Search Results (3,072)

Three new cyclic tetrapeptides (nectriatidels A-C, 1–3), two new curvularin analogs (6 and 7), and four known compounds (4 and 5, 8 and 9) were isolated from the marine-derived fungal-bacterial symbiont Aspergillus spelaeus GXIMD 04541/Sphingomonas echinoides GXIMD 04532, which was obtained from Mauritia arabica in shallow coastal waters. Their structures were elucidated through NMR spectroscopy and HRESIMS, and their absolute configurations were determined by Marfey’s method and quantum chemical calculations. Compounds 1–5 showed moderate amphotericin B (AmB)-potentiating activity against Candida albicans. Compounds 7 and 8 exhibited significant activities against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with MIC values of 32 and 16 μg/mL, respectively. Additionally, compounds 7 and 8 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against human colorectal cancer cell lines DLD-1 and SW480, with IC₅₀ values of 25~36 μM. Whole-genome sequencing of A. spelaeus revealed a 35.91 Mb assembly encoding 106 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). antiSMASH analysis revealed that 79 of these BGCs (74.5%) displayed no significant similarity to known pathways in the MIBiG database, which is dominated by hybrid clusters, terpene, T1PKS, NRPS, and NRPS-like types. Genomic analysis identified the putative biosynthetic gene clusters for these metabolites and confirmed the fungal host as the predominant producer. Full article

Background/Aim: Dental caries is a multifactorial disease influenced by dietary habits, lifestyle factors, and host biochemical processes. Oxidative stress and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have been implicated in oral and systemic pathophysiology, but their combined association with caries experience remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between caries indices, diet, smoking, oxidative stress markers, and AGEs in adults. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on adults enrolled in the SALIVAGES project (2018–2020). Dental status was assessed using the DMFT index. Dietary habits and smoking status were recorded using a validated questionnaire. Oxidative stress parameters (TAC, TOS, OSI, NO, MDA, total thiols) and AGEs (FruLys, MG-H1, CML, CEL, Pyr, Arg, Lys) were quantified in saliva and plasma. Associations were analyzed using correlation tests and multivariable regression models (α = 0.05). Results: The mean DMFT was 21.89 ± 7.13, with missing teeth predominating. Caries experience was significantly associated with oxidative stress, AGEs, diet, and lifestyle. Higher decay scores were associated with increased NO and total thiols and reduced antioxidant capacity. Several salivary AGE-related biomarkers (FruLys, MG-H1, CML, and CEL) were negatively associated with the decay index. Sugary beverages, refined carbohydrates, pastries, and donuts were strongly positively associated with the decay index, whereas wholemeal bread showed an inverse association with caries indices. Smoking was independently associated with higher decay and DMFT values, corresponding to an approximately three-unit higher DMFT score. Conclusions: Caries experience in adults is associated with dietary, lifestyle, and biochemical factors. Sugar intake and smoking showed the strongest associations with caries indices, while oxidative stress parameters and selected salivary AGE-related biomarkers showed weaker but significant inverse associations with decay. These findings support preventive strategies targeting diet quality, smoking cessation, and redox balance to reduce oral disease burden. Full article

The present study investigated the impact of dietary papaya leaf meal (PLM) at three inclusion levels (0%, 6%, and 12%) with or without multi-enzyme supplementation (0.5 g/kg diet) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass characteristics, serum biochemistry, lipid profile, and antioxidant status in Arbor Acres broiler chickens. A total of 240 one-day-old chicks were allocated to six treatments in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement for 42 days. Enzyme supplementation significantly improved body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and nutrient efficiency (p < 0.001), while moderate PLM inclusion (6%) supported optimal performance. Digestibility of crude fiber and ether extract was enhanced by enzymes (p < 0.05), with a notable PLM × enzyme interaction for fiber digestibility. Carcass yield was unaffected, but enzyme supplementation increased dressing percentage and reduced abdominal fat. Serum biochemistry remained largely unchanged, except for elevated AST at 12% PLM (p < 0.01). Lipid profile improved with enzyme supplementation, reducing total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL while increasing HDL (p < 0.05). Enzyme supplementation significantly increased SOD and CAT activities (p < 0.001), whereas TAC responses were inconsistent across treatments. Lipid peroxidation (MDA) increased at 12% PLM, indicating a potential oxidative imbalance at higher inclusion levels. In conclusion, multi-enzyme supplementation was the primary driver of growth performance and nutrient utilization improvements, while moderate PLM inclusion (6%) exerted supportive and synergistic effects without compromising carcass traits. Full article

