bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exogenous Application of Calcium Ameliorates Salinity Stress Tolerance of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and Enhances Fruit Quality
Authors: Islam Md. Moshiul , Jahan Khurshida , Sen Arpita , Urmi Tahmina Akter , Haque M. Moynul , Ali Hayssam M. , Siddiqui Manzer H. , Murata Yoshiyuki
Published: February 2023

Tomato is affected by various biotic and abiotic stresses, especially salinity, which drastically hinders the growth and yield of tomato. Calcium (Ca) is a vital macronutrient which plays physiological and biochemical roles in plants. Hence, we studied the protective roles of Ca against salinity stress in tomato. There were eight treatments comprising control (nutrient solution), 5 mM Ca, 10 mM Ca, 15 mM Ca, 12 dS m−1 NaCl, 12 dS m−1 NaCl + 5 mM Ca, 12 dS m−1 NaCl + 10 mM Ca and 12 dS m−1 NaCl + 15 mM Ca, and two tomato varieties: BARI tomato-2 and Binatomato-5. Salinity significantly decreased the plant-growth and yield attributes, relative water content (RWC), photosynthetic pigments (SPAD value) and the uptake of K, Ca and Mg in leaves and roots. Salinity-induced oxidative stress was present in the form of increased Na+ ion concentration, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content and lipid peroxidation (MDA). Ca application reduced oxidative stress through the boosting of antioxidant enzymatic activity. Exogenous Ca application enhanced proline and glycine betaine content and reduced Na+ uptake, which resulted in the inhibition of ionic toxicity and osmotic stress, respectively. Hence, Ca application significantly increased the growth and yield attributes, RWC, SPAD value, and uptake of K, Ca and Mg. Calcium application also had a significant effect on the fruit quality of tomato and the highest total soluble solid, total sugar, reducing sugar, β-carotene, vitamin C and juice pH were found for the combined application of NaCl and Ca. Therefore, application of Ca reversed the salt-induced changes through increasing osmoprotectants, activation of antioxidants enzymes, and by optimizing mineral nutrient status.
SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Targets Host Selenoproteins and Glutathione Biosynthesis for Knockdown via Proteolysis, Potentially Disrupting the Thioredoxin and Glutaredoxin Redox Cycles
Authors: Gallardo Ignacio A. , Todd Daniel A. , Lima Stella T. , Chekan Jonathan R. , Chiu Norman H. , Taylor Ethan Will
Published: February 2023

Associations between dietary selenium status and the clinical outcome of many viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2, are well established. Multiple independent studies have documented a significant inverse correlation between selenium status and the incidence and mortality of COVID-19. At the molecular level, SARS-CoV-2 infection has been shown to decrease the expression of certain selenoproteins, both in vitro and in COVID-19 patients. Using computational methods, our group previously identified a set of six host proteins that contain potential SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) cleavage sites. Here we show experimentally that Mpro can cleave four of the six predicted target sites, including those from three selenoproteins: thioredoxin reductase 1 (TXNRD1), selenoprotein F, and selenoprotein P, as well as the rate-limiting enzyme in glutathione synthesis, glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC). Cleavage was assessed by incubating recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Mpro with synthetic peptides spanning the proposed cleavage sites, and analyzing the products via UPLC-MS. Furthermore, upon incubation of a recombinant Sec498Ser mutant of the full TXNRD1 protein with SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, the predicted cleavage was observed, destroying the TXNRD1 C-terminal redox center. Mechanistically, proteolytic knockdown of both TXNRD1 and GCLC is consistent with a viral strategy to inhibit DNA synthesis, conserving the pool of ribonucleotides for increased virion production. Viral infectivity could also be enhanced by GCLC knockdown, given the ability of glutathione to disrupt the structure of the viral spike protein via disulfide bond reduction. These findings shed new light on the importance of dietary factors like selenium and glutathione in COVID-19 prevention and treatment.
Melatonin in Newborn Infants Undergoing Surgery: A Pilot Study on Its Effects on Postoperative Oxidative Stress
Authors: Perrone Serafina , Romeo Carmelo , Marseglia Lucia , Manti Sara , Rizzo Cristina , Carloni Silvia , Albertini Maria , Balduini Walter , Buonocore Giuseppe , Weiss Michael , Gitto Eloisa
Published: February 2023

