Browse Articles

Defect identification of fan blade based on adaptive parameter region growth algorithm

The effect of various bulk filling techniques on the mechanical and structural characteristics of class I biomimetic composite dental fillings

AbstractTooth degradation develops easily over time from initial caries to deeper cavities. The quality and durability of restorations are crucial in a patients’ life, and it is primarily determined by the mechanical properties of the restorations. Clinicians and engineers apply biomimetic science in dentistry to mimic the natural design of the teeth and emphasize careful material selection as well as bond strength between the tissue and artificial material. The aim of this research was to develop and compare five different bulk filling restoration techniques for high C-factor (5.0) Class I cavities and determine the most durable technique. Tensile bond strength between the dentin and the filling, as well as the inner structure of the filling was measured via computed tomography, scanning electron microscopy and mechanical testing methods. It was found that the semi-direct bulk filling technique (bulk filling with an extra, indirect curing step) can increase the tensile bond strength on average by 58% (51.1 ± 12.2 MPa) compared to the direct bulk filling method with the same materials (32.4 ± 8.2 MPa). The introduced semi-direct technique allows bulk filling to be used on Class I cavities while achieving a high bond strength, resulting in highly durable and reproducible restorations.

Elevations in D-dimer levels in patients with Plasmodium infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AbstractD-dimer, a byproduct of cross-linked fibrin degradation, arises during the fibrinolysis process, breaking down blood clots in circulation. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize evidence of D-dimer alteration in people with malaria, including variations in disease severity. The systematic review was registered in PROSPERO with registration number CRD42024528245. Searches were performed in EMBASE, Scopus, MEDLINE, PubMed, Nursing & Allied Health Premium, and Journals@Ovid on March 25, 2024, to identify original studies that reported D-dimer in patients with Plasmodium infections. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. Thematic synthesis and meta-analysis were carried out to synthesize the findings of the included studies. A total of 24 studies were included in the review out of 1,115 records identified. According to the evaluated studies, patients with Plasmodium infections had higher D-dimer levels. A meta-analytic evaluation of D-dimer levels between patients with and without Plasmodium infections revealed a significant elevation of D-dimer in patients with infection, with high heterogeneity (SMD = 2.11, 95% CI = 0.59; 3.64, P = 0.007, I² = 98%, 6 studies, 1,418 participants, random-effects model). However, no significant alterations in D-dimer levels were observed following the comparison between patients with severe and uncomplicated malaria, also with high heterogeneity (SMD = 2.54, 95% CI = -1.60; 6.68, P = 0.23, I² = 99%, 3 studies, 595 participants). The findings suggested that malaria patients have significantly higher D-dimer levels compared to non-malarial individuals. However, there was no significant difference in D-dimer levels between severe and uncomplicated malaria cases. These results highlight the potential of D-dimer as a biomarker for Plasmodium infections, but its clinical utility requires further validation. Future studies should prioritize standardizing D-dimer measurement methods, including assay types, threshold values, and sample types, to ensure consistent and reliable application in clinical settings. Additionally, large, multicentric cohorts are needed to establish robust guidelines for incorporating D-dimer into malaria management practices. Further research should also explore the role of D-dimer in the pathogenesis of Plasmodium infections to deepen our understanding of their clinical significance.

Lung protective ventilation guided by driving pressure improves pulmonary outcomes in heart transplantation

Scalable production of bio-calcium oxide via thermal decomposition of solid - hatchery waste in a laboratory-scale rotary kiln

Abstract Chicken eggshell waste is an alternative renewable source for quicklime production. Eggshell waste has received significant attention from researchers due to it being a potential source of bio-CaO, which not only drives the circular economy concept but also supports sustainable development. However, experiments on the production of bio-CaO are normally conducted in a small lab-scale furnace. Furthermore, the eggshell raw material is collected from canteens or households, which is not suitable for economical or industrial production. Therefore, this study investigated the factors affecting the bio-CaO production from hatchery waste via both batch and continuous calcination process in a laboratory-scale rotary kiln for the first time. The eggshells were first separated from the solid hatchery waste. Then, the effect of preparation methods of raw eggshells on the properties of bio-CaO was investigated, including eggshells with and without membrane separation, various particle sizes, and with an increase of the percent raw material filling in the kiln from 5 to 20%. Calcination of the samples was performed in a rotary kiln at 800 °C with a 0.5 RPM rotating speed and a 5° inclination of the kiln. The effects of the calcination process in either an air or N 2 atmosphere on the calcined product were also observed. Instrumental analysis shows that the production yield and purity of bio-CaO were in the range of 49–56 wt% and 97–98%, respectively. The results also indicated that the production yield of bio-CaO decreased to 17.7% with a decrease in the raw material particle size from 3.3 mm to 250 μm. Moreover, the production of bio-CaO with eggshells containing eggshell membrane decreases the purity of calcium oxide by about 0.7–1.0%. In addition, further increasing the filling volume of the kiln from 5 to 20% had only a slight effect on the purity and yield of the product. These results imply that it is not necessary to remove the eggshell membrane from the raw eggshells in order to produce industrial-grade CaO from the raw eggshell. These new findings can likely be used to develop an alternative process design to reduce the manufacturing cost of bio-CaO produced from hatchery waste. Furthermore, this present study reveals that the specifications of the obtained bio-CaO comply with both Thai industrial standards and international food additive standards.

