bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Constraints on Sandstone-Type Uranium Deposits by the Tectonic Uplift and Denudation Process in the Eastern Junggar Basin, Northwest China: Evidence from Apatite Fission Track and Detrital Zircon U-Pb Ages
Authors: Liu Zhangyue , Peng Suping , Qin Mingkuan , Huang Shaohua , Geng Yingying , He Zhongbo
Published: July 2022

The uplift and denudation history of the orogenic belt and the basin–mountain coupling process have directly or indirectly affected the generation, scale, and preservation of sandstone-type uranium deposits in the eastern Junggar Basin by controlling the uranium source, lithology, facies, hydrogeology, post-generation modification, and other mineralization conditions. Taking the eastern Junggar Basin as the research area, this study proposes the constraints on sandstone-type uranium deposits by the tectonic uplift and denudation history of the orogenic belt in the basin using the apatite fission track (AFT), detrital zircon geochronology, and other methods. The results of the AFT age test and thermal path simulation indicate that the orogenic belt in the eastern Junggar Basin underwent four rapid uplifts; (from approximately 300 Ma to approximately 250 Ma, from approximately 130 Ma to approximately 90 Ma, from approximately 65 Ma to approximately 30 Ma, and from approximately 20 Ma to 0 Ma). Moreover, the timing of the uplift has a spatial trend of gradually becoming younger from south to north. The detrital zircon U-Pb age test showed that the sediment source area of the basin is mainly distributed in three age intervals, i.e., 460–390, 360–270, and 190–170 Ma. The comprehensive evaluation of the clastic sediment composition, stratigraphic distribution of the erosion source area, and thermal history showed that a large amount of exposed Carboniferous–Permian granites in the Qinglidi and Karameri Mountain erosion source areas contributed dominant sediment material and uranium sources for the Triassic and Middle and Lower Jurassic strata in the basin. The Ordovician–Early Devonian granites only provided sediment sources for the Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic strata in the basin. Altay Mountain contributed some sediment sources for the Middle and Upper Jurassic strata after the magmatic activity and rapid uplift occurred in the Middle Jurassic. Based on the comprehensive analysis of the influence of the tectonic uplift process of the orogenic belt and the transformation of material source areas on uranium mineralization, the granites in the erosion source areas are proposed to contribute both external and internal uranium sources for uranium mineralization. Uranium mineralization mainly occurred in the tectonic retreat period after the rapid uplifts of the Cretaceous and Paleogene. It was terminated by the intensive uplift-induced stratigraphic deformation in the Miocene.
Improvement in Solubility–Permeability Interplay of Psoralens from Brosimum gaudichaudii Plant Extract upon Complexation with Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin
Authors: Machado Rúbia Darc , Silva Júlio C. G. , Silva Luís A. D. , Oliveira Gerlon de A. R. , Lião Luciano M. , Lima Eliana M. , de Morais Mariana C. , da Conceição Edemilson C. , Rezende Kênnia R.
Published: July 2022

Psoralen (PSO) and 5-methoxypsoralen (5-MOP) are widely used drugs in oral photochemotherapy against vitiligo and major bioactive components of root bark extract of Brosimum gaudichaudii Trécul (EBGT), previously standardized by LC-MS. However, the exceptionally low water solubility of these psoralens can cause incomplete and variable bioavailability limiting their applications and patient adherence to treatment. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to investigate the effects of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) inclusion complex on the solubility and jejunal permeability of PSO and 5-MOP from EBGT. Characterization of inclusion complexes were evaluated by current methods in nuclear magnetic resonance studies on aqueous solution, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and scanning electron microscopy in solid state. Ex vivo rat jejunal permeability was also investigated and compared for both pure psoralens and plant extract formulation over a wide HP-β-CD concentration range (2.5 to 70 mM). Phase solubility studies of the PSO- and 5-MOP-HP-β-CD inclusion complex showed 1:1 inclusion complex formation with small stability constants (Kc < 500 M−1). PSO and 5-MOP permeability rate decreased after adding HP-β-CD by 6- and 4-fold for pure standards and EBGT markers, respectively. Nevertheless, the complexation with HP-β-CD significantly improved solubility of PSO (until 10-fold) and 5-MOP (until 31-fold). As a result, the permeability drop could be overcome by solubility augmentation, implying that the HP-β-CD inclusion complexes with PSO, 5-MOP, or EBGT can be a valuable tool for designing and developing novel oral drug product formulation containing these psoralens for the treatment of vitiligo.
Silver Nanoparticle-Functionalised Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots for the Highly Efficient Determination of Uric Acid
Authors: Zhang Qianchun , Du Shuxin , Tian Fengling , Long Xixi , Xie Siqi , Tang Shan , Bao Linchun
Published: July 2022

