bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dual-Modal Transformer with Enhanced Inter- and Intra-Modality Interactions for Image Captioning
Authors: Kumar Deepika , Srivastava Varun , Popescu Daniela Elena , Hemanth Jude D.
Published: July 2022

Image captioning is oriented towards describing an image with the best possible use of words that can provide a semantic, relatable meaning of the scenario inscribed. Different models can be used to accomplish this arduous task depending on the context and requirement of what needs to be achieved. An encoder–decoder model which uses the image feature vectors as an input to the encoder is often marked as one of the appropriate models to accomplish the captioning process. In the proposed work, a dual-modal transformer has been used which captures the intra- and inter-model interactions in a simultaneous manner within an attention block. The transformer architecture is quantitatively evaluated on a publicly available Microsoft Common Objects in Context (MS COCO) dataset yielding a Bilingual Evaluation Understudy (BLEU)-4 Score of 85.01. The efficacy of the model is evaluated on Flickr 8k, Flickr 30k datasets and MS COCO datasets and results for the same is compared and analysed with the state-of-the-art methods. The results shows that the proposed model outperformed when compared with conventional models, such as the encoder–decoder model and attention model.
Spectral Properties of Water Hammer Wave
Authors: Sarker Shiblu , Sarker Tonmoy
Published: July 2022

The prevention of excessive pressure build-up in pipelines requires a thorough understanding of water hammer phenomena. Using theoretical techniques, researchers have investigated this phenomenon and proposed productive solutions. In this article, we demonstrate a power spectral density approach on the pressure wave generated by water hammer in order to improve our understanding on the frequency domain approach as well as their fractal nature and complexity. This approach has the ability to explain some valuable attributes of the unsteady flow at a specific section, such as vulnerability and complexity that allow us more dynamic variables for effective analysis of pipe network design. Therefore, we aim to test a simple pipe system to simulate the proposed approach, which may offer useful physical information about pipeline network construction. The proposed method is expected to be beneficial and effective in acquiring a better understanding of the complicated features of unsteady flows as well as the sound acoustics within a pipe system and its design. In specific, our findings demonstrate the possibility for engineering design to comprehend the robustness, vulnerability, and complexity of pipe networks, as well as their sustainable construction.
Investigation of Working Fluid Performance through a Centrifugal Compression System
Authors: Bull James , Buick James M. , Radulovic Jovana
Published: July 2022

Commonly, researchers have investigated many factors that impact the performance of air conditioning and refrigeration systems, such as varied cooling configurations, operating conditions and optimization of specific system components. Although there is an abundance of research detailing the importance of working fluid selection, very few studies focus on how the working fluid selection influences the performance of the individual components of the system, such as the compressor. In this paper, the performances of a selection of working fluids are compared through a centrifugal compressor using CFD. The working fluids considered are R1234ze, R1234yf, R152a, R444a, R445a, R290 and R600a and were selected due to suitability as replacements to R134a. Each fluid, including R134a, was compared based on the performance of a centrifugal compressor with fixed inlet conditions across two operational speeds. The results indicate that R1234ze and R1234yf demonstrated the best performance as replacements to R134a, achieving the highest overall pressure ratios. Additionally, R1234ze also displayed similar power required through the compressor to R134a indicating greater suitability as a drop-in replacement. The working fluids R444a and R445a both displayed performance similar to that of R134a across both operational speeds, indicating reasonable suitability as a replacement to R134a. Alternatively, R152a, R290 and R600a displayed reduced performance compared to R134a and subsequently, are not suitable replacements based on the compression system considered in this study. As well as considering the observed differences in the performance from the selected working fluids, the implications of the results for industrial applications are also considered, along with avenues for further work.
Evaluation and Application of MSWEP in Drought Monitoring in Central Asia
Authors: Li Min , Lv Xiaoyu , Zhu Li , Uchenna Ochege Friday , Guo Hao
Published: July 2022

Thanks to the large scope, high spatial resolution, and increasing data records, satellite-based precipitation products are playing an increasingly important role in drought monitoring. First, based on the data from ground sites, the long-term Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP) precipitation product was evaluated in respect to drought monitoring. Then, based on the MSWEP product, the drought trends and the spatiotemporal characteristics of the drought events in four major basins (Amu Darya Basin, Syr Darya Basin, Chu-Talas River Basin, and Ili River Basin) in Central Asia, which have relatively dense gauge sites, were studied. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the run theory were used to identify drought events and describe their characteristics. The results showed that MSWEP can effectively capture drought events and their basic characteristics. In the past 40 years, the study area experienced 27 drought events, among which the severest one (DS = 15.66) occurred from June 2007 to September 2008. The drought event that occurred from June 1984 to October 1984 had a drought peak value of 3.39, with the largest drought area (99.2%). Since 1881, there appeared a drying trend and a wetting trend in the Amu Darya River basin and the Ili River basin, respectively. No obvious wetting or drying trend was found in both the Chu-Talas River basin and the Syr Darya basin. Since 2016, the drought area has been on the increase.
An Intelligent Time Series Model Based on Hybrid Methodology for Forecasting Concentrations of Significant Air Pollutants
Authors: Cheng Ching-Hsue , Tsai Ming-Chi
Published: July 2022

