The 2023 MDPI Annual Report has
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24 pages, 2408 KiB  
Article
DfMA Integrated Assessment Model for Selecting Optimal Design Alternatives in OSC Projects
by Seoyoung Jung, Seulki Lee and Jungho Yu
Buildings 2024, 14(6), 1727; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14061727 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
To select the optimal design alternative in off-site construction (OSC) projects, the building industry has turned to design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA). However, most DfMA developments in the OSC field until now have been on improving the production process in OSC projects [...] Read more.
To select the optimal design alternative in off-site construction (OSC) projects, the building industry has turned to design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA). However, most DfMA developments in the OSC field until now have been on improving the production process in OSC projects and guideline strategies on how to apply them. The application of DfMA guidelines only provides background knowledge to designers on how to design. However, it cannot inspect whether the DfMA concept is fully reflected in a design draft to examine the suitability to the OSC production environment, and it cannot determine the optimal alternative from among multiple design alternatives. Thus, this study developed an integrated assessment model of OSC-DfMA consisting of the OSC-DfMA production suitability assessment model and the OSC-DfMA production efficiency assessment model to support decision-making for selecting the optimal design alternative of an OSC project. In this study, the scope of the main research was limited to precast concrete (PC)-based OSC projects. Firstly, we developed an OSC-DfMA production suitability assessment model to review whether design drafts are suitable in the OSC production environment by applying checklist and matrix techniques. Secondly, we developed an OSC-DfMA production efficiency assessment model to select an optimal alternative in terms of production efficiency among multiple design drafts. Thirdly, we conducted a case study to validate the usefulness of the OSC-DfMA assessment model developed in this study. Finally, we discuss the possibility of using AI technology to consider the facility capacity and resource constraints during the production of OSC building components. The study results are of practical value in providing the basis for expanding the applicability of DfMA by proposing a DfMA assessment model suitable for OSC contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Deep Learning Models in Buildings)
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17 pages, 11258 KiB  
Article
Suppression of Ventilation-Induced Diaphragm Fibrosis through the Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase-γ in a Murine Bleomycin-Induced Acute Lung Injury Model
by Li-Fu Li, Chung-Chieh Yu, Chih-Yu Huang, Huang-Pin Wu, Chien-Ming Chu, Ping-Chi Liu and Yung-Yang Liu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(12), 6370; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25126370 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Mechanical ventilation (MV), used in patients with acute lung injury (ALI), induces diaphragmatic myofiber atrophy and contractile inactivity, termed ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase-γ (PI3K-γ) is crucial in modulating fibrogenesis during the reparative phase of ALI; however, the mechanisms regulating the interactions among [...] Read more.
Mechanical ventilation (MV), used in patients with acute lung injury (ALI), induces diaphragmatic myofiber atrophy and contractile inactivity, termed ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase-γ (PI3K-γ) is crucial in modulating fibrogenesis during the reparative phase of ALI; however, the mechanisms regulating the interactions among MV, myofiber fibrosis, and PI3K-γ remain unclear. We hypothesized that MV with or without bleomycin treatment would increase diaphragm muscle fibrosis through the PI3K-γ pathway. Five days after receiving a single bolus of 0.075 units of bleomycin intratracheally, C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 6 or 10 mL/kg of MV for 8 h after receiving 5 mg/kg of AS605240 intraperitoneally. In wild-type mice, bleomycin exposure followed by MV 10 mL/kg prompted significant increases in disruptions of diaphragmatic myofibrillar organization, transforming growth factor-β1, oxidative loads, Masson’s trichrome staining, extracellular collagen levels, positive staining of α-smooth muscle actin, PI3K-γ expression, and myonuclear apoptosis (p < 0.05). Decreased diaphragm contractility and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α levels were also observed (p < 0.05). MV-augmented bleomycin-induced diaphragm fibrosis and myonuclear apoptosis were attenuated in PI3K-γ-deficient mice and through AS605240-induced inhibition of PI3K-γ activity (p < 0.05). MV-augmented diaphragm fibrosis after bleomycin-induced ALI is partially mediated by PI3K-γ. Therapy targeting PI3K-γ may ameliorate MV-associated diaphragm fibrosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics)
16 pages, 4219 KiB  
Article
WSPolyp-SAM: Weakly Supervised and Self-Guided Fine-Tuning of SAM for Colonoscopy Polyp Segmentation
by Tingting Cai, Hongping Yan, Kun Ding, Yan Zhang and Yueyue Zhou
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 5007; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14125007 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Ensuring precise segmentation of colorectal polyps holds critical importance in the early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer. Nevertheless, existing deep learning-based segmentation methods are fully supervised, requiring extensive, precise, manual pixel-level annotation data, which leads to high annotation costs. Additionally, it remains [...] Read more.
