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High-Precision prediction of curling trajectory multivariate time series using the novel CasLSTM approach
A study on the production of extracellular vesicles derived from novel immortalized human placental mesenchymal stromal cells
Synergistic effect of Canarium strictum leaves extract and KI on the corrosion protection of mild steel in 15% HCl solution
Association between airway microbiota and systemic inflammation markers in non-small cell lung cancer patients
Metabolic profiles and potential antioxidant mechanisms of hawk tea
Assessment of Opuntia ficus-indica supplementation on enhancing antioxidant levels
Influence of elevated temperature exposure on the residual compressive strength and radiation shielding efficiency of ordinary concrete incorporating granodiorite and ceramic powders
Abstract This research investigates the potential of utilizing types of construction waste as partial cement replacements within concrete formulations. Notably, granodiorite and ceramic powders were introduced at varying substitution ratios. The impact of these waste materials on the compressive strength and radiation shielding effectiveness of traditional concrete was evaluated under both ambient and elevated temperature conditions. Additionally, several microstructural tests like X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) were conducted to assess the influence of using the optimal replacement ratios of the investigated waste powders on the studied properties of concrete. Results revealed a substantial improvement in the investigated properties of the concrete. Remarkably, a 7% substitution with waste granodiorite powder (WGDP) yielded the optimal mix for compressive strength, exhibiting increases of 24.7%, 26.1%, 22%, and 28% at room temperature, 400 °C, 600 °C, and 800 °C, respectively. Likewise, a 7% replacement with waste ceramic powder (WCP) exhibited quantifiable improvements in compressive strength, with approximately 23.1%, 23.5%, 25.6%, and 32.6% at room temperature, 400 °C, 600 °C, and 800 °C, respectively. For microstructure analysis, XRD analysis confirmed enhanced pozzolanic activity with reduced portlandite and increased calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) formation for the optimal WGDP and WCP mixes compared to the control mix. TGA analysis revealed higher CSH decomposition in modified mixes, indicating greater pozzolanic reaction. Furthermore, density and EDX analyses showed denser microstructures in waste powders-incorporated mixes due to finer particle packing and secondary hydration effect. The radiation shielding investigation show that the optimum WCP mix (C7) enhances the attenuation capability of concrete. The optimum WGP mix (GD7) also contributes positively to attenuation, though to a lesser extent than C7. Ordinary concrete (CO) exhibits the lowest $$\it \:\text{C}\text{M}$$ LAC, indicating its baseline performance in linear attenuation. Thus, the studied CM-concrete samples provide the best protection against fast neutrons which pave the way for the utilization of industrial waste, especially ceramic and granodiorite waste, in enhancing the properties of concrete towards radiation shielding against gamma rays and neutrons.
Investigating time-independent and time-dependent diffusion phenomena using steady-state diffusion MRI
Abstract Diffusion MRI is a leading method to non-invasively characterise brain tissue microstructure across multiple domains and scales. Diffusion-weighted steady-state free precession (DW-SSFP) is an established imaging sequence for post-mortem MRI, addressing the challenging imaging environment of fixed tissue with short T2 and low diffusivities. However, a current limitation of DW-SSFP is signal interpretation: it is not clear what diffusion ‘regime’ the sequence probes and therefore its potential to characterise tissue microstructure. Building on Extended Phase Graphs (EPG), I establish two alternative representations of the DW-SSFP signal in terms of (1) conventional b-values (time-independent diffusion) and (2) encoding power-spectra (time-dependent diffusion). The proposed representations provide insights into how different parameter regimes and gradient waveforms impact the diffusion sensitivity of DW-SSFP. I subsequently introduce an approach to incorporate existing biophysical models into DW-SSFP without the requirement of extensive derivations, with time dependence estimated via a Gaussian phase approximation representation of the DW-SSFP signal. Investigations incorporating free-diffusion and tissue-relevant microscopic restrictions (cylinder of varying radius) give excellent agreement to complementary analytical models and Monte Carlo simulations. Experimentally, the time-independent representation is used to derive Tensor and proof-of-principle NODDI estimates in a whole human post-mortem brain. A final SNR-efficiency investigation demonstrates the theoretical potential of DW-SSFP for ultra-high field microstructural imaging.
