Browse Articles

O ₂ Activation and Enzymatic C–H Bond Activation Mediated by a Dimanganese Cofactor

A wideband coaxial-to-waveguide transition devised with topology optimization

Feature enhanced cascading attention network for lightweight image super-resolution

Application of three statistical approaches to explore effects of dietary intake of multiple persistent organic pollutants on ER-positive breast cancer risk in the French E3N cohort

Abstract Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a group of organic chemical compounds. Contradictory results have emerged in epidemiological studies attempting to elucidate their relationship with breast cancer risk. This study explored the relationship between dietary exposures to multiple POPs and ER-positive breast cancer risk in the French E3N cohort study, using three different approaches to handle multicollinearity among exposures. Intakes of 81 POPs were estimated using food consumption data from a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and food contamination data. In the first approach, hierarchical clustering was performed to identify clusters of correlated POPs. For each cluster, the levels of POPs belonging to it were averaged. These average levels were then included in a Cox model to estimate their associations with ER-positive breast cancer occurrence. The second and third approaches applied in the present study were Principal component Cox regression (PCR-Cox) and partial least squares Cox regression (PLS-Cox) respectively, both being dimension-reduction methods (respectively unsupervised and supervised) coupled to a Cox model, used to identify principal components of POPs and to estimate their associations with ER-positive breast occurrence. All models were adjusted for potential confounders previously identified using a directed acyclic graph. The study included 66,722 women with a median follow-up of 20.3 years, during which 3,739 developed an incident ER-positive breast cancer. The variable clustering method did not identify any association between the averaged variables and ER-positive breast cancer risk. Five components were retained using both the PCR-Cox and PLS-Cox methods explaining 82% and 77% of the variance in the initial exposure matrix respectively. Among these components, none was significantly associated with the occurrence of ER-positive breast cancer. This study provides an illustrative example of the application of three distinct statistical methods in the context of highly correlated environmental exposures, discussing their potential relevance and limitations within this specific framework.

Comparative efficacy of plant derived extracts with the insecticide mospilan on two whitefly species Bemisia tabaci biotype B and Trialeurodes ricini

Abstract The insecticidal, synergistic, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory effects of plant n-hexane extracts (HEs) were evaluated. The HEs from thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) leaves, garlic (Allium sativum L.) bulbs, and weeping willow (Salix babylonica L.) leaves were used in comparison with the acetamiprid insecticide (mospilan) against two whitefly species, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) biotype B and Trialeurodes ricini (Genn.) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Furthermore, using the choice test design, the repellent efficacy of three extracts was investigated against whitefly B. tabaci biotype B. The chemical compositions of HEs were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection (GC-FID) analysis. The main compounds of thyme HE were thymol and geranyl-α-terpinene; in garlic bulbs HE were diallyl sulfide and allyl tetrasulfide; and in weeping willow HE were 6-phenyltridecane, 6-phenyldodecane, and 5-phenyldodecane, while the methylated fatty acids were stearic and palmitic. The HEs of weeping willow and garlic showed the maximum toxicity against B. tabaci, while the HEs of thyme and garlic showed the highest toxicity against T. ricini. Mospilan with HEs resulted in a potentiating effect, with co-toxicity factors ranging between 21.47 for a mixture of garlic HE + mospilan against B. tabaci and 37.65 for weeping willow HE + mospilan against T. ricini. The mix of mospilan + weeping willow HE recorded the highest acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory effect 48 h after treatment. The highest expulsion effect was recorded by 2% thyme HE, with a repellency index (RI) of 88.22%. The HE of weeping willow at 1% exhibited the highest attractant effect with an RI value of -8.94%. The current research lays the groundwork for the integrated pest management (IPM) of B. tabaci biotype B and T. ricini by employing natural extracts and pesticides blends.

