bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evalution the Antifungal Activity of Plants and Compounds on Reducing Growth and Aflatoxin B1 Production of Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus flavus
Authors: Moghadasi Fariba , Roudbarmohammadi Shahla , Amanloo Saied , Nikoomanesh Fatemeh
Published: February 2023

Background
Aspergillus species are the reason for the wide range of infections especially invasive fungal infections. The aim of this study was defined to evaluate the antifungal activity of plants and compounds including thyme, Aloevera, Thyme, carvacrol, and nano-encapsulation of carvacrol on growth and aflatoxin production of Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus flavus.
Methods and Results
The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of extracts, carvacrol, nanocarvacrol, and fluconazole as control were determined according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) by serial microdilution method. Then, the effect of inhibitory concentrations of the studied compounds on the amount of aflatoxin B1 production was evaluated by real time PCR and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Our results indicate that the Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus flavusare sensitive to selected plants and compounds.
Conclusion
our result showed that we can be used the extracts of plants and their compounds with the help of nanotechnology to control the production of aflatoxin.
Effect of biomass particle size on yield and composition of bio-oil produced from Empty Palm Fruit Bunch
Authors: Nelson Ebitei Sintei , Sadare Olawumi , Okewale Akindele , Iyuke Sunny , Daramola Michael
Published: February 2023

Empty palm fruit bunch (EPFB), a byproduct of palm oil processing, can be used efficiently to produce renewable energy-rich products, thus stimulating a cleaner environment. In this study, the pyrolysis production of bio-oil and biochar was performed in a fixed bed reactor by depolymerizing the primary components of the EPFB biomass (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) using biomass particle size of 0.30 mm, 0.60 mm and 1.0 mm. Increasing the biomass particle size to 0.6 mm (600µm) from 0.3mm (300µm), resulted to a bio-oil increased yield of 4.7 wt.%. A further particle size increase to 1.0 mm (1000µm), reduced the bio-oil output by about 2.8 wt.%. Low heating rates and mass transfer limitations for biomass particles larger than 0.6mm relative to smaller particles impacted the production of the heavier components through the reduction in generation of volatile products, resulting in a decreased bio-oil yield. Biomass's particle sizes substantially affected the pyrolyzed products distribution. With proper characterization the stabilization and upgrading of the crude bio-oil can be improved and bio-oil utilized as a renewable fuel and for platform chemical extraction. Comprehensive chemical, structural and morphological analyzes of the EPFB biomass and pyrolyzed products were performed using Ultimate and Proximate analytical method and several other characterization techniques to elucidate the biomass and products composition and characteristics as fossil derived fuel substitute. The result of chemical analysis showed that the produced bio-oil has a high energy density but very viscous (3.4mm/s) and highly corrosive (pH of 2.6), probably due to the high concentration of carboxylic acids, phenols and phenolic. Bio-oil is inferior to diesel fuel due to its high flash point, low pH, high oxygen concentration, and high viscosity. However, it can be upgraded and be utilized as a sustainable renewable fuel and for extraction of platform chemical.
Peroxidase-catalyzed proximity labeling to survey the proteome of nanomaterial-cell interface during macropinocytosis-mediated internalization
Authors: Wei Yushuang , Gong Yao , Li Yue-Xuan , Guan Jibin , Chen Yue , Pang Hong-Bo
Published: February 2023

Nanomaterials often need to interact with proteins on the plasma membrane to get cross and access their intracellular targets. Therefore, to fully understand the cell entry mechanism, it is of vital importance to gain a comprehensive insight into the proteome at the interface when nanomaterials encounter the cells. However, only very few studies have focused on this aspect. Here, we reported a peroxidase-based proximity labeling method to survey the proteome at the nanoparticle (NP)-cell interface. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was conjugated to a variety of NPs and other ligand types while still being able to biotinylate the proteins surrounding NP (or ligand)-receptor complexes. Using two NP-based tracers for macropinocytosis (MP), which is highly relevant to NP internalization, we performed a proteomic survey and revealed the interface proteome difference between traditional and receptor-dependent MP. Moreover, our survey found that E-cadherin (CDH1), while not serving as the primary receptor, is present at the NP-cell interface and is functionally important for the cellular uptake of a wide variety of NPs. Overall, by integrating nanotechnology with proximity labeling, our study provides an approach to map the proteome of NP-cell interface for investigating the molecular mechanism of NP and macromolecule internalization into cells.
Cell aggregation prevents anoikis and induces CD44 cleavage by maintaining lipid raft integrity to promote triple negative breast cancer metastasis
Authors: li dong , park younhee , hemati hami , liu xia
Published: February 2023

