Search Results (276,545)

Phenolic compounds are valued for their antioxidant activity, but their measured response after heating can vary with the surrounding matrix. In this study, dried Cynanchum thesioides (Freyn) K. Schum powder (CTP) was added to a cookie matrix at 0%, 1%, 3%, and 5% (w/w) to examine phenolic indices, antioxidant activity, and physicochemical changes after baking. CTP affected moisture content, spread ratio, hardness, color, pH, and soluble solids in the baked matrix, whereas density was unchanged. Antioxidant activity increased with increasing CTP level. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activities increased from 8.04% to 46.33% and from 17.02% to 36.43%, respectively, while ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) increased from 6.17 to 23.64 mM FeSO₄ equivalents/g. Total polyphenol content (TPC) increased from 0.66 to 1.46 mg gallic acid equivalents/g, and total flavonoid content (TFC) increased from 0.20 to 0.85 mg catechin equivalents/g. These results show that increasing CTP raised the extractable phenolic indices, radical scavenging activity, and reducing capacity measured in the baked samples. The findings establish a formulation-dependent antioxidant response in the final baked products and provide a basis for future compound-specific studies of phenolic retention during processing. Full article

Background/Objectives: Preoperative characterization of salivary gland tumors remains challenging because conventional MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging may show overlapping features, particularly between Warthin tumors and malignant lesions. This study evaluated the diagnostic value of quantitative permeability MRI based on dynamic contrast-enhanced pharmacokinetic analysis for differentiating salivary gland tumors. Methods: This retrospective single-center study included 51 patients with 59 histologically confirmed salivary gland lesions examined between January 2022 and November 2024. MRI included diffusion-weighted imaging and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI). Quantitative pharmacokinetic analysis based on the Extended Tofts model provided Ktrans, Kep, Ve, and Vp. Interobserver reproducibility was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient, and diagnostic performance was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic analysis. Results: Of 59 lesions, 44 were benign, and 15 were malignant. Warthin tumors showed significantly higher Kep values than malignant lesions (median, 998 vs. 480 × 10⁻³/min; p = 0.002) and lower Ve values (median, 121 vs. 245 × 10⁻³; p = 0.004). ADC values partially overlapped between Warthin tumors and malignant lesions. Interobserver agreement was good, with ICC values ranging from 0.78 to 0.86. Kep showed the highest diagnostic performance in this cohort, with an AUC of 0.96. A Kep threshold of 723 × 10⁻³/min yielded 92.3% sensitivity and 93.3% specificity. Conclusions: Quantitative DCE-MRI, particularly Kep, may provide additional information for differentiating Warthin tumors from malignant salivary gland lesions within a multiparametric MRI assessment. The threshold identified in this cohort is exploratory and requires external validation before routine clinical use. Full article

Wind power producers face increasing market risks in electricity spot markets because output uncertainty may lead to large imbalance penalties and unstable revenues. This study aims to improve the market participation performance of wind farm consortia by coordinating day-ahead bidding, real-time deviation correction, and internal revenue allocation. The main novelty of this study is the integration of consortium-level bidding, shared energy storage leasing, and post-settlement revenue-cost allocation within a unified decision-allocation framework. A two-stage coordinated bidding model is developed for a wind farm consortium that leases shared energy storage to mitigate real-time power deviations. A Shapley value-based allocation mechanism is further introduced to distribute consortium revenue, while the shared energy storage leasing cost is allocated using an additional revenue-proportional fairness rule. Case studies show that the proposed strategy can reduce deviation penalties, increase the final net revenue after leasing cost, and maintain fair incentives among consortium members. Sensitivity analyses further demonstrate that the economic performance of the consortium is affected by storage size, charging/discharging efficiency, and wind farm output correlation. The proposed framework provides a practical decision-making reference for wind power aggregation, shared energy storage utilization, and coordinated participation in electricity spot markets. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to assess nerve conduction studies (NCS) parameters of the median nerve and abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscle activity in patients with cervical spondylosis. Additionally, we evaluated longitudinal changes in these parameters at six months following a multimodal rehabilitation treatment. Methods: This quasiexperimental, nonrandomized study included 41 patients with cervical spondylosis and 25 healthy controls. Median nerve conduction studies and semiquantitative surface electromyography (sEMG) of the APB muscle were assessed using a two-channel Neuro-MEP-Micro system (version 2009, Neurosoft Ltd.). The evaluations were performed at baseline in both groups and repeated after six months in the patient group. Pain intensity was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Results: Compared with controls, patients showed reduced compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude (Cohen’s d = 1.53–1.83), slower motor conduction velocity (r = 0.91–0.95), and impaired sEMG amplitude and recruitment pattern of the APB muscle (all adjusted p < 0.001). After application of multimodal rehabilitation treatment, VAS scores decreased significantly (adjusted p < 0.001), and favorable changes in NCS and sEMG parameters were observed, with moderate to large effect sizes (Cohen’s d = 0.56–0.82; r = 0.52–0.86; all adjusted p ≤ 0.006). CMAP amplitude correlated positively with sEMG amplitude and recruitment pattern (ρ = 0.483–0.632, all adjusted p ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: Multimodal rehabilitation treatment may be associated with clinical and electrophysiological improvements, suggesting the complementary value of NCS and sEMG for the evaluation and follow-up of patients with cervical spondylosis. However, because of the nonrandomized uncontrolled design and the absence of longitudinal follow-up in controls, causal treatment effects cannot be inferred. Full article