The fabrication of efficient fluorescent probes that possess an excellent sensitivity and selectivity for uric acid is highly desirable and challenging. In this study, composites of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) wrapped with nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) were synthesised utilising N-CQDs as the reducing and stabilising agents in a single reaction with AgNO3. The morphology and structure, absorption properties, functional groups, and fluorescence properties were characterised by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. In addition, we developed a novel method based on AgNPs/N-CQDs for the detection of uric acid using the enzymatic reaction of uric acid oxidase. The fluorescence enhancement of the AgNPs/N-CQDs composite was linear (R2 = 0.9971) in the range of 2.0–60 μmol/L, and gave a detection limit of 0.53 μmol/L. Trace uric acid was successfully determined in real serum samples from the serum of 10 healthy candidates and 10 gout patients, and the results were consistent with those recorded by Qianxinan Prefecture People’s Hospital. These results indicate that the developed AgNP/N-CQD system can provide a universal platform for detecting the multispecies ratio fluorescence of H2O2 generation in other biological systems.
Identifying Terpenoid Biosynthesis Genes in Euphorbia maculata via Full-Length cDNA Sequencing
Authors: Jeon Mi Jin , Roy Neha Samir , Choi Beom-Soon , Oh Ji Yeon , Kim Yong-In , Park Hye Yoon , Um Taeyoung , Kim Nam-Soo , Kim Soonok , Choi Ik-Young
Published: July 2022

The annual herb Euphorbia maculata L. produces anti-inflammatory and biologically active substances such as triterpenoids, tannins, and polyphenols, and it is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Of these bioactive compounds, terpenoids, also called isoprenoids, are major secondary metabolites in E. maculata. Full-length cDNA sequencing was carried out to characterize the transcripts of terpenoid biosynthesis reference genes and determine the copy numbers of their isoforms using PacBio SMRT sequencing technology. The Illumina short-read sequencing platform was also employed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the secondary metabolite pathways from leaves, roots, and stems. PacBio generated 62 million polymerase reads, resulting in 81,433 high-quality reads. From these high-quality reads, we reconstructed a genome of 20,722 genes, in which 20,246 genes (97.8%) did not have paralogs. About 33% of the identified genes had two or more isoforms. DEG analysis revealed that the expression level differed among gene paralogs in the leaf, stem, and root. Whole sets of paralogs and isoforms were identified in the mevalonic acid (MVA), methylerythritol phosphate (MEP), and terpenoid biosynthesis pathways in the E. maculata L. The nucleotide information will be useful for identifying orthologous genes in other terpenoid-producing medicinal plants.
Noble Gas—Silicon Cations: Theoretical Insights into the Nature of the Bond
Authors: Borocci Stefano , Grandinetti Felice , Sanna Nico
Published: July 2022

The structure, stability, and bonding situation of some exemplary noble gas-silicon cations were investigated at the MP2/aVTZ level of theory. The explored species include the mono-coordinated NgSiX3+ (Ng = He-Rn; X = H, F, Cl) and NgSiF22+ (Ng = He-Rn), the di-coordinated Ar2SiX3+ (X = H, F, Cl), and the “inserted” FNgSiF2+ (Ng = Kr, Xe, Rn). The bonding analysis was accomplished by the method that we recently proposed to assay the bonding situation of noblegas compounds. The Ng-Si bonds are generally tight and feature a partial contribution of covalency. In the NgSiX3+, the degree of the Ng-Si interaction mirrors the trends of two factors, namely the polarizability of Ng that increases when going from Ng = He to Ng = Rn, and the Lewis acidity of SiX3+ that decreases in the order SiF3+ > SiH3+ > SiCl3+. For the HeSiX3+, it was also possible to catch peculiar effects referable to the small size of He. When going from the NgSiF3+ to the NgSiF22+, the increased charge on Si promotes an appreciable increase inthe Ng-Si interaction, which becomes truly covalent for the heaviest Ng. The strength of the bond also increases when going from the NgSiF3+ to the “inserted” FNgSiF2+, likely due to the cooperative effect of the adjacent F atom. On the other hand, the ligation of a second Ar atom to ArSiX3+ (X = H, F, Cl), as to form Ar2(SiX3+), produces a weakening of the bond. Our obtained data were compared with previous findings already available in the literature.
Effects of Different Extraction Methods on Vanilla Aroma
Authors: Yeh Chih-Hsin , Chou Chia-Yi , Wu Chin-Sheng , Chu Lee-Ping , Huang Wei-Juan , Chen Hsin-Chun
Published: July 2022

To establish the analytic conditions for examining the aroma quality of vanilla pods, we compared different extraction methods and identified a suitable option. We utilized headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), steam distillation (SD), simultaneous steam distillation (SDE) and alcoholic extraction combined with gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify volatile components of vanilla pods. A total of 84 volatile compounds were identified in this experiment, of which SDE could identify the most volatile compounds, with a total of 51 species, followed by HS-SPME, with a total of 28 species. Ten volatile compounds were identified by extraction with a minimum of 35% alcohol. HS-SPME extraction provided the highest total aroma peak areas, and the peak areas of aldehydes, furans, alcohols, monoterpenes and phenols compounds were several times higher than those of the other extraction methods. The results showed that the two technologies, SDE and HS-SPME, could be used together to facilitate analysis of vanilla pod aroma.
Five New Polyoxypregnane Glycosides from the Vines of Aspidopterysobcordata and Their Antinephrolithiasis Activity
Authors: Sun Zhaocui , Chen Meiying , Li Qinglong , Ma Guoxu , Wu Haifeng , Yang Junshan , Li Yihang , Xu Xudong
Published: July 2022