Ensuring precise segmentation of colorectal polyps holds critical importance in the early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer. Nevertheless, existing deep learning-based segmentation methods are fully supervised, requiring extensive, precise, manual pixel-level annotation data, which leads to high annotation costs. Additionally, it remains challenging to train large-scale segmentation models when confronted with limited colonoscopy data. To address these issues, we introduce the general segmentation foundation model—the Segment Anything Model (SAM)—into the field of medical image segmentation. Fine-tuning the foundation model is an effective approach to tackle sample scarcity. However, current SAM fine-tuning techniques still rely on precise annotations. To overcome this limitation, we propose WSPolyp-SAM, a novel weakly supervised approach for colonoscopy polyp segmentation. WSPolyp-SAM utilizes weak annotations to guide SAM in generating segmentation masks, which are then treated as pseudo-labels to guide the fine-tuning of SAM, thereby reducing the dependence on precise annotation data. To improve the reliability and accuracy of pseudo-labels, we have designed a series of enhancement strategies to improve the quality of pseudo-labels and mitigate the negative impact of low-quality pseudo-labels. Experimental results on five medical image datasets demonstrate that WSPolyp-SAM outperforms current fully supervised mainstream polyp segmentation networks on the Kvasir-SEG, ColonDB, CVC-300, and ETIS datasets. Furthermore, by using different amounts of training data in weakly supervised and fully supervised experiments, it is found that weakly supervised fine-tuning can save 70% to 73% of annotation time costs compared to fully supervised fine-tuning. This study provides a new perspective on the combination of weakly supervised learning and SAM models, significantly reducing annotation time and offering insights for further development in the field of colonoscopy polyp segmentation. Full article
15 pages, 1298 KiB  
Article
Insect Protein as a Component of Meat Analogue Burger
by Anna Krawczyk, Juana Fernández-López and Anna Zimoch-Korzycka
Foods 2024, 13(12), 1806; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13121806 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Researchers are exploring solutions to meet the growing demand for protein due to the expected increase in global population by 2050. Interest in alternative protein sources like insects has risen, driven by concerns about environmental impact and the need for sustainable food production. [...] Read more.
Researchers are exploring solutions to meet the growing demand for protein due to the expected increase in global population by 2050. Interest in alternative protein sources like insects has risen, driven by concerns about environmental impact and the need for sustainable food production. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the physicochemical properties of soy-protein-based burgers enriched with insect protein from Alphitobius diaperinus. Three formulations were developed: a control (B0) and burgers with 5% (B5) and 10% (B10) insect protein—Whole Buffalo Powder (WBP). The results showed that adding insect protein decreased the burger analogue’s pH. A clear trend was observed of increasing total lipids and saturated fatty acids (SFA) and decreasing monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) as the WBP concentration increased from 0% to 10%. No significant differences with increasing WBP concentration in the protein content of the burger analogue, as well as the cooking yield, were noted. The WBP addition had a notable effect on the color change, especially a decrease in brightness (L*). It was shown that as the WBP concentration increased, there were no significant differences in the texture profile of the burger analogues. The formulation with 5% WBP concentration was the most acceptable in sensory analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods, and Novel Foods)
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17 pages, 4848 KiB  
Article
Phenotypic Dissection of Drought Tolerance in Virginia and Carolinas within a Recombinant Inbred Line Population Involving a Spanish and a Virginia-Type Peanut Lines
by Naveen Kumar, David C. Haak, Jeffrey C. Dunne and Maria Balota
Agriculture 2024, 14(6), 908; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14060908 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a rainfed crop grown in both tropical and subtropical agro-climatic regions of the world where drought causes around 20% yield losses per year. In the United States, annual losses caused by drought are around $50 million. The [...] Read more.
Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a rainfed crop grown in both tropical and subtropical agro-climatic regions of the world where drought causes around 20% yield losses per year. In the United States, annual losses caused by drought are around $50 million. The objective of this research was to (1) identify genetic variation for the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), canopy temperature depression (CTD), relative chlorophyll content by SPAD reading (SCMR), CO2 assimilation rate, and wilting among recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from two diverse parents N08086olJCT and ICGV 86015, to (2) determine if the physiological traits can be used for expediting selection for drought tolerance, and (3) experimental validation to identify lines with improved yield under water-limited conditions. Initially, 337 lines were phenotyped under rainfed production and a selected subset of 52 RILs were tested under rainout shelters, where drought was imposed for eight weeks during the midseason (July and August). We found that under induced drought, pod yield was negatively correlated with wilting and CTD, i.e., cooler canopy and high yield correlated positively with the NDVI and SPAD. These traits could be used to select genotypes with high yields under drought stress. RILs #73, #56, #60, and #31 performed better in terms of yield under both irrigated and drought conditions compared to check varieties Bailey, a popular high-yielding commercial cultivar, and GP-NC WS 17, a drought-tolerant germplasm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Precision Agriculture Technologies for Crop Management)
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8 pages, 3374 KiB  
Case Report
Genetic Profiling of Sebaceous Carcinoma Arising from an Ovarian Mature Teratoma: A Case Report
by Sumika Zaitsu, Yoko Aoyagi, Haruto Nishida, Kohei Nakamura, Mitsutake Yano and Eiji Kobayashi
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(12), 6351; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25126351 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Ovarian mature teratomas (OMTs) originate from post-meiotic germ cells. Malignant transformation occurs in approximately 1–2% of OMTs; however, sebaceous carcinoma arising from OMTs is rare. This is the first report of a detailed genomic analysis of sebaceous carcinoma arising from an OMT. A [...] Read more.