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype, and metastasis is the major cause of cancer morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it is urgent to discover novel therapeutic targets and develop effective treatments for this lethal disease. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are considered “seeds of metastasis”. Compared to single CTCs, our previous studies have demonstrated that CD44 homophilic interaction mediates CTC aggregation to enhance the stemness, survival and metastatic ability of aggregated cells. Importantly, the presence of CD44+ CTC clusters correlates with a poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. Here, we further investigated the underlying mechanism of how CD44-mediated cell aggregation promotes TNBC metastasis. We found that cell detachment, which mimics the condition when tumor cells detach from the extracellular matrix (ECM) to metastasize, induces lipid raft disruption in single cells, but lipid rafts integrity is maintained in aggregated cells. We further found that lipid rafts integrity in aggregated cells is required for Rac1 activation to prevent anoikis. In addition, CD44 and γ-secretase coexisted at lipid rafts in aggregated cells, which promotes CD44 cleavage and generates CD44 intracellular domain (CD44 ICD) to enhance stemness. Consequently, lipid rafts disruption inhibited Rac1 activation, CD44 ICD generation and metastasis. These data reveal a new mechanism of cell aggregation-mediated TNBC metastasis via maintaining lipid raft integrity after cell detachment. The finding provides a potential therapeutic strategy to prevent CTC cluster-initiated metastasis by disrupting lipid raft integrity and its-mediated downstream pathways.
Cytoprotective effects of hypoxia against oxidative stress in human lens epithelial cells by up-regulating Nrf2 expression
Authors: Wan Xiu-Hua , Hou Fang , Huang Qi-Ming
Published: February 2023

AIM: To investigate the protective mechanism that hypoxia may attenuate human lens epithelial cells (LECs) injury caused by oxidative stress.
METHODS: Human LECs were cultured in different atmospheric levels of O2 at different 4-Hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) concentrations and detected the viability by CCK-8. The apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and senescent level were analyzed in both hypoxia and normoxia cultured LECs by Annexin V/PI staining, fluorescent probe (DCFH-DA), β-galactosidase staining, and BrdU incorporation assay respectively. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays were performed to quantify the mRNA levels of genes-associated oxidative stress, antioxidant damage, and apoptosis. Protein blotting analyses were performed with antibodies specific to antioxidant and apoptosis-specific proteins. The expression level of endogenous Nrf2 was changed by transient transfection, and the cell viability was studied under different conditions after 4-HNE treatment.
RESULTS: The proliferative activity of LECs was inhibited by 4-HNE treatment in both normoxic and hypoxic conditions, but hypoxia can attenuate the injury of 4-HNE to LECs by comparing with normoxia (***P < 0.001). We found that hypoxia-cultured LECs can inhibit the apoptosis, ROS, and senescent level by comparing with normoxia-cultured LECs. The qRT-PCR assays showed that hypoxia promote LECs to up-express HIF-1α and Nrf2 (***P < 0.001) and its downstream target genes NQO1, GSTP and p53 mRNA (**P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001), and down-express caspase3 gene (**P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001). The hypoxia increased the expression of HIF-1α (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01) and Nrf2 (**P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001) and its downstream target proteins NQO1, GSTP and p53 (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001), and reduced caspase3 (**P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001) protein expression by western blotting. Alteration of Nrf2 expression can eliminate the protective effect of hypoxia on 4-HNE induced injury.
CONCLUSION: The results suggested that the hypoxic condition was inhibited the injury effect of 4-HNE induced oxidative stress by up-expressing antioxidant gene Nrf2 and its downstream genes, including p53, and inhibit LECs apoptosis by reducing caspase3 expression in LECs, so activate the protective mechanism to LECs survival in oxidative stress.
Risk factors for newly-developed cardiovascular disease and quality of life during the COVID -19 pandemic: an analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
Authors: Patel Mubarak , Uthman Olalekan
Published: February 2023

Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic had a wide range of effects on the English population, including on health and quality of life due to the subsequent lockdown restrictions set.
Aims
To investigate longitudinal changes in developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and how that affects quality of life from pre-pandemic and during two lockdowns in England, in older adults, and what factors are associated to this.
Methods
Wave 9 of the core English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and Waves 1 and 2 of the ELSA COVID-19 sub-study were used to investigate the factors associated to developing CVD between timepoints, and what factors alongside CVD are associated to quality of life.
Results
Higher age and depression were associated to newly-developed CVD from pre-COVID to both COVID sub-study waves. Additionally, BMI increased odds of CVD and physical activity decreased odds. Non-White ethnicity, depression, females, and developing CVD were lower associated to quality of life. Age and physical activity was associated with higher quality of life.
Discussion
Ethnicity was not associated with newly-developed CVD but was associated with quality of life. Other factors of important include age, depression, gender, and physical activity. Findings are informative for future risk stratification and treatment strategies, especially while the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing.
Orientation-driven photosynthesized carbon belowground mediates intercropped peanut microbiota changes for pathogen resistance
Authors: Lu Jumeng , Chen Yan , Shen Yi , He Ganghui , Li Shiwen , Sun Bo
Published: February 2023

