bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Basin Runoff Responses to Climate Change Using a Rainfall-Runoff Hydrological Model in Southeast Australia
Authors: Muhury Newton , Ayele Gebiaw T. , Balcha Sisay Kebede , Jemberie Mengistu A. , Teferi Ermias
Published: February 2023

The effects of climate change have been observed in the Murrumbidgee River basin, which is one of the main river basins in the southeast region of Australia. The study area is the largest and most important agricultural production area within the Murray Darling Basin (MDB). It produces more than AUD 1.9 billion of agricultural products annually and accounts for about 46% of Australia’s total agricultural production. Since Australia’s economy largely depends on its natural resources, climate change adversely impacts the economy in various ways. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fifth assessment report (IPCC, AR5), the adaptive capacity and adaptation processes have increased in Australia. The country has implemented policies and management changes in both rural and urban water systems to adapt to future drought, unexpected floods, and other climatic changes. In this study, future catchment runoff has been estimated using the hydrological model, Simplified Hydrolog (SIMHYD), which is integrated with data from three different General Circulation Models (GCMs) and future emission scenarios. Two different representative concentration pathway (RCP) emission scenarios, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, have been used to obtain downscaled future precipitation and evapotranspiration data for the period of 2016 to 2100. Modeling results from the two emission scenarios showed an anticipated warmer and drier climate for the Murrumbidgee River catchment. Runoff in the Murrumbidgee catchment is affected by various dams and weirs, which yields positive results in runoff even when the monthly rainfall trend decreases. The overall runoff simulation result indicated that the impact of climate change is short and intense. The result of the Simplified Hydrolog (SIMHYD) modeling tool used in this study under the RCP 4.5 scenario for the period 2016 to 2045 indicates a significant future impact from climate change on the volumes of runoff in the Murrumbidgee River catchment. For the same period, the climate change prediction showed a decrease in total annual rainfall within the range of 2% to 62%. This reduction in rainfall is projected to decrease river runoff in the upper catchments (e.g., Tharwa, and Yass) by 17% to 58% over the projected periods. However, the runoff trends in the lower sub-catchments (e.g., Borambola) have increased by 137% to 87% under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, respectively. This increasing potential runoff trend in the lower Murrumbidgee catchments gives an indication to build irrigation dams for dry season irrigation management.
Diesel Engine Emission Aftertreatment Device Aging Mechanism and Durability Assessment Methods: A Review
Authors: Yu Tian , Li Kai , Wu Qian , Yao Peng , Ke Jia , Wang Bowen , Wang Yanjun
Published: February 2023

To meet more and more stringent emission standards, the combined technologies must be used to purify the emission pollutants of vehicle exhaust. Among them, the aftertreatment devices, including DOC, SCR, DPF, and so on, are the most efficient methods. However, after long-term running, the performance of the aftertreatment devices will inevitably degrade. There are several mechanisms that can be used to explain the aging phenomena. For the catalytic devices, such as DOC and SCR, thermal aging and poisoning aging are the most important reasons for their performance deterioration. As for DPF, ash clogging is a key problem for its stable working. To develop and test aftertreatment devices better and faster, the accelerated aging methods must be researched and applied. The small-sample aging method enables accelerated aging of catalyst samples at a very low cost, but its aging accuracy may not be good enough. Although the results of the whole-vehicle aging method and bench engine aging method are more in accord with the real using course, they take too much time and are too expensive to be used widely. Burner aging is a promising way to simulate the long-term running of the catalysts.
Short-Term Prediction of 80–88 km Wind Speed in Near Space Based on VMD–PSO–LSTM
Authors: Yang Shaoyi , Yang Hua , Li Na , Ding Zonghua
Published: February 2023

The accurate prediction of atmospheric wind speed in near space is of importance for both middle and upper atmospheric scientific research and engineering applications. In order to improve the accuracy of short-term wind speed predictions in near space, this paper proposes a multi-step hybrid prediction method based on the combination of variational modal decomposition (VMD), particle swarm optimization (PSO) and long short-term memory neural networks (LSTM). This paper uses the measurement of wind speed in the height range of 80–88 km at the Kunming site (25.6° N, 103.8° E) for wind speed prediction experiments. The results show that the root mean square error (RMSE) and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of multi–step wind predictions are less than 6 m/s and 15%, respectively. Furthermore, the proposed VMD–PSO–LSTM method is compared with the traditional seasonal difference autoregressive sliding average model (SARIMA) to investigate its performance. Our analysis shows that the percentage improvement of prediction performance compared to the traditional time series prediction model can reach at most 85.21% and 83.75% in RMSE and MAPE, respectively, which means that the VMD–PSO–LSTM model has better accuracy in the multi-step prediction of the wind speed.
Sources of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere: Hydrocarbon Emission from Gas Hydrates in Focus
Authors: Kutcherov Vladimir , Kudryavtsev Daniil , Serovaiskii Aleksandr
Published: February 2023