Ovarian mature teratomas (OMTs) originate from post-meiotic germ cells. Malignant transformation occurs in approximately 1–2% of OMTs; however, sebaceous carcinoma arising from OMTs is rare. This is the first report of a detailed genomic analysis of sebaceous carcinoma arising from an OMT. A 36-year-old woman underwent evaluation for abdominal tumors and subsequent hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy. Pathologically, a diagnosis of stage IA sebaceous carcinoma arising from an OMT was established. Eight months post-surgery, the patient was alive without recurrence. Immunohistochemically, the tumor was negative for mismatch repair proteins. A nonsense mutation in TP53 (p.R306*) and a deletion in PIK3R1 were identified. Single nucleotide polymorphisms across all chromosomes displayed a high degree of homozygosity, suggestive of uniparental disomy. Herein, the OMT resulting from the endoreduplication of oocytes underwent a malignant transformation to sebaceous carcinoma via TP53 as an early event and PIK3R1 as a late event. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Molecular Oncology)
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20 pages, 6998 KiB  
Article
Additively Manufactured Carbon-Reinforced ABS Honeycomb Composite Structures and Property Prediction by Machine Learning
by Meelad Ranaiefar, Mrityunjay Singh and Michael C. Halbig
Molecules 2024, 29(12), 2736; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29122736 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
The expansive utility of polymeric 3D-printing technologies and demand for high- performance lightweight structures has prompted the emergence of various carbon-reinforced polymer composite filaments. However, detailed characterization of the processing–microstructure–property relationships of these materials is still required to realize their full potential. In [...] Read more.
The expansive utility of polymeric 3D-printing technologies and demand for high- performance lightweight structures has prompted the emergence of various carbon-reinforced polymer composite filaments. However, detailed characterization of the processing–microstructure–property relationships of these materials is still required to realize their full potential. In this study, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and two carbon-reinforced ABS variants, with either carbon nanotubes (CNT) or 5 wt.% chopped carbon fiber (CF), were designed in a bio-inspired honeycomb geometry. These structures were manufactured by fused filament fabrication (FFF) and investigated across a range of layer thicknesses and hexagonal (hex) sizes. Microscopy of material cross-sections was conducted to evaluate the relationship between print parameters and porosity. Analyses determined a trend of reduced porosity with lower print-layer heights and hex sizes compared to larger print-layer heights and hex sizes. Mechanical properties were evaluated through compression testing, with ABS specimens achieving higher compressive yield strength, while CNT-ABS achieved higher ultimate compressive strength due to the reduction in porosity and subsequent strengthening. A trend of decreasing strength with increasing hex size across all materials was supported by the negative correlation between porosity and increasing print-layer height and hex size. We elucidated the potential of honeycomb ABS, CNT-ABS, and ABS-5wt.% CF polymer composites for novel 3D-printed structures. These studies were supported by the development of a predictive classification and regression supervised machine learning model with 0.92 accuracy and a 0.96 coefficient of determination to help inform and guide design for targeted performance. Full article
17 pages, 4773 KiB  
Article
Drought Resilience in Oil Palm Cultivars: A Multidimensional Analysis of Diagnostic Variables
by Cristihian Bayona-Rodríguez and Hernán Mauricio Romero
Plants 2024, 13(12), 1598; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13121598 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Water scarcity is a significant constraint on agricultural practices, particularly in Colombia, where numerous palm cultivators rely on rainfed systems for their plantations. Identifying drought-tolerant cultivars becomes pivotal to mitigating the detrimental impacts of water stress on growth and productivity. This study scrutinizes [...] Read more.
Water scarcity is a significant constraint on agricultural practices, particularly in Colombia, where numerous palm cultivators rely on rainfed systems for their plantations. Identifying drought-tolerant cultivars becomes pivotal to mitigating the detrimental impacts of water stress on growth and productivity. This study scrutinizes the variability in drought responses of growth, physiological, and biochemical variables integral to selecting drought-tolerant oil palm cultivars in the nursery. A comprehensive dataset was compiled by subjecting seedlings of eleven cultivars to four soil water potentials (−0.05 MPa, −0.5 MPa, −1 MPa, and −2 MPa) over 60 days. This dataset encompasses growth attributes, photosynthetic parameters like maximum quantum yield and electron transfer rate, gas exchange (photosynthesis, transpiration, and water use efficiency), levels of osmolytes (proline and sugars), abscisic acid (ABA) content, as well as antioxidant-related enzymes, including peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and superoxide dismutase. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) elucidated two principal components that account for approximately 65% of the cumulative variance. Noteworthy enzyme activity was detected for glutathione reductase and ascorbate peroxidase. When juxtaposed with the other evaluated cultivars, one of the cultivars (IRHO 7001) exhibited the most robust response to water deficit. The six characteristics evaluated (photosynthesis, predawn water potential, proline, transpiration, catalase activity, sugars) were determined to be the most discriminant when selecting palm oil cultivars with tolerance to water deficit. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abiotic Stress Responses in Plants)
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19 pages, 5592 KiB  
Article
Auscultation-Based Pulmonary Disease Detection through Parallel Transformation and Deep Learning
by Rehan Khan, Shafi Ullah Khan, Umer Saeed and In-Soo Koo
Bioengineering 2024, 11(6), 586; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering11060586 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Respiratory diseases are among the leading causes of death, with many individuals in a population frequently affected by various types of pulmonary disorders. Early diagnosis and patient monitoring (traditionally involving lung auscultation) are essential for the effective management of respiratory diseases. However, the [...] Read more.
