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Homoisocitrate dehydrogenase from Candida albicans: properties, inhibition, and targeting by an antifungal pro-drug
PublicationThe LYS12 gene from Candida albicans, coding for homoisocitrate dehydrogenase was cloned and expressed as a His-tagged protein in Escherichia coli. The purified gene product catalyzes the Mg2+- and K+-dependent oxidative decarboxylation of homoisocitrate to alpha-ketoadipate. The recombinant enzyme demonstrates strict specificity for homoisocitrate. SDS-PAGE of CaHIcDH revealed its molecular mass of 42.6±1 kDa, while in size-exclusion...
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Deep eutectic solvents for the food industry: extraction, processing, analysis, and packaging applications – a review
PublicationFood factories seek the application of natural products, green feedstock and eco-friendly processes, which minimally affect the properties of the food item and products. Today, water and conventional polar solvents are used in many areas of food science and technology. As modern chemistry evolves, new green items for building eco-friendly processes are being developed. This is the case of deep eutectic solvents (DESs), named the...
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Xanthone synthetic derivatives with high anticandidal activity and positive mycostatic selectivity index values
PublicationWith the current massive increases in drug-resistant microbial infection as well as the significant role of fungal infections in the death toll of COVID-19, discovering new antifungals is extremely important. Natural and synthetic xanthones are promising derivatives, although only few reports have demonstrated their antifungal mechanism of action in detail. Newly synthetized by us xanthone derivative 44 exhibited strong antifungal...
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Extraction pathways and purification strategies towards carminic acid as natural-based food colorant: A comprehensive review
PublicationAs a current trend of fabricating healthier products, food manufacturing companies seek for natural-based food colorant aiming to replace the synthetic ones, which apart from meeting sensorial and organoleptic aspects, they can also act as health promoters offering additional added value. Carminic acid is a natural based food colorant typically found in several insect taxa. However, there are current approaches which pursue the...
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Mutual Coupling Reduction in Antenna Arrays Using Artificial Intelligence Approach and Inverse Neural Network Surrogates
PublicationThis paper presents a novel approach to reduce undesirable coupling in antenna arrays using custom-designed resonators and inverse surrogate modeling. To illustrate the concept, two stand-ard patch antenna cells with 0.07λ edge-to-edge distance are designed and fabricated to operate at 2.45 GHz. A stepped-impedance resonator is applied between the antennas to suppress their mutual coupling. For the first time, the optimum values...
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Optical fiber aptasensor for label-free bacteria detection in small volumes
PublicationHighly sensitive devices for fast bacteria detection are sought to be developed with the task of quantifying the worldwide problem of pathogenic bacteria and thus helping to take control over spreading bacterial infections. This work concerns a sensing solution based on microcavity in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometer (μIMZI) induced in an optical fiber. Such a device exhibits ultrahigh sensitivity to refractive index changes...
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Hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents in microextraction techniques–A review
PublicationOver the past decade, deep eutectic solvents (DES) have been widely studied and applied in sample preparation techniques. Until recently, most of the synthesized DES were hydrophilic, which prevented their use in the extraction of aqueous samples. However, after 2015 studies on the synthesis and application of hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (HDES) has rapidly expanded. Due to unique properties of HDES i.e. density, viscosity,...
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Study of pH and temperature effect on lipophilicity of catechol-containing antioxidants by reversed phase liquid chromatography
PublicationLipophilicity of selected antioxidant phytochemicals, including flavonoids, phenolic acids and xanthonoids, was determined by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (RP-HPLC-UV). The analyses run at different temperature and pH conditions in isocratic mode suggested that lipophilicity as distribution coefficient (logD) between aqueous and organic phase decreases with increasing temperature. For...
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Objectivization of phonological evaluation of speech elements by means of audio parametrization
PublicationThis study addresses two issues related to both machine- and subjective-based speech evaluation by investigating five phonological phenomena related to allophone production. Its aim is to use objective parametrization and phonological classification of the recorded allophones. These allophones were selected as specifically difficult for Polish speakers of English: aspiration, final obstruent devoicing, dark lateral /l/, velar nasal...
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Fabrication and Significant Photoelectrochemical Activity of Titania Nanotubes Modified with Thin Indium Tin Oxide Film
PublicationOrdered titanium dioxide nanotubes (TiO2NTs) modified with indium tin oxide (ITO) films were obtained via magnetron sputtering, in which ITO plate was used as a target, onto the as-anodized titania support followed by the calcination process. The morphology of fabricated material with deposited oxide was investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Raman and UV–Vis spectroscopies were utilized to characterize crystalline phase...
