bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Artificial Intelligence for Product Quality Inspection in Manufacturing Industry - Online Detection of Edge Defects on Inorganic Solid Material
Authors: Mazgualdi Choumicha El , Masrour Tawfik , Hassani Ibtissam El , Barka Noureddine , Khdoudi Abdelmoula
Published: February 2023

The detection and localization of small and tiny defects on high-resolution images is considered one of the main challenges in the field of computer vision. In the manufacturing industry, the production speed and cycle time are considered the major target of a production process. For such reason, automated quality detection is getting even more complexified by the need of performing defect detection on moving products. In this work, we investigate the performance of a small defect detection process on high-scale images by utilizing state-of-the-art object detection architectures and a set of the hardware setup. Taking as a target the detection of defects on moving products, and using a small training set and a procedure of data augmentation, we demonstrated that such a challenge can be solved using machine learning and artificial intelligence coupled with domain knowledge in machine vision hardware selection and design. The sections of this paper are organized into two parts, the first part describes the problem, the existing and related works, and a summary of the existing methodologies. The second part of the paper is centered on our case study for which we started by describing the adopted methodology, the vision system design, the data acquisition and processing, the model training, and the obtained results, then it is concluded with a discussion of the model outputs and the listing of challenges that still to be studied in future works.
Kinetic modeling and optimization of n-heptane catalytic isomerization using Box-Behnken experimental design
Authors: Parsafard Nastaran
Published: February 2023

The statistical analysis using response surface methodology approach was conducted for optimization of the kinetic conditions of the n-heptane isomerization reaction over Pt-HZSM-5/HMS catalysts. The conditions of the kinetic experiments were as H2 flow rate of 20-45 cc min−1, n-C7 flow rate of 2-4.5 cc h−1, the reaction temperatures in the range of 200-350 °C, and the weight percent of HZSM-5 of 10-40. The results show that the amounts of HZSM-5 into Pt-HMS structure helps the rate of n-heptane isomerization reaction. The surface and contour plots confirm that the reaction rates do not considerably change versus temperature and flow rates of n-heptane and H2. 0.24 mol g−1s−1 is the highest reaction rate obtained in the 4.5 cc h−1 n-heptane flow rate and 45 cc min−1 H2 flow rate. The modelling results show both power-law and Langmuir–Hinshelwood model are in agreement with the experimental data.
Evaluation of Prediction Performance of Vegetation Biomass Density for Two Different Case Study Areas in Turkey with Hybrid Wavelet and Artificial Neural Network Method
Authors: İşler B. , Aslan Z. , Sunar F. , Güneş A. , Feoli E. , Gabriels D.
Published: February 2023

Deterioration of natural resources such as vegetation, due to urbanization and increasing population density is evident in many areas of the world. For land use planning, it is vital to assess the plant density and forecast its future changes in light of vegetation-climate interactions given the current trend of global climate change. The purpose of this article is to show how we can detect the variation of vegetation density and forecast its future values with the Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods. As case studies, we selected 2 districts namely Alanya in Antalya province and Iznik in Bursa province of Turkey, that showed the highest and lowest land cover change between 2006 and 2018 respectively, according to the CORINE land cover classification. In the analysis, we have used satellite data (Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) data from MODIS/Terra satellite) and atmospheric data (archive precipitation and temperature measurements at meteorological stations) to define vegetation changes up to 2030.We have used ANN with original data and with the data obtained by the wavelet transform application (W-ANN). The average EVI value for 2030 was calculated as 0.22 with a 5.4% error probability for Iznik, and 0.28 with a 2% error probability for Alanya. By comparing the predicted values of W-ANN for 2030 with respect those of 2018, vegetation biomass density will decrease by 21.4% in Iznik, and 6.6% in Alanya. The results were also compared with the Landsat Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI).
RNA methylation patterns mediated by m 6 A regulators are involved in the regulation of immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Gao Yifan , Liu Yangqing , Zhang Hui , Zhang Mengyi
Published: February 2023

Background: It has been reported that epigenetic regulation is emerging as a new regulatory pattern, especially for RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications. It has been reported to play an important biological function in immunity. However, the role of m6A on the immune microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. In this study, we systematically evaluated the RNA modification patterns mediated by 23 m6A modulators in HCC samples using the TCGA database.
Methods and results: The effects of m6A modification on the characteristics of immune microenvironment gene were investigated. Meanwhile, we characterized m6A phenotype-related immune genes. Our study further identified two distinct patterns of RNA modification mediated by 23 m6A modulators. They have different immune cell abundances, immune responses, and HLA genes.
Conclusion: In a word, our findings suggest that m6A modification plays a crucial role in regulating the immune microenvironment in HCC, providing a guiding significance in the selection of immunotherapy or target for treating HCC.
Feasibility of force myography for the direct control of an assistive robotic hand orthosis
Authors: Gantenbein Jessica , Ahmadizadeh Chakaveh , Heeb Oliver , Lambercy Olivier , Menon Carlo
Published: February 2023

