Search Results (164,062)

The mammalian target of rapamycin pathway, mTOR, is a crucial signaling pathway that regulates cell growth, proliferation, metabolism, and survival. Due to its dysregulation it is involved in several ailments such as cancer or age-related diseases. The discovery of mTOR and the understanding of its biological functions were greatly facilitated by the use of rapamycin, an antibiotic of natural origin, which allosterically inhibits mTORC1, effectively blocking its function. In this entirely computational study, we investigated mTOR’s interaction with seven ligands: two clinically established inhibitors (everolimus and rapamycin) and five lignin-derived oligomers, a renewable natural polyphenol recently used for the drug delivery of everolimus. The seven complexes were analyzed through all-atom molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent using a high-performance computing platform. Trajectory analyses revealed stable interactions between mTOR and all ligands, with lignin-derived compounds showing comparable or enhanced binding stability relative to reference drugs. To evaluate the stability of the molecular complex and the behavior of the ligand over time, we analyzed key parameters including root mean square deviation, root mean square fluctuation, number of hydrogen bonds, binding free energy, and conformational dynamics assessed through principal component analysis. Our results suggest that lignin fragments are a promising, sustainable scaffold for developing novel mTOR inhibitors. Full article

This study presents a combined experimental–numerical methodology to calibrate the mechanical behavior of an advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) with transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) effects, incorporating both initial plastic anisotropy and ductile damage. The investigated TRIP 780 grade, widely used in the automotive industry for its exceptional strength–ductility balance, exhibits a complex deformation response that demands accurate constitutive modeling for reliable sheet metal forming simulations. The methodology minimizes the number of required specimen geometries without compromising accuracy. Three flat-sheet specimens were employed: standard uniaxial tension (UT) and two double-notched designs reproducing intermediate (ID) and plane strain (PS) modes. Experiments combined digital image correlation with finite element analysis. Hill’s 48 quadratic yield criterion captured the initial anisotropy of the TRIP 780 sheet, while the parameters of a phenomenological ductile damage model were calibrated from the experimental data. The TRIP effect under UT was quantified by X-ray diffraction, showing a decrease in retained austenite from 9.9% (as-received) to 3.2% at 21% equivalent plastic strain. Fractography revealed damage initiation dominated by void nucleation at phase boundaries. The proposed approach yielded stress–strain predictions with R² values exceeding 0.99. This simplified approach offers a cost-effective and experimentally feasible framework for constitutive modeling of AHSS grades, enabling practical applications in advanced sheet forming simulations. Full article

In recent years, the application of deep learning technology in the field of food engineering has developed rapidly. As an essential food raw material and processing target, the number of kernels per maize plant is a critical indicator for assessing crop growth and predicting yield. To address the challenges of frequent target ID switching, high falling speed, and the limited accuracy of traditional methods in practical production scenarios for maize kernel falling count, this study designs and implements a real-time kernel falling counting system based on a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The system captures dynamic video streams of kernel falling using a high-speed camera and innovatively integrates the YOLOv8 object detection framework with the ByteTrack multi-object tracking algorithm to establish an efficient and accurate kernel trajectory tracking and counting model. Experimental results demonstrate that the system achieves a tracking and counting accuracy of up to 99% under complex falling conditions, effectively overcoming counting errors caused by high-speed motion and object occlusion, and significantly enhancing robustness. This system combines high intelligence with precision, providing reliable technical support for automated quality monitoring and yield estimation in food processing production lines, and holds substantial application value and prospects for widespread adoption. Full article

Plate heat exchangers are used in heat substations for domestic hot water preparation and building heating in municipal central heating systems. Water from the municipal water supply is heated by hot water from a district heating network. This paper presents a numerical method for simultaneously determining heat transfer correlations on the cold and hot water sides based on flow-thermal measurements of the plate heat exchanger. The unknown parameters in the functions approximating the Nusselt numbers, which depend on the Reynolds and Prandtl numbers, are determined using the least-squares method, so the sum of the squares of the differences in the calculated and measured temperatures at the heat exchanger outlet reaches a minimum. One or two correlations were sought for a plate heat exchanger, and the total number of parameters sought is between three and six. The limits of the 95% confidence intervals for all estimated parameters were also determined. Correlations for Nusselt numbers determined experimentally for a clean plate heat exchanger can be used in the online monitoring of the degree of fouling of plate heat exchangers installed in the substations of a large urban district heating network. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study examined how reproductive factors—such as oral contraceptive (OC) use, age at menarche, number of pregnancies, and age at first delivery—are related to the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Korean women aged 30–69, based on their menopausal status. Methods: Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010–2023 were analyzed, including 31,178 women with complete data. Survey-weighted logistic regression and restricted cubic spline analyses were conducted, adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and reproductive covariates. Results: OC use was associated with higher MetS risk in both pre-menopausal (adjusted OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.13–1.72) and post-menopausal women (adjusted OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.03–1.29). This association was observed primarily in relation to elevated blood pressure in both groups and high triglycerides in post-menopausal women. Other reproductive factors, including age at menarche, number of pregnancies, and age at first delivery, showed no significant associations with MetS risk. Conclusions: OC use was associated with higher MetS risk in this cross-sectional study of Korean women. These observational findings suggest a potential relationship that warrants further investigation through longitudinal studies to establish temporal relationships and explore underlying mechanisms. Full article