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Nanoporous TiO2 electrode grown by laser ablation of titanium in air at atmospheric pressure and room temperature
PublicationRecently, fabrication of the nanoporous TiO2 photoelectrode on metal foils by means of sputtering of the Ti film on preheatedmetal substrate followed by the TiO2 deposition (doctor blade technique) and sintering represents the frequently applied technique. This is despite the relatively complicated procedure and number of parameters to be controlled in order to fabricate films of required properties. In this work an approach is...
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Design specification management with automated decision-making for reliable optimization of miniaturized microwave components
PublicationThe employment of numerical optimization techniques for parameter tuning of microwave components has nowadays become a commonplace. In pursuit of reliability, it is most often carried out at the level of full-wave electromagnetic (EM) simulation models, incurring considerable computational expenses. In the case of miniaturized microstrip circuits, densely arranged layouts with strong cross-coupling effects make EM-driven tuning...
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Digital Gaps and Economic Inequalities in MENA Countries: An Empirical Investigation
PublicationThis research contributes to the present state of the art by examining changes in cross-country inequalities in digital technologies deployment and economic performance. Our empirical target builds on the hypothesis that rapid global diffusion of digital technologies unequivocally leads to gradual eradication of cross-country digital gaps and cross-country inequalities in terms of deployment of ICT; the technology convergence occurs....
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Statistics with R A Handbook for Statistical Analysis with R and R-Studio
PublicationIf you are to perform any kind of data (statistical) analysis and use tools in the data science ecosystem, you may have seen a variety of tutorials, handbooks online (I’m not mentioning traditional bibles of statistics). Unfortunately most of them is written intentionally for specific purposes and/or target group of people and does not include many aspects, data types, difficult aspects, usually hiding them trying to solve theoretical...
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Experimental and numerical investigation on shell and coil storage unit with biodegradable PCM for modular thermal battery applications
PublicationThermal energy storage (TES) in automotive applications is currently growing in importance. TES can visibly reduce primary energy consumptions, decrease CO2 emission, and improve thermal comfort in electric as well as hybrid vehicles. However, to meet the new ambitious target (15% reduction of CO2 emissions in the new cars until 2025) it is required to use plug-in electric vehicles. For this reason, this paper focuses on the optimization...
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The pulsed laser ablation synthesis of colloidal iron oxide nanoparticles for the enhancement of TiO2 nanotubes photo-activity
PublicationThe rapid, only a few minutes long synthesis of FeO, Fe3O4, and Fe2O3nanoparticles mixture utilizing the pulsedlaser ablation using simply pure iron target and water was demonstrated. The size and crystal phase of Fe-basedNPs were characterized using DLS and HR-TEM techniques, respectively. The metastable suspension of FeO,Fe3O4, and Fe2O3nanoparticles was used to the decoration of anodized TiO2nanotubes (TiO2-NTs) by means ofthe...
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Forced degradation studies of ivabradine and in silico toxicology predictions for its new designated impurities
PublicationAll activities should aim to eliminate genotoxic impurities and/or protect the API againstdegradation. There is a necessity to monitor impurities from all classification groups,hence ivabradine forced degradation studies were performed. Ivabradine was provedto be quite durable active substance, but still new and with insufficient stability data.Increased temperature, acid, base, oxidation reagents and...
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Inflation Forecast or Forecast(s) Targeting?
PublicationThe paper refers to L.E.O. Svensson’s concept of inflation forecast targeting (IFT) and its implementation by central banks of Sweden, Norway and the Czech Republic. The study focuses on (1) inflation forecasts published by selected central banks, i.e.headline inflation and core or monetary policy-relevant (MPR) inflation, which are made on the assumption of endogenous instrument rate, (2) one-year consumer...
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Visualizing Carotid Bodies With Doppler Ultrasound Versus CT Angiography: Preliminary Study
PublicationOBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the utility of ultrasound in identifying carotid bodies (CBs) in patients with drug-resistant arterial hypertension. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. We enrolled 13 patients with drug-resistant hypertension into a trial for surgical CB excision. CT angiography (CTA) and Doppler ultrasound (DUS) of the cervical arteries were performed before surgery. CBs were identified in a blind manner...
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General concept of reduction process for big data obtained by interferometric methods
PublicationInterferometric sonar systems apply the phase content of the sonar signal to measure the angle of a wave front returned from the seafloor or from a target. It collect a big data – datasets that are so large or complex that traditional data processing application software is inadequate to deal with them. The recording a large number of data is associated with the difficulty of their efficient use. So data have to be reduced. The main...
