bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Indoor Air Quality in the Most Crowded Public Places of Tehran: An Inhalation Health Risk Assessment
Authors: Derikvand Ahmad , Taherkhani Ali , Hassanvand Mohammad Sadegh , Naddafi Kazem , Nabizadeh Ramin , Shamsipour Mansour , Niazi Sadegh , Heidari Mohsen , Mokammel Adel , Faridi Sasan
Published: June 2023

Satisfying indoor air quality in public environments has become essential in cities. In the present study, indoor PM2.5, CO2, NO2, SO2, nicotine, and BTEX have been assessed in 12 categories of public places. The highest average concentrations of PM2.5, NO2, and SO2 were observed in waterpipe cafés (233, 29.6, and 5.1 µg/m3), whereas the lowest concentrations were found in health clubs and hospitals, respectively. Moreover, indoor BTEX concentration varied from 69.5 µg/m3 (passenger terminals) to 1739.2 µg/m3 (elderly care centers). Given nicotine, the highest concentrations were found in waterpipe cafés, ranging from approximately 11.0 to 50 µg/m3. The mean hazard quotient (HQ) and Hazard Index (HI) for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene were calculated in all types of public environments, and results showed that the amount of HQ and HI in none of the places was more than 1. Furthermore, the lifetime cancer risk (LTCR) exceeded the guideline threshold in hospitals, restaurants, elderly care centers, passenger terminals, movie theaters, and beauty salons. The findings of our study indicate that the indoor air quality in most public settings within Tehran city is not acceptable and necessitates appropriate management. These findings underscore the importance of monitoring indoor air quality and implementing effective strategies to mitigate exposure to air pollutants.
Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Storm Surge Prediction and Decision Support with Bidirectional Attention-Based LSTM
Authors: Ian Vai-Kei , Tse Rita , Tang Su-Kit , Pau Giovanni
Published: June 2023

Accurate storm surge forecasting is vital for saving lives and avoiding economic and infrastructural damage. Failure to accurately predict storm surge can have catastrophic repercussions. Advances in machine learning models show the ability to improve accuracy of storm surge prediction by leveraging vast amounts of historical and realtime data such as weather and tide patterns. This paper proposes a bidirectional attention-based LSTM storm surge architecture (BALSSA) to improve prediction accuracy. Training and evaluation utilized extensive meteorological and tide level data from 77 typhoon incidents in Hong Kong and Macao between 2017 and 2022. The proposed methodology is able to model complex non-linearities between large amounts of data from different sources and identify complex relationships between variables that are typically not captured by traditional physical methods. BALSSA effectively resolves the problem of long-term dependencies in storm surge prediction by the incorporation of an attention mechanism. It enables selective emphasis on significant features and boosts the prediction accuracy. Evaluation has been conducted using real-world datasets from Macao to validate our storm surge prediction model. Results show that accuracy and robustness of predictions were significantly improved by the incorporation of attention mechanisms in our models. BALSSA captures temporal dynamics effectively, providing highly accurate storm surge forecasts (MAE: 0.0126, RMSE: 0.0003) up to 72 h in advance. These findings have practical significance for disaster risk reduction strategies, saving lives through timely evacuation and early warnings. Experiments comparing BALSSA variations with other machine learning algorithms consistently validate BALSSA’s superior predictive performance. It offers an additional risk management tool for civil-protection agencies and governments, as well as an ideal solution for enhancing storm surge prediction accuracy, benefiting coastal communities.
Federated Learning Incentive Mechanism Design via Shapley Value and Pareto Optimality
Authors: Yang Xun , Xiang Shuwen , Peng Changgen , Tan Weijie , Li Zhen , Wu Ningbo , Zhou Yan
Published: June 2023

Federated learning (FL) is a distributed machine learning framework that can effectively help multiple players to use data to train federated models while complying with their privacy, data security, and government regulations. Due to federated model training, an accurate model should be trained, and all federated players should actively participate. Therefore, it is crucial to design an incentive mechanism; however, there is a conflict between fairness and Pareto efficiency in the incentive mechanism. In this paper, we propose an incentive mechanism via the combination of the Shapley value and Pareto efficiency optimization, in which a third party is introduced to supervise the federated payoff allocation. If the payoff can reach Pareto optimality, the federated payoff is allocated by the Shapley value method; otherwise, the relevant federated players are punished. Numerical and simulation experiments show that the mechanism can achieve fair payoff allocation and Pareto optimality payoff allocation. The Nash equilibrium of this mechanism is formed when Pareto optimality payoff allocation is achieved.
Progress in Isolation and Molecular Profiling of Small Extracellular Vesicles via Bead-Assisted Platforms
Authors: Kozhevnikova Daria , Chernyshev Vasiliy , Yashchenok Alexey
Published: June 2023