The concentration of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere has significantly increased over the last 60 years. One of the factors in the growth of methane and its homologue emissions is the intense thawing of gas hydrates, mainly from the Arctic shelf, which remains one of the less studied sources of atmospheric hydrocarbon emissions. Oxidation of methane and light-saturated hydrocarbons by ozone in the upper part of the atmosphere leads to the formation of CO2. The analysis of several datasets presented in this paper allows us to find the correlation between CH4 and CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. This finding suggests that methane and its homologues released from gas hydrates mainly in the Arctic shelf zone become a significant source of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Because the amount of hydrocarbons located in gas hydrate deposits on the Arctic shelf is huge, further evolution of this process can become a serious challenge.
The Atom at the Heart of Physics
Authors: Connerade Jean-Patrick
Published: February 2023

A number of reasons are advanced for which atoms stand at the heart of research in the physical sciences. There are issues in physics which are both fundamental and only partly resolved or, at least, imperfectly understood. Rather than chase them towards higher and higher energies, which mainly results in greater complexity, it makes sense to restrict oneself to the simplest systems known, held together by the best understood force in nature, viz. those governed by the inverse square law. Our line of argument complements the adage of Richard Feynman, who asked: should Armageddon occur, is there a simple, most important idea to preserve as a testament to human knowledge? The answer he suggested is: the atomic hypothesis.
Blockchain-Federated and Deep-Learning-Based Ensembling of Capsule Network with Incremental Extreme Learning Machines for Classification of COVID-19 Using CT Scans
Authors: Malik Hassaan , Anees Tayyaba , Naeem Ahmad , Naqvi Rizwan Ali , Loh Woong-Kee
Published: February 2023

Due to the rapid rate of SARS-CoV-2 dissemination, a conversant and effective strategy must be employed to isolate COVID-19. When it comes to determining the identity of COVID-19, one of the most significant obstacles that researchers must overcome is the rapid propagation of the virus, in addition to the dearth of trustworthy testing models. This problem continues to be the most difficult one for clinicians to deal with. The use of AI in image processing has made the formerly insurmountable challenge of finding COVID-19 situations more manageable. In the real world, there is a problem that has to be handled about the difficulties of sharing data between hospitals while still honoring the privacy concerns of the organizations. When training a global deep learning (DL) model, it is crucial to handle fundamental concerns such as user privacy and collaborative model development. For this study, a novel framework is designed that compiles information from five different databases (several hospitals) and edifies a global model using blockchain-based federated learning (FL). The data is validated through the use of blockchain technology (BCT), and FL trains the model on a global scale while maintaining the secrecy of the organizations. The proposed framework is divided into three parts. First, we provide a method of data normalization that can handle the diversity of data collected from five different sources using several computed tomography (CT) scanners. Second, to categorize COVID-19 patients, we ensemble the capsule network (CapsNet) with incremental extreme learning machines (IELMs). Thirdly, we provide a strategy for interactively training a global model using BCT and FL while maintaining anonymity. Extensive tests employing chest CT scans and a comparison of the classification performance of the proposed model to that of five DL algorithms for predicting COVID-19, while protecting the privacy of the data for a variety of users, were undertaken. Our findings indicate improved effectiveness in identifying COVID-19 patients and achieved an accuracy of 98.99%. Thus, our model provides substantial aid to medical practitioners in their diagnosis of COVID-19.
Separating and Purifying Mycosporine-like Amino Acids from Cyanobacteria for Application in Commercial Sunscreen Formulations
Authors: Candelo Valeria , Llewellyn Carole Anne
Published: February 2023

Using algal-derived mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) in sunscreen formulations is constrained by low cellular concentrations of MAAs and by the high costs associated with harvesting algal cells and extracting the MAAs. Here, we report an industrial scalable method using a membrane filtration approach to purify and concentrate aqueous extracts of MAAs. The method includes an additional biorefinery step enabling purification of phycocyanin, an established valuable natural product. Cultivated cells of the cyanobacterium Chlorogloeopsis fritschii (PCC 6912) were concentrated and homogenised to produce a feed for sequential processing through three membranes of decreasing pore size to obtain a retentate and permeate for each step. Microfiltration (0.2 µm) was used to remove cell debris. Ultrafiltration (10,000 Da) was used to remove large molecules and recover phycocyanin. Finally, nanofiltration (300–400 Da) was used to remove water and other small molecules. Permeate and retentate were analysed using UV-visible spectrophotometry and HPLC. The initial homogenised feed had a shinorine concentration of 5.6 ± 07 mg L−1. The final nanofiltered retentate resulted in a 3.3 times-purified concentrate (shinorine concentration of 18.71 ± 0.29 mg L−1). Significant process losses (35%) highlight scope for improvement. Results confirm the potential of membrane filtration to purify and concentrate aqueous solutions of MAAs with simultaneous separation of phycocyanin highlighting a biorefinery approach.
Using Acoustic Data Repositories to Study Vocal Responses to Playback in a Neotropical Songbird
Authors: Guimarães Pietra Oliveira , Guimarães Letícia Campos , Oliveira Renato Rodrigues , Almeida Fernando , Diniz Pedro
Published: February 2023

