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Advancements in cellular imaging have significantly enhanced our understanding of membrane potential and Ca2⁺ dynamics, which are crucial for various cellular processes. Voltage-sensitive dyes (VSDs) are pivotal in this field, enabling non-invasive, high-resolution visualization of electrical activity in cells. This review discusses the various types of VSDs, including electrochromic, Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-based, and Photoinduced Electron Transfer (PeT)-based dyes. VSDs are essential tools for studying mitochondrial activity and neuronal function and are frequently used in conjunction with Ca2⁺ indicators to elucidate the complex relationship between membrane potential and Ca2⁺ fluxes. The development of novel dyes with improved photostability and reduced toxicity continues to expand the potential of VSDs in biomedical research. This review underscores the importance of VSDs in advancing our understanding of cellular bioenergetics, signaling, and disease mechanisms.

Federated risk management in the context of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending should be a collaborative approach with multiple autonomous entities (i.e. agent systems) working together to assess, monitor, and mitigate risks. Orchestration of these agents is crucial in facilitating risk evaluation, surveillance, and mitigation tactics. By employing Multi-Agent Systems (MAS), the orchestration of risk, regulatory compliance, and stakeholders' interests are better protected. The framework of federated risk management in P2P lending aims to address challenges and risks inherent in decentralized platforms. In recent years, the P2P lending industry has experienced significant growth, attracting both borrowers and investors seeking an alternative financial system. However, this growth has exposed the industry to various risks, including credit risk, fraud, and information asymmetry. As a result, the need for a robust risk management framework has become increasingly critical. In this paper, we delve into the role of intelligent agents and their protocol for collaborative dynamics that uses the portfolio's return (Rp) and the risk-free rate (Rf), divided by the standard deviation of the portfolio's excess return (σp) for various investment portfolios. Our framework allows MAS to analyze data from diverse sources, default rates, payback history, and portfolio risks to propose adaptive strategies for risk mitigation. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2024-05-04-06 Full Text: PDF

This study addresses the inherent risk management challenges in decentralized finance, particularly for peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms. We propose a novel framework that leverages a Multi-Agent System (MAS) to establish a collaborative network encompassing loan originators, investors, regulators, and service providers. This distributed approach facilitates federated risk management, where risk assessment and mitigation responsibilities are shared across these entities. The MAS employs a comprehensive nine-factor assessment (detailed in Table 5) to evaluate industry risk profiles, considering industry environment, competition, and internal capabilities. This data is further visualized using a color matrix (Tables 5 & 6) and utilized alongside state diagrams (Figure 2) to depict the workflow and manage tasks within the P2P lending process. Additionally, the MAS informs a novel Federated Risk-Based Access Control (FRkBAC) system that tailors access permissions (lending origination, disbursement, etc.) based on dynamic risk assessments of industry trends and individual borrower profiles. This data-driven approach fosters trust within the P2P ecosystem and represents a significant advancement in decentralized finance risk management compared to traditional methods. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-06-05 Full Text: PDF

Background: For patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, AAT augmentation therapy can be an important part of care. However, for those who require a lung transplant (LT), there is currently only limited information to guide the use of AAT augmentation therapy post-LT. Methods: We identified all LT recipients from 2011-2021 in the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients with an AAT deficiency diagnosis. We categorized recipients by use of AAT augmentation therapy post-LT and compared their baseline characteristics using Fisher’s exact test and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. We used Kaplan-Meier analyses and estimated the average treatment effect (ATE) of post-LT AAT augmentation therapy on mortality and all-cause graft failure (ACGF). The ATE measures the observed effect we would see if everyone in the population received the intervention as opposed to just a subset. Results: Among the 447 recipients with AAT deficiency, 109 used AAT augmentation therapy pre-LT, of which 32 (29.4%) continued post-LT. Recipients who used augmentation therapy post-LT were younger (56.5 [53-59.75] vs 57 [53.75-63], p = 0.04) and had shorter ischemia time (mean 311 vs 363 minutes, p = 0.03) than those who did not. The age-adjusted ATE estimate of post-LT augmentation therapy use on time to death and ACGF was +1.69 and +1.48 years, respectively. Post-LT augmentation therapy use was associated with a mortality reduction in the top quartile bilirubin subgroup (p = 0.02, log-rank test). Conclusions: In our study, the use of augmentation therapy post-LT was associated with improved survival. Confirmatory prospective studies should be considered to inform post-LT AAT therapy guidelines.

