bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SMS121, a new inhibitor of CD36, impairs fatty acid uptake and viability of acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Åbacka Hannah , Masoni Samuele , Poli Giulio , Huang Peng , Gusso Francesco , Granchi Carlotta , Minutolo Filippo , Tuccinardi Tiziano , Hagström-Andersson Anna K. , Lindkvist-Petersson Karin
Published: April 2024

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common form of acute leukemia in adults and the second most common among children. AML is characterized by aberrant proliferation of myeloid blasts in the bone marrow and impaired normal hematopoiesis. Despite the introduction of new drugs and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, patients have poor overall survival rate with relapse as the major challenge, driving the demand for new therapeutic strategies. AML patients with high expression of the very long/long chain fatty acid transporter CD36 have poorer survival and very long chain fatty acid metabolism is critical for AML cell survival. Here we show that fatty acids are transferred from human primary adipocytes to AML cells upon co-culturing. A drug-like small molecule (SMS121) was identified by receptor-based virtual screening and experimentally demonstrated to target the lipid uptake protein CD36. SMS121 reduced the uptake of fatty acid into AML cells that could be reversed by addition of free fatty acids and caused decreased cell viability. The data presented here serves as a framework for the development of CD36 inhibitors to be used as future therapeutics against AML.
Breast problems and associated factors among lactating women in Northeast Ethiopia, 2022
Authors: Shitie Anguach , Adimasu Abebe , Tsegaye Delelegn , Belete Dagne , Mislu Esuyawkal , Assfaw Mandefro , Kettema Wondimnew Gashaw
Published: April 2024

Breastfeeding is the cornerstone of child and maternal health. However, maternal breast problems during breastfeeding have been frequently reported as one of the reasons for early discontinuation of breastfeeding. Despite the importance of having knowledge on breast problems magnitude and its associated factors in the clinical practices and designing effective interventions, there is limited data on this topic. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of breast problem among postnatal lactating women in Legambo district, south wollo zone, North East Ethiopia, in 2022. A community-based cross sectional study was conducted among 610 lactating mothers in Legambo district. Multi-stage sampling was employed to select study participants. Interviewer administered, WHO B-R-E-A-S-T-Feeding, observational checklist and maternal self-reported breast problem questionnaires were used to collect the data. Epi-Data version 3.1 was used for data entry and export to SPSS version 25.0 for analysis. Descriptive statistics and bi-variable and multivariable analysis was carried out. On the multivariable logistic regression, variables with p-value < 0.5 were considered as they had statistically significant association with breast problem. The overall prevalence of breast problems among postnatal lactating women was 54.3% (95%, CI 49.3–59.3%). Primipara (AOR = 5.09; 95% CI 3.40–7.62), preterm infant (AOR = 2.12; 95% CI 1.22–3.66), home delivery (AOR = 3.67; 95% CI 1.62–8.30), ineffective breastfeeding techniques (AOR = 2.45; 95%CI 1.61–3.74), caesarean section delivery (AOR = 2.05;95%CI :1.15–3.64) and mixed type of feeding (AOR = 1.97:95%CI 1.34–2.89) were factors showed significant association. The prevalence of breast problems was 54.3%. Relevant factors related to an increase risks are being primipara, cesarean section delivery, home delivery, preterm birth, ineffective breastfeeding techniques and mixed type of feeding.
Central composite design and mechanism of antibiotic ciprofloxacin photodegradation under visible light by green hydrothermal synthesized cobalt-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles
Authors: Hassaan Mohamed A. , Meky Asmaa I. , Fetouh Howida A. , Ismail Amel M. , El Nemr Ahmed
Published: April 2024

In this research, different Co2+ doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were hydrothermally synthesized by an environmentally friendly, sustainable technique using the extract of P. capillacea for the first time. Co-ZnO was characterized and confirmed by FTIR, XPS, XRD, BET, EDX, SEM, TEM, DRS UV–Vis spectroscopy, and TGA analyses. Dislocation density, micro strains, lattice parameters and volume of the unit cell were measured using XRD results. XRD suggests that the average size of these NPs was between 44.49 and 65.69 nm with a hexagonal wurtzite structure. Tauc plot displayed that the optical energy bandgap of ZnO NPs (3.18) slowly declines with Co doping (2.96 eV). Near complete removal of the ciprofloxacin (CIPF) antibiotic was attained using Green 5% of Hy-Co-ZnO in the existence of visible LED light which exhibited maximum degradation efficiency (99%) within 120 min for 30 ppm CIPF initial concentration. The photodegradation mechanism of CIPF using Green Hy-Co-ZnO NPs followed the Pseudo-first-order kinetics. The Green Hy-Co-ZnO NPs improved photocatalytic performance toward CIPF for 3 cycles. The experiments were designed using the RSM (CCD) method for selected parameters such as catalyst dosage, antibiotic dosage, shaking speed, and pH. The maximal CIPF degradation efficiency (96.4%) was achieved under optimum conditions of 39.45 ppm CIPF dosage, 60.56 mg catalyst dosage, 177.33 rpm shaking speed and pH 7.57.
Assessing agronomic performance, chocolate spot resistance, and heat tolerance for diverse Vicia faba genotypes under varying environmental conditions
Authors: El-Abssi Mostafa G. , Awaad Hassan A. , Qabil Naglaa , Mansour Elsayed
Published: April 2024