Rapid industrialization and urban development are the main causes of air pollution, leading to daily air quality and health problems. To find significant pollutants and forecast their concentrations, in this study, we used a hybrid methodology, including integrated variable selection, autoregressive distributed lag, and deleted multiple collinear variables to reduce variables, and then applied six intelligent time series models to forecast the concentrations of the top three pollution sources. We collected two air quality datasets from traffic and industrial monitoring stations and weather data to analyze and compare their results. The results show that a random forest based on selected key variables has better classification metrics (accuracy, AUC, recall, precision, and F1). After deleting the collinearity of the independent variables and adding the lag periods using the autoregressive distributed lag model, the intelligent time-series support vector regression was found to have better forecasting performance (RMSE and MAE). Finally, the research results could be used as a reference by all relevant stakeholders and help respond to poor air quality.
Evaluation of Sea Ice Simulation of CAS-ESM 2.0 in Historical Experiment
Authors: Gao Xin , Fan Peng , Jin Jiangbo , He Juanxiong , Song Mirong , Zhang He , Fei Kece , Zhang Minghua , Zeng Qingcun
Published: July 2022

A sea ice model is an important component of an Earth system model, which is an essential tool for the study of sea ice, including its internal processes, interactions with other components, and projected future changes. This paper evaluates a simulation of sea ice by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Earth System Model version 2 (CAS-ESM 2.0), focusing on a historical simulation in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). Compared with the observations, CAS-ESM 2.0 reproduces reasonable seasonal cycle features and the climatological spatial distribution of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, including sea ice extent (SIE), sea ice concentration, and sea ice thickness and motion. However, the SIE in CAS-ESM 2.0 is too large in winter and too low in summer in both hemispheres, indicating higher seasonal variations of the model relative to observations. Further sea ice mass budget diagnostics show that basal growth contributes most to ice increase in both hemispheres, basal melt and top melt make a comparable contribution to Arctic ice decrease, and basal melt plays a dominant role in Antarctic ice loss. This, combined with surface air temperature (SAT) and sea surface temperature (SST) biases, suggests that the excess of sea ice simulated in wintertime in both hemispheres and the lower SIE simulated in the Antarctic summer are mainly attributable to the bias in SST, whereas the lower SIE simulated in the Arctic summer is probably due to the combined effects of both the SST and SAT biases.
A Comparison of Various Extensions of Strong Truthteller and Strong Liar Puzzles (Mutes and Crazies)
Authors: Alzboon Laith , Nagy Benedek
Published: July 2022

Truthteller liar puzzles are popular in science and also in recreational mathematics. In this paper, we compare five different types of puzzles. In each of our puzzles, the persons of the puzzle may state some statements about their types. In strong truthteller–strong liar puzzles (SS puzzles), each statement of a truthteller must be true and each statement of a liar must be false, and there is no third type of person in these puzzles. It is known that there is no good SS puzzle, where a puzzle is good if it has exactly one solution. In fact, because of symmetry, by flipping the type of person in a solution, another (dual) solution is obtained. Therefore, to break this symmetry, there are various ways to introduce a third type of person, e.g., Mutes and crazies. In SSS puzzles, crazy people may appear, each of whom can tell only a self-contradicting statement. In SSW puzzles, a crazy person may say some additional statements apart from his or her self-contradicting statement. In SSM puzzles, that we investigate here, there can also be some Mute people (as the third type together with truthtellers and liars). We differentiate two types of SSM puzzles. In SSMW puzzles a mute person may be a Mute (type), but he or she could also be either a truthteller or a liar (type). In SSMS puzzles, each person who did not say any statement must be a Mute in the solution. Various examples are presented and it is also highlighted how a puzzle changes from unsolvable to solvable or to a good puzzle when the interpretation, the type of the puzzle changes, i.e., shifted from one to other, and symmetry breaks. Among other data, the number of solvable and good puzzles are counted and compared for the five types when few people appear.
New Diamond-α Steffensen-Type Inequalities for Convex Functions over General Time Scale Measure Spaces
Authors: Smoljak Kalamir Ksenija
Published: July 2022

In this paper, we extend some Steffensen-type inequalities to time scales by using the diamond-α-dynamic integral. Further, we prove some new Steffensen-type inequalities for convex functions utilizing positive σ-finite measures in time scale calculus. Moreover, as a special case, we obtain these inequalities for the delta and the nabla integral. By using the relation between calculus on time scales T and differential calculus on R, we obtain already-known Steffensen-type inequalities.
Lightweight AI Framework for Industry 4.0 Case Study: Water Meter Recognition
Authors: Ktari Jalel , Frikha Tarek , Hamdi Monia , Elmannai Hela , Hmam Habib
Published: July 2022

