bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties of indanone derivative isolated from Fernandoa adenophylla in vitro and in silico studies
Authors: Rauf Abdur , Rashid Umer , Shah Zafar Ali , Khalil Anees Ahmed , Shah Muhammad , Tufail Tabussam , Rehman Gauhar , Rahman Abdur , Naz Saima , Alsahammari Abdulrahman , Alharbi Metab , AL-Shahrani Abdulmajeed , Formanowicz Dorota 
Published: April 2024

AbstractFernandoa adenophylla, due to the presence of phytochemicals, has various beneficial properties and is used in folk medicine to treat many conditions. This study aimed to isolate indanone derivative fromF. adenophyllaroot heartwood and assess in-vitro anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic characteristics at varying concentrations. Heat-induced hemolysis and glucose uptake by yeast cells assays were conducted to evaluate these properties. Besides, docking analyses were performed on four molecular targets. These studies were combined with molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the time-evolving inhibitory effect of selected inhibitors within the active pockets of the target proteins (COX-1 and COX-2). Indanone derivative (10–100 µM) inhibited the lysis of human red blood cells from 9.12 ± 0.75 to 72.82 ± 4.36% and, at 5–100 µM concentrations, it significantly increased the yeast cells’ glucose uptake (5.16 ± 1.28% to 76.59 ± 1.62%). Concluding, the isolated indanone might act as an anti-diabetic agent by interacting with critical amino acid residues of 5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and it showed a binding affinity with anti-inflammatory targets COX-1, COX-2, and TNF-α. Besides, the obtained results may help to consider the indanone derivative isolated fromF. adenophyllaas a promising candidate for drug delivery, subject to outcomes of further in vivo and clinical studies.
Effects of once- versus twice-weekly eccentric resistance training on muscular function and structure in older adults: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Baxter Brett A. , Baross Anthony W. , Ryan Declan J. , Tkadlec Stepan , Kay Anthony D. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractAdherence rates to current twice-weekly strength training guidelines are poor among older adults. Eccentric-only training elicits substantial improvements in muscle function/size so the aim of this study was to compare the effects of once- versus twice-weekly eccentric training programmes on muscle function/size in older adults. Thirty-six participants (69.4 ± 6.0 yr) were randomised into non-active control, once-, or twice-weekly training groups. Lower-limb muscle power, strength, and size were assessed at baseline, mid-, and post-eccentric training. Training was performed for 12 min per session at 50% of maximum eccentric strength. Significant increases in power (13%), isometric (17–36%) and eccentric (40–50%) strength, and VL muscle thickness (9–18%) occurred in both training groups following 12 weeks. Minimal muscle soreness was induced throughout the 12 weeks and perceived exertion was consistently lower in the twice-weekly training group. One weekly submaximal eccentric resistance training session over 12 weeks elicits similar improvements in neuromuscular function compared to the currently recommended twice-weekly training dose. Given the substantial improvements in neuromuscular function and previously reported low adherence to current twice-weekly training guidelines, eccentric training may be pivotal to developing a minimal-dose strategy to counteract neuromuscular decline. The trial was registered retrospectively on 24/01/2024 with ISRCTN (trial registration number: ISRCTN68730580).
Comprehensive evaluation of T7 promoter for enhanced yield and quality in mRNA production
Authors: Sari Yustika , Sousa Rosa Sara , Jeffries Jack , Marques Marco P. C. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe manufacturing of mRNA vaccines relies on cell-free based systems that are easily scalable and flexible compared with the traditional vaccine manufacturing processes. Typically, standard processes yield 2 to 5 g L−1 of mRNA, with recent process optimisations increasing yields to 12 g L−1. However, increasing yields can lead to an increase in the production of unwanted by-products, namely dsRNA. It is therefore imperative to reduce dsRNA to residual levels in order to avoid intensive purification steps, enabling cost-effective manufacturing processes. In this work, we exploit sequence modifications downstream of the T7 RNA polymerase promoter to increase mRNA yields whilst simultaneously minimising dsRNA. In particular, transcription performance was optimised by modifying the sequence downstream of the T7 promoter with additional AT-rich sequences. We have identified variants that were able to produce higher amounts of mRNA (up to 14 g L−1) in 45 min of reaction. These variants exhibited up to a 30% reduction in dsRNA byproduct levels compared to a wildtype T7 promoter, and have similar EGFP protein expression. The results show that optimising the non-coding regions can have an impact on mRNA production yields and quality, reducing overall manufacturing costs.
