Search Results (3,522)

Background/Objectives: Hypericum perforatum L. (H. perforatum), commonly known as St. John’s wort, has been widely used in clinical practice to treat mental disorders. Previous studies and clinical applications have primarily focused on its alcohol-soluble ingredients. Our research was designed to investigate the physicochemical properties, antidepressant-like effects, and anti-post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-like effects of the alcohol-insoluble polysaccharide-rich ingredients from H. perforatum. Meanwhile, the underlying mechanisms were elucidated. Methods: The physicochemical properties of two polysaccharide-rich ingredients, designated as HPP1 and HPP2, were characterized using colorimetric assay, capillary electrophoresis, high-performance gel permeation chromatography, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Behavioral despair tests were conducted to rapidly assess and compare their antidepressant-like effects in mice. Subsequently, behavioral despair mice and foot-shock mice were established to thoroughly explore the impact of HPP2 on depression-like and PTSD-like symptoms. The effects of HPP2 on cerebral pathological changes, neurotrophic factors, and gut microbiota in foot-shock mice were detected through hematoxylin & eosin staining, immunofluorescence staining, and 16S rDNA (V3 + V4 regions) gene sequencing. Results: HPP1 and HPP2 are predominantly composed of arabinose, glucose, galactose, mannose, and galacturonic acid. The molecular weight distribution of HPP1 ranges from 1133 to 67,278 Da, whereas that of HPP2 extends from 1493 to 38,407 Da. Acute pre-treatment with HPP1 or HPP2 (200 mg/kg, i.g.) could reduce mice’s immobility in behavioral despair tests, with HPP2 exhibiting superior efficacy. Additionally, both acute and sub-chronic pre-treatment with HPP2 (50, 200, and 800 mg/kg, i.g.) effectively alleviated depression-like symptoms in behavioral despair mice. Prolonged pre-treatment with HPP2 (200 mg/kg, i.g.) also mitigated the slow increase in body weight and behavioral abnormalities in foot-shock mice. Furthermore, HPP2 (200 mg/kg) successfully restored hippocampal histomorphological abnormalities, neurotrophic disturbance, and dysregulation of the gut microbiota in foot-shock mice. Conclusions: HPP2 exerts noteworthy antidepressant-like and anti-PTSD-like impact in mouse models via multiple targets, indicating a potential therapeutic candidate in depression and PTSD therapy. Full article

Background: Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an acute or subacute contagious trans-boundary viral disease causing high morbidity and mortality in domestic and wild small ruminants. The national UAE-PPR control and eradication plan follows the PPR Global Control and Eradication Strategy (PPR GCES) and relies on the annual mass vaccination of small ruminants to eradicate the disease from the country by 2030. Despite the immunization effort against PPR, the vaccination coverage reached 65% at maximum, which necessitates conducting a post-vaccination evaluation (PVE) study at the national level. Methods: Using multistage random sampling to assess the PPR vaccine and vaccination effectiveness, protocol (2) of the PPR GCES, using two serosurveys; serosurvey (1) (pre-vaccination) at day 0 before vaccination, to assess the primary PPR serological investigation, and serosurvey (2) at (30–90) days post-PPR vaccination, to evaluate the immune response, were carried out from September to December 2024 across the seven Emirates of the UAE. The nucleoprotein-based competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA) was used to detect PPR antibodies in a total of 1592 and 1589 sera samples collected, respectively, before and after vaccination from different (n = 163) sheep and goats holdings (epi-unit) distributed in the different Emirates of the UAE. Results: In serosurvey (1). prior to vaccination, out of the total 1592 samples tested (839 goats and 753 sheep), 833 animals (52.32%) were found to be seropositive for PPR antibodies. In contrast, in serosurvey (2), after vaccination, 1490 (93.77%) animals were found to be seropositive out of the total 1589 small ruminants (825 goats and 764 sheep) tested by c-ELISA. A statistically significant increase (41.45%) in the overall seroprevalence from (52.32%) pre-vaccination to (93.77%) post-vaccination was observed. Post-vaccination, 93.87% (n = 153) of the vaccinated epi-units achieved more than 70% seroprevalence compared to 43.56% (n = 71) before vaccination. Prediction analysis showed that all the seven UAE Emirates require 1.2 years maximum to reach 100% immune-protection levels. Conclusions: An efficient PPR vaccine was used to immunize small ruminants in the UAE. Higher (89.47–100%) post-vaccination herd immunity than the threshold recommended by the PPR GCES (>80% immunity) was attained, which can efficiently break the spread of PPRV within the UAE. To enhance the eradication of PPR I the UAE, conducting mass vaccination campaigns targeting over the (95%) immunization coverage of eligible animals for the next three years is recommended to attain the requested sustained (>80%) immunity at the animals holding level. Full article