Background and Aims
Intercropping is a widely used agricultural practice to maintain agri-ecosystem function in intensive farmland. However, traditional combinations of tall and short plants in intercropping systems often sacrifice the health and productivity of short crops due to the planting orientations. Understanding how orientation-driven light intensity vertically allocate photosynthesized carbon and manipulate rhizosphere microbiota of short crops would benefit for the optimization of aboveground design to make use of the belowground microbiota for short plant health in diversified cropping systems.
Methods
In this study, we manipulated the legume and grass (peanut and maize, respectively, representing short and tall crops) row orientation (east‒west vs. north‒south) in an filed intercropping system and combined high-throughput sequencing and DNA stable isotope probing (DNA-SIP) technology to explore how intercropped orientation-driven photosynthesized carbon synthesis and allocation trigger peanut rhizosphere microbiota for pathogen antagonism.
Results
From field observations, we found that planting in the north-south orientation enhanced peanut photosynthesized carbon synthesis by up to 2.16 times in terms of photosynthetically active radiation compared to the east‒west orientation in situ. Using DNA-SIP technology, we demonstrated that high light intensity induced 192% more photosynthesized carbon to be released along the plant–root–rhizosphere axis. This released rhizosphere carbon selectively enriched the beneficial microorganism Burkholderia, which effectively suppressed the peanut pathogenic fungus Alternaria alstroemeriae in vitro to promote host plant growth.
Conclusion
Changing the orientation of intercropping can adjust the distribution of photosynthesized carbon in the rhizosphere by changing the light interception of crops. Peanuts will intercept more light in the north-south direction, resulting in more photosynthesized carbon being allocated to the peanut rhizosphere. These carbon contribute to the assembly of microbiota beneficial to peanut growth and pathogen resistance.
Community-based recommendations to reduce child stunting prevalence: A capital city region study in Central Lampung Regency, Indonesia
Authors: Zuraida Reni , Angraini Dian Isti , Sriwidiatm Otniel , Apriyanti Tania , - Firdawati
Published: February 2023

Background
Identification of growth-inhibiting factors in children continues to be a starting point for finding specific and appropriate recommendations in the world's anti-stunting efforts. An overview of the nutrition of affected children juxtaposed with the understanding of the nutrition of mothers/caregivers of toddlers will confirm the high number of cases in 2021 in Lampung Tengah Regency.
Objectives
This paper provides recommendations for handling stunting based on confirmed characteristics and information as an increase in stunting cases among children in Central Lampung Regency which occurs in 2021.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 360 households with stunting children aged 0–59 months selected by purposive sampling and spread across three capital areas in Lampung Tengah Regency, Indonesia, namely households located in the capital district (A), near the capital (B), and far from the capital city (C). Anthropometry is measured using standard procedures and categorized manually based on national references. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and quantitatively analyzed through SPSS version 17.0. Qualitative studies were conducted through FGDs and in-depth interviews with health workers who are authorized to overcome stunting in their areas. Recommendations are a formulation of the results of quantitative and qualitative study.
Results
Majority stunting children in our study were male (50.83%) with an average age of over two years (31.4 months). More than half have %RDA categories for energy and carbohydrate deficits, and half have %RDA categories for fat deficits. A total of 111 mothers/caregivers of children had poor nutrition knowledge, and 237 others were in the moderate category, while the majority of them had moderate nutritional attitudes (45%). The recommendation to continue supplementary feeding (SF) recovery activities by increasing understanding of nutrition for mothers/caregivers of children is the main program that needs to be focused on by the local government in efforts to deal with stunting children in Central Lampung Regency.
Conclusions
Improving the current evidence-based nutrition package through the provision of SF recovery and the performance of mothers/caregivers and cadres in providing and supervising children's meals, as well as feedback to existing community-based nutrition programs will dramatically reduce the prevalence of stunting.
Assessing Resource Allocation Based on Workload: a Data Envelopment Analysis Study on Clinical Departments in a Class A Tertiary Public Hospital in China
Authors: Hao Xiaoxiong , Han Lei , Zheng Danyang , Jin Xiaozhi , Li Chenguang , Huang Lvshuai , Huang Zhaohui
Published: February 2023

