Performance evaluation of innovative self-healing corrosion protection coatings for prestressing strands.

This study presents the design and experimental evaluation of advanced corrosion protection coatings for application on prestressing strands which are the core constituents of prestressed concrete structures such as bridges. Variety of self-heal coatings embodying corrective and protective phenomena in response to the degrading effects of corrosion have been designed and tested in simulated aggressive weathering conditions. Standard 7-wire prestressing strands coated with self-heal epoxy, self-heal toughened epoxy and hybrid epoxy coating systems were subjected to salt fog spray up to a duration of 2500 h, and 3M CalCl, 3M NaOH, saturated Ca(OH) solutions and distilled water up to 45 days duration.

Inhibitory Effect of L. Extracts on SARS-COV-2 Spike Protein-ACE2 Interaction.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: A catastrophic outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2; Coronavirus disease-19; COVID-19) was first detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. Many experimental and clinical studies have focused on the effectiveness of medicinal plants such as (NS) in combating SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of NS seed extract on SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S1)-angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (S-ACE2) interaction.

Metabolomic Profiling and Machine Learning Models for Tumor Classification in Patients with Recurrent IDH-Wild-Type Glioblastoma: A Prospective Study.

Background/objectives: The recurrence of glioblastoma is an inevitable event in this disease's course. In this study, we sought to identify the metabolomic signature in patients with recurrent glioblastomas undergoing surgery and radiation therapy.

Methods: Blood samples collected prospectively from six patients with recurrent IDH-wildtype glioblastoma who underwent one surgery at diagnosis and a second surgery at relapse were analyzed using untargeted gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry to measure metabolite abundance.

Pharmacodynamics and safety in relation to dose and response of plant flavonoids in treatment of cancers.

Despite the recent advancements in developing bioactive nutraceuticals as anticancer modalities, their pharmacodynamics, safety profiles, and tolerability remain elusive, limiting their success in clinical trials. The failure of anticancer drugs in clinical trials can be attributed to the changes in drug clearance, absorption, and cellular responses, which alter the dose-response efficacy, causing adverse health effects. Flavonoids demonstrate a biphasic dose-response phenomenon exerting a stimulatory or inhibitory effect and often follow a U-shaped curve in different preclinical cancer models.

An Overview of the Characteristics, Pathogenesis, Epidemiology, and Detection of Human Enterovirus in the Arabian Gulf Region.

Enteroviruses are RNA viruses that initiate infections through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and are associated with enteric illness in individuals of all ages. Most serious infections of enteroviruses are in infants and young children where it is the common cause of aseptic meningitis and other systemic diseases, leading to a high mortality rate. Enteroviruses belong to the small non-enveloped family of the Picornaviridae family.

Energy-Efficient Clustering in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Grey Wolf Optimization and Enhanced CSMA/CA.

Survivability is a critical concern in WSNs, heavily influenced by energy efficiency. Addressing severe energy constraints in WSNs requires solutions that meet application goals while prolonging network life. This paper presents an Energy Optimization Approach (EOAMRCL) for WSNs, integrating the Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) for enhanced performance.

Theoretical Study of Ground-State Barium-Rare Gas Van der Waals Complexes: Combining Rule Modeling and Ab Initio Calculations.

The present study aims to generate the potential energy curves (PECs) and spectroscopic constants for barium alkaline earth (AE) atoms interacting with rare gas (RG) atoms (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe). The study focuses on investigating the van der Waals bonds that characterize the interactions between alkaline-earth metals and RG atoms, with a specific emphasis on employing the Tang and Toennies (TT) potential model, known to accurately describe such interactions. The TT potential model was employed in conjunction with combining rules to calculate its parameters, which include dispersion coefficients and Born-Mayer constants and .

Theoretical Modeling of Sr() He ( = 0, 1, 2) van der Waals Systems Including Spin-Orbit Coupling.

Using an ab initio methodology that incorporates pseudopotential technique in conjunction with pair potential approaches, core polarization potentials (CPP), large basis sets of Gaussian type, and full configuration interaction calculations, we investigate interaction of neutral and charged Sr( = 0,1,2) with helium atom. In this context, the core-core interaction of Sr-He is included using an accurately performed potential for the ground state at CCSD(T) level of calculation. Also, the potential energy curves and permanent and transition dipole moments of the ground state and numerous excited states have been performed respectively for SrHe and SrHe systems.

MicroRNA-Dependent Mechanisms Underlying the Function of a β-Amino Carbonyl Compound in Glioblastoma Cells.

Glioblastoma (GB) is an aggressive brain malignancy characterized by its invasive nature. Current treatment has limited effectiveness, resulting in poor patients' prognoses. β-Amino carbonyl (β-AC) compounds have gained attention due to their potential anticancerous properties.

Efficient context-aware computing: a systematic model for dynamic working memory updates in context-aware computing.

The expanding computer landscape leads us toward ubiquitous computing, in which smart gadgets seamlessly provide intelligent services anytime, anywhere. Smartphones and other smart devices with multiple sensors are at the vanguard of this paradigm, enabling context-aware computing. Similar setups are also known as smart spaces.

Neuroprotective Effects of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles in a Rotenone-Induced Mouse Model of Parkinson's Disease.

This work aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles in an experimental mouse model of rotenone-induced PD and investigate the therapeutic effects of ZnO, cobalt ferrite nanoparticles, and their combination. The levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and serotonin were assessed using ELISA in the control and experimental model of PD mice. The dopa-decarboxylase expression level was assayed by real-time PCR.