Urban geophysical exploration faces significant hurdles due to strong electromagnetic interference and limited operational space, which restrict the efficiency and depth of traditional Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT). To overcome these limitations, this paper presents a novel ERT measurement and control system based on the Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) principle. Unlike conventional time-domain methods, this instrument synchronously transmits three independent AC signals at distinct frequencies. The acquisition station utilizes Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to isolate specific frequency responses, enabling the simultaneous retrieval of apparent resistivity data for three different electrode spacings from a single transmission. The system architecture integrates low-power STM32 microcontrollers with an Android-based control terminal via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and NB-IoT technologies. This wireless design supports real-time current monitoring and cloud-based data synchronization. Experimental results demonstrate that the FDM operating mode significantly enhances data acquisition efficiency and anti-interference capability through frequency-domain separation. Controlled indoor and preliminary field tests indicate that FDM mode substantially improves acquisition efficiency through concurrent multi-channel measurement while effectively resolving target signals from noise. This study demonstrates the system’s technical feasibility and provides a practical foundation for future geophysical detection in time-constrained urban environments. Full article

Introduction: Celiac disease (CD) is a prevalent autoimmune enteropathy that remains significantly underdiagnosed due to its multifaceted diagnostic pathway and diverse clinical presentations. While duodenal biopsy has historically served as the diagnostic gold standard, its clinical primacy has been challenged by the burden of invasive endoscopy and potential histological misinterpretation. Material and Methods: We conducted a prospective diagnostic accuracy study involving consecutive adult patients with suspected CD to evaluate the performance of serological markers against histological findings. Results: The study included 139 patients, with a female predominance of 105 (75.5%). Histological evaluation revealed Marsh 3a–c in 100 patients (71.9%), whereas Marsh 1–2 was observed in 39 patients (28.1%). Sixty-one patients (43.9%) presented with high-titer ≥10×ULN tTG-IgA levels, while 78 patients (56.1%) fell below this threshold. To determine the independent predictors of Marsh 3a–c, we performed a logistic regression analysis. In the univariate analysis, both tTG-IgA (OR: 1.880; 95% CI: 1.458–2.426; p < 0.001) and non-smoker status (OR: 1.865; 95% CI: 1.283–2.709; p = 0.002) were significantly associated with VA. After adjusting for confounding variables in the multivariate model, both factors remained highly significant (p < 0.001 and p = 0.014, respectively). The diagnostic performance of the ≥10×ULN tTG-IgA threshold for detecting VA was confirmed by AUROC of 0.737, CI 0.646–0.827, p < 0.001, with a sensitivity of 55.0% and a specificity of 84.6%, a PPV of 90.2% and a NPVof 42.3% (33/78), underscoring that while the ≥10×ULN tTG-IgA threshold is highly specific for atrophy, lower titers do not reliably exclude it in adults. Conclusions: In conclusion, our study demonstrates that the ≥10×ULN tTG-IgA threshold provides a reliable diagnostic surrogate for VA in adult CD. While high cut-off values minimize false positives, a diagnostic gap remains for patients with lower antibody levels or those influenced by modifiers such as smoking. The low sensitivity of the high threshold reinforces the continued necessity of duodenal biopsy for symptomatic patients with lower-range antibody elevations to avoid a significant diagnostic gap. Full article

