bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Newt-derived extracellular vesicles promote mammalian nerve growth
Authors: Middleton Ryan , Liao Ke , Liu Weixin , de Couto Geoff , Garcia Nahuel , Antes Travis , Wang Yizhou , Wu Di , Li Xinling , Tourtellotte Warren , Marbán Eduardo
Published: April 2023

Newts have the extraordinary ability for regeneration, including the ability to regrow nerve and retinal tissue, and even amputated limbs. In contrast, mammals lack broad regenerative capabilities. While the molecular basis of newts’ regenerative ability is the subject of active study, the underlying paracrine signaling factors remain largely uncharacterized. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play an important role in cell-to-cell communication via EV cargo-mediated regulation of gene expression patterns within the recipient cells. Here, we report that newt myogenic precursor cells (A1 cells) secrete EVs (A1EVs) that contain messenger RNAs associated with early embryonic development, neuronal differentiation, and cell survival. Exposure of rat primary superior cervical ganglion (SCG) neurons to A1EVs increased neurite outgrowth, facilitated by increases in mitochondrial respiration. Canonical pathway analysis pinpointed activation of NGF/ERK5 signaling in SCG neurons exposed to A1EV, which we validated experimentally. Thus, newt EVs drive mammalian neurite growth and complexity.
Design of a Wankel pump constant pressure grouting system based on Fuzzy PID Method
Authors: Li Mengtian , Wang Chuan , Zhang Xiao , Wang Hanpeng , Zhang Bing , Yang Lei
Published: April 2023

In underground engineering disaster management, existing grouting devices are mainly plunger pumps with large output pulses, which easily cause secondary damage to the surrounding rock of tunnels. Using a rotary piston Wankel pump, an intelligent dual-liquid grouting automation control system (SDUZJ) was developed based on the Fuzzy-PID composite control method to achieve steady output pressure control. Fuzzy control was used when the target and current pressure difference was large to improve self-adaptability and response time. Conversely, PID controller was used when the difference was small to eliminate static differences for steady-state regulation. Combined with the human–computer interaction interface of the computer, automatic control of dual-liquid grouting, alarm recording, real-time monitoring curve, system data setting, and historical data query were realized. A constant-pressure fracturing grouting model experiment with three-axis stress was performed using the proposed system. The Fuzzy control mode was selected to rapidly increase the grouting pressure and flow (pressurization stage) and adjust the grouting pressure to the target value (fracture initiation stage) through rapid rotation of the stepper motor. In the pressure stabilization and fracturing expansion stage, the PID control mode was used for grouting pressure and flow stabilization. Therefore, the Fuzzy-PID pressure stabilization grouting control was realized.
Multi-scale deep residual shrinkage networks with a hybrid attention mechanism for rolling bearing fault diagnosis
Authors: Zhang Xinliang , Wei Shengqiang , Huang Jianhang , Jia Lijie
Published: April 2023

The fault diagnosis of rolling bearings based on deep networks is hindered by the unexpected noise involved with accessible vibration signals and global information abatement in deepened networks. To combat the degradation, a multi-scale deep residual shrinkage network with a hybrid-attention-mechanism (MH-DRSN) is proposed in this paper. First, a spatial domain attention mechanism is introduced into the residual shrinkage module to represent the distance dependence of the feature maps. Then, a hybrid attention mechanism considering both the inner-channeled and cross-channeled characteristics is constructed. Through the comprehensive evaluation of the feature map, it provides a soft threshold for the activation function and realizes the feature-map selection adaptively. Second, the dilated convolution with different dilation rates is implemented for multi-scale context information extraction. Through the feature combination of the DRSN and the dilated convolution, the global information of the rolling bearing fault is strengthened and preserved as the fault diagnosis network is deepened. Finally, the performance of the proposed fault-diagnosis model is validated on datasets from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Xi’an Jiaotong University and Zhejiang Changxing Sumyoung Technology Co. Ltd (XJTU-SY). Also, the influence of the number of residual shrinkage layers, model optimizers, and different learning rates on the accuracy of the diagnostic model has been discussed. The experimental results show that, compared with common convolution neural networks, the proposed neural diagnosis model provides a higher identification accuracy and better robustness under noise interference.
Economic and Environmental Analysis of a Grid-Connected Hybrid Power System for a University Campus
Authors: Akindeji Kayode Timothy , Ewim Daniel Raphael Ejike
Published: April 2023

Background: The generation of clean and affordable energy by 2030 is a challenging task, necessitating the integration of renewable energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with coal, crude oil, and natural gas. This study examines the optimization and performance analysis of a hybrid microgrid for a university campus as a potential solution to achieve this goal. The primary objective is to decrease the cost of energy and reduce CO2 emissions on the campus using a hybrid approach.
Results: The Howard college campus of the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) was used as a case study, with meteorological data obtained from NASA and real hourly electrical load data for 2019 from the university smart meters. HOMER, an optimization software, was employed to model and simulate the case study. The results demonstrated significant savings of R15.7 million (approximately $1 million) in annual utility bills, a 51% reduction in CO2 emissions, a return on investment of 20%, and a payback period of 4 years.
Conclusions: The study's findings suggest that universities can become self-sustaining during load shedding periods, as recently experienced in South Africa. The implementation of a hybrid microgrid system on a university campus offers considerable economic and environmental benefits, providing a potential blueprint for other large institutions seeking to achieve similar sustainability goals.
Channel and Spatial Attention Fusion Module for Detection
Authors: Yan Jun , Zhu Rong , Chen Bin , Xu Huiying , Zhu Xinzhong
Published: April 2023