Chocolate spot and heat stress devastatingly impact the production of faba bean, particularly under prevailing climatic changes and rising drastic environmental conditions. Hence, the adaptability of faba bean performance is a decisive objective of plant breeders to ensure its sustainable production. The present study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance and stability of diverse eleven faba bean genotypes for yield characters, chocolate spot, and heat stress in eight different growing environments. The faba bean genotypes were evaluated at two sowing dates in two different locations during two growing seasons. The evaluated eleven faba bean genotypes were sown timely in autumn (25 October) and late sowing in early winter (25 November) in Bilbeis and Elkhatara during 2020 and 2021 growing seasons. The results exhibited substantial differences among the evaluated sowing dates, locations, and faba bean genotypes for all studied characters. The genotypes Sakha-3, Nubaria-3, Nubaria-5, Misr-3, and Wadi-1 were able to produce acceptable yield and quality characters under timely sowing in autumn and late sowing in early winter in all tested environments. Moreover, the genotypes Nubaria-3, Nubaria-4, Nubaria-5, Sakha-4, Giza-3, and Triple White exhibited better resistance to chocolate spot. The assessed faba bean genotypes were evaluated under late sowing to expose the plants to high temperature stress at flowering and throughout the anthesis and seed-filling stages. The genotypes Nubaria-5, Nubaria-3, Nubaria-4, Sakha-3, Sakha-4, Wadi-1, and Misr-3 possessed tolerance to heat stress more than the other genotypes. Different statistical methods were applied to study the stability of assessed genotypes such as joint regression, Additive Main Effect and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) analysis, AMMI stability value, Wricke's and Ecovalence values. The estimated stability parameters were consistent in depicting the stability of the assessed faba bean genotypes. The findings revealed that Sakha-1, Misr-3, Nubaria-4, and Nubaria-5 demonstrated stable and desirable performance across all tested environments. The heatmap was employed to classify the assessed faba bean genotypes into different groups based on agronomic performance, chocolate spot resistance and heat stress tolerance. Nubaria-3, Nubaria-4, Nubaria-5, and Misr-3 had the best performance for agronomic performance, chocolate spot resistance, and heat stress tolerance. The obtained results provide evidence of employing promising faba bean genotypes for improving the stability of agronomic performance, chocolate spot resistance, and heat stress tolerance in breeding programs principally under unprecedented climate fluctuations.
Digital quantification of the MMSE interlocking pentagon areas: a three-stage algorithm
Authors: Kim Namhee , Truty Timothy , Duke Han S. , Heo Moonseong , Buchman Aron S. , Bennett David A. , Tasaki Shinya
Published: April 2024

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is a widely employed screening tool for the severity of cognitive impairment. Among the MMSE items, the pentagon copying test (PCT) requires participants to accurately replicate a sample of two interlocking pentagons. While the PCT is traditionally scored on a binary scale, there have been limited developments of granular scoring scale to assess task performance. In this paper, we present a novel three-stage algorithm, called Quantification of Interlocking Pentagons (QIP) which quantifies PCT performance by computing the areas of individual pentagons and their intersection areas, and a balance ratio between the areas of the two individual pentagons. The three stages of the QIP algorithm include: (1) detection of line segments, (2) unraveling of the interlocking pentagons, and (3) quantification of areas. A set of 497 PCTs from 84 participants including their baseline and follow-up PCTs from the Rush Memory and Aging Project was selected blinded about their cognitive and clinical status. Analysis of the quantified data revealed a significant inverse relationship between age and balance ratio (beta = − 0.49, p = 0.0033), indicating that older age was associated with a smaller balance ratio. In addition, balance ratio was associated with perceptual speed (r = 0.71, p = 0.0135), vascular risk factors (beta = − 3.96, p = 0.0269), and medical conditions (beta = − 2.78, p = 0.0389). The QIP algorithm can serve as a useful tool for enhancing the scoring of performance in the PCT.
Calculation method and analysis of residual stress in the strip bending roller straightening process
Authors: Zhu Xiaoyu , Wang XiaoGang , Wu Huihai
Published: April 2024

Taking thin gauge strip as an example, the deformation process of metal strip in bending roll straightening was studied. Based on the theory of discrete, curvature integral and elastic–plastic mechanics, the strip travel trajectory of the bending roll straightening process is analyzed, and the numerical analytical calculation method of the continuous straightening process of the strip bending roll is established. The results are verified by establishing MARC finite element simulation and designing straightening experiment. The effects of yield strength, plastic rate and bending amount on residual stress after straightening were studied. In the straightening process, with the increase of the amount of bending roll, the residual strain converges to the region Γ, and with the increase of the yield strength, the region Γ decreases. With the increase of the yield strength, the amount of bending roll and the plastic rate, the wave height increases. The results of the calculation of residual stress, finite element simulation and experiment are close and the trend is consistent. The results show that the logic of the calculation method is reasonable, and the prediction error is within the scope of engineering application, which is helpful to the realization of process intelligence in the process of bending roller straightening.
Studying removal of anionic dye by prepared highly adsorbent surface hydrogel nanocomposite as an applicable for aqueous solution
Authors: Aljeboree Aseel M. , Alkaim Ayad F.
Published: April 2024