Surgery is frequently associated with excessive oxidative stress. Melatonin acts as an antioxidant and transient melatonin deficiency has been described in neonatal surgical patients. This randomized, blinded, prospective pilot study tested the hypothesis that oral melatonin supplementation in newborn infants undergoing surgery is effective in reducing perioperative oxidative stress. A total of twenty-three newborn infants requiring surgery were enrolled: 10 received a single dose of oral melatonin 0.5 mg/kg in the morning, before surgery (MEL group), and 13 newborns served as the control group (untreated group). Plasma concentrations of melatonin, Non-Protein-Bound Iron (NPBI), Advanced Oxidation Protein Products (AOPP), and F2-Isoprostanes (F2-IsoPs) were measured. Both in the pre- and postoperative period, melatonin concentrations were significantly higher in the MEL group than in the untreated group (preoperative: 1265.50 ± 717.03 vs. 23.23 ± 17.71 pg/mL, p < 0.0001; postoperative: 1465.20 ± 538.38 vs. 56.47 ± 37.18 pg/mL, p < 0.0001). Melatonin significantly increased from the pre- to postoperative period in the untreated group (23.23 ± 17.71 vs. 56.47 ± 37.18 pg/mL; pg/mL p = 0.006). In the MEL group, the mean blood concentrations of NPBI, F2-IsoPs, and AOPP significantly decreased from the pre- to the postoperative period (4.69 ± 3.85 vs. 1.65 ± 1.18 micromol/dL, p = 0.049; 128.40 ± 92.30 vs. 50.25 ± 47.47 pg/mL, p = 0.037 and 65.18 ± 15.50 vs. 43.98 ± 17.92 micromol/dL, p = 0.022, respectively). Melatonin concentration increases physiologically from the pre- to the postoperative period, suggesting a defensive physiologic response to counteract oxidative stress. The administration of exogenous melatonin in newborn infants undergoing surgery reduces lipid and protein peroxidation in the postoperative period, showing a potential role in protecting babies from the deleterious consequences of oxidative stress.
Changes in Meteorological Elements and Its Impacts on Yunnan Plateau Lakes
Authors: Fan Xian , Yang Kun , Yang Ruibo , Zhao Lei
Published: February 2023

In this study, we analyzed the main climatic factors influencing nine plateau lakes in Yunnan Province over the past 40 years (from 1980 to 2019) based on trend and mutation analyses. The results revealed that the air temperatures of these plateau lakes have increased, with an annual average air temperature increase of 0.18 °C per decade, during this 40-year period. From 2000 to 2005, there was an abrupt change in the air temperature increase, the rate of which was 0.20 °C per decade, and there were reductions in long-wave radiation, relative humidity, wind speed, precipitation, and snowfall. In addition, the rising trend in the air temperature of these lakes located in northwest Yunnan (temperate climate, higher elevation) was found to be significantly higher than that of the lakes in central Yunnan (subtropical climate, lower elevation), whereas in contrast, the declining trends in long-wave radiation, relative humidity, wind speed, and precipitation were more pronounced in central than in northwestern Yunnan.
Integrity Detection and Supplementary Experimental Design of Semi-Physical Simulation Data on Aircraft Landing Points
Authors: Suo Bin , Wang Mengna , Yuan Feimeng , Geng Huapin , Yan Ying
Published: February 2023

For the semi-physical simulation test process of the coordinates of aircraft landing points, the concept of a completeness test for landing point simulation data is proposed, and a completeness test criterion based on field test data and expert estimation information is established. An integrity detection method for semi-physical simulation data, including data dimensionality reduction, data expansion, and regularization, drawing the envelope of the confidence region and establishing the completeness test criterion steps, is proposed. For landing points that do not satisfy the requirements of completeness, a surrogate model of the semi-physical simulation system was constructed based on a backpropagation neural network method, and the test conditions for data of this point were supplemented. Finally, application verification was carried out. Through the field and semi-physical simulation test research of a 534A aircraft, it was verified that the method can well realize the inspection of the completeness of the semi-physical simulation test data and the design of supplementary test conditions. It lays a good foundation for the fusion of subsequent semi-physical simulations and field test data.
Syllable-Based Multi-POSMORPH Annotation for Korean Morphological Analysis and Part-of-Speech Tagging
Authors: Shin Hyeong Jin , Park Jeongyeon , Lee Jae Sung
Published: February 2023

Various research approaches have attempted to solve the length difference problem between the surface form and the base form of words in the Korean morphological analysis and part-of-speech (POS) tagging task. The compound POS tagging method is a popular approach, which tackles the problem using annotation tags. However, a dictionary is required for the post-processing to recover the base form and to dissolve the ambiguity of compound POS tags, which degrades the system performance. In this study, we propose a novel syllable-based multi-POSMORPH annotation method to solve the length difference problem within one framework, without using a dictionary for the post-processing. A multi-POSMORPH tag is created by combining POS tags and morpheme syllables for the simultaneous POS tagging and morpheme recovery. The model is implemented with a two-layer transformer encoder, which is lighter than the existing models based on large language models. Nonetheless, the experiments demonstrate that the performance of the proposed model is comparable to, or better than, that of previous models.
Classification and Analysis of Malicious Code Detection Techniques Based on the APT Attack
Authors: Lee Kyungroul , Lee Jaehyuk , Yim Kangbin
Published: February 2023

According to the Fire-eye’s M-Trends Annual Threat Report 2022, there are many advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks that are currently in use, and such continuous and specialized APT attacks cause serious damages attacks. As APT attacks continue to be active, there is a need for countermeasures to detect new and existing malicious codes. An APT attack is a type of intelligent attack that analyzes the target and exploits its vulnerabilities. It attempts to achieve a specific purpose, and is persistent in continuously attacking and threatening the system. With this background, this paper analyzes attack scenarios based on attack cases by malicious code, and surveys and analyzes attack techniques used in attack cases. Based on the results of the analysis, we classify and analyze malicious code detection techniques into security management systems, pattern-based detection, heuristic-based detection, reputation-based detection, behavior-based detection, virtualization-based detection, anomaly detection, data analysis-based detection (big data-based, machine learning-based), and others. This paper is expected to serve as a useful reference for detecting and preventing malicious codes. Specifically, this article is a surveyed review article.
Cattle Weight Estimation Using Fully and Weakly Supervised Segmentation from 2D Images
Authors: Lee Chang-bok , Lee Han-sung , Cho Hyun-chong
Published: February 2023

