Search Results (37)

This study investigates the effect of Hull Vane^® on the total resistance and propulsion performance of a patrol vessel using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Utilizing SHIPFLOW software, multiple simulations were conducted to evaluate how Hull Vane^® position and angle of attack influence hydrodynamic performance. A patrol vessel hull form the MAXSURF’s library was selected to investigate resistance and propulsive performance. Nine (9) configurations (named Cases A to I) of the Hull Vane^® were examined based on variations in longitudinal position and angle of attack. A grid independence study was conducted to determine the optimal mesh configuration. Validation was performed using the Holtrop–Mennen power prediction method and MAXSURF. According to this study, results indicate that Hull Vane^® configurations significantly reduce total resistance and delivered power at higher vessel speeds, with the best improvement in resistance occurring in Case C and in propulsion power in Case B. Propulsive efficiency was maximized in Case E. Furthermore, the study also demonstrates the potential of Hull Vane^® as a practical retrofit for enhancing naval vessel performance and reducing energy consumption. Full article

Imidazoline I₂ receptors (I₂-IR) are untapped therapeutic targets lacking a structural description. Although the levels of I₂-IR are dysregulated in a plethora of illnesses, the arsenal of ligands that can modulate I₂-IR is limited. In this framework, we have reported several new structural families embodying the iminophosphonate functional group that have an excellent affinity and selectivity for I₂-IR, and selected members have demonstrated relevant pharmacological properties in murine models of neurodegeneration and Alzheimer’s disease. Starting with these iminophosphonates, we continued to exploit their high degree of functionalization through a short and efficient synthesis to access unprecedented 2,3-di, 2,2,3-tri, 2,3,4-tri, and 2,2,3,4-tetrasubstituted diethyl (pyrrolidine-2-yl) phosphonates. The stereochemistry of the new compounds was unequivocally characterized by X-ray crystallographic analyses. Two selected compounds with structural features shared with the starting products were pharmacologically evaluated, allowing us to deduce the required key structural motifs for biologically active aminophosphonate derivatives. Full article

Background/Objectives: Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is an oral disorder with the greatest degree of malignant transformation. However, it is relatively rare. This study compared the clinical characteristics of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) who had and had not been previously diagnosed with PVL. Methods: This case control study compared the clinical characteristics of patients classified as early (T1 and T2) or advanced (T3 and T4) OSCC according to the T size of the Tumor, Node, Metastasis (TNM) classification, including age, gender, location, and clinical type of oral squamous cell carcinoma. The analysis involved 140 patients. Group 1: 50 OSCC patients with PVL (OSCC-PVL) and Group 2: 90 OSCC patients without PVL (OSCC-noPVL). Results: The patients with OSCC-PVL were younger than those with OSCC-noPVL, but this did not reach statistical significance. Regarding patient gender, those with OSCC-PVL were much more frequently female (70%), while OSCC-noPVL was more prevalent in men (65.5%) (p < 0.01). There were also significant differences in the oral locations between the two groups: the gingiva was most prevalent in OSCC-PVL and the tongue in OSCC-noPVL. Erythroleukoplastic forms were significantly more common in OSCC-PVL (30% vs. 7.7%), while ulcerated forms were more frequent in OSCC-noPVL (63.3% vs. 42%). Finally, early T stages were much more prevalent in our patients with OSCC-PVL. Conclusions: We found that OSCC preceded by PVL was much more frequent in women, had less aggressive clinical forms, and had significantly more frequent early T stages than in OSCC-noPVL. Full article

Dust storms, characterized by their rapid movement and high intensity, present significant challenges across atmospheric, human health, and ecological domains. This study investigates the spatiotemporal variations in dust intensity (DI) and its driving factors in Mongolia from 2001 to 2022, using data from ground observations, reanalysis, remote sensing satellites, and statistical analyses. Our findings show an increasing DI trend at approximately two-thirds of the monitoring stations, with DI rising at an average rate of 0.8 per year during the study period. Anthropogenic factors dominate as the primary drivers in regions such as Forest, Meadow Steppe, Typical Steppe, Desert Steppe, and the Gobi Desert. For example, GDP significantly impacts Forest and Meadow Steppe areas, contributing 25.89% and 14.11% to influencing factors of DI, respectively. Population emerges as the key driver in Typical Grasslands (20.77%), Desert Steppe (26.65%), and the Gobi Desert (37.66%). Conversely, climate change is the dominant factor in the Alpine Meadow regions of southern–central Hangay Uul, with temperature (20.69%) and relative humidity (20.67%) playing critical roles. These insights are vital for Mongolian authorities: promoting green economic initiatives could mitigate DI in economically active Desert Steppe regions, while climate adaptation strategies are essential for climate-sensitive Alpine Meadows. The findings also provide valuable guidance for addressing environmental issues in other arid and semi-arid regions worldwide. Full article

