bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A phase 1/2a, open label study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a plasmid DNA encoding human hepatocyte growth factor in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease 1A
Authors: Kwon Hyemi , Kim Hyun Su , Chi Sang Ah , Nam Soo Hyun , Kim Hye Jin , Kim Sang Beom , Choi Byung-Ok 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Background This is the first gene therapy trial in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A). Intramuscular injectionsof VM202, a plasmid DNA encoding human hepatocyte growth factor, was safe, tolerable and potentially effective in patients with CMT1A.
Methods This study was a phase 1/2a, nonrandomized controlled trial. Thirteen patients with CMT1A were screened, and 12 consented and enrolled between September 2020 and November 2020. Patients received intramuscular injections of 14 mg of VM202 at baseline, and on days 14, 90, and 104 in both legs. Safety evaluations and clinical assessments using the CMT neuropathy score version 2 (CMTNSv2), CMT examination score (CMTES), Rasch-modified CMTNSv2 (CMTNSv2-R), Rasch-modified CMTES (CMTES-R), functional disability scale (FDS), overall neuropathy limitation score, and 10-meter walk test were performed throughout a 270-day follow-up period. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for statistical comparisons of continuous variables.
Results The primary objective of this study was to assess the safety and tolerability of intramuscular injections of VM202 in patients with CMT1A. All participants tolerated VM202 well, without any serious adverse events related to the study drug. The secondary objective was to evaluate potential therapeutic efficacy. CMTNSv2, CMTES, CMTNSv2-R, and CMTES-R significantly decreased between baseline and day 270 with mean decreases of 2.17, 2.50, 2.08, and 2.33 points, respectively (p < 0.01). Also FDS significantly decreased with a mean percent decrease of 0.58 (p < 0.05).
ConclusionsIntramuscular injections of VM202 appear to be safe and well tolerated in CMT1A patients with potentially encouraging clinical results.
Standardisation of an analytical technique for determination of pesticide residues in fresh and processed button mushroom Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach
Authors: Bhandari Tulasi , Kaithamalai Bhuvaneswari , Angappan Suganthi , Gurudevan Thiribhuvanamala , Padmanaban Geetha , Chellamuthu Selvi , Venkidusamy Muralitharan , Palanisamy Karthik , Chelladurai Anusha Veeran 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Pests are common problem in cultivated edible mushroom and pesticides are used in their production cycle hence a study was undertaken to standardize a multiresidue method for commonly used pesticides as per previous available literatures and personal interaction with farmers. The effectiveness, reliability and accuracy of the method were assessed through validation parameters such as linearity, LOD, LOQ, precision, accuracy, uncertainty, and matrix effect. The linearity calibration for all the selected pesticides at standard concentrations (0.003, 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, and 0.1 µg mL-1) obtained were ≥0.970 in both LC-MS/MS and GC. The LOD and LOQ values were 0.003 and 0.01 µg g-1, respectively. The recoveries obtained in the spiking level of 0.01-0.1 µg g-1were in the acceptable range (71.69 to 117.90%) with RSD less than 20%. Matrix effect and uncertainty for all target compounds were in the acceptable range. Monitoring of edible button mushroom samples collected from market revealed the presence of cypermethrin residues in four out of 25 fresh button mushroom samples and no detectable residues were found in processed mushroom products tested.
Cell-scale porosity in microporous annealed particle (MAP) scaffolds modulates immune response and promotes formation of innervated muscle fibers in volumetric muscle loss injuries
Authors: Griffin Donald , Ayala Areli Rodriguez , Christ George 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) is caused by severe traumatic injuries to skeletal muscle and is characterized by the irreversible loss of contractile tissue and permanent functional deficits. VML injuries cannot be healed by endogenous mechanisms and are exceptionally difficult to treat in the clinic due to the excessive upregulation of the inflammatory response, which leads to fibrosis, denervation of muscle fibers, and impaired regeneration. These injuries lead to long-term disability. Using a rodent model of VML in the tibialis anterior, this study presents microporous annealed particle (MAP) hydrogel scaffolds as a biomaterial platform for improved muscle regeneration in VML injuries, specifically highlighting the benefits of cell-scale porosity. In contrast to bulk (i.e., nanoporous) hydrogel scaffolds, MAP scaffolds promote integration by avoiding the foreign body response, decreasing the rate of implant degradation, and shifting macrophage polarization to favor regeneration. In addition, cell migration and angiogenesis throughout the implant precede the degradation of MAP scaffolds, including the formation of muscle fibers and neuromuscular junctions within MAP scaffolds prior to degradation. These fibers and junctions continue to develop as the implant degrades, indicating that MAP hydrogel scaffolds are a promising therapeutic approach for VML injuries.
