bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Estimating Optical Flow with Streaming Perception and Changing Trend Aiming to Complex Scenarios
Authors: Wang Zixiao , Zhang Weiwei , Zhao Bo
Published: March 2023

Most of the recent works on optical flow estimation focus on introducing more effective CNNs or even the Transformer architecture that is quite popular in today’s CV field, but they all still follow the traditional two-frame input structure. In this paper, we argue that optical flow estimation should be more focused on the dynamic information in the image sequence. To that end, we present a straightforward but effective streaming framework equipped with a novel prediction module for capturing optical flow trends, which is a point that has not yet been discussed in previous works. By employing the backbone of the strong baseline to extract the stream of features from three consecutive frames as inputs, this module can predict the current state and update the previous changing trend of optical flow for feature fusion at the next stage. Additionally, we redesign the training loss, providing two new cost functions, in particular, to measure the variations in the optical flow trend. At the forward stage, we deploy a historical buffer to maintain the inference speed so that it is unaffected by additional input frames. Compared with the strong baseline, our method improves the average end-point error by 21.12% on Sintel Clean and 12.94% on Sintel Final. In addition, it also outperforms existing methods in real-world scenarios with low brightness or fast-moving targets.
Dynamics of a 3-UPS-UPU-S Parallel Mechanism
Authors: Zhao Jing-Shan , Wei Song-Tao , Sun Xiao-Cheng
Published: March 2023

In this paper, a parallel mechanism with two rotational degrees of freedom is proposed. It could rotate freely and continuously around the two coordinate axes at the fixed origin of the coordinate frame. The structure of the mechanism is a second-order over constraint parallel structure and the moving platform and base platform are connected by five kinematic chains. The motion characteristics of this structure are analyzed by reciprocal screw equation. Then, the kinematics and dynamics modelling are carried out systematically in a unified way. The kinematics of the mechanism is established by means of screws, the displacements and accelerations of each joint and any point on a link could be calculated by the kinematic screw equation directly. The analysis of acceleration and its mathematical expression in screw form are given, and the acceleration matrix could be applied into the dynamic analysis based on the Newton–Euler equation. All the constraint forces and torques could be obtained by a single set of Newton–Euler equations.
Numerical Investigation on the Influence of Operation Mode of the Air-Conditioning and Oxygen Supply System on Energy Consumption of Plateau Train
Authors: Zhao Xingjie , Chen Xueqin , Wang Ye
Published: March 2023

Problems of low temperature, low pressure, low oxygen, and high carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the air-conditioning (AC) trains of the Qinghai-Tibet railway can affect the health and comfort of passengers and cause altitude sickness. When the Qinghai-Tibet railway train runs in high-altitude areas, it is necessary to supply oxygen and introduce fresh air to meet the limited oxygen (O2) and CO2 partial pressures (PPs) in the carriage. In this study, a numerical analysis of the correlation between the CO2 PP and O2 PP in AC trains and the air supply parameters (ASPs), fresh air volume (FAV), and oxygen supply volume (OSV) along the Qinghai-Tibet line in summer was conducted. The results show that the influence of the FAV on the energy consumption of the air-conditioning system (ACS) in different running areas is inconsistent, whereas the influence of the oxygen supply system (OSS) on energy consumption is significant. During the oxygen supply period, the FAV had the opposite effect on energy consumption of ACS and OSS. The energy consumption of the OSS was approximately five times that of the ACS. By studying the correlation between the internal environment and ASP of trains running in different regions, the operation modes of ACS and OSS can be reasonably set, which can effectively reduce energy consumption by 20–50%.
Modelling Wave Transmission for Transient Flow and Amplitude-Frequency Characteristics of Tubular String in a Water Injection Well
Authors: Ming Eryang , Li Cong , Lan Huiqing , Yu Jiaqing , Zheng Lichen , Pei Xiaohan
Published: March 2023

Fluid wave code communication is used in layered water injection intelligent monitoring systems, but a model of fluid transient flow wave signal transmission is still unknown. Impedance and transfer coefficient in power transmission theory were used to describe transient flow waves in the transmission process of a tubular string in a water injection well and a transient flow wave model was built based on the transfer matrix method. The relationship between pressure and discharge was analyzed when the transient flow waves moved along the tubular string, and the influence of terminal impedance and dip angle of the tubular string on the wave transmission was studied. Simulations showed that the transient flow waves were with standing wave distribution when the transient flow wave signals transmitted in the tubular string. Moreover, the transmission volatility under different terminal impedances was analyzed. The communication frequency was selected according to the wave amplitude ratio between the two ends of the water injection tubular string. The relationship between the influence of tubular string parameters and fluid characteristics on the wave velocity and wave amplitude in the signal transmission process was obtained by simulation analysis. The wave velocity tended to decrease as the gas content increased. As the tube diameter–thickness ratio increased, the wave velocity decreased. Taking data from a water injection well in Daqing Oilfield as an example, a two-layer water injection test platform was built to study the fluctuation of discharge and pressure at monitoring points in the tubular string. The experiment condition was that the depth of the injection well was 1400 m. It was verified by the experiments that the pressure and flow changes in the downhole and wellhead had good consistency during the transmission of transient flow waves. Comparing the experimental results with the numerical results, the errors of the wave velocity and wave amplitude were 0.69% and 3.85%, respectively, indicating the verification of the simulation model. This study provides a theoretical support for the transmission of transient flow wave signals in a water injection tubular string.
Revisiting Cracking in Reinforced Concrete Beams: An Updated Analysis
Authors: Lopes Adelino V. , Lopes Sergio M. R.
Published: March 2023

