Search Results (1,942)

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport conducted a demonstration project targeting pilot areas to commercialize drone delivery services in urban areas and to present a standard model. In this study, flight data on drone delivery routes in Ulju and drone hovering in Yeosu were collected and analyzed for flight safety. Since there are no domestic or international regulations on the stability of drone flight, we were given the task of analyzing whether drone path flight should be maintained within a 10 m error range from the planned path line by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority and whether hovering works while satisfying the left and right radius errors and altitude errors within 3 m. Accordingly, the drone flight path data analyzed in Ulju met the criteria of up to 1.07%, and the hovering data analyzed in Yeosu met the criteria of less than 3% for the entire section data. Therefore, the drone flight stability evaluation analyzed in this paper is considered to have been passed. Based on the results of this study, is the data are expected to serve as a cornerstone for establishing guidelines for drone delivery flight data analysis regulations. Full article

This study aimed to evaluate the production of xylose reductase (XR), an enzyme responsible for converting xylose into xylitol, by Candida tropicalis ATCC 750 using hemicellulosic hydrolysate from cashew apple bagasse (CABHM) as a low-cost carbon source. The effects of temperature, aeration, and fluid dynamics on XR biosynthesis were also investigated. The highest XR production (1.53 U mL⁻¹) was achieved at 30 °C, with 8.3 g·L⁻¹ of xylitol produced by the yeast under microaerobic conditions, demonstrating that aeration and fluid dynamics are important factors in this process. Cellular metabolism and enzyme production decreased at temperatures above 35 °C. The maximum enzymatic activity was observed at pH 7.0 and 50 °C. XR is a heterodimeric protein with a molecular mass of approximately 30 kDa. These results indicate that CABHM is a promising substrate for XR production by C. tropicalis, contributing to the development of enzymatic bioprocesses for xylitol production from lignocellulosic biomass. This study also demonstrates the potential of agro-industrial residues as sustainable feedstocks in biorefineries, aligning with the principles of a circular bioeconomy. Full article

With the rise of the low-altitude urban traffic system, urban air mobility (UAM) has developed rapidly. As a critical component of the UAM system, the strategic layout of vertiports helps divert ground traffic pressure. To satisfy various demand patterns, different vertiport levels are needed, so we focus on the hierarchical vertiport location problem. Considering the capacity limitation, a median location model is established to minimize vertiport construction cost, passenger commuting cost, and penalty cost. For the nonlinear term in the objective function, the Big-M method is employed. Based on the reformulated model, we improve the branch-and-bound algorithm (LVBB) to solve it, where the Lagrange relaxation method is used to decompose the large-scale problem into parallel subproblems and compute the lower bound, and the variable neighborhood search algorithm is used to obtain the upper bound. Numerical experiments are performed in the 11 administrative districts of Nanjing, China. The results demonstrate that the proposed location scheme effectively balances vertiport construction cost and passenger commuting cost while satisfying capacity limitations. It also significantly reduces commuting time to improve passenger satisfaction. This scheme can offer strategic guidance for infrastructure planning in UAM. Full article

We present a graphical framework to represent entanglement in three-qubit states. The geometry associated with each entanglement class and type is analyzed, revealing distinct structural features. We explore the connection between this geometric perspective and the tangle, deriving bounds that depend on the entanglement class. Based on these insights, we conjecture a purely geometric expression for both the tangle and Cayley’s hyperdeterminant for non-generic states. As an application, we analyze the energy eigenstates of physical Hamiltonians, identifying the sufficient conditions for genuine tripartite entanglement to be robust under symmetry-breaking perturbations and level repulsion effects. Full article

Roasted coffee silverskin (RCSS) is a by-product of coffee production characterized by its content of phenolic compounds, both free and bound to macromolecules. In this study, RCSS was fermented to release these compounds and consequently increase its value as a functional food ingredient. Fermentation was carried out using yeast, acetic acid bacteria, and lactic acid bacteria, either as single strains or as a designed microbial consortium. The latter included Saccharomycodes ludwigii, Gluconobacter oxydans, and Levilactobacillus brevis, mimicking a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast commonly used in kombucha fermentation (SCOBY). This symbiotic microbial culture consortium demonstrated notable efficacy, significantly enhancing the total phenolic content in RCSS, with values reaching 14.15 mg GAE/g as determined by the Folin–Ciocalteu assay and 7.12 mg GAE/g according to the Fast Blue BB method. Antioxidant capacity improved by approximately 28% (ABTS) and 20% (DPPH). Moreover, the fermented RCSS supported the viability of probiotic strains (Saccharomyces boulardii SB01 and Levilactobacillus brevis ŁOCK 1152) under simulated intestinal conditions. These results suggest that RCSS, particularly after fermentation with a full symbiotic microbial culture consortium, has strong potential as a clean label, zero-waste functional food ingredient. Full article