From the dried vines of Aspidopterys obcordata Hemsl, five new polyoxypregnane glycosides, named obcordatas J–N (1–5), were obtained. Their structures were fully elucidated and characterized by HRESIMS and extensive spectroscopic data. In addition, all of the new compounds were screened for their antinephrolithiasis activity in vitro. The results showed that compounds 1–3 have prominent protective effects on calcium oxalate crystal-induced human kidney 2 (HK-2) cells, with EC50 values ranging from 6.72 to 14.00 μM, which is consistent with the application value of A. obcordata in folk medicine for kidney stones.
A New Supramolecular Tetraruthenated Cobalt (II) Porphyrazine Displaying Outstanding Electrocatalytical Performance in Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Authors: Silva Hiago N. , Toma Sérgio Hiroshi , Hennemann Artur Luís , Gonçalves Josué M. , Nakamura Marcelo , Araki Koiti , Toyama Marcos Makoto , Toma Henrique Eisi
Published: July 2022

A new supramolecular electrocatalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) was synthesized from a central multibridging cobalt tetrapyridylporphyrazine (CoTPyPz) species by attaching four [Ru(bpy)2Cl]+ groups. Both CoTPyPz and the tetraruthenated cobalt porphyrazine species, TRuCoTPyPz, form very homogenous molecular films just by dropcasting their methanol solutions onto GCE electrodes. Such films exhibited low overpotentials for O2 evolution, e.g., 560 e 340 mV, respectively, displaying high stability, typically exceeding 15 h. The kinetic parameters obtained from the Tafel plots showed that the peripheral complexes are very important for the electrocatalytic activity. Hyperspectral Raman images taken along the electrochemical process demonstrated that the cobalt center is the primary active catalyst site, but its performance is enhanced by the ruthenium complexes, which act as electron-donating groups, in the supramolecular system.
Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Protopine through MAPK and NF-κB Signaling Regulation in HepG2 Cell
Authors: Kim MinGyu , Kim Hyuck , Kim Hojun
Published: July 2022

Protopine is a substance used for hemostasis with an anti-inflammatory action and is one of the substances that are actively undergoing experiments to confirm their utility as anticancer agents. This study examined the molecular changes in the cellular signaling pathways associated with inflammatory responses in phorbol 12-myristate 13 acetate (PMA)-induced human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (Hep G2). The inhibition of PMA-induced phosphorylation of I-κB in HepG2, the effect of protopine on the MAPK signals, the inhibition of COX-2 activity, and the inhibition of MMP-9 as a medium of inflammatory response were evaluated by Western blot and qPCR. The effect of protopine on the survival rates in HepG2 cells was evaluated and found to be stable to a processing concentration of up to 40μM. Subsequent Western blot analyses showed that protopine blocks the transfer of the MAPKs cell signals induced by PMA and the transfer of the subunit of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) to the nucleolus. Protopine inhibited the kappa alpha (I-κBα) phosphorylation in the cytosol and blocked PMA-induced inflammation via COX-2 activity inhibition. The expression of MMP-9 at the gene and protein levels, which is associated with cell migration and metastasis, was reduced by protopine.
Regulation of Kinetic Properties of Chemical Hydrogen Absorption and Desorption by Cubic K2MoO4 on Magnesium Hydride
Authors: Yang Xinglin , Zhang Jiaqi , Hou Quanhui , Guo Xintao
Published: July 2022

Transition metal catalysts are particularly effective in improving the kinetics of the reversible hydrogen storage reaction for light metal hydrides. Herein, K2MoO4 microrods were prepared using a simple evaporative crystallization method, and it was confirmed that the kinetic properties of magnesium hydride could be adjusted by doping cubic K2MoO4 into MgH2. Its unique cubic structure forms new species in the process of hydrogen absorption and desorption, which shows excellent catalytic activity in the process of hydrogen storage in MgH2. The dissociation and adsorption time of hydrogen is related to the amount of K2MoO4. Generally speaking, the more K2MoO4, the faster the kinetic performance and the shorter the time used. According to the experimental results, the initial dehydrogenation temperature of MgH2 + 10 wt% K2MoO4 composite is 250 °C, which is about 110 °C lower than that of As-received MgH2. At 320 °C, almost all dehydrogenation was completed within 11 min. In the temperature rise hydrogen absorption test, the composite system can start to absorb hydrogen at about 70 °C. At 200 °C and 3 MPa hydrogen pressure, 5.5 wt% H2 can be absorbed within 20 min. In addition, the activation energy of hydrogen absorption and dehydrogenation of the composite system decreased by 14.8 kJ/mol and 26.54 kJ/mol, respectively, compared to pure MgH2. In the cycle-stability test of the composite system, the hydrogen storage capacity of MgH2 can still reach more than 92% after the end of the 10th cycle, and the hydrogen storage capacity only decreases by about 0.49 wt%. The synergistic effect among the new species MgO, MgMo2O7, and KH generated in situ during the reaction may help to enhance the absorption and dissociation of H2 on the Mg/MgH2 surface and improve the kinetics of MgH2 for absorption and dehydrogenation.
Plasma Transthyretin Levels and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Impaired Glucose Regulation in a Chinese Population
Authors: Hu Xiaoli , Guo Qianqian , Wang Xiaoqian , Wang Qiang , Chen Liangkai , Sun Taoping , Li Peiyun , Shan Zhilei , Liu Liegang , Gao Chao , Rong Ying
Published: July 2022