Background and Objectives: Sarcopenia is highly prevalent among older adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. The finger-ring (Yubi-wakka) test is a simple anthropometric screening tool based on calf circumference; however, its performance in older adults with CKD remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association of the finger-ring test with low muscle mass, sarcopenia, and comprehensive geriatric assessment parameters and to evaluate its diagnostic performance for identifying low muscle mass in older adults with CKD. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 115 patients aged ≥65 years with CKD who were evaluated in geriatric and nephrology inpatient services. After excluding two participants with missing finger-ring measurements, 113 individuals were analyzed. Muscle mass was assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis and low muscle mass was defined according to EWGSOP2-based Turkish cut-off values. Demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, laboratory findings, and comprehensive geriatric assessment parameters were recorded. Correlation analyses, logistic regression models, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, and likelihood-ratio tests were performed. Results: Among 113 participants, 62 were classified as finger-ring positive (FR = 0) and 51 as finger-ring negative (FR = 1). Low muscle mass was significantly more frequent in the FR = 0 group than in the FR = 1 group (51.6% vs. 24.0%, p = 0.005). Finger-ring test results showed strong correlations with calf circumference (rho = 0.689, p < 0.001) and body mass index (BMI) (rho = 0.631, p < 0.001), whereas the correlation with muscle mass was modest (rho = 0.250, p = 0.008). For detecting low muscle mass, the finger-ring test demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.643 (95% CI 0.554–0.732), sensitivity of 72.7%, specificity of 55.9%, positive predictive value of 51.6%, and negative predictive value of 76.0%. In multivariable analyses, BMI remained the strongest independent determinant of finger-ring test results, whereas the association with muscle mass lost statistical significance after BMI adjustment. Adding age and sex significantly improved discrimination, while the contribution of nutritional status was limited. Conclusions: The finger-ring test is associated with low muscle mass in older adults with CKD; however, its diagnostic performance is modest and appears to be substantially influenced by body size and calf circumference. Therefore, the finger-ring test should be considered a simple adjunctive screening tool rather than a stand-alone method for identifying low muscle mass in this population. Full article

Background/Objectives: Sacituzumab govitecan (SG, IMMU-132) is a TROP2-directed antibody–drug conjugate carrying SN-38. Patients with colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) still have limited treatment options after first-line systemic therapy, and the preclinical pharmacological value of TROP2-directed SN-38 delivery in CRLM remains insufficiently defined. Methods: Public single-cell RNA-sequencing data were reanalyzed to explore the distribution of TACSTD2/TROP2-positive epithelial-associated cells in adjacent normal tissues, primary colorectal cancer, and CRLM. The prognostic relevance of TACSTD2 was evaluated using the Kaplan–Meier Plotter database. TROP2-knockdown and TROP2-overexpressing colorectal cancer models were used to assess IMMU-132 response in vitro and in vivo. Pharmacological antitumor activity was further evaluated using subcutaneous xenografts, syngeneic intrasplenic liver metastasis models, and CRLM patient-derived organoids (PDOs). Transcriptomic profiling and γ-H2AX immunofluorescence were used to explore treatment-associated molecular changes. Results: At the patient/sample level, TACSTD2/TROP2-positive epithelial-associated cells showed numerically higher proportions in primary colorectal tumors and liver metastases than in adjacent normal tissues, and high TACSTD2 expression was associated with inferior overall survival in a public survival database. TROP2 knockdown attenuated IMMU-132-induced growth inhibition, apoptosis, and suppression of colony formation. In vivo, IMMU-132 suppressed colorectal tumor growth and reduced liver metastatic burden, with more evident activity in human TROP2-overexpressing models. In a limited exploratory CRLM PDO cohort established after first-line therapy, liver metastasis-derived PDOs showed lower normalized AUC values than primary tumor-derived PDOs. Transcriptomic analysis and representative γ-H2AX immunofluorescence suggested that IMMU-132 treatment was associated with changes in adhesion/cytoskeletal-related pathways, Wnt/cancer-associated transcriptional programs, and DNA damage-associated signals. Conclusions: These in vitro, in vivo, and PDO-based findings support further preclinical pharmacological evaluation of TROP2-directed SN-38 delivery by IMMU-132 in biomarker-annotated CRLM models, particularly in the post-first-line systemic therapy setting. Full article