In this study, a Sodium alginate-g-poly (acrylamide-clay)/TiO2 hydrogel nanocomposite [SA-g-p(AM-Bn)/TiO2] was synthesized using the biopolymer sodium alginate (SA), acrylamide (AM), and bentonite clay (Bn) as hybrid materials embedded with titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) for the removal of toxic Congo Red (CR) dye from an aqueous solution. The [SA-g-p(AM-Bn)/TiO2] nanocomposite has been described on the basis of thermal stability, morphological analysis, estimation of functional group, and crystalline/amorphous character by TGA, EFSEM/EDX, TEM, FT-IR, and XRD analysis, respectively. The effects of operational parameters toward the CR dye adsorption on [SA-g-p(AM-Bn)/TiO2], including contact time, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, initial pH, and temperature were investigated. The maximum adsorption efficiency was found to be 185.12 mg/g for [SA-g-p(AM-Bn)/TiO2] in 100 mg/L of solution CR at pH 6.0 within 1 h. The equilibrium isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics parameters of adsorption were examined, and results showed that the isotherm fitted the Freundlich model and the kinetics adsorption model of CR followed pseudo-first-order, thus indicating physisorption of anionic-CR onto the sorbent due to the development of an electrostatic attraction bond. Thermodynamic parameters for [SA-g-p(AM-Bn)/TiO2] have values (ΔG and ΔH) reflecting the spontaneous and endothermic nature of the adsorption processes. Moreover, [SA-g-p(AM-Bn)/TiO2] presented outstanding excellent reusability and recyclability with a relatively best removal percentage as compared to [SA-g-p(AM-Bn)] and suggested their applicability towards the textile industry and water purification purposes.
Predictive modeling of co-infection in lupus nephritis using multiple machine learning algorithms
Authors: Zhang Jiaqian , Chen Bo , Liu Jiu , Chai Pengfei , Liu Hongjiang , Chen Yuehong , Liu Huan , Yin Geng , Zhang Shengxiao , Wang Caihong , Xie Qibing
Published: April 2024

This study aimed to analyze peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in lupus nephritis (LN) patients and use machine learning (ML) methods to establish an effective algorithm for predicting co-infection in LN. This study included 111 non-infected LN patients, 72 infected LN patients, and 206 healthy controls (HCs). Patient information, infection characteristics, medication, and laboratory indexes were recorded. Eight ML methods were compared to establish a model through a training group and verify the results in a test group. We trained the ML models, including Logistic Regression, Decision Tree, K-Nearest Neighbors, Support Vector Machine, Multi-Layer Perceptron, Random Forest, Ada boost, Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB), and further evaluated potential predictors of infection. Infected LN patients had significantly decreased levels of T, B, helper T, suppressor T, and natural killer cells compared to non-infected LN patients and HCs. The number of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in LN patients was significantly lower than in HCs, with infected patients having the lowest Tregs count. Among the ML algorithms, XGB demonstrated the highest accuracy and precision for predicting LN infections. The innate and adaptive immune systems are disrupted in LN patients, and monitoring lymphocyte subsets can help prevent and treat infections. The XGB algorithm was recommended for predicting co-infection in LN.
Exponential growth of private coastal infrastructure influenced by geography and race in South Carolina, USA
Authors: Beauvais Jeffrey , Markley Scott N. , Byers James E.
Published: April 2024

Homeowners in coastal environments often augment their access to estuarine ecosystems by building private docks on their personal property. Despite the commonality of docks, particularly in the Southeastern United States, few works have investigated their historical development, their distribution across the landscape, or the environmental justice dimensions of this distribution. In this study, we used historic aerial photography to track the abundance and size of docks across six South Carolina counties from the 1950s to 2016. Across our roughly 60-year study period, dock abundance grew by two orders of magnitude, mean length of newly constructed docks doubled, and the cumulative length of docks ballooned from 34 to 560 km. Additionally, we drew on census data interpolated into consistent 2010 tract boundaries to analyze the racial and economic distribution of docks in 1994, 1999, 2011, and 2016. Racial composition, measured as the percentage of a tract’s population that was White, positively correlated with dock abundance in each year. Median household income and dock abundance were only correlated in 2011. Taken together, these metrics indicate the growing desire for direct estuary access, however, that access does not appear to be equally spread across racial groups. Because docks enhance estuarine access and demarcate private property, our study provides longitudinal insights into environmental justice concerns related to disparate private property ownership. We found a persistent correlation between the racial characteristics of an area and dock abundance, strongly indicating that White South Carolinians have had disproportionately greater private water access for the past two decades.
Development of sensor system and data analytic framework for non-invasive blood glucose prediction
Authors: Rajeswari S. V. K. R. , Vijayakumar P.
Published: April 2024