As materials and structural optimization continue to be important in design, structural safety checks for service limit states have become increasingly important. One key aspect of these checks is the controlling of cracks to prevent them from affecting the structure’s function or appearance. However, the authors have found that current regulations do not accurately reflect the reality of crack behavior. This is the case of the crack spacing. To address this issue, the authors conducted experiments on 27 reinforced concrete beams to investigate crack location, cracking moment, corresponding deflection, and crack width values as sag increases. Their main finding was that cracks tend to appear at the stirrup locations, and that crack width increases linearly with the sag-to-free-span ratio up to the yielding point. They also concluded that increasing the amount of tensile reinforcement is an effective way to reduce crack width for the same sag.
Utilizing Machine Learning for Detecting Harmful Situations by Audio and Text
Authors: Allouch Merav , Mansbach Noa , Azaria Amos , Azoulay Rina
Published: March 2023

Children with special needs may struggle to identify uncomfortable and unsafe situations. In this study, we aimed at developing an automated system that can detect such situations based on audio and text cues to encourage children’s safety and prevent situations of violence toward them. We composed a text and audio database with over 1891 sentences extracted from videos presenting real-world situations, and categorized them into three classes: neutral sentences, insulting sentences, and sentences indicating unsafe conditions. We compared insulting and unsafe sentence-detection abilities of various machine-learning methods. In particular, we found that a deep neural network that accepts the text embedding vectors of bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) and audio embedding vectors of Wav2Vec as input attains the highest accuracy in detecting unsafe and insulting situations. Our results indicate that it may be applicable to build an automated agent that can detect unsafe and unpleasant situations that children with special needs may encounter, given the dialogue contexts conducted with these children.
The Application of Finite Element Simulation and 3D Printing in Structural Design within Construction Industry 4.0
Authors: Tahmasebinia Faham , Jabbari Amir Abbas , Skrzypkowski Krzysztof
Published: March 2023

Three-dimensional (3D) printing, or additive manufacturing (AM), is a production can be utilised to fabricate 3D shapes from a simulated file. This technology has gained global popularity in the construction industry since 2014 due to its wide range of applications. AM promotes a more automated, innovative, flexible, and sustainable construction method, making it an integral part of the Construction Industry 4.0. However, there need to be more detailed studies regarding the effectiveness of AM as the future direction in the construction industry. This paper investigates the application of the finite element method (FEM) in assessing 3D-printed structures to get insight into the performance of these structures. Three leading 3D-printed structures were selected, including Dubai Future Foundation in the United Arab Emirates, Apis Cor house in Russia and PERI house in Germany. Structural and thermal analyses, including linear static, natural frequency, spectral response, and steady state heat, were performed using Strand7 to assess the effectiveness of AM in construction and the reliability of FEM in analysing 3D-printed structures. Although there are limited standards and regulations for 3D-printed structures in most countries, it was concluded that 3D-printed structures presented a similar strength to traditional ones. Moreover, FEM can be used to provide a reasonable analysis of the performance of these structures, while complying with the relevant standards. This paper presents a novel numerical procedure to assess the performance of small-scale 3D-printed structures under various mechanical and thermal loadings by checking against the relevant standards.
Securing Network Information System Design: An Efficient Tool for DSP Undocumented Instruction Mining
Authors: Zhang Xingcan , Chen Zhe , Ye Jiawen , Li Huan , Wang Jian , Liu Changlong , Li Bin
Published: March 2023

As recently studied, the undocumented instructions in embedded processors that may cause catastrophic results for devices have become one of the main threats to system security. To tackle this issue, in this paper, we propose an undocumented instruction mining tool for digital signal processors named DSPUIM that can find out the undocumented instructions from the frequently used Digital Signal Processors (DSP) in network information systems. First, we analyzed the characteristics of the DSP instruction format to compress the instruction search space and improve the instruction search speed. Second, according to the public instruction set of DSPs, we built an instruction disassembly framework that helped us to identify all the undefined instructions. Finally, by testing the executability of undefined instructions automatically, we obtained the undocumented instructions for target DSPs. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our tool, we applied it on ten DSP processors of Texas Instruments (TI) and mined 335 undocumented instructions from them within 5 min. Some undocumented instructions have malicious functions, such as changing registers and denial of service, posing a security threat to the network devices using DSPs.
Influence of the Number of Microthreads on Marginal Bone Loss: A Five-Year Retrospective Clinical Study in Humans
Authors: Jornet-García Alfonso , Sánchez-Pérez Arturo , Planes-Nicolás Pablo , Montoya-Carralero José M. , Moya-Villaescusa María J.
Published: March 2023