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which includes ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), results from dysregulated immune responses that drive chronic intestinal inflammation. Neutrophils, as key effectors of the innate immune system, contribute to IBD through multiple mechanisms, including the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS), pro-inflammatory cytokines, and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). NETs are web-like structures composed of DNA, histones, and associated proteins including proteolytic enzymes and antimicrobial peptides. NET formation is increased in IBD and has a context-dependent role; under controlled conditions, NETs support antimicrobial defense and tissue repair, whereas excessive or dysregulated NETosis contributes to epithelial injury, barrier disruption, microbial imbalance, and thrombotic risk. This review examines the roles of neutrophils and NETs in IBD. We summarize recent single-cell and spatial-omics studies that reveal extensive neutrophil heterogeneity in the inflamed gut. We then address the dual role of neutrophils in promoting tissue damage—through cytokine release, immune cell recruitment, ROS production, and NET formation—and in supporting microbial clearance and mucosal healing. We also analyze the molecular mechanisms regulating NETosis, as well as the pathways involved in NET degradation and clearance. Focus is given to the ways in which NETs disrupt the epithelial barrier, remodel the extracellular matrix, contribute to thrombosis, and influence the gut microbiota. Finally, we discuss emerging therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring NET homeostasis—such as PAD4 inhibitors, NADPH oxidase and ROS pathway modulators, and DNase I—while emphasizing the need to preserve antimicrobial host defenses. Understanding neutrophil heterogeneity and NET-related functions may facilitate the development of new therapies and biomarkers for IBD, requiring improved detection tools and integrated multi-omics and clinical data. Full article

The use of aerial robots for inspection and maintenance in industrial settings demands high maneuverability, precise control, and reliable measurements. This study explores the development of a fully customized unmanned aerial manipulator (UAM), composed of a tilting drone and an articulated robotic arm, designed to perform non-destructive in-contact inspections of iron structures. The system is intended to operate in complex and potentially hazardous environments, where autonomous execution is supported by shared-control strategies that include human supervision. A parallel force–impedance control framework is implemented to enable smooth and repeatable contact between a sensor for ultrasonic testing (UT) and the inspected surface. During interaction, the arm applies a controlled push to create a vacuum seal, allowing accurate thickness measurements. The control strategy is validated through repeated trials in both indoor and outdoor scenarios, demonstrating consistency and robustness. The paper also addresses the mechanical and control integration of the complex robotic system, highlighting the challenges and solutions in achieving a responsive and reliable aerial platform. The combination of semi-autonomous control and human-in-the-loop operation significantly improves the effectiveness of inspection tasks in hard-to-reach environments, enhancing both human safety and task performance. Full article

Background/Objective: Fentanyl plays a pivotal role in the opioid epidemic, defined by four waves of overdose deaths. To analyse fentanyl research trends, examining its links to mental health, pharmaceutical development, healthcare, diseases, and pathophysiology within the broader social and health context of the time. Methods: To understand the evolution of scientific publications on fentanyl and its relationship to the opioid crisis, a search using Web of Science Core Collection and PubMed was conducted. A total of 53,670 documents were retrieved related to opioid scientific production, among which 1423 articles (3%) focused specifically on fentanyl. The 21,546 MeSH terms identified in these documents were analysed by publication year and specific fields: Psychiatry and Psychology, Chemicals and Drugs, Healthcare, Diseases, and Phenomena and Processes. R-statistical/FactoMineR libraries were used for the correspondence analysis. Results: In the first overdose death wave, research focused on improving therapies and reducing side effects. The second wave emphasised detoxification methods with naltrexone, methadone, and behavioural therapies. The third wave addressed psychological treatments and HIV-syringe-sharing prevention. The fourth wave prioritised less addictive analogues and understanding consumer profiles to combat the epidemic. Conclusions: Fentanyl research has evolved alongside real-world challenges, reinforcing the connection between patients’ needs, healthcare professionals’ roles, illicit users, policymakers, and the research community’s contributions to addressing both therapeutic use and its broader societal impact. These findings highlight the necessity for an interdisciplinary approach to scientific research integrating prevention, treatment, education, legal reform, and social support, emphasising the need for public health policies and collaborative research to mitigate its impact. Full article