Periodic quantification of blood glucose levels is performed using painful, invasive methods. The proposed work presents the development of a noninvasive glucose-monitoring device with two sensors, i.e., finger and wrist bands. The sensor system was designed with a near-infrared (NIR) wavelength of 940 nm emitter and a 900–1700 nm detector. This study included 101 diabetic and non-diabetic volunteers. The obtained dataset was subjected to pre-processing, exploratory data analysis (EDA), data visualization, and integration methods. Ambiguities such as the effects of skin color, ambient light, and finger pressure on the sensor were overcome in the proposed ‘niGLUC-2.0v’. niGLUC-2.0v was validated with performance metrics where accuracy of 99.02%, mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.15, mean square error (MSE) of 0.22 for finger, and accuracy of 99.96%, MAE of 0.06, MSE of 0.006 for wrist prototype with ridge regression (RR) were achieved. Bland–Altman analysis was performed, where 98% of the data points were within ± 1.96 standard deviation (SD), 100% were under zone A of the Clarke Error Grid (CEG), and statistical analysis showed p < 0.05 on evaluated accuracy. Thus, niGLUC-2.0v is suitable in the medical and personal care fields for continuous real-time blood glucose monitoring.
Investigation of the effectiveness of a classification method based on improved DAE feature extraction for hepatitis C prediction
Authors: Zhang Lin , Wang Jixin , Chang Rui , Wang Weigang
Published: April 2024

Hepatitis C, a particularly dangerous form of viral hepatitis caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, is a major socio-economic and public health problem. Due to the rapid development of deep learning, it has become a common practice to apply deep learning to the healthcare industry to improve the effectiveness and accuracy of disease identification. In order to improve the effectiveness and accuracy of hepatitis C detection, this study proposes an improved denoising autoencoder (IDAE) and applies it to hepatitis C disease detection. Conventional denoising autoencoder introduces random noise at the input layer of the encoder. However, due to the presence of these features, encoders that directly add random noise may mask certain intrinsic properties of the data, making it challenging to learn deeper features. In this study, the problem of data information loss in traditional denoising autoencoding is addressed by incorporating the concept of residual neural networks into an enhanced denoising autoencoder. In our experimental study, we applied this enhanced denoising autoencoder to the open-source Hepatitis C dataset and the results showed significant results in feature extraction. While existing baseline machine learning methods have less than 90% accuracy and integrated algorithms and traditional autoencoders have only 95% correctness, the improved IDAE achieves 99% accuracy in the downstream hepatitis C classification task, which is a 9% improvement over a single algorithm, and a nearly 4% improvement over integrated algorithms and other autoencoders. The above results demonstrate that IDAE can effectively capture key disease features and improve the accuracy of disease prediction in hepatitis C data. This indicates that IDAE has the potential to be widely used in the detection and management of hepatitis C and similar diseases, especially in the development of early warning systems, progression prediction and personalised treatment strategies.
Identification and validation of a costimulatory molecule-related signature to predict the prognosis for uveal melanoma patients
Authors: Zhao Minyao , Yu Yue , Song Zhengyu
Published: April 2024

Uveal melanoma (UVM) is the most common primary tumor in adult human eyes. Costimulatory molecules (CMs) are important in maintaining T cell biological functions and regulating immune responses. To investigate the role of CMs in UVM and exploit prognostic signature by bioinformatics analysis. This study aimed to identify and validate a CMs associated signature and investigate its role in the progression and prognosis of UVM. The expression profile data of training cohort and validation cohort were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset. 60 CM genes were identified, and 34 genes were associated with prognosis by univariate Cox regression. A prognostic signature was established with six CM genes. Further, high- and low-risk groups were divided by the median, and Kaplan–Meier (K-M) curves indicated that high-risk patients presented a poorer prognosis. We analyzed the correlation of gender, age, stage, and risk score on prognosis by univariate and multivariate regression analysis. We found that risk score was the only risk factor for prognosis. Through the integration of the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), it was found that the high-risk group presented more immune cell infiltration and expression of immune checkpoints and obtained higher immune scores. Enrichment analysis of the biological functions of the two groups revealed that the differential parts were mainly related to cell–cell adhesion, regulation of T-cell activation, and cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction. No differences in tumor mutation burden (TMB) were found between the two groups. GNA11 and BAP1 have higher mutation frequencies in high-risk patients. Finally, based on the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer 2 (GDSC2) dataset, drug sensitivity analysis found that high-risk patients may be potential beneficiaries of the treatment of crizotinib or temozolomide. Taken together, our CM-related prognostic signature is a reliable biomarker that may provide ideas for future treatments for the disease.
Bidirectional association between falls and multimorbidity in middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults: a national longitudinal study
Authors: Tian Ye , Zhou Xingzhao , Jiang Yan , Pan Yidan , Liu Xuefeidan , Gu Xingbo
Published: April 2024

