bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Design and optimization of broadband metamaterial absorber based on manganese for visible applications
Authors: Sayed Shimaa I. , Mahmoud K. R. , Mubarak Roaa I. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractMetamaterial absorbers have been extensively researched due to their potential applications in photonics. This paper presents a highly efficient Broadband Metamaterial Absorber (BMA) based on a Manganese–Silica–Manganese three layer structure with a shaped pattern at the top layer. For maximum absorption efficiency, the geometrical parameters of the proposed absorber have been optimized based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The optimal structure with a thickness of 190 nm, can achieve more than 94% absorption spanning visible band (400–800) nm with 98.72% average absorption, and more than 90% absorption over the range from 365 to 888 nm. In the range from 447 to 717 nm, the design presented above 99% absorptivity, providing an ultra-wide bandwidth of 270 nm. The physical mechanism of absorption is illustrated through the exploration of the electric and magnetic field distributions. Additionally, the proposed structure maintains 85% absorption stability for wide incident angles up to 70° for both the TE and TM polarizations under oblique incidence. Further, the optimized absorber structure with excellent absorption capabilities makes it suitable for various applications, including optical sensors, thermal emitters, and color imaging applications.
Introduction to the Monte Carlo dose engine COMPASS for BNCT
Authors: Zhong Wan-Bing , Chen Jiang , Teng Yi-Chiao , Liu Yuan-Hao 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe Monte Carlo method is the most commonly used dose calculation method in the field of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). General-purpose Monte Carlo (MC) code (e.g., MCNP) has been used in most treatment planning systems (TPS) to calculate dose distribution, which takes overmuch time in radiotherapy planning. Based on this, we developed COMPASS (COMpact PArticle Simulation System), an MC engine specifically for BNCT dose calculation. Several optimization algorithms are used in COMPASS to make it faster than general-purpose MC code. The parallel computation of COMPASS is performed by the message passing interface (MPI) library and OpenMP commands, which allows the user to increase computational speed by increasing the computer configurations. The physical dose of each voxel is calculated for developing a treatment plan. Comparison results show that the computed dose distribution of COMPASS is in good agreement with MCNP, and the computational efficiency is better than MCNP. These results validate that COMPASS has better performance than MCNP in BNCT dose calculation.
Thermosensitive hydrogel coupled with sodium ascorbyl phosphate promotes human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell-mediated skin wound healing in mice
Authors: Liu Liji , Yao Sheng , Mao Xianhua , Fang Zheng , Yang Cheng , Zhang Yan 
Published: July 2023