Objective
Today, the development mode of public hospitals in China is turning from expansion to efficiency, and the management mode is turning from extensive to refined. This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of clinical departments in a Chinese class A tertiary public hospital (Hospital M) to analyze the allocation of hospital resources among these departments providing a reference for the hospital management.
Methods
The hospitalization data of inpatients from 32 clinical departments of Hospital M in 2021 are extracted from HIS, and a dataset containing 38,147 inpatients is got using stratified sampling. Considering the non-homogeneity of clinical departments, the 38,147 patients are clustered using the K-means algorithm based on workload-related indicators including inpatient days, intensive care workload index, nursing workload index, and operation workload index, so that the medical resource consumption of inpatients from non-homogeneous clinical departments can be transformed into the homogeneous workload of medical staff. Taking the numbers of doctors, nurses and beds as input indicators, and the numbers of inpatients assigned to certain clusters as output indicators, an input-oriented BCC model is built named the workload-based DEA model. Meanwhile, a control DEA model with the number of inpatients and medical revenue as output indicators is built, and the outputs of the two models are compared and analyzed.
Results
The clustering of 38,147 patients into 3 categories is of better interpretability. 14 departments reach DEA efficient in the workload-based DEA model, 10 reach DEA efficient in the control DEA model, and 8 reach DEA efficient in both models. The workload-based DEA model gives a relatively rational judge on the increase of income brought by scale expansion, and evaluates some special departments like Critical Care Medicine Dept., Geriatrics Dept. and Rehabilitation Medicine Dept. more properly, which better adapts to the functional orientation of public hospitals in China.
Conclusion
The design of evaluating the efficiency of non-homogeneous clinical departments with the workload as output proposed in this study is feasible, and provides a new idea to quantify professional medical human resources, which is of practical significance for public hospitals to optimize the layout of resources, to provide real-time guidance on manpower grouping strategies, and to estimate the expected output reasonably.
The role of digital content consumption in environmentally sustainable lifestyles
Authors: Istrate Ioan-Robert , Tulus Victor , Grass Robert , Vanbever Laurent , Stark Wendelin , Guillén-Gosálbez Gonzalo
Published: February 2023

Internet access has reached ca. 60% of the global population, with an average individual spending > 40% of the waking life on the Internet. We assess the environmental impacts of digital content consumption against the Earth’s ecological budget, finding that web surfing, social media, video and music streaming, and video conferencing could consume on average ∼40% of the per capita carbon budget consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C, as well as 55% of the per capita carrying capacity for mineral and metal resources depletion and > 10% for other five impact categories. Electricity decarbonisation would mitigate the climate impacts of Internet consumption substantially, but other impacts due primarily to the mining activities linked to electronic devices would remain of concern. A synergistic combination of rapid decarbonisation, electronic devices’ energy efficiency improvement, lifetime extension, and recycling, and behavioural change is paramount to prevent the increasing Internet demand from hindering sustainable lifestyles.
On computing modified moments for half-range Hermite weights
Authors: Laudadio Teresa , Mastronardi Nicola , Dooren Paul Van
Published: February 2023

In this paper we consider the computation of the modified moments for the system of Laguerre polynomials on the real semiaxis with the Hermite weight. These moments can be used for the computation of integrals with the Hermite weight for the real semiaxis, either via product rules or via the construction of the n-point Gaussian quadrature rule with respect to this nonstandard weight using the Chebyshev algorithm. We propose a new computational method based on the construction of the null-space of a rectangular matrix derived from the three--term recurrence relation of the system of orthonormal Laguerre polynomials. It is shown that the proposed algorithm computes the modified moments with high accuracy and linear complexity. Numerical examples illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
CNN-based deep learning method for predicting the disease response of NAC (Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy) treatment method in Breast Cancer
Authors: Kirelli¹ Yasin , Arslankaya Seher , Koçer Havva Belma , Harmantepe Tarik
Published: February 2023

Healthcare institutions produce big heterogeneous data in different structures and sources daily. Depending on this situation, the prediction of being able to make sense of and manage the data in this structure with traditional methods could decrease. Depending on this situation, the performance of interpreting and managing data in this structure decreases with traditional methods. It is a powerful tool for managing, interpreting, and analyzing such data with machine learning and deep learning methods. The correct diagnosis of the disease and the correct analysis of pathological data depend on obtaining and interpreting the appropriate data for prediction. NAC (Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy), a treatment method used in breast cancer cases discussed in the study, aimed to predict patients' response to treatment and the disease development process in the pathological area. Classification performances of CNN-based proposed models for tumor status after NAC treatment have been evaluated in detail through pathological data frequently used in the healthcare industry. The number of convolutional layers, data set quality, and main criteria that may affect the model's success during training have been evaluated. Since it can offer strong feature representation, results have been obtained with scenarios based on CNN models from deep neural networks. Interpreting the pathological test results with deep learning methods in determining the correct diagnosis and treatment method with the prognosis follow-up of the patient provides clinicians with a solution to a large extent.
Histological and bone mineral density analyses of the mandibular lamellar/oblique fracture healing in beagles.
Authors: Xin Tingting , Li Jun , Xu Qian
Published: February 2023

Objective: The goal of this study was to determine whether there were any differences in the healing processes for linear fractures and lamellar/oblique mandibular fractures.
Materials and methods: Using a random number generator, two groups of six beagle dogs each were created from a group of twelve.The experimental group was the lamellar/oblique fracture of the mandible, while the control group was the traditional linear fracture. The first premolar and the first molar were where the fracture occurred. Two 4-hole bone plates were used to repair the fracture line.
Results: X-ray:the experimental group's fracture space was fuzzier and eventually disappeared between the two groups. Histology: the Collagen Volume Fraction in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group three months after surgery. The experimental group had more bone cells than the control group did one month following the surgery.Both groups' trabecular arrangements became more regular as the healing process progressed.Bone mineral density: the experimental group's bone mineral density was higher than the control group's one month following surgery. Four-point bending test:the experimental group's fracture energy was higher than the control group's one month following the surgery. The experimental group's stiffness was substantially greater than the control group's three months after the procedure. The maximal loading of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group at one and three months following the operation.
Conclusion: In comparison to traditional linear fractures, lamellar/oblique fractures of the mandible have higher bone mineral density, are more rigid, and heal more quickly.
Tolerance specifications management in industrial product design cycle
Authors: Maltauro Mattia , Meneghello Roberto , Concheri Gianmaria
Published: February 2023