Background: Football has a high injury risk due to speed and contact, and injury patterns may vary by playing position. Positional roles affect physical and physiological demands and may influence injury characteristics. Although this has been examined in professionals, data from amateur players are scarce. This study examined the incidence, type, and severity of injuries among amateur footballers in Greece with respect to playing position. Methods: A retrospective epidemiological study analyzed musculoskeletal injuries in 222 amateur male football players during the 2022–2023 season. Data were collected via a CHERRIES-compliant online survey (SurveyMonkey^®) from May to July 2023. Eligible participants were active male athletes aged ≥18 years competing in amateur Greek leagues. Injuries were defined according to the FIFA–UEFA consensus and expressed as incidence rates per 1000 h of exposure. Statistical analyses used SPSS v25 with significance at p < 0.05. Results: Among players (mean age: 25.3 ± 5.7 years), injury prevalence ranged from 65.1% (DFs) to 79.3% (GKs) with no significant association between playing position and injury risk (p = 0.379). Injury incidence ranged from 4.5 to 5.7 per 1000 h, highest among MFs. Incidence rates ranged between 1.33 and 2.74 injuries/1000 h in matches versus 1.33 to 2.09/1000 h in training, with DFs, FWs, and MFs more prone to match injuries, whereas GKs had slightly higher training rates; however, the number of injuries did not significantly differ between games and training across positions (χ² = 5.21, p = 0.517). Muscle strains and lower-limb injuries predominated. Injury severity differed significantly by position (p = 0.001), but injury type and mechanism did not. Conclusions: GKs and MFs showed the highest prevalence and incidence, but position was not linked to overall risk. Severity differences highlight the need for position-specific prevention strategies. Full article

African swine fever virus (ASFV) has inflicted severe devastation on the global pig industry, yet a globally approved vaccine remains unavailable. Given that cellular immunity is critical for ASFV prevention, the development of vaccines based on T-cell epitopes emerges as a promising strategy to control this virus. This review synthesizes the recent advancements and challenges in the research on ASFV T-cell epitopes, while offering insights into the potential impact of novel T-cell epitope-based vaccines. Notably, only a limited number of ASFV T-cell epitopes have been experimentally identified to date, covering fewer than 20 ASFV proteins. This bottleneck is attributed to challenges such as high swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) polymorphism, suboptimal accuracy of predicting tools, and complex experimental validation procedures. Although current studies on ASFV-specific T-cell immune responses and epitope identification are insufficient to meet vaccine development needs, continuous progress in T-cell immunology research in recent years has brought this goal closer to reality. Full article

Accurate re-identification of individual cows is crucial for effective herd management in precision cattle farming. However, this task is challenging in real-world scenarios due to variability in cow appearances and environmental conditions as well as the limited number of reference images available for re-identification. This paper addresses the problem of cow re-identification under open-set and few-shot conditions, where the system must recognize previously unseen individuals with limited annotated data. Metric learning was used to train a neural network for re-identification and its performance was evaluated using K-nearest neighbors (KNN). The neural network is applied to two datasets: OpenSetCows2020 and MultiCamCows2024 captured on different farms. Four testing variants are proposed that resemble different real-life situations: initial deployment, barn change, addition of new cows and cross-farm generalization. The results show that the applied model achieves >90% accuracy with 10 reference images on the same-farm dataset, while cross-farm performance either requires 60 or more reference images to reach similar levels or remains below 63% across metrics. The proposed framework directly addresses the challenges in real-world cattle farming, and allows for a more in-depth analysis of the characteristics and applicability of re-identification methods from a practical perspective than existing evaluation metrics. Full article