Birds may alter song structure in response to territorial challenges to convey information about aggressive intent or fighting ability. Professional and amateur ornithologists upload daily many birdsong recordings into acoustic data repositories, usually scoring whether songs were recorded in response to a conspecific playback or produced spontaneously. We analyzed recordings from these repositories to evaluate if song traits of Rufous-browed Peppershrikes (Cyclarhis gujanensis) vary between playback-elicited songs and spontaneous songs. For each recording after playback, we chose one spatially closer spontaneous recording to avoid geographic bias. Birds recorded after playback produced slightly longer songs than birds that were singing spontaneously. This result was accounted for by increases in the amount of sound and silence within a song after the playback instead of changes in the mean number or duration of elements. Playback did not alter song frequency parameters (bandwidth, minimum, mean, and maximum frequencies) or song rate. These results indicate that song duration might mediate aggressive interactions in Rufous-browed Peppershrikes. Even considering limitations such as unknown playback stimulus identity and possible pseudoreplication, acoustic data repositories give a unique yet unexplored opportunity to gather insights into the evolution of song flexibility during aggressive encounters.
OViTAD: Optimized Vision Transformer to Predict Various Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease Using Resting-State fMRI and Structural MRI Data
Authors: Sarraf Saman , Sarraf Arman , DeSouza Danielle D. , Anderson John A. E. , Kabia Milton ,   The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: February 2023

Advances in applied machine learning techniques for neuroimaging have encouraged scientists to implement models to diagnose brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease at early stages. Predicting the exact stage of Alzheimer’s disease is challenging; however, complex deep learning techniques can precisely manage this. While successful, these complex architectures are difficult to interrogate and computationally expensive. Therefore, using novel, simpler architectures with more efficient pattern extraction capabilities, such as transformers, is of interest to neuroscientists. This study introduced an optimized vision transformer architecture to predict the group membership by separating healthy adults, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s brains within the same age group (>75 years) using resting-state functional (rs-fMRI) and structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) data aggressively preprocessed by our pipeline. Our optimized architecture, known as OViTAD is currently the sole vision transformer-based end-to-end pipeline and outperformed the existing transformer models and most state-of-the-art solutions. Our model achieved F1-scores of 97%±0.0 and 99.55%±0.39 from the testing sets for the rs-fMRI and sMRI modalities in the triple-class prediction experiments. Furthermore, our model reached these performances using 30% fewer parameters than a vanilla transformer. Furthermore, the model was robust and repeatable, producing similar estimates across three runs with random data splits (we reported the averaged evaluation metrics). Finally, to challenge the model, we observed how it handled increasing noise levels by inserting varying numbers of healthy brains into the two dementia groups. Our findings suggest that optimized vision transformers are a promising and exciting new approach for neuroimaging applications, especially for Alzheimer’s disease prediction.
Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders: The SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Implications
Authors: Narzisi Antonio , Alcantud-Marin Francisco , Alonso-Esteban Yurena , Battini Roberta , Cantiani Chiara , Conti Eugenia , Fusar-Poli Laura , Lecciso Flavia , Levante Annalisa , Mazzone Luigi , Milone Annarita , Riva Valentina , Siracusano Martina , Aguglia Eugenio
Published: February 2023

The Special Issue (SI) “Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders: The SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Implications” is an interesting project that adopted a scientific point of view with important implications in clinical and practical fields [...]
“I Thought It Would Have Been More about Only the Fun Stuff”—Exploring the Expectation–Reality Gap among the Novice Solo Self-Employed
Authors: Gevaert Jessie , Bosmans Kim , De Moortel Deborah , Vanroelen Christophe
Published: February 2023

Research on the career expectations of employees and the potential (mis)match with their lived reality is abundant, yet the research field has paid less attention to the expectation–reality gap of the self-employed. Self-employed people’s attitudes towards work are, however, important for determining business success and persistence. Therefore, research is needed to examine their expectations as well as how self-employed people’s expectations materialize in their experiences. By analyzing in-depth interviews with 19 self-employed workers without employees in Belgium, both desired and undesired career expectations were revealed. After becoming self-employed, these expectations sometimes materialized in reality, in both a positive (e.g., independence and doing what you love) and a negative (e.g., risk and insecurity) sense. Our results also imply that expectation–reality gaps going in two directions exist. We identified positive expectations being met by less-positive experiences (e.g., loneliness, increased responsibility, being unable to do what you like, overestimated financial success, and unavailable or expensive formal support), as well as negative expectations being met by better experiences (e.g., social support between self-employed colleagues). The study signals that the social environment of the solo self-employed (SSE) merits policy attention. Efforts need to be made to create self-employed networks, where professional and social ties can be formed.
Long-Term Survival of Patients with Mantle Cell Lymphoma after Total Body Irradiation, High-Dose Chemotherapy and Stem Cell Transplantation: A Monocenter Study
Authors: Kröger Kai , Siats Jan , Kerkhoff Andrea , Lenz Georg , Stelljes Matthias , Eich Hans Theodor , Reinartz Gabriele
Published: February 2023