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Identification of 1H‐indene‐(1, 3, 5, 6)‐tetrol derivatives as potent pancreatic lipase inhibitors using molecular docking and molecular dynamics approach
PublicationPancreatic lipase is a potential therapeutic target to treat diet-induced obesity in humans, as obesity-related diseases continue to be a global problem. Despite intensive research on finding potential inhibitors, very few compounds have been introduced to clinical studies. In this work, new chemical scaffold 1H-indene-(1,3,5,6)-tetrol was proposed using knowledge-based approach, and 36 inhibitors were derived by modifying its...
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Preparation of platinum modified titanium dioxide nanoparticles with the use of laser ablation in water
PublicationWe report on the preparation method of nanocrystalline titanium dioxide modified with platinum by using nanosecond laser ablation in liquid (LAL). Titania in the form of anatase crystals has been prepared in a two-stage process. Initially, irradiation by laser beam of a titanium metal plate fixed in a glass container filled with deionized water was conducted. After that, the ablation process was continued, with the use of a platinum...
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Toward Mechanosynthesis of Diamondoid Structures: IX Commercial Capped CNT Scanning Probe Microscopy Tip as Nowadays Available Tool for Silylene Molecule and Silicon Atom Transfer
PublicationAccording to K. E. Drexler, advanced mechanosynthesis will employ advanced nanomachines, but advanced nanomachines will themselves be product of advanced mechanosynthesis. This circular relationship must be broken in SPM technology development. In the article, the possibility of use easy available commercial CNT tips to assembly silicon-based intermediate generations of nano-devices is considered. Mechanosynthesis of a target class...
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Development of the System Assurance Reference Model for Generating Modular Assurance Cases
PublicationAssurance cases are structured arguments used to demonstrate specific system properties such as safety or security. They are used in many industrial sectors including automotive, aviation and medical devices. Larger assurance cases are usually divided into modules to manage the complexity and distribute the work. Each of the modules is developed to address specific goals allocated to the specific objects i.e. components of the...
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Scale transformations in model exchange potentials in low energy electron-atom scattering
PublicationModel exchange potentials are particularly interesting to account for the indistinguishability between the projectile and target electrons in electron-atom scattering in vacuo and plasma environments. It is well known that their performance is pretty satisfactory in the high energies but also that discrepancies from the results obtained with exact exchange are found toward the zero energy limit. In this article, we examine how...
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Cellular Effects of Selected Unsymmetrical Bisacridines on the Multicellular Tumor Spheroids of HCT116 Colon and A549 Lung Cancer Cells in Comparison to Monolayer Cultures
PublicationMulticellular tumor spheroids are a good tool for testing new anticancer drugs, including those that may target cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are responsible for cancer progression, metastasis, and recurrence. Therefore, we applied this model in our studies of highly active antitumor unsymmetrical bisacridines (UAs). We investigated the cellular response induced by UAs in 2D and 3D cultures of HCT116 colon and A549 lung cancer...
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Extracting functional groups of ALLINI to design derivatives of FDA‐approved drugs: Inhibition of HIV‐1 integrase
PublicationHIV‐1 integrase (IN) is crucial for integration of viral DNA into the host genome and a promising target in development of antiretroviral inhibitors. In this work, six new compounds were designed by linking the structures of two different class of HIV‐1 IN inhibitors (active site binders and allosteric IN inhibitors (ALLINIs)). Among newly designed compounds, INRAT10b was found most potent HIV‐1 IN inhibitor considering different...
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Elastic scattering of electrons from chloroform
PublicationWe present experimental and theoretical cross sections for elastic electron scattering from CHCl3. This is an important target because of its relevance to environmental chemistry and the plasma etching industry as a source of chlorine radicals. The experimental results were obtained at incident electron energies ranging from 0.5 to 800 eV in the 10deg-130deg scattering angle range. Theoretically, the scattering cross sections in...
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Improved Design Closure of Compact Microwave Circuits by Means of Performance Requirement Adaptation
PublicationNumerical optimization procedures have been widely used in the design of microwave components and systems. Most often, optimization algorithms are applied at the later stages of the design process to tune the geometry and/or material parameter values. To ensure sufficient accuracy, parameter adjustment is realized at the level of full-wave electromagnetic (EM) analysis, which creates perhaps the most important bottleneck due to...
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Robust Parameter Tuning of Antenna Structures by Means of Design Specification Adaptation
PublicationParameter tuning through numerical optimization has become instrumental in the design of high-performance antenna systems. Yet, practical optimization faces several major challenges, including high cost of massive evaluations of antenna characteristics, normally involving full-wave electromagnetic (EM) analysis, large numbers of adjustable variables, the shortage of reasonable initial solutions in the case of topologically complex...