Respiratory diseases are among the leading causes of death, with many individuals in a population frequently affected by various types of pulmonary disorders. Early diagnosis and patient monitoring (traditionally involving lung auscultation) are essential for the effective management of respiratory diseases. However, the interpretation of lung sounds is a subjective and labor-intensive process that demands considerable medical expertise, and there is a good chance of misclassification. To address this problem, we propose a hybrid deep learning technique that incorporates signal processing techniques. Parallel transformation is applied to adventitious respiratory sounds, transforming lung sound signals into two distinct time-frequency scalograms: the continuous wavelet transform and the mel spectrogram. Furthermore, parallel convolutional autoencoders are employed to extract features from scalograms, and the resulting latent space features are fused into a hybrid feature pool. Finally, leveraging a long short-term memory model, a feature from the latent space is used as input for classifying various types of respiratory diseases. Our work is evaluated using the ICBHI-2017 lung sound dataset. The experimental findings indicate that our proposed method achieves promising predictive performance, with average values for accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and F1-score of 94.16%, 89.56%, 99.10%, and 89.56%, respectively, for eight-class respiratory diseases; 79.61%, 78.55%, 92.49%, and 78.67%, respectively, for four-class diseases; and 85.61%, 83.44%, 83.44%, and 84.21%, respectively, for binary-class (normal vs. abnormal) lung sounds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue IoT Technology in Bioengineering Applications)
17 pages, 2030 KiB  
Article
Exploring Texture and Biomechanics of Food Oral Processing in Fork-Mashable Dishes for Patients with Mastication or Swallowing Impairments
by Kovan Ismael-Mohammed, Mireia Bolívar-Prados, Laura Laguna, Adrian Nuñez Lara and Pere Clavé
Foods 2024, 13(12), 1807; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13121807 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Texture-modified diets (TMDs) are a primary compensatory treatment for hospitalized older patients with swallowing and mastication disorders. Nevertheless, the lack of a protocol for evaluating their objective textural properties hampers their industrialization and optimal patient care. Objectives: This study aimed (a) to evaluate [...] Read more.
Texture-modified diets (TMDs) are a primary compensatory treatment for hospitalized older patients with swallowing and mastication disorders. Nevertheless, the lack of a protocol for evaluating their objective textural properties hampers their industrialization and optimal patient care. Objectives: This study aimed (a) to evaluate the textural properties (maximum force, cohesiveness, and adhesiveness) and biomechanics of food oral processing (mastication cycles, time, and frequency) of ten fork-mashable dishes (Texture E BDA/IDDSI level 6), (b) to explore the impact of oral processing on texture, and (c) to measure the properties of the ready-to-swallow bolus (RSB) in healthy adults. Methods: The textural properties (maximum force, cohesiveness, and adhesiveness) of ten dishes were analyzed with a texture analyzer before and after oral processing (RSB) in five healthy adults (30 ± 3.9, 3 women). Surface electromyography was used to measure mastication cycles, time, and frequency. Results: The pre-mastication Texture Profile Analysis (TPA)-averaged values of maximum force ranged from 0.65 to 2.73 N, cohesiveness was 0.49–0.87, and adhesiveness was 0.01–0.95 N·s. Masticatory Cycles (46.87–19.13 MC) and time (36.73–15.80 S) from whole samples to RSB greatly and significantly differed among dishes, although frequency did not (1.68–1.11 MC/T). Post-mastication RSB TPA-averaged values of maximum force ranged from 0.70 to 2.24 N; cohesiveness, 0.49–0.73; and adhesiveness, 0.01–1.14 N·s. Conclusions: Despite all dishes being classified by the same qualitative descriptor (BDA level E/IDDSI level 6), there was a large and significant variation in their textural properties (maximum force, cohesiveness, and adhesiveness) when measured in SI units. In addition, in healthy adults, the masticatory cycles and time to achieve RSB greatly differed, whereas masticatory frequency remained quite constant. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Food Engineering and Technology)
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19 pages, 3814 KiB  
Article
Integrated Optimization of Train Diagrams and Rolling Stock Circulation with Full-Length and Short-Turn Routes of Virtual Coupling Trains in Urban Rail Transit
by Fang Lu, Liyu Wang, Jiangfeng Hu, Qi Zhang and Xiaojuan Li
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 5006; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14125006 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
The advancement of virtual coupling technology in urban rail transit has facilitated the online coupling and decoupling of trains, enabling a range of flexible transportation configurations, including various route types and adjustable formations. This study targets the fluctuating passenger demands on urban rail [...] Read more.
