bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clearance of mixed biofilms of Streptococcus pneumoniae and methicillin-susceptible/resistant Staphylococcus aureus by antioxidants N-acetyl-l-cysteine and cysteamine
Authors: Sempere Julio , Llamosí Mirella , Román Federico , Lago Darío , González-Camacho Fernando , Pérez-García Covadonga , Yuste Jose , Domenech Mirian 
Published: April 2022

AbstractBiofilm-associated infections are of great concern because they are associated with antibiotic resistance and immune evasion. Co-colonization by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae is possible and a threat in clinical practice. We investigated the interaction between S. aureus and S. pneumoniae in mixed biofilms and tested new antibiofilm therapies with antioxidants N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) and cysteamine (Cys). We developed two in vitro S. aureus–S. pneumoniae mixed biofilms in 96-well polystyrene microtiter plates and we treated in vitro biofilms with Cys and NAC analyzing their effect by CV staining and viable plate counting. S. pneumoniae needed a higher proportion of cells in the inoculum and planktonic culture to reach a similar population rate in the mixed biofilm. We demonstrated the effect of Cys in preventing S. aureus biofilms and S. aureus–S. pneumoniae mixed biofilms. Moreover, administration of 5 mg/ml of NAC nearly eradicated the S. pneumoniae population and killed nearly 94% of MSSA cells and 99% of MRSA cells in the mixed biofilms. The methicillin resistance background did not change the antioxidants effect in S. aureus. These results identify NAC and Cys as promising repurposed drug candidates for the prevention and treatment of mixed biofilms by S. pneumoniae and S. aureus.
Characterization and performance evaluation of Cu-based/TiO2 nano composites
Authors: Saber D. , El-Aziz Kh. Abd , Felemban Bassem F. , Alghtani Abdulaziz H. , Ali Hafiz T. , Ahmed Emad M. , Megahed M. 
Published: April 2022

AbstractCopper and copper alloys are used in industrial applications and food contact surfaces due to their desirable properties; copper metal matrix composites have been exciting researchers' attention in recent years since they can offer many valuable characteristics. The present study investigated the effects of the TiO2nanoparticles addition with different weight percent on the hardness and corrosion behavior of copper nanocomposites. The powder metallurgy method was used to fabricate the Cu/TiO2reinforced with different weight fractions of TiO2nano particles up to 12 wt.%. The corrosion behavior of fabricated specimens is evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in different solutions. These solutions were 3.5wt.% NaCl, 0.5 NaOH and 0.5 M H2SO4reflected different pH. The results showed that the addition of TiO2nano particles improves pure copper's hardness. The hardness of pure copper increased from 53 to 91 HV by adding 12 wt.% TiO2.The corrosion current density (Icorr) of copper nanocomposites test specimens was higher than Icorrof pure copper in all test solutions. As TiO2nano particles increase, the corrosion resistance of Cu nano composites decreased. All test specimens exhibited little corrosion current density in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution as compared with other test solutions.
Immunoreactivity of humanized single-chain variable fragment against its functional epitope on domain 1 of CD147
Authors: Intasai Nutjeera , Rangnoi Kuntalee , Yamabhai Montarop , Pamonsupornwichit Thanathat , Thongkum Weeraya , Yasamut Umpa , Chupradit Koollawat , Takheaw Nuchjira , Nimmanpipug Piyarat , Tayapiwatana Chatchai 
Published: April 2022

