Browse Articles

Predictive value of uninterrupted dry macula duration for discontinuation of anti-VEGF therapy in diabetic macular edema

Comparative genomics uncovers adaptive and biotechnological potential of Enterobacter xiangfangensis MDMC82 isolated from desert, and highlights putative core Enterobacteriaceae functions

Comparison of lower limb muscle activation between slow and fast tempos during the stepping test in young men

The aim of this study was to determine whether and which lower limb muscles contribute to maintaining dynamic balance during the stepping test. Twelve healthy young men performed in-place stepping at tempos of 44 (slow) and 132 (fast) bpm. Vertical ground reaction forces and lower limb muscle activity were recorded using a force plate and a telemetric electromyography (EMG) system, respectively. EMG signals were recorded from the rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), biceps femoris (BF), gastrocnemius medialis (GM), and soleus (SOL) on the right leg. The single-leg support time and the time difference between metronome sound and foot contact at the slow tempo were greater than those at the fast tempo. The impact force at the fast tempo was greater than that at the slow tempo. In the single-leg support phase, the mean EMG signals of the RF, VL, and SOL at the slow tempo were 63%, 17%, and 23% lower, respectively, than those at the fast tempo, whereas the integrated EMG signals of the VL, BF, GM, and SOL at the slow tempo were 171%, 315%, 214%, and 157% greater, respectively. There were no significant relationships among the rate of change in the single-leg support time, the time difference from the slow to the fast tempo, or the rate of change in the EMG activity of each muscle. In the stepping test, movement characteristics associated with tempo were reflected in lower limb muscle activity, while dynamic balance indicators appeared to be influenced by factors other than muscle activation.

Cost-utility and budget impact analyses of anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors in Thailand

The effect of connectedness to nature on behavioral stages based on the transtheoretical model

Development and validation of ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method to quantify monotropein in blueberries

Blueberries ( Vaccinium species) are an economically important fruit crop rich in bioactive compounds like polyphenols and flavonoids. Interestingly, some blueberry cultivars also produce monotropein, which has bioactive properties, including anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. However, methods to quantify monotropein in blueberries have not been optimized. To address this gap, an optimized analytical method for monotropein extraction and quantification using ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed. Different extraction strategies were compared, including variations in temperature, time, and ultrasonication treatments. Optimal extraction was achieved by heating samples to 60 °C for 15 mins in methanol. The method had high percent recovery and good repeatability. This protocol was then applied to 28 blueberry cultivars, 14 of which had not been previously analyzed for monotropein. Monotropein ranged from 0–1807 ng/mg dry weight. The developed method provides a robust tool that can be applied to future evaluations of monotropein in diverse blueberry cultivars.

Dietary acid load and mortality in the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study

Abstract The impact of diet on the body acid-base balance may be related to the risk of various chronic diseases. This prospective cohort study examined the relationships between the dietary acid load and all-cause and cause-specific mortalities in a large Japanese population. The data of 74,293 participants (aged 35–69 years in the baseline survey) in the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study were analyzed. The dietary acid load was estimated using the net endogenous acid production (NEAP) score. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were performed to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all-cause and cause-specific mortalities according to the quartiles of the energy-adjusted NEAP score after adjustments for potential confounders. During a mean follow-up of 11.6 years, 3,755 deaths were identified. Participants with higher NEAP score had increased HR of all-cause (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.07–1.29) and cause-specific death including cerebrovascular disease death. Sex-stratified analyses showed that NEAP scores were significantly associated with higher HR of all-cause and cause-specific death, including cerebrovascular disease death in male participants, but not in female participants. This study suggests that the dietary acid load may be associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortalities in Japanese male adults.

Monitoring biodiversity and detection of diverse vertebrate species with mosquito blood meal analysis at the DeLuca Preserve, Florida, USA

An auditory-visual cooperative perception method for honking vehicle localization

Locating honking vehicles is crucial for controlling arbitrary honking and reducing environmental noise. However, traditional methods for honking vehicle localization, which utilize sound source localization technology, suffer from inaccuracies and limited detection range due to the multipath effects of sound propagation and environmental noise interference. To address these challenges, an auditory-visual cooperative perception (AVCP) method for honking vehicle localization is proposed, and a detailed workflow of this method is presented. In the AVCP method workflow, the Emphasized Channel Attention, Propagation, and Aggregation in Time-Delay Neural Network (ECAPA-TDNN) is used to recognize honking vehicle models from captured audio signals, as different vehicle models exhibit distinct horn sound characteristics. Subsequently, YOLO v9 is employed to detect vehicles and recognize their corresponding models in the images captured by the camera. Thus, among the vehicles detected and identified using YOLO v9, the honking vehicle is determined as the one whose model matches the vehicle model recognized by ECAPA-TDNN. Additionally, experiments with simulated and public datasets were conducted to evaluate the performance of the AVCP method for honking vehicle localization. The experimental results show that the AVCP method is less susceptible to environmental noise and can more accurately identify and locate vehicles from greater distances compared to traditional methods based on sound source localization technology.