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of the number of microthreads on marginal bone over 5 years. Thirty-two implants were placed in 32 patients with partially edentulous maxillae or mandibles. Two implants with the same characteristics were placed: the first one had a 1 mm crest module and 3 microthreads (Q); and the second one had a 3 mm crest module and nine microthreads (S). The prosthesis was inserted 3 months after implant placement. Clinical and radiographic examinations were performed at the one-week, one-month, and three-month follow-up visits and then every six months until a five-year follow-up period was completed. After 5 years of follow-up, five patients withdrew from the study. Complete data were available for 27 implants, with a 100% implant survival rate. No cases of peri-implantitis were diagnosed. The average bone loss was 0.65 mm (C.I. 0.21–1.09) for Q implants and 0.86 mm (C.I. 0.39–1.33) for S implants, with no statistically significant difference. The bone level does not vary between implants with three and nine microthreads or with a 1 mm and 3 mm crest module. No differences in clinical parameters were found.
Emission Source Areas of Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Tuyet Nam Thi , Du Nguyen Xuan , Hoa Nguyen Thi
Published: March 2023

This study aims to determine emission source areas of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City, Vietnam, using a conditional bivariate probability function (CBPF) and hybrid receptor models, including three-dimensional potential source contribution function (3D-PSCF) and concentration-weighted trajectory (3D-CWT), considering latitudes, longitudes, and height of trajectory segments. Uncertainties of the CBPF and 3D-PSCF/3D-CWT were evaluated based on the 95th confidence intervals and 95% confidence levels, respectively. For the local scale, PM2.5 in HCM City was primarily emitted from shallow or common ground sources (e.g., vehicle emissions) throughout the year. Regarding non-local source areas, PM2.5 in HCM City is contributed by those originated from the East Sea (e.g., shipping emissions) and southeastern Vietnam (e.g., Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces) having several industrial zones with PM2.5 emission sources, especially in the dry season (December to April of the following year). In the rainy season (May–November), PM2.5 derived from emission sources in the Mekong Delta (e.g., biomass burning) might be transported to HCM City. However, contribution of the non-local sources to PM2.5 pollution in HCM City during the rainy season is less important because of PM2.5 deposition stemmed from the high rainfall amount in this season.
Decision Making of Agile Patterns in Offshore Software Development Outsourcing: A Fuzzy Logic-Based Analysis
Authors: Kausar Maryam , Mazhar Noushin , Ishtiaq Muhammad , Alabrah Amerah
Published: March 2023

Computation intelligence techniques are important for making decisions in an agile-based offshore software development paradigm. Offshore development faces additional challenges, such as trust, communication and coordination, and socio-cultural and knowledge transfer. There is a need to determine the rankings of challenges considering their criticality concerning practitioners working in agile-based offshore software development. This paper aims to identify and rank agile challenges in offshore software development by applying computational intelligence techniques. From the systematic literature review, we identified 30 communication and coordination challenges. The distributed agile pattern catalog consists of 15 patterns, from which eight were used to solve communication and collaboration challenges. Many researchers have used fuzzy logic to quantify their results. We further applied the fuzzy analytical technique to determine the priority order concerning the criticality of the identified agile pattern catalog. The results showed that Central Code Repository Pattern ranked the most significant for solving communication and coordination challenges. Global Scrum Board Pattern and Synchronous Communication Pattern ranked second.
On Construction and Estimation of Mixture of Log-Bilal Distributions
Authors: Lone Showkat Ahmad , Sindhu Tabassum Naz , Anwar Sadia , Hassan Marwa K. H. , Alsahli Sarah A. , Abushal Tahani A.
Published: March 2023

Recently, the use of mixed models for analyzing real data sets with infinite domains has gained favor. However, only a specific type of mixture model using mostly maximum likelihood estimation technique has been exercised in the literature, and fitting the mixture models for bounded data (between zero and one) has been neglected. In statistical mechanics, unit distributions are widely utilized to explain practical numeric values ranging between zero and one. We presented a classical examination for the trade share data set using a mixture of two log-Bilal distributions (MLBDs). We examine the features and statistical estimation of the MLBD in connection with three techniques. The sensitivity of the presented estimators with respect to model parameters, weighting proportions, sample size, and different evaluation methodologies has also been discussed. A simulation investigation is also used to endorse the estimation results. The findings on maximum likelihood estimation were more persuasive than those of existing mixture models. The flexibility and importance of the proposed distribution are illustrated by means of real datasets.
Correction: Peguda et al. The Activity of Polyhomoarginine against Acanthamoeba castellanii. Biology 2022, 11, 1726
Authors: Peguda Hari Kumar , Lakshminarayanan Rajamani , Carnt Nicole A. , Gu Zi , Willcox Mark D. P.
Published: March 2023

In the original publication [...]
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Associated Myocarditis and Cardiomyopathy: A Translational Review
Authors: Wang Dong , Bauersachs Johann , Berliner Dominik
Published: March 2023