Background: Assistive robotic hand orthoses can support people with sensorimotor hand impairment in many activities of daily living and therefore help to regain independence. However, in order for the users to fully benefit from the functionalities of such devices, a safe and reliable way to detect their movement intention for device control is crucial. Gesture recognition based on force myography measuring volumetric changes in the muscles during contraction has been previously shown to be a viable and easy to implement strategy to control hand prostheses. Whether this approach could be efficiently applied to intuitively control an assistive robotic hand orthosis remains to be investigated.
Methods: In this work, we assessed the feasibility of using force myography measured from the forearm to control a robotic hand orthosis worn on the hand ipsilateral to the measurement site. In ten neurologically-intact participants wearing a robotic hand orthosis, we collected data for four gestures trained in nine arm configurations, i.e., seven static positions and two dynamic movements, corresponding to typical activities of daily living conditions. In an offline analysis, we determined achieved classification accuracies for two binary classifiers (one for opening and one for closing) and further assessed the impact of individual training arm configurations on the overall performance.
Results: We achieved an overall classification accuracy of 92.9% (averaged over two binary classifiers, individual accuracies 95.5% and 90.3%, respectively) but found a large variation in performance between participants, ranging from 75.4% up to 100%. Further, we found that the number of training arm configurations could be reduced from nine to six without notably decreasing classification performance.
Conclusion: The results of this work support the general feasibility of using force myography as an intuitive intention detection strategy for a hand orthosis. Further, the findings also generated valuable insights into challenges and potential ways to overcome them in view of applying such technologies for assisting people with sensorimotor hand impairment during activities of daily living.
Prognostic Model Establishment and Immune Microenvironment Analysis of Lung Adenocarcinoma Based on Ferroptosis-Related Long Noncoding RNAs
Authors: Yuan Jianxu , Jiang Qing , Wang Jiawu , Fu Yongxin , Hua Zhengzhao , Yu Shengjie
Published: February 2023

Background: Lung cancer is a common malignant tumor, which is divided into many subtypes. Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a most common subtype. More and more studies have confirmed that ferroptosis is involved in the occurrence and development of lung cancer. In this paper, we studied the prognostic ferroptosis-related long noncoding RNAs (FRLs) to build a LUAD-related prognosis model.
Methods: We first downloaded the relevant data of 598 patients from the TCGA-LUAD dataset of The Cancer Genome Atlas, and then randomly divided them into training group and testing group in a 1:1 ratio. After that, we used Pearson correlation analysis and univariate Cox regression analysis to determine the FRLs related to prognosis. Then, according to the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm, the risk model was constructed using the optimized prognostic FRLs subset. We further used the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and survival analysis to evaluate the performance of our model, meanwhile, Cox regression analysis was performed to analyze the risk score (RS). Finally, we also carried out gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) , and differential analysis of immune-related genes and m6a-related genes.
Results: In this study, we identified a total of 34 FRLs associated with the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma, and established a prognostic model with 7 of them. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that relevant characteristics of patients in high-risk group were correlated with poorer prognosis. The AUC value of our model was quite ideal, indicating that it could accurately predict the prognosis of LUAD patients. Further GSEA results showed that FRLs of individuals in high-risk groups were mainly enriched in cell cycle and related regulatory pathways, while those in low-risk groups were mainly enriched in immune-related pathways. We also employed immune function analysis and immune checkpoints expression analysis, and found that CCR, check-point, HLA, T cell co−inhibition, T cell co−stimulation and Type II IFN Reponse had significant differences between two groups, while most immune checkpoints had higher expression levels in low-risk groups.
Conclusion: Our research has proved that FRls could indeed be used as a prognostic feature to build a prognostic model of lung adenocarcinoma. On the basis of this theory, it is of great significance and value to further study new treatment methods.
Preliminary Investigation Into Prospective Applications of Nanosilver, Produced Using Teff (Eragrostis tef) Flour Extract
Authors: Konwarh Rocktotpal , Workie Abie , Moges Abyalew , Seifu Daniel , Elias Dereje , Kebede Nahil , Tsigemariam Yosef , Singh Anand Pratap
Published: February 2023

Silver-based nanomaterials have etched an indelible mark in multiple domains. The green synthesis of silver nanoparticles has received significant attention over the last few years vis-à-vis the conventional use of toxic chemicals and reagents in the preparatory stages. In this milieu, the work reported here highlights the use of an aqueous extract of teff (Eragrostis tef) flour to prepare silver nanoparticles (TSNPs). The compositional abundance of various phytochemicals, sunlight-induced bio-reduction of silver ions, and subsequent stabilization of the nanostructures by teff’s biomolecules were adroitly exploited. UV-visible spectroscopic analysis was employed to track the evolution of the TSNPs over time and their month-long storage stability. Exhibiting λmax at around 426 nm and energy gap (as revealed by Tauc’s plot) of 2.26 eV, the silver nanomaterial was employed for methylene blue dye degradation (50% degradation in less than 50 min) and DPPH scavenging (IC50 = 243.42 µL containing 410 µg of TSNPs), attesting their catalytic and anti-oxidant potency. On the other hand, anticoagulant action and a concentration-dependent variation were noted for radicle length post germination of Cicer arientinum seeds, treated with the TSNPs. The TSNPs could have profound implications in multiple domains.
“As long as that place stays open, I’ll stay alive”: Accessing injectable opioid agonist treatment during dual public health crises
Authors: Jaffe Kaitlyn , Blawatt Sarah , Lehal Eisha , Lock Kurt , Easterbrook Adam , MacDonald Scott , Harrison Scott , Lajeneusse Julie , Byres David , Schechter Martin , Oviedo-Joekes Eugenia
Published: February 2023