Plasma transthyretin may be engaged in glucose regulation. We aimed to investigate the association between plasma transthyretin levels and the risk of newly diagnosed T2DM and impaired glucose regulation (IGR) in a Chinese population. We conducted a case-control study including 1244 newly diagnosed T2DM patients, 837 newly diagnosed IGR patients, and 1244 individuals with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) matched by sex and age. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was utilized to estimate the independent association of plasma transthyretin concentrations with the risk of T2DM and IGR. Plasma transthyretin concentrations were significantly higher in T2DM and IGR patients compared with control subjects (p < 0.005). After multiple adjustment and comparison with the lowest quartile of plasma transthyretin concentrations, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of T2DM and IGR in the highest quartile were 2.22 (1.66, 2.98) and 2.29 (1.72, 3.05), respectively. Plasma transthyretin concentrations also showed a great performance in predicting the risk of T2DM (AUC: 0.76). Moreover, a potential nonlinear trend was observed. Our results demonstrated that higher plasma transthyretin concentrations, especially more than 290 mg/L, were associated with an increased risk of T2DM and IGR. Further studies are warranted to confirm our findings and elucidate the potential mechanisms.
Colliding and Fixed Target Mode in a Single Experiment—A Novel Approach to Study the Matter under New Extreme Conditions
Authors: Vitiuk Oleksandr V. , Pugatch Valery M. , Bugaev Kyrill A. , Yakovenko Nazar S. , Panasiuk Pavlo P. , Zherebtsova Elizaveta S. , Dobishuk Vasyl M. , Chernyshenko Sergiy B. , Grinyuk Borys E. , Sagun Violetta , Ivanytskyi Oleksii
Published: July 2022

Here, we propose a novel approach to experimentally and theoretically study the properties of QCD matter under new extreme conditions, namely having an initial temperature over 300 MeV and baryonic charge density over three times the values of the normal nuclear density. According to contemporary theoretical knowledge, such conditions were not accessible during the early Universe evolution and are not accessible now in the known astrophysical phenomena. To achieve these new extreme conditions, we proposed performing high-luminosity experiments at LHC or other colliders by means of scattering the two colliding beams at the nuclei of a solid target that is fixed at their interaction region. Under plausible assumptions, we estimate the reaction rate for the p+C+p and Pb+Pb+Pb reactions and discuss the energy deposition into the target and possible types of fixed targets for such reactions. To simulate the triple nuclear collisions, we employed the well-known UrQMD 3.4 model for the beam center-of-mass collision energies sNN = 2.76 TeV. As a result of our modeling, we found that, in the most central and simultaneous triple nuclear collisions, the initial baryonic charge density is approximately three times higher than the one achieved in the ordinary binary nuclear collisions at this energy.
Pennogenin-3-O-α-L-Rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-[α-L-Rhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)]-β-D-Glucopyranoside (Spiroconazol A) Isolated from Dioscorea bulbifera L. var. sativa Induces Autophagic Cell Death by p38 MAPK Activation in NSCLC Cells
Authors: Ki Yo Sook , Chung Kyung-Sook , Lee Heon-Woo , Choi Jung-Hye , Tapondjou Léon Azefack , Jang Eungyeong , Lee Kyung-Tae
Published: July 2022

In our previous study, we reported the isolation of pennogenin-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→3)]-β-D-glucopyranoside (spiroconazol A), a steroidal saponin, from the flowers of Dioscorea bulbifera L. var. sativa. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of spiroconazol A on autophagy and its underlying mechanisms in A549 and NCI-H358 human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Spiroconazol A inhibited the proliferation of NSCLC cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. To determine the type of programmed cell death induced by spiroconazol A, we performed a characterization of apoptosis in spiroconazol A-treated A549 cells. Our results showed that spiroconazol A significantly suppressed A549 cell viability but did not influence cell apoptosis because phosphatidylserine and caspase activation were not detected. Furthermore, spiroconazol A treatment upregulated the expression of LC3-II and autophagy-related Beclin-1 protein, suggesting that spiroconazol A induces autophagy in A549 cells. Moreover, spiroconazol A activated the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) but did not affect the phosphorylation of Janus kinase or ERK1/2. Notably, SB203580, a p38 MAPK inhibitor, had a significant inhibitory effect on spiroconazol A-induced autophagic cell death in A549 cells. Our results indicated that spiroconazol A-induced autophagy is dependent on p38 MAPK signaling and has potential as a therapeutic target in NSCLC.
Compritol-Based Nanostrucutured Lipid Carriers (NLCs) for Augmentation of Zolmitriptan Bioavailability via the Transdermal Route: In Vitro Optimization, Ex Vivo Permeation, In Vivo Pharmacokinetic Study
Authors: Hassan Doaa H. , Shohdy Joseph N. , El-Setouhy Doaa Ahmed , El-Nabarawi Mohamed , Naguib Marianne J.
Published: July 2022