Potential of covalently linked tamoxifen hybrids for cancer treatment: recent update.

Cancer is a complex disease and the second leading cause of death globally, and breast cancer is still a leading cause of cancer death in women. Tamoxifen is the most commonly used drug for breast cancer (ER-positive) treatment and chemoprevention, saving the lives of millions of patients every year. In addition, the tamoxifen template has been explored extensively for the development of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) applicable in breast cancer, osteoporosis, and postmenopausal symptom treatment.

Experimental study on short-text clustering using transformer-based semantic similarity measure.

Sentence clustering plays a central role in various text-processing activities and has received extensive attention for measuring semantic similarity between compared sentences. However, relatively little focus has been placed on evaluating clustering performance using available similarity measures that adopt low-dimensional continuous representations. Such representations are crucial in domains like sentence clustering, where traditional word co-occurrence representations often achieve poor results when clustering semantically similar sentences that share no common words.

Opportunity abandonment: Why are entrepreneurs vulnerable to type I and II errors?

Opportunity actualization is a critical competency attributed to entrepreneurs, which has received widespread attention in the entrepreneurship literature. However, the knowledge of Entrepreneurial Opportunity Abandonment (EOA) decisions is limited. We, therefore, explore the relatively under-studied EOA, analyzing why entrepreneurs commit decision errors, abandon potentially viable opportunities (type I error) or pursue non-opportunity spaces (type II error), and ultimately forsake them later.

A study on work-family life imbalance among women administrators in UAE higher education institutions.

The study explored the factors causing work-family imbalance among women administrators in higher education institutions in the UAE and how it affects their personal and organizational well-being. The research found that the existing literature doesn't give enough attention to the mismatch between women administrators' work and family goals. Furthermore, it provides little insight into the integration of work-family support systems.

Evaluating Factors Impacting Polymer Flooding in Hydrocarbon Reservoirs: Laboratory and Field-Scale Applications.

Polymer flooding is an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method used to increase oil recovery from oil reservoirs beyond primary and secondary recovery. Although it is one of the most well-established methods of EOR, there are still continuous new developments and evaluations for this method. This is mainly attributed to the diverse polymers used, expansion of this method in terms of application, and the increase in knowledge pertaining to the topic due to the increase in laboratory testing and field applications.

Swarm intelligence-based packet scheduling for future intelligent networks.

Network operations involve several decision-making tasks. Some of these tasks are related to operators, such as extending the footprint or upgrading the network capacity. Other decision tasks are related to network functions, such as traffic classifications, scheduling, capacity, coverage trade-offs, and policy enforcement.

Arteriovenous Length Ratio: A Novel Method for Evaluating Retinal Vasculature Morphology and Its Diagnostic Potential in Eye-Related Diseases.

Retinal imaging is a non-invasive technique used to scan the back of the eye, enabling the extraction of potential biomarkers like the artery and vein ratio (AVR). This ratio is known for its association with various diseases, such as hypertensive retinopathy (HR) or diabetic retinopathy, and is crucial in assessing retinal health. HR refers to the morphological changes in retinal vessels caused by persistent high blood pressure.

Pairwise Model Potential and DFT Study of Clusters ( = 1-20): The Structural, Electronic, and Thermodynamic Properties.

The structural properties, relative stabilities, electronic, and thermodynamic properties, of ( = 1-20) clusters have been studied based on a pairwise model and density functional theory () methods. In the pairwise method, the potential energy surface considered interactions between , - , and many-body term. For the calculations, the 3 functional combined with the 6-311 + + (2,2) basis sets has been employed.

Nigella sativa and its chemical constituents: pre-clinical and clinical evidence for their potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused over 500 million reported cases of COVID-19 worldwide with relatively high morbidity and mortality. Although global vaccination drive has helped control the pandemic, the newer variant of the virus still holds the world in ransom. Several medicinal herbs with antiviral properties have been reported, and one such promising herb is Nigella sativa (NS).

Potential Energy Surface and Bound States of Ne-Li(Σ) van der Waals Complex Based on Ab Initio Calculations.

Theoretical studies of the potential energy surface and vibrational bound states calculations were performed for the ground state of the Ne-Li(Σ) van der Waals (vdW) complex. The intermolecular interactions were investigated by using an accurate monoconfigurational RCCSD() method and large basis sets (aug-cc-pVnZ, = T, Q, 5), extrapolated to the complete basis set (CBS) limit. In turn, the obtained raw data from RCCSD(T)/CBS(Q5) calculations were numerically interpolated using the Morse + vdW model and the Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) polynomial method to generate analytic expressions for the 2D-PES.

Novel Siglec-15-Sia axis inhibitor leads to colorectal cancer cell death by targeting miR-6715b-3p and oncogenes.

Siglecs are well known immunotherapeutic targets in cancer. Current checkpoint inhibitors have exhibited limited efficacy, prompting a need for novel therapeutics for targets such as Siglec-15. Presently, small molecule inhibitors targeting Siglec-15 are not explored alongside characterised regulatory mechanisms involving microRNAs in CRC progression.

Methods to Quantify the Dynamic Recycling of Plasma Membrane Channels.

Store-operated Ca entry (SOCE) is a ubiquitous Ca2+ signaling modality mediated by Orai Ca channels at the plasma membrane (PM) and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca sensors STIM1/2. At steady state, Orai1 constitutively cycles between an intracellular compartment and the PM. Orai1 PM residency is modulated by its endocytosis and exocytosis rates.