A comprehensive investigation of Clerodendrum Infortunatum Linn. using LC-QTOF-MS/MS metabolomics as a promising anti-alzheimer candidate

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) poses a global health challenge, demanding innovative approaches for effective treatments. Clerodendrum infortunatum Linn. (Lamiaceae) is a shrub traditionally used as a medicinal plant to treat inflammation, skin diseases, and bronchitis. This study aims to identify the main bioactive metabolites in C. infortunatum using LC-QTOF-MS/MS and investigate its potential in protecting against cognitive decline in rats with scopolamine-induced AD disease. Metabolite profiling was performed on the methanol extract of the plant’s aerial parts using LC-QTOF-MS/MS. The inhibitory activity of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme was measured in vitro. To evaluate the cognitive effects, the methanol extract was orally administered at three doses (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) to scopolamine-induced AD rats, and their cognitive functions were assessed using the novel object recognition test. Additionally, acetylcholinesterase enzyme activity, as well as the levels of acetylcholine, dopamine, noradrenaline, glutathione, malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and amyloid-β in the rat hippocampus, were measured using ELISA, followed by histopathological evaluation. A total of 79 metabolites, spanning various chemical classes, such as organic acids, phenolic acids, phenylpropanoids and phenylethanoids, flavonoids, coumarins, other phenolics, and fatty acids and their derivatives, were identified. The results showed that the extract promoted enhanced cognitive functions in the novel object recognition test. Scopolamine administration significantly altered the acetylcholinesterase enzyme activity and biomarker levels in the rat’s hippocampus. However, treatment with C. infortunatum at 200 and 400 mg/kg almost restored these neurotransmitter levels to normal, which was further confirmed by histopathological analysis. This study demonstrates the therapeutic potential of C. infortunatum in mitigating cognitive decline in AD, with its first metabolite profiling revealing a range of bioactive compounds. The extract improved cognitive function in scopolamine-induced AD rats, restored acetylcholinesterase activity, normalized neurotransmitter levels, and reduced oxidative stress and inflammation. These findings suggest that C. infortunatum is a promising candidate for the development of natural therapies targeting AD.

Significance of Marangoni convection in ethylene glycol base hybrid nanofluid flow with viscous dissipation through a porous medium

Regulator of G protein signaling-1 facilitates ovarian cancer development by modulating NF-kB signal pathway

Significantly improving the solubility and anti-inflammatory activity of fenofibric acid with native and methyl-substituted beta-cyclodextrins via complexation

A hybrid framework for colorectal cancer detection and U-Net segmentation using polynetDWTCADx

Effects of long-term fertilizer practices on rhizosphere soil ammonia oxidizer community structure under the double-cropping rice field

An L-shaped association between lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio and erectile dysfunction in NHANES 2001–2004

Endocan expression and correlation with other endothelial determinants in developing a score for early identification of diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Assessment of energy management and power quality improvement of hydrogen based microgrid system through novel PSO-MWWO technique

