Abstract Conventional Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) quantitative analysis, employing both calibration and calibration-free techniques, is challenged by spectral overlapping, ...self-absorption, and spectral broadening effects, leading to decreased accuracy. Recently, integration of machine learning (ML) algorithms with LIBS has been increasingly employed to tackle these challenges. This article explores the augmentation of LIBS with deep learning neural networks (DNN) to enhance accuracy of quantitative analysis of multi-elemental copper alloys. Sufficient training data was acquired by simulating optical emission spectra for bronze (Cu-Sn) and admiralty brass (Cu-Zn-Sn) alloys under standard laser produced plasmas conditions, encompassing different alloy concentrations, electron temperatures, and densities. We designed a regularized DNN structure, fine-tuned using a validation dataset to optimize quantitative results. The model’s accuracy was assessed with test dataset. The quantitative results demonstrated reduced loss as training spectra increased from 500 to 5000 for both alloys. The decline in mean squared error, from 2.793×10 −3 to 4.283×10 −5 for bronze and from 3.245×10 −2 to 5.598×10 −4 for admiralty brass alloys, as training data increased from 500 to 5000, underscores the proposed DNN model’s potential for metallurgical alloy quantification.
Restoring the control of food intake is the key to obesity management and prevention. The arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus is extensively being studied as a potential anti-obesity target. ...Animal studies showed that neuropeptide FF (NPFF) reduces food intake by its action in neuropeptide Y (NPY) neurons of the hypothalamic ARC, but the detailed mode of action observed in human neurons is missing, due to the lack of a human-neuron-based model for pharmacology testing. Here, we validated and utilized a human-neural-stem-cell-based (hNSC) model of ARC to test the effects of NPFF on cellular pathways and neuronal activity. We found that in the human neurons, decreased cAMP levels by NPFF resulted in a reduced rate of cytoplasmic calcium oscillations, indicating an inhibition of ARC NPY neurons. This suggests the therapeutic potential of NPFFR2 in obesity. In addition, we demonstrate the use of human-stem-cell-derived neurons in pharmacological applications and the potential of this model to address functional aspects of human hypothalamic neurons.
The prevalence of obesity and associated comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease is increasing globally. Body‐weight loss reduces the risk of morbidity and mortality in obese ...individuals, and thus, pharmacotherapies that induce weight loss can be of great value in improving the health and well‐being of people living with obesity. Treatment with amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists reduces food intake and induces weight loss in several animal models, and a number of companies have started clinical testing for peptide analogues in the treatment of obesity and/or type 2 diabetes. Studies predominantly performed in rodent models show that amylin and the dual amylin/calcitonin receptor agonist salmon calcitonin achieve their metabolic effects by engaging areas in the brain associated with regulating homeostatic energy balance. In particular, signalling via neuronal circuits in the caudal hindbrain and the hypothalamus is implicated in mediating effects on food intake and energy expenditure. We review the current literature investigating the interaction of amylin/calcitonin receptor agonists with neurocircuits that induce the observed metabolic effects. Moreover, the status of drug development of amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists for the treatment of metabolic diseases is summarized.
Numerous applications based on very large scale intergration (VLSI) architecture suffer from large size components that lead to an error in the design of the filter during the stages of floating ...point arithmetic. Hence, it is necessary to change the architectural model that increases the design complexity and the time delay effect. The issue encountered in the VLSI architectures for finite impulse response (FIR) filter is the increased number of components, especially delay elements. For the VLSI architecture reconfigured with reduced register usage, this article provides the floating point processing element (FPPE) implementation with Cross‐Folded Shifting. The proposed FIR filter system reduces the number of components in the circuit which increases the complexity and high delay rate in the logical operation. The system has a comparatively reduced delay rate and power consumption. Hence, an efficient fast architecture based on the FPPE method is developed in this paper.
The recent outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for high morbidity and mortality rate across the globe. This requires an urgent identification of drugs and other interventions to overcome this ...pandemic. Computational drug repurposing represents an alternative approach to provide a more effective approach in search for COVID-19 drugs. Selected natural product known to have antiviral activities were screened, and based on their hits; a similarity search with FDA approved drugs was performed using computational methods. Obtained drugs from similarity search were assessed for their stability and inhibition against SARS-CoV-2 targets. Diosmin (DB08995) was found to be a promising drug that works with two distinct mechanisms, preventing viral replication and viral fusion into the host cell. Isoquercetin (DB12665) and rutin (DB01698) work by inhibiting viral replication and preventing cell entry, respectively. Our analysis based on molecular dynamics simulation and MM-PBSA binding free energy calculation suggests that diosmin, isoquercetin, rutin and other similar flavone glycosides could serve as SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor, hence an alternative solution to treat COVID-19 upon further clinical validation.