Background/Objectives: Wheat root and crown rot, caused by Fusarium pseudograminearum, Fusarium graminearum, and Bipolaris sorokiniana, are devastating soil-borne diseases that cause substantial yield losses worldwide. Endophytic fungi are promising sources of bioactive metabolites for agricultural applications. This study aimed to isolate and characterize an endophytic fungus with antifungal activity against major wheat pathogens, identify its active compound, and investigate the underlying transcriptional response. Methods: An endophytic strain Y2 was isolated from Hedyotis diffusa leaves and identified through morphological and phylogenetic analysis based on TEF-1α and RPB2 sequences. Pathogenicity of strain Y2 was evaluated on wheat stem bases. The bioactive compound was purified by HPLC and identified by HR-ESI-MS and NMR. Antifungal activity was assessed using dual-culture and microbroth dilution assays. Transcriptomic analysis (RNA-seq) was performed on F. pseudograminearum treated with equisetin, with qRT-PCR validation of seven representative differentially expressed genes. Results: Strain Y2 was identified as Fusarium incarnatum or a closely related member of the F. incarnatum–equiseti species complex (FIESC) and confirmed to be non-pathogenic to wheat. The purified bioactive compound was characterized as equisetin, which exhibited significant antifungal activity with MIC values of 16, 32, and 64 μg/mL against F. pseudograminearum, B. sorokiniana, and F. graminearum, respectively. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that equisetin treatment induced a polarized transcriptional response in F. pseudograminearum, characterized by strong upregulation of ribosome and translation-related genes and widespread downregulation of other metabolic pathways, particularly nitrogen metabolism. qRT-PCR validation of seven representative genes confirmed the reliability of the RNA-seq data. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that equisetin is the active antifungal metabolite produced by F. incarnatum Y2, with potent in vitro activity against major wheat root and crown rot pathogens. The transcriptomic data provide insights into the potential mechanism of action, while the non-pathogenic nature of strain Y2 supports its biosafety. Although these results highlight equisetin as a promising lead compound for antifungal development, further in planta efficacy and safety studies are required before it can be considered for practical biocontrol. Full article

Historical document collections are increasingly available as digitised images and PDFs, but their conversion into reliable text remains affected by optical character recognition (OCR) errors, degraded pages, heterogeneous layouts, and domain-specific terminology. This study proposes a pathway-level framework for documenting and comparing conventional OCR, OCR followed by large language model (LLM)-assisted correction, and direct multimodal transcription. The framework is demonstrated using the Portuguese Agricultural and Forestry Surveys (1950–1958). A stratified validation sample of 45 pages was selected by visual quality, page type, and geographic coverage. Outputs were evaluated against manually verified reference transcriptions using content-normalised character error rate (CER) and word error rate (WER), document-condition analysis, paired statistical tests, and an entity-level semantic preservation assessment focused on place names, agricultural terms, and measurement expressions. Under the evaluated model and interface conditions, both LLM-based pathways produced lower mean CER and WER than the conventional OCR baseline, with the lowest values observed for direct multimodal transcription. Semantic preservation was also higher for the LLM-based pathways, although measurement expressions remained the most persistent risk, particularly in table-based pages. Downstream tasks were not directly evaluated. The findings support the framework as a method for validating text-extraction pathways before reuse, rather than establishing a universal ranking of tools. Full article