Introduction: In patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), long-term remissions can be achieved by stem cell transplantation (SCT). Different conditioning treatment protocols exist with or without total body irradiation (TBI). There are few data published on the role of TBI before autologous stem cell transplantation (autoSCT) or allogenic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). We report on the long-term survival data of patients treated by TBI prior to autologous or allogenic SCT at our center. Patients: In a retrospective analysis, the data of patients treated at the University Hospital of Muenster from May 2004 to February 2015 were collected and evaluated. For the analysis, all data of patients who were histopathologically diagnosed with MCL and underwent TBI prior to stem cell transplantation (SCT) were evaluated. Results: A total of 22 patients (19 men and 3 women) were treated with a TBI-based conditioning prior to SCT. The median age at initial diagnosis was 57.5 years (38–65 years). Seventeen patients had Ann Arbor stage IV, two patients had Ann Arbor stage III, and three patients Ann Arbor stage II disease. AutoSCT was performed in 19 patients and alloSCT was performed in 3 patients. In 18 patients, autoSCT was applied as part of first-line therapy, and in one patient after relapse. Two patients received alloSCT after relapse of MCL, and one patient received alloSCT during first-line therapy after an inadequate treatment response. TBI was performed in 12 patients with 10 Gy and in 6 patients with 12 Gy, these patients subsequently received autoSCT. In the group of four patients who received TBI with four Gy, four patients subsequently received alloSCT and one patient received autoSCT. Median overall survival after autoSCT and previous TBI was 11.4 years (142 months). In total, 11 out of 19 patients treated with autoSCT lived longer than 6.8 years (82–202 months). After alloSCT and previous TBI, the median overall survival was 3.25 years (14–59 months). Conclusions: A large proportion of patients with advanced MCL survived remarkably longer than 11.4 years after high-dose chemotherapy, TBI, and SCT. The present results of multimodal treatment support the published reports that TBI-based high-dose therapy followed by autoSCT is highly effective in this prognostically unfavorable disease situation.
Global Longitudinal Strain in Cardio-Oncology: A Review
Authors: Sławiński Grzegorz , Hawryszko Maja , Liżewska-Springer Aleksandra , Nabiałek-Trojanowska Izabela , Lewicka Ewa
Published: February 2023

Several therapies used in cancer treatment are potentially cardiotoxic and may cause left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and heart failure. For decades, echocardiography has been the main modality for cardiac assessment in cancer patients, and the parameter examined in the context of cardiotoxicity was the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The assessment of the global longitudinal strain (GLS) using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) is an emerging method for detecting and quantifying subtle disturbances in the global long-axis LV systolic function. In the latest ESC guidelines on cardio-oncology, GLS is an important element in diagnosing the cardiotoxicity of oncological therapy. A relative decrease in GLS of >15% during cancer treatment is the recommended cut-off point for suspecting subclinical cardiac dysfunction. An early diagnosis of asymptomatic cardiotoxicity allows the initiation of a cardioprotective treatment and reduces the risk of interruptions or changes in the oncological treatment in the event of LVEF deterioration, which may affect survival.
Management of Locally Advanced or Metastatic Combined Hepatocellular Cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Zhao Jemmy , Stephan-Falkenau Susann , Schuler Markus , Arndt Börge
Published: February 2023

Combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC) is a rare primary liver malignancy that comprises features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CC). Due to the rarity of this tumor, the treatment of choice has not yet been defined. For resectable disease, liver resection is the mainstay treatment. However, most patients relapse or display advanced disease and were not surgical candidates. Although the majority of patients are either primarily or secondarily treated in palliative intent, no guideline recommendations or prospective trial reports exist to allow reliable evaluation of debated treatment options. We review different locoregional or medical treatment options for advanced combined hepatocellular cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC) in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or palliative setting and discuss the possibility of predictive biomarker-guided therapeutic options.
Methanodibenzo[b,f][1,5]dioxocins as Novel Glutaminase Inhibitor with Anti-Glioblastoma Potential
Authors: Murugesan Akshaya , Kari Sana , Shrestha Anita , Assoah Benedicta , Saravanan Konda Mani , Murugesan Monica , Thiyagarajan Ramesh , Candeias Nuno R. , Kandhavelu Meenakshisundaram
Published: February 2023