Synchronization of coaxial co–rotating tri-exciter with two torsional springs in far-resonance system

The relationship between CTCs, TFD and postoperative prognosis of cervical cancer patients and the construction of prediction models

Navigating productivity dilemmas and conflicting loyalties in activity-based flexible offices - A qualitative study of managers’ perspectives and coping strategies

Activity-based Flexible Offices (AFOs) provide employees with a variety of workspaces to choose from based on their tasks, rather than having assigned desks. While the adoption of AFOs is increasing due to flexibility and cost-efficiency, there is limited research about the consequences of transitioning to AFOs from the perspective of staff managers. The purpose of this study is to explore how managers experience and cope with challenges that may arise in AFOs. Our qualitative descriptive study is based on two case studies that investigate the consequences of AFOs. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with a total of 33 managers in two organisations, 12–18 months post-relocation. An inductive, bottom-up process was used for coding and thematization of the interview transcripts. Our results show that AFOs can enhance communication and collaboration depending on the units’ collaboration needs and prior geographical distribution. However, this effect was overshadowed by task-environment misalignments on within-team communication, distractions, and limitations on adjustments and recruitments. Additionally, managers faced conflicting loyalties between defending the organisation’s decision to implement AFOs while ensuring compliance with legal work environment requirements despite limited resources. There is a risk that the implementation of flexible offices will fragment and complicate managers’ tasks, such as ensuring that daily operations run smoothly, meeting legal responsibilities, and managing and recruiting staff. This poses a risk to managers’ productivity and health, and consequently, the achievement of organisational goals. The study uncovers managerial experiences, challenges, and coping strategies in AFOs, offering valuable insights for organisations considering this office type.

Discovery of uranium content in breastmilk and assessment of associated health risks for mothers and infants in Bihar, India

Nationwide surveillance and molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolated from dogs and cats in South Korea

One step synthesis of ultrafine PHF@AuNPs nanocomposite and its application in NIR triggered photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a rapid advancing treatment for cancer therapy. The main challenges in PDT include poor absorption in the “tissue optical window” and aggregation tendency of photosensitizers (PS) such as fullerene in aqueous solutions. Herein, we developed a potent nano PS: fullerene hybrid gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) composites which were ultrafine and well-dispersed with a absorption in near infrared (NIR) region. The composites could be facilely prepared by mixing the reducing and capping agent polyhydroxyl fullerene (2 mg/mL) with HAuCl 4 (2.425 mM) at equal volume for 2 h. The obtained composites were negatively charged (−26.3 mv) with the particle size of 14.3 nm. A thin layer of fullerene (~1.6 nm) was coated on the AuNPs core. AuNPs in the composites acted as the light collector, absorbing the NIR light and transferring electrons or energy to the fullerene. Consequently, the composites can be efficiently internalized by tumor cells and activated to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) intracellularly by 808 nm laser. Enhanced PDT efficacy was observed with the IC 50 value (50 μg/mL) of the light-activated cytotoxicity and a negligible dark toxicity in vitro . This research provides new insights and methods for developing NIR light-triggered fullerene@AuNPs in PDT.

Prediction models and associated uncertainty for dynamic shear modulus and damping ratio of Beijing silty clay

Analysis of inverse problem for pseudo-hyperbolic equation under periodic boundary condition

GaneStat—A comprehensive design and modular analysis of portable, low-cost, and high-accuracy potentiostat

Electrochemical research has been developing with the advancement of laboratory equipment and sophisticated technologies. One of which is the portable potentiostat, which has been utilized to analyze various samples and help characterize their electrochemical properties. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive design and modular analysis of our proposed potentiostat called GaneStat. The proposed potentiostat has a low cost, portable, and high accuracy with battery-powered and electrical overstress circuit protection. The proposed analog front end of the potentiostat consists of several modules such as unipolar-to-bipolar converter (UBC), buffer, current-to-voltage converter (CVC), bipolar-to-unipolar converter (BUC), two-stage sallen key low-pass filter, and ADC input protection unit (AIPC). A maximum wide dynamic range of 98.95 dB provides flexibility in terms of current measurement. The potentiostat is also equipped with a dedicated power management circuit and an overstress protection circuit. Multi mode measurements are provided in our system for Cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV), and Chronoamperometry (CA) experiments with preliminary test on redox probe solution to validate the performance of the device. The final design occupies relatively small space of 6.95cm × 6.85 cm × 3.26 cm with 83.1 gr of weight, including the battery and the case. The potentiostat operates with sweep voltage within ±2.5 V with a 1.2 mV resolution, and it can measure current from 10 nA to 10 mA with 0.53 nA and 0.3 μ A resolutions, respectively. The potentiostat costs only $98.55 for the prototyping. This work is useful for laboratory applications in chemical, pharmacy and medical industries.