Tremendous interest in research of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) is driven by the participation of vesicles in a number of biological processes in the human body. Being released by almost all cells of the body, sEVs present in complex bodily fluids form the so-called intercellular communication network. The isolation and profiling of individual fractions of sEVs secreted by pathological cells are significant in revealing their physiological functions and clinical importance. Traditional methods for isolation and purification of sEVs from bodily fluids are facing a number of challenges, such as low yield, presence of contaminants, long-term operation and high costs, which restrict their routine practical applications. Methods providing a high yield of sEVs with a low content of impurities are actively developing. Bead-assisted platforms are very effective for trapping sEVs with high recovery yield and sufficient purity for further molecular profiling. Here, we review recent advances in the enrichment of sEVs via bead-assisted platforms emphasizing the type of binding sEVs to the bead surface, sort of capture and target ligands and isolation performance. Further, we discuss integration-based technologies for the capture and detection of sEVs as well as future research directions in this field.
Impact of Self-Efficacy and Perfectionism on Academic Procrastination among University Students in Pakistan
Authors: Ashraf Muhammad Azeem , Sahar Namood-e , Kamran Muhammad , Alam Jan
Published: June 2023

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of self-efficacy and perfectionism on academic procrastination among university students and its differences among genders in Pakistan. It was hypothesized that self-efficacy and perfectionism would significantly impact academic procrastination and that there is a significant difference in students’ views concerning their gender. The sample comprised 405 university students, 104 male and 301 female. The study used the general self-efficacy scale, the multidimensional perfectionism scale, and the academic procrastination scale to measure the constructs. SmartPLS 4 was applied for the analysis of the data. The results indicated that all three variables—self-efficacy, perfectionism, and academic procrastination—were present among university students. Perfectionism showed a significant effect on academic procrastination. However, self-efficacy showed no significant effect on academic procrastination. Further, no significant difference was found in students’ views concerning their gender. The findings provide significant evidence for stakeholders to improve academic procrastination among university students.
Combined Joint and Member Damage Identification of Semi-Rigid Frames with Slender Beams Considering Shear Deformation
Authors: Xiao Feng , Meng Xiangwei , Zhu Weiwei , Chen Gang S. , Yan Yu
Published: June 2023

A damage identification methodology considering shear deformation was presented in this paper to identify damage to semi-rigid frames with slender beams. On the basis of the successful identification of structural joint damage, the combined joint and member damage of the structure was identified. The objective function was formulated to minimize the discrepancies between the analytical and measured nodal displacements. Damage identification was performed on semi-rigid frame structures with different cross-sectional shapes, and the results were compared with those of ignoring shear deformation. Several frame structures were employed to verify the advantages and efficiency of the proposed method. The results demonstrate that the present method could significantly improve the accuracy of damage identification for semi-rigid frames compared with the method ignoring shear deformation.
Sustainable Retrofitting Criteria in Heritage Buildings: Case Study in Seville (Spain)
Authors: Cimiano-Prados María , Pedreño-Rojas Manuel Alejandro , Fořt Jan , Morales-Conde María Jesús
Published: June 2023

The construction sector has an important role to play in reducing the threat of climate change. Thus, this work proposes, analyses, and compares two constructive strategies for the intervention/rehabilitation of a protected building located in Seville (Spain). The first solution intends to follow traditional techniques and standardized criteria, while the second option takes into account environmental aspects for the constructive definition of the proposal. An environmental study of each constructive solution, using a life-cycle assessment methodology, as well as an energy behavior analysis were carried out. The results show that the “sustainable proposal” represents a significant environmental improvement, in which a reduction in CO2 emissions and incorporated energy can be appreciated apart from an optimal energy certification. Finally, the sustainable proposal reveals a significant economic reduction in the total budget of the intervention.
Visualization Analysis and Knowledge Mapping the Research of Aerogels Applied in Buildings
Authors: Yu Xin , Wu Lei , Li Ming
Published: June 2023

With the deepening of aerogel research and the popularization of its application, the demands for energy saving in the construction field has brought aerogels into the limelight. To explore state-of-the-art research and development trends related to aerogels applied in construction, CiteSpace was used to conduct a quantitative analysis based on the Web of Science core database. Results show that: (1) in the past 10 years, the number of papers on aerogels in the field of constructions has increased significantly; (2) the top producing countries in the aerogel field are mainly China and the United States, and the top two research institutions are all Chinese institutions (Univ Sci & Technol China and Chinese Acad Sci); (3) the main publishing journals are ENERGY AND BUILDINGS, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS, and CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL; (4) the hot keywords are thermal insulation, silica aerogel, thermal conductivity, phase change material, mechanical property, graphene aerogel, self-assembly, energy saving, etc.; (5) aerogel is mostly used in building insulation, mainly in the form of aerogel glass, aerogel mortar, aerogel felt, and aerogel coating. In summary, in addition to systematically strengthening theoretical research, it is necessary to optimize the technical process and reduce costs in order to effectively promote aerogels in construction energy conservation and carbon reduction. Through this study, the current situation, hot spots, and development trend of aerogel application in construction can be revealed systematically. Overall, this study helps advance research on aerogels applied in buildings and help in tackling energy efficiency challenges.
Liver Fibrosis in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Progression to Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review
Authors: Martínez-Domínguez Samuel J. , García-Mateo Sandra , Laredo Viviana , Gargallo-Puyuelo Carla J. , Gallego Llera Beatriz , López de la Cruz Julia , Gomollón Fernando
Published: June 2023