Cardiac irradiation combined with an anti-Programmed cell death protein 1 antibody induces time-dependent myocardial injury by regulating the HMGB1/NF-κB pathway
Authors: Liu Yao , Wu Bibo , Wang Yu , Bai Jie , Wang Gang , Zhao Shasha , Lu Bing , Hu Yinxiang , OuYang Weiwei , Guo Zhenneng , Wan Jun , Hu Rong , Su Shengfa 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Purpose
Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors may further increase the risk of cardiotoxicity of radiotherapy while improving the outcomes of locally advanced lung cancer. However, few studies have focused on cardiac injury caused by radiotherapy plus anti-PD-1 therapy, and the underlying mechanism is still under exploration. This study aimed to explore this mechanism.
Methods
Six- to eight-week-old C57BL/6 mice were treated with either an anti-PD-1 antibody or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) with or without 15 Gray (Gy) cardiac irradiation (IR). Five mice were sacrificed at 1 month, and the remaining mice were sacrificed at 3 months. Histological analysis was performed to determine the structural and morphological alterations and cardiac fibrosis. The infiltration of cardiac T cells was analysed via flow cytometry, and western blotting and qPCR were used to detect the protein and mRNA expression levels of HMGB1-related pathway.
Results
Group D (IR + anti-PD-1) demonstrated more severe injury, fibrosis, and apoptosis compared to groups A (control), B (anti-PD-1), and C (IR). Furthermore, the injury observed in Group D was significantly more severe, with higher values of apoptotic index (AI) and fibrotic area at 3 months compared to 1 month (P < 0.05). At 1 month, there were no significant differences in cardiac damage or AI or CVF values between groups A and B, but these differences emerged at 3 months (P < 0.05). Group D exhibited greater infiltration of T lymphocytes and increased expression of high mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1), Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB P65) at both 1 and 3 months compared to the other three groups.
Conclusion
In combination with radiation, PD-1 inhibitors exacerbated myocardial injury by modulating the HMGB1/NF-κB signalling pathway.
Online Test-time Adaptation for Interatomic
Potentials
Authors: Zhang Shufei , Cui Taoyong , Tang Chenyu , Zhou Dongzhan , Li Yuqiang , Gong Xingao , Ouyang Wanli , Su Mao 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs) enable more efficient molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with ab initio accuracy, which have been used in various domains of physical science. However, distribution shift between training and test data causes deterioration of the test performance of MLIPs, and even leads to collapse of MD simulations. In this work, we propose an online Test-time Adaptation Interatomic Potential (TAIP) framework to improve the generalization on test data. Specifically, we design a dual-level self-supervised learning approach that leverages global structure and atomic local environment information to align the model with the test data. Extensive experiments demonstrate TAIP's capability to bridge the domain gap between training and test dataset without additional data. TAIP enhances the test performance on various benchmarks, from small molecule datasets to complex periodic molecular systems with various types of elements. Remarkably, it also enables stable MD simulations where the corresponding baseline models collapse.