Research on the innovative application of Shen Embroidery cultural heritage based on convolutional neural network
Authors: Zhu Jiajun , Zhu Changyong 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIn order to protect intangible cultural heritage and promote outstanding cultural works, this article introduces innovative research on Shen Embroidery using convolutional neural networks. The dataset of Shen Embroidery was preprocessed to augment the data required for experimentation. Moreover, the approach of transfer learning was introduced to fine-tune the recognition network. Specifically, Spatial Pyramid Pooling (SPP) is employed by replacing the avg pool in the MobileNet V1 network, achieving the fusion of local and global features. The experimental results showed that the improved MobileNet V1 achieved a recognition accuracy of 98.45%, which was 2.3% higher than the baseline MobileNet V1 network. The experiments demonstrated that the improved convolutional neural network can efficiently recognize Shen Embroidery and provide technical support for the intelligent development of intangible cultural heritage.
Fractional analysis of non-linear fuzzy partial differential equations by using a direct procedure
Authors: Arshad Muhammad , Khan Shahbaz , Khan Hassan , Ali Hamid , Ali Ijaz 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIn this study, an accurate analytical solution is presented for fuzzy FPDEs. It is done by using a novel method called the Laplace-residual power series (LRPSM) to build a series solution to the given problems. The fundamental instruments of the employed method are the Laplace transform, fractional Laurent, and fractional power series. Using the idea of a limit at infinity, we provide a series solution to a fuzzy FPDE with quick convergence and simple coefficient finding. We analyze three cases to obtain approximate and exact solutions to show the effectiveness and reliability of the Laplace- residual power series approach. To demonstrate the accuracy of the suggested procedure, we compare the findings to the real data.
Eggs sampling as an effective tool for identifying the incidence of viruses in honey bees involved in artificial queen rearing
Authors: Domingues Caio E. C. , Šimenc Laura , Toplak Ivan , de Graaf Dirk C. , De Smet Lina , Verbeke Wim , Peelman Luc , Ansaloni Leticia S. , Gregorc Aleš 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) plays an essential role in crop pollination, environment diversity, and the production of honey bee products. However, the health of individual honey bees and their colonies is under pressure due to multiple stressors, including viruses as a significant threat to bees. Monitoring various virus infections could be a crucial selection tool during queen rearing. In the present study, samples from all developmental stages (eggs, larvae, pupae, and queens) were screened for the incidence of seven viruses during queen rearing in Slovenia. The screening of a total of 108 samples from five queen breeders was performed by the RT-qPCR assays. The results showed that the highest incidence was observed for black queen cell virus (BQCV), Lake Sinai virus 3 (LSV3), deformed wing virus B (DWV-B), and sacbrood virus (SBV). The highest viral load was detected in queens (6.07 log10 copies/queen) and larvae (5.50 log10 copies/larva) for BQCV, followed by SBV in larvae (5.47 log10 copies/larva). When comparing all the honey bee developmental stages, the eggs exhibited general screening for virus incidence and load in queen mother colonies. The results suggest that analyzing eggs is a good indicator of resilience to virus infection during queen development.
High-resolution early warning system for human Puumala hantavirus infection risk in Germany
Authors: Kazasidis Orestis , Geduhn Anke , Jacob Jens 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe fluctuation of human infections by the Puumala orthohantavirus (PUUV) in Germany has been linked to weather and phenology parameters that drive the population growth of its host species. We quantified the annual PUUV-outbreaks at the district level by binarizing the reported infections in the period 2006–2021. With these labels we trained a model based on a support vector machine classifier for predicting local outbreaks and incidence well in advance. The feature selection for the optimal model was performed by a heuristic method and identified five monthly weather variables from the previous two years plus the beech flowering intensity of the previous year. The predictive power of the optimal model was assessed by a leave-one-out cross-validation in 16 years that led to an 82.8% accuracy for the outbreak and a 0.457 coefficient of determination for the incidence. Prediction risk maps for the entire endemic area in Germany will be annually available on a freely-accessible permanent online platform of the German Environment Agency. The model correctly identified 2022 as a year with low outbreak risk, whereas its prediction for large-scale high outbreak risk in 2023 was not confirmed.