The aim of the systematic review is to assess the prevalence and risk factors of liver fibrosis in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and to discuss the role of liver fibrosis in the progression to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We performed a structured search in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus up to 3 March 2023 to identify observational studies reporting liver fibrosis in patients with NAFLD and IBD. Quality of studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) score. A total of 23 studies met our inclusion criteria, including 629,781 patients. A total of 10 cross-sectional, 3 case-control, and 10 cohort studies were included. Fourteen studies had a NOS score ≥ 7 points. NAFLD was diagnosed in 2162/6332 (34.1%) IBD participants. However, NAFLD diagnosis was established in 924/2962 (31.2%) healthy individuals without IBD. Advanced liver fibrosis was found in 116 (11.6%) of 992 IBD patients with NAFLD. Most studies found an association between NAFLD and classic cardiovascular risk factors such as older age, male sex, higher BMI, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia. In addition, metabolic syndrome features were also associated with an increased risk of significant and advanced liver fibrosis. Although no strong association between NAFLD and IBD therapy was reported, some studies associated NAFLD with IBD diagnosis, Crohn’s Disease, a complicated course of IBD, disease activity, and IBD duration. Advanced liver fibrosis was also associated with Crohn’s disease in several studies. In conclusion, NAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis are prevalent and clinically relevant extraintestinal manifestations, so its diagnosis and potential progression to HCC should be carefully considered in daily clinical practice.
AI-Based Glioma Grading for a Trustworthy Diagnosis: An Analytical Pipeline for Improved Reliability
Authors: Pitarch Carla , Ribas Vicent , Vellido Alfredo
Published: June 2023

Glioma is the most common type of tumor in humans originating in the brain. According to the World Health Organization, gliomas can be graded on a four-stage scale, ranging from the most benign to the most malignant. The grading of these tumors from image information is a far from trivial task for radiologists and one in which they could be assisted by machine-learning-based decision support. However, the machine learning analytical pipeline is also fraught with perils stemming from different sources, such as inadvertent data leakage, adequacy of 2D image sampling, or classifier assessment biases. In this paper, we analyze a glioma database sourced from multiple datasets using a simple classifier, aiming to obtain a reliable tumor grading and, on the way, we provide a few guidelines to ensure such reliability. Our results reveal that by focusing on the tumor region of interest and using data augmentation techniques we significantly enhanced the accuracy and confidence in tumor classifications. Evaluation on an independent test set resulted in an AUC-ROC of 0.932 in the discrimination of low-grade gliomas from high-grade gliomas, and an AUC-ROC of 0.893 in the classification of grades 2, 3, and 4. The study also highlights the importance of providing, beyond generic classification performance, measures of how reliable and trustworthy the model’s output is, thus assessing the model’s certainty and robustness.
Examining Final-Administered Medication as a Measure of Data Quality: A Comparative Analysis of Death Data with the Central Cancer Registry in Republic of Korea
Authors: Tak Yae Won , Han Jeong Hyun , Park Yu Jin , Kim Do-Hoon , Oh Ji Seon , Lee Yura
Published: June 2023

Death is a crucial outcome in retrospective cohort studies, serving as a criterion for analyzing mortality in a database. This study aimed to assess the quality of extracted death data and investigate the potential of the final-administered medication as a variable to quantify accuracy for the validation dataset. Electronic health records from both an in-hospital and the Korean Central Cancer Registry were used for this study. The gold standard was established by examining the differences between the dates of in-hospital deaths and cancer-registered deaths. Cosine similarity was employed to quantify the final-administered medication similarities between the gold standard and other cohorts. The gold standard was determined as patients who died in the hospital after 2006 and whose final hospital visit/discharge date and death date differed by 0 or 1 day. For all three criteria—(a) cancer stage, (b) cancer type, and (c) type of final visit—there was a positive correlation between mortality rates and the similarities of the final-administered medication. This study introduces a measure that can provide additional accurate information regarding death and differentiates the reliability of the dataset.
Tumor-Associated Fibroblast-Derived Exosomal circDennd1b Promotes Pituitary Adenoma Progression by Modulating the miR-145-5p/ONECUT2 Axis and Activating the MAPK Pathway
Authors: Jiang Qian , Lei Zhuowei , Wang Zihan , Wang Quanji , Zhang Zhuo , Liu Xiaojin , Xing Biao , Li Sihan , Guo Xiang , Liu Yanchao , Li Xingbo , Qi Yiwei , Shu Kai , Zhang Huaqiu , Huang Yimin , Lei Ting
Published: June 2023