In tolerancing activities, focusing on geometrical tolerances allocation, many critical issues originate from a non-optimal responsibilities assignment among the involved organization units. This paper aims to depict relations between different tolerancing activities, and relevant specifications, assigning them to the proper actor, therefore expanding the ISO 8015:2011 “responsibility principle”. A classification among tolerancing activities, specifications, and media is proposed; a horizontal hierarchical framework, among functional, manufacturing, and verification specifications and a vertical hierarchical framework, along the supply chain, are discussed. Examples of both hierarchical structures are presented.
Analysis of seasonal environmental fragility using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and soil loss estimation in the Urutu watershed, Brazil.
Authors: Oliveira Víncler Fernandes Ribeiro de Oliveira , Vick Erivelton Pereira Vick , Bacani Vitor Matheus Bacani
Published: February 2023

Land use intensification has contributed to the emergence of impacts on the environment such as soil loss, silting of watercourses, and biodiversity reduction, among others. Using models that can seasonally diagnose environmental damage is of fundamental importance in territorial planning and management. This work aimed to analyze the seasonal Environmental Fragility (EF) from the autumn of 2019 to the summer of 2020 using the soil loss estimate. To do this, data such as slope, erodibility, erosivity and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were used. Statistical tests were also applied to assess the significance level of the models in the seasonal evaluation, as well as in the validation based on ground truth points. The results showed that there is seasonal differentiation in the EF and in the soil loss estimation, in which NDVI and erosivity are two of the main responsible factors. Spring was the one that resulted in the largest area classified as high EF (27%) and with an estimated soil loss of 0.3733 t.ha-1month-3. The summer presented the highest soil loss estimation with an average value of 0.4393 t.ha-1month-3. Autumn (0.07683 t.ha-1month-3) and winter (0.0569 t.ha-1month-3) showed the lowest rates of soil loss and the largest areas classified in the low class of EF, as a result, mainly, of the erosivity of the rains. The results indicated by the seasonal models of EF and soil loss were validated through erosion points using spatial statistics tests.
Highly versatile dissolution DNP: implementation of a multi- sample/multi-nucleus cryogenic probe with parallel NMR detection
Authors: Lê Thanh Phong , Hyacinthe Jean-Noël , Capozzi Andrea
Published: February 2023

Dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (dDNP) is the most versatile hyperpolarization technique to enhance NMR sensitivity in the liquid state. The unprecedented signal enhancement is the key for a large range of applications spanning from fast chemical reaction monitoring to metabolism investigation in real time. Unfortunately, this exceptional time resolution does not come without a price. Low throughput is one of dDNP main shortcomings. Especially for clinical and preclinical applications, where direct 13C nuclei polarization is usually pursued, it takes hours to generate one single hyperpolarized (HP) sample. Therefore, being able to hyperpolarize more samples at once represents a clear advantage and can expand the range and complexity of the applications. Some clinical and preclinical systems are equipped with a multi-sample option. Nevertheless, the solid-state NMR detection is far from optimal, not being sample selective or requiring the displacement of the sample to acquire and monitor its signal. In this work, we present the design and performance of a highly versatile and customizable dDNP cryogenic probe, herein adapted to a 5 T “wet” preclinical polarizer, that can not only accommodate up to three Custom Fluid Paths (CFPs), but it is also capable of monitoring the solid-state dynamics of each sample separately, thanks to dedicated pseudo-Alderman-Grant coils and multi-nuclei parallel Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) acquisition on three distinct channels. Within 30 min, the system was able to dispense three HP solutions with high repeatability across the channels (30.0 ± 1.2% carbon polarization for [1-13C]pyruvic acid doped with trityl radical). Moreover, we tested multi-nucleus NMR capability by polarizing and monitoring simultaneously 13C, 1H and 129Xe. Finally, we implemented [1-13C]lactate/[1-13C]pyruvate polarization and back-to-back dissolution and injection in a healthy mouse model to perform multiple-substrate HP Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) at 14.1 T.
Cone-shaped resonator-based highly efficient broadband metamaterial absorber
Authors: Kumar Raj , Singh Bipin K. , Pandey Praveen C
Published: February 2023