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Anticancer Imidazoacridinone C-1311 is Effective in Androgen-Dependent and Androgen-Independent Prostate Cancer Cells
PublicationAndrogen receptor (AR) plays a crutial role in prostate cancer (PCa) development and metastasis. Here, we reported potent anti-PCa activity of a small molecule imidazoacridinone C-1311. In AR-positive PCa cells, C-1311 was found to inhibit the transcriptional activity of AR uncovering a novel mechanism that may be relevant for its anticancer effect. Mechanistically, C-1311 decreased AR binding to prostate-specific antigen (PSA)...
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The Effect of Conjugation with Octaarginine, a Cell-Penetrating Peptide on Antifungal Activity of Imidazoacridinone Derivative
PublicationAcridine cell-penetrating peptide conjugates are an extremely important family of compounds in antitumor chemotherapy. These conjugates are not so widely analysed in antimicrobial therapy, although bioactive peptides could be used as nanocarriers to smuggle antimicrobial compounds. An octaarginine conjugate of an imidazoacridinone derivative (Compound 1-R8) synthetized by us exhibited high antifungal activity against reference...
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Application of Aqueous Biphasic Systems Extraction in Various Biomolecules Separation and Purification: Advancements Brought by Quaternary Systems
PublicationAqueous biphasic systems (ABS) extraction is a simple, selective, efficient and easy to scale-up technology that, over the years, has attracted a considerable attention from the researcher community as an alternative methodology in downstream processing of a wide variety of biomolecules. This review summarizes and discusses the fundamental features of ABS, as well as its advantages and disadvantages, as a separation and purification...
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Effect of annealing temperature on slurry erosion resistance of ferritic X10CrAlSi18 steel
PublicationIn the present work, the slurry erosion tests were carried out to investigate the influence of heat treatment on slurry erosion process of ferritic X10CrAlSi18 stainless steel using a slurry pot test rig. X10CrAlSi18 stainless steel was tested in as-received condition and after annealing at three different temperatures: 600°C, 800°C and 1000°C. Degradation of materials due to slurry erosion depends on many factors connected with...
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Non-carcinogenic human risk assessment of the consumption of infant formulas contaminated with total and organic mercury
PublicationThe quality of food is paramount for the healthy growth and development of children, with nutrients and contaminants like mercury playing significant roles here. In this study, the levels of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in infant formulas such as the first infant formula, hypoallergenic formula, comfort formula against colic and constipation, and anti-reflux formula were investigated. A validated and optimized cold...
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Rapid method for the determination of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in fish muscle samples by microwave-assisted extraction and analysis of extracts by GC-ECD
PublicationA procedure for the multiresidue determination of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in fish muscle samples has been developed. The method is based on the microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of food samples from an acetonitrile-water (95 + 5, v/v) mixture followed by SPE cleanup of the extracts and analysis by GC with an electron capture detector. MAE operational parameters, such as the extraction solvent,...
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Challenges in determination of pesticides from various chemical groups in fruits and vegetables applying QuEChERS method
PublicationPesticides are a large group of compounds with different physical and chemical properties, which place some of them among the most toxic, environmentally stable, and mobile substances. Nevertheless, their number, use, and application are continuously expanding. A consequence of their use is the possible presence of residues in treated food products. To protect consumers from exposure to unacceptable levels of pesticides Maximum...
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Novel application of terminal restriction fragments length polymorphism method (t-RFLP) for identification of six clinically important Candida sp.
PublicationTerminal restriction fragments length polymorphism method (t-RFLP) is a modified classical RFLP method. The main difference is based on carrying out PCR using a fluorescently labeled primer or primers. The result of such modification is that after digestion of amplicons only terminal fragments of PCR product (containing fluorescent dye) are visualized. T-RFLP method has found application in environmental microbiology and epidemiology....
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Thermodynamics aspects of interactions between acridine derivatives and DNA
PublicationDNA is a molecular target for many anticancer and antiviral drugs. Therefore, a clear understanding of the interaction of small molecules with DNA is important in the rational design of ligands that can bind to DNA with high affinity and selectivity. There are several methods to investigate interactions between drug and DNA. Some of them measure changing into DNA structures, such as lengthening and untwisting of helix of DNA. Other...
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Determination of antifreeze substances in the airport runoff waters by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method
PublicationA new method has been developed for the determination of antifreeze agents such as ethylene glycol (EG), propylene glycol (PG), and diethylene glycol (DEG) in the samples of airport runoff water. The method is based on headspace solid–phase microextraction (HS–SPME) of target analytes, which is coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Until now, there was a lack of appropriate methodology for collecting reliable...