TAF participated in the progression of various cancers, including PA via the release of soluble factors. Exosomes belonged to extracellular vesicles, which were revealed as a crucial participator in intercellular communication. However, the expression pattern and effect of TAF-derived exosomes remained largely unknown in PA. In the present study, we performed in silico analysis based on public RNA-seq datasets to generate the circRNA/miRNA regulatory network. The qRT-PCR, Western blotting, RNA pull-down, and luciferase assay were performed to investigate the effect of TAF-derived exosomes. TAF-derived exosomal circDennd1b was significantly upregulated in PA and promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of PA cells via sponging miR-145-5p in PA cells. In addition, miR-145-5p directly regulated One Cut homeobox 2 (ONECUT2/OC2) expression and inhibited the promoting effect of ONECUT2 on PA. We further demonstrated that ONECUT2 transcriptionally increased fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) expression, which further activates the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathway, thus promoting PA progression. Moreover, the suppression of TAFs by ABT-263 and ONECUT2 by CSRM617 inhibited the growth of PA. In conclusion, our study illustrated that TAF-derived exosomal circDennd1b affected PA progression via regulating ONECUT2 expression, which provides a potential therapeutic strategy against aggressive PA.
Companion Animals as a Key to Success for Translating Radiation Therapy Research into the Clinic
Authors: Vanhaezebrouck Isabelle F. , Scarpelli Matthew L.
Published: June 2023

Many successful preclinical findings fail to be replicated during translation to human studies. This leads to significant resources being spent on large clinical trials, and in some cases, promising therapeutics not being pursued due to the high costs of clinical translation. These translational failures emphasize the need for improved preclinical models of human cancer so that there is a higher probability of successful clinical translation. Companion-animal cancers offer a potential solution. These cancers are more similar to human cancer than other preclinical models, with a natural evolution over time, genetic alterations, intact immune system, and a permanent adaptation to the microenvironment. These advantages have led pioneers in veterinary radiation oncology to aid human medicine by elucidating basic principles of radiation biology. More recently, the veterinary and human radiation oncology fields have increasingly collaborated to achieve advancements in education, radiotherapy techniques, and trial networks. This review describes these advancements, including significant prior research findings and the evolution of the veterinary radiation oncology discipline. It concludes by describing how companion-animal models can help shape the future of human radiotherapy. Taken as a whole, this review suggests companion-animal cancers may become widely used for preclinical radiotherapy research.
The Tumor Suppressor DAB2IP Is Regulated by Cell Contact and Contributes to YAP/TAZ Inhibition in Confluent Cells
Authors: Apollonio Mattia , Bellazzo Arianna , Franco Nicoletta , Lombardi Silvia , Senigagliesi Beatrice , Casalis Loredana , Parisse Pietro , Thalhammer Agnes , Baj Gabriele , De Florian Fania Rossella , Del Sal Giannino , Collavin Licio
Published: June 2023

External and internal mechanical forces modulate cell morphology, movement, proliferation and metabolism, and represent crucial inputs for tissue homeostasis. The transcriptional regulators YAP and TAZ are important effectors of mechanical signaling and are frequently activated in solid tumors, correlating with metastasis, chemoresistance, and shorter patient survival. YAP/TAZ activity is controlled by various pathways that sense cell shape, polarity, contacts, and mechanical tension. In tumors, aberrant YAP/TAZ activation may result from cancer-related alterations of such regulatory networks. The tumor suppressor DAB2IP is a Ras-GAP and scaffold protein that negatively modulates multiple oncogenic pathways and is frequently downregulated or inactivated in solid tumors. Here, we provide evidence that DAB2IP expression is sustained by cell confluency. We also find that DAB2IP depletion in confluent cells alters their morphology, reducing cell packing while increasing cell stiffness. Finally, we find that DAB2IP depletion in confluent cells favors YAP/TAZ nuclear localization and transcriptional activity, while its ectopic expression in subconfluent cells increases YAP/TAZ retention in the cytoplasm. Together, these data suggest that DAB2IP may function as a sensor of cell interactions, contributing to dampening cellular responses to oncogenic inputs in confluent cells and that DAB2IP loss-of-function would facilitate YAP/TAZ activation in intact epithelia, accelerating oncogenic transformation.
Differential Impact of Exercises on Quality-of-Life Improvement in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Wang Tzu-Chieh , Chen Pei-Lun , Liao Wan-Chun , Tsai I-Chen
Published: June 2023

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of various exercise interventions in enhancing the quality of life for breast cancer survivors. To achieve this, randomized controlled trials were identified from major electronic databases, focusing on the relationship between exercise and quality of life in breast cancer survivors. The primary outcome was the impact of exercise on quality of life 12 weeks after the intervention, with a secondary outcome comparing dropout rates between intervention groups and a regular care control group. The study protocol was registered with INPLASY (INPLASY202340007). A network meta-analysis of nine randomized controlled trials involving 725 participants was conducted, examining aerobic and strength training, aerobic activity, yoga, and strength exercise. Results showed that aerobic and strength training was the most effective intervention, significantly improving the quality of life of breast cancer survivors (1.31; 95% confidence interval: 0.49 to 2.12). Aerobic activity had a borderline effect (0.83; 0.03 to 1.63), while no exercise interventions were associated with an increased dropout risk compared to the control group (regular care). The study concluded that concurrent aerobic and strength training can improve breast cancer survivors’ quality of life after 12 weeks of intervention without increasing dropout risk compared to regular care.
Chiral Porous Organic Frameworks: Synthesis, Chiroptical Properties, and Asymmetric Organocatalytic Applications
Authors: Sanchez-Fuente Miguel , Alonso-Gómez José Lorenzo , Salonen Laura M. , Mas-Ballesté Ruben , Moya Alicia
Published: June 2023