This study explores the bidirectional association between multimorbidity and falls in Chinese middle-aged and elderly adults. Participants aged 45 and above from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were included. Binary logistic regression assessed the impact of chronic conditions on fall incidence (stage I), while multinomial logistic regression examined the relationship between baseline falls and multimorbidity (stage II). The fully adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for one, two, or three or more chronic conditions were 1.34, 1.65, and 2.02, respectively. Among participants without baseline falls, 28.61% developed two or more chronic conditions during follow-up, compared to 37.4% of those with a history of falls. Fully adjusted ORs for one, two, or three or more chronic conditions in those with a history of falls were 1.21, 1.38 and 1.70, respectively. The bidirectional relationship held in sensitivity and subgroup analyses. A bidirectional relationship exists between multimorbidity and falls in Chinese middle-aged and elderly adults. Strengthening chronic condition screening and treatment in primary healthcare may reduce falls risk, and prioritizing fall prevention and intervention in daily life is recommended.
The synergistic effect of dielectric barrier discharge plasma and phycocyanin on shelf life of Oncorhynchus mykiss rainbow fillets
Authors: Seyedalangi Maedehsadat , Sari Amir Hossein , Nowruzi Bahareh , Anvar Seyed Amir Ali
Published: April 2024

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of dielectric barrier discharge treatment (DBD) combined with phycocyanin pigment (PC) in extending the shelf life of Oncorhynchus mykiss rainbow fillets stored at 4 ± 0.1 °C. Microbiological, physicochemical, sensory and antioxidant properties were assessed over an 18-day storage period. The combined DBD and PC treatment significantly inhibited total viable counts and Psychrotrophic bacteria counts compared to the rest of the samples throughout storage. While Total Volatile Nitrogen concentrations remained below international standard until day 18, they exceeded this threshold in control sample by day 9. DBD treatment notably reduced Trimethylamine levels compared to controls (p < 0.05). PC and DBD combined inhibited DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging capacities by 80% and 85%, respectively, while demonstrating heightened iron-reducing antioxidant activity compared to controls. Analysis of 24 fatty acids indicated that PC mitigated DBD’s adverse effects, yielding superior outcomes compared to controls. The ratio of n-3 to n-6 fatty acids in all samples met or fell below international standard. Thus, the combined use of DBD and PC shows promise in extending fillet shelf life by over 15 days at 4 °C.
Complex networks approach to study comorbidities in patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms
Authors: Kivelev Juri , Saarenpää Ilkka , Karlsson Antti , Crisafulli Paride , Musciotto Federico , Piilo Jyrki , Mantegna Rosario N.
Published: April 2024

The role of complex network analysis in patients with diagnosis of unruptured intracranial aneurysm is unexplored. The objective of this study is to assess the applicability of this methodology in aneurysm patients. We retrospectively analyze comprehensive unbiased local digital data of a large number of patients treated for any reason between January 2004 and July 2019. We apply an age-cohort approach to a total of 628,831 patients and construct the diagnostic history of each patient—and include the information how old the patient was when diagnosed for the first time with each diagnosis coded according to International Classification of Diseases. For each cohort of age within a 10 year interval and for each gender, we construct a statistically validated comorbidity network and focused on crucial comorbidity links that the aneurysm code has to other disease codes within the whole network. For all cohorts of different age and gender, the analysis shows that 267 diagnose codes have nearest neighbour statistically validated links to unruptured aneurysm ICD code. Among the 267 comorbidities, 204 (76%) were found in patients aged from 40 to 69-years old. Patterns of connectivity with aneurysms were found for smoking, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dyslipidemia, and mood disorders. A few uncommon connections are also detected in cohorts of female patients. Our study explored the applicability of network analysis and statistical validation in aneurysm observational study.
Efficacy of interstitial photodynamic therapy using talaporfin sodium and a semiconductor laser for a mouse allograft glioma model
Authors: Nagai Kenta , Akimoto Jiro , Fukami Shinjiro , Saito Yuki , Ogawa Emiyu , Takanashi Masakatsu , Kuroda Masahiko , Kohno Michihiro
Published: April 2024

To investigate the therapeutic potential of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for malignant gliomas arising in unresectable sites, we investigated the effect of tumor tissue damage by interstitial PDT (i-PDT) using talaporfin sodium (TPS) in a mouse glioma model in which C6 glioma cells were implanted subcutaneously. A kinetic study of TPS demonstrated that a dose of 10 mg/kg and 90 min after administration was appropriate dose and timing for i-PDT. Performing i-PDT using a small-diameter plastic optical fiber demonstrated that an irradiation energy density of 100 J/cm2 or higher was required to achieve therapeutic effects over the entire tumor tissue. The tissue damage induced apoptosis in the area close to the light source, whereas vascular effects, such as fibrin thrombus formation occurred in the area slightly distant from the light source. Furthermore, when irradiating at the same energy density, irradiation at a lower power density for a longer period of time was more effective than irradiation at a higher power density for a shorter time. When performing i-PDT, it is important to consider the rate of delivery of the irradiation light into the tumor tissue and to set irradiation conditions that achieve an optimal balance between cytotoxic and vascular effects.
Techno‐economic assessment of distribution system considering different types of electric vehicles and distributed generators
Authors: Babu R G Sarvesh , Reddy K Mithra Vinda , S Shwetha , GS Sivasankari , K Narayanan , Sharma Anurag , Tellez Alexander Aguila
Published: April 2024