Hurricane Maria crossed Puerto Rico with winds as high as 250 km/h, resulting in widespread damages and loss of weather station data, thus limiting direct weather measurements of wind variability. Here, we identified more than 155 million trees to estimate the distribution of wind speed over 9000 km² of land from island-wide LiDAR point clouds collected before and after the hurricane. The point clouds were classified and rasterized into the canopy height model to perform individual tree identification and perform change detection analysis. Individual trees’ stem diameter at breast height were estimated using a function between delineated crown and extracted canopy height, validated using the records from Puerto Rico’s Forest Inventory 2003. The results indicate that approximately 35.7% of trees broke at the stem (below the canopy center) and 28.5% above the canopy center. Furthermore, we back-calculated the critical wind speed, or the minimum speed to cause breakage, at individual tree level this was performed by applying a mechanical model using the estimated diameter at breast height, the extrapolated breakage height, and pre-Hurricane Maria canopy height. Individual trees were then aggregated at 115 km² cells to summarize the critical wind speed distribution of each cell, based on the percentage of stem breakage. A vertical wind profile analysis was then applied to derive the hurricane wind distribution using the mean hourly wind speed 10 m above the canopy center. The estimated wind speed ranges from 250 km/h in the southeast at the landfall to 100 km/h in the southwest parts of the islands. Comparison of the modeled wind speed with the wind gust readings at the few remaining NOAA stations support the use of tree breakages to model the distribution of hurricane wind speed when ground readings are sparse. Full article

Objective: This study explores the prevalence of violence and forced displacement as indicators of inequity among Bogotá’s elderly population, with a particular focus on how these factors affect their health and access to healthcare services. Methods: This is a subsidiary analysis of the SABE-Bogotá survey. The design was a probabilistic cluster sample of 2000 people aged 60 and over. The study was carried out by the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana’s Institute on Aging and cosponsored by Colciencias. The variables of interest were displacement and experiences of violence, assessed through self-reporting. A descriptive analysis of all variables was performed, calculating simple frequency distributions. Subsequently, dependency and association analyses were performed using Chi-square, T-tests, and multivariate logistic regressions, depending on each case. Results: 43.32% of the subjects were victims of some type of violence in the last year, among which offensive language was one of the most frequent. Individuals with severe depression (OR 2.10 [1.21–3.65]) and those who had been victims of displacement (OR 2.55, CI 95% [1.65–3.95]) had the highest risk of violence. The results reveal a direct correlation between these experiences and pre-existing health conditions. For instance, severe depression and a history of displacement were associated with a higher risk of experiencing violence, while the risk of displacement was higher among individuals with diabetes, severe depression, and, crucially, those who lacked access to health insurance. Conclusion: A high percentage of the elderly population in the city of Bogotá has been victims of different types of violence, including ones related to armed conflict and forced displacement, which is a particular and exclusive form of violence suffered by this group of people. These findings suggest that violence and displacement are social determinants of health that exacerbate inequities, underscoring the need for more inclusive health policies and improved access to medical care for this vulnerable population. Full article

Swarm-based UAV cooperative ground target detection faces critical challenges including sensitivity to small targets, susceptibility to occlusion, and data heterogeneity across distributed platforms. To address these issues, we propose FedGTD-UAVs—a privacy-preserving federated transfer learning (FTL) framework optimized for real-time swarm perception tasks. Our solution integrates three key innovations: (1) an FTL paradigm employing centralized pre-training on public datasets followed by federated fine-tuning of sparse parameter subsets—under severe non-Independent and Identically Distributed (non-IID) data distributions, this paradigm ensures data privacy while maintaining over 98% performance; (2) an Space-to-Depth Convolution (SPD-Conv) backbone that replaces lossy downsampling with lossless space-to-depth operations, preserving fine-grained spatial features critical for small targets; (3) a lightweight Global Context Network (GCNet) module leverages contextual reasoning to effectively capture long-range dependencies, thereby enhancing robustness against occluded objects while maintaining real-time inference at 217 FPS. Extensive validation on VisDrone2019 and CARPK benchmarks demonstrates state-of-the-art performance: 44.2% mAP@0.5 (surpassing YOLOv8s by 12.1%) with 3.2× superior accuracy-efficiency trade-off. Compared to traditional centralized learning methods that rely on global data sharing and pose privacy risks, as well as the significant performance degradation of standard federated learning under non-IID data, this framework successfully resolves the core conflict between data privacy protection and detection performance maintenance, providing a secure and efficient solution for real-world deployment in complex dynamic environments. Full article