This paper proposes a new local thresholding method to further explore the relationship between gradients and image patterns. In most studies, the image gradient histogram is simply divided into K bins that have the same intervals in angular space. This kind of empirical approaches may not fully capture the correlation information between pixels. In this paper, a variance-based idea is applied to the gradient orientation histogram. It clusters pixels into subsets with different angular intervals. Analyzing these subsets with similar common patterns respectively will help to assist in achieving the optimal thresholds for image segmentation. For the result assessments, the proposed algorithm is compared with other 1-D and 2-D histogram-based thresholding methods, as well as hybrid local–global thresholding methods. It is shown that the proposed algorithm can effectively recognize the common features of the images that belong to the same category, and maintain the stable performances when the number of thresholds increases. Furthermore, the processing time of the present algorithm is competitive with those of other algorithms, which shows the potential application in real-time scenes. Full article

Situated within the Embodied Learning in Early Mathematics and Science project in Australia, this paper explores the relationships between ‘embodied activities’ used by a preschool teacher and the children’s development of number sense over six months. Using an instrumental case study approach, qualitative data from multiple sources including self-reported data from the teacher, activity descriptions, two task-based interviews with nine children, and number-knowledge data extracted from a mathematics achievement assessment (pretest and post-test) was analysed. Pattern searching techniques across text and video revealed connections between the embodied activities implemented by the teacher and the children’s development of subitizing and counting skills, mathematical drawing, and number magnitude knowledge. We propose that attending to specific aspects of children’s physical development, particularly finger dexterity and drawing skills, in experiences that focus on representing number concepts, can support their development of number sense. Full article

With the increasing penetration of renewable energy, the stochastic and intermittent nature of its generation increases operational uncertainty and vulnerability, posing significant challenges for grid stability. However, traditional algorithms typically identify critical nodes by focusing solely on the network topology or power flow, or by combining the two, which leads to the inaccurate and incomplete identification of essential nodes. To address this, we propose the Three-Dimensional Value-Based Gravity Model (3V-GM), which integrates structural and electrical–physical attributes across three layers. In the plane layer, we combine each node’s global topological position with its real-time supply–demand voltage state. In the line layer, we introduce an electrical coupling distance to quantify the strength of electromagnetic interactions between nodes. In the point layer, we apply eigenvector centrality to detect latent hub nodes whose influence is not immediately apparent. The performance of our proposed method was evaluated by examining the change in the load loss rate as nodes were sequentially removed. To assess the effectiveness of the 3V-GM approach, simulations were conducted on the IEEE 39 system, as well as six other benchmark networks. The simulations were performed using Python scripts, with operational parameters such as bus voltages, active and reactive power flows, and branch impedances obtained from standard test cases provided by MATPOWER v7.1. The results consistently show that removing the same number of nodes identified by 3V-GM leads to a greater load loss compared to the six baseline methods. This demonstrates the superior accuracy and stability of our approach. Additionally, an ablation experiment, which decomposed and recombined the three layers, further highlights the unique contribution of each component to the overall performance. Full article

Established hairpin stators for electric traction motors are made up of a large number of so-called hairpins. To produce these stators, the individual hairpins must first be pre-assembled into an auxiliary device in order to achieve the desired winding scheme. The resulting hairpin basket must then be picked up and transported to the lamination stack. Automated solutions for both processes are characterized by a high degree of complexity and low flexibility. Manual assembly, however, is prone to errors. The new approach presented in this paper is therefore based on the collaborative assembly of the hairpins and a flexible hairpin basket gripper. A cobot hands the hairpins in the correct sequence to the operator. The correct positioning of the hairpins in the auxiliary device is ensured by the use of a monitor located under it. The creation of the correct assembly sequence is partly automated by a collision detection program. In addition, a new and flexible hairpin basket gripping concept is presented. Tests show that the cycle times of both new processes are slow due to hardware limitations. This restricts their use to specific applications, such as complex winding patterns or very small quantities. Full article