Background
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, overdose rates in North America have continued to rise, with more than 100,000 drug poisoning deaths in the past year. Amidst an increasingly toxic drug supply, the pandemic disrupted essential substance use treatment and harm reduction services that reduce overdose risk for people who use drugs. In British Columbia, one such treatment is injectable opioid agonist treatment (iOAT), the supervised dispensation of injectable hydromorphone or diacetylmorphine for people with opioid use disorder. While evidence has shown iOAT to be safe and effective, it is intensive and highly regimented, characterized by daily clinic visits and provider-client interaction—treatment components made difficult by the pandemic.
Methods
Between April 2020 and February 2021, we conducted 51 interviews with 18 iOAT clients and two clinic nurses to understand how the pandemic shaped iOAT access and treatment experiences. To analyze interview data, we employed a multi-step, flexible coding strategy, an iterative and abductive approach to analysis, using NVivo software.
Results
Qualitative analysis revealed the ways in which the pandemic shaped clients’ lives and the provision of iOAT care. First, client narratives illuminated how the pandemic reinforced existing inequities. For example, socioeconomically marginalized clients expressed concerns around their financial stability and economic impacts on their communities. Second, clients with health comorbidities recognized how the pandemic amplified health risks, through potential COVID-19 exposure or by limiting social connection and mental health supports. Third, clients described how the pandemic changed their engagement with the iOAT clinic and medication. For instance, clients noted that physical distancing guidelines and occupancy limits reduced opportunities for social connection with staff and other iOAT clients. However, pandemic policies also created opportunities to adapt treatment in ways that increased patient trust and autonomy, for example through more flexible medication regimens and take-home oral doses.
Conclusion
Participant narratives underscored the unequal distribution of pandemic impacts for people who use drugs but also highlighted opportunities for more flexible, patient-centered treatment approaches. Across treatment offers, pandemic-era changes that increase client autonomy and ensure equitable access to care are to be continued and expanded, beyond the duration of the pandemic.
Interfacial engineered design of upcycled graphene and hemp fiber reinforced polypropylene compounds as an injection grade for overmoulding process with bio-based prepregs
Authors: Aliyeva Nargiz , Yagci Yavuz Emre , Sas Hatice S. , Okan Burcu Saner
Published: February 2023

The design of lightweight composite structures is a principal keystone in improving part performance by reducing adverse environmental impacts and adopting energy-efficient manufacturing technologies. This study replaced long glass fiber reinforced homoPP compounds as an injection grade with short hemp fiber reinforced homopolymer polypropylene (homoPP) by incorporating graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) produced from the source of recycled carbon black coming from pyrolysis of waste tires by providing 15% lightweighting. With new compound formulation by adjusting the amounts of compatibilizer and GNP, injection moulding process was integrated with overmoulding process by using bio-based UD prepregs to enhance the adhesion of injected part and interfacial interaction by decreasing the stress concentrations in the structure. This novel hybrid composite design having 40% hemp fiber, 1.0wt% GNP and 2.7wt% compatibilizer provided to improve flexural modulus and strength by 169% and 67.9%, respectively, compared to neat homoPP. For overmoulding process, bio-based natural fibers reinforced UD tapes were used as an insert and combined with injected hemp fiber reinforced composites with the enhancement of 211% and 93.6% in tensile modulus and strength compared to neat homoPP. This work achieved to convert conventional composite structures into recyclable and sustainable thermoplastic composites having multi-scale reinforcements with tailorable functionality.
Immune dysregulation in Glycogen Storage Disease 1b - a CyTOF approach
Authors: Gehlhaar Arne , Shouval Dror , Santiago Eduardo Gonzalez , Ling Galina , McCourt Blake , Werner Lael , Yerushalmi Baruch , Konnikova Liza
Published: February 2023

Glycogen Storage Disease type 1b (GSD1b) is a rare disease manifesting as hypoglycemia, recurrent infections and neutropenia, resulting from deleterious mutations in the SLC37A4 gene encoding the glucose-6-phosphate transporter. The susceptibility to infections is thought to be attributed not only to the neutrophil defect, though extensive immunophenotyping characterization is currently missing. Here we apply a systems immunology approach utilizing Cytometry by Time Of Flight (CyTOF) to map the peripheral immune landscape of 6 GSD1b patients. When compared to control subjects, those with GSD1b had a significant reduction in anti-inflammatory macrophages, CD16+ macrophages, and Natural Killer cells. Additionally, there was a preference towards a central versus an effector memory phenotype in multiple T cell populations, which may suggest that these changes stem from an inability of activated immune cell populations to undergo the appropriate switch to glycolytic metabolism in the hypoglycemic conditions associated with GSD1b. Furthermore, we identified a global reduction of CD123, CD14, CCR4, CD24 and CD11b across several populations and a multi-cluster upregulation of CXCR3, hinting at a potential role of impaired immune cell trafficking in the context of GSD1b. Taken together, our data indicates that that the immune impairment observed in GSD1b patients extends far beyond neutropenia and encompasses innate and adaptive compartments, which may provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of this disorder.
Experimental study of a coupled unit for space cooling and water desalination
Authors: Sami Missaoui , Zied Driss , Romdhane Ben Slama , Bechir Chaouachi
Published: February 2023