Weight information is important in cattle breeding because it can measure animal growth and be used to calculate the appropriate amount of daily feed. To estimate the weight, we developed an image-based method that does not stress cattle and requires no manual labor. From a 2D image, a mask was obtained by segmenting the animal and background, and weights were estimated using a deep neural network with residual connections by extracting weight-related features from the segmentation mask. Two image segmentation methods, fully and weakly supervised segmentation, were compared. The fully supervised segmentation method uses a Mask R-CNN model that learns the ground truth mask generated by labeling as the correct answer. The weakly supervised segmentation method uses an activation visualization map that is proposed in this study. The first method creates a more precise mask, but the second method does not require ground truth segmentation labeling. The body weight was estimated using statistical features of the segmented region. In experiments, the following performance results were obtained: a mean average error of 17.31 kg and mean absolute percentage error of 5.52% for fully supervised segmentation, and a mean average error of 35.91 kg and mean absolute percentage error of 10.1% for the weakly supervised segmentation.
An In-Vitro Evaluation of Toxic Metals Concentration in the Third Molars from Residents of the Legnica-Głogów Copper Area and Risk Factors Determining the Accumulation of Those Metals: A Pilot Study
Authors: Rayad Sadri , Dobrzyński Maciej , Kuźniarski Amadeusz , Styczyńska Marzena , Diakowska Dorota , Gedrange Tomasz , Klimas Sylwia , Gębarowski Tomasz , Dominiak Marzena
Published: February 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine tissue concentration of toxic metals, namely Mn, Cr, Ni, Cu, Fe, Cd, Pb, and Zn, in the removed third molars in patients from the Legnica-Głogów copper district. A group of 69 patients with an average age of 27.3 ± 6.9 years was enrolled into the study. There were 16 (23.2%) men and 53 (76.8%) women. Patients were divided into two groups according to the place of residence—residents of the Legnica-Głogów Copper Area (n = 49) and the control group, residents of Wrocław (n = 20). Determination of the Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn content was performed by atomic absorption spectrometry in an air–acetylene flame using the SpectraAA atomic absorption spectrometer with a V2 AA240FS flame attachment. The content of Fe and Pb in the third molars was higher among residents of the Legnica-Głogów Copper Area (p = 0.016 and p = 0.002, respectively). The significant risk factors that may contribute to the accumulation of toxic metals in teeth were identified. We showed a significant correlation between the level of Cr, Cu, and Zn and age, and between chromium and vitamin D3 concentration in the blood (p < 0.05 for all).
A Semi-Automated Workflow for LULC Mapping via Sentinel-2 Data Cubes and Spectral Indices
Authors: Chaves Michel E. D. , Soares Anderson R. , Mataveli Guilherme A. V. , Sánchez Alber H. , Sanches Ieda D.
Published: February 2023

Land use and land cover (LULC) mapping initiatives are essential to support decision making related to the implementation of different policies. There is a need for timely and accurate LULC maps. However, building them is challenging. LULC changes affect natural areas and local biodiversity. When they cause landscape fragmentation, the mapping and monitoring of changes are affected. Due to this situation, improving the efforts for LULC mapping and monitoring in fragmented biomes and ecosystems is crucial, and the adequate separability of classes is a key factor in this process. We believe that combining multidimensional Earth observation (EO) data cubes and spectral vegetation indices (VIs) derived from the red edge, near-infrared, and shortwave infrared bands provided by the Sentinel-2/MultiSpectral Instrument (S2/MSI) mission reduces uncertainties in area estimation, leading toward more automated mappings. Here, we present a low-cost semi-automated classification scheme created to identify croplands, pasturelands, natural grasslands, and shrublands from EO data cubes and the Surface Reflectance to Vegetation Indexes (sr2vgi) tool to automate spectral index calculation, with both produced in the scope of the Brazil Data Cube (BDC) project. We used this combination of data and tools to improve LULC mapping in the Brazilian Cerrado biome during the 2018–2019 crop season. The overall accuracy (OA) of our results is 88%, indicating the potential of the proposed approach to provide timely and accurate LULC mapping from the detection of different vegetation patterns in time series.
Overcoming EGFR Resistance in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Using Vitamin C: A Review
Authors: Machmouchi Ahmad , Chehade Laudy , Temraz Sally , Shamseddine Ali
Published: February 2023

Targeted monoclonal antibody therapy against Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is a leading treatment modality against metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). However, with the emergence of KRAS and BRAF mutations, resistance was inevitable. Cells harboring these mutations overexpress Glucose Transporter 1 (GLUT1) and sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter 2 (SVCT2), which enables intracellular vitamin C transport, leading to reactive oxygen species generation and finally cell death. Therefore, high dose vitamin C is proposed to overcome this resistance. A comprehensive search strategy was adopted using Pubmed and MEDLINE databases (up to 11 August 2022). There are not enough randomized clinical trials to support its use in the clinical management of mCRC, except for a subgroup analysis from a phase III study. High dose vitamin C shows a promising role in overcoming EGFR resistance in mCRC with wild KRAS mutation with resistance to anti-epidermal growth factor inhibitors and in patients with KRAS and BRAF mutations.
Association of Cognitive Deficit with Glutamate and Insulin Signaling in a Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Knezovic Ana , Piknjac Marija , Osmanovic Barilar Jelena , Babic Perhoc Ana , Virag Davor , Homolak Jan , Salkovic-Petrisic Melita
Published: February 2023