The importance of the attention mechanism in CV is growing, as it allows a neural network to focus more on what it should pay attention to. Channel attention and spatial attention are the two basic attention strategies now in use. Using one of them alone can enhance to some level, while combining the two is more beneficial, but it adds to the computational burden. We propose a Channel and Spatial Attention Fusion Module(CSAFM), besides the use of channel and spatial information, GroupNorm and reorganization operation are applied to enhance the ability of feature extraction and feature representation of feature maps, which can capture more details as the feature deepens. Only a few additional parameters are added while enhancing the network. It is a plug-and-play module. We validate our CSAFM through extensive experiments on PASCAL VOC2007 and MS COCO2017 datasets, which shows that our module is effective yet efficient.e.g., it has risen by 1.47%, 2.1%, and 1.59%, respectively, under the frameworks of VGG16, ResNet50, and ResNet101 compared to baseline. Code is available at https://github.com/zero-yan/FasterRCNN.git.
Is Cyberloafing an Indicator of Innovativeness?
Authors: Aciksoz Semra , Sendir Merdiye , Atar Nurdan Yalcin , Simsekoglu Nesibe , Baydili Kursad Nuri
Published: April 2023

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between nurses’ cyberloafing behaviors and individual innovativeness characteristics.Methods This analytical study consisted of 230 nurses. Data were collected using a nurse information form, Cyberloafing Scale and Individual Innovativeness Scale. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive, comparative, correlational statistics.Results Nurses had low levels of minor and serious cyberloafing scores and an sceptics level of innovativeness. There was no correlation between cyberloafing and individual innovativeness.Conclusions Institutional regulations and initiatives should foster more conscious cyberloafing that will give nurses the opportunity for individual and professional self-improvement in the context of innovativeness.
A Multi-model Distributed Controller for Swarm Navigation: Obstacle Clearance Strategy
Authors: Nhu Truong , Nguyen Duy Anh , Hung Pham Duy , Ngo Trung Dung
Published: April 2023

This paper considers a multi-model Distributed Controller for swarm Navigation using the obstacle Clearance strategy (DCNC). If there is an obstacle blocking the swarm’s path, some agents are collectively assigned to push the obstacle away from its original position creating free space for the rest of the swarm navigating towards the destination. To clear the obstacle, we developed a distributed obstacle-pushing strategy consisting of a self-identified push section on an obstacle’s boundary and a collective pushing force control. Our pushing strategy ensures the uniform distribution of robots on the self-identified push section, resulting in the maximum pushing force over the pushing direction.
Single-cell sequencing and transcriptome analysis identified a comprehensive risk score model based on immune-related metabolic genes for improving the prediction of sensitivity in breast cancer immunotherapy
Authors: Qu Fei , Bao Shengnan , Liu Qian , Wu Xuefang , Jiang Mengping , Wang Xi , Lu Rongrong , Huang Xiang , Yin Yongmei , Li Wei
Published: April 2023

Background The metabolic reprogramming of breast cancer (BC) has gained great attention in recent years. Malignant and infiltrating immune cells compete for nutrients and metabolites; still, the impact of metabolism on them remains to be further elucidated. The specific objective of this analysis was to anatomy the action of immune-related metabolic genes in breast cancer and develop a combined model to predict susceptibility to immunotherapy, thus helping guide patient management and establish personalized risk assessment with superior accuracy and clinical applicability.Methods This study was based on data of 1048 BC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). 46 immune-related metabolic genes were identified by differential expression analysis between different tissue states. Applying unsupervised clustering and other bioinformatics techniques, we illustrated how the divergent groups' immunometabolism and survival conditions varied. A comprehensive risk-sharing index model was developed using LASSO regression and multivariable Cox analysis method, and BC patients were categorized into two risk groups based on their levels of risk score. Another three independent GEO database sets [GSE20685, GSE42568, GSE124647] were selected for external validation. Finally, the single-cell sequencing data mining and analysis aimed to explore the immunometabolic heterogeneity of human breast cancers.Results Fourteen immune-related metabolic signatures (FABP6, LPA, RBP4, CETP, STAB2, PPARG, TYMP, CGA, GCGR, SDC1, BGN, ABCA1, PLA2G4A, PLK1) were identified for use in constructing a comprehensive prognostic model for BC. The high-risk group was characterized by poorer diagnosis, fewer activated immune cell infiltration and better treatment response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Moreover, the index was combined with clinical parameters, weighted, and created a nomogram. It is imperative to point out that our model and corresponding nomogram are optimal and independent prognosis factors compared to other traditional clinical variables. They also have satisfactory predictive capacity validated by ROC curve, calibration plot and DCA analysis.Conclusions Our 14-MRDEGs and their multiple integrations reflected genetic-level and immunometabolic profile alterations in BC, allowing accurate prediction of survival risk and the efficacy of immunotherapy. The research conclusions may provide a reference for further analysis and drug development in target discovery.
Dowry and Marital Coping: Predictors of Marital Satisfaction in Pakistani Women
Authors: Habiba Umm e , Kamal Anila
Published: April 2023