Ralstonia solanacearum (phylotype II) isolated from Rosa spp. in the Netherlands is closely related to phylotype II isolates from other sources in the Netherlands and is virulent on potato
Authors: Blom Nathalie , Gorkink-Smits Peggy , Landman Marco , de Bilt Jeroen van , Vogelaar Martijn , Raaymakers Tom , Visser Michael , Pel Michiel , Bergsma-Vlami Maria 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

In 2018, during an annual survey in the Netherlands, Ralstonia solanacearum phylotype II (phy II) was found in asymptomatic greenhouse rose plants at three geographic locations. These findings were remarkable, since previous findings of Ralstonia sp. in rose always concerned Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum phylotype I (phy I). Therefore, no information was available on the virulence of R. solanacearum phy II on rose. In this study, R. solanacearum phy II isolates PD 7421 and PD 7394, isolated in 2018 from asymptomatic ornamental rose (Rosa spp.), were assessed for their virulence in two rose cultivars (“Armando” and “Red Naomi”) at two temperatures. No typical symptoms were observed for PD 7421 and PD 7394 on the two rose cultivars, irrespective of the temperature. However, latent infections upon inoculation of these isolates on rose did occur. R. solanacearum phy II is known as a major potato pathogen, where it causes brown rot. Whole genome multilocus sequence typing analysis demonstrated that the R. solanacearum phy II isolates from rose were closely related to R. solanacearum phy II isolates previously found in seed potato and surface water in the Netherlands. Because of this close genetic relatedness, the virulence of PD 7421 and PD 7394 was also assessed in potato plants, where both isolates caused severe disease symptoms on the shoots as well as the daughter tubers. This implies that rose can act as a reservoir for R. solanacearum phy II and, in this way, can potentially be involved in spreading this bacterium.
CFDN: Cross-scale Feature Distillation Network for Lightweight Single Image Super-Resolution
Authors: Mu Zihan , Zhu Ge , Tang Jinping 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Information distillation play an important role in lightweight Single image super-resolution (SISR) by retaining and extracting hierarchical features step-by-step. This allows the network to possess a deep and compact structure, enabling it to achieve lightweight while maintaining good performance. However, the features prematurely retained by the distilled branches cannot be fully utilized, making it difficult for the model to effectively learn the multi-scale semantics and details. To solve above problems, we propose a Cross-scale Feature Distillation Network (CFDN), which consists of the basic module called Cross-scale Feature Distillation Block (CFDB) and sub-module called Multiple Receptive field Aggregation Block (MRAB). Different from the previous distillation structures that lost insight of extracting multi-scale information due to the use of simple distillation units, the proposed CFDB module designed with a novel distillation strategy can capture multi-scale information, thereby providing the diversity of features to the retained and purified branches. In each retained/distilled branch of CFDB, the sub-module MRAB equipped with pixel attention and dilated convolutions is designed to capture multi-scale semantics and details by enlarging receptive field processively. Experiments on five datasets show that the proposed network achieves superior performance over the other state-of-the-art lightweight SR methods.
Automatic recognition of grinding quality of titanium alloy using nanofluid/ultrasonic atomization microlubrication system based on convolutional neural network
Authors: Huang Wei Tai , Yang Shih-Cheng , Chou Fu-I , Chou Jyh-Horng 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

In this study, a nanofluid ultrasonic atomization minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) system was employed for grinding and processing titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V). Nanoparticles in the nanofluid were dispersed through the ultrasonic atomization MQL system to improve the lubrication efficiency. First, a robust design method optimizes the grinding parameters of force ratio, temperature, and surface roughness of each quality characteristic. Various images of the grinding surface quality were collected. Surface integrity is considered a key component metric in grinding. We also employ the convolutional neural network (CNN) technique to establish a model with high accuracy and automatic recognition of the surface quality after grinding, which is classified as Good, Plowing, Crushing Pits, and Bad. We employed VGG-19, GoogLeNet, ResNet-50, and AlexNet for modeling and testing comparison. Different hyperparameter configurations will affect each model’s learning speed and performance. Therefore, their hyperparameter optimizations were performed before establishing our CNN model for classification. After optimization, the average accuracy of the four models can be improved by 3.75–12%, which can quickly improve the performance of the CNN model systematically. We verified and validated our model. Our findings show that this research method can be used by the industry in the actual grinding process monitoring and identification of the grinding quality of Ti-6Al-4V.