Glutamine metabolism is an important hallmark of several cancers with demonstrated antitumor activity in glioblastoma cancer cells (GBM). GBM cells regulate glutamine and use it as a major energy source for their proliferation through the glutaminolysis process. Enzymes, such as glutaminase in glutaminolysis, can be targeted by small-molecule inhibitors, thus exhibiting promising anticancer properties. The resistance to glutaminolysis demands the development of new therapeutic molecules to overcome drug resistance. Herein, we have reported a novel library of constrained methanodibenzo[b,f][1,5]dioxocin derivatives as glutaminase (GLS) inhibitors and their anti-GBM potential. The library consisting of seven molecules was obtained through self-condensation of 2′-hydroxyacetophenones, out of which three molecules, namely compounds 3, 5, and 6, were identified with higher binding energy values ranging between −10.2 and −9.8 kcal/mol with GLS (PDB ID; 4O7D). Pharmacological validation of these compounds also showed a higher growth inhibition effect in GBM cells than the standard drug temozolomide (TMZ). The most promising compound, 6, obeyed Lipinski’s rule of five and was identified to interact with key residues Arg307, Asp326, Lys328, Lys399, and Glu403 of GLS. This compound exhibited the best cytotoxic effect with IC50 values of 63 µM and 83 µM in LN229 and SNB19 cells, respectively. The potential activation of GLS by the best-constrained dibenzo[b,f][1,5]dioxocin in the tested series increased apoptosis via reactive oxygen species production in both GBM cells, and exhibited anti-migratory and anti-proliferative properties over time in both cell lines. Our results highlight the activation mechanism of a dibenzo[b,f][1,5]dioxocin from the structural basis and demonstrate that inhibition of glutaminolysis may facilitate the pharmacological intervention for GBM treatment.
The Receptor for Advanced Glycation Endproducts (RAGE) and Its Ligands S100A8/A9 and High Mobility Group Box Protein 1 (HMGB1) Are Key Regulators of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells
Authors: Ostrand-Rosenberg Suzanne , Huecksteadt Tom , Sanders Karl
Published: February 2023

Immunotherapies including checkpoint blockade immunotherapy (CBI) and chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T) have revolutionized cancer treatment for patients with certain cancers. However, these treatments are not effective for all cancers, and even for those cancers that do respond, not all patients benefit. Most cancer patients have elevated levels of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) that are potent inhibitors of antitumor immunity, and clinical and animal studies have demonstrated that neutralization of MDSCs may restore immune reactivity and enhance CBI and CAR-T immunotherapies. MDSCs are homeostatically regulated in that elimination of mature circulating and intratumoral MDSCs results in increased production of MDSCs from bone marrow progenitor cells. Therefore, targeting MDSC development may provide therapeutic benefit. The pro-inflammatory molecules S100A8/A9 and high mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) and their receptor RAGE are strongly associated with the initiation and progression of most cancers. This article summarizes the literature demonstrating that these molecules are integrally involved in the early development, accumulation, and suppressive activity of MDSCs, and postulates that S100A8/A9 and HMGB1 serve as early biomarkers of disease and in conjunction with RAGE are potential targets for reducing MDSC levels and enhancing CBI and CAR-T immunotherapies.
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells “Think” Globally, but Act Locally
Authors: Eissner Günther
Published: February 2023

In this Special Issue of Cells, entitled “Immunomodulation by Mesenchymal Stem Cells 2020”, you can find five excellent papers on the role of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) in immunomodulation, which also includes regenerative processes, such as wound healing [...]
Conjugated Bile Acids Promote Lymphangiogenesis by Modulation of the Reactive Oxygen Species–p90RSK–Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 3 Pathway
Authors: Banerjee Priyanka , Kumaravel Subhashree , Roy Sukanya , Gaddam Niyanshi , Odeh Johnny , Bayless Kayla J. , Glaser Shannon , Chakraborty Sanjukta
Published: February 2023

Conjugated bile acids (BA) are significantly elevated in several liver pathologies and in the metastatic lymph node (LN). However, the effects of BAs on pathological lymphangiogenesis remains unknown. The current study explores the effects of BAs on lymphangiogenesis. BA levels were elevated in the LN and serum of Mdr2−/− mice (model of sclerosing cholangitis) compared to control mice. Liver and LN tissue sections showed a clear expansion of the lymphatic network in Mdr2−/− mice, indicating activated lymphangiogenic pathways. Human lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) expressed BA receptors and a direct treatment with conjugated BAs enhanced invasion, migration, and tube formation. BAs also altered the LEC metabolism and upregulated key metabolic genes. Further, BAs induced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), that in turn phosphorylated the redox-sensitive kinase p90RSK, an essential regulator of endothelial cell dysfunction and oxidative stress. Activated p90RSK increased the SUMOylation of the Prox1 transcription factor and enhanced VEGFR3 expression and 3-D LEC invasion. BA-induced ROS in the LECs, which led to increased levels of Yes-associated protein (YAP), a lymphangiogenesis regulator. The suppression of cellular YAP inhibited BA-induced VEGFR3 upregulation and lymphangiogenic mechanism. Overall, our data shows the expansion of the lymphatic network in presclerotic liver disease and establishes a novel mechanism whereby BAs promote lymphangiogenesis.
Genome-Wide Identification of Sweet Orange WRKY Transcription Factors and Analysis of Their Expression in Response to Infection by Penicillium digitatum
Authors: Xi Dengxian , Yin Tuo , Han Peichen , Yang Xiuyao , Zhang Mengjie , Du Chaojin , Zhang Hanyao , Liu Xiaozhen
Published: February 2023