The purpose of the current study was to determine how dowry and marital coping affected marital satisfaction among Pakistani married women. A cross sectional survey was conducted to collect data from both working (n = 249) and non-working (n = 237) participants. Their age at marriage ranging from 16 to 38 years and the length of marriage of within or maximum 7 years and having at least one child. Dowry Scale (Sultana, 2002), Marital Coping Inventory (Bowman, 1990) and ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale (Fowers & Olson, 1993) were utilized. When the study variables were analyzed, significant negative association between negative impact of dowry and marital satisfaction and also significant relationship among dimensions of marital coping and marital satisfaction. Hierarchical Regression analyses indicated that negative impact of dowry is the stronger predictor of marital satisfaction. Step wise regression analyses indicated marital coping explained 38% variance in marital satisfaction. Initial investigations disregarded the influence of demographic factors (such as age at marriage, monthly income, number of children, employment status, and kind of marriage) on marital satisfaction. The present research contributes significantly to the growing body of knowledge on the causes and mechanisms those are previously unconsidered determinants of marital satisfaction.
Widespread presentation of brown tumors mimicking multiple myeloma
Authors: Duyck Julien , Spincemaille Katrien , Verfaillie Jan , Meert Caressa , Muylle Kristoff
Published: April 2023

Brown tumors or osteitis fibrosa cystica have become a rare presentation of primary hyperparathyroidism in up-to-date clinical practice. Here we describe a case of longstanding untreated hyperparathyroidism presenting itself with brown tumors in a 65-year old patient. During the diagnostic work-up of this patient bone SPECT/CT and 18F-FDG-PET/CT revealed multiple widespread osteolytic lesions. Differentiating from other bone tumors such as multiple myeloma is challenging. In this case the final diagnosis was made by integrating the medical history, biochemical diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism, pathological findings and medical imaging.
Deformation and failure mechanism of surrounding rock and control methods of deep gob-side entry: a case study
Authors: Yang Shang , Ning Jianguo , Li Xuehui , Wang Jun , Shi Xinshuai , Li Guangzhi
Published: April 2023

Considering the difficulty in controlling the surrounding rock in deep gob-side entry (GSE), with the 7312 head entry in Xinhe Coal Mine as the research background, the deformation and failure characteristics and causes of the surrounding rock in deep GSE were analyzed by on-site investigation, theoretical analysis and engineering practice. First, analysis model of Mohr stress circle was established, the response relationship between the stress and deformation of surrounding rock in the service period of the GSE was analyzed, and the main factors affecting the deformation and failure of the surrounding rock were identified. Furthermore, the principle of three-dimensional pressure relief and prevention in deep GSE was elaborated. Finally, a three-dimensional pressure relief and prevention technology system for deep GSE with “active stress intervention” as the core was proposed, and relevant supporting equipment were developed. On-site application shows that the three-dimensional pressure relief and prevention technology system can reduce the stress transmission, weaken the impact of mining stress, transfer the concentrated stress of the roadway surrounding rock, improve the stress environment of the GSE and strengthen the stability of the GSE. The research results provide a theoretical basis and engineering guidance for the surrounding rock control in deep GSE.
Comparative contribution of substrate structure and microbial composition to volatile fatty acid production in the fermentation of corn stover
Authors: Zhang Haiyan , Zhang Wanqin , Cao Qitao , Wang Shunli , Zhu Zhiping , Dong Hongmin
Published: April 2023

Rumen fluid is anatural and green catalyst that can efficiently degrade biomass into volatile fatty acid (VFA) which can be used toproducevalue-addedmaterials. But the essence of high degradation efficiency in the rumen has not been fully analyzed. This study comparativelyinvestigated the contribution of substrate structure and microbial composition to volatile fatty acid production in the fermentation of corn stover. The ball milled corn stover were innovatively applied to ferment with the rumen fluid collected at different digestion times. And exogeneous cellulaseaddition were also applied to the ruminal fermentation to further reveal the inner mechanism. With prolonged digestion time, the microbial community relative abundance levels of Bacteroidetesand Firmicutes increased from 29.98% to 72.74% and decreased from 51.76% to 22.11%, respectively. The highest VFA production of the corn stover was achieved via treatment with the rumen fluid collected at 24 h which was up to 9508 mg/L. The ball milled corn stover achieved high VFA production because of the more accessible substrate structure. The application of exogenous cellulasehas no significant influenceto the ruminal fermentation. The microbial community abundance contributed more to the VFA production compared with the substrate structures.
Identification of anoikis-related genes signature to predict the prognosis in cervical cancer
Authors: Shi Shanping , Tang Xiaojian , Huang Jiaqian , Xiang Nan , Chen Chen , Feng Weiwei , Liu Hua
Published: April 2023