Chiral porous organic frameworks have emerged in the last decade as candidates for heterogeneous asymmetric organocatalysis. This review aims to provide a summary of the synthetic strategies towards the design of chiral organic materials, the characterization techniques used to evaluate their chirality, and their applications in asymmetric organocatalysis. We briefly describe the types of porous organic frameworks, including crystalline (covalent organic frameworks, COFs) and amorphous (conjugated microporous polymers, CMPs; covalent triazine frameworks, CTFs and porous aromatic frameworks, PAFs) materials. Furthermore, the strategies reported to incorporate chirality in porous organic materials are presented. We finally focus on the applications of chiral porous organic frameworks in asymmetric organocatalytic reactions, summarizing and categorizing all the available literature in the field.
Human Stem Cells for Cardiac Disease Modeling and Preclinical and Clinical Applications—Are We on the Road to Success?
Authors: Correia Cátia D. , Ferreira Anita , Fernandes Mónica T. , Silva Bárbara M. , Esteves Filipa , Leitão Helena S. , Bragança José , Calado Sofia M.
Published: June 2023

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are pointed out by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the leading cause of death, contributing to a significant and growing global health and economic burden. Despite advancements in clinical approaches, there is a critical need for innovative cardiovascular treatments to improve patient outcomes. Therapies based on adult stem cells (ASCs) and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have emerged as promising strategies to regenerate damaged cardiac tissue and restore cardiac function. Moreover, the generation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from somatic cells has opened new avenues for disease modeling, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine applications, with fewer ethical concerns than those associated with ESCs. Herein, we provide a state-of-the-art review on the application of human pluripotent stem cells in CVD research and clinics. We describe the types and sources of stem cells that have been tested in preclinical and clinical trials for the treatment of CVDs as well as the applications of pluripotent stem-cell-derived in vitro systems to mimic disease phenotypes. How human stem-cell-based in vitro systems can overcome the limitations of current toxicological studies is also discussed. Finally, the current state of clinical trials involving stem-cell-based approaches to treat CVDs are presented, and the strengths and weaknesses are critically discussed to assess whether researchers and clinicians are getting closer to success.
ABCB5+ Limbal Epithelial Stem Cells Inhibit Developmental but Promote Inflammatory (Lymph) Angiogenesis While Preventing Corneal Inflammation
Authors: Meshko Berbang , Volatier Thomas L. A. , Hadrian Karina , Deng Shuya , Hou Yanhong , Kluth Mark Andreas , Ganss Christoph , Frank Markus H. , Frank Natasha Y. , Ksander Bruce , Cursiefen Claus , Notara Maria
Published: June 2023

The limbus, the vascularized junction between the cornea and conjunctiva, is thought to function as a barrier against corneal neovascularization. However, the exact mechanisms regulating this remain unknown. In this study, the limbal epithelial stem cell (LESC) marker ABCB5 was used to investigate the role of LESCs in corneal neovascularization. In an ABCB5KO model, a mild but significant increase of limbal lymphatic and blood vascular network complexity was observed in developing mice (4 weeks) but not in adult mice. Conversely, when using a cornea suture model, the WT animals exhibited a mild but significant increase in the number of lymphatic vessel sprouts compared to the ABCB5KO, suggesting a contextual anti-lymphangiogenic effect of ABCB5 on the limbal vasculature during development, but a pro-lymphangiogenic effect under inflammatory challenge in adulthood. In addition, conditioned media from ABCB5-positive cultured human limbal epithelial cells (ABCB5+) stimulated human blood and lymphatic endothelial cell proliferation and migration. Finally, a proteomic analysis demonstrated ABCB5+ cells have a pro(lymph)angiogenic as well as an anti-inflammatory profile. These data suggest a novel dual, context-dependent role of ABCB5+ LESCs, inhibiting developmental but promoting inflammatory (lymph)angiogenesis in adulthood and exerting anti-inflammatory effects. These findings are of high clinical relevance in relation to LESC therapy against blindness.
Pleiotrophin and the Expression of Its Receptors during Development of the Human Cerebellar Cortex
Authors: Santana-Bejarano Margarita Belem , Grosso-Martínez Paula Romina , Puebla-Mora Ana Graciela , Martínez-Silva María Guadalupe , Nava-Villalba Mario , Márquez-Aguirre Ana Laura , Ortuño-Sahagún Daniel , Godínez-Rubí Marisol
Published: June 2023