The global warming crisis, together with environmental concerns, has already led governments to replace traditional fossil‐fuel cars with low‐emission Electric Vehicles (EVs). This replacement has resulted in the addition of a large number of EVs capable of connecting to the grid. A coordinated charging method is needed to promote EVs on a large scale while preventing grid overloading. In this work, EVs are categorized based on their battery capacity, as cars, trucks, and buses. A charging/discharging mechanism based on Real Time Pricing for each hour is developed for a 20‐min block that has been formed. The locations of EV charging stations have been identified using Voltage Stability Index.

In the present work, the power loss when Distributed Generator (DG) units are deployed after the EVs are located in the system for charging and discharging is analyzed. The DGs are considered as solar‐based or wind‐based generators for studying the economic benefit of such an investment under two different weather scenarios and topologies on standard test systems. The results thus obtained give an insight into the various technical and economic benefits.
Unsupervised hyperspectral images classification using hypergraph convolutional extreme learning machines
Authors: Zhang Hongrui , Lv Hongfei , Wang Mengke , Wang Luyao , Xu Jinhuan , Wang Fenggui , Li Xiangdong
Published: April 2024

Aiming at the problem that traditional methods are difficult to fully utilize the rich spectral information in hyperspectral images (HSI) and fail to capture the complex higher‐order relations in hyperspectral data, which leads to limited classification performance extreme learning machine and fails to further improve the classification accuracy of HSIs, the authors propose the hypergraph convolutional extreme learning machine (HGCELM) method. The method not only inherits all the advantages of extreme learning machine (ELM), but also embeds hypergraph convolution for feature selection, which is capable of handling higher‐order relations. This enables HGCELM to capture more complex relationships between nodes and provide richer representation capabilities. At the same time, the training speed advantage of ELM is retained, thus speeding up the model training process. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm achieves better accuracy compared to other clustering algorithms.
MACN: A cascade defect detection for complex background based on mixture attention mechanism
Authors: Zhao Langyue , Wu Yiquan , Yuan Yubin , Tong Kang
Published: April 2024

Defect detection in complex background is a critical issue. To address this issue, this paper proposes the mixture attention mechanism cascade network, in which the new channel attention network is linked with the spatial attention network to create an effective mixed attention network that takes advantage of their respective advantages, adaptively suppresses background noise, and highlights defect features. To ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of effective mixed attention network, the new channel attention network splices the output features of the global average pooling layer and the global maximum pooling layer and then sends the spliced features into a shared network, which is a one‐dimensional convolutional network, and uses cross‐channel interaction for fusion. Furthermore, in order to provide more discriminative feature representation, the authors extract the intermediate features of the region proposal network and input them into effective mixed attention network. Finally, the cascade head is used to refine the predicted bounding box to achieve high‐quality defect location. To demonstrate the superiority and usefulness of this method, it is compared to the latest method using widely used PCB and NEU data sets. A large number of trials demonstrate that this strategy outperforms other methods for detecting defects in complicated backgrounds.
Adaptive radar pulse detection design based on difference of box filter
Authors: Su Binbin , Liu Yongcai , Meng Jin
Published: April 2024

Precise radar pulse detection is the premise of electronic support measures. A constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detection algorithm based on difference of box (DOB) filter is proposed to realise low‐complexity and environment‐adaptive radar pulse detection, and the principle behind the proposed algorithm is revealed. Specifically, the DOB filter is adopted to extract the rising edges and falling edges of radar pulses, and the signal variation law of probability density functions (PDFs) during the process of DOB filter are first theoretically analysed. Based on the derived PDFs, dynamic detection threshold and fixed threshold factor for the proposed CFAR algorithm based on DOB filter are deduced to detect the presence of radar pulses. Furthermore, the closed‐form expression of the detection probability is derived. Simulations and on‐board field programmable gate arrays implementation verify the superiority of the proposed CFAR algorithm based on DOB filter. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm performs well in detecting various types of pulse signals, the detection probability ≥99% on condition that the signal‐to‐noise ratio ≥3 dB and false alarm probability = 10−8. Moreover, the proposed CFAR algorithm based on DOB filter can deal with both singular pulses and pulse on pulse signals.
Observations of fan-spine topology by Solar Orbiter/EUI: Rotational motions and indications of Alfvén waves
Authors: Petrova E. , Van Doorsselaere T. , Berghmans D. , Parenti S. , Valori G. , Plowman J.
Published: April 2024

Context. Torsional Alfvén waves do not produce any intensity variation and are therefore challenging to observe with imaging instruments. Previously, Alfvén wave observations were reported throughout all the layers of the solar atmosphere using spectral imaging.

