Browse Articles

3D FusionNet for synthetic CT based lung cancer segmentation

Factor structure and measurement invariance of the Turkish COA-IIIA among pre-service teachers in a centralized education system

Correction: Enhancing greenhouse cucumber production and quality utilizing organic residues as potting media through various cultivation modes and assessing application economics

Temporal discrimination at the neck region is associated with severity of cervical dystonia

Abstract Cervical dystonia (CD) is a rare movement disorder marked by involuntary neck muscle contractions. Although somatosensory dysfunction has been proposed, the underlying pathophysiology remains unclear. Temporal discrimination (TD) deficits are discussed as potential markers of a dystonic endophenotype, possibly linked to proprioceptive impairments. This study aimed to assess TD in the neck region and explore its relationship with proprioception in head movements. We evaluated somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold (STDT) and temporal discrimination movement threshold (TDMT) in 20 CD patients and 20 healthy controls (HC). Both measures were applied directly to the cervical region: STDT via skin stimuli on the lateral neck and TDMT via muscle stimuli to the splenius capitis. Proprioception was assessed through a head rotation task. Clinical severity was measured using the TWSTRS scale. STDT and TDMT thresholds were significantly elevated in CD patients compared to HCs and correlated positively with dystonia severity. However, there were no group differences in proprioceptive performance, nor was proprioception correlated with TD or TWSTRS scores. TD is clearly altered in CD and associated with symptom severity, supporting its role in dystonia pathophysiology. In contrast, no proprioceptive deficits were observed, and no link between TD and proprioception was found. This suggests TD and proprioception may represent distinct dysfunctions rather than connected elements of sensorimotor integration. Further studies are needed to refine proprioceptive testing in CD and clarify its relationship with TD.

Analysis of karst groundwater runoff conditions based on statistics and reverse hydrogeochemical modeling methods

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Management of uterine leiomyoma and adenomyosis: role of hysteroscopy in diagnosis and norethindrone in the treatment

Abstract Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) represents a notable sign for benign and malignant uterine pathology. Differentiating adenomyosis from leiomyoma via hysteroscopy aids in selecting appropriate surgical or medical management. Accurate diagnosis is crucial for optimizing fertility outcomes and symptom control. The current study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of hysteroscopy in differentiating between uterine adenomyosis and leiomymatosis. In addition to; compare between continuous versus intermittent administration of Norethissterone to control both uterine adenomyosis and leiomymatosis. A total of 100 premenopausal women present with AUB. History takin and clinical evaluation was done. All women were subjected to hysteroscopy. Two regimens were used by Norethindrone administration the 1st regimen as continuous manner from day 5 to day 21 46 patients (46%). The 2nd manner was the intermittent type from day 16 and for 10 days 54 patients (54%). Roc-curve of hysteroscopy usage to predict diagnosis; adenomyosis sensitivity was 73.33% and specificity 95.29% and fibroid sensitivity was 73.33% and specificity was 97.65%. Both groups of therapy revealed; highly significant decrease in follow up menorrhagia in continuous Norethindrone group ( P  < 0.001).By using ROC-curve analysis; Norethindrone administration predicted decreased menorrhagia pain with AUC was 0.973. Hysteroscopy has effective role in differentiating between adenomyosis and fibroids. Yet, long term follows up of abnormal uterine bleeding cases with large sample size in future research are still warranted.

Formation damage assessment in carbonate reservoirs after removing hematite-water-based filter cake using HCl

Conservation agriculture enhances ecosystem services and sustainability of the system over conventional agriculture

Stability and parameter sensitivity analysis of hydropower units under full operating conditions based on Pelton turbine refined models

Entanglement teleportation along a regenerating hamster-wheel graph state

Deep learning framework for barcode localization and decoding using simulated UAV imagery

Sustainable plant mediated synthesis of cobalt oxide nanoparticles using Uraria picta extract with enhanced biological activity

Integrated profiling reveals polarity protein dysregulation during oral cancer progression

A machine learning framework for long-term forecasting of spare part demand in end-of-life product scenarios

ApoA1-driven cholesterol efflux and macrophage polarization orchestrate T-cell differentiation towards controlling Leishmania donovani pathogenesis

