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Suaeda glauca, a halophyte in the Amaranthaceae family, exhibits remarkable resilience to high salt and alkali stresses despite the absence of salt glands or vesicles in its leaves. While there is growing pharmacological interest in S. glauca, research on its secondary metabolites remains limited. In this study, chemical constituents of the aerial parts of S. glauca were identified using 1D- and 2D-NMR experiments, and its biological activity concerning hair loss was newly reported. Eight compounds, including alkaloids (1~3), flavonoids (4~6), and phenolics (7 and 8), were isolated. The compounds, except the flavonoids, were isolated for the first time from S. glauca. In the HPLC chromatogram, quercetin-3-O-β-d-glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-β-d-glucoside, and kaempferol were identified as major constituents in the extract of S. glauca. Additionally, the therapeutic potential of the extract of S. glauca and the isolated compounds 1~8 on the expressions of VEGF and IGF-1, as well as the regulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, were evaluated in human follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPCs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Among the eight compounds, compound 4 was the most potent in terms of increasing the expression of VEGF and IGF-1 and the regulation of Wnt/β-catenin. These findings suggest that S. glauca extract and its compounds are potential new candidates for preventing or treating hair loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the potential of cloud-free virtual optical imagery generated using synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) images and conditional generative adversarial networks (CGANs) for early crop mapping, which requires cloud-free optical imagery at the optimal date for classification. A two-stage CGAN approach, including representation and generation stages, is presented to generate virtual Sentinel-2 spectral bands using all available information from Sentinel-1 SAR and Sentinel-2 optical images. The dual-polarization-based radar vegetation index and all available multi-spectral bands of Sentinel-2 imagery are particularly considered for feature extraction in the representation stage. A crop classification experiment using Sentinel-1 and -2 images in Illinois, USA, demonstrated that the use of all available scattering and spectral features achieved the best prediction performance for all spectral bands, including visible, near-infrared, red-edge, and shortwave infrared bands, compared with the cases that only used dual-polarization backscattering coefficients and partial input spectral bands. Early crop mapping with an image time series, including the virtual Sentinel-2 image, yielded satisfactory classification accuracy comparable to the case of using an actual time-series image set, regardless of the different combinations of spectral bands. Therefore, the generation of virtual optical images using the proposed model can be effectively applied to early crop mapping when the availability of cloud-free optical images is limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a simple yet effective pipeline for absolute three-dimensional (3D) human pose estimation from two-dimensional (2D) joint keypoints, namely, the 2D-to-3D human pose lifting problem. Our method comprises two simple baseline networks, a 3D conversion function, and a correction network. The former two networks predict the root distance and the root-relative joint distance simultaneously. Given the input and predicted distances, the 3D conversion function recovers the absolute 3D pose, and the correction network reduces 3D pose noise caused by input uncertainties. Furthermore, to cope with input noise implicitly, we adopt a Siamese architecture that enforces the consistency of features between two training inputs, i.e., ground truth 2D joint keypoints and detected 2D joint keypoints. Finally, we experimentally validate the advantages of the proposed method and demonstrate its competitive performance over state-of-the-art absolute 2D-to-3D pose-lifting methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this randomized controlled clinical trial was to assess the short-term clinical effectiveness of sealer-based root canal obturation using calcium-silicate-based sealer (CSBS) and epoxy-resin-based sealer (ERBS). A total of eighty patients (eighty teeth) were enrolled and seventy-two patients (seventy-two teeth) were randomly assigned into four different sealer groups: AH Plus (AH, Dentsply Sirona), ADseal (AD, Meta Biomed), CeraSeal (CS, Meta Biomed), or EndoSeal TCS (ES, Maruchi). At the first visit, root canal treatment was performed using ProTaper. Next, the NiTi file system and passive ultrasonic irritation was applied with 2.5% NaOCl. At the second visit, the teeth were obturated with a sealer-based obturation technique using the assigned sealer. The quality of filling obturation was evaluated with postoperative radiographs in terms of the presence of voids and sealer extrusion. The patients were recalled at 1-week, 1-month, and 3-month intervals, and pain levels were measured using visual analog scales (VAS), and clinical examination performed with percussion and palpation. Radiographs were also taken. The results were statistically compared by using the χ2 test or Fisher exact test. Among the 80 teeth included, 72 teeth received allocated intervention and 71 teeth were included in the analysis (98.6% recall). There was no significant difference among the sealers in void and sealer extrusion (p > 0.05). Postoperative pain was not indicated prominently regardless of the type of sealer. For a 3-month follow-up period, all cases were maintained successfully except for one case from AD. According to the findings, there was no significant difference between CSBS and ERBS in terms of postoperative pain or the healing process, and the variation in filling quality appears to be linked to the properties of each product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to compare the physical properties and cytocompatibility of contemporary calcium silicate‐based sealers. Four calcium silicate‐based sealers (BrightEndo MTA sealer, CeraSeal, EndoSeal TCS and One‐Fil) were compared to an epoxy resin‐based sealer (AH Plus). Flow, setting time, radiopacity and dimensional change were evaluated according to ISO 6876 standards. Cytotoxicity on human periodontal ligament fibroblast (hPDLF) cells was compared for biological properties using MTT assay. The surface of the sealer was analysed using scanning electron microscopy to evaluate cell attachment. Flow and radiopacity of all sealers met ISO standards, while setting time and dimensional stability did not meet the ISO standards. Calcium silicate‐based sealers showed favourable cytocompatibility, and hPDLF cells were well attached to the calcium silicate‐based sealers. Calcium silicate‐based sealers have clinically acceptable flow and radiopacity, and cytocompatibility. However, these sealers had longer setting time and higher dimensional change than those required by ISO 6876. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the incidence of cardiovascular disease is high due to the aging population and westernization of dietary habits, what encourages researching new methods. Most cardiovascular procedures use the catheter. In the procedure using a catheter, a long time of training is required to lower the procedure risk. So, a medical training simulator is being developed. In the actual procedure, the position of the catheter is confirmed by a C-arm using X-ray, but there is a risk of over exposure to radiation if the X-ray device is used until training. To solve this problem, in previous studies, the position of the catheter was tracked using a permanent magnet. However, the method of permanent magnet has a high error value due to the shape of the external magnetic flux density and the interference of environmental magnetic field. In this paper, an alternating magnetic field generator is proposed for 3D position tracking of medical equipment for training. An electromagnet with an optimal shape was designed through finite element analysis. The designed electromagnet is implemented and tested to confirm the performance. Through the location tracking experiment, an equation to estimate the distance between the electromagnet and the Hall sensor in 3D space was derived by linear regression recursive method. Through the derived equation, it was possible to track the position of the electromagnet at any position in the 3D space. Unlike previous studies using permanent magnets, the proposed alternating magnetic field generator has an isotropic shape with an external magnetic flux density according to the same distance. So, it is possible to reduce errors in position and distance, and minimize the effect of environmental magnetic fields by using an alternating magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skyrmion-based devices are an attractive candidate for nonvolatile memory and low-power computation. In a real device, however, skyrmions easily annihilate at device edges, which hampers device applications. Here, we present a novel skyrmion-based logic device, which takes advantage of the skyrmion annihilation (SA) and increases the efficiency of logic operation. An SA half adder (HA) is implemented in a ferromagnet/heavy metal nanotrack by introducing a geometric notch that annihilates the skyrmion. In addition, full adder and n-bit SA ripple-carry adder are demonstrated by directly cascading the SA HAs. The prototype of a 32-bit SA ripple-carry adder consumes energy as low as 0.62 pJ per each operation, which is only 18% of the previously proposed skyrmion adder. Our SA logic gate can, therefore, be a promising candidate for the beyond-CMOS logic device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous hybrid capacitors (AHCs) are very promising electrochemical energy devices due to their being safe, cheap, and environmentally friendly, but their low energy and power densities are yet to be overcome for prolonged operation in a single fast charging device. Herein, a strategy to realize high‐energy density and ultrafast rechargeable AHCs is reported. A thorn‐covered core–shell conductive multivalence metal sulfide is synthesized as a cathode material that achieves high capacity via multivalence Ni and Co states and contains multiple mesoporous channels for fast ion transfer and ultrafine nanoparticles for efficient contact with electrolyte ions. Moreover, the multivalence metal states of the Fe1−xS anode units loaded on a three‐dimensional carbon structure with the mesoporous holes attain high capacity even at a very fast charging rate (20 A g−1, ≈86.4 C rate). The proposed AHC exploits the advantages of capacitive and diffusion‐controlled reactions. This is demonstrated by its high‐energy density (up to 120.5 Wh kg−1) surpassing that of state‐of‐the‐art AHCs and the ultrafast rechargeable power density (up to 23,998 W kg−1) that exceeds those of battery‐type reactions more than 100‐fold and provides long‐life stability for over 50 000 charge–discharge cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sound normally enters the ear canal, passes through the middle ear, and stimulates the cochlea through the oval window. Alternatively, the cochlea can be stimulated in a reverse manner, namely round window stimulation. The reverse stimulation is not well understood, partly because in classic lumped-parameter models the path of reverse drive during the round window stimulation is usually not considered. The study goal is to gain a better understanding of the hearing mechanism during round window stimulation. A piezo actuator was coupled to the oval and round window of the guinea pigs. The auditory brainstem response produced by the forward and reverse stimulation at four frequencies was recorded. The results show that the input voltage of the actuator required at the hearing threshold in the round window drive was higher than that in the oval window drive. In order to understand the data, we designed a lumped-parameter cochlear model that can simulate both forward and reverse drive. The model-predicted results were consistent with the experimental results. The response of the auditory system to stimulus of oval window and round window was quantified through animal experimentation, and guinea pigs were used as experimental animals. When the same stimulus was applied to the oval window and round window of the cochlea, the ABR signals were compared. A lumped parameter model was designed to incorporate the sound transmission paths in