AbstractPoor survival and restricted function of transplanted stem cells are regarded as limiting their efficacy in wound recovery greatly. Consequently, it is necessary to identify innovative therapeutic strategies to solve these issues. Firstly, the biological effect of PF-127 hydrogel alone and in combination with SAP on the survival, and migration of cultured HUCMSCs was assessed by cell viability, apoptosis, and scratch wound assays. S. aureus and E. coli were used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of PF-127 plus SAP combination. Further, the ability of HUCMSCs-conditioned medium (HUCMSCs-CM) to promote the angiogenesis and migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro was evaluated using tube formation and transwell migration assays. Finally, the HUCMSCs embedded in PF-127 plus SAP scaffold were administered onto mice’s excisional cutaneous wound bed. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses were employed to investigate the wound healing capacity as well as cellular responses of PF-127/HUCMSCs/SAP hydrogel. PF-127 showed cytotoxicity on HUCMSCs, whereas the addition of SAP significantly promoted cell viability and alleviated apoptosis of HUCMSCs encapsulated in PF-127 hydrogel in vitro. SAP supplementation substantially abrogated the inhibiting effect of PF-127 on the migration of HUCMSCs in vitro. The combination of PF-127 and SAP exerted an obvious bacteriostatic function on S. aureus and E. coli. Moreover, the co-treatment with SAP could remarkably enhance the stimulative effect of HUCMSCs-CM on the angiogenesis and migration of HUVECs in vitro. PF-127 combined SAP-embedded HUCMSCs transplantation resulted in a potently accelerated wound healing process, promoted the number of proliferating cells and newly formed blood vessels, as well as enhanced expression of vascular endothelial growth factor. PF-127 coupled with SAP contributes to HUCMSCs-mediated traumatic wound closure in mice by promoting cell survival, antibacterial action, and angiogenesis. Our results offered a theoretical foundation for the clinical treatment of traumatic skin defects.
Loss of Nudt15 thiopurine detoxification increases direct DNA damage in hematopoietic stem cells
Authors: Yamashita Noriaki , Kawahara Masahiro , Imai Takayuki , Tatsumi Goichi , Asai-Nishishita Ai , Andoh Akira 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThiopurines, such as 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), are widely used as cytotoxic agents and immunosuppressants for leukemia and autoimmune or inflammatory diseases. A nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (p.Arg139Cys; R139C) of the nucleoside diphosphate-linked moiety X-type motif 15 (NUDT15) gene causes the loss of thiopurine detoxification, inducing myelosuppression. To understand such hematotoxicity, we investigate the effects of NUDT15 R139C on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) upon thiopurine administration. Using previously established Nudt15R138C knock-in mice, which mimic myelosuppression in NUDT15R139C homozygous or heterozygous patients following thiopurine administration, we investigated the numerical changes of HSCs and hematopoietic progenitor cells following 6-MP administration using in vivo flowcytometry and ex vivo HSC expansion. Genes differentially expressed between Nudt15+/+ HSCs and Nudt15R138C/R138C HSCs were identified using RNA-sequencing before the emergence of 6-MP-induced HSC-damage. Gene Ontology (GO) and Transcriptional Regulatory Relationships Unraveled by Sentence-based Text Mining (TRRUST) analyses were performed to elucidate the molecular effects of 6-MP on HSCs. In Nudt15R138C/R138C mice, 6-MP induced exhaustion of HSCs faster than that of multipotent progenitors and as fast as that of myeloid-committed progenitors. Ex vivo-expanded Nudt15R138C/R138C HSCs were dose- and time-dependently damaged by 6-MP. GO analysis identified the DNA damage response and cell cycle process as the most strongly influenced processes in Nudt15R138C/R138C HSCs. TRRUST analysis revealed that the Trp53-regulated transcriptional regulatory network is influenced prior to HSC exhaustion in Nudt15R138C/R138C HSCs. The loss of NUDT15 thiopurine detoxification enhances thiopurine-mediated DNA damage via the Trp53 networks in HSCs. Therefore, caution is required in long-term thiopurine use in patients with NUDT15 R139C in view of its adverse effects on HSCs in the form of DNA damage.
Effect of plant produced Anti-hIL-6 receptor antibody blockade on pSTAT3 expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Authors: Kaewbandit Namthip , Malla Ashwini , Boonyayothin Wanuttha , Rattanapisit Kaewta , Phetphoung Thareeya , Pisuttinusart Nuttapat , Strasser Richard , Saetung Rattana , Tawinwung Supannikar , Phoolcharoen Waranyoo 
Published: July 2023