Cognitive deficit is a frequent non-motor symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD) with an unclear pathogenesis. Recent research indicates possible involvement of insulin resistance and glutamate excitotoxicity in PD development. We investigated cognitive performance and the brain glutamate and insulin signaling in a rat model of PD induced by bilateral intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Cognitive functions were assessed with Passive Avoidance (PA) and Morris Water Maze (MWM) tests. The expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and proteins involved in insulin (insulin receptor - IR, phosphoinositide 3 kinase - pI3K, extracellular signal-regulated kinases-ERK) and glutamate receptor (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptos-AMPAR, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor - NMDAR) signaling was assessed in the hippocampus (HPC), hypothalamus (HPT) and striatum (S) by immunofluorescence, Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Three months after 6-OHDA treatment, cognitive deficit was accompanied by decreased AMPAR activity and TH levels (HPC, S), while levels of the proteins involved in insulin signaling remained largely unchanged. Spearman’s rank correlation revealed a strong positive correlation for pAMPAR-PA (S), pNMDAR-pI3K (HPC) and pNMDAR-IR (all regions). Additionally, a positive correlation was found for TH-ERK and TH-pI3K, and a negative one for TH-MWM/errors and pI3K-MWM/time (S). These results suggest a possible association between brain glutamate (but not insulin) signaling dysfunction and cognitive deficit in a rat PD model, detected three months after 6-OHDA treatment.
The Third Dose of BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine Does Not “Boost” Disease Flares and Adverse Events in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Picchianti Diamanti Andrea , Navarra Assunta , Cuzzi Gilda , Aiello Alessandra , Salemi Simonetta , Di Rosa Roberta , De Lorenzo Chiara , Vio Daniele , Sebastiani Giandomenico , Ferraioli Mario , Benucci Maurizio , Li Gobbi Francesca , Cantini Fabrizio , Polidori Vittoria , Simmaco Maurizio , Cialdi Esmeralda , Scolieri Palma , Bruzzese Vincenzo , Nicastri Emanuele , D’Amelio Raffaele , Laganà Bruno , Goletti Delia
Published: February 2023

Data on the risk of adverse events (AEs) and disease flares in autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) after the third dose of COVID-19 vaccine are scarce. The aim of this multicenter, prospective study is to analyze the clinical and immunological safety of BNT162b2 vaccine in a cohort of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients followed-up from the first vaccine cycle to the third dose. The vaccine showed an overall good safety profile with no patient reporting serious AEs, and a low percentage of total AEs at both doses (40/78 (51.3%) and 13/47 (27.7%) patients after the second and third dose, respectively (p < 0.002). Flares were observed in 10.3% of patients after the end of the vaccination cycle and 12.8% after the third dose. Being vaccinated for influenza was inversely associated with the onset of AEs after the second dose, at both univariable (p = 0.013) and multivariable analysis (p = 0.027). This result could allow identification of a predictive factor of vaccine tolerance, if confirmed in larger patient populations. A higher disease activity at baseline was not associated with a higher incidence of AEs or disease flares. Effectiveness was excellent after the second dose, with only 1/78 (1.3%) mild breakthrough infection (BI) and worsened after the third dose, with 9/47 (19.2%) BI (p < 0.002), as a probable expression of the higher capacity of the Omicron variants to escape vaccine recognition.
Prognostic Value of Liver Kinase B1 (LKB1) in Gastric Cancer-Associated Tumor Microenvironment Immunity
Authors: Chen Yongyi , Chen Siyu , Zhu Jing , Liu Xin , Gong Wangang , Zhou Sihang , Xu Songxiao
Published: February 2023

Liver kinase B1 (LKB1) is a tumor suppressor gene, the inactivation of which occurs frequently in different tumor types. However, whether LKB1 is associated with the clinical features of gastric cancer (GC) and regulating tumor immunity is unknown. In this study, we showed that LKB1 is highly expressed in the serum of healthy individuals (n = 176) compared to GC patients (n = 416) and is also associated with clinical outcomes and good survival rates in GC patients. Furthermore, genes associated with immune checkpoints and T cell activation, such as PD−1, PD−L1, CD8A, CD8B, CD28, and GZMM, were shown to be highly expressed in GC subgroups with high LKB1 expression. Compared with fresh gastric cancerous tissues, LKB1 was highly expressed in CD3+CD8+ and CD3+CD8+CD28+ T cells in fresh adjacent non-cancerous tissues. CD3+CD8+ T cells produced an IFN−γ anti−cancer immune response. Furthermore, the proportion of CD3+CD8+ T cells that expressed LKB had a positive correlation with IFN−γ expression. Moreover, GC patients with low LKB1 expression had a poor objective response rate, and worse progression-free survival and overall survival when treated with pembrolizumab. In conclusion, LKB1 may be a potential immune checkpoint in GC patients.
Role of Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells in Modulating Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury: Current State of the Art and Future Perspectives
Authors: Miceli Vitale , Bulati Matteo , Gallo Alessia , Iannolo Gioacchin , Busà Rosalia , Conaldi Pier Giulio , Zito Giovanni
Published: February 2023

Ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) is a multistep damage that occurs in several tissues when a blood flow interruption is inevitable, such as during organ surgery or transplantation. It is responsible for cell death and tissue dysfunction, thus leading, in the case of transplantation, to organ rejection. IRI takes place during reperfusion, i.e., when blood flow is restored, by activating inflammation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, causing mitochondrial damage and apoptosis of parenchymal cells. Unfortunately, none of the therapies currently in use are definitive, prompting the need for new therapeutic approaches. Scientific evidence has proven that mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) can reduce inflammation and ROS, prompting this cellular therapy to also be investigated for treatment of IRI. Moreover, it has been shown that MSC therapeutic effects were mediated in part by their secretome, which appears to be involved in immune regulation and tissue repair. For these reasons, mediated MSC paracrine function might be key for injury amelioration upon IRI damage. In this review, we highlight the scientific literature on the potential beneficial use of MSCs and their products for improving IRI outcomes in different tissues/organs, focusing in particular on the paracrine effects mediated by MSCs, and on the molecular mechanisms behind these effects.
Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Prevents Hypoxia/Reoxygenation-Induced White Matter Injury in Sickle Cell Mice
Authors: Hazra Rimi , Hubert Holland , Little-Ihrig Lynda , Ghosh Samit , Ofori-Acquah Solomon , Hu Xiaoming , Novelli Enrico M
Published: February 2023

Occlusion of cerebral blood vessels causes acute cerebral hypoxia—an important trigger of ischemic white matter injury and stroke in sickle cell disease (SCD). While chronic hypoxia triggers compensatory neuroprotection via insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), severe bouts of acute hypoxia and subsequent restoration of blood flow (hypoxia/reoxygenation, H/R) overwhelm compensatory mechanisms and cause neuroaxonal damage–identified as white matter lesions–in the brain. The neuroprotective role of IGF-1 in the pathogenesis of white matter injury in SCD has not been investigated; however, it is known that systemic IGF-1 is reduced in individuals with SCD. We hypothesized that IGF-1 supplementation may prevent H/R-induced white matter injury in SCD. Transgenic sickle mice homozygous for human hemoglobin S and exposed to H/R developed white matter injury identified by elevated expression of non-phosphorylated neurofilament H (SMI32) with a concomitant decrease in myelin basic protein (MBP) resulting in an increased SMI32/MBP ratio. H/R-challenge also lowered plasma and brain IGF-1 expression. Human recombinant IGF-1 prophylaxis significantly induced HIF-1α and averted H/R-induced white matter injury in the sickle mice compared to vehicle-treated mice. The expression of the IGF-1 binding proteins IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3 was elevated in the IGF-1-treated brain tissue indicating their potential role in mediating neuroprotective HIF-1α signaling. This study provides proof-of-concept for IGF-1-mediated neuroprotection in SCD.
Application of DFT/TD-DFT Frameworks in the Drug Delivery Mechanism: Investigation of Chelated Bisphosphonate with Transition Metal Cations in Bone Treatment
Authors: Mollaamin Fatemeh , Monajjemi Majid
Published: February 2023

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are applied in a drug delivery system, which can be reacted with different structures such biomolecules. Bones have vital functions and are the locations of biochemical reactions in cells that might be exposed various diseases. As different metal ions are integral components of bone tissue with different functions in the physiological cellular medium as well as in bone treatment, they can be used differently as a basis or as a supplement for various materials in the field of bone repair. Therefore, this research aims to represent the recent progress in conjugated bisphosphonate (BP)-divalent transition metal ions of Mn2+, Fe2+, and Co2+ with an emphasis on the properties of interaction with a (6, 6) armchair carbon nanotube as a nanocarrier to exhibit the potential biomedical application of drug delivery. In this article, “CNT” linked to “BP“ of alendronic acid, ibandronic acid, neridronic acid, and pamidronic acid, which are chelated to transition metal cations of Mn2+, Fe2+, and Co2+, was investigated based on DFT insights for obtaining the electron charge density. Transition metals chelating with phosphonate groups, which are large with six O atoms with negative charges, are active in generating chelated complexes with the bisphosphonates [BPs- Mn2+/Fe2+/Co2+] through the status of drug design. In this work, B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p)/lanl2dz we have estimated the susceptibility of CNT for conjugating alendronic acid, ibandronic acid, neridronic acid, and pamidronic acid, which are chelated to transition metal cations of Mn2+, Fe2+, and Co2+ through NMR, NQR, IR, UV-VIS spectroscopy, and HOMO-LUMO analysis. Finally, the obtained results have confirmed that the possibility of applying CNT and BPs of alendronic acid, ibandronic acid, neridronic acid, and pamidronic acid becomes suitable in transition metal chelating for delivery application. The calculated HOMO–LUMO energy gaps for BPs of alendronic acid, ibandronic acid, neridronic acid, and pamidronic acid at the B3LYP/6-311+G (d,p) level have revealed that the energy gap reflects the chemical activity of the molecule.
Differential Pulse Voltammetric Detection of Acetaminophen Using Nickel Phthalocyanine/CeO2-Modified ITO Electrodes
Authors: Gomes Emiliano C. , Ribeiro Camila L. , Santos Vianney O. , Paterno Leonardo G.
Published: February 2023

