought an extra latency of 16 system clock cycles, while the latency caused by the improved CORDIC method was decreased by 62.5%. Finally, a generation scheme of a correlated Gaussian sequence was developed to introduce a controllable arbitrary space–time correlation for the channel generator with multiple channels. The output results of the developed generator were consistent with the theoretical results, which verified the correctness of both the generation method and hardware implementation. The proposed channel fading generator can be applied for the emulation of large-scale multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) channels under various dynamic communication scenarios.
Monitoring and Control Framework for IoT, Implemented for Smart Agriculture
Authors: Senoo Elisha Elikem Kofi , Akansah Ebenezer , Mendonça Israel , Aritsugi Masayoshi
Published: March 2023

To mitigate the effects of the lack of IoT standardization, including scalability, reusability, and interoperability, we propose a domain-agnostic monitoring and control framework (MCF) for the design and implementation of Internet of Things (IoT) systems. We created building blocks for the layers of the five-layer IoT architecture and built the MCF’s subsystems (monitoring subsystem, control subsystem, and computing subsystem). We demonstrated the utilization of MCF in a real-world use-case in smart agriculture, using off-the-shelf sensors and actuators and an open-source code. As a user guide, we discuss the necessary considerations for each subsystem and evaluate our framework in terms of its scalability, reusability, and interoperability (issues that are often overlooked during development). Aside from the freedom to choose the hardware used to build complete open-source IoT solutions, the MCF use-case was less expensive, as revealed by a cost analysis that compared the cost of implementing the system using the MCF to obtain commercial solutions. Our MCF is shown to cost up to 20 times less than normal solutions, while serving its purpose. We believe that the MCF eliminated the domain restriction found in many IoT frameworks and serves as a first step toward IoT standardization. Our framework was shown to be stable in real-world applications, with the code not incurring a significant increase in power utilization, and could be operated using common rechargeable batteries and a solar panel. In fact, our code consumed so little power that the usual amount of energy was two times higher than what is necessary to keep the batteries full. We also show that the data provided by our framework are reliable through the use of multiple different sensors operating in parallel and sending similar data at a stable rate, without significant differences between the readings. Lastly, the elements of our framework can exchange data in a stable way with very few package losses, being able to read over 1.5 million data points in the course of three months.
Sensor Data Reconstruction for Dynamic Responses of Structures Using External Feedback of Recurrent Neural Network
Authors: Shin Yoon-Soo , Kim Junhee
Published: March 2023

An event of sensor faults in sensor networks deployed in structures might result in the degradation of the structural health monitoring system and lead to difficulties in structural condition assessment. Reconstruction techniques of the data for missing sensor channels were widely adopted to restore a dataset from all sensor channels. In this study, a recurrent neural network (RNN) model combined with external feedback is proposed to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of sensor data reconstruction for measuring the dynamic responses of structures. The model utilizes spatial correlation rather than spatiotemporal correlation by explicitly feeding the previously reconstructed time series of defective sensor channels back to the input dataset. Because of the nature of spatial correlation, the proposed method generates robust and precise results regardless of the hyperparameters set in the RNN model. To verify the performance of the proposed method, simple RNN, long short-term memory, and gated recurrent unit models were trained using the acceleration datasets obtained from laboratory-scaled three- and six-story shear building frames.