The evolution of applications in telecommunication, network, computing, and embedded systems has led to the emergence of the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence. The combination of these technologies enabled improving productivity by optimizing consumption and facilitating access to real-time information. In this work, there is a focus on Industry 4.0 and Smart City paradigms and a proposal of a new approach to monitor and track water consumption using an OCR, as well as the artificial intelligence algorithm and, in particular the YoLo 4 machine learning model. The goal of this work is to provide optimized results in real time. The recognition rate obtained with the proposed algorithms is around 98%.
Agriculture Waste Biomass Repurposed into Natural Fibers: A Circular Bioeconomy Perspective
Authors: Jayaprakash Kuzhandaivel , Osama Atieh , Rajagopal Rajinikanth , Goyette Bernard , Karthikeyan Obulisamy Parthiba
Published: July 2022

Fibers come from natural and fossil resources and are an essential commodity widely used by textile industries. Considering current supply and future demands, the repurposing of agricultural residues into fibers is an eco-friendly, attractive option that might mitigate environmental pollution. In this review, we have summarized multiple alternate secondary sources for fiber production, with a case study using banana plant residual biomass, a common agricultural waste in many developing countries. Specifically, in this review we have compared the different processing methods, e.g., chemical, mechanical, or biological methods, for repurposing agricultural residual biomass (including banana waste) into fibers. The development and analysis of an integrated biorefinery approach is needed to promote the fiber production from various agro-residual biomasses within the framework of circular bioeconomic concepts.
OsbHLHq11, the Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factor, Involved in Regulation of Chlorophyll Content in Rice
Authors: Jang Yoon-Hee , Park Jae-Ryoung , Kim Eun-Gyeong , Kim Kyung-Min
Published: July 2022

Photosynthesis is an important factor in determining the yield of rice. In particular, the size and efficiency of the photosynthetic system after the heading has a great impact on the yield. Research related to high-efficiency photosynthesis is essential to meet the growing demands of crops for the growing population. Chlorophyll is a key molecule in photosynthesis, a pigment that acts as an antenna to absorb light energy. Improvement of chlorophyll content characteristics has been emphasized in rice breeding for several decades. It is expected that an increase in chlorophyll content may increase photosynthetic efficiency, and understanding the genetic basis involved is important. In this study, we measured leaf color (CIELAB), chlorophyll content (SPAD), and chlorophyll fluorescence, and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping was performed using 120 Cheongcheong/Nagdong double haploid (CNDH) line after the heading date. A major QTL related to chlorophyll content was detected in the RM26981-RM287 region of chromosome 11. OsbHLHq11 was finally selected through screening of genes related to chlorophyll content in the RM26981-RM287 region. The relative expression level of the gene of OsbHLHq11 was highly expressed in cultivars with low chlorophyll content, and is expected to have a similar function to BHLH62 of the Gramineae genus. OsbHLHq11 is expected to increase photosynthetic efficiency by being involved in the chlorophyll content, and is expected to be utilized as a new genetic resource for breeding high-yield rice.
Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Is Not Associated with Severity of Coronary Artery Disease and Is Not Correlated with Vitamin D Level in Patients with a History of an Acute Coronary Syndrome
Authors: Dziedzic Ewelina A. , Gąsior Jakub S. , Tuzimek Agnieszka , Dąbrowski Marek , Jankowski Piotr
Published: July 2022

Coronary artery disease (CAD), the leading cause of death worldwide, has an underlying cause in atherosclerosis. The activity of this inflammatory process can be measured with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). The anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic properties of vitamin D affect many mechanisms involved in CAD. In this study, we investigated the association between NLR, vitamin D concentration, and severity of CAD in a group of patients with a history of myocardial infarction (MI). NLR was higher in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in comparison to those with stable CAD (median: 2.8, range: 0.96–24.3 vs. median: 2.3, range: 0.03–31.6; p < 0.05). No associations between NLR and severity of CAD (p = 0.14) in the cohort and in the subgroups with stable CAD (p = 0.40) and ACS (p = 0.34) were observed. We found no correlation between vitamin D level and NLR neither in the whole study group (p = 0.29) nor in subgroups of patients with stable CAD (p = 0.84) and ACS (p = 0.30). NLR could be used as prognostic biomarker of consecutive MI in patients with CAD and a history of MI.
Identification of Colon Cancer-Related RNAs Based on Heterogeneous Networks and Random Walk
Authors: Chen Bolin , Wang Teng , Zhang Jinlei , Zhang Shengli , Shang Xuequn
Published: July 2022

Colon cancer is considered as a complex disease that consists of metastatic seeding in early stages. Such disease is not simply caused by the action of a single RNA, but is associated with disorders of many kinds of RNAs and their regulation relationships. Hence, it is of great significance to study the complex regulatory roles among mRNAs, miRNAs and lncRNAs for further understanding the pathogenic mechanism of colon cancer. In this study, we constructed a heterogeneous network consisting of differentially expressed mRNAs, miRNAs and lncRNAs. This contains three kinds of vertices and six types of edges. All RNAs were re-divided into three categories, which were “related”, “irrelevant” and “unlabeled”. They were processed by dynamic excitation restart random walk (RW-DIR) for identifying colon cancer-related RNAs. Ten RNAs were finally obtained related to colon cancer, which were hsa-miR-2682-5p, hsa-miR-1277-3p, ANGPTL1, SLC22A18AS, FENDRR, PHLPP2, hsa-miR-302a-5p, APCDD1, MEX3A and hsa-miR-509-3-5p. Numerical experiments have indicated that the proposed network construction framework and the following RW-DIR algorithm are effective for identifying colon cancer-related RNAs, and this kind of analysis framework can also be easily extended to other diseases, effectively narrowing the scope of biological experimental research.
What Is behind the Correlation Analysis of Diarrheagenic E. coli Pathotypes?
Authors: Bendary Mahmoud M. , Abd El-Hamid Marwa I. , Alhomrani Majid , Alamri Abdulhakeem S. , Elshimy Rana , Mosbah Rasha A. , Bahnass Mosa M. , Omar Nasreen N. , Al-Sanea Mohammad M. , Elmanakhly Arwa R. , Safwat Nesreen A. , Alshareef Walaa A.
Published: July 2022