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized oncology and transformed the treatment of various malignancies. By unleashing the natural immunological brake of the immune system, ICIs were initially considered an effective, gentle therapy with few side effects. However, accumulated clinical knowledge reveals that ICIs are associated with inflammation and tissue damage in multiple organs, leading to immune-related adverse effects (irAEs). Most irAEs involve the skin and gastrointestinal tract; however, cardiovascular involvement is associated with very high mortality rates, and its underlying pathomechanisms are poorly understood. Ranging from acute myocarditis to chronic cardiomyopathies, ICI-induced cardiotoxicity can present in various forms and entities. Revealing the inciting factors, understanding the pathogenesis, and identifying effective treatment strategies are needed to improve the care of tumor patients and our understanding of the immune and cardiovascular systems.
Occurrence Prediction of Riffle Beetles (Coleoptera: Elmidae) in a Tropical Andean Basin of Ecuador Using Species Distribution Models
Authors: Sotomayor Gonzalo , Romero Jorge , Ballari Daniela , Vázquez Raúl F. , Ramírez-Morales Iván , Hampel Henrietta , Galarza Xavier , Montesinos Bolívar , Forio Marie Anne Eurie , Goethals Peter L. M.
Published: March 2023

Genera and species of Elmidae (riffle beetles) are sensitive to water pollution; however, in tropical freshwater ecosystems, their requirements regarding environmental factors need to be investigated. Species distribution models (SDMs) were established for five elmid genera in the Paute river basin (southern Ecuador) using the Random Forest (RF) algorithm considering environmental variables, i.e., meteorology, land use, hydrology, and topography. Each RF-based model was trained and optimised using cross-validation. Environmental variables that explained most of the Elmidae spatial variability were land use (i.e., riparian vegetation alteration and presence/absence of canopy), precipitation, and topography, mainly elevation and slope. The highest probability of occurrence for elmids genera was predicted in streams located within well-preserved zones. Moreover, specific ecological niches were spatially predicted for each genus. Macrelmis was predicted in the lower and forested areas, with high precipitation levels, towards the Amazon basin. Austrelmis was predicted to be in the upper parts of the basin, i.e., páramo ecosystems, with an excellent level of conservation of their riparian ecosystems. Austrolimnius and Heterelmis were also predicted in the upper parts of the basin but in more widespread elevation ranges, in the Heterelmis case, and even in some areas with a medium level of anthropisation. Neoelmis was predicted to be in the mid-region of the study basin in high altitudinal streams with a high degree of meandering. The main findings of this research are likely to contribute significantly to local conservation and restoration efforts being implemented in the study basin and could be extrapolated to similar eco-hydrological systems.
Enhancement of AFB1 Removal Efficiency via Adsorption/Photocatalysis Synergy Using Surface-Modified Electrospun PCL-g-C3N4/CQDs Membranes
Authors: Yao Liangtao , Sun Changpo , Lin Hui , Li Guisheng , Lian Zichao , Song Ruixin , Zhuang Songlin , Zhang Dawei
Published: March 2023

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a highly toxic mycotoxin produced by aspergillus species under specific conditions as secondary metabolites. In this study, types of PCL (Polycaprolactone) membranes anchored (or not) to g-C3N4/CQDs composites were prepared using electrospinning technology with (or without) the following surface modification treatment to remove AFB1. These membranes and g-C3N4/CQDs composites were characterized by SEM, TEM, UV-vis, XRD, XPS and FTIR to analyze their physical and chemical properties. Among them, the modified PCL-g-C3N4/CQDs electrospun membranes exhibited an excellent ability to degrade AFB1 via synergistic effects of adsorption and photocatalysis, and the degradation rate of 0.5 μg/mL AFB1 solution was observed to be up to 96.88% in 30 min under visible light irradiation. Moreover, the modified PCL-g-C3N4/CQDs electrospun membranes could be removed directly after the reaction process without centrifugal or magnetic separation, and the regeneration was a green approach synchronized with the reaction under visible light avoiding physical or chemical treatment. The mechanism of adsorption by electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding interaction was revealed and the mechanism of photodegradation of AFB1 was also proposed based on active species trapping experiments. This study illuminated the highly synergic adsorption and photocatalytic AFB1 removal efficiency without side effects from the modified PCL-g-C3N4/CQDs electrospun membranes, thereby offering a continual and green solution to AFB1 removal in practical application.
Roles of miR-196a and miR-196b in Zebrafish Motor Function
Authors: Yuan Chunyan , Xie Huaping , Chen Xiangding , Yuan Shunling
Published: March 2023