The advancement of virtual coupling technology in urban rail transit has facilitated the online coupling and decoupling of trains, enabling a range of flexible transportation configurations, including various route types and adjustable formations. This study targets the fluctuating passenger demands on urban rail lines, aiming to minimize both passenger travel and operational costs. The model integrates constraints associated with virtual coupling, train operations, rolling stock circulation, and the interaction between virtually coupled trains and passenger arrivals. New decision variables are introduced to depict the train formation state under virtual coupling scenarios. An integrated optimization model for train diagrams and rolling stock circulation under virtual coupling conditions is developed, employing a genetic-simulated annealing algorithm informed by train operation simulations. A case study on an urban rail line during the morning peak examines the optimization of train diagrams for full-length and short-turn routes. Findings confirm that virtual coupling technology effectively adapts to lines with uneven passenger flow distribution, significantly enhancing the match between supply and demand, equalizing spatial and temporal traffic variations, and harmonizing the quality of passenger services with operational efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transportation Planning, Management and Optimization)
16 pages, 645 KiB  
Article
Into a Deeper Understanding of CYP2D6’s Role in Risperidone Monotherapy and the Potential Side Effects in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders
by Mariana Bondrescu, Liana Dehelean, Simona Farcas, Patricia Alexandra Dragan, Carla Andreea Podaru, Laura Popa and Nicoleta Andreescu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(12), 6350; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25126350 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are a group of diseases characterized by one or more abnormal features in perception, thought processing and behavior. Patients suffering from SSD are at risk of developing life-threatening complications. Pharmacogenetic studies have shown promising results on personalized treatment of [...] Read more.
Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are a group of diseases characterized by one or more abnormal features in perception, thought processing and behavior. Patients suffering from SSD are at risk of developing life-threatening complications. Pharmacogenetic studies have shown promising results on personalized treatment of psychosis. In the current study, 103 patients diagnosed with SSD treated with risperidone as antipsychotic monotherapy were enrolled. Socio-demographics and clinical data were recorded, and laboratory tests and genotyping standard procedure for cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6*4 were performed. Patients were evaluated by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) on admission and at discharge. Based on the reduction in the PANSS total score, subjects were divided into non-responders, partial responders and full responders. Only 11 subjects had a full response to risperidone (10.67%), 53 subjects (51.45%) had a partial response, and 39 participants (37.86%) were non-responders. Patients at first episode psychosis showed significantly higher levels of blood glucose and prolactin levels, while chronic patients showed significantly higher LDL levels. Adverse drug reactions (ADR) such as tremor and stiffness significantly correlated with genetic phenotypes (p = 0.0145). While CYP2D6 showed no impact on treatment response, ADR were significantly more frequent among poor and intermediate metabolizers. Full article
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18 pages, 3957 KiB  
Article
Development and Investigation of an Innovative 3D Biohybrid Based on Collagen and Silk Sericin Enriched with Flavonoids for Potential Wound Healing Applications
by Lea Sleiman, Andreea-Daniela Lazăr (Popa), Mădălina Albu-Kaya, Minodora Maria Marin, Durmuș Alpaslan Kaya, Otilia-Ruxandra Vasile and Sorina Dinescu
Polymers 2024, 16(12), 1627; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16121627 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Skin tissue injuries necessitate particular care due to associated complex healing mechanisms. Current investigations in the domain of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine are focused on obtaining novel scaffolds adapted as potential delivery systems to restore lost tissue functions and properties. In this [...] Read more.
Skin tissue injuries necessitate particular care due to associated complex healing mechanisms. Current investigations in the domain of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine are focused on obtaining novel scaffolds adapted as potential delivery systems to restore lost tissue functions and properties. In this study, we describe the fabrication and evaluation of a novel 3D scaffold structure based on collagen and silk sericin (CollSS) enriched with microcapsules containing natural compounds, curcumin (C), and/or quercetin (Q). These 3D composites were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, water uptake, in vitro collagenase degradation, and SEM microscopy. Furthermore, they were biologically evaluated in terms of biocompatibility, cell adhesion, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. All tested materials indicated an overall suitable biocompatibility, with the best results obtained for the one containing both flavonoids. This study suggests the cumulative beneficial effect of C and Q, encapsulated in the same composite, as a potential non-invasive therapeutic strategy for skin tissue regeneration in patients suffering from chronic wounds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering Applications)
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32 pages, 7734 KiB  
Article
A Competitive Newsvendor Problem with Product Substitution under the Carbon Cap-and-Trade System
by Yuheng Ren, Wenliang Bian, Haicheng Li and Yingjie Ju
Systems 2024, 12(6), 201; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12060201 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
This study investigates the competitive issues of the newsvendor problem with product substitution under the carbon cap-and-trade system. Building on existing research, this paper introduces the carbon cap-and-trade system under uncertain market demand and considers that the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can choose [...] Read more.