The treatment failure recorded among patients and animals infected with diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) was increased due to the presence of specific virulence markers among these strains. These markers were used to classify DEC into several pathotypes. We analyzed the correlations between DEC pathotypes and antimicrobial resistances, the existence of virulence genes, serotypes, and hosts. The ETEC pathotype was detected with a high prevalence rate (25%). Moreover, the ETEC and EPEC pathotypes were highly associated with human infections in contrast to the EIEC and EAEC phenotypes, which were commonly recognized among animal isolates. Interestingly, the antimicrobial resistance was affected by E. coli pathotypes. With the exception of EIEC and STEC, imipenem represented the most effective antibiotic against the other pathotypes. There were fixed correlations between the DEC pathotypes and the presence of virulence markers and hosts; meanwhile, their correlation with serotypes was variable. Additionally, the vast majority of our isolates were highly diverse, based on both phenotypic and ERIC molecular typing techniques. Our promising results gave a clear indication for the heterogeneity and weak clonality of DEC pathotypes in Egypt, which can be utilized in the evaluation of the current therapeutic protocols and infection control guidelines.
Biochemical and Biophysical Properties of Red Blood Cells in Disease
Authors: Barshtein Gregory
Published: July 2022

Red blood cells (RBCs, erythrocytes) are highly specialized cells devoted to the transport of respiratory gases [...]
Cold Stress Induced Liver Injury of Mice through Activated NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD Pyroptosis Signaling Pathway
Authors: Liu Yuanyuan , Xue Nianyu , Zhang Boxi , Lv Hongming , Li Shize
Published: July 2022

The body needs to generate heat to ensure basic life activities when exposed to cold temperatures. The liver, as the largest glycogen storage organ in the body and main heat-producing organ at rest, may play a role in chronic cold exposure. Recent studies suggested that pyroptosis plays a crucial role in liver diseases. However, the role of pyroptosis in cold stress-induced liver injury is not clear. Hence, in this study, we attempted to investigate the effects of chronic cold exposure on liver function, apoptosis, oxidative stress and inflammation in mice by establishing a mouse model of chronic cold exposure, and to investigate whether pyroptosis pathways are involved in the process of chronic cold exposure. In vivo, our results show that inflammatory cell infiltration and other pathological changes in liver cells and the activity of liver enzyme evidently increased in the serum and liver of cold-exposed mice, suggesting cold stress may result in liver injury. Remarkably, increased expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and HSP90 proteins proved the cold stress model is successfully constructed. Then, elevated levels of apoptosis, inflammation, oxidative stress and pyroptosis related proteins and mRNAs, such as cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3 (Caspase-3), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nuclear factor erythroid2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and gasdermins D (GSDMD), confirmed that cold exposure activated apoptosis, oxidative stress and pyroptosis, and released inflammation cytokines. Meanwhile, in vitro, we got similar results as in vivo. Further, adding an NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inhibitors found that suppression expression of NLRP3 results in the essential proteins of pyroptosis and antioxidant evidently reduced, and adding GSDMD inhibitor found that suppression expression of GSDMD accompanies with the level of Nrf2 and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) obviously reduced. In summary, these findings provide a new understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the cold stress response, which can inform the development of new strategies to combat the effects of hypothermia.
Emerging Link between Tsc1 and FNIP Co-Chaperones of Hsp90 and Cancer
Authors: Backe Sarah J. , Sager Rebecca A. , Meluni Katherine A. , Woodford Mark R. , Bourboulia Dimitra , Mollapour Mehdi
Published: July 2022

Heat shock protein-90 (Hsp90) is an ATP-dependent molecular chaperone that is tightly regulated by a group of proteins termed co-chaperones. This chaperone system is essential for the stabilization and activation of many key signaling proteins. Recent identification of the co-chaperones FNIP1, FNIP2, and Tsc1 has broadened the spectrum of Hsp90 regulators. These new co-chaperones mediate the stability of critical tumor suppressors FLCN and Tsc2 as well as the various classes of Hsp90 kinase and non-kinase clients. Many early observations of the roles of FNIP1, FNIP2, and Tsc1 suggested functions independent of FLCN and Tsc2 but have not been fully delineated. Given the broad cellular impact of Hsp90-dependent signaling, it is possible to explain the cellular activities of these new co-chaperones by their influence on Hsp90 function. Here, we review the literature on FNIP1, FNIP2, and Tsc1 as co-chaperones and discuss the potential downstream impact of this regulation on normal cellular function and in human diseases.
Investigation of the Drug Carrier Properties of Insoluble Cyclodextrin Polymer Microspheres
Authors: Haimhoffer Ádám , Vas Alexandra , Árvai Gabriella , Fenyvesi Éva , Jicsinszky László , Budai István , Bényei Attila , Regdon Géza , Rusznyák Ágnes , Vasvári Gábor , Váradi Judit , Bácskay Ildikó , Vecsernyés Miklós , Fenyvesi Ferenc
Published: July 2022