Studying The Impact of Precipitation On Nutrient Loading into The Nagarjuna Sagar Reservoir from Contributing Watershed Using the SWAT model
Authors: Kondraju Tarun Teja , Sundara Rajan Krishnan 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

In recent decades, the increasing nutrient contamination in several water bodies across the globe has made it necessary to revisit, study, and understand all the mechanisms that contribute to the increasing contamination levels to protect the water bodies. Precipitation-induced surface runoff could be one of the significant contributors to controlling water quality in inland water bodies by regulating nutrient movement across the contributing watersheds where the land use is mainly driven by precipitation, such as the tropical monsoon climates of Southeast Asia. Current literature does not provide sufficient information to understand the role of precipitation in controlling the water quality under these conditions. Hence, the interactions between precipitation and nutrient transport need to be studied to mitigate the ill effects of the contamination. As a case study, this work used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model to assess these interactions in Nagarjuna Sagar (NS) and the contributing watersheds from the Krishna River basin. The model was calibrated for the entire Krishna River basin using the flow and in-stream nitrate concentration values measured at the Wadenapally gauge station. The model was used to study the contaminants produced from the NS contributing watershed from 2007 to 2017, during which the basin recorded flood and drought conditions. Since Total Nitrogen (TN) influences the nitrate concentration in streams, TN production was used as a reference for contamination output from the contributing watershed. The results showed that the land use in 2013 and 2017 had similar land use conditions and statistics, but the contribution watershed saw higher production of TN during 2013 due to good rainfall, and 2017 saw reduced output as the precipitation decreased. When the precipitation values were mutually exchanged, the resulting TN output from 2013 and 2017 years was comparable to the original TN yield from 2017 and 2013, respectively. This shows that precipitation essentially controls the production of the contaminants in the contributing watershed.
TRAJ23 Gene Targeting as a Therapeutic Strategy for Type 1 Diabetes: Implications from NOD Mouse Model Studies
Authors: Lai Xiaoyang , Luo Junming , Luo Yue , Zheng Yijing , Yang Huan , Zou Fang 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the attack and destruction of Pancreatic islet beta cells by T cells. Understanding the role of T-cell receptor (TCR) in the development of T1D is of paramount importance. This study employs single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to delve into the mechanistic actions and potential therapeutic applications of autoreactive stem cell-like CD8 TCR in T1D. By retrieving T-cell data from non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice via the GEO database, it was revealed that CD8+ T cells are the predominant T-cell subset in the pancreatic tissue of T1D mice, along with the identification of T-cell marker genes closely associated with T1D. Moreover, the gene TRAJ23 exhibits a preference for T1D, and its knockout alleviates T1D symptoms and adverse reactions in NOD mice. Additionally, engineered TCR-T cells demonstrate significant cytotoxicity towards β cells in T1D.
Valorization of glycerol by ultrasound-assisted acetalization to solketal
Authors: Vichare Megha Shriganesh , Chakraborty Mousumi , JANA ARUN KUMAR 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Conversion of glycerol into high-value chemical products is a compelling process in the biomass conversion and biorefinery industry. In this study, a novel approach was employed to investigate ultrasound-assisted solketal synthesis using glycerol and acetone as raw material and sulfated zirconia as catalyst. Effect of six factors, including reactant ratio (1:2 -1:6), catalyst dosage (0.5-1.5 wt%), ultrasound voltage (180-220 V), tip depth (0.5-1.5 cm), time of reaction (10-20 min) and temperature of reaction (30°-50°C) on glycerol conversion were studied. The significant factors obtained from Box-Behnken Design (BBD) were in the order of reactant ratio > ultrasonic voltage > catalyst dosing for fixed tip depth, temperature, and time of 1 cm, 50°C and 15 min, respectively. Then, the reaction was carried out at the optimum reactant ratio (glycerol: acetone) 1:6, ultrasonic voltage 200 V, catalyst dosing 0.5 wt.%. The conversion of glycerol was estimated from the results of ultrasonic velocity measurement, and the same was later cross-verified by TLC and GC-MS analysis. Further acidity of the catalyst (Zr-S-400) was increased by increasing acid concentration (0.5M, 0.7M and 1M H2SO4) and Zr-S-0.5, Zr-S-0.7, and Zr-S-1 catalysts were synthesized. Catalysts were characterized by FESEM, EDAX, XRD, BET and Ammonia TPD. At the optimum condition of the reaction, a high glycerol conversion (94%) with solketal selectivity (93.9%) and isomer (0.1%) was achieved using Zr-S-1 as the catalyst. The sulfated zirconia catalyst demonstrated remarkable reusability, maintaining consistent glycerol conversion and solketal selectivity over 4 consecutive cycles.