This study investigates the competitive issues of the newsvendor problem with product substitution under the carbon cap-and-trade system. Building on existing research, this paper introduces the carbon cap-and-trade system under uncertain market demand and considers that the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can choose to procure raw materials from the contract manufacturer (CM), with both final products being substitutable. Furthermore, we explore the different substitution relationships between OEM and CM products under both pure competitive and co-opetitive modes. For this problem, decision models are developed for various scenarios, and optimal solutions satisfying given conditions are provided. We find that in one-way substitution, under pure competition, an increase in the OEM’s (or CM’s) green investment and substitution rate only leads to an increase in OEM’s (or CM’s) yields, while an increase in the OEM’s (or CM’s) green investment does not necessarily reduce CM’s (or OEM’s) yields. In the co-opetitive mode, an increase in the substitution rate and green investments of both manufacturers may lead to an increase in the yields of both manufacturers. Furthermore, an increase in carbon trading prices does not necessarily inhibit the manufacturer’s yields. Moreover, we find that under the same competition mode, under certain conditions, two-way substitution between OEM and CM can bring better profits to both manufacturers and the entire supply chain. When the two modes are in the same substitution scenario, and the CM cannot substitute for the OEM, the optimal decisions and total supply chain profits of the two modes are equal. Finally, through numerical analysis, we find that neither mode is necessarily optimal when CM can substitute for OEM. Additionally, it is observed that when the same mode is in different substitution scenarios, total supply chain profits may be enhanced in the presence of product substitution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Section Supply Chain Management)
32 pages, 1440 KiB  
Review
Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species in Infection and Immunity
by Arunima Mukherjee, Krishna Kanta Ghosh, Sabyasachi Chakrabortty, Balázs Gulyás, Parasuraman Padmanabhan and Writoban Basu Ball
Biomolecules 2024, 14(6), 670; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14060670 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) contain at least one oxygen atom and one or more unpaired electrons and include singlet oxygen, superoxide anion radical, hydroxyl radical, hydroperoxyl radical, and free nitrogen radicals. Intracellular ROS can be formed as a consequence of several factors, including [...] Read more.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) contain at least one oxygen atom and one or more unpaired electrons and include singlet oxygen, superoxide anion radical, hydroxyl radical, hydroperoxyl radical, and free nitrogen radicals. Intracellular ROS can be formed as a consequence of several factors, including ultra-violet (UV) radiation, electron leakage during aerobic respiration, inflammatory responses mediated by macrophages, and other external stimuli or stress. The enhanced production of ROS is termed oxidative stress and this leads to cellular damage, such as protein carbonylation, lipid peroxidation, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage, and base modifications. This damage may manifest in various pathological states, including ageing, cancer, neurological diseases, and metabolic disorders like diabetes. On the other hand, the optimum levels of ROS have been implicated in the regulation of many important physiological processes. For example, the ROS generated in the mitochondria (mitochondrial ROS or mt-ROS), as a byproduct of the electron transport chain (ETC), participate in a plethora of physiological functions, which include ageing, cell growth, cell proliferation, and immune response and regulation. In this current review, we will focus on the mechanisms by which mt-ROS regulate different pathways of host immune responses in the context of infection by bacteria, protozoan parasites, viruses, and fungi. We will also discuss how these pathogens, in turn, modulate mt-ROS to evade host immunity. We will conclude by briefly giving an overview of the potential therapeutic approaches involving mt-ROS in infectious diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mitochondrial ROS in Health and Disease)
22 pages, 5028 KiB  
Article
Research on the Propagation Model of Unsafe Behaviors among Construction Workers Based on a Two-Layer NAN-SIRS Network
by Yunfei Hou and Qi Zhao
Buildings 2024, 14(6), 1719; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14061719 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Unsafe behaviors among construction workers are a leading cause of safety accidents in the construction industry, and studying the mechanism of unsafe behavior propagation among construction workers is essential for reducing the occurrence of safety accidents. Safety attitude plays a pivotal role in [...] Read more.
Unsafe behaviors among construction workers are a leading cause of safety accidents in the construction industry, and studying the mechanism of unsafe behavior propagation among construction workers is essential for reducing the occurrence of safety accidents. Safety attitude plays a pivotal role in predicting workers’ behavioral intentions. We propose a propagation model of unsafe behaviors based on a two-layer complex network, in which the upper layer depicts the change in construction workers’ safety attitudes, and the lower layer represents the propagation of unsafe behaviors. In this model, we consider the impact of individual heterogeneity and herd mentality on the transmission rate, establishing a partial mapping relationship based on behavioral feedback. After that, by building a probability transition tree, we establish the risk state transition equation in detail using the microscopic Markov chain approach (MMCA) and analyze the established equations to deduce the propagation threshold of unsafe behaviors analytically. The results show that enhancing the influence of individual heterogeneity and behavioral feedback increases the threshold for the spread of unsafe behaviors, thereby reducing its scale, while herd mentality amplifies the spread. Furthermore, the coexistence of safety education and behavioral feedback may lead to one of the mechanisms fails. This research enhances understanding of the propagation mechanism of unsafe behaviors and provides a foundation for managers to implement effective measures to suppress the propagation of unsafe behaviors among construction workers. Full article
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11 pages, 260 KiB  
Article
On Modulus Statistical Convergence in Partial Metric Spaces
by Francisco Javier García-Pacheco and Ramazan Kama
Axioms 2024, 13(6), 388; https://doi.org/10.3390/axioms13060388 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Modulus statistical convergence has been studied in very different general settings such as topological spaces and uniform spaces. In this manuscript, modulus statistical convergence is defined and studied in partial metric spaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Functional and Topological Data Analysis)
14 pages, 975 KiB  
Article
Driving Style and Traffic Prediction with Artificial Neural Networks Using On-Board Diagnostics and Smartphone Sensors
by Ghaith Al-refai, Mohammed Al-refai and Ahmad Alzu’bi
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 5008; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14125008 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Driving style and road traffic play pivotal roles in the development of smart cities, influencing traffic flow, safety, and environmental sustainability. This study presents an innovative approach for detecting road traffic conditions and driving styles using On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) data and smartphone sensors. [...] Read more.