AbstractAs a response to invasion by pathogens, the secretion of interleukin 6 (IL-6) which is a cytokine, activates IL-6/JAKs/STAT3 intracellular signaling via., phosphorylation. Over expression of pSTAT3 induces IL-6 positive feedback loop causing cytokine release syndrome or cytokine storm. Plants have gained momentum as an alternative expression system. Hence, this study aims to produce mAb targeting human IL-6 receptor (hIL-6R) in Nicotiana benthamiana for down regulating its cellular signaling thus, decreasing the expression of pSTAT3. The variable regions of heavy and light chains of anti-hIL-6R mAb were constructed in pBYK2e geminiviral plant expression vector and transiently co-expressed in N. benthamiana. The results demonstrate the proper protein assembly of anti-hIL-6R mAb with highest expression level of 2.24 mg/g FW at 5 dpi, with a yield of 21.4 µg/g FW after purification. The purity and N-glycosylation of plant produced antibody was analyzed, including its specificity to human IL-6 receptor by ELISA. Additionally, we investigated the effect to pSTAT3 expression in human PBMC’s by flow cytometry wherein, the results confirmed lower expression of pSTAT3 with increasing concentrations of plant produced anti-hIL-6R mAb. Although, further in vivo studies are key to unveil the absolute functionality of anti-hIL-6R, we hereby show the potential of the plant platform and its suitability for the production of this therapeutic antibody.
An extendable optical fibre probe survey meter for naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) and other weak emitters
Authors: Zubair H. T. , Bradley D. A. , Khairina M. D. , Oresegun Adebiyi , Basaif A. , Othman J. , Rifiat R. , Hamidi F. , Rahman L. , Ezzadeen A. , Ibrahim S. A. , Mansor S. , Alkhorayef M. , Abdul-Rashid H. A. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractWe have developed a radioluminescence-based survey meter for use in industries in which there is involvement in naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), also in support of those needing to detect other weak emitters of radiation. The functionality of the system confronts particular shortcomings of the handheld survey meters that are currently being made use of. The device couples a LYSO:Ce scintillator with a photodetector via a polymer optical fibre waveguide, allowing for "intrinsically safe" inspection within pipework, separators, valves and other such component pieces. The small-diameter optical fibre probe is electrically passive, immune to electromagnetic interference, and chemically inert. The readout circuit is entirely incorporated within a handheld casing housing a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) detection circuit and a microprocessor circuit connected to an LCD display. A 15 m long flexible PMMA optical fibre waveguide is butt coupled to an ABS plastic probe that retains the LYSO:Ce scintillator. Initial tests have included the use of lab-based mixed gamma-ray sources, measurements being made in concert with a reference conventional GM survey-meter. Characterization, via NORM sources at a decontamination facility, has shown useful sensitivity, covering the dose-rate range 0.10- to 28 µSv h−1 (R-squared 0.966), extending to 80 µSv/h as demonstrated in use of a Cs-137 source. The system is shown to provide an effective tool for detection of radioactivity within hard to access locations, in particular for sources emitting at low radiation levels, down to values that approach background.
Effects of functionalization and silane modification of hexagonal boron nitride on thermal/mechanical/morphological properties of silicon rubber nanocomposite
Authors: Farahani Atefe , Jamshidi Masoud , Foroutan Masumeh 
Published: July 2023

AbstractHexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanoparticles could induce interesting properties to silicone rubber (SR) but, the weak filler-matrix interfacial interaction causes agglomeration of the nanoparticles and declines the performance of the nanocomposite. In this work, h-BN nanoparticles were surface modified using vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) at different concentrations. Before silane modification, h-BN nanoparticles were hydroxylated using 5 molar sodium hydroxide. The nanoparticles were characterized to assess success of silane grafting. The pure and modified h-BN nanoparticles were applied at 1, 3 and 5 wt% to HTV silicon rubber (SR). The curing, thermal, mechanical and morphological properties and hydrophobicity of the nanocomposites were evaluated. The morphology of the SR nanocomposites was characterized using AFM and FE-SEM analysis. It was found that silane grafting on the h-BN nanoparticles improves crosslink density but declines curing rate index (CRI) of the SR nanocomposite (at 5 wt% loading content) by 0.7 (dN m) and 3.5%, respectively. It also increased water contact angle of the nanocomposites from 97.5° to 107°. The improved nanoparticle-rubber interfacial interactions caused better dispersion of h-BN nanoparticles in SR matrix (at 5 wt%) that enhanced the elongation at break, modulus at 300% and Tg of the SR nanocomposites.
Adsorption kinetics of methylene blue from wastewater using pH-sensitive starch-based hydrogels
Authors: Mohammadzadeh Fatemeh , Golshan Marzieh , Haddadi-Asl Vahid , Salami-Kalajahi Mehdi 
Published: July 2023