During embryonic and fetal development, the cerebellum undergoes several histological changes that require a specific microenvironment. Pleiotrophin (PTN) has been related to cerebral and cerebellar cortex ontogenesis in different species. PTN signaling includes PTPRZ1, ALK, and NRP-1 receptors, which are implicated in cell differentiation, migration, and proliferation. However, its involvement in human cerebellar development has not been described so far. Therefore, we investigated whether PTN and its receptors were expressed in the human cerebellar cortex during fetal and early neonatal development. The expression profile of PTN and its receptors was analyzed using an immunohistochemical method. PTN, PTPRZ1, and NRP-1 were expressed from week 17 to the postnatal stage, with variable expression among granule cell precursors, glial cells, and Purkinje cells. ALK was only expressed during week 31. These results suggest that, in the fetal and neonatal human cerebellum, PTN is involved in cell communication through granule cell precursors, Bergmann glia, and Purkinje cells via PTPRZ1, NRP-1, and ALK signaling. This communication could be involved in cell proliferation and cellular migration. Overall, the present study represents the first characterization of PTN, PTPRZ1, ALK, and NRP-1 expression in human tissues, suggesting their involvement in cerebellar cortex development.
TMEM106B Puncta Is Increased in Multiple Sclerosis Plaques, and Reduced Protein in Mice Results in Delayed Lipid Clearance Following CNS Injury
Authors: Shafit-Zagardo Bridget , Sidoli Simone , Goldman James E. , DuBois Juwen C. , Corboy John R. , Strittmatter Stephen M. , Guzik Hillary , Edema Ukuemi , Arackal Anita G. , Botbol Yair M. , Merheb Emilio , Nagra Rashed M. , Graff Sarah
Published: June 2023

During inflammatory, demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammation and axonal damage are prevalent early in the course. Axonal damage includes swelling, defects in transport, and failure to clear damaged intracellular proteins, all of which affect recovery and compromise neuronal integrity. The clearance of damaged cell components is important to maintain normal turnover and restore homeostasis. In this study, we used mass spectrometry to identify insoluble proteins within high-speed/mercaptoethanol/sarcosyl-insoluble pellets from purified white matter plaques isolated from the brains of individuals with relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS). We determined that the transmembrane protein 106B (TMEM106B), normally lysosome-associated, is insoluble in RRMS plaques relative to normal-appearing white matter from individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and non-neurologic controls. Relative to wild-type mice, hypomorphic mice with a reduction in TMEM106B have increased axonal damage and lipid droplet accumulation in the spinal cord following myelin-oligodendrocyte-glycoprotein-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Additionally, the corpora callosa from cuprizone-challenged hypomorphic mice fail to clear lipid droplets efficiently during remyelination, suggesting that when TMEM106B is compromised, protein and lipid clearance by the lysosome is delayed. As TMEM106B contains putative lipid- and LC3-binding sites, further exploration of these sites is warranted.
Effect of Ultrasonic Impact on the Organization and Friction Wear Performance of AZ31B Magnesium Alloy Micro-Arc Oxidation Composite Coating
Authors: Li Qingda , Wang Hao , Che Canyu , Wan Lin , Dong Xiaowei , Wang Song , Zhang Chong
Published: June 2023

To enhance the frictional wear performance of AZ31B magnesium alloy, a nanocrystalline layer was prepared by ultrasonic impact (UI) treatment on magnesium alloy samples, and the effects of different ultrasonic impact times (5 min, 10 min, and 15 min) on the organization and wear resistance of the composite coating were studied. The findings revealed that the maximum thickness of the composite coating was about 50 μm after 10 min of impact time, which was approximately 15 μm higher than that of the MAO coating. The elemental composition of the composite coating was mainly Mg, O, and Si elements, and the phase structure of the coating, mainly MgO and Mg2SiO4, was the same before and after UI. The microhardness value gradually decreased in a gradient with the increasing distance from the sample surface. The coating had a lower average coefficient of friction (0.18) and lower wear loss (1.56 mg) for the 15 min impact time. Moreover, a small amount of abrasive and adhesive wear served as the primary modes of wear.
Printability of (Quasi-)Solid Polysiloxane Electrolytes for Online Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Fabrication
Authors: Manceriu Laura , Bharwal Anil Kumar , Daem Nathan , Dewalque Jennifer , Colson Pierre , Boschini Frederic , Cloots Rudi
Published: June 2023

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are a very promising solution as remote sustainable low power sources for portable electronics and Internet of Things (IoT) applications due to their room-temperature and low-cost fabrication, as well as their high efficiency under artificial light. In addition, new achievements in developing semitransparent devices are driving interest in their implementation in the building sector. However, the main obstacle towards the large-scale exploitation of DSSCs mainly concerns their limited long-term stability triggered by the use of liquid electrolytes. Moreover, the device processing generally involves using a thick adhesive separator layer and vacuum filling or injection of the liquid polymer electrolyte between the two electrodes, a method that is difficult to scale up. This review summarizes the advances made in the design of alternative (quasi-)solid polymer electrolytes, with a focus on polysiloxane-based poly(ionic liquid)s. Their behavior in full DSSCs is presented and compared in terms of power generation maximization, advantages and shortcomings of the different device assembly strategies, as well as polymer electrolyte-related processing limitations. Finally, a fair part of the manuscript is allocated to the assessment of liquid and gel polymer electrolyte printability, particularly focusing on polysiloxane-based electrolytes. Spray, blade (slot-dye), screen and inkjet printing technologies are envisaged considering the polymer electrolyte thermophysical and rheological properties, as well as DSSC processing and operating conditions.
Effect of Spraying Power on the Tribological Properties of Alumina and Alumina-Graphite Coatings
Authors: Mathew Jacob Shiby , Marcinauskas Liutauras , Kavaliauskas Žydrūnas , Kėželis Romualdas , Kalin Mitjan
Published: June 2023

