Beta-Band Cortico-Muscular Phase Coherence in Hemiparetic Stroke.

Following a stroke, compensation for the loss of ipsilesional corticospinal and corticobulbar projections, results in increased reliance on contralesional motor pathways during paretic arm movement. Better understanding outcomes of post-stroke contralesional cortical adaptation outcomes may benefit more targeted post-stroke motor rehabilitation interventions. This proof-of-concept study involves eight healthy controls and ten post-stroke participants.

Multiscale neural dynamics in sleep transition volatility across age scales: a multimodal EEG-EMG-EOG analysis of temazepam effects.

Recent advances in computational modeling techniques have facilitated a more nuanced understanding of sleep neural dynamics across the lifespan. In this study, we tensorize multiscale multimodal electroencephalogram (EEG), electromyogram (EMG), and electrooculogram (EOG) signals and apply Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) modeling to quantify interactions between age scales and the use of pharmacological sleep aids on sleep stage transitions. Our cohort consists of 22 subjects in a crossover design study, where each subject received both a sleep aid and a placebo in different sessions.

Corrigendum: High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation for upper extremity rehabilitation in moderate-to-severe ischemic stroke: a pilot study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.

Machine Learning Application in Horticulture and Prospects for Predicting Fresh Produce Losses and Waste: A Review.

The current review examines the state of knowledge and research on machine learning (ML) applications in horticultural production and the potential for predicting fresh produce losses and waste. Recently, ML has been increasingly applied in horticulture for efficient and accurate operations. Given the health benefits of fresh produce and the need for food and nutrition security, efficient horticultural production and postharvest management are important.

A comprehensive review of recent advances in the applications and biosynthesis of oxalic acid from bio-derived substrates.

Organic acids are important compounds with numerous applications in different industries. This work presents a comprehensive review of the biological synthesis of oxalic acid, an important organic acid with many industrial applications. Due to its important applications in pharmaceuticals, textiles, metal recovery, and chemical and metallurgical industries, the global demand for oxalic acid has increased.

Comprehensive Characterization of Some Selected Biomass for Bioenergy Production.

There is a lack of information about the detailed characterization of biomass of Nigerian origin. This study presents a comprehensive characterization of six biomass, groundnut shells, corncob, cashew leaves, (flame of the woods), sawdust, and lemongrass, to aid appropriate selection for bio-oil production. The proximate, ultimate, calorific value and compositional analyses were carried out following the American Standard for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards.

High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation for upper extremity rehabilitation in moderate-to-severe ischemic stroke: a pilot study.

Introduction: Previous studies found that post-stroke motor impairments are associated with damage to the lesioned corticospinal tract (CST) and hyperexcitability of the contralesional cortico-reticulospinal tract (CRST). This proof-of-concept study aims to develop a non-invasive brain stimulation protocol that facilitates the lesioned CST and inhibits the contralesional CRST to improve upper extremity rehabilitation in individuals with moderate-to-severe motor impairments post-stroke.

Methods: Fourteen individuals (minimum 3 months post ischemic stroke) consented.

Multi-criteria decision analysis for the evaluation and screening of sustainable aviation fuel production pathways.

The aviation sector, a significant greenhouse gas emitter, must lower its emissions to alleviate the climate change impact. Decarbonization can be achieved by converting low-carbon feedstock to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This study reviews SAF production pathways like hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA), gasification and Fischer-Tropsch Process (GFT), Alcohol to Jet (ATJ), direct sugar to hydrocarbon (DSHC), and fast pyrolysis (FP).

Accelerated cerebromicrovascular senescence contributes to cognitive decline in a mouse model of paclitaxel (Taxol)-induced chemobrain.

Chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment ("chemobrain") is a frequent side-effect in cancer survivors treated with paclitaxel (PTX). The mechanisms responsible for PTX-induced cognitive impairment remain obscure, and there are no effective treatments or prevention strategies. Here, we test the hypothesis that PTX induces endothelial senescence, which impairs microvascular function and contributes to the genesis of cognitive decline.

Ozone Decontamination of Medical and Nonmedical Devices: An Assessment of Design and Implementation Considerations.

The control of infectious diseases can be improved via carefully designed decontamination equipment and systems. Research interest in ozone (a powerful antimicrobial agent) has significantly increased over the past decade. The COVID-19 pandemic has also instigated the development of new ozone-based technologies for the decontamination of personal protective equipment, surfaces, materials, and indoor environments.

Controlling Selectivity in Plasmonic Catalysis: Switching Reaction Pathway from Hydrogenation to Homocoupling Under Visible-Light Irradiation.

Plasmonic catalysis enables the use of light to accelerate molecular transformations. Its application to the control reaction selectivity is highly attractive but remains challenging. Here, we have found that the plasmonic properties in AgPd nanoparticles allowed different reaction pathways for tunable product formation under visible-light irradiation.

Ozone application in different industries: A review of recent developments.

Ozone - a powerful antimicrobial agent, has been extensively applied for decontamination purposes in several industries (including food, water treatment, pharmaceuticals, textiles, healthcare, and the medical sectors). The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to recent developments in the deployment of different ozone-based technologies for the decontamination of surfaces, materials and indoor environments. The pandemic has also highlighted the therapeutic potential of ozone for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, with astonishing results observed.