WRKY transcription factors (TFs) play a vital role in plant stress signal transduction and regulate the expression of various stress resistance genes. Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) accounts for a large proportion of the world’s citrus industry, which has high economic value, while Penicillium digitatum is a prime pathogenic causing postharvest rot of oranges. There are few reports on how CsWRKY TFs play their regulatory roles after P. digitatum infects the fruit. In this study, we performed genome-wide identification, classification, phylogenetic and conserved domain analysis of CsWRKY TFs, visualized the structure and chromosomal localization of the encoded genes, explored the expression pattern of each CsWRKY gene under P. digitatum stress by transcriptome data, and made the functional prediction of the related genes. This study provided insight into the characteristics of 47 CsWRKY TFs, which were divided into three subfamilies and eight subgroups. TFs coding genes were unevenly distributed on nine chromosomes. The visualized results of the intron-exon structure and domain are closely related to phylogeny, and widely distributed cis-regulatory elements on each gene played a global regulatory role in gene expression. The expansion of the CSWRKY TFs family was probably facilitated by twenty-one pairs of duplicated genes, and the results of Ka/Ks calculations indicated that this gene family was primarily subjected to purifying selection during evolution. Our transcriptome data showed that 95.7% of WRKY genes were involved in the transcriptional regulation of sweet orange in response to P. digitatum infection. We obtained 15 differentially expressed genes and used the reported function of AtWRKY genes as references. They may be involved in defense against P. digitatum and other pathogens, closely related to the stress responses during plant growth and development. Two interesting genes, CsWRKY2 and CsWRKY14, were expressed more than 60 times and could be used as excellent candidate genes in sweet orange genetic improvement. This study offers a theoretical basis for the response of CSWRKY TFs to P. digitatum infection and provides a vital reference for molecular breeding.
Effects of Scrophularia buergeriana Extract (Brainon®) on Aging-Induced Memory Impairment in SAMP8 Mice
Authors: Kim Hae Lim , Lee Sung Kwon , Min Da Eun , Bastola Tonking , Chang Bo Yoon , Bae Jin Hye , Lee Dong Ryung
Published: February 2023

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a worldwide problem. Currently, there are no effective drugs for AD treatment. Scrophularia buergeriana Miquel (SB) is a traditional herbal medicine used in Korea to treat various diseases. Our previous studies have shown that ethanol extract of SB roots (SBE, Brainon®) exhibits potent anti-amnesic effects in Aβ1–42- or scopolamine-treated memory impairment mice model and neuroprotective effects in a glutamate-induced SH-SY5Y cell model. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of Brainon® and its mechanism of action in senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice. Brainon® (30 or 100 mg/kg/day) was orally treated to six-month-old SAMP8 mice for 12 weeks. Results revealed that Brainon® administration effectually ameliorated cognitive deficits in Y-maze and passive avoidance tests. Following the completion of behavioral testing, western blotting was performed using the cerebral cortex. Results revealed that Brainon® suppressed Aβ1–42 accumulation, Tau hyperphosphorylation, oxidative stress, and inflammation and alleviated apoptosis in SAMP8 mice. Brainon® also promoted synaptic function by downregulating the expression of AChE and upregulating the expression of p-CREB/CREB and BDNF. Furthermore, Brainon® restored SAMP8-reduced expression of ChAT and -dephosphorylated of ERK and also decreased AChE expression in the hippocampus. Furthermore, Brainon® alleviated AD progression by promoting mitophagy/autophagy to maintain normal cellular function as a novel finding of this study. Our data suggest that Brainon® can remarkably improve cognitive deficiency with the potential to be utilized in functional food for improving brain health.
Prophylaxis of Antifungal Drugs against Systemic Fungemia induced by Oral Candidiasis in Mice
Authors: Ninomiya Kazunori , Katagiri Hiroki , Hara Hajime , Fukui Kayoko , Haga-Tsujimura Maiko , Nakahara Ken , Nakamura Kenjirou
Published: February 2023

Oral mucositis is highly prevalent among the elderly, for whom oral care is often difficult. Oral mucositis, such as candidiasis, can induce systemic fungemia. Antifungal prophylaxis may be useful in such cases to prevent systemic fungemia; however, studies on this are limited. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of antifungal prophylaxis to prevent systemic Candida dissemination compared to oral care using a mice model. Oral candidiasis was induced using chemotherapy and inoculation with C. albicans in 8-week-old male mice. Group A was given oral care, Group B was orally administered an antifungal drug, Group C was intravenously administered an antifungal drug, and Group D was used as the negative control group. Macroscopic features of the tongue surface, colony forming units (CFU) on the tongue, and blood culture for C. albicans were evaluated. CFU was significantly higher in Group A than in Groups B and C. The oral care group, but not the groups administered antifungal agents, showed significantly higher positive numbers of animals with C. albicans in the blood as compared to the control group, indicating the effectiveness of antifungal prophylaxis over oral care. Antifungal prophylaxis may be an option for the prevention of systemic fungemia in individuals with difficulty in oral care.
Carbonic Anhydrase II Activators in Osteopetrosis Treatment: A Review
Authors: Alkhayal Zikra , Shinwari Zakia , Gaafar Ameera , Alaiya Ayodele
Published: February 2023