Redox active plant phenolic, acetosyringone, for electrogenetic signaling
Authors: Zakaria Fauziah Rahma , Chen Chen-Yu , Li Jinyang , Wang Sally , Payne Gregory F. , Bentley William E. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractRedox is a unique, programmable modality capable of bridging communication between biology and electronics. Previous studies have shown that the E. coli redox-responsive OxyRS regulon can be re-wired to accept electrochemically generated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as an inducer of gene expression. Here we report that the redox-active phenolic plant signaling molecule acetosyringone (AS) can also induce gene expression from the OxyRS regulon. AS must be oxidized, however, as the reduced state present under normal conditions cannot induce gene expression. Thus, AS serves as a “pro-signaling molecule” that can be activated by its oxidation—in our case by application of oxidizing potential to an electrode. We show that the OxyRS regulon is not induced electrochemically if the imposed electrode potential is in the mid-physiological range. Electronically sliding the applied potential to either oxidative or reductive extremes induces this regulon but through different mechanisms: reduction of O2 to form H2O2 or oxidation of AS. Fundamentally, this work reinforces the emerging concept that redox signaling depends more on molecular activities than molecular structure. From an applications perspective, the creation of an electronically programmed “pro-signal” dramatically expands the toolbox for electronic control of biological responses in microbes, including in complex environments, cell-based materials, and biomanufacturing.
Integrated optical phased array with on-chip amplification enabling programmable beam shaping
Authors: Gagino Marco , Millan-Mejia Alonso , Augustin Luc , Williams Kevin , Bente Erwin , Dolores-Calzadilla Victor 
Published: April 2024

AbstractWe present an integrated optical phased array (OPA) which embeds in-line optical amplifiers and phase modulators to provide beam-forming capability with gain and beam steering in the 1465–1590 nm wavelength range. We demonstrate up to 21.5 dB net on-chip gain and up to 35.5 mW optical output power. The OPA circuit is based on an InP photonic integration platform and features the highest measured on-chip gain and output power level recorded in an active OPA (i.e., with amplification), to the best of our knowledge. Furthermore, the OPA enables the independent control of both amplitude and phase in its arms and through this we demonstrate programmable beam shaping for two cases. First, we carried out a Gaussian apodization of the power distribution profile in the OPA emitter waveguides, leading to 19.8 dB sidelobe suppression in the far-field beam, which is the highest value recorded for active OPAs, and then we demonstrated beam forming of 0th, 1st, and 2nd order 1D Hermite–Gaussian beams in free-space.
Mitochondrial responses to constant and cyclic hypoxia depend on the oxidized fuel in a hypoxia-tolerant marine bivalve Crassostrea gigas
Authors: Adzigbli Linda , Ponsuksili Siriluck , Sokolova Inna 
Published: April 2024

AbstractSessile benthic organisms like oysters inhabit the intertidal zone, subject to alternating hypoxia and reoxygenation (H/R) episodes during tidal movements, impacting respiratory chain activities and metabolome compositions. We investigated the effects of constant severe hypoxia (90 min at ~ 0% O2 ) followed by 10 min reoxygenation, and cyclic hypoxia (5 cycles of 15 min at ~ 0% O2 and 10 min reoxygenation) on isolated mitochondria from the gill and the digestive gland of Crassostrea gigas respiring on pyruvate, palmitate, or succinate. Constant hypoxia suppressed oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), particularly during Complex I-linked substrates oxidation. It had no effect on mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) efflux but increased fractional electron leak (FEL). In mitochondria oxidizing Complex I substrates, exposure to cyclic hypoxia prompted a significant drop after the first H/R cycle. In contrast, succinate-driven respiration only showed significant decline after the third to fifth H/R cycle. ROS efflux saw little change during cyclic hypoxia regardless of the oxidized substrate, but Complex I-driven FEL tended to increase with each subsequent H/R cycle. These observations suggest that succinate may serve as a beneficial stress fuel under H/R conditions, aiding in the post-hypoxic recovery of oysters by reducing oxidative stress and facilitating rapid ATP re-synthesis. The impacts of constant and cyclic hypoxia of similar duration on mitochondrial respiration and oxidative lesions in the proteins were comparable indicating that the mitochondrial damage is mostly determined by the lack of oxygen and mitochondrial depolarization. The ROS efflux in the mitochondria of oysters was minimally affected by oxygen fluctuations indicating that tight regulation of ROS production may contribute to robust mitochondrial phenotype of oysters and protect against H/R induced stress.
