The influence of model and measurement uncertainties on damage detection of experimental structures through recursive algorithms

In this work, we developed a framework for identifying frame-type structures regarding the measurement uncertainty and the uncertainty involved in inherent and structural parameters. The identification process is illustrated and examined on a one-eight-scale four-story moment-resisting steel frame under seismic excitation using two well-known recursive schemes: the Extended Kalman filter (EKF) and Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) methods. The nonlinear system equations were assessed by applying a first-order instantaneous linearization approach through the EKF method. In contrast, the UKF algorithm employs several sample points to estimate moments of random variables’ nonlinear transformations. A nonlinear transformation is applied to distribute sample points to derive the precise mean and covariance up to the second order of any nonlinearity. Accordingly, it is theoretically expected that the UKF algorithm is more capable of identifying the nonlinear systems and determining the unknown parameters than the EKF algorithm. The capability of the EKF and UKF algorithms was assessed by considering a 4-story moment-resisting steel frame with several inherent uncertainties, including the material behavior model, boundary conditions, and constraints. In addition to these uncertainties, the combination of acceleration and displacement responses of different structural levels is employed to evaluate the capability of the algorithms. The information entropy measure is used to investigate further the uncertainty of a group of established model parameters. As highlighted, a good agreement is observed between the results using the information entropy measure criterion and those using the UKF and EKF algorithms. The results illustrate that using the responses of fewer levels placed in the proper positions may lead to improved outcomes than those of more improperly positioned levels

Global, regional, and national burden of colorectal cancer and its risk factors, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Funding: F Carvalho and E Fernandes acknowledge support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT), in the scope of the project UIDP/04378/2020 and UIDB/04378/2020 of the Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences UCIBIO and the project LA/P/0140/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy i4HB; FCT/MCTES through the project UIDB/50006/2020. J Conde acknowledges the European Research Council Starting Grant (ERC-StG-2019-848325). V M Costa acknowledges the grant SFRH/BHD/110001/2015, received by Portuguese national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), IP, under the Norma Transitória DL57/2016/CP1334/CT0006.proofepub_ahead_of_prin

Probiotic properties and antimicrobial evaluation of silymarin-enriched Lactobacillus bacteria isolated from traditional curd

Abstract Nowadays, the increasing use of medicinal plants in the treatment and prevention of diseases has attracted the attention of researchers. The aim of this work was to investigate the probiotic properties and antibacterial and antifungal activity of silymarin-enriched Lactobacillus bacteria against several important pathogenic bacteria and also Aspergillus flavus as one of the harmful molds in the food and health industries. For this purpose, 52 g-positive and catalase-negative bacteria were isolated from 60 traditional curd samples from Ilam province. Five of the 52 bacterial strains had more than 90% viability in high bile salt and acidic conditions and were selected for further investigation. The five strains with positive results showed good hydrophobicity (≥ 50.30%), auto-aggregation (≥ 53.70%), coaggregation (≥ 28.20%), and high cholesterol removal ability (from 09.20 to 67.20%) and therefore can be considered potential probiotics. The tested strains displayed acceptable antibacterial and antifungal activity against all 12 pathogenic bacteria and A. flavus. Also, the results of the simultaneous antifungal activity of probiotic strains and silymarin showed that the combination of silymarin and probiotics has a significantly better (P < 0.05) antifungal effect than the control group or the probiotic groups alone. Interestingly, in addition to the Limosilactobacillus fermentum C3 strain, the Limosilactobacillus fermentum C18 and Lactiplantibacillus pentosus C20 strains also had significant inhibitory effects against A. flavus when used with silymarin extract in methanol. Meanwhile, silymarin extract in DMSO and PEG increased the antagonistic activity of all five potential probiotic strains

Dapsone reduced cuprizone-induced demyelination via targeting Nrf2 and IKB in C57BL/6 mice

Objective(s): Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disorder wherein the myelin of nerve cells in the central nervous system is damaged. In the current study, we assessed the effect of Dapsone (DAP) on the improvement of behavioral dysfunction and preservation of myelin in the cuprizone (CPZ) induced demyelination model via targeting Nrf2 and IKB. Materials and Methods: MS was induced in C57BL/6 mice through diet supplementation of CPZ (0.2%) for 6 weeks, and DAP (12.5 mg/kg/day; IP) was administered for the last 2 weeks of treatment. Pole test and rotarod performance test, LFB and H&E staining, and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining of p-Nrf2 and p-IKB were performed. Furthermore, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and nitrite were measured. Results: DAP treatment prevented body loss induced by CPZ (P<0.001). Pole test showed that CPZ increased latency time to fall (P<0.0001) but the latency to reach the floor in the DAP-CPZ group was significantly shorter (P<0.0001). Rotarod performance test showed the effect of CPZ in reducing fall time in the CPZ group (P<0.0014); however, DAP significantly increased fall time (P=0.0012). In LFB staining, DAP reduced demyelination induced by CPZ. CPZ significantly decreased p-Nrf2 and elevated p-IKB levels compared with the control group (P<0.0001), but in DAP-treated groups markedly modified these changes (P<0.0001). CPZ increased the brain nitrite levels and reduced SOD activity, but in DAP-treated considerably reversed CPZ-induced changes. Conclusion: These data support the suggestion that the beneficial properties of DAP on the CPZinduced demyelination are mediated by targeting Nrf2 and NF-kB pathways

Investigation of the effect of N-acetylcysteine on serum levels of oxidative inflammatory biomarkers in patients with stroke

Abstract Background N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a tolerable and safe drug capable of reducing free radicals and other oxidants. We included 74 individuals with ischemic stroke in this randomized, single-blind clinical trial and placed them into intervention (n = 37) and control (n = 37) groups. In the intervention group, in addition to standard treatment for ischemic stroke, they received NAC at a dose of 100 mg/kg bolus and then at a dose of 10 mg/kg/h for 10 h. The control group received only standard stroke treatment. Blood samples were taken before starting NAC and standard stroke treatment and 24 h after receiving the drug to measure the catalase, paraoxonase, malondialdehyde (MDA), neopterin, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and total oxidant status (TOS) parameters. The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was also calculated before and after 24 h, 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months after starting the drug. Results There was no significant difference between the results of parameters before and after standard treatment in control group; however, NAC could significantly reduce TOS (P = 0.02) in the intervention group. Moreover, NAC administration could notably decrease NIHSS calculated at each time point when compared to control group. After subgrouping the intervention group, NAC could increase catalase (P < 0.001), paraoxonase (P < 0.001), and TAC (P < 0.001) while decreased MDA (P < 0.001), neopterin (P = 0.001) and TOS (P < 0.001) significantly in intervention-responding subgroup and decreased NIHSS significantly at each monitored time point. Conclusion NAC can be promising as a complementary drug and a powerful antioxidant in reducing oxidative stress and improving cognitive function in individuals with stroke