Experimental research on resource utilization of iron tailings powder in backfilling engineering
Combined delivery of IL12 and an IL18 mutant without IL18BP-binding activity by an adenoviral vector enhances tumor specific immunity
Exploration of alcohol dehydrogenase EutG from Bacillus tropicus as an eco-friendly approach for the degradation of polycyclic aromatic compounds
Ginsenoside Rd protects against acute liver injury by regulating the autophagy NLRP3 inflammasome pathway
Abstract Ginsenoside Rd (Rd) is a bioactive compound predominantly found in Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer and Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F.H. Chen ex C.H. Chow, both species belonging to genus Panax in the Araliaceae family. However, its hepatic protective effect against acute liver injury and related mechanistic action remain unexplored. To investigate the protective effect of Rd against thioacetamide (TAA)-induced acute liver injury and assess its underlying regulatory mechanisms related to autophagy and inflammation. Forty-eight 8 weeks old C57BL/6 mice were treated with saline (control or model group), Rd (12.5 mg/kg, 25 mg/kg or 50 mg/kg), and diammonium glycyrrhizinate (DG, 30 mg/kg) for three days. Then the mice were stimulated with TAA to establish acute liver injury model, excluding the control group. HSC-T6 cells were treated with Rd at concentrations of 2.5, 5, or 10 µM, for 12 h with or without Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation at 100 ng/mL. Immunofluorescence staining, qPCR and Western blot were employed to analyze the expressions of genes and proteins associated with inflammation and autophagy. To validate the role of Rd in regulating autophagy and inflammation, the autophagy inducers, rapamycin and GSK621, were utilised in reverse validation experiments in cells. Rd exhibited significant hepatic protective effects in mice by reducing the serum levels of Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Glutathione S-transferase (GST) and Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) with acute liver injury. It exhibited strong anti-inflammatory effect by reducing inflammation associated protein, such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC), interleukin-18 (IL-18) and interleukin-1β(IL-1β) proteins and the mRNA expression levels of COX-2, Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNF α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and iNOS were decreased in liver tissue. And Rd inhibited LPS-induced inflammation by reducing the expression of COX-2 and NLRP3 in HSC-T6 cells. Moreover, not only in vivo but also in vitro, Rd downregulated the expression of LC3II, Beclin1, phosphorylation-AMP-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK), phosphorylation-ULK1 (p-ULK1) and upregulated the expression of p62 and phosphorylation-mechanistic target of rapamycin (p-mTOR) to suppress autophagy via the AMPK/mTOR/ULK1 pathway. Finally, the inhibitory effects of Rd on autophagy and inflammation in HSC-T6 cells were partially blocked by rapamycin and GSK621. Rd is a promising therapeutic agent to protect liver against TAA-induced acute liver injury by regulating the autophagy-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway.
Dilated SE-DenseNet for brain tumor MRI classification
The impact of bleaching using 15% carbamide peroxide on surface properties of CAD-CAM composite structures
Learning model combined with data clustering and dimensionality reduction for short-term electricity load forecasting
Effect of nutrition education and iron-folic acid supplementation on anemia among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a quasi-experimental study
A guide for active learning in synergistic drug discovery
The effect of air pollution exposure on foetal growth restriction in pregnant women who conceived by in vitro fertilisation a cross-sectional study
Abstract Studies investigating the relationship between exposure to air pollutants during pregnancy and foetal growth restriction (FGR) in women who conceive by in vitro fertilisation (IVF) are lacking. The objective was to investigate the effect of air pollutant exposure in pregnancy on FGR in pregnant women who conceive by IVF. We included pregnant women who conceived by IVF and delivered healthy singleton babies in Guangzhou from October 2018 to September 2023. We also collected data on air pollutant concentrations in Guangzhou during the same period. We analysed the impact of air pollution exposure during pregnancy on FGR. After adjusting for confounders, our analysis showed that in the first trimester, high concentrations of PM10 and NO2 in the fourth quartile significantly increased the risk of FGR. Specifically, the odds ratios were 6.430 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.035–39.96) for PM10 and 10.73 (95% CI: 1.230–93.48) for NO2. In the second trimester, exposure to PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 was associated with an increased risk of FGR. In addition, subgroup analyses showed that exposure to NO2 during pregnancy increased the risk of FGR in women aged 35 years and older. The results of this cross-sectional study suggest that exposure to PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 in pregnant women who conceive by IVF is associated with the occurrence of FGR.