MicroRNA-150-3p enhances the antitumour effects of CGP57380 and is associated with a favourable prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer

DeepDrug as an expert guided and AI driven drug repurposing methodology for selecting the lead combination of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease

The use of green synthesized TiO2/MnO2 nanoparticles in solar power membranes for pulp and paper industry wastewater treatment

Abstract The pulp and paper manufacturing wastewater is as complicated as any other industrial effluent. A promising approach to treating water is to combine photocatalysis and membrane processes. This paper demonstrates a novel photocatalytic membrane technique for solar-powered water filtration. The method is based on creating green-prepared TiO2, and MnO2 nanoparticles (NPs) using Pomegranate peels and Seder leaf extracts and incorporation into polyvinylidene chloride to produce a novel water purification system that combines semiconductor photocatalysis with membrane filtration. The prepared heterostructure of the TiO2/MnO2 nanocomposite membrane provides photogenerated charge separation. To ensure chemical bonding at the membrane surface, Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were employed. The modified membrane’s hydrophilicity and roughness increased significantly. Additionally, the modified nanocomposite membrane’s porosity was measured. The integrated process demonstrated much higher removal of humic acid and high efficiency of wastewater treatment for pulp and paper. In sunlight, humic acid removal was 98% from synthetic wastewater. While using the produced membrane on pulp and paper effluent, these studies indicate that: in the dark, the removal was 50%, while in the sunlight, the removal increased to 70%, with a reduction in the COD from 1500 mg/L to 247 mg/L. Additionally, the TDS decreased from 1630 to 452 ppt in the sunlight. This research sheds light on how solar energy can clean wastewater from the pulp and paper industry while improving membrane separation. Also, an alternative source to sunlight was used to manufacture a photocatalytic membrane with high efficiency for wastewater treatment and an inexpensive price.

Challenges and insights of transferring animal maze studies principles to human spatial learning research

ATKB-PID: an adaptive control method for micro tension under complex hot rolling conditions

Abstract At present, the parameters of the controllers in hot rolling roughing microtension control systems are not adaptively adjustable to variations in working conditions, which compromises both width accuracy and production stability. To address this issue, this paper introduces an ATKB-PID adaptive micro tension control method. This method incorporates a linear attention layer and utilizes a K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) algorithm to predict the optimal learning rate and inertia coefficient under actual operating conditions. Furthermore, an objective function is tailored to production indices to enhance model performance. Comparative experiments with both established and recently introduced controllers demonstrate that the proposed ATKB-PID method exhibits a smaller steady-state error and quicker adjustment time. The ATKB-PID control method is well-suited for the complex and dynamic microtension control demands in thermal roughing processes, showing promising application potential.

Feasibility and potential effect of a pilot blended digital behavior change intervention promoting sustainable diets over a year

Gelatin/PLA-loaded gold nanocomposites synthesis using Syzygium cumini fruit extract and their antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and anti-Alzheimer’s activities

Replacement of fishmeal with Quinoa Husk (Chenopodium quinoa) for mitigating multiple stresses in Pangasianodon Hypophthalmus

Carbon emission of urban vehicles based on carbon emission factor correlation analysis

Identification of critical endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes in advanced atherosclerotic plaque

Exploring the role of volume energy density in altering microstructure and corrosion behavior of nitinol alloys produced by laser powder bed fusion

Study on influencing factors and prevention measures of coal-rock-gas compound dynamic disaster in deep coal mine mining

Artificial intelligence as a transforming factor in motility disorders–automatic detection of motility patterns in high-resolution anorectal manometry

Human neural rosettes secrete bioactive extracellular vesicles enriched in neuronal and glial cellular components

Validation of mixed reality in planning orbital reconstruction with patient-specific implants

Abstract This study aims to evaluate and compare the usability and performance of mixed reality (MR) technology versus conventional methods for preoperative planning of patient-specific reconstruction plates for orbital fractures. A crossover study design was used to compare MR technology with conventional three-dimensional (3D) printing approaches in the planning of maxillofacial traumatology treatments. The primary focus was on user-friendliness and the accuracy of patient-specific reconstruction planning. Secondary outcomes included investigating time differences between the two approaches and evaluating the potential effects on the learning curve. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires assessing various aspects, such as visualization, interaction, segmentation, treatment planning, and evaluation. Objective endpoints were evaluated blindly, while subjective endpoints were analyzed through a double-blind process. The total workflow time for MR technology was significantly shorter compared to the conventional method. Moreover, treatment planning using MR was significantly more accurate (p = .028), with participants reporting a higher mean global satisfaction score compared to the conventional group (80.6% vs. 72.5%). This study sheds light on the potential benefits of employing MR technology in maxillofacial orbital reconstruction. This preoperative method allows for faster and more precise design of patient-specific implants for orbital reconstruction, potentially leading to improved long-term cost-effectiveness.