Coastal boulder deposits (CBDs) are important geomorphic indicators of extreme wave activity, yet integrated morphometric and hydrodynamic analyses remain limited along the Moroccan Atlantic coast. This study characterizes the morphology, spatial distribution, and transport thresholds of supratidal boulders at Oued Cherrat and Mansouria, and quantifies the wave energy required for their mobilization. Between 2021 and 2025, 85 boulders were surveyed, supported by lithological analyses, GPS mapping, and pre-/post-storm photographic documentation. At Oued Cherrat, boulders ranged from 0.01 to 3.56 m³ (≤7.84 t), with solitary blocks located 30–94 m inland and larger imbricated clasts up to 150.5 m. At Mansouria, dimensions reached 22 × 20 × 3.5 m (>2032 t), positioned 5–140 m from the shoreline. Storms in January and March 2025 displaced boulders up to 4.5 m at Oued Cherrat (e.g., 6.39 t) and up to 3 m at Mansouria (e.g., 21.42 t), with new blocks deposited and megaboulders showing slight in situ rotations. Hydrodynamic modelling estimated sliding thresholds of 1.1–4.0 m/s at Oued Cherrat and 2.7–11.0 m/s at Mansouria, while rolling thresholds reached 18.23 m/s. These values confirm the dependence of transport on boulder mass, imbrications, and topography. The findings demonstrate that extreme storms can rapidly reorganize multi-tonne CBDs, while the largest megaboulders require rare, exceptionally high-energy events. Full article

Limestone in Japan exhibits distinct distribution patterns and associated lithologies compared to limestone found in most other parts of the world. These differences reflect contrasting depositional settings and formation processes. While the majority of the world’s limestones originate from reefs and their detritus deposited on continental shelves adjacent to continents, most limestones in Japan are derived from atoll reefs formed on oceanic island basalts. The remainder developed as reefs and associated detritus along the margins of island arcs underlain by continental crust. In this study, we refer to the former as Accreted Oceanic Reef (AOR) Limestones and the latter as Autochthonous Arc-Shelf (AAS) Limestones. These two types not only differ in origin and depositional environment, but also in the development of karst landforms, including cave systems. AOR Limestones, typified by the Akiyoshi Limestone of Akiyoshidai and the Shikoku Karst, partly distributed in Seiyo (Shikoku), and Pre-Cenozoic AAS Limestones such as Torinosu Limestone of Seiyo (Shikoku) exhibit complex three-dimensional structures that contrast with various caves common worldwide. In contrast, Cenozoic AAS Limestones are exemplified by the Pleistocene Ryukyu Limestone of Okinoerabu Island, where caves, though relatively small, develop parallel to bedding planes. While differing in scale from many caves worldwide, their fundamental structures are comparable. These contrasting characteristics provide new insights into the geological and geomorphological diversity of limestone and karst landforms in Japan. Full article

Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C), a non-enzymatically glycated form of adult hemoglobin (HbA0), is a widely used biomarker for diabetes. Its concentration is strongly correlated with the long-term glycemic state and the risk of diabetes development. However, beyond its diagnostic role, its physiological functions remain poorly understood. To fill this gap, we investigated the intracellular distribution of HbA1C and its potential impact on red blood cell (RBC) functions. Specifically, the differences in cytosolic and membrane pools of HbA1C in RBCs from individuals with prediabetes, overt type 2 diabetes (T2D), and healthy controls were explored. Our cross-sectional findings confirmed the intracellular heterogeneity of HbA1C and revealed a strong correlation between fluctuations in HbA1C and those of other hemoglobin isoforms, specifically HbA2 and HbA0. This correlation was particularly evident in the context of diabetes or acute exposure to Ca²⁺-depleted environments. We also observed that short-term hyperglycemia does not significantly alter HbA1C intracellular localization. Furthermore, we found that the intracellular distribution of HbA1C is correlated with several physiological properties of RBCs, with these links varying according to the specific pathological abnormalities associated with pre- and overt diabetes. Further research is required to fully understand the mechanisms and implications of these observations. Full article