Driving style and road traffic play pivotal roles in the development of smart cities, influencing traffic flow, safety, and environmental sustainability. This study presents an innovative approach for detecting road traffic conditions and driving styles using On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) data and smartphone sensors. This approach offers an inexpensive implementation of prediction, as it utilizes existing vehicle data without requiring additional setups. Two Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models were employed: the first utilizes a forward neural network architecture, while the second leverages bootstrapping or bagging neural networks to enhance detection accuracy for low-labeled classes. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is implemented to serve as a baseline for comparison. Experimental results demonstrate that ANNs exhibit significant improvements in detection accuracy compared to SVM. Moreover, the neural network with bagging model showcases enhanced recall values and a substantial improvement in accurately detecting instances belonging to low-labeled classes in both driving style road traffic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Transportation Engineering)
10 pages, 1629 KiB  
Article
Biomass-Derived Carbon Utilization for Electrochemical Energy Enhancement in Lithium-Ion Batteries
by Byeong Jin Jeong, Feng Jiang, Jae Yoon Sung, Soon Phil Jung, Dae Won Oh, R. M. Gnanamuthu, Kumaran Vediappan and Chang Woo Lee
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(12), 999; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14120999 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Cathodes made of LiFePO4 (LFP) offer numerous benefits including being non-toxic, eco-friendly, and affordable. The distinctive olivine structure of LFP cathodes contributes to their electrochemical stability. Nonetheless, this structure is also the cause of their low ionic and electronic conductivity. To enhance [...] Read more.
Cathodes made of LiFePO4 (LFP) offer numerous benefits including being non-toxic, eco-friendly, and affordable. The distinctive olivine structure of LFP cathodes contributes to their electrochemical stability. Nonetheless, this structure is also the cause of their low ionic and electronic conductivity. To enhance these limitations, an uncomplicated approach has been effectively employed. A straightforward solid-state synthesis technique is used to apply a coating of biomass from potato peels to the LFP cathode, boosting its electrochemical capabilities. Potato peels contain pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen, which are conducive to ionic and electronic movement and facilitate pathways for lithium-ion and electron transfer, thus elevating electrochemical performance. When coated with nitrogen-doped carbon derived from potato peel biomass (PPNC@LFP), the LFP cathode demonstrates an improved discharge capacity of 150.39 mAh g−1 at a 0.1 C-rate and 112.83 mAh g−1 at a 1.0 C-rate, in contrast to the uncoated LFP which shows capacities of 141.34 mAh g−1 and 97.72 mAh g−1 at the same rates, respectively. Full article
11 pages, 2522 KiB  
Article
Molecular Mechanism Underlying ROS-Mediated AKH Resistance to Imidacloprid in Whitefly
by Jingjing Li, Chaoqiang Zhu, Yunhao Xu, Haifang He, Chenchen Zhao and Fengming Yan
Insects 2024, 15(6), 436; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15060436 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Synthetic insecticides used to control Bemisia tabaci include organophosphorus, pyrethroids, insect growth regulators, nicotinoids, and neonicotinoids. Among these, neonicotinoids have been used continuously, which has led to the emergence of high-level resistance to this class of chemical insecticides in the whitefly, making whitefly [...] Read more.
Synthetic insecticides used to control Bemisia tabaci include organophosphorus, pyrethroids, insect growth regulators, nicotinoids, and neonicotinoids. Among these, neonicotinoids have been used continuously, which has led to the emergence of high-level resistance to this class of chemical insecticides in the whitefly, making whitefly management difficult. The adipokinetic hormone gene (AKH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) play roles in the development of insect resistance. Therefore, the roles of AKH and ROS in imidacloprid resistance in Bemisia tabaci Mediterranean (MED; formerly biotype Q) were evaluated in this study. The expression level of AKH in resistant B. tabaci MED was significantly lower than that in sensitive B. tabaci (MED) (p < 0.05). AKH expression showed a decreasing trend. After AKH silencing by RNAi, we found that ROS levels as well as the expression levels of the resistance gene CYP6CM1 and its upstream regulatory factors CREB, ERK, and P38 increased significantly (p < 0.05); additionally, whitefly resistance to imidacloprid increased and mortality decreased (p < 0.001). These results suggest that AKH regulates the expression of resistance genes via ROS in Bemisia tabaci. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Management of Invasive Insect Pests)
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15 pages, 407 KiB  
Article
Meta-Analytic Gene-Clustering Algorithm for Integrating Multi-Omics and Multi-Study Data
by Ulrich Kemmo Tsafack, Kwang Woo Ahn, Anne E. Kwitek and Chien-Wei Lin
Bioengineering 2024, 11(6), 587; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering11060587 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Gene pathways and gene-regulatory networks are used to describe the causal relationship between genes, based on biological experiments. However, many genes are still to be studied to define novel pathways. To address this, a gene-clustering algorithm has been used to group correlated genes [...] Read more.