Insights on production mechanism and industrial applications of renewable propylene glycol.

Propylene glycol is a ubiquitous sustainable chemical that have several industrial applications. It can be used as a non-toxic antifreeze, moisturizers, and in cosmetics products. Commercial production of propylene glycol uses petroleum-based propylene oxide.

Team leadership in engineering education.

Teamwork is an integral part of leadership, and many teamwork skills are also leadership skills. This chapter explains how instructors can help engineering students build their capacity for leadership while working in teams.

Reducing the particles generated by flushing institutional toilets.

Airborne particles play a significant role in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. A previous study reported that institutional flush-O-meter (FOM) toilets can generate 3-12 times as many droplets as other toilets by splashing (large droplets) and bubble bursting (fine droplets). In this study, an aerosol suppression lid was evaluated to measure the reduction of particles by size using three metrics; number, surface area, and mass concentrations.

Doxorubicin-Loaded Metal-Organic Framework Nanoparticles as Acid-Activatable Hydroxyl Radical Nanogenerators for Enhanced Chemo/Chemodynamic Synergistic Therapy.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a widely used first-line antitumor agent; however, acquired drug resistance and side effects have become the main challenges to effective cancer therapy. Herein, DOX is loaded into iron-rich metal-organic framework/tannic acid (TA) nanocomplex to form a tumor-targeting and acid-activatable drug delivery system (MOF/TA-DOX, MTD). Under the acidic tumor microenvironment, MTD simultaneously releases DOX and ferrous ion (Fe) accompanied by degradation.

Localized Orbital Excitation Drives Bond Formation in Plasmonic Catalysis.

Localized surface plasmons generated on metallic nanostructures can be used to accelerate molecular transformations; however, the efficiency is limited by the challenge to control the energy/charge transfer at the interfaces. Here, we combine density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experiments to reveal the mechanism of nitrophenol reduction on Au nanoparticles under visible-light irradiation and propose a strategy to further enhance the reaction rates. DFT calculations show a reduced activation barrier under electronic excitation on Au(111), thus explaining the measured higher rates under visible-light irradiation.

Revealing macropinocytosis using nanoparticles.

Endocytosis mechanisms are one of the methods that cells use to interact with their environments. Endocytosis mechanisms vary from the clathrin-mediated endocytosis to the receptor independent macropinocytosis. Macropinocytosis is a niche of endocytosis that is quickly becoming more relevant in various fields of research since its discovery in the 1930s.

Transcriptomic analysis of mechanism of melanoma cell death induced by photothermal therapy.

Melanoma is a malignancy with poor prognosis. Its incidence rate has been on the rise and it poses high health and economic challenges to different populations. Photothermal therapy (PTT) served as an effective local therapy in treating various tumors, particularly cutaneous carcinoma like melanoma.

Novel Immune Stimulant Amplifies Direct Tumoricidal Effect of Cancer Ablation Therapies and Their Systemic Antitumor Immune Efficacy.

Ablation therapies have emerged as an effective tool for destroying cancerous tissue, but for advanced and disseminated tumors their application remains mainly a palliative measure. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that this limitation can be redressed by the use of intratumoral immune stimulating agents for amplifying potential antitumor immune responses that are induced by ablation therapies. A novel immune stimulating drug IP-001, a specific variant of the N-dihydrogalactochitosan (GC) family of molecules, has shown to be effective against metastatic tumors, when combined with different forms tumor ablation.

Demonstration of age-related blood-brain barrier disruption and cerebromicrovascular rarefaction in mice by longitudinal intravital two-photon microscopy and optical coherence tomography.

Age-related blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption and cerebromicrovascular rarefaction contribute importantly to the pathogenesis of both vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent advances in geroscience research enable development of novel interventions to reverse age-related alterations of the cerebral microcirculation for prevention of VCID and AD. To facilitate this research, there is an urgent need for sensitive and easy-to-adapt imaging methods that enable longitudinal assessment of changes in BBB permeability and brain capillarization in aged mice and that could be used in vivo to evaluate treatment efficiency.

Infrared Spectroscopy of Polybenzimidazole in the Dry and Hydrate Forms: A Combined Experimental and Computational Study.

In the present article, the infrared spectrum of polybenzimidazole (PBI) in the dry and hydrate forms has been studied both experimentally and theoretically to improve the interpretation of its complex features, especially in the ν(NH)/ν(OH) range, which is extensively affected by sorbed water and temperature. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy measurements were performed to monitor HO sorption, whereas the temperature behavior was investigated by in situ measurements in the 100-450 °C range. Density functional theory calculations on simplified models of dry and hydrated PBI showed good agreement with experimental results and allowed a reliable interpretation of the observed effects.

Controlling Reaction Selectivity over Hybrid Plasmonic Nanocatalysts.

The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitation in plasmonic nanoparticles has been used to accelerate several catalytic transformations under visible-light irradiation. In order to fully harness the potential of plasmonic catalysis, multimetallic nanoparticles containing a plasmonic and a catalytic component, where LSPR-excited energetic charge carriers and the intrinsic catalytic active sites work synergistically, have raised increased attention. Despite several exciting studies observing rate enhancements, controlling reaction selectivity remains very challenging.