A comprehensive Extraction-Precipitation Method and Characterization Study to Optimize Biogas Slurry Enzyme Recovery
Authors: Rana Gaurav Singh , Naudiyal Neetika , Bal Rajesh , Verma Ashok Kumar , Dubey Ashutosh , Singh B. R. , Singh T. P. 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Biogas slurry (BGS), or digestate, is a nutrient-rich byproduct of anaerobic digestion, containing essential macronutrients and micronutrients alongside organic matter. This slurry acts as a potent organic fertilizer, improving soil structure, water retention, and microbial health. Enzymes like amylase, alkaline protease, and laccase, along with lignocellulosic enzymes such as β-glucosidase, cellulase, and xylanase, play crucial roles in enhancing biogas production through the breakdown of complex organic compounds. The current study focuses on the isolation and precipitation of these enzymes present in biogas slurry and analyzes their activity and stability under different conditions. All enzymes were observed to exhibit higher activity in their intracellular forms compared to their extracellular counterparts with respect to enzymatic activity. Enzymatic activity was significantly increased, ranging from 4-fold to up to 14-fold, using ammonium sulphate precipitation. The optimal pH for amylase and laccase was found to be 6.0 and 7.0 respectively, while alkaline protease exhibited optimal activity at pH 8.0. All three enzymes displayed optimal activity at temperatures ranging between 40-60°C. These findings suggested that BGS is a potential source of these enzymes and that ammonium sulphate precipitation (0-80%) can be a successful method for concentrating these enzymes as well as understanding the optimal pH and temperature conditions for these enzymes is crucial for maximizing their effectiveness in various industrial applications.
Impact of Loading Protocol on the Repair Efficiency of Heat-damaged Concrete Beams with SNSM CFRP Ropes
Authors: Haddad Rami Haythem , Obeidat Rawan S. 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

The influence of static-load distribution and symmetry on the flexural performance of concrete beams, strengthened/repaired using side near-surface-mounted (SNSM) CFRP ropes with parabolic and straight profiles is investigated. For this, eighteen reinforced concrete beams (150 × 250 × 1600 mm) were fabricated using a ready-mix concrete of 35 MPa strength grade before cured for 28 days in wet burlap for 28 days. Nine beams were exposed to an elevated temperature at 450oC for three hours, while the remaining ones were left in laboratory air, as controls. Six specimens from each group were retrofitted using SNSM of straight and parabolic profiles then tested with references ones under four- and six-point symmetrical and six-point asymmetrical loadings with load response versus deflection and strain in SNSM ropes acquired. Furthermore, cracking initiation and propagation leading to failure was monitored and reported. Generally, the study revealed that the mechanical performance of the concrete beams was influenced by the loading regime as well as by the rope profile (straight, parabolic) as well as heat-damage. The flexural performance factor (PF) varied from 5.4 to 7.9 for strengthened compared to 10.9 to 16.3 for repaired and heat-damaged specimens. Furthermore, all strengthened/repaired beams failed by concrete-cover separation following the sudden rupture of the SNSM CFRP ropes except for that repaired with a straight profile of SNSM CFRP rope and subjected to asymmetrical loading.
Transmission of Physalis rugose mosaic virus via Pruning, Leaves Contact and Soil
Authors: Kraide Heron Delgado , Carmo Eike , Fariña Arnaldo , Ferro Camila , Rezende Jorge 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Physalis peruviana (Solanaceae) is an exotic plant in Brazil that has been increasingly known for its fruits’ vitamins, nutrients, and high-added value. Like other solanaceous plants, physalis is also the target of some plant viruses; until now, five viruses have been reported to naturally infect P. peruviana in Brazil. Among them, the physalis rugose mosaic virus (PhyRMV) has attracted attention due to the severity of the symptoms, characterized by leaf mosaic, malformation, leaf abscission, and a significant reduction in plant development and yield. This work evaluated the efficiency of different forms of PhyRMV transmission. The virus was efficiently transmitted to healthy physalis plants through contact between the leaves, pruning, and contaminated soil. PhyRMV remained active and infectious in contaminated soil for up to ninety days.