Anoikis is a special programmed cell death mode, and resistance to anoikis is a prerequisite for malignant tumors to acquire invasion and metastasis characteristics. The expression and impact of anoikis-related genes (ARGs) in cervical cancer (CC) are still unknown. The aim of this study is to reveal the prognostic role of ARGs in survival, immune infiltration, and drug sensitivity of CC patients, and to identify potential clinical treatment targets. RNA seq and clinical data of CC patients were downloaded from the TCGA database and GEO database, and gene copy data was downloaded from UCSC. Bioinformatics methods was used to screen differentially expressed ARGs related to prognosis, and conducting data analysis using R software package and Perl software. TISCH database was used to analyze the expression of ARGs in tumor microenvironment (TME) at the single cell level. MMP3 on chromosome 11 is highly expressed in CC tissue and may be a key gene for CC progression. The significant activation of the cycline-cycline receptor interaction, ECM-receptor interaction, JAK-STAT signaling pathway, and focal adhesion pathway may be associated with poor prognosis in CC patients. The decrease in CD8 + T cells and the increase in M0 macrophages may indicate a high-risk prognosis for patients. Bcl-2 inhibitor (ABT-737), axitinib, dihydrorotenone, sorafenib, venetoclax, and nilotinib are optional drugs for early treatment of CC. In the future, ARGs based miRNAs, small molecule drugs/inhibitors, peptide/protein specific therapies, and specific antibodies may be developed for early diagnosis and clinical treatment of CC.
Interplay Between Superworm and its Gut Microbiome in Facilitating Polyethylene Biodegradation by Host Transcriptomic Analysis: Insights from Xenobiotic Metabolism
Authors: Kim Hong Rae , Lee Chaerin , Shin Hyeyoung , Koh Hye Yeon , Lee Sukkyoo , Choi Donggeon
Published: April 2023

Plastics are a serious cause of environmental pollution, and microplastics pose a threat to human health. To solve this problem, the plastic-degrading mechanism of insect larvae is being investigated. Symbiosis between insect larvae and microorganisms plays a crucial role in this process. The aim of this study was to examine the metabolic pathways involved in polyethylene metabolism, the interaction between the host and microorganisms, and the role of superworms in promoting plastic degradation in polyethylene-fed superworms. Through host transcriptomic analysis, we identified 429 up-regulated and 777 down-regulated genes and analyzed their functions using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Ontology databases. We found that insect larvae and their gut microbiomes interacted in two ways to enhance their polyethylene degradation ability. First, polyethylene metabolites activate the lipid metabolism pathway in insects, promoting the synthesis of carboxylic ester hydrolases and accelerating polyethylene degradation. Second, strains that degrade polyethylene cause infection in the host, which activates the immune response and generates reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are critical for insect immune responses and for the initial oxidation of polyethylene. As polyethylene degradation is promoted, polyethylene-degrading strains become dominant, and this interaction is strengthened. Furthermore, we suggest for the first time that xenobiotic metabolism is critical for polyethylene metabolism in superworm guts. In particular, enzymes involved in xenobiotic metabolism phase 2, such as glutathione S-transferase and uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferase, convert lipophilic plastic degradation intermediates into water-soluble forms and promote polyethylene degradation.
Quantitative attribution of the temperature associated with winter extreme cold events in China
Authors: Wang Weiwei , Zhang Tuantuan , Chen Junwen , Li Qingquan , Yang Song , Deng Yi
Published: April 2023

Extreme cold events exert enormous impacts on the ecosystems and human health. A quantitative attribution analysis of the surface temperature anomalies associated with extreme cold events in China is conducted using an updated version of the coupled atmosphere-surface climate feedback response analysis method. For both extreme warm and cold years, the effects of anomalous surface albedo, water vapor, atmospheric dynamics, and aerosols are the major positive contributors, and the processes associated with surface dynamics provide a major negative effect. Specifically, the effect of surface albedo (water vapor) is directly linked to the change in local snow cover (precipitable water) over China. More local snow cover (precipitable water) provides a cooling (warming) effect and vice versa. The process associated with atmospheric dynamics exhibits an asymmetric contribution for the extreme warm and cold years. It provides a warming effect over most of China in the extreme warm years, which is possibly related to the nation-wide warm air advection. On the other hand, the effect of atmospheric dynamics displays large regional and year-to-year variations for the cold cases. In addition, a considerable impact of anthropogenic aerosols is detected over central-southern China, which is possibly related to the emission reduction policies in China since 2013. Although clouds show only a moderate impact on the national-averaged temperature anomalies, they provide a considerable effect over southern China.
A Deep Learning Approach to Analyzing and Evaluating Historic Urban Landscapes
Authors: DERBEL Rami , MISHIMA Nobuo
Published: April 2023