Background: The exertion of motor function depends on various tissues, such as bones and muscles. miR-196 has been widely studied in cancer and other fields, but its effect on bone and skeletal muscle is rarely reported. In order to explore the role of miR-196 family in bone and skeletal muscle, we used the previously successfully constructed miR-196a-1 and miR-196b gene knockout zebrafish animal models for research. Methods: The behavioral trajectories of zebrafish from 4 days post-fertilization (dpf) to 7 dpf were detected to analyze the effect of miR-196a-1 and miR-196b on motor ability. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to detect the dorsal muscle tissue of zebrafish. The bone tissue of zebrafish was detected by microcomputed tomography (micro-CT). Real-time PCR was used to detect the expression levels of related genes, including vcp, dpm1, acta1b, mylpfb, col1a1a, bmp8a, gdf6a, and fgfr3. Results: The behavioral test showed that the total behavioral trajectory, movement time, and movement speed of zebrafish larvae were decreased in the miR-196a-1 and miR-196b gene knockout lines. Muscle tissue analysis showed that the structure of muscle fibers in the zebrafish lacking miR-196a-1 and miR-196b was abnormal and was characterized by vacuolar degeneration of muscle fibers, intranuclear migration, melanin deposition, and inflammatory cell infiltration. Bone CT examination revealed decreased bone mineral density and trabecular bone number. The real-time PCR results showed that the expression levels of vcp, dpm1, gdf6a, fgfr3, and col1a1a were decreased in the miR-196b gene knockout group. The expression levels of dpm1, acta1b, mylpfb, gdf6a, and col1a1a were decreased, and the expression level of fgfr3 was increased in the miR-196b gene knockout group compared with the wild-type group. Conclusions: miR-196a-1 and miR-196b play an important role in muscle fiber structure, bone mineral density, and bone trabecular quantity by affecting the expression of vcp, dpm1, acta1b, mylpfb, gdf6a, fgfr3, and col1a1a and then affect the function of the motor system
Potential Treatment Options for Neuroblastoma with Polyphenols through Anti-Proliferative and Apoptotic Mechanisms
Authors: Kafoud Aisha , Salahuddin Zoya , Ibrahim Raghad Sabaawi , Al-Janahi Reem , Mazurakova Alena , Kubatka Peter , Büsselberg Dietrich
Published: March 2023

Neuroblastoma (NB) is an extracranial tumor of the peripheral nervous system arising from neural crest cells. It is the most common malignancy in infants and the most common extracranial solid tumor in children. The current treatment for high-risk NB involves chemotherapy and surgical resection followed by high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem-cell rescue and radiation treatment. However, those with high-risk NB are susceptible to relapse and the long-term side effects of standard chemotherapy. Polyphenols, including the sub-class of flavonoids, contain more than one aromatic ring with hydroxyl groups. The literature demonstrates their utility in inducing the apoptosis of neuroblastoma cells, mostly in vitro and some in vivo. This review explores the use of various polyphenols outlined in primary studies, underlines the pathways involved in apoptotic activity, and discusses the dosage and delivery of these polyphenols. Primary studies were obtained from multiple databases with search the terms “neuroblastoma”, “flavonoid”, and “apoptosis”. The in vitro studies showed that polyphenols exert an apoptotic effect on several NB cell lines. These polyphenols include apigenin, genistein, didymin, rutin, quercetin, curcumin, resveratrol, butein, bisphenols, and various plant extracts. The mechanisms of the therapeutic effects include calpain-dependent pathways, receptor-mediated apoptosis, and, notably, and most frequently, mitochondrial apoptosis pathways, including the mitochondrial proteins Bax and Bcl-2. Overall, polyphenols demonstrate potency in decreasing NB proliferation and inducing apoptosis, indicating significant potential for further in vivo research.
Structural Insights into the Distortion of the Ribosomal Small Subunit at Different Magnesium Concentrations
Authors: Yu Ting , Jiang Junyi , Yu Qianxi , Li Xin , Zeng Fuxing
Published: March 2023

Magnesium ions are abundant and play indispensable functions in the ribosome. A decrease in Mg2+ concentration causes 70S ribosome dissociation and subsequent unfolding. Structural distortion at low Mg2+ concentrations has been observed in an immature pre50S, while the structural changes in mature subunits have not yet been studied. Here, we purified the 30S subunits of E. coli cells under various Mg2+ concentrations and analyzed their structural distortion by cryo-electron microscopy. Upon systematically interrogating the structural heterogeneity within the 1 mM Mg2+ dataset, we observed 30S particles with different levels of structural distortion in the decoding center, h17, and the 30S head. Our model showed that, when the Mg2+ concentration decreases, the decoding center distorts, starting from h44 and followed by the shifting of h18 and h27, as well as the dissociation of ribosomal protein S12. Mg2+ deficiency also eliminates the interactions between h17, h10, h15, and S16, resulting in the movement of h17 towards the tip of h6. More flexible structures were observed in the 30S head and platform, showing high variability in these regions. In summary, the structures resolved here showed several prominent distortion events in the decoding center and h17. The requirement for Mg2+ in ribosomes suggests that the conformational changes reported here are likely shared due to a lack of cellular Mg2+ in all domains of life.
Exploring the Role of Hypoxia-Inducible Carbonic Anhydrase IX (CAIX) in Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) of Breast Cancer
Authors: Twomey Julianne D. , Zhang Baolin
Published: March 2023