Migraine is a severe neurovascular disease manifested mainly as unilateral throbbing headaches. Triptans are agonists for serotonin receptors. Zolmitriptan (ZMP) is a biopharmaceutics classification system (BCS) class III medication with an absolute oral bioavailability of less than 40%. As a result, our research intended to increase ZMP bioavailability by developing transdermal nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs). NLCs were prepared utilizing a combination of hot melt emulsification and high-speed stirring in a 32 full factorial design. The studied variables were liquid lipid type (X1) and surfactant type (X2). The developed NLCs were evaluated in terms of particle size (Y1, nm), polydispersity index (Y2, PDI), zeta potential (Y3, mV), entrapment efficacy (Y4, %) and amount released after 6 h (Q6h, Y5, %). At 1% Mygliol as liquid lipid component and 1% Span 20 as surfactant, the optimized formula (NLC9) showed a minimum particle size (138 ± 7.07 nm), minimum polydispersity index (0.39 ± 0.001), acceptable zeta potential (−22.1 ± 0.80), maximum entrapment efficiency (73 ± 0.10%) and maximum amount released after 6 h (83.22 ± 0.10%). The optimized formula was then incorporated into gel preparation (HPMC) to improve the system stability and ease of application. Then, the pharmacokinetic study was conducted on rabbits in a cross-over design. The calculated parameters showed a higher area under the curve (AUC0–24, AUC0–∞ (ng·h/mL)) of the developed ZMP-NLCs loaded gel, with a 1.76-fold increase in bioavailability in comparison to the orally administered marketed product (Zomig®). A histopathological examination revealed the safety of the developed nanoparticles. The declared results highlight the potential of utilizing the proposed NLCs for the transdermal delivery of ZMP to improve the drug bioavailability.
Self-Emulsifying Drug Delivery Systems: An Alternative Approach to Improve Brain Bioavailability of Poorly Water-Soluble Drugs through Intranasal Administration
Authors: Meirinho Sara , Rodrigues Márcio , Santos Adriana O. , Falcão Amílcar , Alves Gilberto
Published: July 2022

Efforts in discovering new and effective neurotherapeutics are made daily, although most fail to reach clinical trials. The main reason is their poor bioavailability, related to poor aqueous solubility, limited permeability through biological membranes, and the hepatic first-pass metabolism. Nevertheless, crossing the blood–brain barrier is the major drawback associated with brain drug delivery. To overcome it, intranasal administration has become more attractive, in some cases even surpassing the oral route. The unique anatomical features of the nasal cavity allow partial direct drug delivery to the brain, circumventing the blood–brain barrier. Systemic absorption through the nasal cavity also avoids the hepatic first-pass metabolism, increasing the systemic bioavailability of highly metabolized entities. Nevertheless, most neurotherapeutics present physicochemical characteristics that require them to be formulated in lipidic nanosystems as self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS). These are isotropic mixtures of oils, surfactants, and co-surfactants that, after aqueous dilution, generate micro or nanoemulsions loading high concentrations of lipophilic drugs. SEDDS should overcome drug precipitation in absorption sites, increase their permeation through absorptive membranes, and enhance the stability of labile drugs against enzymatic activity. Thus, combining the advantages of SEDDS and those of the intranasal route for brain delivery, an increase in drugs’ brain targeting and bioavailability could be expected. This review deeply characterizes SEDDS as a lipidic nanosystem, gathering important information regarding the mechanisms associated with the intranasal delivery of drugs loaded in SEDDS. In the end, in vivo results after SEDDS intranasal or oral administration are discussed, globally revealing their efficacy in comparison with common solutions or suspensions.
Preparation and Characterisation of a Cyclodextrin-Complexed Mānuka Honey Microemulsion for Eyelid Application
Authors: Rupenthal Ilva D. , Agarwal Priyanka , Uy Benedict , Kim Jaeun , Cunningham Angela A. , Seyfoddin Ali , Swift Simon , Craig Jennifer P.
Published: July 2022

Honey has been widely purported as a natural remedy due to its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. In recent years, several studies have suggested that the considerably high methylglyoxal (MGO) concentration in Mānuka honey (MH) makes it particularly effective to manage bacterial overload, such as that observed in blepharitis. However, the poor solubility, high viscosity, and osmolarity of aqueous honey solutions, especially at the high MGO concentrations studied in the literature, render the formulation of an acceptable dosage form for topical application to the eyelids challenging. Here, the antibacterial properties of raw MH and alpha-cyclodextrin (α-CD)-complexed MH were evaluated at relatively low MGO concentrations, and a liquid crystalline-forming microemulsion containing α-CD-complexed MH was formulated. After determining pH and osmolarity, ocular tolerability was assessed using human primary corneal epithelial cells and chorioallantoic membranes, while the antibacterial efficacy was further evaluated in vitro. The α-CD–MH complex had significantly greater antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus than either constituent alone, which was evident even when formulated as a microemulsion. Moreover, the final formulation had a physiologically acceptable pH and osmolarity for eyelid application and was well-tolerated when diluted 1:10 with artificial tear fluid, as expected to be the case after accidental exposure to the ocular surface in the clinical setting. Thus, a safe and efficient MH dosage form was developed for topical application to the eyelids, which can potentially be used to support optimal eyelid health in the management of blepharitis.
A Molecular Dynamics Approach to the Impacts of Oxidative Aging on the Engineering Characteristics of Asphalt
Authors: Cao Wei , Fini Elham
Published: July 2022