The integration of new buildings into historic urban landscapes (HULs) is a complex task that involves input from multiple stakeholders with varying perspectives. This often leads to a time-consuming and contentious decision-making process due to the lack of reliable data and the reliance on personal interpretations. Previous studies have used deep learning methods in combination with expert evaluations to assess the quality of building integration in HULs. However, these studies have been found to be biased and have not succeeded in simplifying the decision-making process. The current study aims to introduce a new approach to the analysis of different urban spaces that addresses the limitations of traditional methods by using minimal human intervention. The study utilizes a comparative approach algorithm that compares two different HUL areas, and the resulting data are analyzed using a heatmap visualization method. The study concludes that this approach produces more accurate and unbiased results than traditional methods, and significantly reduces the time required for analysis. By identifying key elements of the HUL that define the area's identity, this method provides valuable information for urban planners and architects to make informed decisions when working within HULs.
Parametric Modeling Using the Bim Methodology for the Process of Pathology Identification in Buildings
Authors: Junior José Carlos dos Santos , Santos Joab Manoel Almeida , Santos Mateus Rocha de Almeida
Published: April 2023

The storage of pathology data in civil construction refers to a set of specific information related to the study of the health of structures and materials. Maintenance and repair history is important for monitoring the condition of the structure and further damage. BIM consists of a set of computational technologies and work methods whose objective is to create models that completely represent the building. The present work intends to present the contribution of the use of BIM in the identification of pathologies in buildings, presenting an information management system that allows the organization and efficient sharing of data. The methodology of this work consists of presenting a 3D virtual model of a building presenting parameterizations referring to the structure and materials of essential elements for the identification of future pathologies, with this information added that will be stored for the characterization of the elements. The REVIT software allowed a parametric modeling that adds the necessary information for evaluation and modifications during the useful life of the building, in addition, it was observed that it is important to create a virtual model that guarantees that the information is stored safely and reliable to preserve data integrity.
Enhancement of the Electronic and Optical Properties of Superalkali Metal Adsorbed Al 10 N 10 Nanocage
Authors: Lakhera Shradha , Rana Meenakshi , Devlal Kamal , Dhuliya Vivek , Padalia Diwakar
Published: April 2023

The computational designing of the Li4N and Li4O as efficient dopants for Al10N10 nanocage has been carried out in the present study for the applications of high-performance Nonlinear Optical materials. The density functional theory was employed with UBVP86-6-311G(++d,p)def2D2V set of functions for studying the enhanced structural, electronic, and optical properties of Al10N10 nanocage after the exohedral substitution of Li4N and Li4O. The density of state calculations reveals the formation of a new high energy highest occupied molecular orbital in the combined structure of superalkali and nanocage. This seems to result in a major decrement in the band gap of the complex structure Al10N10+Li4N (0.878eV) and Al10N10+Li4O (0.872eV). The charge transfer from the metal structure towards the nanocage was supported by the natural bond orbital charges. The doping of superalkali gave an intensified value of dipole moment from 1.53 Debye (nanocage) to 10.27 and 14.93 Debye for Al10N10+Li4N and Al10N10+Li4O respectively. This supported the high electronegativities and high intramolecular charge transfer for these complexes. The vibrational spectra reveal the high-intensity modes for stretching the interconnecting bonds between the nanocage and metal structure. The first-order hyperpolarizability for nanocages was remarkably enhanced after superalkali doping. The first-order hyperpolarizability for Al10N10+Li4N and Al10N10+Li4O were computed as 173.13×10-30 and 172.45×10-30 esu respectively. Thus, the present investigation can be the basis for the experimental fabrication of highly efficient NLO materials and will attract the scientific community in designing high-performance NLO materials with exceptional features for widespread applications in optoelectronics.
Synergistic anticancer activity of combined ATR and ribonucleotide reductase inhibition in Ewing's sarcoma cells
Authors: Sturm Max-Johann , Henao-Restrepo Julián Andrés , Becker Sabine , Proquitté Hans , Beck James F. , Sonnemann Jürgen
Published: April 2023

Purpose Ewing's sarcoma is a highly malignant childhood tumour whose outcome has hardly changed over the past two decades despite numerous attempts at chemotherapy intensification. It is therefore essential to identify new treatment options. The present study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of combined inhibition of two promising targets, ATR and ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), in Ewing's sarcoma cells.Methods Effects of the ATR inhibitor VE821 in combination with the RNR inhibitors triapine and didox were assessed in three Ewing's sarcoma cell lines with different TP53 status (WE-68, SK-ES-1, A673) by flow cytometric analysis of cell death, mitochondrial depolarisation and cell cycle distribution as well as by caspase 3/7 activity determination, by immunoblotting and by real-time RT-PCR. Interactions between inhibitors were evaluated by combination index analysis.Results Single ATR or RNR inhibitor treatment produced small to moderate effects, while their combined treatment produced strong synergistic ones. ATR and RNR inhibitors elicited synergistic cell death and cooperated in inducing mitochondrial depolarisation, caspase 3/7 activity and DNA fragmentation, evidencing an apoptotic form of cell death. All effects were independent of functional p53. In addition, VE821 in combination with triapine increased p53 level and induced p53 target gene expression (CDKN1A, BBC3) in p53 wild-type Ewing's sarcoma cells.Conclusion Our study reveals that combined targeting of ATR and RNR was effective against Ewing's sarcoma in vitro and thus rationalises an in vivo exploration into the potential of combining ATR and RNR inhibitors as a new strategy for the treatment of this challenging disease.
Outcome of combined trabeculectomy with cataract surgery in patients on prostaglandin analogues and aqueous suppressants
Authors: PR Aswin , Mohan Neethu , Sundar Balagiri , Ponnat Arvin Kurian , Shanthi R , Krishnadas SR , Emily Schlein
Published: April 2023