The present contribution reports a novel electrode based on an ITO substrate surface-modified with a nanofilm of nickel tetrasulfonated phthalocyanine (NiTsPc) with cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2) for the effective differential pulse voltammetric detection of acetaminophen, which is a contaminant of emerging concern (CEC). The optimized ITO/NiTsPc/CeO2 electrode responds linearly (r2 > 0.99) to acetaminophen in the range of 0.4 to 11.2 µM, with a limit of detection (S/N = 3) of 54.7 nM. This response is reproducible for fourteen consecutive runs (RSD = 10.97%) and insensitive to the presence of interfering CECs (amoxicillin, atenolol, caffeine, diclofenac, ethinyl estradiol, and ibuprofen) at the same concentration. The electrode can be used to detect acetaminophen in tap water, synthetic urine, and pharmaceutical tablets, in which it performs similarly to UV-Vis spectroscopy at a 95% confidence level.
Exploring the Opportunity to Use Virtual Reality for the Education of Children with Disabilities
Authors: Chițu Ioana Bianca , Tecău Alina Simona , Constantin Cristinel Petrișor , Tescașiu Bianca , Brătucu Tamara-Oana , Brătucu Gabriel , Purcaru Ioana-Mădălina
Published: February 2023

Inclusive education represents one of the most challenging aspects of modern education. In recent years, a major challenge in achieving inclusivity in education has been to find modern tools that might adapt the teaching process to the needs of children with disabilities. This article investigates the possibility to use virtual reality (VR) technology to improve the learning process of children with disabilities. In this regard, a qualitative study based on the Focus Group method was conducted among 31 specialists who work with children with disabilities, with the aim of identifying potential opportunities and limits of using VR technology in the education of this category of children. The research results reveal that for most of the interviewees the VR application was a new experience; they appreciated that this technology could improve the educational process for children with disabilities and it could become a useful tool to support the education of such children. These results could have a positive impact on the activities carried out by policymakers, academia, and the economic environment in their efforts to implement policies aimed at improving the inclusive education system. To this end, some VR applications could be developed in a collaborative system involving IT companies and universities in the designing and implementation of these applications.
Robot-Assisted Gait Training with Trexo Home: Users, Usage and Initial Impacts
Authors: Diot Christa M. , Youngblood Jessica L. , Friesen Anya H. , Wong Tammy , Santos Tyler A. , Norman Benjamin M. , Larkin-Kaiser Kelly A. , Condliffe Elizabeth G.
Published: February 2023

Robotic gait training has the potential to improve secondary health conditions for people with severe neurological impairment. The purpose of this study was to describe who is using the Trexo robotic gait trainer, how much training is achieved in the home and community, and what impacts are observed after the initial month of use. In this prospective observational single-cohort study, parent-reported questionnaires were collected pre- and post-training. Of the 70 participants, the median age was 7 years (range 2 to 24), 83% had CP, and 95% did not walk for mobility. Users trained 2–5 times/week. After the initial month, families reported a significant reduction in sleep disturbance (p = 0.0066). Changes in bowel function, positive affect, and physical activity were not statistically significant. These findings suggest that families with children who have significant mobility impairments can use a robotic gait trainer frequently in a community setting and that sleep significantly improves within the first month of use. This intervention holds promise as a novel strategy to impact multi-modal impairments for this population. Future work should include an experimental study design over a longer training period to begin to understand the relationship between training volume and its full potential.
Current Clubfoot Practices: POSNA Membership Survey
Authors: Sax Oliver C. , Hlukha Larysa P. , Herzenberg John E. , McClure Philip K.
Published: February 2023

Clubfoot management has advanced in the 21st century with increases in formal training, practitioner experience, and improved casting/bracing constructs. The Ponseti method is the gold standard, yet variations in application persist. This survey aims to identify current treatment practices among clubfoot practitioners within the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA). A 23-question online survey of members was conducted between June and August 2021. Eighty-nine respondents self-identified as clubfoot providers. Of these, 93.1% had an MD degree, 23.6% possessed >30 years’ experience, and the majority (65.6%) worked in a teaching hospital associated with a medical school. Most responders (92.0%) were pediatric fellowship trained. A total of 51.7% had participated in a clubfoot training course. More than half (57.5%) noted changes to clubfoot management practices throughout their training. A majority used between four and seven (88.7%) long leg casts (98.4%), changed at seven-day intervals (93.4%). Plaster (69.4%) was most commonly used. The most common bracing device was Mitchell–Ponseti (72.9%). A mean 84.8% of clubfeet required tenotomy. The most common anesthetic agent was numbing gel (43.0%). Tenotomies mostly occurred in patients aged <6 months (63.1%). Tenotomy locations were operating room (46.5%), clinic (45.4%) and procedure room (8.1%). Cast removal was primarily performed with saws (54.7%). The mean incidence of observed cast burns was 5.5%. Most providers did not use a device to prevent cast burns (76.6%). Reported cast complications included slippage (85.9%), skin irritation (75.8%), and saw-related injuries (35.9%). Clubfoot management variations exist in orthotics, tenotomy indications and practices, and cast material. Casting complications continue to be a problem. Further studies are warranted to determine if certain practices predispose patients to specific complications.
Slow Rotation of a Soft Colloidal Sphere Normal to Two Plane Walls
Authors: Chang Chia L. , Keh Huan J.
Published: February 2023