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the peripheral blood are believed to be the source of metastasis and can be used as a liquid biopsy to monitor cancer progression and therapeutic response. However, it has been challenging to accurately detect CTCs because of their low frequency and the heterogeneity of the population. In this study, we have developed an in vitro model of CTCs by using non-adherent suspension culture. We used this model to study a group of breast cancer cell lines with distinct molecular subtypes (TNBC, HER2+, and ER+/PR+). We found that, when these breast cancer cell lines lost their attachment to the extracellular matrix, they accumulated a subtype of cancer stem cells (CSC) that expressed the surface markers of stem cells (e.g., CD44+CD24−). These stem-like CTCs also showed high expressions of hypoxia-inducible gene products, particularly the hypoxia-inducible carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX). Inhibition of CAIX activity was found to reduce CAIX expression and stem cell phenotypes in the targeted CTCs. Further studies are needed, using CTC samples from breast cancer patients, to determine the role of CAIX in CTC survival, CSC transition, and metastasis. CAIX may be a useful surface marker for the detection of CSCs in the blood, and a potential target for treating metastatic breast cancers.
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Diameter versus Volume: A Systematic Review
Authors: Vaitėnas Gediminas , Mosenko Valerija , Račytė Austėja , Medelis Karolis , Skrebūnas Arminas , Baltrūnas Tomas
Published: March 2023

Recently, AAA volume measurement has been proposed as a potentially valuable surveillance method in situations when diameter measurement might fail. Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to analyze the results of previous studies comparing AAA diameter and volume measurements. Methods: A systematic search in PubMed, Cochrane, and EMBASE databases was performed to identify studies investigating the use of diameter and volume measurements in AAA diagnosis and prognosis in English, German, and Russian, published until December 2022. The manuscripts were reviewed by three researchers and scored on the quality of the research using MINORS criteria. Results: After screening 752 manuscripts, 19 studies (n = 1690) were included. The majority (n = 17) of the manuscripts appeared to favor volume. It is, however, important to highlight the heterogeneity of methodologies and lack of standardized protocol for measuring both volume and diameter in the included studies, which hindered the interpretation of the results. Conclusions: The clinical relevance of abdominal aortic aneurysm volume measurement is still unclear, although studies show favorable and promising results for volumetric changes in AAA, especially in follow-up after EVAR.
Improved Object Detection Artificial Intelligence Using the Revised RetinaNet Model for the Automatic Detection of Ulcerations, Vascular Lesions, and Tumors in Wireless Capsule Endoscopy
Authors: Nakada Ayako , Niikura Ryota , Otani Keita , Kurose Yusuke , Hayashi Yoshito , Kitamura Kazuya , Nakanishi Hiroyoshi , Kawano Seiji , Honda Testuya , Hasatani Kenkei , Sumiyoshi Tetsuya , Nishida Tsutomu , Yamada Atsuo , Aoki Tomonori , Harada Tatsuya , Kawai Takashi , Fujishiro Mitsuhiro
Published: March 2023

The use of computer-aided detection models to diagnose lesions in images from wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) is a topical endoscopic diagnostic solution. We revised our artificial intelligence (AI) model, RetinaNet, to better diagnose multiple types of lesions, including erosions and ulcers, vascular lesions, and tumors. RetinaNet was trained using the data of 1234 patients, consisting of images of 6476 erosions and ulcers, 1916 vascular lesions, 7127 tumors, and 14,014,149 normal tissues. The mean area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity for each lesion were evaluated using five-fold stratified cross-validation. Each cross-validation set consisted of between 6,647,148 and 7,267,813 images from 217 patients. The mean AUC values were 0.997 for erosions and ulcers, 0.998 for vascular lesions, and 0.998 for tumors. The mean sensitivities were 0.919, 0.878, and 0.876, respectively. The mean specificities were 0.936, 0.969, and 0.937, and the mean accuracies were 0.930, 0.962, and 0.924, respectively. We developed a new version of an AI-based diagnostic model for the multiclass identification of small bowel lesions in WCE images to help endoscopists appropriately diagnose small intestine diseases in daily clinical practice.
Clinical Relevance of Gut Microbiota Alterations under the Influence of Selected Drugs—Updated Review
Authors: Mruk-Mazurkiewicz Honorata , Kulaszyńska Monika , Jakubczyk Karolina , Janda-Milczarek Katarzyna , Czarnecka Wiktoria , Rębacz-Maron Ewa , Zacha Sławomir , Sieńko Jerzy , Zeair Samir , Dalewski Bartosz , Marlicz Wojciech , Łoniewski Igor , Skonieczna-Żydecka Karolina
Published: March 2023

As pharmacology and science progress, we discover new generations of medicines. This relationship is a response to the increasing demand for medicaments and is powered by progress in medicine and research about the respective entities. However, we have questions about the efficiency of pharmacotherapy in individual groups of patients. The effectiveness of therapy is controlled by many variables, such as genetic predisposition, age, sex and diet. Therefore, we must also pay attention to the microbiota, which fulfill a lot of functions in the human body. Drugs used in psychiatry, gastroenterology, diabetology and other fields of medicine have been demonstrated to possess much potential to change the composition and probably the function of the intestinal microbiota, which consequently creates long-term risks of developing chronic diseases. The article describes the amazing interactions between gut microbes and drugs currently used in healthcare.
Recent Progress of Biomaterials-Based Epidermal Electronics for Healthcare Monitoring and Human–Machine Interaction
Authors: Han Ningning , Yao Xin , Wang Yifan , Huang Wenhao , Niu Mengjuan , Zhu Pengcheng , Mao Yanchao
Published: March 2023