Atmospheric plasma spraying is used to deposit alumina and alumina-graphite composite coatings. The influence of arc current (plasma temperature) on the microstructure, roughness, elemental composition, and phase composition of the coatings is analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), surface roughness testing, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The tribological properties of the sprayed coatings are analyzed using a tribometer with a ball-on-flat configuration. The roughness of the as-sprayed coatings increases and the size of the granules decreases with the increase in plasma temperature. The results demonstrate that the friction coefficients and wear rates are slightly reduced for Al2O3 coatings sprayed at higher arc currents. The Al2O3-graphite coatings register lower friction coefficient values than the Al2O3 coatings under dry sliding conditions.
Ga2O3/Ag/Ga2O3-Laminated Film Fabricated at Room Temperature: Toward Applications in Ultraviolet Transparent Highly Conductive Electrodes
Authors: Zhang Kexiong , Feng Lei , Wang Lei , Zhu Jun , Zhang Hai , Ha Sihua , Sun Jiajun , Liang Hongwei , Yang Tianpeng
Published: June 2023

Ga2O3/Ag/Ga2O3-laminated films with high electrical conductivity and ultraviolet (UV) transparency were achieved by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature (RT) on quartz glass. The influence of annealing temperature and ambient on the structural, electrical and optical properties of Ga2O3/Ag/Ga2O3-laminated films were investigated in detail. As the annealing temperature increases, the optical bandgap of the Ga2O3-laminated films widens. The Ga2O3/Ag/Ga2O3-laminated films exhibited good photoelectric performance with a figure-of-merit (FOM) value of 5.83 × 10−3 Ω−1, a sheet resistance of 12.55 Ω/sq, a transmittance of 95.15% at 325 nm, and an average transmittance of 77.56% (250~300 nm). All these results suggest that RT-fabricated Ga2O3/Ag/Ga2O3-laminated films show great potential in UV transparent conductive electrodes for UV optoelectronic devices and in flexible electronics.
The Use of Salvage Chemotherapy for Patients with Relapsed Testicular Germ Cell Tumor (GCT) in Canada: A National Survey
Authors: Al-Ezzi Esmail M. , Zahralliyali Amer , Hansen Aaron R. , Hamilton Robert J. , Crump Michael , Kuruvilla John , Wood Lori , Nappi Lucia , Kollmannsberger Christian K. , North Scott A. , Winquist Eric , Soulières Denis , Hotte Sebastien J. , Jiang Di Maria
Published: June 2023

Background: Although metastatic germ cell tumor (GCT) is highly curable with initial cisplatin-based chemotherapy (CT), 20–30% of patients relapse. Salvage CT options include conventional (CDCT) and high dose chemotherapy (HDCT), however definitive comparative data remain lacking. We aimed to characterize the contemporary practice patterns of salvage CT across Canada. Methods: We conducted a 30-question online survey for Canadian medical and hematological oncologists with experience in treating GCT, assessing treatment availability, patient selection, and management strategies used for relapsed GCT patients. Results: There were 30 respondents from 18 cancer centers across eight provinces. The most common CDCT regimens used were TIP (64%) and VIP (25%). HDCT was available in 13 centers (70%). The HDCT regimen used included carboplatin and etoposide for two cycles (76% in 7 centers), three cycles (6% in 2 centers), and the TICE protocol (11%, in 2 centers). “Bridging” CDCT was used by 65% of respondents. Post-HDCT treatments considered include surgical resection for residual disease (87.5%), maintenance etoposide (6.3%), and surveillance only (6.3%). Conclusions: HDCT is the most commonly used GCT salvage strategy in Canada. Significant differences exist in the treatment availability, selection, and delivery of HDCT, highlighting the need for standardization of care for patients with relapsed testicular GCT.
Viromes of Coastal Waters of the North Caspian Sea: Initial Assessment of Diversity and Functional Potential
Authors: Alexyuk Madina S. , Bukin Yurij S. , Butina Tatyana V. , Alexyuk Pavel G. , Berezin Vladimir E. , Bogoyavlenskiy Andrey P.
Published: June 2023

In recent years, the study of marine viromes has become one of the most relevant areas of geoecology. Viruses are the most numerous, genetically diverse and pervasive biological entities on Earth, including in aquatic ecosystems. Information about viral diversity in aquatic ecosystems remains limited and requires more research. This work provides the first-ever look at the current DNA virome of the Northern Caspian Sea. A comparison with other freshwater and marine viromes revealed that the North Caspian Sea virome has the greatest similarity with those of the Baltic Sea and Lake Baikal. The study described in this article expands the knowledge about aquatic viromes and provides key data for a more comprehensive analysis of viruses circulating in the Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water on Earth.
Exponentially Long Transient Time to Synchronization of Coupled Chaotic Circle Maps in Dense Random Networks
Authors: Mendonca Hans Muller , Tönjes Ralf , Pereira Tiago
Published: June 2023