The creeping flow of a viscous fluid around a soft colloidal sphere rotating about a diameter normal to two planar walls at an arbitrary position between them is theoretically investigated in the steady limit of small Reynolds numbers. The fluid velocity outside the particle consists of the general solutions of the Stokes equation in circular cylindrical and spherical coordinates, while the fluid velocity inside the porous surface layer of the particle is expressed by the general solution of the Brinkman equation in spherical coordinates. The boundary conditions are implemented first on the planar walls by means of the Hankel transforms and then at the particle and hard-core surfaces by a collocation technique. The torque exerted on the particle by the fluid is calculated as a function of the ratio of the core-to-particle radii, ratio of the particle radius to the flow penetration length of the porous layer, and relative particle-to-wall spacings over the entire range. The wall effect on the rotating soft particle can be significant. The hydrodynamic torque exerted on the confined soft sphere increases as the relative particle-to-wall spacings decrease and stays finite even when the soft sphere contacts the plane walls. It is smaller than the torque on a hard sphere (or soft one with a reduced thickness or penetration length of the porous layer), holding the other parameters constant. For a given relative wall-to-wall spacing, this torque is minimal when the particle is situated midway between the walls and rises as it locates closer to either wall.
The Influence of Antioxidant Plant Extracts on the Oxidation of O/W Emulsions
Authors: Springer Arielle , Ziegler Helena , Bach Katrin
Published: February 2023

The demand for natural cosmetics has steadily increased in recent years. However, challenges occur especially in quality preservation regarding oxidative spoilage of natural cosmetic products, as the use of synthetic preservatives and antioxidants is limited. Therefore, it is important to find nature-based ingredients to ensure shelf life in natural cosmetic formulations. As a result, potential is seen in the use of plant-based antioxidant extracts. The aim of this work was to determine the suitability of the method combination by measuring the antioxidant activity, oxygen concentration, and volatile oxidation products via gas chromatography (hexanal) for the characterization of the influence of some plant extracts on the oxidative stability of natural cosmetic emulsions. Plant extracts of Riesling (Vitis vinifera) pomace, apple (Malus domestica) pomace, coffee (Coffea arabica) grounds, cocoa (Theobroma cacao) husk, and coffee (Coffea arabica) powder extract were incorporated in stable O/W emulsion formulations, while an emulsion without extract functioned as blank. Afterwards, the emulsions were subjected to 3-month accelerated storage tests with and without light exposure. Their oxygen uptake was investigated, and headspace gas chromatography measurements were performed to detect the fatty acid oxidation products formed during oxidative processes in the samples. The results showed that all emulsion samples under light exposure had a higher oxygen uptake and an increase in the characteristic fatty acid oxidation products compared with those stored under light exclusion. However, differences in oxygen uptake under light exposure were observed depending on the plant extract. Therefore, for O/W emulsions, the daily oxygen consumption rate correlated exponentially with the antioxidant activity, and the hexanal concentration correlated linearly with the daily oxygen consumption rate.
Clustering of Monolingual Embedding Spaces
Authors: Bhowmik Kowshik , Ralescu Anca
Published: February 2023

Suboptimal performance of cross-lingual word embeddings for distant and low-resource languages calls into question the isomorphic assumption integral to the mapping-based methods of obtaining such embeddings. This paper investigates the comparative impact of typological relationship and corpus size on the isomorphism between monolingual embedding spaces. To that end, two clustering algorithms were applied to three sets of pairwise degrees of isomorphisms. It is also the goal of the paper to determine the combination of the isomorphism measure and clustering algorithm that best captures the typological relationship among the chosen set of languages. Of the three measures investigated, Relational Similarity seemed to capture best the typological information of the languages encoded in their respective embedding spaces. These language clusters can help us identify, without any pre-existing knowledge about the real-world linguistic relationships shared among a group of languages, the related higher-resource languages of low-resource languages. The presence of such languages in the cross-lingual embedding space can help improve the performance of low-resource languages in a cross-lingual embedding space.
Surgical Treatment of Peri-Implantitis Using a Combined Nd: YAG and Er: YAG Laser Approach: Investigation of Clinical and Bone Loss Biomarkers
Authors: Fragkioudakis Ioannis , Kallis Antonios , Kesidou Evangelia , Damianidou Olympia , Sakellari Dimitra , Vouros Ioannis
Published: February 2023