We propose a highly efficient, low-cost metamaterial absorber of nickel (Ni) metal-based cone-shaped resonators with a silicon dioxide dielectric layer (SiO2). The proposed absorber exhibits an average absorption of 97% for the transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) modes over the visible region which is simulated by CST software. The nickel-metal impedance coincides with the impedance of free space and makes the proposed design an effective broadband absorber in the visible region. The average absorption with different incidence angles obtains over 90% and shows the polarization angles' independence. The average absorption spectra are also examined for the absorber with different noble metals. In addition, short-circuit current densities (Jsc) are calculated at different incidence angles for both modes under a global air mass of 1.5 (AM1.5). We have also plotted the J–V curve to obtain the values of the open-circuit voltage (Voc), Fill Factor, and conversion efficiency (η), whose values are 0.563V, 81.86%, and 11.68%, respectively. The proposed metamaterial absorber can be utilized to develop more reliable, highly efficient, cost-effective, and maximum-power extraction photovoltaic systems.
Oral administration of silybin protects against MPTP-induced neurotoxicity by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines and preserving BDNF levels in mice
Authors: Ramírez-Carreto Ricardo J. , Zaldívar-Machorro Víctor J. , Pérez-Ramírez Dafne J. , Rodríguez-López Blanca E. , Meza Claudia , García Esperanza , Santamaría Abel , Chavarria Anahi
Published: February 2023

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most frequent neurodegenerative disease associated with motor dysfunction secondary to the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal axis. Actual therapy consists mainly of levodopa; however, its long-term use promotes secondary effects. Consequently, finding new therapeutic alternatives, such as neuroprotective molecules, is necessary. Among these alternatives is silybin (Sb), the major bioactive flavonolignan in silymarin. Both exert neuroprotective effects, preserving dopamine levels and dopaminergic neurons when administered in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse PD model, being probably Sb the potential therapeutic molecule behind this effect.
To elucidate the role of Sb in the PD model, we determined the dose-dependent conservation of striatal dopamine content following Sb oral administration. Then, we evaluated motor deficit tests using the best dopamine conservative dose of Sb and determined a cytokine-dependent inflammatory profile status, malondialdehyde as an oxidative stress product, and neurotrophic factors content in the MPTP-induced mouse PD model.
Our results show that oral Sb at 100 mg/kg dose conserved about 60% dopamine levels. Also, Sb improved motor deficits, preserved neurotrophic factors content and mitochondrial function, reduced lipid peroxidation, diminished proinflammatory cytokines to basal levels, enhanced fractalkine production in the striatum and substantia nigra, and increased IL-10 and IL-4 levels in the substantia nigra in the MPTP mice. Thus, oral Sb may be a potential pharmacological PD treatment alternative.
An Optimized GATK4 Pipeline for Plasmodium falciparum Whole Genome Sequencing Variant Calling and Analysis
Authors: Niaré Karamoko , Greenhouse Bryan , Bailey Jeffrey A
Published: February 2023

Background
Accurate variant calls from whole genome sequencing (WGS) of Plasmodium falciparum infections are crucial in malaria population genomics. Here we optimized a falciparum variant calling pipeline based on GATK version 4 (GATK4) and applied it to 6,626 public Illumina WGS samples.
Methods
We optimized parameters that control the heterozygosity, local assembly region size, ploidy, mapping and base quality in both GATK HaplotypeCaller and GenotypeGVCFs leveraging control WGS and accurate PacBio assemblies of 10 laboratory strains. From these controls we generated a high-quality training dataset to recalibrate the raw variant data.
Results
On current high-quality samples (read length = 250bp, insert size = 405 - 524 bp ), we show improved sensitivity (86.6 ± 1.7% for SNPs and 82.2 ± 5.9% for indels) compared to the default GATK4 pipeline (77.7 ± 1.3% for SNPs; and 73.1 ± 5.1% for indels, adjusted P < 0.001) and previous variant calling with GATK version 3 (GATK3, 70.3 ± 3.0% for SNPs and 59.7 ± 5.8% for indels, adjusted P < 0.001). The sensitivity of our pipeline on simulated mixed infection samples (80.8 ± 6.1% for SNPs and 78.3 ± 5.1% for indels) was again improved relative to default GATK4 (68.8 ± 6.0% for SNPs and 38.9 ± 0.7% for indels, adjusted P < 0.001). Precision was high and comparable across all pipelines on each type of data tested. We further show that using the combination of high-quality SNPs and indels increases the resolution of local population population structure detection in sub-Saharan Africa. We finally demonstrate that increasing ploidy improves the detection of drug resistance mutations and estimation of complexity of infection.
Conclusions
Overall, we provide an optimized GATK4 pipeline and resource for falciparum variant calling which should help improve genomic studies of malaria.
A multi-criteria approach to evaluate the sustainability: a case study of the Navarrese wine sector
Authors: Mainar-Toledo María Dolores , Palmero Maider Gomez , Ramirez Maryori Diaz , Mendioroz Iñaki , Zambrana-Vasquez David
Published: February 2023