Epidermal electronics offer an important platform for various on-skin applications including electrophysiological signals monitoring and human–machine interactions (HMI), due to their unique advantages of intrinsic softness and conformal interfaces with skin. The widely used nondegradable synthetic materials may produce massive electronic waste to the ecosystem and bring safety issues to human skin. However, biomaterials extracted from nature are promising to act as a substitute material for the construction of epidermal electronics, owing to their diverse characteristics of biocompatibility, biodegradability, sustainability, low cost and natural abundance. Therefore, the development of natural biomaterials holds great prospects for advancement of high-performance sustainable epidermal electronics. Here, we review the recent development on different types of biomaterials including proteins and polysaccharides for multifunctional epidermal electronics. Subsequently, the applications of biomaterials-based epidermal electronics in electrophysiological monitoring and HMI are discussed, respectively. Finally, the development situation and future prospects of biomaterials-based epidermal electronics are summarized. We expect that this review can provide some inspirations for the development of future, sustainable, biomaterials-based epidermal electronics.
Recent Progress in Long-Term Sleep Monitoring Technology
Authors: Yin Jiaju , Xu Jiandong , Ren Tian-Ling
Published: March 2023

Sleep is an essential physiological activity, accounting for about one-third of our lives, which significantly impacts our memory, mood, health, and children’s growth. Especially after the COVID-19 epidemic, sleep health issues have attracted more attention. In recent years, with the development of wearable electronic devices, there have been more and more studies, products, or solutions related to sleep monitoring. Many mature technologies, such as polysomnography, have been applied to clinical practice. However, it is urgent to develop wearable or non-contacting electronic devices suitable for household continuous sleep monitoring. This paper first introduces the basic knowledge of sleep and the significance of sleep monitoring. Then, according to the types of physiological signals monitored, this paper describes the research progress of bioelectrical signals, biomechanical signals, and biochemical signals used for sleep monitoring. However, it is not ideal to monitor the sleep quality for the whole night based on only one signal. Therefore, this paper reviews the research on multi-signal monitoring and introduces systematic sleep monitoring schemes. Finally, a conclusion and discussion of sleep monitoring are presented to propose potential future directions and prospects for sleep monitoring.
Immunosensors for Assay of Toxic Biological Warfare Agents
Authors: Pohanka Miroslav
Published: March 2023

An immunosensor for the assay of toxic biological warfare agents is a biosensor suitable for detecting hazardous substances such as aflatoxin, botulinum toxin, ricin, Shiga toxin, and others. The application of immunosensors is used in outdoor assays, point-of-care tests, as a spare method for more expensive devices, and even in the laboratory as a standard analytical method. Some immunosensors, such as automated flow-through analyzers or lateral flow tests, have been successfully commercialized as tools for toxins assay, but the research is ongoing. New devices are being developed, and the use of advanced materials and assay techniques make immunosensors highly competitive analytical devices in the field of toxic biological warfare agents assay. This review summarizes facts about current applications and new trends of immunosensors regarding recent papers in this area.
Photoacoustic Spectral Analysis for Evaluating the Aggressiveness of Prostate Cancer Labeled by Methylene Blue Polyacrylamide Nanoparticles
Authors: Jo Janggun , Salfi Eamon , Folz Jeff , Udager Aaron M. , Keller Evan , Kopelman Raoul , Kothapalli Sri-Rajasekhar , Xu Guan , Wang Xueding
Published: March 2023

Evaluating the aggressiveness of prostate cancer (PCa) is crucial for PCa diagnosis and prognosis. Previously, studies have shown that photoacoustic spectral analysis (PASA) can assess prostate tissue microarchitecture for evaluating the aggressiveness of PCa. In this study, in a transgenic mouse (TRAMP) model of PCa, we utilized methylene blue polyacrylamide nanoparticles (MB PAA NPs) to label the cancer cells in prostate in vivo. MB PAA NPs can specifically target proliferating cancer cells as a contrast agent, allowing photoacoustic (PA) imaging to better detect PCa tumors, and also assessing prostate glandular architecture. With the PA signals from the prostates measured simultaneously by a needle hydrophone and a PA and ultrasound (US) dual-imaging system, we conducted PASA and correlated the quantified spectral parameter slopes with the cancer grading from histopathology. The PASA results from 18 mice showed significant differences between normal and cancer, and also between low-score cancer and high-score cancer. This study in the clinically relevant TRAMP model of PCa demonstrated that PA imaging and PASA, powered by MB PAA NPs that can label the PCa microarchitectures in vivo after systemic administration, can detect PCa and, more importantly, evaluate cancer aggressiveness.
Cerebrolysin in Patients with TBI: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Jarosz Konrad , Kojder Klaudyna , Andrzejewska Agata , Solek-Pastuszka Joanna , Jurczak Anna
Published: March 2023