Background/Objectives: Keloids are fibroproliferative scars with high postsurgical recurrence rates and limited high-quality data from European populations. Current treatment guidelines recommend multimodal management; however, real-world practice often varies, and therapeutic efficacy in Western cohorts remains insufficiently characterized. This study aimed to analyze determinants of keloid recurrence and evaluate the impact of postoperative treatments within one of the largest Middle-European keloid cohorts to date. Methods: In this retrospective single-center study, 206 patients treated for at least one keloid between 2010 and 2024 were analyzed. Patients received either conservative therapy or surgical excision with or without postoperative treatments, including intralesional triamcinolone (TAC), irradiation, silicone, compression, and laser therapy. Recurrence-free survival was assessed using Kaplan–Meier estimation, univariate analysis and multivariate Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results: Male sex, specific anatomical sites (ear and thorax), and ethnicity (Black/African, Asian, and Middle Eastern/Arab patients) showed significant associations with more recurrences. Univariate analyses indicated higher recurrence rates in patients treated with TAC or laser therapy, whereas irradiation, compression, and silicone showed no significant effect. Multi-component analysis revealed distinct patient clusters differing in recurrence burden and treatment patterns, and multivariate analysis showed that laser therapy remained associated with increased recurrence risk, whereas TAC, irradiation, silicone, and compression demonstrated modest protective trends. Combined use of the four latter modalities was associated with a non-significant trend to lower recurrence hazard (HR 0.75). Conclusions: This large European cohort highlights substantial demographic variability and heterogeneity in postoperative treatment strategies. Multimodal adjuvant therapy—particularly combinations of TAC, irradiation, silicone, and compression—may reduce recurrence risk, whereas laser-treated cases likely reflect confounding by indication. Full article

We introduce cumulative tic-tac-toe, a novel variant of the classic $3\times 3$ tic-tac-toe game in which play continues until the board is completely filled. Each player’s final score is determined by the total number of three-in-a-row sequences they form. Using combinatorial game theory (CGT), we establish that under optimal play, the game is a draw, and we characterize its theoretical properties. To empirically validate and optimize practical play, we develop a reinforcement learning (RL) framework based on temporal-difference (TD) learning, which is enhanced with a domain-informed evaluation function to accelerate convergence. The experimental results show that our triplet-coverage difference (TCD) evaluation function reduces the average number of training episodes by approximately 23.1% compared with a random-initialization baseline, a statistically significant improvement at the 5% significance level. These results demonstrate the efficiency of our CGT–RL approach for cumulative tic-tac-toe and suggest that similar methods may be useful for analyzing related combinatorial games. We also discuss potential analogies in domains such as competitive resource allocation and coalition formation, illustrating how cumulative-scoring games connect abstract game-theoretic ideas to practical sequential decision problems. Full article

TaC/amorphous-carbon (TaC/a-C) composite coatings with varied a-C contents were deposited on graphite by dual-target magnetron sputtering to mitigate the thermal-expansion mismatch that commonly triggers cracking and spallation in TaC coatings on carbon substrates during rapid thermal cycling. However, existing TaC–C (often termed “free carbon”) approaches rarely identify the carbon’s structural state and spatial distribution explicitly, and a clear correlation between carbon fraction, thermal-shock-driven microstructural evolution, and cyclic damage remains insufficiently established. Increasing the a-C fraction progressively refines the TaC grain structure and introduces an a-C phase along grain boundaries, thereby lowering the effective coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and improving compatibility with the graphite substrate. Under laser thermal cycling, coatings with higher a-C contents exhibit markedly enhanced resistance to cracking and spallation. After 15 cycles, the high-a-C (~28.99 at.%) coating remains free of through-thickness cracks, maintains its thickness, and retains a single-phase TaC structure without detectable Ta₂C, whereas the low-a-C coating shows severe thinning, through-cracks, and partial TaC → Ta₂C transformation. Microstructural observations indicate that the a-C phase forms a compliant, stress-relaxing boundary network and promotes a porous, mechanically interlocked TaC architecture, synergistically redistributing thermal stresses and deflecting crack propagation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and atherogenic dyslipidemia have been implicated in colorectal cancer (CRC) development, but their prognostic relevance after cancer diagnosis remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between T2DM, lipid-derived atherogenic indices, and survival outcomes in patients with CRC. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study including 240 CRC patients, of whom 60 had coexisting T2DM. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier (KM) method and log-rank tests. In the absence of recurrence-specific data, DFS was defined as time to death or last follow-up. Lipid-related indices, including the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), atherogenic coefficient (AC), remnant cholesterol (RC), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C), triglyceride–glucose (TyG) index, and triglyceride-to-HDL cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C), were evaluated by tertiles in KM analyses. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were constructed to assess the independent prognostic value of AIP, AC, and RC (entered separately as a continuous variable standardized to 1 standard deviation), adjusted for age, sex, adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and T2DM status. Sensitivity analyses were performed in stage III–IV patients. Results: During follow-up, 28 deaths occurred. OS did not differ significantly between CRC patients and those with CRC coexisting with T2DM (log-rank p-values = 0.220). DFS analyses showed no significant differences across tertiles of any lipid-related index (all log-rank p-values > 0.05), with overlapping survival curves and no consistent dose–response patterns. In adjusted Cox models, AIP (hazard ratio [HR] per 1 SD = 0.71, 95% CI 0.48–1.06), AC (HR = 0.72, 95% CI 0.44–1.20), and RC (HR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.39–1.12) were not independently associated with DFS. Results were consistent in advanced-stage disease (stage III–IV). Conclusions: In this cohort of patients with CRC, neither T2DM nor lipid-derived indices reflecting atherogenic dyslipidemia and insulin resistance were independently associated with OS or DFS. These findings help refine the clinical interpretation of lipid-derived biomarkers in CRC, suggesting limited prognostic utility beyond established oncologic factors. Full article