Background/Objectives: Oral cancers in patients with proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL-OSCC) exhibit different clinical and prognostic outcomes from those seen in conventional oral squamous cell carcinomas (cOSSCs). The aim of the present study is to compare the genome-wide DNA methylation signatures in fresh frozen tissues between oral squamous cell carcinomas in patients with PVL and cOSCC using the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip. Methods: This case–control study was carried out at the Stomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of the General University Hospital of Valencia. For the epigenomic study, unsupervised exploratory bioinformatic analyses were performed using principal component and heatmap analysis. Supervised differential methylation analyses were conducted using a rank-based regression model and a penalized logistic regression model to identify potential prognostic biomarkers. Results: The unsupervised analyses of the global methylation profiles did not allow us to differentiate between the distinct oral cancer groups. However, the two supervised analyses confirmed the existence of two oral carcinoma phenotypes. We identified 21 differentially methylated CpGs corresponding to 14 genes. Among them, three CpGs had not been previously assigned to any known gene, and the remaining were associated with genes unrelated to oral cancer. The AGL, WRB, and ARL15 genes were identified as potential prognostic biomarkers. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the significant role of epigenetic dysregulation in OSCC, particularly in cases preceded by PVL. We have provided data on differential methylation genes that could be involved in the molecular carcinogenesis of PVL-OSCC. Full article

The calcareous materials used in constructing the Phaya Thon Zu temple at the Bagan historical sites in Myanmar are mortars, plasters, and stuccos. Among them, the mortars and plasters are a mixture of original and new materials used for recent conservation treatments. In this study, the making techniques were examined through analysis of calcareous materials by production period. All calcareous materials have a mineral composition similar to soil, except calcite. Stuccos have the most refined aggregates, homogeneous particle size, and the highest lime and organic contents. They were designed to improve ease of carving and weathering resistance, considering the unique characteristics of the stuccos. Because all calcareous materials were mixed with soil, the origin of the clay materials was analyzed. It was concluded that the mortars were produced by mixing clay and sandy soil, and the original mortars showed characteristics similar to soil. It is highly possible that sandy soil from around the Htillominlo temple was used to produce new plasters, and it is estimated that a mixture of clay soil was used for the original plasters and stuccos. A clear provenance interpretation of the original and raw materials used for each construction and the mixing ratio of clay materials need to be discussed through experiments, along with the estimated provenance area of the raw calcareous materials. Full article

Oxidative stress is associated with asthma pathobiology. We reported that oxidized phosphatidylcholines (OxPCs) are mediators of oxidative stress and accumulate in the lung in response to allergen challenge. The current study begins to unravel mechanisms for OxPC accumulation in the lung, providing the first insights about how OxPCs underpin allergic airway pathophysiology, and pre-clinical testing of selective neutralization of OxPCs in a murine model of allergic asthma. We hypothesized that intranasal delivery of E06, a natural IgM antibody that neutralizes the biological activity of OxPCs, can ameliorate allergen-induced airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness. Adult BALB/c mice were intranasally (i.n.) challenged with house dust mite (HDM) (25 μg/mouse, 2 weeks). Some animals also received E06 monoclonal antibody (mAb) (10 µg) i.n. 1 hr before each HDM challenge. HDM challenge reduced mRNA for anti-oxidant genes (SOD1, SOD2, HO-1, and NFE2L2) in the lung by several orders of magnitude (p < 0.05). Concomitantly, total immune cell number in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) increased significantly (p < 0.001). E06 mAb treatment prevented allergen-induced BALF immune cell number by 43% (p < 0.01). This included a significant blockade of eosinophils (by 48%, p < 0.001), neutrophils (by 80%, p < 0.001), macrophages (by 80%, p < 0.05), and CD4 (by 30%, p < 0.05) and CD8 (by 42%, p < 0.01) lymphocytes. E06 effects correlated with a significant reduction in TNF (by 64%, p < 0.001) and IL-1β (by 75%, p < 0.05) and a trend to diminish accumulation of other cytokines (e.g., IL-4, -10, and -33, and IFN-γ). E06 mAb treatment also inhibited HDM exposure-induced increases in total respiratory resistance and small airway resistance by 24% and 26%, respectively. In conclusion, prophylactic treatment with an OxPC-neutralizing antibody significantly limits allergen-induced airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness, suggesting that OxPCs are important mediators of oxidative stress-associated allergic lung pathophysiology. Full article