The intestinal stem cell/enteroblast-GAL4 driver, escargot-GAL4, also manipulates gene expression in the juvenile hormone-synthesizing organ of Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Kurogi Yoshitomo , Mizuno Yosuke , Kamiyama Takumi , Niwa Ryusuke 
Published: April 2024

AbstractIntestinal stem cells (ISCs) of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, offer an excellent genetic model to explore homeostatic roles of ISCs in animal physiology. Among available genetic tools, the escargot (esg)-GAL4 driver, expressing the yeast transcription factor gene, GAL4, under control of the esg gene promoter, has contributed significantly to ISC studies. This driver facilitates activation of genes of interest in proximity to a GAL4-binding element, Upstream Activating Sequence, in ISCs and progenitor enteroblasts (EBs). While esg-GAL4 has been considered an ISC/EB-specific driver, recent studies have shown that esg-GAL4 is also active in other tissues, such as neurons and ovaries. Therefore, the ISC/EB specificity of esg-GAL4 is questionable. In this study, we reveal esg-GAL4 expression in the corpus allatum (CA), responsible for juvenile hormone (JH) production. When driving the oncogenic gene, RasV12, esg-GAL4 induces overgrowth in ISCs/EBs as reported, but also increases CA cell number and size. Consistent with this observation, animals alter expression of JH-response genes. Our data show that esg-GAL4-driven gene manipulation can systemically influence JH-mediated animal physiology, arguing for cautious use of esg-GAL4 as a “specific” ISC/EB driver to examine ISC/EB-mediated animal physiology.
Online speech synthesis using a chronically implanted brain–computer interface in an individual with ALS
Authors: Angrick Miguel , Luo Shiyu , Rabbani Qinwan , Candrea Daniel N. , Shah Samyak , Milsap Griffin W. , Anderson William S. , Gordon Chad R. , Rosenblatt Kathryn R. , Clawson Lora , Tippett Donna C. , Maragakis Nicholas , Tenore Francesco V. , Fifer Matthew S. , Hermansky Hynek , Ramsey Nick F. , Crone Nathan E. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBrain–computer interfaces (BCIs) that reconstruct and synthesize speech using brain activity recorded with intracranial electrodes may pave the way toward novel communication interfaces for people who have lost their ability to speak, or who are at high risk of losing this ability, due to neurological disorders. Here, we report online synthesis of intelligible words using a chronically implanted brain-computer interface (BCI) in a man with impaired articulation due to ALS, participating in a clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03567213) exploring different strategies for BCI communication. The 3-stage approach reported here relies on recurrent neural networks to identify, decode and synthesize speech from electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals acquired across motor, premotor and somatosensory cortices. We demonstrate a reliable BCI that synthesizes commands freely chosen and spoken by the participant from a vocabulary of 6 keywords previously used for decoding commands to control a communication board. Evaluation of the intelligibility of the synthesized speech indicates that 80% of the words can be correctly recognized by human listeners. Our results show that a speech-impaired individual with ALS can use a chronically implanted BCI to reliably produce synthesized words while preserving the participant’s voice profile, and provide further evidence for the stability of ECoG for speech-based BCIs.