The investigation of the usability of solid insoluble β-cyclodextrin polymers (βCDP) in micro-sized, controlled drug delivery systems has only recently attracted interest. Our aim was to form complexes with poorly soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) with two types of βCDP for drug delivery applications. Solid insoluble cyclodextrin polymer of irregular shape (βCDPIS) and cyclodextrin microbeads (βCDPB) were used in the experiments. Morphology, surface area, size distribution and swelling capacity of carriers were investigated. We created complexes with two APIs, curcumin and estradiol, and applied powder X-ray diffraction, FTIR and thermal analysis (TGA/DSC) to prove the complexation. Finally, the dissolution, biocompatibility and permeation of APIs on Caco-2 cells were investigated. The size of the beads was larger than 100 µm, their shape was spherical and surfaces were smooth; while the βCDPIS particles were around 4 µm with irregular shape and surface. None of the polymers showed any cytotoxic effect on Caco-2 cells. Both carriers were able to extract curcumin and estradiol from aqueous solutions, and the dissolution test showed prolonged estradiol release. Caco-2 permeability tests were in accordance with the complexation abilities and dissolution of the complexes. This study offers useful data for further pharmaceutical applications of insoluble cyclodextrin polymers.
Antidepressive-like Behavior-Related Metabolomic Signatures of Sigma-1 Receptor Knockout Mice
Authors: Svalbe Baiba , Zvejniece Baiba , Stelfa Gundega , Vilks Karlis , Vavers Edijs , Vela José , Dambrova Maija , Zvejniece Liga
Published: July 2022

Sigma-1 receptor (Sig1R) has been proposed as a therapeutic target for neurological, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety. Identifying metabolites that are affected by Sig1R absence and cross-referencing them with specific mood-related behaviors would be helpful for the development of new therapies for Sig1R-associated disorders. Here, we examined metabolic profiles in the blood and brains of male CD-1 background Sig1R knockout (KO) mice in adulthood and old age and correlated them with the assessment of depression- and anxiety-related behaviors. The most pronounced changes in the metabolic profile were observed in the plasma of adult Sig1R KO mice. In adult mice, the absence of Sig1R significantly influenced the amino acid, sphingolipid (sphingomyelin and ceramide (18:1)), and serotonin metabolic pathways. There were higher serotonin levels in plasma and brain tissue and higher histamine levels in the plasma of Sig1R KO mice than in their age-matched wild-type counterparts. This increase correlated with the reduced behavioral despair in the tail suspension test and lack of anhedonia in the sucrose preference test. Overall, these results suggest that Sig1R regulates behavior by altering serotonergic and histaminergic systems and the sphingolipid metabolic pathway.
Baseline Imaging Derived Predictive Factors of Response Following [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 Therapy in Salvage Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: A Lesion- and Patient-Based Analysis
Authors: van der Sar Esmée C. A. , Kühr Adinda J. S. , Ebbers Sander C. , Henderson Andrew M. , de Keizer Bart , Lam Marnix G. E. H. , Braat Arthur J. A. T.
Published: July 2022

Earlier studies have mostly identified pre-therapeutic clinical and laboratory parameters for the prediction of treatment response to [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 in metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer patients (mCRPC). The current study investigated whether imaging-derived factors on baseline [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT can potentially predict the response after two cycles of [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 treatment, in a lesion- and patient-based analysis in men with mCRPC. Included patients had histologically proven mCRPC and a [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT before and after two cycles of [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 treatment. The imaging-based response was evaluated on lesion-level (standardized uptake value (SUV) reduction) and patient-level (total lesion PSMA (TL-PSMA) reduction). In the lesion-level analysis, a clear relationship was found between SUVpeak/max and the imaging-based response to [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT (most avid lesion SUVpeak/max ≥ 30% reduction) (p < 0.001), with no significant difference in cut-off values between different sites of metastases (i.e., lymph node, bone or visceral metastasis). In patient-level analysis, baseline PSA and SUVpeak values of most avid metastasis were significantly associated with imaging-based response (TL-PSMA ≥ 30% reduction) (p = 0.019 and p = 0.015). In pre-treatment with [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT, a clear accumulation-response relationship in lesion-level was found for SUVpeak/max in men with mCRPC receiving two cycles of [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 treatment. The SUVpeak of the most avid lesion was the only image-derived factor predictive of the imaging-based response at the patient-level.
High Glucose Induces in HK2 Kidney Cells an IFN–Dependent ZIKV Antiviral Status Fueled by Viperin
Authors: Reslan Alawiya , Haddad Juliano G. , Desprès Philippe , Bascands Jean-Loup , Gadea Gilles
Published: July 2022