Purpose: To compare the effect of prostaglandin analogues (PGA) against other glaucoma medications (Non-PGA) on the intraocular pressure (IOP) outcomes of combined trabeculectomy with phacoemulsification, and the conjunctival cell profile in persons with primary open-angle (POAG) and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PXFG)
Methods: Prospective cohort study was conducted among 116 patients with POAG or PXFG on glaucoma medications for a minimum of 3 months undergoing glaucoma triple procedure. Patients were divided into 2 groups (PGA and Non-PGA group) based on preoperative exposure to PGA. IOP outcomes were assessed for up to 2 years. Conjunctival biopsy specimens were obtained at the time of surgery and histopathological analysis was performed.
Results: 42 patients were in the PGA group and 67 in the Non-PGA group and 7 were lost to follow-up. Non-PGA group had lesser mean postoperative IOP and needed less postoperative medications compared to the PGA group in all visits up to 2 years. Non-PGA group had better complete success rate (50.7% vs 14.3%, P value <0.001). Kaplan Meier survival estimates showed significant difference in cumulative complete success rate between Non-PGA (67%) and PGA (26%) by 24 months (P value < 0.001). Cox proportional model showed the type of drug to be significantly associated with surgical failure. Histopathological analysis revealed the PGA group had higher numbers for each type of inflammatory cell (except Mast cells) compared to the Non-PGA group.
Conclusion: Patients on PGA are likely to have a higher postoperative IOP and may need more medications for IOP control after a glaucoma triple procedure.
NRTPredictor: identifying rice root cell state in single-cell RNA-seq via ensemble learning
Authors: Wang Hao , Lin Yunan , Yan Shen , Hong Jingpeng , Tan Jiarui , Chen Yanqing , Cao Yongssheng , Fang Wei
Published: April 2023

Background Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) measurements of gene expression show great promise for studying cellular heterogeneity of rice root. How precisely annotating cell identity is a major unresolved problem in plant scRNA-seq analysis due to the inherent high dimensionality and sparsity.Results To address this challenge, we present NRTPredictor, an ensemble-learning system, to predict rice root cell stage and mine biomarkers through complete model interpretability. The performance of NRTPredictor was evaluated using an external dataset, with 98.01% accuracy and 95.45% recall. With the power of the interpretability provided by NRTPredictor, our model recognizes 110 important marker genes, partially involved in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, that domain knowledge does not consider. Expression patterns of rice root could be mapped by the above-mentioned candidate genes, showing the superiority of NRTPredictor. Integrative bulk RNA-seq analysis we revealed aberrant expression of Epidermis and Cortex cell subpopulations in flooding, Pi stress and salt stress.Conclusion Taken together, our results demonstrate that NRTPredictor is a useful tool for automated prediction of rice root cell stage and provides a valuable resource for deciphering the rice root cellular heterogeneity and the molecular mechanisms of flooding, Pi stress and salt stress. Based on the proposed model, a free webserver has been established, which is available at http://bio.germplasmai.com.
The early infection characterization of septic arthritis by staphylococcus aureus after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in a novel rat model
Authors: Tong Kai , Wei Jian , Liu Zilin , Yang Xiaoming , Hu Yong
Published: April 2023

Background The present study aimed to explore the time of maximum bacterial load and main colonization knee site in bacterial infection process based on a novel rat model of septic arthritis (SA) after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).Methods Ninety-five Wistar rats with unilateral ACLR, random enrolled into control surgery (CS) group; joint inject (JI) group; presoaking (PS) group, were injected with 30 µl sterile saline or 30 µl×107 colony forming units/ml Staphylococcus aureus via the knee joint or graft with presoaked Staphylococcus aureus during ACLR respectively. At 1, 4, 7, 11, and 14 days postoperatively, samples were harvested to evaluate progress of knee joint infection by postoperative body weight, body temperature, knee temperature, knee width, scales of tissue damage, serum inflammatory markers, microbiological counting, microcomputed tomography (Micro-CT), digital radiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).Results No systemic infection was observed in all rats. Comparing with serum inflammatory markers, tissue scores of inflammatory reactions, bacterial counts in the CS group, these data were significantly elevated in the JI group and PS group. The bone mass around the bone tunnel was lower and the soft tissue of knee showed more obvious swelling on MRI in the infection groups than that in the CS group at 7 and 14 days postoperatively. Staphylococcus aureus clusters on the surface of screw and graft were observed in the infection group. The whole colony forming units of Staphylococcus aureus maintained a continuous upward trend peaking 7 and 11 days followed by a balanced curve in the infection groups. Bone and soft tissue were found to have more bacterial counts than graft and screws.Conclusion This animal model effectively mimics the acute knee infection after ACLR. We found that the bacterial colonization exhibited the peak of acute infection between 7 and 11 days postoperatively, with the major bacteria loads found in the bone, soft tissue.
Performance Evaluation of the 3D Printing System through Fault Tree Analysis Method (FTAM)
Authors: FELFILI Gabriela , OLIVEIRA Marcos Honorato , MARTINELLI Juliana
Published: April 2023