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of the combined Nd-Er: YAG laser on the surgical treatment of peri-implantitis by evaluating clinical markers and biomarkers of bone loss (RANKL/OPG). Twenty (20) patients having at least 1 implant diagnosed with peri-implantitis were randomly assigned to two groups for surgical treatment. In the test group (n = 10), Er: YAG laser was used for granulation tissue removal and implant surface decontamination, while Nd: YAG laser was employed for deep tissue decontamination and biomodulation. In the control group (n = 10), an access flap was applied, and mechanical instrumentation of the implant surface was performed by using titanium curettes. The following clinical parameters were evaluated at baseline and six months after treatment: Full-mouth Plaque Score (FMPS), Probing Pocket Depth (PPD), Probing Attachment Levels (PAL), recession (REC), and Bleeding on probing (BoP). Peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) was collected at baseline and six months for the evaluation of soluble RANKL and OPG utilizing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Baseline clinical values were similar for both groups, with no statistical differences between them. The study results indicated statistically significant improvements in the clinical parameters during the 6-month observation period in both groups. More specifically, PPD, PAL, and REC were improved in the test and control groups with no differences in the between-groups comparisons. However, a greater reduction in the BoP-positive sites was noted for the laser group (Mean change 22.05 ± 33.92 vs. 55.00 ± 30.48, p = 0.037). The baseline and six-month comparisons of sRANKL and OPG revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups. The combined Nd: YAG—Er: YAG laser surgical therapy of peri-implantitis seemed to lead to more favorable improvements in regard to bleeding on probing six months after treatment compared to the conventional mechanical decontamination of the implant surface. None of the methods was found superior in the modification of bone loss biomarkers (RANKL, OPG) six months after treatment.
Infrared and Visible Image Fusion via Attention-Based Adaptive Feature Fusion
Authors: Wang Lei , Hu Ziming , Kong Quan , Qi Qian , Liao Qing
Published: February 2023

Infrared and visible image fusion methods based on feature decomposition are able to generate good fused images. However, most of them employ manually designed simple feature fusion strategies in the reconstruction stage, such as addition or concatenation fusion strategies. These strategies do not pay attention to the relative importance between different features and thus may suffer from issues such as low-contrast, blurring results or information loss. To address this problem, we designed an adaptive fusion network to synthesize decoupled common structural features and distinct modal features under an attention-based adaptive fusion (AAF) strategy. The AAF module adaptively computes different weights assigned to different features according to their relative importance. Moreover, the structural features from different sources are also synthesized under the AAF strategy before reconstruction, to provide a more entire structure information. More important features are thus paid more attention to automatically and advantageous information contained in these features manifests itself more reasonably in the final fused images. Experiments on several datasets demonstrated an obvious improvement of image fusion quality using our method.
Tsallis q-Statistics in Seismology
Authors: Sigalotti Leonardo Di G. , Ramírez-Rojas Alejandro , Vargas Carlos A.
Published: February 2023

Non-extensive statistical mechanics (or q-statistics) is based on the so-called non-additive Tsallis entropy. Since its introduction by Tsallis, in 1988, as a generalization of the Boltzmann–Gibbs equilibrium statistical mechanics, it has steadily gained ground as a suitable theory for the description of the statistical properties of non-equilibrium complex systems. Therefore, it has been applied to numerous phenomena, including real seismicity. In particular, Tsallis entropy is expected to provide a guiding principle to reveal novel aspects of complex dynamical systems with catastrophes, such as seismic events. The exploration of the existing connections between Tsallis formalism and real seismicity has been the focus of extensive research activity in the last two decades. In particular, Tsallis q-statistics has provided a unified framework for the description of the collective properties of earthquakes and faults. Despite this progress, our present knowledge of the physical processes leading to the initiation of a rupture, and its subsequent growth through a fault system, remains quite limited. The aim of this paper was to provide an overview of the non-extensive interpretation of seismicity, along with the contributions of the Tsallis formalism to the statistical description of seismic events.
Backhaul Capacity-Limited Joint User Association and Power Allocation Scheme in Ultra-Dense Millimeter-Wave Networks
Authors: Si Zhiwei , Chuai Gang , Zhang Kaisa , Gao Weidong , Chen Xiangyu , Liu Xuewen
Published: February 2023

Millimeter-wave (mmWave) communication is considered a promising technology for fifth-generation (5G) wireless communications systems since it can greatly improve system throughput. Unfortunately, because of extremely high frequency, mmWave transmission suffers from the signal blocking problem, which leads to the deterioration of transmission performance. In this paper, we solve this problem by the combination of ultra-dense network (UDN) and user-centric virtual cell architecture. The deployment of dense small base stations (SBSs) in UDN can reduce transmission distance of signals. The user-centric virtual cell architecture mitigates and exploits interference to improve throughput by using coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission technology. Nonetheless, the backhaul burden is heavy and interbeam interference still severe. Therefore, we propose a novel iterative backhaul capacity-limited joint user association and power allocation (JUAPA) scheme in ultra-dense mmWave networks under user-centric virtual cell architecture. To mitigate interference and satisfy quality of service (QoS) requirements of users, a nonconvex system throughput optimization problem is formulated. To solve this intractable optimization problem, we divide it into two alternating optimization subproblems, i.e., user association and power allocation. During each iteration, a many-to-many matching algorithm is designed to solve user association. Subsequently, we perform power allocation optimization using a successive convex approximation (SCA) algorithm. The results confirm that the performance of the proposed scheme is close to that of the exhaustive searching scheme, which greatly reduces complexity, and clearly superior to that of traditional schemes in improving system throughput and satisfying QoS requirements.