Fault-class coverage–aligned combined training for AFDD of AHUs across multiple buildings

Abstract Deep learning–based Automated Fault Detection and Diagnosis (AFDD) for Air Handling Units (AHUs) has often performed well. However, most prior studies relied on single-building datasets and fixed feature schemas, limiting applicability to new sites. This study evaluated TabTransformer and TabNet on a unified multi-building dataset pooling auditorium, hospital, and office data to examine coverage-aligned combined training across buildings. Extensive hyperparameter optimization covering 3240 models and systematic analyses were performed, including checks for underfitting and overfitting, assessment of validation–test variation, best-model selection, attention heatmaps, and comparisons with non-attention baselines. The optimized TabNet trained on unified data achieved, for the auditorium, an F1 score of 97.43% and an accuracy of 97.91%; for the hospital, an F1 score of 92.01% and an accuracy of 92.50%; and for the office, an F1 score of 92.25% and an accuracy of 92.46%. Single-building TabNet baselines reached 96.82% F1 and 97.37% accuracy for the auditorium, 95.40% F1 and 97.21% accuracy for the hospital, and 96.27% F1 and 97.29% accuracy for the office. Across all three buildings, gains from combined training arose primarily under strong coverage alignment of fault classes between the training and target sets; when alignment was weak, the gains diminished.

Left ventricular myocardial work combined with stress echocardiography assessment of cardiac function in patients with Fabry disease

Abstract Left ventricular myocardial work (LVMW) represents an innovative tool based on echocardiography designed to assess left ventricular (LV) performance in conjunction with LV pressure patterns. Although previous studies have compared differences in LVMW among patients with Fabry disease (FD), cardiac amyloidosis (CA), and hypertension at rest, there is limited research on the characteristics of LVMW in patients with FD during exercise. This study aims to explore the characteristics of LVMW at rest and during exercise in patients with FD and the value of LVMW combined with stress echocardiography for the early detection of impaired cardiac function in subclinical Fabry patients. This cross-sectional study included 54 participants, comprising 23 healthy individuals and 31 patients with FD. All participants underwent comprehensive two-dimensional echocardiography and semi-supine exercise stress echocardiography tests. At rest, individuals with FD exhibited markedly lower LV global longitudinal strain (LVGLS), LV global myocardial constructive work (LVGCW), LV global myocardial work efficiency (LVGWE), and LV global myocardial work index (LVGWI) compared to healthy controls. During exercise, LVGLS, LVGWI, LVGCW, and LV global wasted myocardial work (LVGWW) markedly increased in patients with FD and controls, while LVGWE decreased. However, across the four phases (rest, 25 W, peak, and recovery), patients with FD consistently demonstrated lower LVGLS, LVGWI, LVGWE, and LVGCW compared to controls. Moreover, the rise in LVGWI and LVGCW from the rest phase to the peak stage was markedly smaller in individuals with FD than in controls. A moderate correlation was found between LVGWI and LVGWE with LV mass index (LVMI) in individuals with FD (LVGWI: r = − 0.57, P  < 0.05; LVGWE: r = − 0.68, P  < 0.001). Additionally, individuals with FD with LV hypertrophy (LVH) exhibited lower LVGLS, LVGWE, and LVGCW from the rest to peak than those without LVH. Individuals with FD who had normal LVGLS at rest or those without LVH still showed markedly lower LVGWI than controls during the resting phase. Additionally, at peak exercise, LVGLS, LVGWI, and LVGCW were diminished significantly in the individuals with FD relative to the control cohort. ROC curve analysis in both resting and exercising states showed that LVGWI (rest: AUC 0.86, sensitivity 87%, specificity 74%; peak: AUC 0.94, sensitivity 71%, specificity 96%;) and LVGCW (rest: AUC 0.82, sensitivity 87%, specificity 70%; peak: AUC 0.92, sensitivity 84%, specificity 87%;) than LVGLS (resting: AUC 0.79, sensitivity 61%, specificity 87%; peak: AUC 0.88, sensitivity of 77%, and specificity of 87%) have a higher value in the diagnosis of FD. Patients with FD have markedly lower LVGWI, LVGWE, and LVGCW compared to the healthy controls, and these reductions are more prominent during exercise. Although LVGWI and LVGCW increase during exercise in patients with FD, the rate of increase is reduced, indicating impaired myocardial metabolism and energy utilization efficiency, especially in patients with FD with LVH. Additionally, LVMW combined with Stress Echocardiography allows early detection of impaired cardiac function in Fabry patients.