The human PrimPol counteracts DNA replication stress by repriming DNA synthesis when fork progression is hindered by UV light or hydroxyurea treatment, or by encountering complex DNA structures, such as G-quadruplexes, R-loops, or interstrand crosslinks. The Mus musculus PrimPol (MmPrimPol) shares a high degree of amino acid similarity with its human ortholog; however, as shown here, MmPrimPol exhibits a more powerful primase activity compared to the human enzyme. Such a robust primase activity relies on an enhanced ability to bind the 5′ site nucleotide, and consequently to form initial dimers and further mature primers. Additionally, a shorter linker between the AEP core and the Zn finger domain (ZnFD) in the murine homolog likely promotes a constitutive closing of these domains into a primase-ready configuration. Consequently, a reinforced close configuration of the ZnFD would explain why MmPrimPol has a more robust primase, but a very limited DNA polymerization on an existing primer. Full article

Accurate prediction of drone motion within structured urban air corridors is essential for ensuring safe and efficient operations in Urban Air Mobility (UAM) systems. Although real-world Remote Identification (Remote ID) regulations require drones to broadcast critical flight information such as velocity, access to large-scale, high-quality broadcast data remains limited. To address this, this study leverages a Digital Twin (DT) framework to augment Remote ID spatio-temporal broadcasts, emulating the sensing environment of dense urban airspace. Using Remote ID data, we propose BiDGCNLLM, a hybrid prediction framework that integrates a Bidirectional Graph Convolutional Network (BiGCN) with Dynamic Edge Weighting and a reprogrammed Large Language Model (LLM, Qwen2.5–0.5B) to capture spatial dependencies and temporal patterns in drone speed trajectories. The model forecasts near-future speed variations in surrounding drones, supporting proactive conflict avoidance in constrained air corridors. Results from the AirSUMO co-simulation platform and a DT replica of the Cranfield University campus show that BiDGCNLLM outperforms state-of-the-art time series models in short-term velocity prediction. Compared to Transformer-LSTM, BiDGCNLLM marginally improves the $R^2$ by 11.59%. This study introduces the integration of LLMs into dynamic graph-based drone prediction. It shows the potential of Remote ID broadcasts to enable scalable, real-time airspace safety solutions in UAM. Full article

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is envisioned to revolutionize urban transportation by improving traffic efficiency and mitigating surface-level congestion. One of the fundamental challenges in implementing UAM systems lies in the optimal siting of vertiports, which requires a delicate balance among infrastructure construction costs, passenger access costs to their assigned vertiports, and the operational connectivity of the resulting vertiport network. This study develops an integrated mathematical model for vertiport location decision, aiming to minimize total system cost while ensuring UAM network connectivity among the selected vertiport locations. To efficiently solve the problem and improve solution quality, a hybrid genetic algorithm is developed by incorporating a Minimum Spanning Tree (MST)-based connectivity enforcement mechanism, a fundamental concept in graph theory that connects all nodes in a given network with minimal total link cost, enhanced by a greedy initialization strategy. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through numerical experiments conducted on both synthetic datasets and the real-world transportation network of New York City. The results show that the proposed hybrid methodology not only yields high-quality solutions but also significantly reduces computational time, enabling faster convergence. Overall, this study provides practical insights for UAM infrastructure planning by emphasizing demand-oriented vertiport siting and inter-vertiport connectivity, thereby contributing to both theoretical development and large-scale implementation in complex urban environments. Full article

Background: The gut microbiota is increasingly recognized as a key modulator in obesity management, influencing host energy balance, lipid metabolism, and inflammatory pathways. With obesity prevalence continuing to rise globally, dietary interventions that promote beneficial microbial shifts are essential for enhancing weight loss outcomes and long-term health. Objective: This study investigated the effects of the multicomponent Weight Loss Maintenance 3 Phases Program (WLM3P), which integrates caloric restriction, a high-protein low-carbohydrate diet, time-restricted eating (10h TRE), dietary supplementation (prebiotics and phytochemicals), and digital app-based support on gut microbiota composition compared to a standard low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) in adults with obesity. The analysis focused exclusively on the 6-month weight loss period corresponding to Phases 1 and 2 of the WLM3P intervention. Methods: In this sub-analysis of a randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04192357), 58 adults with obesity (BMI 30.0–39.9 kg/m²) were randomized to the WLM3P (n = 29) or LCD (n = 29) groups. Stool samples were collected at baseline and 6 months for 16S rRNA sequencing. Alpha and beta diversity were assessed, and genus-level differential abundance was determined using EdgeR and LEfSe. Associations between microbial taxa and clinical outcomes were evaluated using regression models. Results: After 6-month, the WLM3P group showed a significant increase in alpha diversity (p = 0.03) and a significant change in beta diversity (p < 0.01), while no significant changes were observed in the LCD group. Differential abundance analysis revealed specific microbial signatures in WLM3P participants, including increased levels of Faecalibacterium. Notably, higher Faecalibacterium abundance was associated with greater reductions in fat mass (kg, %) and visceral adiposity (cm²) in the WLM3P group compared to LCD (p < 0.01). Conclusions: These findings suggest a potential microbiota-mediated mechanism in weight loss, where Faecalibacterium may enhance fat reduction effectiveness in the context of the WLM3P intervention. Full article

Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a serious complication after joint arthroplasty, with polymicrobial PJIs representing a distinct subset associated with worse outcomes. This study aims to characterize the risk factors, microbiological profiles, and clinical outcomes of polymicrobial PJIs in a single tertiary care center. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 499 patients diagnosed with PJI between 2010 and 2023. Polymicrobial infection was defined by isolation of ≥2 distinct pathogens from intraoperative samples. Demographic, microbiological, and clinical data were analyzed. Treatment success was defined as infection eradication without recurrence or chronic suppressive therapy. Polymicrobial PJIs accounted for 18.2% of cases. Patients with polymicrobial infections had higher rates of obesity, insulin-dependent diabetes, and higher Charlson comorbidity scores. Coagulase-negative staphylococci and gram-negative bacilli were more frequently isolated in polymicrobial infections, while S. aureus predominated in monomicrobial cases. Treatment success rates were significantly lower in polymicrobial infections, both in acute (61.5% vs. 94.5%, p = 0.003) and chronic settings (51.3% vs. 75.3%, p = 0.02). Polymicrobial PJIs are associated with distinct microbiological patterns, increased comorbidity burden, and significantly worse clinical outcomes. Recognition of specific risk factors and pathogen profiles is essential to optimize management strategies for this complex condition. Full article

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is defined as recurrent inflammatory bowel disorders, the most common of which are Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (anti-TNFs), primarily adalimumab (ADA), infliximab (IFX), ustekinumab (UST), and vedolizumab (VLZ), are used to treat moderate-to-severe cases of IBD in patients who either do not tolerate or fail to respond to conventional therapies. However, about one-third of patients are primary non-responders to these treatments, and an additional 30% lose response over time. Several studies have investigated the role of genetic variability in explaining these differences in treatment response among patients. The aim of this study was to design an array of 60 single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) to validate the biomarkers described in the literature in a population of more than 400 IBD patients treated with biological drugs. Method: The primary focus of this study was the most recent reviews published in PubMed, with all relevant SNVs selected for the array design. Subsequently, studies presenting original data on the association between variants and the response to biological treatment were identified. Results: A total of 55.9% of SNVs have been studied in CD, 18.6% have been in UC, and 25.4% have been studied in both pathologies. A total of 44.1% of SNVs have been observed to influence the response to IFX, 16.9% influence the response to ADA, and 37.3% influence the response to both IFX and ADA; however, only one study (1.7%) reported an influence on the response to UST and none reported an influence on the response to VLZ. Conclusions: An array comprising 38 genes and 59 SNVs has been designed to be used to validate biomarkers associated with responses to biologic drug treatments in IBD. Full article

Anomaly detection methods play a crucial role in automated quality control within modern manufacturing systems. In this context, unsupervised methods are increasingly favored due to their independence from large-scale labeled datasets. However, existing methods present limited multi-scale feature extraction ability and may fail to effectively capture subtle anomalies. To address these challenges, we propose UAMS, a pyramid-structured normalization flow framework that leverages the symmetry in feature recombination to harmonize multi-scale interactions. The proposed framework integrates a Multi-Scale Attention Aggregation (MSAA) module for cross-scale dynamic fusion, as well as a Self-Supervised Predictive Convolutional Attention Block (SSPCAB) for spatial channel attention and masked prediction learning. Experiments on the MVTecAD dataset show that UAMS largely outperforms state-of-the-art unsupervised methods, in terms of detection and localization accuracy, while maintaining high inference efficiency. For example, when comparing UAMS against the baseline model on the carpet category, the AUROC is improved from 90.8% to 94.5%, and AUPRO is improved from 91.0% to 92.9%. These findings validate the potential of the proposed method for use in real industrial inspection scenarios. Full article