This study investigates the impact of assimilating Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) Level-2 surface soil moisture retrievals into the Application of Research to Operations at Mesoscale (AROME) model, the operational numerical weather prediction system of the Hungarian Meteorological Service. The Level-2 retrievals are geophysical soil moisture estimates derived from satellite radar backscatter observations and represent the uppermost soil layer (approximately 0–5 cm). Data assimilation is performed using a Simplified Extended Kalman Filter (SEKF) within the SURFEX surface modeling platform. In the reference configuration (REF), the same SEKF framework is applied, as used operationally for the assimilation of 2 m temperature and relative humidity observations. A second experiment (ASCAT) extends this configuration by additionally assimilating ASCAT surface soil moisture retrievals. The experimental period covers May–October 2023. The objective of the study is to quantify the added value of ASCAT soil moisture assimilation relative to the REF experiment, which does not assimilate ASCAT retrievals. Results indicate a systematic improvement in root-zone soil moisture and soil temperature, suggesting that the assimilation of surface soil moisture observations propagates beneficially to deeper soil layers. Verification against in situ and model-derived diagnostics shows a positive impact on near-surface atmospheric variables, particularly for 2 m temperature and humidity during nighttime conditions. Furthermore, precipitation verification reveals a measurable improvement, suggesting a beneficial influence of improved land–atmosphere coupling on short-range forecasts. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study aims to analyze safety and effectiveness of imipenem/cilastatin sodium (IPM/CS) as an off-label embolic agent in acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB). Methods: This is a multicentric prospective study including patients treated in emergency with endovascular embolization for acute LGIB. IPM/CS particles were prepared using one vial containing 500 mg/500 mg of IPM/CS in powder diluted with 5 mL of pure iodine contrast agent. Inclusion criteria were: acute bleeding managed with IMP/CS embolization, unfeasible/ineffective endoscopic management, availability of a pre-procedural contrast-enhanced Computed Tomography (CT) scan, pre- and post-procedural blood count, pre- and post-procedural hemodynamic balance evaluation, and follow-up to 30 days. Exclusion criteria were: patients treated in elective conditions, LGIB embolization performed without IMP/CS, IMP/CS adoption after other embolics, incomplete clinical–laboratoristic follow-up, and age < 18 years. Technical success was intended as angiographic disappearance of extravasation or significant reduction/stasis of blood flow to the target; clinical success was considered as hemoglobin values increase and/or stop transfusions and/or hemodynamic restoration. Result: Twenty-one patients were enrolled; bleeding etiologies included angiodysplasia, diverticular disease, gastrointestinal tumor-related bleeding, and post-surgical hemorrhage. Technical success rate was 100%, and clinical success rate at 30 days was 85.7%. Rebleeding occurred in three patients: two managed with surgery and one with coil re-embolization. Neither major and IPM/CS related complications occurred. Conclusions: In this study IPM/CS was a safe and feasible embolic agent in selected patients with acute LGIB; no bowel ischemia occurred during the 30 day follow-up. Future studies with larger samples are required to confirm these findings to include IPM/CS as an off-label alternative embolic agent in LGIB. Full article

Increasing Sargassum accumulation across the Gulf of America and the Caribbean has raised environmental, economic, and public health concerns for coastal communities. As Sargassum decomposes, it can impair tourism, aquatic ecosystems, and air quality, highlighting the need for valorization strategies that convert collected Sargassum into useful products. This study evaluates two carbon-product pathways: Case 1, direct pyrolysis of dried Sargassum at 600.00 °C for 30 min; and Case 2, hydrothermal pyrolysis, in which wet Sargassum was hydrothermally carbonized at 220.00 °C for 30 min before pyrolysis. Process configurations, stream balances, capital costs, manufacturing costs, net present values (NPVs), and breakeven selling price sensitivity analyses were compared. It was seen that Case 1 outperformed Case 2, breaking even in year 5 and achieving a year 12 NPV of over 9.60 million USD, whereas Case 2 never broke even and had a year 12 NPV of −66.04 million USD. A breakeven cost sensitivity analysis showed that Case 1 was sensitive to the Sargassum acquisition cost, while Case 2 was sensitive to the hydrothermal reaction temperature. These results indicated that while direct pyrolysis was economically favorable under the modeled assumptions, hydrothermal pyrolysis could become competitive with additional environmental incentives or carbon credits. Full article