Abstract Lipid metabolism plays a decisive role in host-pathogen interactions and immune regulation, with apolipoproteins (Apo) being central to this process. However, their role in leishmaniasis remains unexplored. Herein, we deliberate the immunoregulatory function of ApoA1 during Leishmania donovani infection using THP-1-derived macrophages alone and in combination with T lymphocytes derived from human PBMC. We found low serum ApoA1 levels in active VL and PKDL than in healthy controls. It was shown that direct interaction of ApoA1 with ABCA1 (ATP-binding cassette transporter A1) on macrophages promotes cholesterol efflux, reflected by increased HDL levels and reduced total cellular cholesterol. This phenomenon was associated with reduced Leishmania infectivity and its downstream signaling in macrophages, i.e., downregulation of PPAR-γ and the endoplasmic reticulum-stress marker CHOP. Additionally, ApoA1 in the presence of extracellular HDL slightly promoted macrophage polarization towards M1, as indicated by increased expression of IL-12 and iNOS2 or nitric oxide production, alongside reduced expression of M2 phenotype-associated markers, including IL-10 and arginase. In co-culture with PBMC-derived T-cells, ApoA1-primed macrophages facilitated Th1 polarization, as demonstrated by increased IFN-γ and STAT1, and indirectly by reduced expression of Th2-specific markers (GATA-3 and IL-4). Overall, these results implicate ApoA1 as a vital immunomodulatory factor and potential therapeutic target in leishmaniasis.

Click Heterogenization of Phosphines Furnishes Recyclable Hydroformylation Catalysts that Reproduce Homogeneous Performance

FAM172A promotes epithelial ovarian cancer progression and induces platinum resistance via the PI3K/AKT pathway

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the role of FAM172A in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), a highly lethal gynecological malignancy often diagnosed at late stages with limited treatment options. FAM172A expression was evaluated in EOC and normal ovarian tissues using western blotting and immunohistochemistry, and its association with patient prognosis, treatment response, and CA125 levels was assessed by multivariate regression analysis. Functional assays were performed to examine the effects of FAM172A on EOC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. In vivo models were used to evaluate the influence of FAM172A on tumor growth, metastasis, and chemosensitivity. The underlying mechanism was explored by modulating the PI3K-Akt pathway with pharmacological inhibitors and activators. FAM172A was significantly upregulated in EOC tissues, and its elevated expression correlated with poor prognosis, chemotherapy resistance, and increased CA125 levels. Multivariate analysis identified FAM172A expression, platinum sensitivity, and CA125 as independent prognostic factors. In vitro, FAM172A promoted malignant behavior and conferred resistance to cisplatin. In vivo, knockdown of FAM172A suppressed tumor progression and enhanced the efficacy of cisplatin. Mechanistically, FAM172A exerted its effects through regulation of the PI3K-Akt pathway, and modulation of PI3K signaling rescued FAM172A-induced phenotypic changes. These findings highlight FAM172A as a critical promoter of EOC progression, associated with aggressive tumor characteristics and treatment failure. By activating the PI3K-Akt pathway, FAM172A represents a promising therapeutic target for EOC, potentially offering new strategies to improve patient outcomes, particularly in overcoming chemoresistance.

Dietary L-tryptophan supplementation alleviates ammonia-induced stress in Nile tilapia fingerlings