Reinforced composite prestressed concrete hollow square (RCPHS) piles, installed through pre-drilling, grouting, and static jacking, integrate the large lateral contact area of cement–soil casings with the high strength and stiffness of prestressed concrete cores. This study combines full-scale vertical static load tests and finite-element (FE) simulations to explore the interaction among the core pile, plain-concrete casing, and surrounding soil. Results show that, at 3600 kN, RCPHS piles exhibit 76% less pile-head settlement compared to PHS piles, and a 36.5% reduction in pile-material expenditure is achieved using the RCPHS scheme. At the same settlement of 23 mm, RCPHS piles carry 87% more load than PHS piles. A 3D FE model developed in ABAQUS reveals that the core pile carries approximately 94% of the applied load. When the load exceeds 4180 kN, the axial force in the casing sharply increases at depths of 7–10 m. The simulated P–s curves align well with field measurements, confirming model accuracy. The superior performance of RCPHS piles is attributed to the graded elastic modulus and coordinated stress distribution of the core–casing–soil system, which enhances interface friction and overall load capacity. These findings provide a foundation for the design optimization of RCPHS piles in dense sandy foundations. Full article

In this study, beans aquafaba was used as the emulsifying agent for oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions with sunflower oil concentrations of 30% and 60%. The primary approach to stabilizing such emulsions is by increasing their viscosity through the incorporation of selected polysaccharides. For this purpose, xanthan gum or pregelatinized corn starch were added as stabilizers. The effects of oil content and different stabilizers on the microstructure and rheological properties were evaluated using laser diffraction and rotational viscometry. A pre-optimized seed-to-water ratio of 1:1.5 yielded beans aquafaba with a protein concentration of 0.5%. Further evaporation was used to increase the protein content to 0.8%. The aquafaba-based emulsion samples exhibited a bimodal particle size distribution. An increase in both oil and xanthan gum content had minimal impact on the mean volume diameter of emulsion particles, whereas the addition of pregelatinized corn starch significantly increased this value. All emulsions exhibited pseudoplastic flow behavior. The flow curves were approximated using the power-law and Herschel–Bulkley models. The calculated dynamic yield shear stresses consistently increased with increasing content of both oil and stabilizer in the range from 0.3 to 5.0 Pa. It is worth noting that in emulsions with an oil content of 30%, the addition of xanthan gum had a significant impact on this indicator, while in emulsions with an oil content of 60%, the addition of pregelatinized corn starch had a greater impact. Consequently, higher concentrations of the selected polysaccharides led to the formation of more viscous systems exhibiting enhanced stability. The developed food emulsions based on beans aquafaba are a promising technology in the development of vegetarian products. Full article

Serious games in nursing education provide students with unique opportunities to increase knowledge and enhance decision-making and problem-solving skills. Hence, serious games from simple quizzes that test students’ knowledge to Virtual Reality simulations that gauge students’ ability skills have been developed. This evidence-based review examines the latest initiatives in serious games for nursing curriculum focusing on the design and their technological features to highlight the need of pre-selecting the appropriate elements when conceptualizing a nursing serious game. Using search algorithms in Scopus and PubMed, 1969 articles published between 2019 and 2023 were screened, resulting in 81 studies and 69 unique nursing serious games involving over 7000 nursing students. Geographical distribution of serious games, the games’ type, teaching subject, nursing courses incorporating the games, technologies embarked, and different gaming platforms/engines utilized for their development are reported. Furthermore, common gamification elements (e.g., score, avatars, and quests) and key-design features (e.g., player mode, player–game interaction, feedback provision, and failure option) are described. By reporting on the latest technological advancements, a useful guide is formed, enabling both programmers and educators to easily grasp the newest trends on serious game design and use the produced knowledge to further enhance the nursing curriculum. Full article