Background: Precise quantification of JAK2 V617F variant allele frequency (VAF) is clinically important in Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). This study evaluated the analytical performance and clinical utility of a laboratory-developed chip-based real-time digital PCR (dPCR) assay for JAK2 V617F and compared it with a commercial quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay. Methods: Residual DNA extracts from 76 JAK2 V617F-positive clinical specimens collected from patients with suspected MPNs were analyzed using both qPCR and dPCR. Analytical performance was assessed according to CLSI-based approaches, including limit of blank (LoB), limit of detection (LoD), precision, linearity, and method comparison. Associations between VAF and hematologic parameters, as well as diagnostic groups, were also examined. Results: Both methods showed a LoB of 0. The LoD was 0.1167% for qPCR and 0.0846% for dPCR, and dPCR demonstrated lower variability than qPCR across high-, intermediate-, and low-concentration samples, with the largest difference observed at low VAF levels. Linearity was excellent for both assays (R² = 0.988 for qPCR and 0.999 for dPCR), although dPCR showed less low-concentration bias. The two methods were highly correlated (Pearson r = 0.9789, R² = 0.958), but dPCR yielded slightly higher VAF values overall. VAF was significantly higher in polycythemia vera than in essential thrombocythemia, and both qPCR- and dPCR-based VAFs were positively correlated with white blood cell count. Conclusions: The chip-based laboratory-developed dPCR assay showed high concordance with qPCR while providing lower LoD and better precision at low allele burden. These findings support its potential utility as a sensitive alternative for JAK2 V617F quantification in clinical laboratories, particularly in settings requiring accurate low-level detection and follow-up monitoring. Full article

FY-4B/GIIRS temperature-profile products provide an important source of atmospheric sounding information for the radiosonde-sparse Tibetan Plateau, but their error structure and correctability over complex terrain remain insufficiently understood. In this study, the FY-4B/GIIRS temperature profiles over the central-eastern Tibetan Plateau were systematically evaluated using collocated satellite and radiosonde observations from 2023 to 2025. In addition to conventional validation metrics, an error-structure diagnosis was conducted to distinguish the relative contributions of systematic and random components of the satellite–radiosonde differences across 12 cloud–season–layer scenarios. The results show that product quality varies markedly with cloud condition and season. Clear-sky samples are more frequent during the cold season, whereas cloudy samples increase during the warm season, and the proportion of high-quality retrievals decreases substantially under cloudy conditions. Retrieval errors also exhibit clear vertical dependence, with the highest accuracy in the middle layer and larger errors in the lower and upper layers. The error-structure diagnosis further reveals pronounced scenario dependence: random errors dominate most clear-sky conditions, whereas systematic biases are particularly evident in the clear-sky lower layer in winter, the clear-sky upper layer in summer, and most cloudy scenarios. A scenario-based LightGBM framework effectively reduces these systematic differences across the 12 cloud–season–layer scenarios. Test-set $R^2$ ranges from 0.43 to 0.82, while mean Bias decreases from −1.66 to 0.01 K and mean RMSE from 3.35 to 1.78 K, corresponding to an average reduction of 45.56%. In contrast, the residual-error magnitude is less predictable, with STD-model $R^2$ values of 0.09–0.37. These findings indicate that error-structure diagnosis can help identify correctable retrieval-error components and that scenario-based correction provides an effective approach for improving the reliability of FY-4B/GIIRS temperature profiles over complex plateau terrain. Full article

Effective evaluation of building fabric is essential to understanding building performance. Traditional methods, such as ISO 9869-1, provide point U-values but do not always capture the complete picture, and new measurement-led approaches are needed to support building retrofit. Heat3D is a novel iOS application that performs rapid U-value measurements of building elements by mapping thermographic images from a mobile infrared camera onto an augmented reality (AR) model of a room, from which heat flux across the element is calculated. A field trial of 22 UK properties during the 2019–2020 winter heating season assessed Heat3D’s heat flux measurements against traditional heat flux plates, with 90% of 295 Heat3D surveys falling within the combined uncertainty of the reference method. A second field trial, conducted over the 2020–2021 winter heating period, evaluated a new timelapse iteration of the method capable of measuring wall U-value within approximately 60 min; 90% of 42 Heat3D surveys fell within the combined confidence interval of the ISO 9869-1-measured U-value. These results indicate that Heat3D offers a viable, rapid alternative to traditional methods for both heat flux and U-value measurement. Full article