AbstractDomain 1 of CD147 participates in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) production and is a candidate for targeted therapy to prevent cancer invasion and metastasis. A functional mouse anti-CD147 monoclonal antibody, M6-1B9, was found to recognize domain 1 of CD147, and its respective mouse single-chain variable fragment (ScFvM61B9) was subsequently generated. The EDLGS epitope candidate for M6-1B9 was identified using the phage display peptide technique in this study. For future clinical applications, humanized ScFv specific to domain 1 of CD147 (HuScFvM61B9) was partially adopted from the hypervariable sequences of parental mouse ScFvM61B9 and grafted onto suitable human immunoglobulin frameworks. Molecular modelling and simulation were performed in silico to generate the conformational structure of HuScFvM61B9. These results elucidated the amino acid residues that contributed to the interactions between CDRs and the epitope motif. The expressed HuScFvM61B9 specifically interacted with CD147 at the same epitope as the original mAb, M6-1B9, and retained immunoreactivity against CD147 in SupT1 cells. The reactivity of HuScFvM61B9 was confirmed using CD147 knockout Jurkat cells. In addition, the inhibitory effect of HuScFvM61B9 on OKT3-induced T-cell proliferation as M6-1B9 mAb was preserved. As domain 1 is responsible for cancer invasion and metastasis, HuScFvM61B9 would be a candidate for cancer targeted therapy in the future.
Effectiveness of intra-venous steroids for preventing surgery for lumbo-sacral radiculopathy secondary to intervertebral disc herniation: a retrospective study of 213 patients
Authors: Kovarsky Daniel , Shani Adi , Rod Alon , Ciubotaru Dan , Rahamimov Nimrod 
Published: April 2022

AbstractThe natural history of lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy is favorable, with 95% of patients expected to be pain-free within 6 months of onset. Despite the favorable prognosis, operative treatment is often chosen by patients unable to “ride out” the radicular episode. Prospective studies comparing surgical with non-surgical treatment have demonstrated similar long-term results. We conducted a retrospective case-series study of patients with a lumbar disc herniation and intractable radicular pain without significant neurological deficits treated with intra-venous dexamethasone. The primary outcome measure was whether the patient had undergone operative treatment within 1 year of receiving the intravenous steroid treatment. 213 patients met our inclusion criteria. 30 were lost to follow-up and 2 had died before completing 1 year of follow-up. Of the remaining 181 patients, 133 (73.48%) had not undergone surgery within 1 year of receiving intra-venous steroid treatment while 48 (26.51%) had undergone surgery. 6 (3.31%) of the patients had undergone surgery more than 1 year of receiving IV steroid treatment. Intravenous steroid treatment in our retrospective series was approximately 30% better at preventing the need for surgery than the reported outcomes of conservative treatment in randomized controlled trials previously published.
Impact of drying methods on natural antioxidants, phenols and flavanones of immature dropped Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck fruits
Authors: Kumar Dinesh , Ladaniya M. S. , Gurjar Manju , Kumar Sunil 
Published: April 2022

AbstractCitrus fruits are famous for nutritional value and studies are there for extraction of secondary metabolites from citrus waste. An attempt was made to quantify antioxidants, flavonoids and phenols from dropped fruits of 8–24 mm size, to find the impact of freeze and hot-air oven drying techniques on extraction. Flavonoids (hesperidin, narirutin/isonaringin, diosmin and didymin/neoponcirin) were quantified through high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and total phenols (TPC) were estimated by Folin-Ciocalteu method. Antioxidant capacity was adjudged by azino-bis [3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid] (ABTS), 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP). Freeze dried fruits of 10 mm and 12 mm retained maximum hesperidin content (22.383% and 21.560%) in comparison to hot-air oven counterparts (18.377% and 15.090%). Narirutin/isonaringin (1.343% and 1.191%), diosmin (5.293% and 3.234%) and didymin/neoponcirin (1.187% and 1.113%) content were found higher in 8 mm and 10 mm freeze dried fruits. The antioxidant capacity (7.548–11.643 mmol L−1Trolox, 8.164–14.710 mmol L−1Trolox, 4.008–5.863 mmol L−1Trolox by ABTS, DPPH and FRAP assays) and TPC were found higher in freeze dried samples. Significant correlation was found between antioxidant capacity, TPC and flavonoids at p < 0.01. Freeze drying technique can be adopted for retaining and quality extraction of bioactive compounds from immature dropped fruits for further use in nutraceutical industries.
Neuroforamen stenosis remains a challenge in conventional computed tomography and new dual-energy techniques
Authors: Ditges Ann-Kathrin , Diekhoff Torsten , Engelhard Nils , Muellner Maximilian , Pumberger Matthias , Schömig Friederike 
Published: April 2022