Osteopetrosis is a rare hereditary illness generated by failure in osteoclasts resulting in elevated bone densities. Patients with osteopetrosis possess several complications, like dental caries, earlier teeth loss, delayed eruption, malformed crowns and roots, and lamina dura thickening. Since deficiency of carbonic anhydrase II is a major cause behind osteopetrosis, carbonic anhydrase II activators have a large number of applications in osteopetrosis treatment. There is a lack of a comprehensive review on osteopetrosis, pathogenesis of dental abnormalities, and the role of carbonic anhydrase II activators in osteopetrosis treatment. To address this research gap, the authros perfomed a comprehensive review on osteopetrosis and its types, pathogenesis of dental abnormalities, and the role of carbonic anhydrase II activators in osteopetrosis treatment. A brief introduction to the pathogenesis of dental abnormalities and regeneration is provided in this survey. A discussion of types of osteopetrosis depending on genetic inheritance, such as autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, and X-linked inheritance osteopetrosis, is presented in this survey. The paper also focuses on the importance of carbonic anhydrase II activators as a potential drug therapy for dental osteopetrosis. In addition, a brief note on the role of azole and fluconazole in treating osteopetrosis is given. Finally, future directions involving gene therapy for dental osteopetrosis are described.
Towards a Better Understanding of Concrete Arch Dam Behavior during the First Filling of the Reservoir
Authors: Leitão Noemi Schclar , Castilho Eloísa , Farinha M. Luísa Braga
Published: February 2023

During the first filling, the reservoir is gradually raised in multiple stages. At each stage, the filling is paused to allow adequate time for monitoring and evaluating the performance of the dam and its foundation. The analysis of the monitored behavior and assessment of security conditions is performed by comparing the values measured by the monitoring system installed in the dam with the values predicted by numerical models representing the structural behavior, the material properties, and the loads. This article addresses the main aspects related to the safety control of concrete arch dams during the first filling of the reservoir. Special attention is given to the nonlinear behavior induced by the opening/closing of the contraction joints. An example of numerical simulation of the behavior of an arch dam during the first filling of the reservoir is also presented. The validation of the computed temperatures, the induced displacements and the induced stresses was performed by comparison with the values measured with the monitoring system installed in the dam.
Electrochemical Treatment of Arsenic in Drinking Water: Effect of Initial As3+ Concentration, pH, and Conductivity on the Kinetics of Oxidation
Authors: Sorlini Sabrina , Carnevale Miino Marco , Lazarova Zdravka , Collivignarelli Maria Cristina
Published: February 2023

Many technologies for the treatment of arsenic-containing drinking water are available, but most of them are more effective on arsenic oxidized forms. Therefore, the pre-oxidation of As3+ is necessary. The electrochemical processes represent a very promising method due to the simultaneous oxidation of compounds using electrochemical conditions and the reactive radicals produced. In this work, As3+ oxidation was experimentally studied at a pilot scale using an electrochemical oxidation cell (voltage: 10 V; current: 1.7 A). The effect of the initial arsenite concentration, pH, and conductivity of drinking water on the oxidation of As3+ into As5+ was investigated. The results showed that the initial As3+ concentration strongly directly influences the oxidation process. Increasing the initial arsenite concentration from 500 to 5000 µg L−1, the pseudo-first order kinetic constant (k) strongly decreased from 0.521 to 0.038 min−1, and after 10 min, only 21.3% of As3+ was oxidized (vs. 99.9% in the case of As3+ equal to 500 µg L−1). Slightly alkaline conditions (pH = 8) favored the electrochemical oxidation into As5+, while the process was partially inhibited in the presence of a more alkaline or acidic pH. The increase in conductivity up to 2000 µS cm−1 enhanced the kinetic of the oxidation, despite remaining on the same order of magnitude as in the case of conductivity equal to 700 µS cm−1. After 10 min, 99.9 and 95% of As3+ was oxidized, respectively. It is the opinion of the authors that the influence of other operational factors, such as voltage and current density, and the impact of the high concentration of other pollutants should be deeply studied in order to optimize the process, especially in the case of an application at full scale. However, these results provide helpful indications to future research having highlighted the influence of initial As3+ concentration, pH, and conductivity on the electrochemical oxidation of arsenic.
Multi-Perspective Evaluations of Laser-Removal Quality of Acrylic Polyurethane Coatings on Aluminum Alloy Substrate
Authors: Huang Xin , Shen Yizhou , He Zhaoru , Tao Jie , Shu Song , Xiong Weibiao , Shen Zhicong
Published: February 2023