The waste heat recovery from condenser of air conditioning for seawater desalination is attractive because of its great energy and environmental value. This paper experimentally investigated a modified air conditioner with a desalination unit that operates in the space-cooling and seawater distillation. The experimental investigation was used to study the performance of the system for water distillation, the flow rate of the potable water and the amount of energy saving during the desalination process. The results confirmed that the temperature in the tank is equal to 72°C. With continuously used air conditioning, this value may become better. In these conditions, the maximum coefficient of performance (COP) of the air conditioning was around 6.11. In the integrated system, the potable water production rate was 730 ml/h. The proposed system provides the possibility to save energy which would lead to low cost of fresh water. Indeed, the GHG emissions were reduced.
Microbribery in Group Identification
Authors: Erdélyi Gábor , Yang Yongjie
Published: February 2023

This paper studies the complexity of two microbribery problems under the model of group identification. In these problems, we are given a subset of distinguished individuals, and the questions are whether these individuals can be made socially qualified or whether they can be made exactly the socially qualified individuals, respectively, by modifying a limited number of entries in the qualifications-profile. For consent rules, the consensus-start-respecting rule, and the liberal-start-respecting rule, we obtain many NP-hardness results and polynomial-time solvability results. We also study the problems in r-profiles where each individual qualifies exactly r individuals.
Electrochemically-Selective Electrode for Quantification of Dorzolamide in Bulk Drug Substance and Dosage Form
Authors: Mora Mai M. , Ismail Nahla S. , Zaazaa Hala E. , Boltia Shereen A.
Published: February 2023

Three smart carbon paste electrodes were fabricated to quantify the dorzolamide hydrochloride DRZ, including conventional carbon paste I, modified carbon paste embedding Silica II, and modified carbon paste embedding β-cyclodextrin III. This study is built on the inserting of DRZ with phosphomolybdic acid to create an electroactive moiety dorzolamide-phosphomolybdate ion exchanger using a solvent mediator dibutylphthalate. The three constructed carbon paste electrodes displayed Nernstian responses and linear concentration ranges with lower detection limits. The vital performance of the created electrodes was verified with in relation to various parameters. The electrodes enhance the selective determination of DRZ in presence of inorganic ions, co-formulated drug in the dosage form timolol maleate and the excipient benzalkonium chloride. The modified carbon paste electrode inclusion Silica was utilized to detect the DRZ in ophthalmic eye drop form utilizing the direct calibration curve and potentiometric titration methods. Satisfactory findings were achieved by comparing to other reported methods.
Adipose delivered stem cells protect liver after ischemia-reperfusion injury by controlling autophagy
Authors: Kartal Bahar , Alimoğulları Ebru , Demir Hazal , Elçi Pınar
Published: February 2023

Background: Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is an unavoidable side effect of liver surgery and transplantation. A potentially useful tool for cellular therapy and tissue engineering is adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). The study's goal was to examine the impact of ADSCs in rat hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury.
Material and methods: 30 male rats were randomly divided into the control, ADSCs, ischemia , I/R , I/R+ADSC groups (n = 6). A model for hepatic I/R injury that is evaluated by histological changes with Suzuki scores. The immunoexpression of LC3B, p62 and transforming growth factor (TGF- β)were analyzed.
Results: The ischemia and I/R groups displayed clear liver sinusoid congestion, vacuolization, and necrosis. The expression of key autophagy indicators LC3B increased whereas p62 decreased following ischemia reperfusion. TGF- β was significantly elevated in the rat liver from ischemia and I/R groups. The IRI-induced histopathological damage was improved by ADSC transplantation.
Conclusion: ADSCs reduced the excessive level of the autophagy and structural damage to hepatocytes and the pathological alterations in the liver after ıschemia-reperfusion injury.
Machine-learning based strategy identifies a robust protein biomarker panel for Alzheimer’s disease in cerebrospinal fluid
Authors: Hou Xiaosen , Quan Zhenzhen , Aierken Ailikemu , Zhao Dongxu , Ji Simei , Ni Junjun , Liu Kefu , Qing Hong
Published: February 2023

Background
Due to multiple pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), currently discovered biomarkers are stilled limited for its classification and diagnosis, robust and universal biomarkers or biomarker combinations need further to be explored.
Methods
Based on machine learning, The SVM-RFECV algorithm screened out a 12-protein panel that was applied to 5 different cohorts of AD cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteomic datasets.
Results
The 12-protein panel exhibited strong diagnosibility and high accuracy. It was involved in several AD related biological process and highly correlated with classical AD pathogenic biomarkers (Aβ, tau/p-tau and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score). It was also capable of distinguishing early stage of AD (mild cognitive impairment, MCI) as well as from other neurodegenerative diseases.
Conclusions
The SVM-RFECV algorithm has great advantages of robust predicting ability, high accuracy and good reliability for identifying AD, thus providing clues for AD pathogenesis and shedding light on AD diagnosis clinically.
Design and implementation of a 3D digestive teaching system based on virtual reality technology in modern medical education
Authors: Li Dan , Hu Weina , Zhou Xinyu , Li Li , Wang Jie , Zou Mengqing , Li Xinyi , Wang Min , Zhou Donghui
Published: February 2023