This study focuses on the performance analysis of the 3D printing process using cementitious material on equipment installed at the Structures Laboratory (LabEst-UnB) of the University of Brasilia. A research direction was defined for the 3D printing with the aim of identifying which steps need to be further developed and which improvements should be made for this specific process to evolve. Following the execution of the proposed experimental program, evaluations of cementitious material pieces printed with the InovaHouse3D's Alya 130 printer were conducted, documenting the encountered issues and classifying them into failure groups. The causes, consequences, and affected components were defined and used in the application of the Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) method in the search for critical system events. It was observed that the most critical system failures were related to the material composition and printing parameters, focusing on events that trigger variations in the material's consistency. Thus, through this work, it was possible to identify improvement opportunities and suggest scientific research topics to enhance the 3D printing process according to the established priority levels.
Analysis of Pathological Manifestations in the Municipal Public Market of the City of Frecheirinha – CE: Case Study
Authors: SILVA Ana Jéssica Farias , FEITOSA Pammela Conceição Pontes , SALES Juscelino Chaves
Published: April 2023

Civil construction is related to the growth of society in adapting to constructive needs. Over time, human society has gained understanding for the development of construction technology. However, technological advancement can cause risks, and these generate deeper development on structures and materials from the mistakes made that result in degradation, failures and/or accidents. Deterioration occurs due to natural factors, constructive failures, design errors, inappropriate materials, lack of maintenance, among others. Degradations compromise the efficiency of the building, so a corrective action plan is necessary. This work aims to analyze and identify the pathological manifestations of the Municipal Public Market in the city of Frecheirinha, observing the pathological manifestations, their causes, and propose interventions and improvements for the restoration and recovery of the building. In the results, the main most frequent pathological manifestations were identified, which consist of the presence of stains, displacement of the ceramic coating, deterioration of the concrete, corrosion of reinforcements and inadequate electrical installations. Therefore, the present work shows the importance of identifying, analyzing the pathological manifestations present in the building and proposing recovery techniques for maintenance, providing safety and comfort to users throughout its useful life.
ContourNet:Research on Contour Based Nighttime Semantic Segmentation
Authors: Yang Yang , Liu Changjiang , Li Hao
Published: April 2023

Due to the scarcity of nighttime semantic segmentation datasets and the high demand for network models, the development of semantic segmentation of nighttime scenes is still very slow. This paper proposes a new network model, ContourNet, which can model images in multiple stages, including local features with rich superficial appearance information, global features with rich deep semantic information, and intermediate layer features. At the same time, this paper uses multi head decoders to fuse different levels of features. In this paper, a separate contour network module for processing object contours is designed for night images with imperceptible texture and color information. This network module is parallel to the semantic network module to achieve accurate prediction of object contours. The performance is prominent, especially for objects that are far away, small objects, or objects with high contour continuity. A large number of experiments demonstrates that the ContourNet proposed in this paper can significantly improve the semantic segmentation ability of existing models for nighttime images, and can also improve the semantic segmentation accuracy of daytime images to a certain extent, with good generalization ability. Specifically, after adding the contour module in this article, MIoU has increased by 5.1% on the night dataset Rebecca; MIoU has increased by 2.5% on the daytime dataset CamVid.
Could the Trustworthiness in RAndomized Controlled Trials (TRACT) checklist be trusted?
Authors: Alinany Hesham G , AbdelMonem Tamer M , Sobh Ahmed M , Galal Ahmed F , Elnomrosy  , Rezk Ahmed Y
Published: April 2023

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard study design in clinical effectiveness research, albeit some RCTs have been found to be fraudulent post-publication. The Trustworthiness in RAndomized Controlled Trials (TRACT) checklist examines RCT integrity through an assessment covering seven domains. While the authors claim that it can identify problematic trials, it has never been validated. A critical appraisal of the checklist highlights major failures in terms of health measurement methodology, including the arbitrary nature of items chosen. We applied the checklist to 16 RCTs coauthored by the checklist developer, and identified potential violations related to retrospective registration, ethical implications, authorship, methodology, implausible timeframes, zero participants to follow-up, implausible baseline characteristics, and excessive inter-group within trial as well as inter-trial similarities. In addition, we identified inconsistencies between the trials’ registration and data in the final published manuscripts. If we uncritically assume that the checklist is valid, then a formal institutional investigation into the trial portfolio its developer is warranted; especially targeting these 16 trials objectively shown to be problematic. The checklist should be considered as neither investigative nor conclusive of potential problems with RCTs until it is further refined and validated.
On some inequalities of Hermite-Hadamard type for MT-η-convex functions and applications
Authors: Vivas-Cortez Miguel , Saleem Muhammad Shoaib , Shah Ahsan Fareed , Nazeer Waqas
Published: April 2023