We study the transition to synchronization in large, dense networks of chaotic circle maps, where an exact solution of the mean-field dynamics in the infinite network and all-to-all coupling limit is known. In dense networks of finite size and link probability of smaller than one, the incoherent state is meta-stable for coupling strengths that are larger than the mean-field critical coupling. We observe chaotic transients with exponentially distributed escape times and study the scaling behavior of the mean time to synchronization.
SCFusion: Infrared and Visible Fusion Based on Salient Compensation
Authors: Liu Haipeng , Ma Meiyan , Wang Meng , Chen Zhaoyu , Zhao Yibo
Published: June 2023

The aim of infrared and visible image fusion is to integrate the complementary information of the two modalities for high-quality fused images. However, many deep learning fusion algorithms have not considered the characteristics of infrared images in low-light scenes, leading to the problems of weak texture details, low contrast of infrared targets and poor visual perception in the existing methods. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a salient compensation-based fusion method that makes sufficient use of the characteristics of infrared and visible images to generate high-quality fused images under low-light conditions. First, we design a multi-scale edge gradient module (MEGB) in the texture mainstream to adequately extract the texture information of the dual input of infrared and visible images; on the other hand, the salient tributary is pre-trained by salient loss to obtain the saliency map based on the salient dense residual module (SRDB) to extract salient features, which is supplemented in the process of overall network training. We propose the spatial bias module (SBM) to fuse global information with local information. Finally, extensive comparison experiments with existing methods show that our method has significant advantages in describing target features and global scenes, the effectiveness of the proposed module is demonstrated by ablation experiments. In addition, we also verify the facilitation of this paper’s method for high-level vision on a semantic segmentation task.
Multi-Stream General and Graph-Based Deep Neural Networks for Skeleton-Based Sign Language Recognition
Authors: Miah Abu Saleh Musa , Hasan Md. Al Mehedi , Jang Si-Woong , Lee Hyoun-Sup , Shin Jungpil
Published: June 2023

Sign language recognition (SLR) aims to bridge speech-impaired and general communities by recognizing signs from given videos. However, due to the complex background, light illumination, and subject structures in videos, researchers still face challenges in developing effective SLR systems. Many researchers have recently sought to develop skeleton-based sign language recognition systems to overcome the subject and background variation in hand gesture sign videos. However, skeleton-based SLR is still under exploration, mainly due to a lack of information and hand key point annotations. More recently, researchers have included body and face information along with hand gesture information for SLR; however, the obtained performance accuracy and generalizability properties remain unsatisfactory. In this paper, we propose a multi-stream graph-based deep neural network (SL-GDN) for a skeleton-based SLR system in order to overcome the above-mentioned problems. The main purpose of the proposed SL-GDN approach is to improve the generalizability and performance accuracy of the SLR system while maintaining a low computational cost based on the human body pose in the form of 2D landmark locations. We first construct a skeleton graph based on 27 whole-body key points selected among 67 key points to address the high computational cost problem. Then, we utilize the multi-stream SL-GDN to extract features from the whole-body skeleton graph considering four streams. Finally, we concatenate the four different features and apply a classification module to refine the features and recognize corresponding sign classes. Our data-driven graph construction method increases the system’s flexibility and brings high generalizability, allowing it to adapt to varied data. We use two large-scale benchmark SLR data sets to evaluate the proposed model: The Turkish Sign Language data set (AUTSL) and Chinese Sign Language (CSL). The reported performance accuracy results demonstrate the outstanding ability of the proposed model, and we believe that it will be considered a great innovation in the SLR domain.
Exploring the Connection between Clean and Dirty Energy: Implications for the Transition to a Carbon-Resilient Economy
Authors: Dias Rui , Teixeira Nuno , Alexandre Paulo , Chambino Mariana
Published: June 2023

This study investigates the relationship between clean and dirty energy markets, specifically focusing on clean energy stock indexes and their potential as hedging assets and safe havens during periods of global economic uncertainty. The research analyzes five clean energy indexes and four dirty energy indexes from May 2018 to May 2023, considering events such as the global pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The main objective is to examine the causal relationship among different stock indexes pertaining to dirty and clean energy by using the Granger causality test (VAR Granger Causality/Block Exogeneity Wald Test) to determine whether clean energy indexes can predict future prices of dirty energy indexes. However, the findings reveal that clean and dirty energy indexes do not exhibit hedging characteristics or serve as safe havens during times of economic uncertainty, rejecting the research question. These results have important implications for investment strategies, as assets lacking safe haven characteristics may not preserve portfolio efficiency in uncertain times. The study’s insights provide valuable guidance for investors, policymakers, and participants in energy financial markets. It highlights the need to adapt investment approaches and seek alternative options to navigate uncertain economic conditions effectively.