AbstractLumbar foraminal stenosis may be caused by osseous and soft tissue structures. Thus, both computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) play a role in the diagnostic algorithm. Recently, dual-energy CT (DECT) has been introduced for the detection of spinal disorders. Our study’s aim was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of collagen-sensitive maps derived from DECT in detecting lumbar foraminal stenosis compared with standard CT and MRI. We retrospectively reviewed CT, DECT, and MRI datasets in patients with vertebral fractures between January 2015 and February 2017. Images were scored for presence and type of lumbar neuroforaminal stenosis. Contingency tables were calculated to determine diagnostic accuracy and interrater agreement was evaluated. 612 neuroforamina in 51 patients were included. Intraclass correlation coefficients for interrater reliability in detecting foraminal stenoses were 0.778 (95%-CI 0.643–0.851) for DECT, 0.769 (95%-CI 0.650–0.839) for CT, and 0.820 (95%-CI 0.673–0.888) for MRI. Both DECT and conventional CT showed good diagnostic accuracy in detecting lumbar foraminal stenosis but low sensitivities in detecting discoid stenosis. Thus, even though previous studies suggest that DECT has high diagnostic accuracy in assessing lumbar disc pathologies, we show that DECT does not provide additional information for detecting discoid stenosis compared with conventional CT.
Tests of rubber granules used as artificial turf for football fields in terms of toxicity to human health and the environment
Authors: Grynkiewicz-Bylina Beata , Rakwic Bożena , Słomka-Słupik Barbara 
Published: April 2022

AbstractRubber waste, in the form of granules of styrene butadiene rubber and ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer with a particle size of 0.5 to 4 mm, is broadly used for the construction of synthetic surfaces of sport fields. This method of recycling may be significantly limited due to the restrictions on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) content in rubber granules in the European Union since 2022. This also applies to the recommendations of the European Chemicals Agency in relation to the identification of other hazardous chemicals in this waste, including metal elements. The scope of the research included the identification of organotin compounds, PAHs content and 18 elements leached from recycled rubber granules in terms of substances harmful to human health and to natural environment. The research covered 84 samples of rubber granules collected from the surface of football pitches or supplied by recyclers in Poland. The test results showed an over-standard content of PAHs in rubber granules. This result confirms the need to develop alternative directions of rubber granules application: construction and hydro construction, reinforcing soil and roadsides, asphalt pavements, making retaining walls, anti-shock and anti-vibration slabs, soundproofing and damping screens, paving stones and landscaping elements.
An experimental study on strength improvement of expansive subgrades by polypropylene fibers and geogrid reinforcement
Authors: Tiwari Nitin , Satyam Neelima 
Published: April 2022

AbstractThe rapid development of infrastructure often encounters the loose subgrades and is becoming difficult to carry to construction activities. Numerous counteracting methods are developed to control the swelling-shrinkage behavior of the expansive subgrades. The mechanical stabilization of the expansive subgrades by reinforcing with the polypropylene fiber and geogrid is sustainable. Geogrids and polypropylene fibers have been used extensively to strengthen the expansive subgrade and foundations as individuals. The polypropylene fiber reinforcement enhanced the reinforced expansive subgrades's tensile strength capacity, wherein the geogrid reinforcement is the quick fix mechanical stabilization technique, which reduces the pavement failures. In this research, the polypropylene fiber and geogrid reinforcement’s combined effect has been evaluated to stabilize the pavement subgrades. The various mechanical strength test such as unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and large direct shear box test was conducted to evaluate the mechanical interaction between expansive subgrades, polypropylene fiber, triaxial geogrid, and biaxial geogrid at the interface. The polypropylene fiber of 12 mm length was used in the proportion of 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1.0% and single geogrid layer at mid-depth. The result shows that reinforced subgrades’ shear strength with a layer of biaxial/ triaxial geogrid and polypropylene fiber increases by 177%. It is also observed that the unconfined compressive strength of the expansive subgrades increased ranging 3.8–139.6% with the inclusion of polypropylene fiber with geogrid in different combinations. The combined reinforcement method shows an effective treatment methodology to improve the property of expansive subgrades.
Automated segmentation of the fractured vertebrae on CT and its applicability in a radiomics model to predict fracture malignancy
Authors: Park Taeyong , Yoon Min A , Cho Young Chul , Ham Su Jung , Ko Yousun , Kim Sehee , Jeong Heeryeol , Lee Jeongjin 
Published: April 2022