At present, virtual reality technology is still in its infancy in the medical field in China, and the application ratio of virtual reality technology in medical education and medical treatment is relatively low. Based on the structure of the human stomach, this study integrates virtual reality technology, sensing technology, big data technology, and cloud computing technology to form a new form of medical education with an online website platform for data storage and analysis and offline VR glasses for physical operation. The project has established a model of the morphological structure and physiological processes of the human stomach in basic medicine, a model of the pathological tissue structure and pathophysiological processes in basic medicine, a model of the pharmacological processes and clinical pharmacology in basic medicine, and a model of the integrated treatment of the human stomach in clinical medicine for medical students at the university, as well as a model of the integrated treatment of preoperative discussions in clinical medicine and a model of the integrated treatment of doctor-patient communication in clinical medicine for clinicians at the hospital. It also established a model of integrated clinical medicine preoperative discussion and treatment, a model of integrated clinical medicine doctor-patient communication, and integrated clinical medicine general health treatment. The model has effectively improved the quality and efficiency of medical education, updated the concept of medical education, facilitated the formulation of surgical plans and the reduction of surgical risks as well as provided experimental materials for scientific research, and can be further developed into a three-dimensional structure of the human circulatory system and the major systems of the human body in the future.
Removal of chromium ions by a bionanocomposite hydrogel based on starch-g-poly(acrylic acid) reinforced by cellulose nanofibers through a fix-bed adsorption column
Authors: Heidarzadeh-Samani Maryam , Behzad Tayebeh , Mehrabani-Zeinabad Arjomand , Baghbadorani Nooshin Bahadoran
Published: February 2023

A cellulose nanofibers reinforced starch-graft-poly(acrylic acid) (St-g-P(AA)) nanocomposite hydrogel was developed as a bio adsorbent to remove chromium ions [Cr(VI)] using a fix-bed adsorption column (FBC). The influence of several factors on adsorption column efficiency was investigated in this study, including pH, starting concentration of Cr(VI) ions, and solution input flow rate. Following the first study, the appropriate pH, starting concentration, and flow rate ranges were determined to be 4-6, 20-60 mg/L, and 5-15 mL/min, respectively. The surface response approach based on the Box-Behnken model was used to statistically examine the influence of each independent parameter on response performance (removal efficiency) and anticipate the optimal result. The findings showed that the pH of the solution had the most significant impact. The maximum removal efficiency of the nanocomposite hydrogel was 50.26 percent at pH = 6, an initial concentration of 20 mg/L, and a flow velocity of 10 mL/min. The Langmuir isotherm model successfully matched the results, and the maximum adsorption capacity was calculated to be 23.47 mg/g.
Saorilao-4 decoction alters the miRNA regulatory network in pulmonary fibrosis
Authors: Fu Xinyue , Song Xinni , Liu Yujian , Shi Songli , Chang Hong , Qi Jun , Wang Peng , Bai Wanfu
Published: February 2023

Objective: To explore the effect of Mongolian medicine Saorilao-4 (SRL-4) decoction on the conserved and specific miRNAs and target genes of the gene regulatory network (GRN) involved in pulmonary fibrosis.
Method: Healthy adult male SPF SD rats were randomly allocated into 4 groups. Total RNA was isolated and extracted from the lung tissues for transcriptome sequencing. The differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) between the different groups were screened using the difference analysis software DESeq2, and the prediction of their target genes were carried out using miRanda. Gene Ontology (GO) as well as Kyoto Encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analyses were conducted to identify the biological functions of the target genes.
Results: There were 16 DEMs in the IPF model group, whereas SRL-4 treatment resulted in 10 DEMs relative to the untreated model group. GO analysis showed that the target genes of DEMs inSRL-4 groups were enriched in 52 GO items. In addition, KEGG analysis showed that these target genes were enriched in 182 signaling pathways, and the largest number of genes were related to purine metabolism pathway.
Conclusion: The progression of pulmonary fibrosis and SRL-4 anti-pulmonary fibrosis are significantly impacted by miR-433-3p, novel 202, and miR-150-3p.
Effects of orthodontic extraction on facial soft and hard tissue changes among average-angle skeletal class Ⅰ Chinese adults females:A 3D geometric morphometric study
Authors: Wen Zhaoxiang , Tang Yiqi , Wang Tingyu , Su Sihui , Chen Dongru , Wu Liping
Published: February 2023