The principle problems considered is to extend Hermite-Hadamard type inequalities for MT-η-convex functions. Various fractional integral inequalities are also derived for MT-η-Convexity with Riemann-Lioville fractional integral operator setting. Examples and applications of the results are also given. It is also important to mention that our work extends the inequalities existed in literature.
Evaluation of α-Synuclein in CNS-originating Extracellular Vesicles for Parkinsonian Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Authors: Taha Hash Brown , Ati Shomik S.
Published: April 2023

Parkinsonian disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and corticobasal syndrome (CBS), present shared early motor symptoms but have distinct cellular and regional pathophysiology, making accurate premortem diagnosis challenging. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) provide a unique central nervous system (CNS) insight, as they contain cell-state-specific biomolecules and can cross the blood-brain barrier to the peripheral circulation. Measuring biomarkers in blood CNS-originating EVs, specifically neuronal and oligodendroglial EVs (nEVs and oEVs), has become a promising avenue for minimally invasive diagnostics. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the potential of blood-isolated nEVs and oEVs α-synuclein (α-syn) proteoforms in parkinsonian disorders. Thirteen studies were included, with a total of 1,565 PD, 206 MSA, 21 DLB, 172 PSP, 152 CBS patients, and 967 healthy controls (HCs). An inverse-variance random-effects model was used to quantify effect size (SMD), while QUADAS-2 assessed the risk of bias. Begg’s rank correlation and Egger’s regression tests evaluated publication bias. The findings suggest that a combination of nEVs and oEVs α-syn concentrations are higher in patients with PD compared to HCs (SMD = 0.21; p = 0.021). Interestingly, nEVs α-syn was lower in patients with PSP and CBS when compared to PD patients (SMD = -1.04; p = 0.0017) or HCs (SMD = -0.41, p < 0.001). Contrary to existing literature, α-syn levels in oEVs did not effectively differ among PD, MSA, or HCs. Meta-regressions revealed that demographic and clinical factors were not significant predictors of nEVs or oEVs α-syn concentrations. These findings emphasize the need for adopting more rigorous, standardized procedures and independent validations across all laboratories studying biomarkers in CNS-originating EVs. Furthermore, there is a pressing need for improved biomarkers to better distinguish between parkinsonian disorders.
A Real-time Control System of Upper-limb Human Musculoskeletal Model with Environmental Integration
Authors: Saputra Azhar Aulia , Matsuda Tadamitsu , Kubota Naoyuki
Published: April 2023

Human musculoskeletal modelling involves extensive mathematical calculations to replicate physical and biological dynamics faithfully, making it difficult to arrive at an estimate of muscle activity. Real-time processes affect the real monitoring application and advanced analy- sis. This model aimed to achieve real-time muscle activity estimation using human musculoskeletal simulation with environmental integration. We focused on the upper ex- tremity of the human musculoskeletal model with 50 Hill- type muscles. We built the model in MuJoCo and included surrounding environments. The data input on human pos- ture was acquired from single RGBD sensors located at 32 three-dimensional node positions. We provided inverse kinematics calculations to convert this data to the joint angle level of the simulation model. We controlled the stretch reflex of each muscle to move the target joints. The target muscle stretch length was calculated from the mechanical integration between the bone and the muscle- tendon actuator anchored to it. In the model, an artificial force could be applied to represent an external load. To validate our model, we conducted the basic movement of the upper extremity and measured the resulting muscle activity with EMG sensors. We concluded that the proposed model can accurately estimate muscle activation, including the force exerted by each muscle. Further experiments showed that the proposed model can be integrated with dynamic environmental conditions for a seamless human physical monitoring system.
Using paclobutrazol and leaf-to-fruit-ratio as tools for improving yield and quality of non-dwarfing high-density peach orchards
Authors: Sharma Shashi K. , Dhar Sukjai
Published: April 2023

Excessive fruit set and foliar shading are the major deterrents to the economic productivity of peach orchards raised on vigorous rootstocks. To address this issue in high density peach orchards studies were conducted on the Early Grande peach grafted on to non-dwarfing wild peach seedling rootstock. The orchard was situated in the sub-Himalayan subtropics having sandy loam soil with normal physico-chemical characteristics. Experiment was laid out in RBD factorial experimental design with paclobutrazol (PBZ) and leaf-to-fruit ratio (LFR) treatment factors; three levels of PBZ viz. P1-1500ppm, P2-2500ppm, P3-0 ppm and four levels of LFR i.e. L1-30:1, L2-40:1, L3-50:1 and L4 - normal leaf number were tried. The findings revealed that 2500 ppm PBZ together with 40:1 LFR treatment not only reduced the number of days from full bloom to maturity but also improved fruit thinning. The fruit retention was recorded better with 1500 ppm PBZ and 50:1 LFR; however, the yield was recorded highest with 2500 ppm PBZ and 40:1 LFR treatments. This treatment combination also resulted in better overall fruit quality in terms of fruit surface colour, total soluble solids, firmness, acidity, sugars etc. The control over the vegetative growth was also observed better under this treatment combination.