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging mosquito-borne flavivirus that rapidly became a major medical concern worldwide. We have recently reported that a high glucose level decreases the rate of Zika virus (ZIKV) replication with an impact on human kidney HK-2 cell survival. However, the mechanisms by which cells cultured in a high glucose medium inhibit ZIKV growth remain unclear. Viperin belongs to interferon-stimulated genes (ISG) and its expression is highly up-regulated upon viral infection, leading to antiviral activity against a variety of viruses, including flaviviruses. As such, viperin has been shown to be a major actor involved in the innate immune response against Zika virus (ZIKV). Our present study aims to further characterize the involvement of viperin in ZIKV growth inhibition under high glucose concentration (HK-2HGC). We show for the first time that endogenous viperin is over-expressed in HK-2 cells cultured under high glucose concentration (HK-2HGC), which is associated with ZIKV growth inhibition. Viperin knockdown in HK-2HGC rescues ZIKV growth. In addition, our results emphasize that up-regulated viperin in HK-2HGC leads to ZIKV growth inhibition through the stimulation of IFN-β production. In summary, our work provides new insights into the ZIKV growth inhibition mechanism observed in HK-2 cells cultured in a high glucose environment.
A 3D Analysis of Cleared Human Melanoma
Authors: Llorente Vicente , Sanderson Daniel , Martín-Gorgojo Alejandro , Samaniego Rafael , Desco Manuel , Gómez-Gaviro María Victoria
Published: July 2022

Cutaneous melanoma is one of the most aggressive and deadliest cancers in human beings due to its invasiveness and other factors. Histopathological analysis is crucial for a proper diagnosis. Optical tissue clearing is a novel field that allows 3D image acquisition of large-scale biological tissues. Optical clearing and immunolabeling for 3D fluorescence imaging has yet to be extensively applied to melanoma. In the present manuscript, we establish, for the first time, an optical clearing and immunostaining procedure for human melanoma and human cell line-derived melanoma xenograft models using the CUBIC (clear, unobstructed brain imaging cocktails) technique. We have successfully cleared the samples and achieved 3D volumetric visualization of the tumor microenvironment, vasculature, and cell populations.
Tocilizumab Use among Patients Who Developed Pulmonary Embolism in the Course of Cytokine Release Storm and COVID-19 Pneumonia—A Retrospective Study
Authors: Chober Daniel , Aksak-Wąs Bogusz , Niścigorska-Olsen Jolanta , Niekrasz Małgorzata , Parczewski Miłosz
Published: July 2022

Introduction: Thromboembolic events, including mainly pulmonary embolisms and ischemic strokes, occur in up to one-third of COVID-19 patients. As efficacy of tocilizumab (TCZ) among patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) was not previously investigated, this study aimed to provide such data. Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of TCZ on mortality in patients with confirmed acute pulmonary embolism, cytokine release storm and COVID-19 pneumonia. Patients and methods: Longitudinal data of 4287 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were collected between 4 March 2020 and 16 January 2022. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the samples and dataset of cases with confirmed acute pulmonary embolism associated with at least moderate lung involvement due to COVID-19 pneumonia. Results: In the analyzed dataset, 64 adult patients were diagnosed with PE, and of these, 28 (44%) cases were treated with two 8 mg/kg doses of TCZ, and 36 (56%) did not receive this agent. The groups were balanced regarding demographics, comorbidities and the biochemical markers. Overall mortality in our study was 29.6% (n = 17). Mortality in the group treated with TCZ was 43% (n = 12) compared to 19% (n = 7) in the group without TCZ. In multivariate proportional Cox hazards models, intravenous administration of TCZ was independently associated with higher mortality (HR: 3.342 (CI: 1.077–10.370), p = 0.036). Conclusions: In patients with COVID-19 pneumonia with at least moderate lung involvement, CRS and acute pulmonary embolism, administration of TCZ is associated with increased mortality. Therefore, TCZ should be used with caution in SARS-CoV-2 cases with pulmonary embolism.
Selective Amplification of Plasmonic Sensor Signal for Cortisol Detection Using Gold Nanoparticles
Authors: Yılmaz Gaye Ezgi , Saylan Yeşeren , Göktürk Ilgım , Yılmaz Fatma , Denizli Adil
Published: July 2022

Herein, gold nanoparticles (AuNP)-modified cortisol-imprinted (AuNP-MIP) plasmonic sensor was developed for signal amplification and real-time cortisol determination in both aqueous and complex solutions. Firstly, the sensor surfaces were modified with 3-(trimethoxylyl)propyl methacrylate and then pre-complex was prepared using the functional monomer N-methacryloyl-L-histidine methyl ester. The monomer solution was made ready for polymerization by adding 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate to ethylene glycol dimethacrylate. In order to confirm the signal enhancing effect of AuNP, only cortisol-imprinted (MIP) plasmonic sensor was prepared without AuNP. To determine the selectivity efficiency of the imprinting process, the non-imprinted (AuNP-NIP) plasmonic sensor was also prepared without cortisol. The characterization studies of the sensors were performed with atomic force microscopy and contact angle measurements. The kinetic analysis of the AuNP-MIP plasmonic sensor exhibited a high correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.97) for a wide range (0.01–100 ppb) with a low detection limit (0.0087 ppb) for cortisol detection. Moreover, the high imprinting efficiency (k′ = 9.67) of the AuNP-MIP plasmonic sensor was determined by comparison with the AuNP-NIP plasmonic sensor. All kinetic results were validated and confirmed by HPLC.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Assessment Based on Patient Behavior Exhibited in a Car Video Game: A Pilot Study
Authors: Sujar Aaron , Bayona Sofia , Delgado-Gómez David , Miguélez-Fernández Carolina , Ardoy-Cuadros Juan , Peñuelas-Calvo Inmaculada , Baca-García Enrique , Blasco-Fontecilla Hilario
Published: July 2022

Symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) include excessive activity, difficulty sustaining attention, and inability to act in a reflective manner. Early diagnosis and treatment of ADHD is key but may be influenced by the observation and communication skills of caregivers, and the experience of the medical professional. Attempts to obtain additional measures to support the medical diagnosis, such as reaction time when performing a task, can be found in the literature. We propose an information recording system that allows to study in detail the behavior shown by children already diagnosed with ADHD during a car driving video game. We continuously record the participants’ activity throughout the task and calculate the error committed. Studying the trajectory graphs, some children showed uniform patterns, others lost attention from one point onwards, and others alternated attention/inattention intervals. Results show a dependence between the age of the children and their performance. Moreover, by analyzing the positions by age over time using clustering, we show that it is possible to classify children according to their performance. Future studies will examine whether this detailed information about each child’s performance pattern can be used to fine-tune treatment.
Associations between Mobile Internet Use and Self-Rated and Mental Health of the Chinese Population: Evidence from China Family Panel Studies 2020
Authors: Ding Haifeng , Zhang Chengsu , Xiong Wan
Published: July 2022

With societal and technological developments, mobile Internet has become the most popular and widespread means to use the Internet in China. Thus, exploring the relationship between mobile Internet use and the self-rated health and mental health of the Chinese population is of great importance. This study empirically examined the impact of mobile Internet use on residents’ health using data from the China Family Panel Studies 2020 and conducted a heterogeneity analysis. The results revealed a significant negative association between mobile Internet use and the self-rated health of the population, but a significant positive association was found relative to their mental health. The results of this analysis passed a robustness test. The results of the heterogeneity analysis showed that mobile Internet use had a more significant association with the health of residents with secondary school education and university education compared to those with primary school education or below and graduate education. Furthermore, this study addresses the endogeneity problem using the propensity-score matching model, which is shown to be better at eliminating sample selectivity bias. If endogeneity is not addressed, the negative association with mobile Internet use on residents’ self-rated health will be underestimated and its positive association with their mental health will be overestimated. The Chinese government should issue guidelines on the duration of Internet use, strictly regulate exaggerated and harmful content on mobile network platforms, and strengthen people’s online skills through training to improve their digital literacy, especially for rural populations.
Hybrid Models for Indoor Temperature Prediction Using Long Short Term Memory Networks—Case Study Energy Center
Authors: Di Già Silvia , Papurello Davide
Published: July 2022

In the European Union States, household energy usage accounts on average for 40% of overall energy consumption and is responsible for a considerable amount of carbon dioxide emissions. The urgent need to take concrete action to identify solutions that can ensure more effective usage of energy in households, both because of environmental and political reasons, has been repeatedly stated by the European Parliament. White box, grey box and black box predictive models were demonstrated to be a feasible approach to predict the indoor temperature to implement an effective energy management strategy. This study has the purpose of illustrating the potentiality of an LSTM Artificial Neural Network in a short and long-term prediction of the indoor temperature in 15 offices distributed on three storeys of an existing building (Energy Center of Turin (Italy)). The indoor temperature was predicted two hours, five hours and one entire day ahead. The performance of these algorithms has been evaluated not only based on two main criteria (i.e., Root Mean Squared Error and Mean Absolute error) but also by considering the adaptability of the model between the three floors and in terms of different years. Moreover, the proposed work explains how parameters affect performances, aiming to properly identify the optimal model structure. Current results indicate that these models can provide accurate predictions for all the proposed time scales and could all potentially be used for predictive control purposes to optimise the energy demand. The novelty of this study is to show that these models can only be trained on data for a limited period and a specific plane, and then be reliable in predicting indoor temperature, both for different planes and for random periods, taking into account temperature and relative humidity. Furthermore, input parameters are limited to indoor HVAC variables, to ensure acceptable predictions regardless of outdoor parameters availability. The only exception is the outdoor temperature, because of its undeniable and proven importance, it was retained as the only exogenous input variable. Based on current literature and temperature perception capabilities, the results were considered acceptable if the RMSE was less than 0.15 or better yet 0.10, which is equivalent to an inaccuracy between the predicted and actual indoor temperature of 0.15 °C/0.10 °C. On average, the models trained on the Energy Center database achieved an error of 0.1 °C in terms of RMSE.
On-Site Risk Assessment Methodology of Historic Timber Structures: The Case Study of Santa Cruz Church
Authors: Sola-Caraballo Javier , Rincón-Calderón José María , Rivera-Gómez Carlos , López-Martínez José Antonio , Galán-Marín Carmen
Published: July 2022