AbstractIn this work, starch/poly(acylic acid) hydrogels were synthesized through a free radical polymerization technique. The molar ratios of acrylic acid to N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide were 95:5, 94:6, and 93:7. The samples exhibited an amorphous porous structure, indicating that the size of the pores was contingent upon the amount of cross-linking agent. The quantity of acrylic acid in structure rose with a little increase in the amount of the cross-linking agent, which improved the hydrogels’ heat stability. The swelling characteristics of the hydrogels were influenced by both the pH level and the amount of cross-linking agent. The hydrogel with a ratio of 94:6 exhibited the highest degree of swelling (201.90%) at a pH of 7.4. The dominance of the Fickian effect in regulating water absorption in the synthesized hydrogels was demonstrated, and the kinetics of swelling exhibited agreement with Schott's pseudo-second order model. The absorption of methylene blue by the hydrogels that were developed was found to be influenced by various factors, including the concentration of the dye, the quantity of the cross-linking agent, the pH level, and the duration of exposure. The hydrogel 95:5 exhibited the highest adsorption effectiveness (66.7%) for the dye solution with a concentration of 20 mg/L at pH 10.0. The examination of the kinetics and isotherms of adsorption has provided evidence that the process of physisorption takes place on heterogeneous adsorbent surfaces and can be explained by an exothermic nature.
Quantifying the cooling effect of tropical cyclone clouds on the climate system
Authors: Hu Liang , Ritchie Elizabeth A. , Scott Tyo J. 
Published: July 2023

AbstractThe net effect on the upwelling radiation caused by tropical cyclone clouds is calculated over a 20-year global data set, and the corresponding contribution to the earth energy balance is analyzed. Tropical cyclone clouds are shown on average to increase the upwelling radiation at the top of the atmosphere compared with the background non-tropical-cyclone-cloud climatology. This increase in upwelling radiation provides an overall cooling effect on the climate system because the increased reflected shortwave radiation (cooling) outweighs the decreased emitted longwave radiation (warming). While the effect neglects the (likely considerable) contribution due to tropical cyclone drying, the amount of cooling by clouds alone represents a considerable fraction of the excess warming energy in the climate system. Thus, any future change in tropical cyclone activity has the potential to impact the overall energy balance if it substantially alters this total. The seasonal and geographic distribution of warming and cooling effects, and the diurnal dynamics that impact whether any particular cyclone is net cooling or net warming are discussed in this study.
Group size planning for breedings of gene-modified mice and other organisms following Mendelian inheritance
Authors: Milchevskaya Vladislava , Bugnon Philippe , ten Buren Emiel B. J. , Vanhecke Dominique , Brand Frank , Tresch Achim , Buch Thorsten 
Published: July 2023

AbstractColony management of gene-modified animals is time-consuming, costly and affected by random events related to Mendelian genetics, fertility and litter size. Careful planning is mandatory to ensure successful outcomes using the least number of animals, hence adhering to the 3R principles of animal welfare. Here we have developed an R package, accessible also through an interactive public website, that optimizes breeding design by providing information about the optimal number of breedings needed to obtain defined breeding outcomes, taking into account specific species, strain, or line properties and success probability. Our software also enables breeding planning for balanced male-to-female ratio or single-sex experiments. We show that, for single-sex designs, the necessary number of breedings is at least doubled compared to the use of all born animals. While the presented tool provides preset parameters for the laboratory mouse, it can be readily used for any other species.
Synthesis of a highly active core–shell Ni-MOF@CdS S-scheme heterojunction for enhanced photoreduction of CO2 to CO
Authors: Ali Rai Nauman , Qureshi Waqar Ahmad , Naz Hina , Jiang Haopeng , Yaseen Maria , Yu Xiaohui , Liu Qinqin 
Published: July 2023

An efficient Ni-MOF@CdS S-scheme heterojunction for the selective photoreduction of CO2 to CO.
Telling Stories in Noise: The Impact of Background Noises on Spoken Language for People With Aphasia
Authors: Nelson Brenna Scadden , Harmon Tyson G. , Dromey Christopher , Clawson Kirsten Dixon 
Published: July 2023

Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to determine how different background noise conditions affect the spoken language of participants with aphasia during a story retell task.