The present work introduces a multi-criteria approach focused on the evaluation of the wine production considering the three dimensions of sustainability, environmental, economic and social. Most relevant key performance indicators have been selected within each dimension and disaggregated into sub-indicators to address different sustainability aspects. The Analytic Hierarchy Process has been applied as the method to weight the relevance of the three dimensions and corresponding key performance indicators. Although the approach developed is specifically designed for the wine sector in the Navarrese region and therefore the key performance indicators selection could need an adjustment to adapt to the reality in other regions, results demonstrate how the approach proposed is able to identify, for both the vineyard and winery, the strengths, and weaknesses regarding the sustainability performance of them. Additionally, it also contributes to shed light on the most suitable and recommended actions to increase the company’s sustainability from sustainable perspective.
Reduce evaporation in water storage tanks by hydrophobic Leca in the experimental environment
Authors: Jajin Roza Ghahramani , Ghorbanpour Mohammad
Published: February 2023

Evaporative loss reduction has recently received attention due to increasing water demand and decreasing water availability. For this reason, researchers are trying to produce and use high efficiency with easy and cheap materials and methods. In this; research, Leca stone has been hydrophobized by stearic acid and used to reduce water evaporation in tanks in a laboratory environment. The structural properties and hydrophobicity of the hydrophobic Leca coating were analyzed by BET (Brunauer Emmett Teller), (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) FT-IR, XRD (X-ray diffraction spectroscopy) and (Thermo Gravimetric Analysis) TGA. The stability of the synthesized hydrophobic sample is more than 200 days, and its contact angle is 143 degrees. The evaporation efficiency of hydrophobic Leca and hexadecanol was investigated at 5, 25, and 40 ºC and in the presence of wind and sunlight. It prevented water evaporation by 26 and 30%, respectively, at an average relative humidity of 56%.
Data from the Evi-Dem study: characteristics, services, and costs of later- stage dementia care in England
Authors: Clarkson Paul , Davies Sue , Shields Gemma , Toole Cecilia , Sheriff Ian , Kaye Simon
Published: February 2023

Objectives:
This paper provides the data set from the Evi-Dem study, to promote data on the circumstances, services, costs, and outcomes of people in later stage dementia and their carers living at home in 17 areas of England. People with dementia’s sociodemographic data and data on their social networks, cognition, daily living activities, and quality of life were collected as were carers’ sociodemographic data and data on their quality of life, health and burden. The Evi-Dem project also provides data on the services received by people with dementia and their carers, and their costs. Inclusion criteria for participation were that they were aged 60 years and over, in later stages of dementia, had a carer, received an assessment/review of their care needs in the last three months, received support at home, and were resident within one of the sampled geographical areas.
Data description:
We provide sociodemographic data and data of cognitive, functional, and quality of life assessments of 518 people with dementia and their carers living at home across 17 areas of England. For each participant, standardized measures of these data are available as well as the volume, duration, and cost of support from services and carers and quality adjusted life years.
Deviation frequencies of Brownian path property approximations
Authors: Högele Michael A. , Steinicke Alexander
Published: February 2023

This case study proposes robustness quantifications of many classical sample path properties of Brownian motion in terms of the (mean) deviation frequencies along typical a.s. approximations. This includes Lévy's construction of Brownian motion, the Kolmogorov-Chentsov (and the Kolmogorov-Totoki) continuity theorem, Lévy's modulus of continuity, the Paley-Wiener-Zygmund theorem, the a.s. approximation of the quadratic variation as well as the laws of the iterated logarithm by Khinchin, Chung and Strassen, among others.
MSC Classification: 60A10; 60F15; 60G17
A high-precision prediction method for coarse grids based on deep learning and the Weather Research and Forecasting model
Authors: He Junyi , Liu Xinyu , Wang Hanqing , Zhu Dongnan , liu zhenming
Published: February 2023

The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model improves the accuracy of climate prediction and obtains meteorological parameters for fine grids; however, fine grid climate predictions for different time periods and regions often consumes a great amount of computational resources. In this letter, the MRA-GAN network is proposed based on the generative adversarial network; the technique is applied to restore a simulated image from a coarse-grid WRF mode to a simulated image from a fine-grid WRF mode. The fine-grid image generated by MRA-GAN is very similar to the original fine-grid image. When compared with SRWGAN-GP, the average of peak signal-to-noise was improved by approximately 0.54dB, and the average structural similarity index was improved by approximately 3%. After comparing the downscaling results of temperature, wind speed and relative humidity of various models with the original data, the results show that MRA-GAN has the highest correlation, the lowest data dispersion, and the smallest data error. The trained network model was able to efficiently transform the coarse-grid meteorological fields from different time periods and different simulation variablesinto fine-grid meteorological fields, and it greatly reduced the computational workload.
Effect of Temperature and Water Content on the Oxidation Behaviour and Cr Evaporation of High-Cr Steels for SOFC Cathode Air Preheaters
Authors: Zhang Kun , El-Kharouf Ahmad , Steinberger-Wilckens Robert
Published: February 2023