Mongolia’s substantial mineral resources have played a pivotal role in its economic progress, with mining activities significantly contributing to this development. However, these continuous mining operations, particularly at the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine, have induced land subsidence that threatens both production activities and poses risks of geological and other natural disasters. This study employs the Small Baseline Subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SBAS-InSAR) technique to monitor and analyze time-series surface subsidence using 120 Sentinel-1A datasets from 2018 to 2022. The findings reveal that the SBAS-InSAR method successfully captures the subsidence and its spatial distribution at Oyu Tolgoi, with the maximum cumulative subsidence reaching −742.01 mm and the highest annual average subsidence rate at −158.11 mm/year. Key drivers identified for the subsidence include variations in groundwater levels, active mining operations, and changes in surface stress. This research underscores the ongoing subsidence issue at the Oyu Tolgoi mining area, providing crucial insights that could aid in enhancing mining safety and environmental conservation in the region. Full article

Bagan, the imperial capital of the Burmese Empire (11th–14th centuries CE), was situated in what is now known as Myanmar’s “dry zone”, Southeast Asia’s most arid region. This setting necessitated the development of a subtle, yet extensive rain-fed water management system that channeled water from the Tuyin mountain range in the southeast to the walled and moated royal city in the northwest. Nat Yekan tank, a rock-cut reservoir located on the western edge of the summit of the Thetso–Taung portion of the Tuyin range, played significant utilitarian and spiritual roles in collecting, sacralizing, and then channeling waters down into the vast Mya Kan reservoir, which, in turn, fed the water management system that redistributed this valuable resource across the Bagan plain. The iconographic elements carved into the stone walls of the Nat Yekan tank attest to its spiritual importance and tie it to an ideological program of kingly legitimacy grounded in guarantees of fertility and prosperity for all. Full article

Humanity is facing a vast prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases, with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) being the most dominant, without efficacious drugs, and with only a few therapeutic targets identified. In this scenario, we aim to find molecular entities that modulate imidazoline I₂ receptors (I₂-IRs) that have been pointed out as relevant targets in AD. In this work, we explored structural modifications of well-established I₂-IR ligands, giving access to derivatives with an imidazole-linked heterocycle as a common key feature. We report the synthesis, the affinity in human I₂-IRs, the brain penetration capabilities, the in silico ADMET studies, and the three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) studies of this new bunch of I₂-IR ligands. Selected compounds showed neuroprotective properties and beneficial effects in an in vitro model of Parkinson’s disease, rescued the human dopaminergic cell line SH-SY5Y from death after treatment with 6-hydroxydopamine, and showed crucial anti-inflammatory effects in a cellular model of neuroinflammation. After a preliminary pharmacokinetic study, we explored the action of our representative 2-(benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl)-1H-imidazole LSL33 in a mouse model of AD (5xFAD). Oral administration of LSL33 at 2 mg/Kg for 4 weeks ameliorated 5XFAD cognitive impairment and synaptic plasticity, as well as reduced neuroinflammation markers. In summary, this new I₂-IR ligand that promoted beneficial effects in a well-established AD mouse model should be considered a promising therapeutic strategy for neurodegeneration. Full article

Plant diseases are a critical threat to the agricultural sector. Therefore, accurate plant disease classification is important. In recent years, some researchers have used synthetic images of GAN to enhance plant disease recognition accuracy. In this paper, we propose a generative adversarial classified network (GACN) to further improve plant disease recognition accuracy. The GACN comprises a generator, discriminator, and classifier. The proposed model can not only enhance convolutional neural network performance by generating synthetic images to balance plant disease datasets but the GACN classifier can also be directly applied to plant disease recognition tasks. Experimental results on the PlantVillage and AI Challenger 2018 datasets show that the contribution of the proposed method to improve the discriminability of the convolution neural network is greater than that of the label-conditional methods of CGAN, ACGAN, BAGAN, and MFC-GAN. The accuracy of the trained classifier for plant disease recognition is also better than that of the plant disease recognition models studied on public plant disease datasets. In addition, we conducted several experiments to observe the effects of different numbers and resolutions of synthetic images on the discriminability of convolutional neural network. Full article