Background: Adolescents are considered to be vulnerable to particulate matter (PM). This study aims to develop and verify the effectiveness of the "school-based education program for coping with particulate matter (SEPC_PM)." This program was designed by employing the health belief model. Methods: High school students between the ages of 15 and 18 in South Korea participated in the program. This study employed a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. A total of 113 students participated in the study; of these, 56 students participated in the intervention group, and 57 in the control group. The intervention group received 8 intervention sessions the SEPC_PM over the course of 4 weeks. Results: After the completion of the program, the intervention group's knowledge about PM showed a statistically significant increase (t = 4.79, p < 0.001). The practice of engaging in health-managing behaviors to protect against PM also showed statistically significant improvement in the intervention group, with the greatest progress in practicing precaution when outdoors (t = 2.22, p = 0.029). No statistically significant changes were observed regarding other dependent variables. However, a subdomain of the variable of perceived self-efficacy for engaging in health-managing behaviors to protect against PM (degree of body cleansing after returning home) demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the intervention group (t = 1.99, p = 0.049). Conclusions: The SEPC_PM may be proposed for incorporation into regular high school curricula to improve students' health by encouraging them to take necessary actions against PM.

Peucedanum L. (Apiaceae) is broadly distributed in the Old World, and 11 taxa, including five endemic species, have been reported in Korea. In this study, we used scanning electron microscopy to describe petal epidermal cell patterns and evaluated their systematic implications for all Korean Peucedanum species except for one. This included two recently reported endemic species, P. miroense and P. tongkangense, which are closely associated with Heracleum moellendorffii. The epidermal characteristics of the petals, including cell type (papillose conical, papillose knobby rugose, tabular conical, or tabular rugose), anticlinal wall shape (straight, sinuous, or curved), cuticle sculpture (striate or wrinkled), and stomata (presence or absence) were observed. The petal epidermis could be categorized into three types and two subtypes. We concluded that petal epidermal characteristics provide evidence supporting the recent robust phylogeny that suggests the non-monophyly of the genus Peucedanum. In particular, P. japonicum and P. praeruptorum, which are positioned in different clades to the other species in the recent phylogeny, had different types of petal epidermis among the studied species. These petal epidermal micro-characteristics were evaluated as possible consistent parameters for the taxonomic delimitation of species of the genus Peucedanum.

The Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) launched in February 2020 is now providing continuous daytime hourly observations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) columns over eastern Asia (5° S–45° N, 75–145° E) with 3.5 × 7.7 km2 pixel resolution. These data provide unique information to improve understanding of the sources, chemistry, and transport of nitrogen oxides (NOx) with implications for atmospheric chemistry and air quality, but opportunities for direct validation are very limited. Here we correct the operational level-2 (L2) NO2 vertical column densities (VCDs) from GEMS with a machine learning (ML) model to match the much sparser but more mature observations from the low Earth orbit TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), preserving the data density of GEMS but making them consistent with TROPOMI. We first reprocess the GEMS and TROPOMI operational L2 products to use common prior vertical NO2 profiles (shape factors) from the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model. This removes a major inconsistency between the two satellite products and greatly improves their agreement with ground-based Pandora NO2 VCD data in source regions. We then apply the ML model to correct the remaining differences, Δ(GEMS–TROPOMI), using the GEMS NO2 VCDs and retrieval parameters as predictor variables. We train the ML model with colocated GEMS and TROPOMI NO2 VCDs, taking advantage of TROPOMI off-track viewing to cover the wide range of effective zenith angles (EZAs) observed by GEMS. The two most important predictor variables for Δ(GEMS–TROPOMI) are GEMS NO2 VCD and EZA. The corrected GEMS product is unbiased relative to TROPOMI and shows a diurnal variation over source regions more consistent with Pandora than the operational product.