Evaluation systems for objects after laser removal have not been systematically established, yet they have great significance for repairing engineering coating materials. In general, this paper mainly focused on the surface quality after laser removal, which was simulated by thermal models and characterized by microscopic, residual chemical compositions, and wettability. The laser removal threshold was considered to be a key indicator to regulate removal precision. Here, the thermal model was used to explore the threshold was 15 J/cm2, and the ablation P was 308 W at 100 kHz. Besides, the surface structure was observed through simulation before experiments. It also predicted the effect of laser power and overlapping on surface roughness, and therefore provided the theoretical reference for experiments. Then, two groups of samples were set up of the surface of acrylic polyurethane coatings on 2024 aluminum alloy with and without anodizing treatment, respectively. After the coatings were removed, microscopic morphologies demonstrated a wavy undulation structure with little residue. Meanwhile, the increments of roughness were less than 0.5 μm and the surfaces were with nice wettability. Evaluating the surface quality from the above aspects is meaningful and helpful for the non-destructive cleaning of aircraft skin coatings.
A Review of Research Progress on the Fretting Fatigue Mechanism and Protection Measures of Metal Matrix Composites
Authors: Liu Tao , Lyu Weimin , Li Zhicheng , Wang Shengke , Liu Chongyang , Jiang Jiaxin , Jiang Xiaosong
Published: February 2023

The performance characteristics of metal matrix composites (MMCs) and the need to study their fretting fatigue and wear during service are discussed. Four main elements of the study of fretting fatigue wear of MMCs (aluminum, copper, titanium, iron, magnesium, nickel, etc.) are discussed. These are factors influencing fretting fatigue, mechanism research, life prediction, and the development process of protection methods, respectively. Factors such as internal crack nucleation and development, loading conditions, and working environment are analyzed and discussed. The development trend of fretting fatigue research is outlined from several perspectives such as the fretting fatigue mechanism, research methods, and protection methods. In particular, the current state of research and the results achieved are highlighted, and some of the issues that remain to be studied are illustrated. The combined effects of fretting, fatigue and wear, the accuracy and applicability of fretting fatigue life prediction, the dispersion of the strengthening phase, and interface problems of MMCs themselves, etc., are all issues that need further research. The review summarizes some of the existing results and provides some reference help for subsequent developments.
Influence of the Compression Molding Temperature on VOCs and Odors Produced from Natural Fiber Composite Materials
Authors: Barthod-Malat Benjamin , Hauguel Maxime , Behlouli Karim , Grisel Michel , Savary Géraldine
Published: February 2023

In the automotive sector, the use of nonwoven preforms consisting of natural and thermoplastic fibers processed by compression molding is well known to manufacture vehicle interior parts. Although these natural fiber composites (NFCs) have undeniable advantages (lightweight, good life cycle assessment, recyclability, etc.), the latter release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odors inside the vehicle interior, which remain obstacles to their wide deployment. In this study, the effect of the compressing molding temperature on the VOCs and odors released by the flax/PP nonwoven composites was examined by heating nonwoven preforms in a temperature range up to 240 °C. During the hot-pressing process, real-time and in situ monitoring of the composite materials’ core temperature has been carried out using a thermocouples sensor. A chemical approach based on headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography—mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for the VOCs analysis. The olfactory approach is based on the odor intensity scale rated by expert panelists trained in olfaction. The results demonstrate marked changes in the VOCs composition with temperature, thus making it possible to understand the changes in the NFCs odor intensity. The results allow for optimizing the molding temperature to obtain less odorous NFC materials.
An Index for Assessing the Environmental Impact of Pavement Maintenance Operations on the Motorway Network: The Environmental Asphalt Rating
Authors: Chiola Davide , Cirimele Vincenzo , Tozzo Cristina
Published: February 2023

In recent years, attention on pavement management is increasing and the research is focused on the development of innovative protocols and comparative evaluation of maintenance alternatives. Among these, the concept of sustainability related to the management of pavements is gaining ground and, more generally, infrastructure and the quantification of environmental impact as a combination of emissions and energy consumption. To properly estimate the environmental impact of different pavement interventions, a calculation methodology is presented in this paper that can summarize all the different aspects of environmental impact for both the production and paving phases of asphalt mixtures. The innovative approach takes into account also the need to evaluate new methodologies and new production processes in order to compare these new technologies with already used materials and processes. The result of this paper is a dimensionless index based on Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certification which has been named Environmental Asphalt Rating (EAR) with weighting factors and performance coefficients fine-tuned on the European scenario. The EAR computation wants to be a certified procedure ensuring the repeatability and the quality of the environmental evaluation but also able to include in the evaluation noise and mechanical characteristics of the pavement. Several applications are expected such as the design stage of maintenance operations, and awarding criteria in tenders of monitoring phases of the pavement maintenance interventions.