Aims. We present a torsional Alfvén wave detected in an inverted Y-shaped structure observed with the HRIEUV telescope of the EUI instrument on board Solar Orbiter in its 174 Å channel. The feature consists of two footpoints connected through short loops and a spine with a length of 30 mm originating from one of the footpoints.

Methods. We made use of the simultaneous observations from two other instruments on board Solar Orbiter. The first one is the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager, which is used to derive the magnetic configuration of the observed feature. The second is the Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrument, which provided observations of intensity maps in different lines, including Ne VIII and C III lines. We also address the issues of the SPICE point spread function and its influence on the Doppler maps via performed forward-modeling analysis.

Results. The difference movie constructed from the HRIEUV images shows clear signatures of propagating rotational motions in the spine. We measured propagation speeds of 136 km s−1–160 km s−1, which are consistent with the expected Alfvén speeds. Evidence of rotational motions in the transverse direction with velocities of 26 km s−1–60 km s−1 serves as an additional indication of torsional waves being present. Doppler maps obtained with SPICE show a strong signal in the spine region. Under the assumption that the recovered point spread function is mostly correct, synthesized raster images confirm that this signal is predominantly physical.

Conclusions. We conclude that the presented observations are compatible with an interpretation of either propagating torsional Alfvén waves in a low coronal structure or the untwisting of a flux rope. This is the first time we have seen signatures of propagating torsional motion in the corona as observed by the three instruments on board Solar Orbiter.
Improved active sub-terahertz imaging system for parcel inspection
Authors: Boutemedjet Ayoub , Bezziou Boufateh , Zebellah Ali , Lazoul Mohamed
Published: April 2024

Terahertz radiation has emerged as a prominent solution for imaging and detection beyond visible and infrared. Active terahertz imaging is a widely used technology in this context especially for security applications and screening. Such systems are built around an illuminating source, a detecting module and a beam shaping system to match the detectors geometry. The overall system performance is largely dependent on an optimized choice of these modules. In this work, an active sub-terahertz scanning system working at 100 GHz frequency is proposed to detect concealed objects in parcels and mail. The system is optimized based on an adapted design of the beam shaper and a preprocessing correction of the images to ensure uniformity of response and cleanness. The proposed system demonstrated through experimentation improved resolution with a uniform response along its detection area.
Tratamento não invasivo após luxação traumática anterior do joelho em artroplastia total de joelho com preservação do ligamento cruzado posterior: Relato de caso
Authors: Pires e Albuquerque Rodrigo Sattamini , Vivacqua Thiago , de Faria José Leonardo Rocha , Pavão Douglas Mello , Titonelli Victor Elias
Published: April 2024

O caso relatado descreve uma luxação anterior traumática do joelho que era assintomática após uma artroplastia primária da articulação com preservação do ligamento cruzado posterior. A paciente descrita rolou acidentalmente sobre o joelho 6 anos após a intervenção cirúrgica. A luxação anterior traumática após artroplastia do joelho é um evento incomum, muitas vezes levando à revisão dos componentes protéticos devido às lesões ligamentares associadas. Uma abordagem não invasiva, composta por fixação externa temporária e um curto período de uso de joelheira rígida, foi realizada com sucesso.
Gene COL5A1 e o risco de lesões do LCA no esporte de equipe: Um relatório preliminar
Authors: Calò Carla Maria , Massidda Myosotis , Sorge Roberto , Tiloca Alessandra , Monteleone Giovanni
Published: April 2024

Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi examinar a relação entre os polimorfismos do comprimento do fragmento de restrição (RFLP) BstUI C/T (rs 12722) e RFLP DpnII B1/B2 (rs 13946) COL5A1 e a ruptura do ligamento cruzado anterior (LCA) em atletas de esportes coletivos.

Métodos Sessenta e oito atletas de esportes coletivos (n = 36 mulheres e n = 32 homens) com ruptura do LCA (RLCA) sem contato ocorreram durante práticas esportivas (Grupo RLCA) e 42 jogadores saudáveis (n = 20 mulheres e n = 22 homens) (Grupo Controle) participaram do estudo. O DNA genômico foi extraído do swab bucal com o método salting out. Todas as amostras foram genotipadas para os polimorfismos rs12722 e rs13946 por reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR) e análise de enzimas de restrição.

Resultados Nenhuma diferença significativa foi encontrada entre os grupos RLCA e Controle em idade, altura, peso corporal, índice de massa, prática esportiva (horas/semana) e distribuição de gênero entre os diferentes esportes coletivos. O grupo controle teve carreiras esportivas mais longas (p< 0,005). As distribuições de frequência dos polimorfismos de nucleotídeos COL5A1 DpnII estavam em equilíbrio de Hardy-Weinberg (EHW) em ambos os grupos (p do teste de Hardy-Weinberg (HW) > 0,005). As frequências genotípicas de COL5A1 BstUI RFLP C/C foram menores no grupo RLCA em comparação com o grupo Controle (p do teste HW = 0,001). Os genótipos combinados CC, B1B1 mostraram um efeito protetor contra a ruptura do LCA (OR = 83,3 / 16,7 = 5).