Background: Biochemical recurrence (BCR) after definitive radiotherapy (RT) in localized prostate cancer (PC) is a clinically relevant event that impacts long-term management and prognosis. However, the prognostic value of certain biopsy-derived pathological parameters remains underexplored in RT-treated cohorts. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 444 patients with localized PC treated with external beam radiotherapy (with or without androgen deprivation therapy) between 2013 and 2019. Clinical, radiological, and detailed histopathological data, including Gleason score, perineural invasion, and the number and proportion of positive biopsy cores—were collected. Logistic regression models were used to identify predictors of BCR. Results: After a median follow-up of 72 months, 11.7% of patients developed BCR. In multivariable analysis, higher PSA at diagnosis (p = 0.05), higher Gleason score (ISUP ≥ 4; p = 0.036), and greater tumor burden in biopsy cores—quantified as both the number and proportion of positive cores per lobe and overall (p < 0.05)—were independently associated with BCR. Perineural invasion showed a univariable association (p = 0.036), though it did not remain significant after adjustment. Overall, 19.2% (10/52) of recurrences were diagnosed beyond five years post-treatment, underscoring the need for prolonged follow-up. Conclusions: PSA at diagnosis, the extent of tumor involvement in diagnostic biopsies, and ISUP grade group ≥ 4 (Gleason score ≥ 8) were identified as independent predictors of biochemical recurrence after RT in localized prostate cancer. Lower Gleason categories and perineural invasion showed only a trend toward significance in the multivariable analysis, suggesting that their predictive effect may be attenuated by other covariates. Full article

Follicular development is recognized as a highly complex biological process regulated by multiple factors. Thyroid hormone (TH) is considered one of the key regulators of female reproduction, and its dysregulation can significantly impair follicular development. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the main active component of green tea, possesses strong antioxidant properties. Numerous studies have demonstrated that EGCG positively influences reproductive function in both humans and animals. However, whether EGCG directly affects follicular development under conditions of TH dysregulation remains poorly understood. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of hyperthyroidism on ovarian development, examine whether EGCG could mitigate the adverse effects of TH dysregulation, and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. In the T₄-induced hyperthyroidism rat model, ovarian tissues were serially sectioned for Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) and Masson’s trichrome staining to assess morphological changes, and follicle numbers were quantified at each developmental stage. Granulosa cell (GC) viability, proliferation, and apoptosis induced by T₃ were evaluated using CCK8, EdU, and TUNEL assays, respectively. Antioxidant enzyme activity was measured, and the expression levels of related proteins were analyzed via Western blotting. Results showed that hyperthyroidism altered ovarian structure, significantly increasing the number of atretic follicles. Levels of antioxidant enzymes, including Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Glutathione Peroxidase (GSH-PX), and Catalase (CAT), were markedly decreased, whereas the lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA) was significantly elevated. Furthermore, all ERS-related proteins, phosphorylated Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 2 Alpha (p-eIF2α), Activating Transcription Factor 4 (ATF4), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), and Caspase-3, were upregulated, accompanied by decreased glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) expression. Treatment with EGCG alleviated these detrimental effects of hyperthyroidism. At the cellular level, high concentrations of T₃ reduced GC viability and proliferation while increasing apoptosis. Reactive oxygen species levels were elevated, and GRP78 expression was decreased. Notably, all T₃-induced effects were reversed by EGCG treatment. In summary, this study demonstrates that hyperthyroidism induces oxidative stress in GCs, which triggers endoplasmic reticulum stress via the eIF2α/ATF4 pathway and leads to apoptosis. EGCG mitigates apoptosis by enhancing antioxidant capacity, thereby preserving ovarian function. These findings establish EGCG as a protective agent for maintaining ovarian health and fertility. Full article

Parks serve as vital components of green infrastructure within urban ecosystems, providing recreational opportunities that not only enhance human well-being but also support bird diversity. However, the shared use of park spaces by both humans and birds inevitably leads to spatial overlap and natural competition between the two groups. Consequently, addressing the diverse needs of both groups and balancing the ecosystem services provided to each has become an urgent and critical issue. In this study, we conducted bird and social surveys in an urban park and employed the SolVES and MaxEnt models to investigate the spatial patterns of cultural ecosystem services (CES), supporting ecosystem services (SES), and bird plumage color CES in the park. We then analyzed the trade-offs and synergies between different ecosystem service relationship pairs, as well as the factors influencing them, using bivariate spatial autocorrelation and geographical detectors analyses. Our results indicated a synergistic relationship between the recreational value of park CES and both park SES and bird plumage color CES. High-coverage vegetation areas along main roads promoted synergy, benefiting visitors’ appreciation of cultural services, bird roosting, and the supply of plumage color CES. Meanwhile, trade-offs were observed between the aesthetic value of park CES, park SES, and bird plumage color CES, primarily in fitness plazas where noise levels exceeded 70 dB. In contrast, visitors reacted more strongly to disturbances than birds. Furthermore, the colonization of colorful insectivorous birds enhanced the visual aesthetic value while simultaneously increasing the number of bird-feeding guilds and strengthening ecosystem stability. Our study suggests that planting tall trees, especially along park boundaries, expanding the perimeter green separation zone, and incorporating micro-water landscapes will help improve both avian CES and provide a more pleasant environment for visitors in parks. Full article