Oxidative aging is an inevitable environmental factor that accelerates asphalt pavement deterioration. This study employed a molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the impact of aging on asphalt cement from the perspectives of thermodynamic properties, and diffusion and adhesion characteristics. Results indicate that aging increased bulk density from 1.008 to 1.081 g/cm3 and cohesive energy density by 15.6%, which was attributed to the promoted molecular polarity and intermolecular attractiveness. The enhanced molecular interactions also reduced molecular mobility, which led to an increase in the glass transition temperature by 30 K, suggesting that aging diminished the resistance of asphalt to thermal cracking. Simulations of the diffusion behaviors across different temperatures demonstrated that the Arrhenius relationship described well the temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient, and that aging considerably slowed down the diffusion process as represented by Arrhenius prefactor D0, which dropped by 38.2%. The asphalt–aggregate adhesion was assessed using layered models with and without a water interlayer of different thicknesses. The adhesion was enhanced upon aging due to the significantly improved electrostatic interactions at the interface. Evaluation of the residual adhesion with the presence of interfacial water suggested that aging would raise the moisture susceptibility of asphalt pavement. The increase in molecular polarity was considered to be highly responsible for these aging consequences, and was thus further investigated via the electrostatic potential surface and dipole moment.
Research on the Formulation System of Weak Gel and the Influencing Factors of Gel Formation after Polymer Flooding in Y1 Block
Authors: Cao Guangsheng , Wu Jiajun , Bai Yujie , Zhang Ning , Xing Peidong , Xu Qian , Li Dandan , Cong Xin , Liu Jiankang
Published: July 2022

After long-term polymer flooding, water channeling, and ineffective water circulation occur in oil wells, which seriously affect polymer flooding efficiency and oilfield recovery. The weak gel system has the property of delaying cross-linking. After the weak gel system enters the deep formation, the cross-linking reaction is carried out, which can achieve the purpose of deep regulation and flooding. In this paper, according to the formation characteristics of high temperature, high permeability, and large pores in Y1 block (a block in the Daqing Yushulin Oilfield), the formulation of weak gel system was developed. The optimal formulation was determined by parameters such as gel-forming properties, stability, viscoelasticity, and rheology. Finally, the best formulation for the Y1 block is that containing 0.22% of polyacrylamide (HPAM) and 0.15% of chromium (III) acetate system. The gel-forming time of the formulation is 8 h, and the viscosity can be maintained at 15,000–24,000 mPa·s. Next, this paper studied the factors that affect the gelation of formulations, mainly including dissolved oxygen content, bacterial content, insoluble suspended solids content, and metal ions in the formulation water. The results show that the critical point of the worst effect is the oxygen content close to 1.5 mg/L, and the optimal critical point of oxygen content of the gel system is 7 mg/L. The bacteria in the prepared water degrade the weak gel solution. The more bacteria, the more serious the degradation of the weak gel. A small amount of insoluble suspended solids will greatly increase the viscosity of the weak gel solution, but will accelerate the gel-breaking time. When the content of insoluble suspended solids is high, more than 1000 mg/L, a precipitate will be formed at the bottom of the solution, and the difference in the content of insoluble suspended solids in this interval has little effect on weak gels. The metal ion that mainly affects the gelation effect is Fe2+. With the increase of Fe2+ mass concentration, the viscosity of weak gel decreases sharply.
Transient Behavior of CO and CO2 Hydrogenation on Fe@SiO2 Core–Shell Model Catalysts—A Stoichiometric Analysis of Experimental Data
Authors: Zambrzycki Christian , Güttel Robert
Published: July 2022

The hydrogenation of CO and CO2 from industrial exhaust gases into CH4 represents a promising method for sustainable chemical energy storage. While iron-based catalysts are in principle suitable for that purpose, the active metal Fe undergoes a complex transformation during the chemical reaction process. However, only little is known about the change in catalytically active species under reaction conditions, primarily caused by structural changes in the catalyst material, so far. By using core–shell model materials, factors that alter the catalyst structure can be excluded, making it possible to observe the direct influence of the reactants on the activity in the present work. Furthermore, stoichiometric analysis was used as a key tool for the evaluation of individual key reactions in the complex reaction network purely from experimental data, thus making it possible to draw conclusions about the catalyst state. In the case of CO hydrogenation, the presumed Boudouard reaction and the associated carburization of the catalyst can be quantified and the main reaction (CO methanation) can be determined. The results of the CO2 hydrogenation showed that the reverse water–gas shift reaction mainly took place, but under an ongoing change in the catalytic active iron phase. Due to the systematic exchange between CO and CO2 in the reactant gas stream, a mutual influence could also be observed. The results from the stoichiometric analysis provide the basis for the development of kinetic models for the key reactions in future work.
Leading the World: A Review of Household Recycling in Wales
Authors: Williams Ian D. , Phillips Joseph
Published: July 2022