AbstractAlthough CT radiomics has shown promising results in the evaluation of vertebral fractures, the need for manual segmentation of fractured vertebrae limited the routine clinical implementation of radiomics. Therefore, automated segmentation of fractured vertebrae is needed for successful clinical use of radiomics. In this study, we aimed to develop and validate an automated algorithm for segmentation of fractured vertebral bodies on CT, and to evaluate the applicability of the algorithm in a radiomics prediction model to differentiate benign and malignant fractures. A convolutional neural network was trained to perform automated segmentation of fractured vertebral bodies using 341 vertebrae with benign or malignant fractures from 158 patients, and was validated on independent test sets (internal test, 86 vertebrae [59 patients]; external test, 102 vertebrae [59 patients]). Then, a radiomics model predicting fracture malignancy on CT was constructed, and the prediction performance was compared between automated and human expert segmentations. The algorithm achieved good agreement with human expert segmentation at testing (Dice similarity coefficient, 0.93–0.94; cross-sectional area error, 2.66–2.97%; average surface distance, 0.40–0.54 mm). The radiomics model demonstrated good performance in the training set (AUC, 0.93). In the test sets, automated and human expert segmentations showed comparable prediction performances (AUC, internal test, 0.80 vs 0.87, p = 0.044; external test, 0.83 vs 0.80, p = 0.37). In summary, we developed and validated an automated segmentation algorithm that showed comparable performance to human expert segmentation in a CT radiomics model to predict fracture malignancy, which may enable more practical clinical utilization of radiomics.
Fast quantification of gut bacterial species in cocultures using flow cytometry and supervised classification
Authors: van de Velde Charlotte C , Joseph Clémence , Biclot Anaïs , Huys Geert R B , Pinheiro Vitor B , Bernaerts Kristel , Raes Jeroen , Faust Karoline 
Published: April 2022

AbstractA bottleneck for microbial community experiments with many samples and/or replicates is the fast quantification of individual taxon abundances, which is commonly achieved through sequencing marker genes such as the 16S rRNA gene. Here, we propose a new approach for high-throughput and high-quality enumeration of human gut bacteria in a defined community, combining flow cytometry and supervised classification to identify and quantify species mixed in silico and in defined communities in vitro. We identified species in a 5-species in silico community with an F1 score of 71%. In addition, we demonstrate in vitro that our method performs equally well or better than 16S rRNA gene sequencing in two-species cocultures and agrees with 16S rRNA gene sequencing data on the most abundant species in a four-species community. We found that shape and size differences alone are insufficient to distinguish species, and that it is thus necessary to exploit the multivariate nature of flow cytometry data. Finally, we observed that variability of flow cytometry data across replicates differs between gut bacterial species. In conclusion, the performance of supervised classification of gut species in flow cytometry data is species-dependent, but is for some combinations accurate enough to serve as a faster alternative to 16S rRNA gene sequencing.
A torque sharing function with online compensation of excitation current control method for torque ripple reduction in electric excitation auxiliary switched reluctance motor drives
Authors: Meng Fangui , Liu Aimin , Lou Jiachuan , Zhang Wenpeng , Ren Da , Li Yingsa 
Published: April 2022