Abstract L-tryptophan dietary supplementation is a useful tactic to increase aquatic animals’ energy stores and antioxidant capability, thereby enhancing their resistance to environmental stressors like ammonia stress. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the influence of tryptophan supplementation on the growth in Nile tilapia as well as the protective efficiency of tryptophan on blood indices, immune response, and antioxidant status against ammonium chloride (NH 4 Cl) stress. Fish were fed levels of tryptophan diets (0, 2 g, 4 g, and 8 g/kg diets) for 70 days after which fish were exposed to total ammonia (TA-N) (0 and 5 mg/L; 0.35 NH 3 –N) for 10 days. The study found that higher dietary L-tryptophan levels led to a linear increase in final body weight ( P  = 0.031), weight gain ( P = 0.045 ), and specific growth rate ( P  = 0.032) in Nile tilapia fish. However, dietary supplementation with L-tryptophan at 4 and 8 g/kg significantly improved various physiological parameters in fish, irrespective of ammonia (NH 4 Cl) exposure. Notably, the 8 g/kg dosage yielded the most pronounced benefits ( P  < 0.05). L-tryptophan enhanced hematological health by elevating hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cells, white blood cells, and lymphocytes ( P  < 0.05). It also alleviated NH 3 –N stress by lowering liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase), cortisol, and glucose levels, while improving total protein, albumin, globulin, and nitric oxide concentrations ( P  < 0.05). Additionally, hepatic antioxidant status improved, as seen by increased superoxide dismutase and glutathione levels, with the highest levels recorded in fish fed on the 8 g L-tryptophan/kg diet and exposed to ammonia, and reduced malondialdehyde content ( P  < 0.05). Moreover, L-tryptophan supplementation enhanced immune responses in fish exposed to NH 3 -N, as indicated by increased levels of complement component (C3 and C4), and IgM ( P  < 0.05). These results suggested that L-tryptophan (8 g/kg diet) plays a protective and enhanced role in the growth, immunity, and antioxidant status of Nile tilapia under stress conditions such as ammonia exposure.

ANN-based analysis of MHD third-grade hybrid nanofluid flow over a thin needle with fuzzy volume fraction under nonlinear radiation and heat generation

Abstract This investigation examines the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow and heat transfer characteristics of a third-grade hybrid nanofluid (HNF) containing $${\text{Al}}_{{2}} {\text{O}}_{{3}}$$ and $${\text{TiO}}_{2}$$ nanoparticles suspended in sodium alginate over a horizontally translating thin needle under the influence of viscous dissipation, nonlinear thermal radiation, and internal heat generation effects. The governing partial differential equations (PDEs) are transformed into ordinary differential equations (ODEs) via similarity transformations and solved numerically using the bvp4c finite-difference method. For uncertainty analysis and comparison through the triangular membership function, the volume fractions of nanosized materials have been taken as triangular fuzzy numbers (TFNs) [0, 10%, 20%]. The TFNs are controlled with the help of the $$\zeta {\text{ - cut}}$$ approach. Additionally, Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), trained via Bayesian Regularization (BRS) and Levenberg–Marquardt (LMS) algorithms, are developed for predictive modelling of skin friction and heat flux coefficients. Parametric analysis reveals that the flow gradient decreases as the volume fraction and the magnetic factor increase. The thermal gradient of the liquid and HNF rises with larger values of the thermal ratio factor, volumetric fraction, and Eckert number. The HNF demonstrates superior thermal performance compared to conventional third-grade fluid. According to the fuzzy analysis, the HNF exhibits the highest thermal energy transmission compared to both nanofluids (NFs). The ANN models show excellent agreement with numerical solutions, exhibiting low mean squared errors (MSE) across training, testing, and validation datasets. This integrated fuzzy-neural framework provides a novel approach for uncertainty quantification in HNF applications, with direct relevance to biomedical devices, aerospace thermal management, and renewable energy systems.

MallaNet residual branch merge convolutional neural network with homogeneous filter capsules for Devanagari character recognition

Abstract The Devanagari script’s complex character set and handwriting variability pose significant challenges for handwritten character recognition (HCR). This study aims to develop a robust deep learning model, MallaNet, to achieve high accuracy in recognizing Devanagari characters by leveraging multiscale feature extraction and preserving spatial hierarchies. We introduce the Residual Enhanced Branching and Merging Convolutional Neural Network with Homogeneous Filter Capsules (MallaNet), an optimized deep learning model designed to address these complexities. Extending the Branching and Merging Convolutional Network with Homogeneous Vector Capsules (BMCNNwHVCs), our model integrates optimized residual blocks, refined Homogeneous Filter Capsule (HFC) layers, and a merging layer to capture multiscale features and preserve spatial hierarchies, critical for distinguishing visually similar characters. Trained in the Devanagari Handwritten Character Dataset (DHCD), comprising 92,000 images across 46 classes, MallaNet achieves a test accuracy of 99.71%, macro-average F1-score of 99.71%, closely approaching the highest reported accuracy of 99.72% while utilizing 56.41% fewer parameters (17M vs. 39M) and surpassing previous benchmarks of 98.47% and 99.16%, enhancing optical character recognition (OCR) for regional scripts and supporting document digitization and cultural preservation with improved efficiency.