Conclusões O gene COL5A1 pode ser um dos fatores genéticos associados à RLCA em esportes coletivos.
Forma localizada da sinovite vilonodular pigmentada no ombro: Relato de caso tratado por artroscopia
Authors: Simmer Filho Jair , Ghidetti Thiago Henrique Cruz , Kautsky Raul Meyer
Published: April 2024

A sinovite vilonodular pigmentada (SVNP), na forma localizada no ombro, é rara e pouco descrita na literatura. Apresentamos o caso de uma paciente de 58 anos, do sexo feminino, sem relato de trauma, com sintomas álgicos de 2 meses de evolução, sem irradiação para o membro, associados a perda de força de elevação e limitação progressiva da mobilidade ativa e passiva. A paciente realizou fisioterapia sem supervisão, sem melhora dos sintomas. A ressonância magnética (RM) do ombro mostrou imagem ovalada com aproximadamente 2 cm de diâmetro na região anteroinferior da articulação glenoumeral com focos de hipossinal em seu interior. Realizamos o tratamento artroscópico, com ressecção marginal da lesão e tenotomia da cabeça longa do bíceps. O resultado do exame anatomopatológico constatou SVNP. Após 4 anos e 5 meses da cirurgia, a paciente encontra-se sem dor, e apresenta recuperação total da função do ombro esquerdo, com RM de controle sem recidiva, o que demonstra a eficácia do tratamento artroscópico neste caso.
“Draw on your experience”: student diversity-driven internationalisation in a diverse International Relations course
Authors: Chovančík Martin
Published: April 2024

This study investigates the suitability of student-driven internationalisation of the curriculum in a diverse educational setting. Despite its vast educational potential, internationalisation of the curriculum is an often-missing component of general internationalisation even in programmes and courses with a diverse student body. To remedy this shortcoming in a course of international politics, I introduced a teaching and learning innovation, which encouraged students to use examples based on personal experiences and regional background—rather than merely from the assigned literature—during their arguments in preparation for and during biweekly seminars. In addition, the assessment criteria were shifted to support the sharing of information and knowledge among peers in this course, called “Theories of Cooperation and Conflict in International Relations”. The study uses a quasi-experimental setup and offers a comprehensive mixed-methods analysis of the innovation and finds that student learning and their classroom experience was positively impacted. While students did use notably more “own experience” examples and improved in their written preparatory work for the seminars, they turned to these very cautiously in the actual classroom debates. The findings are explained by the interplay between internationalisation and decolonisation of the classroom and the increased stakes in assessment criteria.
Internationalising student learning at the meso level: the impact of grassroots leadership in a university in Central Europe
Authors: Pleschová Gabriela , Simon Agnes
Published: April 2024

This study investigates the meso level impact of an academic development programme on internationalisation. We demonstrate the relevance of the framework of grassroots leadership in higher education in the Central European context and show how individual programme participants acting as grassroots leaders influence departmental attitudes and practices regarding internationalisation and student-centred learning. We identify two successful strategies—single-issue and multifaceted—for grassroots leadership. The study finds that established faculty member participants who are also active as grassroots leaders facilitate the spreading of the influence of an internationalisation programme beyond the individual level, highlighting the differences and similarities in the activism of faculty grassroots leaders in Central Europe vis-à-vis the USA.
A brief overview of passive microvalves in microfluidics: Mechanism, manufacturing, and applications
Authors: Li Bin , Zhang Ludan , Bai Siwei , Jin Jing , Chen Huaying
Published: April 2024

Microvalves play a crucial role in manipulating fluid states within a microfluidic system and are finding widespread applications in fields such as biology, medicine, and environmental preservation. Leveraging the characteristics and features of microvalves enables the realization of various complicated microfluidic functions. Continuous advancement in the manufacturing process contributes to more flexible control modes for passive microvalves. As a consequence, these valves are progressively shrinking in size while simultaneously improving in precision and stability. Although active microvalves have the benefits of low leakage, rapid response time, and wide adaptability range, the energy supply system limits the size and even their applicability in integration and miniaturization. In comparison, passive microvalves have the advantage of relying solely on the fluid flow or fluid driving pressure to control the open/close of fluid flow over active microvalves, in spite of having slightly reduced control accuracy. Their self-sustaining feature is highly consistent with the need for assembly and miniaturization in the point-of-care testing technology. Hence, these valves have attracted significant interest for research and application purposes. This review focuses on the recent literature on passive microvalves and details existing passive microvalves from three different aspects: operating principle, processing method, and applications. This work aims to increase the visibility of passive microvalves among researchers and enhance their comprehension by classifying them according to the aforementioned three aspects, facilitating the practical applications and further developments of passive microvalves. Additionally, this paper is expected to serve as a comprehensive and systematic reference for interdisciplinary researchers that intend to design related microfluidic systems.