Continuous cultivation in solar greenhouses degrades black soil, leading to soil-borne diseases, nutrient imbalances, reduced porosity, and microbial dysbiosis, all of which collectively decrease crop productivity. Improving soil structure and microbial balance often requires costly amendments that are inconsistent in their effectiveness. This study evaluated two low-cost soil amendments—carbonized rice hull (CRH) and fermented rice hull (FRH)—using colored pepper as a model crop. Treatments included soil mixed with 30% CRH (T1), 30% FRH (T2), and untreated black soil (CK). Both amendments significantly improved soil physical properties. Compared with CK, soil porosity increased by 8.80% in T1 and 17.84% in T2, while water-holding capacity increased by 75.32% and 133.45%, respectively. Soil microbial richness, as indicated by Abundance-based Coverage Estimator (ACE) and Chao indices, followed the order T2 > T1 > CK. Plant physiological performance was also enhanced. Net photosynthetic rate increased by 7.18% (T1) and 15.33% (T2), plant height increased by 14.42% (T1) and 28.85% (T2), and root activity improved significantly. Fruit weight increased by 15.33% in T1 and 21.62% in T2. Both rice hull amendments improved soil quality and promoted crop growth, with FRH performing consistently better. These findings indicate that fermented rice hull is a promising, low-cost strategy for greenhouse soil remediation. Full article

Isobutane is a key feedstock for alkylate production. For separating an equimolar isobutane/n-butane mixture with 2 mol% ethane, two conventional designs are reported in the literature: a single water-cooled condenser (SC) and a dual condenser system with refrigeration (DC). This study proposes two vapor recompression retrofit configurations, SC-VR and SC-PHVR (with preheating), to improve energy efficiency and enable electrification. Economic and environmental performance were evaluated using total annualized cost (TAC) and CO₂ emissions. Compared with SC and DC schemes, SC-VR reduces CO₂ emissions by 49 and 52%, while SC-PHVR delivers higher reductions of 64 and 66%. A sensitivity analysis of electricity prices across 3-, 5-, and 10-year payback periods indicates the most favorable performance at 10 years. At 16.67 USD/GJ, SC-PHVR lowers TAC by 22 and 25%; in contrast, SC-VR provides marginal savings. At 24.03 USD/GJ, SC-VR is not economically competitive, whereas SC-PHVR continues to outperform the conventional cases, with TAC reductions of 8% and 4%. Both retrofit options significantly reduce emissions, with SC-PHVR offering the best economic performance. Finally, the proposed configurations enable the complete electrification of the de-isobutanizer system, eliminating reliance on fossil-based thermal utilities, which allows the use of renewable sources in line with the decarbonization efforts. Full article

The aim of this work is to prepare and characterize a composite adsorbent comprising the hydrophilic ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate [EMIM-Ac] composite supported on mesoporous silica gel for application in adsorption heat storage systems. Water adsorption/desorption isotherms were measured gravimetrically at T = 40, 50, 70 °C across a relative humidity (RH) range of 0–0.8, demonstrating a high adsorption capacity (up to 0.71 g/g at 50 °C and RH = 0.8, for a 50 wt % [EMIM-Ac] loading). Full process reversibility and negligible ad/desorption hysteresis were also verified. Thermal stability of the prepared silica/[EMIM-Ac] composites was confirmed up to approximately T = 200 °C. Structural stability of samples subjected to repeated ad/desorption aging cycles was verified via FT-IR, High-Resolution Solid-State NMR, and Time-Domain NMR spectroscopy. Finally, the thermodynamic analysis based on adsorption experimental data indicated that the silica/[EMIM-Ac] composite is highly suitable for adsorption heat storage, providing a volumetric density of 600–920 MJ/m³ at regeneration temperatures below 100 °C. Full article