The conservation and repair of historic structures require significant resources. Therefore, it is important to conduct a complete assessment of the object. Specifically, historical timber frame structures are very common in the Spanish and Andalusian geographic area. This research proposes and develops a simplified approach to facilitate decision making when faced with this complex work. By the application of long-established non-destructive tests, such as organoleptic and measuring inspection, resistography, and electric moisture content test, combined with visual classification parameters, these data were used as boundary conditions into a simplified structural calculation method. This process, which is simpler than other calculation systems, allows compiling important information about the safety level of the structure and its critical points. Finally, it allows for a better approach to repair work while rationalizing resources. This method was applied to a historical structure, during an 18th century church repair project. The assessment methodology provided important information about the conservation state of the timber frame and its structural suitability.
Decision-Making Based on Network Analyses of New Infrastructure Layouts
Authors: Luo Shan , Wang Tao , Zhang Limao , Liu Bingsheng
Published: July 2022

New Infrastructure (NI) has gradually become a new driving force for regional economic growth and an important part of the construction of new urban infrastructure in many countries, including China. Compared with traditional infrastructures, these NIs have mutually supportive functions and complex interrelationships that create interconnected networks of resources, information, and other interactions during the construction of the NIs. Therefore, it is important to analyze such correlation networks and explore their formation mechanisms in order to develop more scientific and reasonable strategies for NI investment and construction. In this study, the interdependence between NIs in Chongqing was analyzed as an example. Social network analysis (SNA) was used for the overall characteristics of the interdependency network of the NIs and an exponential random graph model (ERGM) was used to reveal the formation mechanism of this network. The results showed that information infrastructure is the key node for enhancing the effectiveness of Chongqing’s NI needs and its government should play a coordinating role. The network of related relationships is characterized by “reciprocity” and “small group”. The aggregation of NIs with such characteristics can produce an agglomeration effect. So, in the planning of NIs, the coordination among management departments should be strengthened and project locations should be reasonably arranged according to the functional interactive characteristics of the projects.
A New Method for Design of the Semi-Rigid Steel Frame—The Integration of Joint Inverse Design and Structural Design
Authors: Yin Tulong , Wang Zhan , Zheng Kaixiang , Lu Shengcan
Published: July 2022

In the past few decades, semi-rigid connections have been studied extensively; several major international steel structure design specifications have incorporated this component into their own systems. However, there is still no appropriate way to integrate the semi-rigid joint design into the structural design more efficiently. The forward design method of introducing joint characteristics into the frame by predetermining joint details requires considerable effort to trial massive amounts of variables, which is undoubtedly a nightmare for those structures composed of thousands of members and joints. In this paper, a feasible method for the reversed design of semi-rigid steel frames has been developed. Being similar to the traditional one, the structural design is still divided into member design and joint design. In the member design phase, a joint is abstracted as a performance parameter and its details are no longer concerned. Then, in the joint design phase, the joint details can be reconstructed subject to the joint required performance by using the optimization algorithm. Throughout the process, engineers simply tune the desired properties of the joins rather than their construction geometry, which results in clearer tuning direction and improved solution efficiency. In addition, determining how to choose a good, required connection stiffness as the starting design is discussed and recommendations are given. Finally, two examples are solved to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Behaviour-Driven Energy-Saving in Hotels: The Roles of Extraversion and Past Behaviours on Guests’ Energy-Conservation Intention
Authors: Li Yi-Bin , Wang Tian-Yuan , Lin Rui-Xin , Yu Si-Nan , Liu Xuan , Wang Qian-Cheng , Xu Qian
Published: July 2022

The growing environmental concerns and the significant energy consumption in hotel buildings make the ability to proactively manage energy and lower carbon intensity essential in the global hospitality industry. Activating guests’ energy-conservation behaviours is a potential strategy for sustainable hotel operation and maintenance. Yet, the psychological mechanism of hotel building energy-conservation intention and the roles of personality traits have not been sufficiently investigated. This study aims to examine the role of guests’ extraversion levels in their hotel building energy-conservation behavioural intention using a modified theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model. The study extends the TPB model with personal norms and past behaviour as two additional factors and employs past behaviour as a moderator to bridge extraversion and other psychological factors. A field experiment was conducted consisting of 530 hotel guests in Shanghai, China. The results demonstrate the relationships between attitude, behavioural control, personal norms, past behaviour and energy-conservation intention. Specifically, extraversion negatively influences perceived behavioural control (PBC) (β = −0.176, p < 0.001) and positively impacts on personal norms (β = 0.290, p < 0.001), both of which significantly contribute to guest energy-saving intention. In addition, past behaviours positively moderate the effects of extraversion on subjective norms and personal norms. This research enriches the hospitality and tourism management literature by shedding novel light on how guests’ personality characteristics influence their pro-environment intentions during their stays in hotel buildings. The findings would drive the hotel building energy management forward through actionable and effective energy-conservation interventions and enhanced guest satisfaction.