Wales is one of the world leaders in household waste recycling with a steady recent recycling rate of ~65%. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) set a statutory target of achieving a 70% recycling rate by 2024/25. We reviewed historical trends in waste management in Wales from 2006 to 2020, with a focus on recycling. Authoritative, official data were obtained from WasteDataFlow, an Internet system for municipal waste data reporting by UK local authorities to government. Data are collected quarterly allowing the generation of time series plots, trendlines and like-for-like comparisons between groupings of various characteristics, such as number of separate kerbside collections, income, political preference, and impact of policy changes. Results showed that the approach taken by the WAG to politically prioritise and encourage participation in household recycling has achieved impressive results that contrast starkly with the recycling performance of other UK countries. In Wales, household waste disposed annually per person via landfill decreased from ~410 kg to <50 kg and household waste recycled increased from to ~150 kg to ~310 kg, with a recent increase in incineration with energy recovery to ~135 kg as infrastructure has come online. Recycling rates show a seasonal variation due to increases in garden waste sent for composting in the summer. There are variations in local authority performance across Wales, mainly caused by variations in the number of separate collections. Co-mingled collections tend to lead to higher contamination of recyclates that are then not able to be sold for recycling. Deprivation, as indicated by differences in income, also influences total waste arisings and recycling rates. A plateau of ~65% recycling rate was reached in 2020, with incineration reaching a rate of >25%. The recycling rate plateaus at exactly the same time as incineration comes on stream. Evidence demonstrates that improvements to recycling rates can become more difficult when incineration becomes available. Whilst further reductions and improvements to recycling in Wales will be more challenging, the WAG’s track record of focused proactive political and policy support shows what can be achieved when there is suitable political will. The WAG has demonstrated that it tends to deliver on its waste-related plans, and it clearly has the best chance of any of the UK’s four countries of achieving its aims.
A Novel Method for SAR Ship Detection Based on Eigensubspace Projection
Authors: Shu Gaofeng , Chang Jiahui , Lu Jing , Wang Qing , Li Ning
Published: July 2022

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a high-resolution radar that operates all day and in all weather conditions, so it has been widely used in various fields of science and technology. Ship detection using SAR images has become important research in marine applications. However, in complex scenes, ships are easily submerged in sea clutter, which cause missed detection. Due to this, strong sidelobes in SAR images generate false targets and reduce the detection accuracy. To solve these problems, a ship detection method based on eigensubspace projection (ESSP) in SAR images is proposed. First, the image is reconstructed into a new observation matrix along the azimuth direction, and the phase space matrix of the reconstructed image is constructed by using the Hankel characteristic, which preliminarily determines the approximate position of the ship. Then, the autocorrelation matrix of the reconstructed image is decomposed by eigenvalue decomposition (EVD). According to the size of the eigenvalues, the corresponding eigenvectors are divided into two parts, which constitute the basis of the ship subspace and the clutter subspace. Finally, the original image is projected into the ship subspace, and the ship data in the ship subspace are rearranged to obtain the precise position of the ship with significantly suppressed clutter. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, the ESSP method is compared with other detection methods on four images at different sea conditions. The results show that the detection accuracy of the ESSP method reaches 89.87% in complex scenes. Compared with other methods, the proposed method can extract ship targets from sea clutter more accurately and reduce the number of false alarms, which has obvious advantages in terms of detection accuracy and timeliness.
Change Detection for High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images Based on a Multi-Scale Attention Siamese Network
Authors: Li Jiankang , Zhu Shanyou , Gao Yiyao , Zhang Guixin , Xu Yongming
Published: July 2022

To address the problems in remote sensing image change detection such as missed detection of features at different scales and incomplete region detection, this paper proposes a high-resolution remote sensing image change detection model (Multi-scale Attention Siamese Network, MASNet) based on a Siamese network and multi-scale attention mechanism. The MASNet model took the Siamese structure of the ResNet-50 network to extract features of different simultaneous images and then applied the attention module to feature maps of different scales to generate multi-scale feature representations. Meanwhile, an improved contrastive loss function was adopted to enhance the learning of change features and improving the imbalance problem between unchanged and changed samples. Furthermore, to address the current time-consuming and laborious phenomenon of manually annotating datasets, we provided a change detection dataset from Yunnan Province in China (YNCD) that contains 1540 pairs of 256 × 256 bi-temporal images with a spatial resolution of 1 m. Then, model training and change detection applications were studied by expanding a small number of experimental area samples into the existing public datasets. The results showed that the overall accuracy of the MASNet model for change detection in the experimental area is 95.34%, precision rate is 79.78%, recall rate is 81.52%, and F1 score is 80.64%, which are better than those of six comparative models (FC-EF, FC-Siam-Diff, FC-Siam-Conc, PAN, MANet, and STANet). This verifies the effectiveness of the MASNet model as well as the feasibility of change detection by expanding existing public datasets.
Design of Gas Monitoring Terminal Based on Quadrotor UAV
Authors: Liu Yang , Chen Lei , Fan Shurui , Zhang Yan
Published: July 2022

The problem of air pollution is an increasingly serious worldwide. Therefore, in order to better monitor the gas components in the atmosphere, the design of a gas monitoring terminal based on a quadrotor UAV, including software and hardware design, is hereby carried out. Besides, a pump-suction series cavity is designed to reduce the influence of airflow disturbance on the UAV, which is verified to possess a certain anti-interference ability through Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) simulation experiments. In addition, a linear regression algorithm is used for sensor calibration and a polynomial piecewise regression method is used for temperature compensation. The experimental results show that the R2 of the model reaches 0.9981, the fitting degree is rather high, and the output is closer to the real gas concentration value after calibration. At the same time, the temperature compensation parameters are determined, which considerably improves the accuracy of the entire hardware terminal. Finally, the vehicle exhaust monitoring experiment is conducted, and the experimental results show that this scheme can successfully detect the exhaust position of the vehicle exhaust under the interference of the downwash flow of the UAV, thereby proving the reliability and accuracy of the monitoring terminal.
Monocular Depth Estimation Using Deep Learning: A Review
Authors: Masoumian Armin , Rashwan Hatem A. , Cristiano Julián , Asif M. Salman , Puig Domenec
Published: July 2022