Lemon (Citrus limon L.) is a widely cultivated citrus fruit valued for its nutritional and medicinal properties; however, it is highly perishable and prone to postharvest losses. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of natural edible coatings, chitosan (CS) and aloe vera gel (AV gel), applied individually and in combination, in preserving the postharvest quality of lemon fruits during 60 days of cold storage at 4 °C and 85% relative humidity. Nine treatments were tested, including a control, two concentrations of CS (2% and 3%), two concentrations of AV (10% and 15%), and four combinations of CS and AV gel. Various quality parameters were monitored at 0-, 10-, 20-, 30-, 40-, 50-, and 60-day intervals, including weight loss, fruit decay, juice content, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), total sugars (TS), reducing sugars (RS), non-reducing sugars (NRS), total phenolic content (TPC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) were monitored at 10-day intervals. The results demonstrated that the combined coating of 2% CS and 10% AV was the most effective in minimizing weight loss (34.25%) and decay incidence (9.22%) at day 60, while maintaining biochemical quality, including higher vitamin C content, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. This research highlights the potential of CS and AV gel-based coatings as eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic preservatives for extending shelf life. Full article

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a major global health concern and the leading cause of mortality and disability. Early detection and prevention strategies rely heavily on evaluating coronary artery calcification, traditionally assessed using the coronary artery calcium score (CACS). However, CACS is limited by its dependence on strictly fixed tube voltage and slice thickness, sensitivity to changes in scanning parameters, and the need for an additional dedicated coronary calcium scan that increases radiation exposure. Methods: To address these challenges, we developed a novel two-compartment coronary artery calcium score system (TACS) for quantitative calcium assessment. TACS was established and validated using a QRM Thorax phantom scanned on a GE Revolution CT at 70–140 kVp. Volumetric calcium density (VCD) derived from TACS was compared with conventional CACS under varying slice thickness, pitch, and iterative reconstruction algorithms. Additionally, coronary artery calcium scans from 15 patients were retrospectively analyzed to assess correlations between TACS and CACS. Results: TACS demonstrated stable performance across tube voltages, with VCD errors ranging from 3.8% to −19.0% and maintained consistency under different slice thicknesses (23.9% to −2.3%) and reconstruction algorithms, showing near-zero residual percentages. Patient analyses revealed a strong correlation between TACS and CACS (r = 0.932). Conclusions: These findings suggest that TACS provides robust and reliable quantification of coronary calcium, supporting its potential use for opportunistic coronary artery disease screening, particularly in routine CT imaging. Further studies with larger cohorts are warranted to confirm its clinical applicability. Full article

The design of multi-stage plastic waste sorting systems plays a decisive role in determining operating cost and overall process performance. In such systems, the sequencing of individual separation technologies strongly influences the economic feasibility of the recycling process, yet this effect has rarely been evaluated in a systematic and comparative manner. In this study, a techno-economic comparison of alternative multi-stage sorting pathways was conducted using total annualized cost (TAC) as a unified economic metric. Five widely applied separation technologies are combined to construct sixteen sorting pathways by permuting the order of separation stages. A representative case study was performed for a mixed plastic waste stream (PET, PE, PP, PS and PVC) at a processing capacity of 3000 kg/h. The results show that sorting pathways employing froth flotation as the final separation stage consistently exhibit lower TAC values than configurations terminating with tribo-electrostatic separation. The most favorable sequence achieved approximately a 40% reduction in annualized cost relative to representative baseline configurations employing tribo-electrostatic separation as the final stage under identical operating conditions. Scenario-based analyses under different processing capacities (1000–5000 kg/h) and alternative electricity cost assumptions further demonstrate that the relative economic ranking of sorting pathways remains unchanged, confirming the robustness of favorable separation sequences. The results highlight that strategic sequencing of existing separation technologies can significantly improve the economic performance of plastic waste sorting systems without increasing process complexity, thereby providing practical guidance for process design and technology selection. Full article