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Imidazoacridinone-dependent lysosomal photodestruction: a pharmacological Trojan horse approach to eradicate multidrug-resistant cancers
PublicationMultidrug resistance (MDR) remains a primary hindrance to curative cancer therapy. Thus, introduction of novel strategies to overcome MDR is of paramount therapeutic significance. Sequestration of chemotherapeutics in lysosomes is an established mechanism of drug resistance. Here, we show that MDR cells display a marked increase in lysosome number. We further demonstrate that imidazoacridinones (IAs), which are cytotoxic fluorochromes,...
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Toward Mechanosynthesis of Diamondoid Structures: X. Commercial Capped CNT SPM Tip as Nowadays Available C2 Dimer Placement Tool for Tip-Based Nanofabrication
PublicationAccording to Drexler, advanced mechanosynthesis will employ advanced nano-machines, but advanced nano-machines will themselves be products of advanced mechanosynthesis. This circular relationship must be broken via TBN technology development. In this article, the possibility of using easily available commercial CNT tips to assemble carbon-based intermediate generations of nano-devices is considered. Mechanosynthesis of a target...
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Technology convergence and digital divides. A country-level evidence for the period 2000–2010
PublicationThe paper, mostly empirical in nature, investigates issues on cross-national new information and communication technologies (ICTs) adoption patterns and growth directions. In the period of 2000–2010, a great number of countries underwent substantial changes on the field of ICTs implementation. Many of them made a great “jump” starting with almost “zero level” of ICTs adoption in the year 2000 and during the ten- year period were...
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Ionic liquids-based microextraction techniques
PublicationIn recent years, the development of highly efficient analytical techniques is of great importance, however, the direct analysis of complex sample matrix is still impossible in many cases. Therefore, the step of sample preparation is commonly involved in an analytical procedure. Over the years, it has been realized that the major source of inaccuracy and imprecision on general analysis results from the operations associated to sample...
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Novel anticancer strategy aimed at targeting shelterin complexes by the induction of structural changes in telomeric DNA: hitting two birds with one stone.
PublicationThe ends of chromosomes in mammals are composed of telomeric DNA containing TTAGGG repeats, which bind specific proteins called shelterins. This telomeric DNA together with shelterins form a cap that protects the ends of chromosomes from being recognized as sites of DNA damage and from chromosomal fusions. Many very successful antitumor drugs used in the treatment of cancer patients bind to DNA, some of them with a prominent sequence...
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Plant-based meat substitute analysis using microextraction with deep eutectic solvent followed by LC-MS/MS to determine acrylamide, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furaneol
PublicationFor the analysis of plant-based meat substitutes and the determination of Maillard reaction products such as acrylamide, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furaneol, a novel and effective procedure based on hydrophobic natural deep eutectic solvent and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the first time. The 49 compositions of the deep eutectic solvents were designed and screened to select the...
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Chained machine learning model for predicting load capacity and ductility of steel fiber–reinforced concrete beams
PublicationOne of the main issues associated with steel fiber–reinforced concrete (SFRC) beams is the ability to anticipate their flexural response. With a comprehensive grid search, several stacked models (i.e., chained, parallel) consisting of various machine learning (ML) algorithms and artificial neural networks (ANNs) were developed to predict the flexural response of SFRC beams. The flexural performance of SFRC beams under bending was...
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CHEMOTHERAPY-MEDIATED COMPLICATIONS OF WOUND HEALING. AN UNDERSTUDIED SIDE EFFECT
PublicationSignificance: Chemotherapy is a primary method to treat cancer, but while cytotoxic drugs are designed to target rapidly dividing cancer cells, they can also affect other cell types, including dermal cells and macrophages involved in wound healing, which often leads to the development of chronic wounds. The situation becomes even more severe when chemotherapy is combined with surgical tumor excision. Recent advances: Despite its...
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Advanced Bayesian study on inland navigational risk of remotely controlled autonomous ship
PublicationThe arise of autonomous ships has necessitated the development of new risk assessment techniques and methods. This study proposes a new framework for navigational risk assessment of remotely controlled Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). This framework establishes a set of risk influencing factors affecting safety of navigation of a remotely-controlled MASS. Next, model parameters are defined based on the risk factors, and...
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Comparison of 2D and 3D culture models in the studies of the biological response induced by unsymmetrical bisacridines in cancer cells
PublicationMulticellular tumor spheroids are a good tool for testing new anticancer drugs, including those that may target cancer stem cells (CSCs), responsible for cancer progression, metastasis, and recurrence. Therefore, following the initial evaluation of the impact of antitumor unsymmetrical bisacridines (UAs) on lung and colon cancer cells using traditional monolayer cultures, I extended my investigations and applied the spherical model....