AbstractA torque sharing function (TSF) with online compensation of excitation current control method is proposed for torque ripple reduction in electric excitation auxiliary switched reluctance motor (SRM) drives, which mitigates the problem of severe torque ripple inherent in traditional TSF control during the commutation of armature winding. The torque formula of the motor is derived and the finite element analysis of the static torque under different excitation currents is carried out, which proves that the output torque can be changed by adjusting the excitation current. Therefore, the proposed method is based on cosine TSF control, which uses a sliding mode control algorithm to adjust the amplitude of the excitation current to online compensate the torque fluctuations during commutation. Besides, Simulink, Simplorer and Maxwell co‐simulation and experiments are carried out on the traditional TSF control and the proposed method. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is superior to the traditional TSF control and the electric excitation auxiliary SRM has better torque performance and smaller torque ripple under the proposed method.
Out‐of‐step detection of synchronous generators using dual computational techniques based on correlation and instantaneous powers
Authors: Mahmoud Ragab Abd Allah , Malik Om Parkash 
Published: April 2022

AbstractTo maintain synchronous operation of interconnected systems, it is necessary to keep balance between power generation and consumption. Faults may result in large oscillations in power flows and loss‐of‐synchronism between one generator and the rest of the power system. A correlation coefficient is a useful statistic that can be used to detect voltage, frequency or angular instabilities, and to determine an asynchronous process. Hence, it is a smart technique to predict the out‐of‐step event following fault situations. In this paper, the technique based on the auto/cross‐correlation and instantaneous powers is presented to identify sudden disturbances of various electrical signals in the case of asynchronous operation. To validate the method performance, a power network with real parameters is simulated on Alternative Transient Program (ATP) platform, and the algorithm is implemented in MATLAB software. Simulation studies reveal that the proposed scheme is able to detect the out‐of‐step conditions upon which the relay issues a trip signal, yet remains inactive under normal synchronized operating conditions. Thus, the out‐of‐step is declared before the second pole slipping occurs, and an instability time can be accurately assessed. Moreover, it can develop novel quadrilateral operating characteristics to discriminate between the synchronous and asynchronous operation of the AC generator.
EAOD‐Net: Effective anomaly object detection networks for X‐ray images
Authors: Ma Chunjie , Zhuo Li , Li Jiafeng , Zhang Yutong , Zhang Jing 
Published: April 2022

AbstractAnomaly object detection is the core technology in the application for X‐ray images. However, the accuracy of current X‐ray anomaly object detection method still needs to be improved. In this paper, an effective anomaly object detection network is proposed to improve the detection accuracy of anomaly object for X‐ray images. Firstly, learnable Gabor convolution layer, deformable convolution, and spatial attention mechanism are introduced to enhance the representative ability of features in ResNeXt. Then, dense local regression is applied to predict the offset of multiple dense boxes in region proposal to locate the object accurately. At last, bigger discriminative RoI pooling is proposed to classify the candidate boxes to improve the accuracy of object classification. Experimental results on the SIXray and OPIXray datasets show that compared with the state‐of‐the‐art methods, the proposed EAOD‐Net can achieve the competitive detection performance.
Autonomous vehicles’ intended cooperative motion planning for unprotected turning at intersections
Authors: Zhou Donghao , Ma Zian , Zhang Xiaohui , Sun Jian 
Published: April 2022

AbstractTurning behaviour is one of the most challenging driving manoeuvres that take place at intersections. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are often overly conservative in these scenarios as they compromised to others’ behaviour to realize behavioural consistency. This paper proposes an intended cooperative motion planning (ICMP) that can actively predict the intentions of interacting participants. This helps achieve socially compliant cooperation and enables each vehicle to converge upon a set of consistent behaviours. The ICMP framework divides the integrated driving process into two related modules: prediction and planning. These modules are integrated using the mechanism of intended cooperation, which first introduces the criteria for a cooperative response and then maps them in the motion planning space. The prediction module applies a Gaussian mixture model to learn human drivers’ behaviour to determine conflict points, which helps to narrow down the solution spaces. In the planning module, paths are represented by quartic Bézier curves and speed is modelled as a polynomial function. Optimizations can then be used that maximize the efficiency and smoothness for path planning, and comfort and efficiency for speed planning. The test results show that ICMP‐based AVs had consistent interactions with other vehicles. Moreover, when compared with a potential field‐based method, the ICMP‐based method had better performance in terms of safety, comfort and efficiency, especially when interacting with multiple oncoming vehicles.