Accurate assessment of coalbed methane (CBM) content is essential for characterizing subsurface reservoir distribution, guiding well placement, and estimating reserves. Current methods for determining coal seam gas content mainly rely on direct laboratory measurements of core samples or indirect interpretations derived from well log data. However, conventional coring is costly, while log-based approaches often depend on linear empirical formulas and are restricted to near-wellbore regions. In practice, the relationships between elastic properties and gas content are highly complex and nonlinear, leading conventional linear models to produce substantial prediction errors and inadequate performance. This study introduces a novel method for predicting gas content in deep coal seams using a Conditional Generative Adversarial Network (CGAN). First, elastic parameters are obtained through pre-stack inversion. Next, sensitivity analysis and attribute optimization are applied to identify elastic attributes that are most sensitive to gas content. A CGAN is then employed to learn the nonlinear mapping between multiple fluid-sensitive seismic attributes and gas content distribution. By integrating multiple constraints to refine the discriminator and guide generator training, the model achieves accurate gas content prediction directly from seismic data. Applied to a real dataset from a CBM block in the Ordos Basin, China, the proposed CGAN-based method produces predictions that align closely with measured gas content trends at well locations. Validation at blind wells shows an average prediction error of 1.6 m³/t, with 83% of samples exhibiting errors less than 3 m³/t. This research presents an effective and innovative deep learning approach for predicting coalbed methane content. Full article

Short fibre-reinforced polymers (SFRPs) are increasingly used in structural applications where mechanical integrity under complex loading is critical. However, conventional modelling approaches often fail to accurately predict mechanical behaviour in weldline regions formed during injection moulding, where microstructural anomalies and pre-existing damage significantly degrade performance. This study addresses these limitations by extending a hybrid micro–macromechanical constitutive framework to incorporate localised initial damage at weldlines. Calibration and validation of the model were conducted using directional tensile tests on dumbbell-shaped polyamide 66 specimens reinforced with 25 wt% glass fibres, featuring controlled weldline geometry. Digital image correlation (DIC) was employed to capture strain fields, while injection moulding simulations provided fibre orientation distributions and weldline positioning. Results demonstrate that incorporating initial damage and its independent evolution for the cold weld region significantly improves prediction accuracy in weldline zones without compromising model efficiency. The proposed approach can be integrated seamlessly with existing finite element framework and offers a robust solution for simulating SFRP components with weldlines, enhancing reliability in safety-critical applications. Full article

Introduction: Staging inaccuracies in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) can lead to undertreatment or overtreatment. We evaluated clinical and pathological predictors of pathologic upstaging (pUS) stratifying by neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) receipt among patients undergoing robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC). Methods: We included patients with MIBC (≥cT2N0M0) who underwent RARC from February 2004 through October 2020. Patients were grouped as (1) pUS with NAC, (2) pUS without NAC, and (3) no pUS (reference). Baseline characteristics were summarized using descriptive statistics. Logistic regression assessed the association between baseline characteristics and odds for upstaging. Kaplan–Meier method estimated overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS), and log-rank test compared the survival distribution between groups. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression models identified variables associated with OS and RFS. Results: Among 277 patients, 38.6% (n = 107) were upstaged with NAC (n = 37) or without NAC (n = 70). Most were male (79%), white (72%), and had cT2 stage (85%). Median age at surgery was 72 yrs. Preoperative hydronephrosis showed higher odds of upstaging [OR 2.24 (95% CI, 1.31–3.81), p = 0.003]. pUS with NAC [HR 1.99 (95% CI, 1.23–3.22), p = 0.005] and without NAC [HR 3.18 (95% CI, 2.21–4.55), p < 0.001] predicted worse OS (33.5 vs. 18.8 mos) compared to patients without pUS (135.3 mos). pUS with NAC [HR 2.49 (95% CI, 1.58–3.94) p < 0.001] and without NAC [HR 3.02 (95% CI 2.11–4.31), p < 0.001] predicted worse RFS. Conclusions: Preoperative hydronephrosis was the strongest predictor for pUS, independent of other baseline covariates. This highlights the need for better pre-operative risk stratification strategies for patients with MIBC undergoing RARC. Full article

The high computational cost of high-fidelity CFD simulations forms a major bottleneck in aerodynamic design. This paper introduces a multi-fidelity transfer learning framework to rapidly predict airfoil aerodynamics with high accuracy. Our approach involves pre-training a deep fully connected neural network on a large dataset of low-fidelity Euler simulations. The pre-trained model is then fine-tuned using a limited set of high-fidelity RANS data, enabling efficient knowledge transfer from low- to high-fidelity domains. A specialized logarithmic-exponential normalization method is developed to handle the scale differences between aerodynamic coefficients. The framework demonstrates exceptional performance: after fine-tuning with only 700 high-fidelity samples, the model accurately predicts pressure distributions (lowest RMSE = 0.053) and force coefficients (R² > 0.947 for lift and drag). This method successfully bridges the gap between computational efficiency and high accuracy, providing a powerful data-driven surrogate model that can significantly accelerate the aerodynamic design and optimization process. Full article