Background: This study aimed to investigate changes in the facial soft and hard tissues changes among the average-angle skeletal class Ⅰ Chinese adult females receiving extraction orthodontic treatment, as well as the correlations between them.
Methods:
The 3dMD® stereo photography technology was used to explore facial soft tissue changes, and lateral cephalograms and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) to explore hard tissue changes. A total of 23 adult females were recruited, among which 11 patients were with teeth extraction, 12 patients without teeth extraction treatment.
Results:
Among the 3D distance measurements, decreased soft tissue changes of 1/3 Face height, Stomatological height, Chin height and Lip width were observed (p<0.005), in which Lip width was found to have a moderate correlation with the decreased hard tissue change of upper inter-first molar width (d5) (ra=0.619, p<0.005). Among the 3D angle measurements, decreased soft tissue changes of Chin-lips angle and Lip angle, were found, in which Lip angle was found to have a moderate correlation with the decreased hard tissue changes of ∠U1-SN (ra=0.659, p<0.005). While the Soft tissue angle and Nasolabial angle increased post-orthodontics (p<0.005). In addition, moderate negative correlations between Nasolabial angle and hard tissue changes of ∠U1-SN and d1 were found (ra=-0.668; -0.763, p<0.005).
Conclusion:
Extraction orthodontic treatment showed a good control for facial protrusion cases, making the patients profile more attractive and harmonious. Changes in position and inclination of anterior teeth were also related to changes of facial soft tissues. There is no significant collapse in buccal and temporal region of patients with teeth extraction treatment compared with those without teeth extraction.
Thermomagnetic properties and the effects of Aharonov-Bohm (AB) flux and external magnetic field on Fisher entropy with Schioberg plus Manning-Rosen potential (SPMRP) using Nikiforov-Uvarov functional analysis (NUFA) and Supersymmetric quantum mechanics (SUSYQM) methods
Authors: Okon I. B. , Onate C. A. , Horchani R. , Popoola O. O. , Omugbe E. , William E. S. , Okorie U. S. , Inyang E. P. , Isonguyo C. N. , Udoh M. E. , Antia A. D. , Chen W. L. , Eyube E. S. , Araujo J. P. , Ikot A. N.
Published: February 2023

The analytical bound state solutions, thermomagnetic properties, and the effect of Aharanov-Bohm (AB) flux and external magnetic field on Fisher information entropy with Schioberg plus Manning-Rosen potential are studied using NUFA and SUSYQM methods in the presence of the Greene-Aldrich approximation scheme to the centrifugal term. The wave function obtained was used to study Fisher information both in position and momentum spaces for different quantum states by the gamma function and digamma polynomials. The energy equation obtained in a closed form was used to deduce numerical energy spectra, partition function, and other thermomagnetic properties. The results show that with an application of AB and magnetic fields, the numerical energy eigenvalues for different magnetic quantum spins decrease as the quantum state increases and completely removes the degeneracy of the energy spectra. Also, the numerical computation of Fisher information satisfies Fisher information inequality products, indicating that the particles are more localized in the presence of external fields than in their absence, and the trend shows complete localization of quantum mechanical particles in all quantum states. Our potential reduces to Schioberg and Manning-Rosen potentials as special cases. Our potential reduces to Schioberg and Manning-Rosen potentials as special cases. The energy equations obtained from the NUFA and SUSYQM were the same, demonstrating a high level of mathematical precision
Colorimetric assay of NO2- and mercury(II) through on-off strategy of the peroxidase-like Cu,Mo-CDs
Authors: Pu Hongmei , Cui Yifan , Wang Haidan , Yu Lijuan , Yang Dezhi , Yang Yaling , Li Hong
Published: February 2023

In this work, a copper-molybdenum doped carbon dots (Cu,Mo-CDs) with peroxidase-like (POD) activity was synthesized by using one-step microwave digestion method. The Cu,Mo-CDs + NO2− system can promote 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) oxidize to become its blue oxidative product(oxTMB) due to the formation of ∙NO2 free radical. While Hg2+ was introduced into the system, the POD-like activity of Cu,Mo-CDs + NO2− system was inhibited by Hg2+ due to strong interaction and the electron transfer between Cu,Mo-CDs and Hg2+. The bioenzyme-free colorimetric assay based on Cu,Mo-CDs nanozyme is used for detection of NO2− and Hg2+, showing lower detection limit (LOD) of 1.63 µg/L for NO2−, 0.13 µg/L for Hg2+, respectively and good recovery from 90.79 to 108.90%. The work paves a new way to design a nanozyme-based colorimetric protocol for traces NO2− and Hg2+ residues in food analysis.
A computational fluid dynamics study for simulation of the unsteady state two-phase flow in vertical separators and plunger pumps simultaneously
Authors: Dastyar Zahra , Hajidavalloo Ebrahim , Rabieh Milad M.
Published: February 2023

This study aims to find a robust and reliable method to simulate unsteady state two-phase flow in the sophisticated vertical separators connected to plunger pumps using computational fluid dynamics. The unsteady nature of reciprocating pumps and vertical two-phase gas-liquid flow forces the unsteady state boundary condition to the separators. Consequently, to simulate them, the plunger pump was considered a part of geometry, and an unsteady state turbulent two-phase flow was selected for the simulation method. Due to the geometry vastness and complexity of such a problem, the mesh generation method became vital for the convergence and reliability of simulations. Among several mesh generation methods and software, a new MATLAB meshing method developed to generate structural hexahedral mesh proved to be robust and very time-efficient. First, a set of experimental data of a simple separator was used to select, tune and validate the simulation method. Then, a real sample sophisticated separator and a plunger pump were analyzed using the method. Results demonstrated the ability of the model to predict phase separation and motions and its capability for modeling two-phase flow inside the helical, gravitational, and hybrid separators together with a plunger pump. Performing simulation for three up and two down strokes of the plunger showed that after disappearing the initial condition effects, the model represents the same results and separation efficiency for all cycles of plunger movements.
Plasma based biomarkers detect radiation induced neurotoxicity in cancer patients treated for brain metastasis: A Pilot study.
Authors: Zick Aviad , Makranz Chen , Lubotzky Asael , Zemmour Hai , Shemer Ruth , Glaser Benjamin , Cohen Jonathan , Maoz Myriam , Sapir Eli , Wygoda Marc , Peretz Tamar , Weizman Noam , Feldman Jon , Abrams Ross A. , Lossos Alexander , Dor Yuval
Published: February 2023