Method:
Participants included 11 adults with mild to moderate aphasia and 11 age- and gender-matched controls. Participants retold stories in a silent baseline and five background noise conditions (conversation, monologue, phone call, cocktail, and pink noise). Dependent measures of speech acoustics (fundamental frequency and mean intensity), speech fluency (speech rate and disfluent words), and language production (correct information units [CIUs], lexical errors, lexical diversity, and cohesive utterances) were compared between groups and across conditions.

Results:

Background noise resulted in higher fundamental frequency (
f
o
) and increased mean intensity for control participants across all noise conditions but only across some conditions for participants with aphasia. In relation to language production, background noise interfered significantly more with communication efficiency (i.e., percent CIUs) for participants with aphasia than the control group. For participants with aphasia, the phone call condition led to decreased lexical diversity. Across groups, condition effects generally suggested more interference on speech acoustics in conditions where continuous noise was present and more interference on language in conditions that presented continuous informational noise.

Conclusions:
Although additional research is needed, preliminary findings suggest that background noise interferes with narrative discourse more for people with aphasia (PWA) than neurologically healthy adults. PWA may benefit from therapy that directly addresses communicating in noise.

Supplemental Material:

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.23681703
Efficacy of Aphasia Group Conversation Treatment via Telepractice on Language and Patient-Reported Outcome Measures
Authors: Dunne Madeline , Hoover Elizabeth , DeDe Gayle 
Published: July 2023

Purpose:
Conversation treatment for people with aphasia (PwA) can lead to significant changes in language impairment and quality of life. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the greater use of telepractice treatment delivery. However, there is little evidence regarding the efficacy of telepractice conversation groups. This study investigated the effects of telepractice group conversation treatment on standardized measures of language function and socially oriented/patient-reported outcomes compared to in-person and no-treatment control data.

Method:
This study used a mixed within- and between-groups design (repeated measure/pre–post treatment), with a single-subject delayed treatment design (Shadish & Rindskopf, 2007) to establish baseline, pretreatment, and posttreatment periods for the telepractice group. Telepractice results pre- and posttreatment were compared with historical in-person and no-treatment control data obtained from a larger randomized control trial (RCT) from DeDe et al. (2019). The historical comparison data were a subset of RCT participants from the same location and included six in-person participants and seven no-treatment control group participants.

Results:
Results of standardized testing conducted at baseline, pretreatment, and posttreatment intervals revealed significant improvement from pre- to posttreatment on repetition and picture description tasks for the telepractice group, and significant improvement from pre- to posttreatment on the Aphasia Communication Outcome Measure, total number of relevant utterances, and percentage of complete utterances for the in-person conversation group. No significant differences were observed in the no-treatment groups.

Conclusions:
In contrast to the no-treatment condition, both the in-person and telepractice conditions showed the benefits of conversation group treatment. The in-person treatment condition showed improvements in a wider number of outcome measures than the telepractice condition. Overall, the results prompt further research regarding telepractice group conversation treatment for PwA.
LiteCCLKNet: A lightweight criss‐cross large kernel convolutional neural network for hyperspectral image classification
Authors: Zhong Chengcheng , Gong Na , Zhang Zitong , Jiang Yanan , Zhang Kai 
Published: July 2023

AbstractHigh‐performance convolutional neural networks (CNNs) stack many convolutional layers to obtain powerful feature extraction capability, which leads to huge storing and computational costs. The authors focus on lightweight models for hyperspectral image (HSI) classification, so a novel lightweight criss‐cross large kernel convolutional neural network (LiteCCLKNet) is proposed. Specifically, a lightweight module containing two 1D convolutions with self‐attention mechanisms in orthogonal directions is presented. By setting large kernels within the 1D convolutional layers, the proposed module can efficiently aggregate long‐range contextual features. In addition, the authors effectively obtain a global receptive field by stacking only two of the proposed modules. Compared with traditional lightweight CNNs, LiteCCLKNet reduces the number of parameters for easy deployment to resource‐limited platforms. Experimental results on three HSI datasets demonstrate that the proposed LiteCCLKNet outperforms the previous lightweight CNNs and has higher storage efficiency.