Targeting growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a recent strategy for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Here, we designed, synthesized, and pharmacologically evaluated in vitro a novel series of AMPK activators to upregulate GDF15 levels. These compounds were structurally based on the (1-dibenzylamino-3-phenoxy)propan-2-ol structure of the orphan ubiquitin E3 ligase subunit protein Fbxo48 inhibitor, BC1618. This molecule showed a better potency than metformin, increasing GDF15 mRNA levels in human Huh-7 hepatic cells. Based on BC1618, structural modifications have been performed to create a collection of diversely substituted new molecules. Of the thirty-five new compounds evaluated, compound 21 showed a higher increase in GDF15 mRNA levels compared with BC1618. Metformin, BC1618, and compound 21 increased phosphorylated AMPK, but only 21 increased GDF15 protein levels. Overall, these findings indicate that 21 has a unique capacity to increase GDF15 protein levels in human hepatic cells compared with metformin and BC1618. Full article

Understanding changes in urban internal structure and land surface temperature (LST) is essential. The local climate zone (LCZ) scheme has been extensively applied to characterize urban spatial structure, which has potential for urban climate research. We combined optical imagery and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data (Landsat-5 and PALSAR for 2008; Sentinel-2 and PALSAR-2 for 2020) to map the LCZs in Shanghai, China. The results showed that the areas of open high-rise and open mid-rise buildings significantly increased from 2008 to 2020. Then, we investigated the spatiotemporal variations in LST based on the LCZ data from 2008 to 2020 using the grid method. The mean daytime LST (obtained from Landsat-5 and Landsat-8) was higher in 2020 than in 2008 for each LCZ type in spring. The mean daytime LSTs of compact mid-rise, compact low-rise, large low-rise and heavy industry zones were higher than those of other LCZ types in spring and summer. The mean nighttime LST (obtained from ASTER) in the downtown area was higher than that in the suburbs in summer. Furthermore, the mean nighttime LST of the built types was also generally higher than that of the natural types in summer. A comparison of the mean daytime LSTs in 2008 and 2020 revealed that the expansion trend of the higher LST areas in spring and summer is consistent with the expansion areas of the mid-rise and high-rise built types. Full article

Virtual learning is a medium that can enhance students’ understanding of a specific topic. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for dental education to shift from traditional learning to blended learning as it began to utilize technology to help students study effectively. In this study, we collaborated with experts in the field of dentistry to reach a consensus about which topics are appropriate to include in the virtual learning module about the biomechanics of tooth movement. We convened a panel of five experts who had a minimum of two years of experience in teaching orthodontics and introduced them to the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), which is a well-established, organized, multistep, assisted group meeting technique for generating consensus. The following ten key topics were identified for inclusion in the module: physiology of tooth movement; tooth movement–definition, type, theory, indications; force systems; anchorage; fixed appliances; biomaterials related to tooth movement; removable appliances; factors affecting tooth movement; iatrogenic effect of tooth movement; and current advances and evidence regarding tooth movement. The modified NGT approach led to the development of a ranked thematic list of the topics related to the biomechanics of tooth movement that can be delivered to students via virtual learning. Full article

The role of dysbiosis in the development and progression of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs) remains largely unknown. Here, we aim to characterize and compare the oral microbiome of homogeneous leucoplakia (HL), proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL), oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and OSCC preceded by PVL (PVL-OSCC). Fifty oral biopsies from HL (n = 9), PVL (n = 12), OSCC (n = 10), PVL-OSCC (n = 8), and healthy (n = 11) donors were obtained. The sequence of the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was used to analyze the composition and diversity of bacterial populations. In the cancer patients, the number of observed amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) was lower and Fusobacteriota constituted more than 30% of the microbiome. PVL and PVL-OSCC patients had a higher abundance of Campilobacterota and lower Proteobacteria than any other group analyzed. A penalized regression was performed to determine which species were able to distinguish groups. HL is enriched in Streptococcus parasanguinis, Streptococcus salivarius, Fusobacterium periodonticum, Prevotella histicola, Porphyromonas pasteri, and Megasphaera micronuciformis; PVL is enriched in Prevotella salivae, Campylobacter concisus, Dialister pneumosintes, and Schaalia odontolytica; OSCC is enriched in Capnocytophaga leadbetteri, Capnocytophaga sputigena, Capnocytophaga gingivalis, Campylobacter showae, Metamycoplasma salivarium, and Prevotella nanceiensis; and PVL-OSCC is enriched in Lachnospiraceae bacterium, Selenomonas sputigena, and Prevotella shahii. There is differential dysbiosis in patients suffering from OPMDs and cancer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study comparing the oral microbiome alterations in these groups; thus, additional studies are needed. Full article