both oval and round window stimulation. The simulated results are consistent with those of animal experiments. This model will be useful in understanding the inner-ear response in round window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interfacial electronic structures of a bilayer of fullerene (C60) and zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) grown on vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) thin films deposited using radio frequency sputtering under various conditions were studied using X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. The energy difference between the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of the ZnPc layer and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level of the C60 layer was determined and compared with that grown on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. The energy difference of a heterojunction on all V2O5 was found to be 1.3~1.4 eV, while that on ITO was 1.1 eV. This difference could be due to the higher binding energy of the HOMO of ZnPc on V2O5 than that on ITO regardless of work functions of the substrates. We also determined the complete energy level diagrams of C60/ZnPc on V2O5 and ITO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The rs112735431 polymorphism of the RNF213 , a susceptibility variant for moyamoya disease (MMD), may be associated with non-MMD intracranial artery steno-occlusive disease of non-MMD type (non-MMD ICAD) in Asian. We investigated whether the rs112735431 polymorphism of the RNF213 affect the development of non-MMD ICAD in Koreans compared to MMD and control group. Methods We included 31 patients with non-MMD ICAD, 25 patients with MMD, and 100 participants as control group. The rs112735431 polymorphism of the RNF213 was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction amplification of target and detection by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Clinical phenotype was compared between patients with and without the rs112735431 polymorphism in non-MMD ICAD and MMD. Results The rs112735431 polymorphism of the RNF213 was significantly associated with non-MMD ICAD (p = 0.001; odds ratio, 14.3; 95% confidence interval, 2.80–73.2) and MMD (p < 0.0001; odds ratio, 126.0; 95% confidence interval, 24.2–656.0). The rate of hypertension was more frequent in MMD with the rs112735431 polymorphism than MMD without polymorphism (p = 0.010). Conclusions The rs112735431 polymorphism of the RNF213 is highly associated not only with MMD but also with non-MMD ICAD in Koreans. Also, our study suggests that the rs112735431 polymorphism of the RNF213 may be linked to the hypertension in MMD. Further studies are needed to clarify the relationship between the rs112735431 polymorphism of the RNF213 and hypertension in patients with MMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the working principle of a spin-torque oscillator, of which the frequency is efficiently controlled by manipulating the magnetostrictive anisotropy. To justify the scheme, we simulate a conventional magnetic-tunnel junction-based oscillator which is fabricated on a piezoelectric material. By applying mechanical stress to a free layer using a piezoelectric material, the oscillation frequency can be controlled to ensure a broad tuning range without a significant reduction of the dynamic resistance variation. Such controllability, which appears in the absence of an external magnetic field, will not only enable the integration of spin-torque oscillators and conventional complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor technology but will also broaden the applicability of spintorque oscillators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily and its serum level is known to be closely associated with future cardiovascular events and prognosis of various cardiovascular diseases. We investigated whether serum TRAIL levels are associated with the severity of acute ischemic stroke and specific stroke subtype. Methods We used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure the serum TRAIL levels of 293 patients with acute ischemic stroke within 7 days of onset. Stroke subtype was classified as large artery atherosclerosis, cardioembolism, small vessel occlusion and other determined etiology. We used National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of first hospital day and stroke volume on diffusion-weighted imaging within 7 days of stroke onset for measuring the severity of acute ischemic stroke. Results The level of serum TRAIL showed significant negative correlations with NIHSS score and stroke volume. Serum TRAIL levels significantly decreased as the tertile of NIHSS score and stroke volume increased. The relative risk of patients with serum TRAIL < 64.0 pg/mL for the presence of highest tertile of NIHSS score was significantly increased (adjusted OR [95%CI]; 7.07 [3.64–13.74]). Regarding stroke volume, the relative risk of patients with serum TRAIL < 71.5 pg/mL for the presence of highest tertile of stroke volume was also significantly increased (adjusted OR [95%CI]; 2.81 [1.61–4.92]). There are no significant differences of serum TRAIL level among stroke subtypes. Conclusions Low serum TRAIL levels were significantly associated with the acute ischemic stroke severity. This finding suggests that serum TRAIL might also have a role in acute ischemic stroke as well as other cardiovascular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the electromagnetic analysis and experimental testing of a tubular linear synchronous machine (TLSM) with a double-sided axially magnetized permanent magnet (AMPM) mover and coreless stator winding by using semianalytical techniques. Using a simple result based on the finite element method (FEM), characteristics of the TLSM with AMPM can be calculated with the semianalytical method easily. The magnetic flux density in the air gap is obtained by using a magnetic vector potential, a 2-D polar coordinate system, and the results of the magnetostatic calculation based on FEM. Based on these solutions, the electromotive force (EMF) is also determined analytically. Then, 2-D FEM is employed to validate the semianalytical method. Finally, experimental testing of the EMF measurements is performed to confirm the results of the semianalytical techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]