In the context of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending, risk controls are required, and they usually refer to a set of procedures and operations that aim to protect the integrity of data, particularly for accurate financial representation within the platform. Risk control procedures need to be in place to ensure accountability and fairness in risk and return trade-offs on federated platforms. This will foster trust among participants, especially when multiple fraud cases in the past, such as Enron, Madoff Investment Securities, and WorldCom, have accentuated the importance of a robust internal control mechanism in maintaining the credibility of the financial ecosystem. Stakeholders in the P2P lending industry are becoming increasingly concerned about the issue of trust, necessitating a re-evaluation of internal control frameworks to uphold objectivity and reliability. With the growth of the P2P lending industry as an alternative lending and borrowing platform and the requirement of an autonomous P2P lending platform, complexity arises, and autonomous entities (i.e., MAS) working together to assess, monitor, and mitigate risks is the only solution for such complexities. The orchestration of MAS plays a pivotal role in facilitating and mitigating risks. This study aims to provide a process methodology for fostering collaborative dynamics within the P2P lending domain. A state diagram approach is presented, where state orders (SO), lending approvals, risk graphs, risk ordering relations, and risk bands (RB) are introduced for MAS to assume certain roles or tasks. For each task, controls for the segregation of duties are presented as well. Given the absence of proper autonomous systems for decision-making, robust internal control methods are necessary for controls to execute federated trust on lending platforms. Our approach will significantly improve investors’ confidence meant to achieve this goal. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-04-024 Full Text: PDF

Purpose This study aimed to implement a child abuse prevention program and evaluate its effectiveness based on the Nursing Model of Resilience and Coping Skills Training Model for unmarried mothers during pregnancy and puerperium. Methods This study had a prospective single-case, AB design with four repeated self-questionnaire measures and three observational measures. Seven unmarried mothers were provided with 10 sessions child abuse prevention program through individual visits from 32 to 34 weeks of pregnancy to six weeks after childbirth. The questionnaire was composed related to resilience, maternal stress, maternal attitude, parent-child interaction, child abuse potential. The observation was measured by video recording (total 16 times) the interaction of parent-child during feeding and analyzing it by three experts. Data were analyzed by Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Friedman’s test. Results Maternal attitude and parent-child interaction were statistically significantly improved after intervention compared to before intervention. However, maternal stress decreased after intervention compared to before intervention, but it was not statistically significant. Additionally, resilience and child abuse potential were not statistically significant. This program is partially effective in preventing child abuse by promoting parenting attitudes and parent-child interactions. Conclusion This study focused on individual resilience and applied systematic intervention as coping skills training to prevent child abuse. This study is meaningful in that interventions were conducted through individual visits to unmarried mothers at high risk of child abuse, and the program was applied, including pregnancy and postpartum periods, to prevent child abuse early.

Jan Endrikat,1,2 Gilda Schmidt,2 Bhagyashree Oak,3 Viplav Shukla,3 Prakirti Nangia,3 Nicolas Schleyer,1 John Crocker,3 Ruud Pijnapppel4 1Radiology, Bayer AG, Berlin, Germany; 2Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine, University Medical School of Saarland, Homburg, Saar, Germany; 3Trinity Life Sciences, Waltham, MA, 02451, USA; 4Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the NetherlandsCorrespondence: Jan Endrikat, Bayer AG, Müllerstr. 178, Berlin, 13353, Germany, Tel +49 175 3095846, Email jan.endrikat@bayer.comPurpose: Women with high breast density (HBD) carry an increased risk for breast cancer (BC). The aim of the study was to provide data on awareness and knowledge gaps among women with vs w/o HBD about BC risk factors (BCRFs), which is the basis for effective communication about screening.Patients and Methods: This was a web-based survey of 3000 women aged ≥ 30 and ≤ 70 from six countries. It comprised of 45 questions. T-tests and chi-square tests with False Discovery Rate adjustments were conducted as applicable, with significant differences reported at α=0.05.Results: Three-thousand women were included in the analysis, 733 (24.4%) had HBD. Overall, 39% of women were familiar with the concept of HBD in the context of BC. Thirty-one percent of women were aware of HBD as BCRF and for 24% of women HBD was personally applicable. A significantly higher proportion of women with HBD were aware of almost all BCRFs compared to women w/o HBD (p ≤ 0.05). Similarly, a significantly higher proportion of women with HBD have undergone screening procedures compared to women w/o HBD (p ≤ 0.05). Women with HBD were significantly better aware of basic facts about BC (p ≤ 0.05). A total of 1617 women underwent mammography, 904 ultrasound and 150 MRI during their last screening. The most relevant source of information about BC was the health care professional, as reported by 63% of women.Conclusion: Overall 39% of women were familiar with HBD as BCRF. Lack of BCRF awareness may contribute to delayed screenings, missed opportunities for early detection, and potentially poorer outcomes for individuals with dense breast tissue. Thus, this information should be communicated more widely.Keywords: breast cancer risk factors, dense breast, screening, imaging modalities, sources of information