Stainless steel is being investigated for use in cathode air pre-heater for solid oxide fuel cell systems because of its high thermal conductivity, formability, manufacturability, and superior mechanical properties. However, high temperature steels often contain a high concentration of Cr which presents a risk of evaporation and contaminating the cathode of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The oxidation and Cr2O3 evaporation mechanisms of the stainless steels including Inconel 625, SS309, and AluChrom 318 have been investigated by varying temperatures and water content of the exposure atmosphere. For the influence of water content, samples of Inconel 625, SS309 and AluChrom 318 were isothermally exposed at 850°C in dry air and air containing 1%, 3% and 9% of H2O at a high flow rate for 168 hours. For the influence of temperature, samples of Inconel 625, SS309, and AluChrom 318 were isothermally exposed at 650°C, 750°C and 850°C in a 6.0 L/min air stream containing 3% H2O for 168 hours. The results of this study show that Cr2O3 evaporation and oxidation rates were dramatically reduced with decreasing temperature for Inconel 625 and SS309. AluChrom 318 exhibited a decreased oxidation rate with decreasing temperature, but it demonstrated a reverse trend to the temperature dependent Cr2O3 evaporation compared to Inconel 625 and SS309. The major effect of water vapour on the three tested materials appeared to be the further enhancement of Cr2O3 evaporation.
Development of HPLC method for rapid profiling of serotonin receptor ligands and their oxidative degradants
Authors: Obradović Darija , Savić Jelena , Joksimović Jovana , Marković Bojan , Vujić Zorica , Lazović Saša
Published: February 2023

The serotonin receptor ligands and their related compounds are used for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS)-related disorders. The retention profile of six serotonin receptor ligands such as aripiprazole, ziprasidone, risperidone, olanzapine, mianserin, and quetiapine was investigated on two stationary phases that differ in polarities (C8 alkyl and pentafluorophenylpropyl (PFP)). The design of experiments (DoE) methodology was used to define the retention mechanism and to produce acceptable separation results. The chromatographic conditions that provide the best selectivity characteristics are considered for the separation of structurally related oxidative impurities. The selected conditions (C8 stationary phase, 40% acetonitrile, 20mM ammonium acetate, 25 ℃) showed better sensitivity and improved selectivity in the separation of aripiprazole, ziprasidone, and their oxidative degradants compared to the already developed high-performance liquid chromatography methods. The selected method was validated for the determination of aripiprazole in pharmaceutical forms and was found to be selective, sensitive, precise, accurate, and robust. It can be used as a basis for rapid chromatographic profiling of serotonin receptor ligands and their related impurities.
Mind the Gap: Reconciling tropical forest carbon flux estimates from Global Earth Observation and National Reporting
Authors: Heinrich Viola H.A. , House Joanna , Gibbs David , Harris Nancy , Herold Martin , Grassi Giacomo , Cantinho Roberta , Rosan Thais , Zimbres Barbara , Shimbo Julia , Hales Tristram , Sitch Stephen , Aragão Luiz
Published: February 2023

Background
Different methods estimating the global anthropogenic land flux, which is dominated by forest-related activities, vary in magnitude and direction with respect to whether the land is a net source or sink. One reason for these variations is the extent to which methods consider land to be “managed”, thus contributing to the anthropogenic flux. Earth Observation (EO) datasets characterising spatio-temporal changes in land cover and carbon stocks provide an independent approach to flux estimations that can be compared against National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (NGHGIs) to support accurate and timely monitoring, reporting and verification capacity. Using Brazil as a primary case study, with additional analysis in Indonesia and Malaysia, we compare EO-based estimates of forest fluxes to NGHGIs.
Results
Between 2001 and 2020, the EO-derived estimates of all forest-related emissions and removals indicate that Brazil was a net sink of carbon (-0.2 GtCO2yr− 1), while Brazil’s NGHGI reports a net carbon source (+ 0.8 GtCO2yr− 1). After adjusting the Global EO estimate to accommodate the Brazilian NGHGI definition of managed forest and other assumptions used in the inventory’s methodology, the Global EO net flux became a source of + 0.6 GtCO2yr− 1, comparable to the NGHGI. Remaining discrepancies are largely due to differences in carbon removal factors and forest types considered in the two datasets. In Indonesia, Global EO and NGHGI net flux estimates were similar (+ 0.6 GtCO2 yr− 1), but in Malaysia, they differed in both magnitude and sign (NGHGI: -0.2 GtCO2 yr− 1; Global EO: +0.2 GtCO2 yr− 1). Spatially explicit datasets on forest types were not publicly available in either country, limiting the possibility of detailed analyses and adjustments.
Conclusions
By adjusting the Global EO dataset to improve comparability with carbon fluxes estimated for managed forests in the Brazilian NGHGI, initially diverging estimates were largely reconciled and remaining differences explained. Despite limited spatial data in Indonesia and Malaysia, our comparison indicated where differing approaches may explain uncertainties and inaccuracies. Our study highlights that comparing Global EO and NGHGIs is a useful exercise to improve both datasets towards greater accuracy and alignment, provided that sufficiently transparent and complete information is available for such detailed analyses.