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•Diosmin is a potent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 that work by two distinct mechanisms.•Diosmin disrupt spike RBD-ACE2 recognition and hence preventing viral fusion.•Isoquercetin and rutin work by inhibiting viral replication and preventing cell entry, respectively.
Abstract Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) has been identified as a potent survival factor for both central and peripheral neurons. GDNF has been shown to be a potent survival factor ...for motor neurons during programmed cell death and continuous treatment with GDNF maintains hyperinnervation of skeletal muscle in adulthood. However, little is known about factors regulating normal production of endogenous GDNF in skeletal muscle. This study aimed to examine the role that motor neurons play in regulating GDNF secretion by skeletal muscle. A co-culture of skeletal muscle cells (C2C12) and cholinergic neurons, glioma × neuroblastoma hybrid cells (NG108-15) were used to create nerve-muscle interactions in vitro. Acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) on nerve–myotube co-cultures were blocked with alpha-bungarotoxin (α-BTX). GDNF protein content in cells and in culture medium was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) and western blotting. GDNF localization was examined by immunocytochemistry. The nerve–muscle co-culture study indicated that the addition of motor neurons to skeletal muscle cells reduced the secretion of GDNF by skeletal muscle. The results also showed that blocking AChRs with α-BTX reversed the action of neural cells on GDNF secretion by skeletal muscle. Although ELISA results showed no GDNF in differentiated NG108-15 cells grown alone, immunocytochemical analysis showed that GDNF was localized in NG108-15 cells co-cultured with C2C12 myotubes. These results suggest that motor neurons may be regulating their own supply of GDNF secreted by skeletal muscle and that activation of AChRs may be involved in this process.
The loss of parenchymal brain volume per normative age comparison is a distinctive feature of brain atrophy. While the condition is the most prevalent to elderly, it has also been observed in ...pediatric ages. Various causes such as trauma, infection, and malnutrition have been reported to trigger the loss of brain tissues volume. Despite this literature based knowledge of risk factors, the magnitude of brain atrophy in pediatric age group is scantly addressed in most developing countries including Tanzania. The current study aims to understand the magnitude of brain atrophy in children residing in Northern Zone, Tanzania.
A cross-sectional hospital survey was performed in which 455 children who were presented with various brain pathologies from the year 2013 to 2019 and whose brains examined by Computerized tomography (CT)-Scanners were recruited in the study. The brain statuses were examined using three linear radiological methods including the measure of sulcal-width, Evans index, and lateral ventricular body width.
Results showed a significant number of atrophied brains among children in Northern Tanzania and that the condition was observed to have a 1:1 male to female ratio. The prevalence of pediatric brain atrophy was found to be 16.04%.
The cortical subtype of brain atrophy presented as the most prevalent type of brain volume loss. The findings of this study suggest existence of considerable trends of brain atrophy in children which need special attention and mitigation plans.
Background: Taeniosis and cysticercosis are human infections caused by the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium. This study is a baseline for community-based intervention. We determined the prevalence of ...human cysticercosis and associated risk factors following a deworming program conducted throughout the country, with Mbulu District being among the districts in Northern Tanzania. Methods: Human cysticercosis was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Ag- ELISA). Household interviews and observations were conducted to identify risk factors for cysticercosis transmissions among households and communities. Results: Three hundred individuals participated in this study. The age ranged from 5 to 89 years, with a median of 19 years. The prevalence of human cysticercosis was 23 (7.67%). The prevalence was high with 6 (11.76%) among individuals aged 26 to 35 years and ±45 years. There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence by age group, sex, or occupation. Among the 300 participants, 82 (27.3%) had received anthelmintics during the previous year; among these, 5 (21.7%) were infected. The likelihood of infection was low among anthelmintic users by 28% 0.72 (0.26–2.01), but the protection was not significant. The communities differed in risk factors on the availability of a clean and safe water supply; 52.7% (46/86) of households visited had no pit latrine. The cysticercosis prevalence showed a significant difference in communities. Conclusions: The prevalence of human cysticercosis was high and associated with higher age groups. The prevalence was low among those who had taken anthelmintics and was associated with lower age groups. The current school deworming program has a positive effect on school children, while the elderly are at higher risk because the intervention did not target them. It is recommended to scale up anthelmintic intervention to higher age groups.
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