Radiotherapy has an important role in the treatment of brain metastases (BrM) but carries risk of short and/or long-term toxicity, termed radiation-induced neurotoxicity (RIN). As the diagnosis of RIN is crucial for correct pa-tient management, there is an unmet need for reliable biomarkers for RIN. The aim of this proof-of concept study was to determine the utility of brain-derived circulating free DNA (BncfDNA), identified by specific methylation patterns for neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, as RIN biomarkers. Twenty-four patients with BrM were monitored clinically and radiologically before, during and after brain radiotherapy, and blood for BncfDNA analysis (98 samples) was concurrently collected. Sixteen patients were treated with whole brain radiotherapy and eight patients with stereotactic radiosurgery. During follow-up nine RIN events were detected, and all correlated with significant increase in BncfDNA levels compared to baseline. Additionally, resolution of RIN correlated with de-crease in BncfDNA. Changes in BncfDNA were independent of tumor response. Elevated BncfDNA levels reflects brain cell injury incurred by radiotherapy, further research is needed to establish BncfDNA as a novel plasma-based biomarker for RIN.
Adult mortality patterns in Yemen before and during armed conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a web survey of the global diaspora
Authors: McGowan Catherine , Alhaffar Mervat , Ekoriko Promise , Al-Refai Sawsan , Badr Jamal , Bell Lucy , Checci Francesco
Published: February 2023

Background
The ongoing war in Yemen has created a severe and protracted crisis that has left nearly three-quarters of the population in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. Despite eight years of conflict there exist few robust estimates of how the crisis and COVID-19 pandemic have affected mortality in Yemen. The security situation has limited access to affected populations and thus required novel alternatives to local mortality surveys.
Methods
We used a web-based, respondent-driven sampling method to disseminate a mortality survey amongst the global Yemeni diaspora. We used mortality estimation methods and survival analysis to calculate mortality and/or survivorship amongst respondents’ close family members in Yemen including adults aged 50+, siblings, and children under five years.
Results
Eighty-nine eligible respondents completed the survey. Respondents provided data on the status of 1704 individuals of whom 85 (5%) had died; of these 65 (3.8%) were reported to have died in Yemen. An analysis of survivorship of respondents’ parents after their 50th birthday (adjusted for birth cohort and gender) provided weak evidence that the war and pandemic periods were associated with higher mortality when compared to the pre-war period. Analysis of the subset of individuals who died in Yemen also suggested an increased hazard of dying during the war/pandemic period; however, these results were non-significant. Sibling mortality amongst those aged 15–49 was 0.7 per 1000 person-years during the pre-war period compared to 1.1 during the war/pandemic period amongst males, and 0.8 versus 0.0 amongst females; however, these estimates reflected small numbers of deaths. The number of deaths amongst children under five in Yemen was too low to allow meaningful analysis; only three of the seven deaths in this group occurred during the analysis period.
Conclusions
Our data suggest increased mortality during the war/pandemic period, compared to the pre-war period, among elderly Yemenis. Our findings require careful interpretation as our small and non-representative sample appeared skewed towards higher-income, urban communities. Surveys of diaspora populations offer a promising means of describing mortality patterns in crisis-affected populations; however, large numbers of respondents are likely required to achieve accurate mortality estimates and attempt adjustment for selection bias.
A Heuristic Autonomous Exploration Method Based on Environmental Information Gain During Quadrotor Flight
Authors: Zhang Tong , Yu Jiajie , Li Jiaqi , Pang Minghui
Published: February 2023

Autonomous exploration is a widely studied fundamental application in the field of quadrotors, which requires them to automatically explore unknown space to obtain complete information about the environment. The frontier-based method, one of the representative works on autonomous exploration, drives autonomous determination by the definition of frontier information so that complete information about the environment is available to the quadrotor. However, existing frontier-based methods are able to accomplish the task but still suffer from inefficient exploration, and how to improve the efficiency of autonomous exploration is the focus of research nowadays. Slow frontier generation affecting real-time viewpoint determination and insufficient determination methods affecting the quality of viewpoints are typical of these problems. Therefore, to overcome the aforementioned problems, this paper proposes a two-level viewpoint determination method for frontier-based autonomous exploration. Firstly, a sampling-based frontier detection method is presented for faster frontier generation, improving the immediacy of environmental representation compared to traditional traversal-based methods. Secondly, we consider the access to environmental information during flight for the first time, and design an innovative heuristic evaluation function to decide on high quality viewpoint as the next local navigation target in each exploration iteration. Extensive benchmark and real-world tests are conducted to validate our method. The results confirm that our method optimizes the frontier search time by 85%, the exploration time by around 20–30%, and the exploration path by 25–35%.
Lycium barbarum polysaccharide promotes the immunoprotective effects of recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum vaccine expressing Trichinella spiralis cathepsin F-like protease 1 gene
Authors: Lu Huinan , Wang Yue , Zhang Tongxuan , Quan Yu , Zhu Zhiyu , Xue Ying , Pan Tianxu , Huang Haibin , Shi Chunwei , Yang Wentao , Jiang Yanlong , Wang Jianzhong , Zeng Yan , Cao Xin , Wang Chunfeng , Wang Nan , Yang Guilian
Published: February 2023