Abstract A hybrid microgrid powered by hydrogen is an energy infrastructure that depends on hydrogen as its primary energy carrier within a localized network. This study proposed a novel bi-level optimization approach to enhance power quality and cost efficiency of the system. In the quest to improve energy management systems (EMS) and enhance power quality, a bi-level optimization approach named Particle swarm optimization-Modified water wave optimization (PSO-MWWO) has been proposed. This method integrates adaptive population size and an adaptive wavelength coefficient to boost its overall effectiveness. It is attractive with specialists in energy management systems (EMS), control systems, and hydrogen technologies can significantly augment the efficiency of coordination endeavours. PSO-MWWO can incorporate environmental considerations, such as minimizing emissions or exploiting the use of renewable energy resources (RESs) in hydrogen production and consumption. This paper thoroughly examines its implementation, operation, and unique features, with a particular emphasis on the power quality of a hydrogen based microgrid. The achieved results and numerical analysis affirm the superiority of the proposed technique compared to other traditional methods like mixed integer linear programming (MILP), HOMER, Variable mesh optimization (VMO), and Cataclysmic genetic algorithm in optimizing component sizing, renewable production, hydrogen production, reliability, cost effective, and overall efficacy. This substantiates its practical utility in real-time applications. The efficacy of this method is empirically demonstrated through the implementation in MATLAB software.

A text classification method by integrating mobile inverted residual bottleneck convolution networks and capsule networks with adaptive feature channels

Manganese ferrite-graphite oxide-chitosan nanocomposite for efficient dye removal from aqueous and textile wastewater under UV and sunlight irradiation

Phylogenetic analysis and detection of positive selection in the SIRT gene family across vertebrates

Dietary Nigella sativa nanoparticles enhance broiler growth performance, antioxidant capacity, immunity, gene expression modulation, and cecal microbiota during high ambient temperatures

AbstractEnvironmental heat stress causes significant economic loss in the poultry industry. Therefore, interest has increased in using feed additives to reduce the negative impacts of heat stress on the chickens and improve production performance. This study aimed to assess the effect of supplementing with Nigella sativa nanoparticles (Nano-NS) as an anti-stress and growth promoter in broiler diets under hot climatic conditions. A total of 375 male one-day-old Ross 308 chicks were randomly divided into a control group and four treatment groups (75 chicks/group). The first group fed a basal diet without additives, the second group fed a basal diet supplemented with avilamycin at 50 mg/kg, and the other groups fed a basal diet supplemented with 30, 40, and 50 mg/kg Nano-NS, respectively. Despite that feed intake was not affected, feed conversion ratio, body weight gain, and crude protein digestibility improved in broilers fed Nano-NS (P < 0.05) compared with avilamycin and the control groups. Adding Nano-NS led to an increase in the dressing percentage and the relative weight of the bursa of Fabricius and thymus. Serum high-density lipoprotein levels increased while total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein concentrations decreased (P < 0.05) in broilers fed Nano-NS compared with control groups. Furthermore, Nano-NS supplementation significantly increased (P < 0.05) serum immunoglobulin (IgG and IgA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, while decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) concentration. Moreover, there was a significant increase in the Lactobacillus population and a decrease (P < 0.05) in the E. coli and C. perfringens population in chicks fed Nano-NS. In the intestinal tissues, mucin 2 (MUC2) gene expression increased in chickens fed 50 mg/kg Nano-NS compared to other groups. It is concluded that adding Nano-NS (up to 50 mg/kg) reduced the negative effects of heat stress via enhancing growth performance, immune responses, and antioxidant status, modulating the microbial community structure, and increasing the expression of the MUC2 gene in broilers under high ambient temperature.

ATG8 delipidation is not universally critical for autophagy in plants

AbstractIntracellular recycling via autophagy is governed by post-translational modifications of the autophagy-related (ATG) proteins. One notable example is ATG4-dependent delipidation of ATG8, a process that plays critical but distinct roles in autophagosome formation in yeast and mammals. Here, we aim to elucidate the specific contribution of this process to autophagosome formation in species representative of evolutionarily distant green plant lineages: unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, with a relatively simple set of ATG genes, and a vascular plant Arabidopsis thaliana, harboring expanded ATG gene families. Remarkably, the more complex autophagy machinery of Arabidopsis renders ATG8 delipidation entirely dispensable for the maturation of autophagosomes, autophagic flux, and related stress tolerance; whereas autophagy in Chlamydomonas strictly depends on the ATG4-mediated delipidation of ATG8. Importantly, we also demonstrate the distinct impact of different Arabidopsis ATG8 orthologs on autophagosome formation, especially prevalent under nitrogen depletion, providing new insight into potential drivers behind the expansion of the ATG8 family in higher plants. Our findings underscore the evolutionary diversification of the molecular mechanism governing the maturation of autophagosomes in eukaryotic lineages and highlight how this conserved pathway is tailored to diverse organisms.

The optimum nitrogen fertilizer rate for maize in the US Midwest is increasing