In current decades, significant advancements in robotics engineering and autonomous vehicles have improved the requirement for precise depth measurements. Depth estimation (DE) is a traditional task in computer vision that can be appropriately predicted by applying numerous procedures. This task is vital in disparate applications such as augmented reality and target tracking. Conventional monocular DE (MDE) procedures are based on depth cues for depth prediction. Various deep learning techniques have demonstrated their potential applications in managing and supporting the traditional ill-posed problem. The principal purpose of this paper is to represent a state-of-the-art review of the current developments in MDE based on deep learning techniques. For this goal, this paper tries to highlight the critical points of the state-of-the-art works on MDE from disparate aspects. These aspects include input data shapes and training manners such as supervised, semi-supervised, and unsupervised learning approaches in combination with applying different datasets and evaluation indicators. At last, limitations regarding the accuracy of the DL-based MDE models, computational time requirements, real-time inference, transferability, input images shape and domain adaptation, and generalization are discussed to open new directions for future research.
WiFi FTM and UWB Characterization for Localization in Construction Sites
Authors: Álvarez-Merino Carlos S. , Khatib Emil J. , Luo-Chen Hao Qiang , Michel Joel Llanes , Casalderrey-Díaz Sebastián , Alonso Jesus , Barco Raquel
Published: July 2022

A high-precision location is becoming a necessity in the future Industry 4.0 applications that will come up in the near future. However, the construction sector remains particularly obsolete in the adoption of Industry 4.0 applications. In this work, we study the accuracy and penetration capacity of two technologies that are expected to deal with future high-precision location services, such as ultra-wide band (UWB) and WiFi fine time measurement (FTM). For this, a measurement campaign has been performed in a construction environment, where UWB and WiFi-FTM setups have been deployed. The performance of UWB and WiFi-FTM have been compared with a prior set of indoors measurements. UWB seems to provide better ranging estimation in LOS conditions but it seems cancelled by reinforcement concrete for propagation and WiFi is able to take advantage of holes in the structure to provide location services. Moreover, the impact of fusion of location technologies has been assessed to measure the potential improvements in the construction scenario.
Data Collection in an IoT Off-Grid Environment Systematic Mapping of Literature
Authors: Goulart Ademir , Pinto Alex Sandro Roschildt , Boava Adão , Branco Kalinka
Published: July 2022

The goal of this work is to present a systematic literature mapping (SLM) identifying algorithms for the search for data, determining the best path and types of communication between the local server and the drone, as well as possible simulators to validate proposed solutions. The concept, here considered as IoT Off-Grid, is characterized by being an environment without commercial electrical infrastructure and without communication connected to the internet. IoT equipment generates data to be stored on a local server. It collects these data through a drone that searches each local server for later integration with the commercial internet environment. As a result, we have algorithms to determine the best path based on the TSP—travelling salesman problem. Different types of communication between the drone and the server contain the data, predominantly WiFi 802.11. As a simulator, OMNeT++ stands out.
Optimization of Printed Polyaniline Composites for Gas Sensing Applications
Authors: Reiner-Rozman Ciril , Pichler Bernhard , Madi Vivien , Weißenböck Petra , Hegedüs Thomas , Aspermair Patrik , Bintinger Johannes
Published: July 2022

Polyaniline (PANI) films are promising candidates for electronic nose-based IoT applications, but device performances are influenced by fabrication parameters and ambient conditions. Affinities of different PANI composites to analytes for gas sensing applications remain elusive. In this study, we investigate the material properties in detail for two different dopant systems: F4TCNQ and carbon black. Using a reproducibility-driven approach, we investigate different dopant concentrations in regard to their sensitivity and specificity towards five relevant markers for breath cancer diagnosis. We benchmark the system using ammonia measurements and evaluate limits of detection. Furthermore, we provide statistical analysis on reproducibility and pave the way towards machine learning discrimination via principal component analysis. The influence of relative humidity on sensor hysteresis is also investigated. We find that F4TCNQ-doped PANI films show improved reproducibility compared to carbon black-doped films. We establish and quantify a tradeoff between sensitivity, reproducibility, and environmental stability by the choice of dopant and concentrations ratios.
Benchmarking Built-In Tracking Systems for Indoor AR Applications on Popular Mobile Devices
Authors: Marino Emanuele , Bruno Fabio , Barbieri Loris , Lagudi Antonio
Published: July 2022

As one of the most promising technologies for next-generation mobile platforms, Augmented Reality (AR) has the potential to radically change the way users interact with real environments enriched with various digital information. To achieve this potential, it is of fundamental importance to track and maintain accurate registration between real and computer-generated objects. Thus, it is crucially important to assess tracking capabilities. In this paper, we present a benchmark evaluation of the tracking performances of some of the most popular AR handheld devices, which can be regarded as a representative set of devices for sale in the global market. In particular, eight different next-gen devices including smartphones and tablets were considered. Experiments were conducted in a laboratory by adopting an external tracking system. The experimental methodology consisted of three main stages: calibration, data acquisition, and data evaluation. The results of the experimentation showed that the selected devices, in combination with the AR SDKs, have different tracking performances depending on the covered trajectory.