Gene pathways and gene-regulatory networks are used to describe the causal relationship between genes, based on biological experiments. However, many genes are still to be studied to define novel pathways. To address this, a gene-clustering algorithm has been used to group correlated genes together, based on the similarity of their gene expression level. The existing methods cluster genes based on only one type of omics data, which ignores the information from other types. A large sample size is required to achieve an accurate clustering structure for thousands of genes, which can be challenging due to the cost of multi-omics data. Meta-analysis has been used to aggregate the data from multiple studies and improve the analysis results. We propose a computationally efficient meta-analytic gene-clustering algorithm that combines multi-omics datasets from multiple studies, using the fixed effects linear models and a modified weighted correlation network analysis framework. The simulation study shows that the proposed method outperforms existing single omic-based clustering approaches when multi-omics data and/or multiple studies are available. A real data example demonstrates that our meta-analytic method outperforms single-study based methods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gene Clustering in Microbiological and Biotechnological Research)
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15 pages, 1537 KiB  
Article
The Lipidomic Profile Is Associated with the Dietary Pattern in Subjects with and without Diabetes Mellitus from a Mediterranean Area
by Marina Idalia Rojo-López, Maria Barranco-Altirriba, Joana Rossell, Maria Antentas, Esmeralda Castelblanco, Oscar Yanes, Ralf J. M. Weber, Gavin R. Lloyd, Catherine Winder, Warwick B. Dunn, Josep Julve, Minerva Granado-Casas and Dídac Mauricio
Nutrients 2024, 16(12), 1805; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16121805 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Lipid functions can be influenced by genetics, age, disease states, and lifestyle factors, particularly dietary patterns, which are crucial in diabetes management. Lipidomics is an expanding field involving the comprehensive exploration of lipids from biological samples. In this cross-sectional study, 396 participants from [...] Read more.
Lipid functions can be influenced by genetics, age, disease states, and lifestyle factors, particularly dietary patterns, which are crucial in diabetes management. Lipidomics is an expanding field involving the comprehensive exploration of lipids from biological samples. In this cross-sectional study, 396 participants from a Mediterranean region, including individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and non-diabetic individuals, underwent lipidomic profiling and dietary assessment. Participants completed validated food frequency questionnaires, and lipid analysis was conducted using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UHPLC/MS). Multiple linear regression models were used to determine the association between lipid features and dietary patterns. Across all subjects, acylcarnitines (AcCa) and triglycerides (TG) displayed negative associations with the alternate Healthy Eating Index (aHEI), indicating a link between lipidomic profiles and dietary habits. Various lipid species (LS) showed positive and negative associations with dietary carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Notably, in the interaction analysis between diabetes and the aHEI, we found some lysophosphatidylcholines (LPC) that showed a similar direction with respect to aHEI in non-diabetic individuals and T2D subjects, while an opposite direction was observed in T1D subjects. The study highlights the significant association between lipidomic profiles and dietary habits in people with and without diabetes, particularly emphasizing the role of healthy dietary choices, as reflected by the aHEI, in modulating lipid concentrations. These findings underscore the importance of dietary interventions to improve metabolic health outcomes, especially in the context of diabetes management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of the Mediterranean Diet on Metabolic Diseases)
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25 pages, 1642 KiB  
Article
A Study on Spatiotemporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of Chinese National Park Network Attention
by Mingxin Chen, Dong Dong, Fengquan Ji, Yu Tai, Nan Li, Runyu Huang and Tieqiao Xiao
Land 2024, 13(6), 826; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060826 (registering DOI) - 8 Jun 2024
Abstract
Due to advancements in information technology and growing eco-tourism demand, National Park Network Attention (NPNA) has emerged as a novel indicator of tourism appeal and ecological value recognition. Utilizing Baidu search index (accessed in 2023) data from 2013 to 2022, this study employs [...] Read more.
Due to advancements in information technology and growing eco-tourism demand, National Park Network Attention (NPNA) has emerged as a novel indicator of tourism appeal and ecological value recognition. Utilizing Baidu search index (accessed in 2023) data from 2013 to 2022, this study employs time series analysis, index analysis, and spatial statistics to measure and differentiate the spatial and temporal aspects of NPNA across 31 provinces, regions, and municipalities in mainland China, while systematically assessing the impact of various factors from both source and destination perspectives. Over the period of 2013 to 2022, NPNA has increased annually, peaking around holidays and during spring and autumn, demonstrating pronounced seasonality and precursor effects, while exhibiting volatility due to external events. Influenced by factors from both source and destination perspectives, the spatial distribution of NPNA displays a trend of being “high in the east and low in the west” and “high in the south and low in the north,” though regional disparities are diminishing. The population size in the source areas remains the dominant factor influencing NPNA, while the concept of national parks is not yet widely recognized. The destination’s tourism resource endowment, media publicity, accessibility, and level of informatization are significant influences. An effective integration of resources and marketing is essential for boosting NPNA. The findings provide valuable insights for optimizing the spatial layout of national parks, enhancing the tourism service system, innovating communication and promotional strategies, and improving national park governance effectiveness. Full article

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