Trichinellosis caused by Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis) is a zoonotic disease that seriously endangers human health. At present, vaccines that used to prevent trichinellosis was an effective way, but the production of antibody levels and immunogenicity is weakness. Adjuvants has been studied to elevate the antibody levels and immunogenicity of the vaccines. Therefore, it is urgent need to develop an effective adjuvant for the T. spiralis vaccine. The recent studies have indicated that traditional Chinese medicine polysaccharides as adjuvants can play a promote role in vaccine and it is a low-toxicity, and biodegradable compound. In this study, BALB/c mice were orally inoculated with recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) vaccine expressing T. spiralis cathepsin F-like protease 1 gene (rTs-CPF1), and it was administered thrice in the same dose at 10 days intervals. Meanwhile, Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) was orally administration until to 37 days. Mice were infected with 350 T. spiralis muscle larvae (ML) at 37 days after the first immunization. The results showed that LBP enhanced specific IgG and sIgA antibody levels against T. spiralis CPF1 protein in mice immunized with L. plantarum rTs-CPF1 + LBP group compared with L. plantarum rTs-CPF1 group. Moreover, LBP improved the expression levels of IFN-γ and IL-4, and the numbers of intestinal and intramuscular worm burden was significantly decreased in L. plantarum rTs-CPF1 + LBP group compared to L. plantarum rTs-CPF1 group. The reduction rate of adult worm and ML burden reached 47.31% and 68.88% in L. plantarum rTs-CPF1 + LBP group, respectively. In conclusion, LBP have a promoting role on the immunoprotective effects of T. spiralis vaccine and it may be considered as a novel adjuvant against parasitic vaccine.
In Vitro Model stimulated by exposure to single and combined stress factors for Necrotizing Enterocolitis Running title: In Vitro Model stimulated by single and combined factors for NEC
Authors: gao chuchu , Feng Zongtai , Wang Lixia , Yang Zuming , Wang Sannan , Yu Shenglin
Published: February 2023

Purpose
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a severe gastrointestinal disease in neonates, with high death rate. The pathogenesis of NEC is particularly complex, mainly involving inflammation and hypoxic damage. In vitro cell model is an indispensable tool to study the pathogenesis of NEC. This study explored the effects of different stress factors on intestinal injury in vitro.
Methods
IEC-6 cells were stimulated by exposure to different stressors, including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), cobalt chloride (CoCl2), and a combination of both. Cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay. The expression of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNFα) at the gene and protein levels were measured by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA). While the expression of tight junction proteins (Claudin-1 and zonula occludens [ZO]-1) were evaluated by qRT-PCR and western blotting, respectively.
Results
The decrease in IEC-6 cell viability was observed after stimulation by CoCl2 alone or in combination with LPS, but not after stimulation with LPS alone. The expression of IL-6 and TNFα increased in each group, especially in the combined stimulation group. After stimulation with CoCl2 alone or in combination with LPS, a decrease in Claudin-1 was observed, but an increase was detected after stimulation with LPS alone. ZO-1 decreased in both mRNA and protein levels after combined stimulation.
Conclusion
The combined stimulation of CoCl2 and LPS on IEC-6 cells could simultaneously induce severe inflammation and barrier damage, which may better simulate the pathological process of NEC. Further research is needed to determine whether this in vitro model can be used to study the pathogenesis of NEC.
Limited BA.5 neutralization by pre-exposure prophylaxis with tixagevimab/cilgavimab in CAR-T treated people
Authors: Vergori Alessandra , Matusali Giulia , Metafuni Elisabetta , Bordi Licia , Borrelli Paola , Loiacono Laura , Pansini Ilaria , Sorà Federica , Mazzotta Valentina , Paulicelli Jessica , Girardi Enrico , Cingolani Antonella , Vaia Francesco , Sica Simona , Maggi Fabrizio , Antinori Andrea
Published: February 2023

CAR T-cell recipients experience profound B-cell aplasia and hypogammaglobulinemia, being unable to mount any humoral response and at higher risk for severe COVID-19. Tixagevimab/cilgavimab has been approved for COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in immunocompromised people. 150/150 mg of tixagevimab/cilgavimab does not adequately neutralize against Omicron BA.5 and these results support recommendations on dose increase to 300/300 mg for prophylaxis in order to enhance effectiveness probability, until the European regulatory agency makes a decision on the usability of this compound as the FDA has already done