TBI (traumatic brain injury) is one of the most common causes of deaths and failure to return to society according to the latest statistics. Cerebrolysin is a drug approved for use in patients diagnosed with TBI. It is a mixture of neuropeptides derived from purified porcine brain proteins and multiple experimental studies have proven its neuroprotective and neurorestorative properties both in vitro and in vivo. In our meta-analysis, we analyze the latest clinical study reports on the use of Cerebrolysin in patients with TBI. The authors searched the databases: Pub Med, Cinahl, Web Of Science, and Embase from database inception until 11th July 2022. Ten clinical studies were eligible and included in the final analysis, including both retrospective and prospective studies of 8749 patients. Treatment with Cerebrolysin was associated with a statistically significant change in GCS and GOS. Mortality of any cause and the length of stay was not affected by the treatment. Our findings support and confirm the beneficial effects of Cerebrolysin treatment on the clinical outcome of patients after TBI. Further multi-center studies to optimize dosing and time of administration should be conducted.
Familiarity Facilitates Detection of Angry Expressions
Authors: Chauhan Vassiki , Visconti di Oleggio Castello Matteo , Taylor Morgan , Gobbini Maria Ida
Published: March 2023

Personal familiarity facilitates rapid and optimized detection of faces. In this study, we investigated whether familiarity associated with faces can also facilitate the detection of facial expressions. Models of face processing propose that face identity and face expression detection are mediated by distinct pathways. We used a visual search paradigm to assess if facial expressions of emotion (anger and happiness) were detected more rapidly when produced by familiar as compared to unfamiliar faces. We found that participants detected an angry expression 11% more accurately and 135 ms faster when produced by familiar as compared to unfamiliar faces while happy expressions were detected with equivalent accuracies and at equivalent speeds for familiar and unfamiliar faces. These results suggest that detectors in the visual system dedicated to processing features of angry expressions are optimized for familiar faces.
Exploring Whether Iron Sequestration within the CNS of Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease Causes a Functional Iron Deficiency That Advances Neurodegeneration
Authors: LeVine Steven M. , Tsau Sheila , Gunewardena Sumedha
Published: March 2023

The involvement of iron in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may be multifaceted. Besides potentially inducing oxidative damage, the bioavailability of iron may be limited within the central nervous system, creating a functionally iron-deficient state. By comparing staining results from baseline and modified iron histochemical protocols, iron was found to be more tightly bound within cortical sections from patients with high levels of AD pathology compared to subjects with a diagnosis of something other than AD. To begin examining whether the bound iron could cause a functional iron deficiency, a protein-coding gene expression dataset of initial, middle, and advanced stages of AD from olfactory bulb tissue was analyzed for iron-related processes with an emphasis on anemia-related changes in initial AD to capture early pathogenic events. Indeed, anemia-related processes had statistically significant alterations, and the significance of these changes exceeded those for AD-related processes. Other changes in patients with initial AD included the expressions of transcripts with iron-responsive elements and for genes encoding proteins for iron transport and mitochondrial-related processes. In the latter category, there was a decreased expression for the gene encoding pitrilysin metallopeptidase 1 (PITRM1). Other studies have shown that PITRM1 has an altered activity in patients with AD and is associated with pathological changes in this disease. Analysis of a gene expression dataset from PITRM1-deficient or sufficient organoids also revealed statistically significant changes in anemia-like processes. These findings, together with supporting evidence from the literature, raise the possibility that a pathogenic mechanism of AD could be a functional deficiency of iron contributing to neurodegeneration.
Identification and Characterization of TMEM119-Positive Cells in the Postnatal and Adult Murine Cochlea
Authors: Bassiouni Mohamed , Smorodchenko Alina , Olze Heidi , Szczepek Agnieszka J.
Published: March 2023

Transmembrane protein 119 (TMEM119) is expressed in a subset of resident macrophage cells of the brain and was proposed as a marker for native brain microglia. The presence of cells expressing TMEM119 in the cochlea has not yet been described. Thus, the present study aimed to characterize the TMEM119-expressing cells of the postnatal and adult cochlea, the latter also after noise exposure. Immunofluorescent staining of cochlear cryosections detected TMEM119 protein in the spiral limbus fibrocytes and the developing stria vascularis at postnatal Day 3. Applying the macrophage marker Iba1 revealed that TMEM119 is not a marker of cochlear macrophages or a subset of them. In the adult murine cochlea, TMEM119 expression was detected in the basal cells of the stria vascularis and the dark mesenchymal cells of the supralimbal zone. Exposure to noise trauma was not associated with a qualitative change in the types or distributions of the TMEM119-expressing cells of the adult cochlea. Western blot analysis indicated a similar TMEM119 protein expression level in the postnatal cochlea and brain tissues. The findings do not support using TMEM119 as a specific microglial or macrophage marker in the cochlea. The precise role of TMEM119 in the cochlea remains to be investigated through functional experiments. TMEM119 expression in the basal cells of the stria vascularis implies a possible role in the gap junction system of the blood–labyrinth barrier and merits further research.