Dependence of mechanical properties on the phase composition of intercritically annealed medium-Mn steel as the main competitor of high-strength DP steels
Authors: Skowronek Adam , Grajcar Adam , Petrov Roumen H. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractDepending on the alloy composition, intercritical annealing may provide different phases in the microstructure. For low-alloyed dual-phase (DP) steels it is usually ferrite and martensite, while for medium-Mn steels retained austenite is also formed. In a present study, a wide intercritical temperature range was applied to a 5% Mn steel to investigate possible microstructure combinations: ranging from fully ferritic, through ferritic-austenitic, multiphase, to fully martensitic, which were next investigated in terms of mechanical properties to clarify the behavior of this type of material. The obtained results together with technological issues and economic indicators were next compared to mechanical properties of typical DP steels in order to assess the possibility of replacing this material in car production. The mechanical properties were evaluated using static tensile and hardness tests. The phase composition was determined qualitatively and quantitatively using dilatometry, X-ray diffraction measurements, and electron backscatter diffraction analysis. The results suggest that both initial austenite and martensite fractions have a decisive influence on the yielding and elongation of steel; however, the tensile strength depends mainly on the sum of martensite initially present in the microstructure and the strain-induced martensite formed from the plastically deformed austenite regardless of the initial retained austenite—martensite ratio. The results indicate superior total elongation of medium-Mn steels reaching 30% compared to DP steels with a similar strength level in the range between 900 and 1400 MPa. However, medium-Mn steels could be a significant competitor to dual phase steels only if some technological problems like discontinuous yielding and serrations are significantly reduced.
Accelerated epigenetic age is associated with whole-brain functional connectivity and impaired cognitive performance in older adults
Authors: Graves Andrew J. , Danoff Joshua S. , Kim Minah , Brindley Samantha R. , Skyberg Amalia M. , Giamberardino Stephanie N. , Lynch Morgan E. , Straka Brenda C. , Lillard Travis S. , Gregory Simon G. , Connelly Jessica J. , Morris James P. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractWhile chronological age is a strong predictor for health-related risk factors, it is an incomplete metric that fails to fully characterize the unique aging process of individuals with different genetic makeup, neurodevelopment, and environmental experiences. Recent advances in epigenomic array technologies have made it possible to generate DNA methylation-based biomarkers of biological aging, which may be useful in predicting a myriad of cognitive abilities and functional brain network organization across older individuals. It is currently unclear which cognitive domains are negatively correlated with epigenetic age above and beyond chronological age, and it is unknown if functional brain organization is an important mechanism for explaining these associations. In this study, individuals with accelerated epigenetic age (i.e. AgeAccelGrim) performed worse on tasks that spanned a wide variety of cognitive faculties including both fluid and crystallized intelligence (N = 103, average age = 68.98 years, 73 females, 30 males). Additionally, fMRI connectome-based predictive models suggested a mediating mechanism of functional connectivity on epigenetic age acceleration-cognition associations primarily in medial temporal lobe and limbic structures. This research highlights the important role of epigenetic aging processes on the development and maintenance of healthy cognitive capacities and function of the aging brain.
Quantum teleportation in Heisenberg chain with magnetic-field gradient under intrinsic decoherence
Authors: Hosseiny Seyed Mohammad , Seyed-Yazdi Jamileh , Norouzi Milad , Livreri Patrizia 
Published: April 2024

AbstractOne of the most appealing quantum communication protocols is quantum teleportation, which involves sharing entanglement between the sender and receiver of the quantum state. We address the two-qubit quantum teleportation based on the Heisenberg XYZ chain with a magnetic-field gradient affected by intrinsic decoherence. An atomic spin chain is primarily coupled to the linear gradient of the magnetic field in the x-direction, with the assumption that the magnetic field varies linearly with the position of the atom. By using the concepts of fidelity and average fidelity in the presence of the magnetic field gradient and under the effect of intrinsic decoherence in the current model, and considering the variables of the system, an improved quantum teleportation can be achieved. In addition, using the concept of remote quantum estimation, we examine remote quantum sensing in this article, which is very useful in quantum communication.