Introduction/Objectives Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous environmental toxicant that causes adverse effects on female reproductive organs. Curcumin (Cm) has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but it has low solubility and bioavailability. The present study aimed to evaluate and compare the protective effects of native Cm and polycaprolactone/polyvinyl alcohol-based curcumin nanoparticles (PCL/PVA/Cm NPs) against Cd-induced ovarian and uterine toxicity in female rats through histopathological, semi-quantitative, and morphometric analyses. Methods Forty-eight adult female rats were randomly assigned to six groups (n = 8/group): control, Cd, Cm, Cd + Cm, PCL/PVA/Cm NPs, and Cd + PCL/PVA/Cm NPs. Treatments were given orally for four weeks. Ovarian and uterine tissues were collected at the end of the experimental period for histopathological analysis, semi-quantitative histological scoring, and morphometric evaluation. Results Cd exposure induced marked ovarian and uterine histopathological changes, including follicular atresia, degeneration of corpora lutea, vascular congestion, thinning of the endometrial epithelium, glandular atrophy and inflammatory cell infiltration, and reduced endometrial and myometrial thickness. Interestingly, treatment with free Cm maintained normal granulosa cell proliferation and uterine morphology. Administration of Cm along with Cd revealed partial histological recovery compared with the group treated with Cd alone. On the other hand, PCL/PVA-encapsulated Cm showed the most significant histological improvements with signs of active folliculogenesis and normal uterine structure. Interestingly, the group treated with Cd + PCL/PVA/Cm NPs showed almost complete recovery of ovarian and uterine structure with histological scores comparable to those of the control groups. Discussion The significant restoration of ovarian and uterine tissues and folliculogenesis in PCL/PVA/Cm NPs-treated animals could be attributed to the enhanced bioavailability and sustained release of Cm. Conclusion PCL/PVA/Cm NPs exhibited greater protective and restorative effects against Cd-induced reproductive toxicity than native Cm, indicating that nanoparticle-mediated delivery of curcumin may represent an effective strategy for protecting the female reproductive system against heavy metal-induced damage.
IntroductionThe prevalence of mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, and stress is on the rise. Persistent anxiety adversely affects individuals' quality of life and overall productivity. Early detection employing novel methodologies can enhance the effectiveness of intervention strategies. This study utilized cardio-spatiotemporal features to accurately identify anxiety states. MethodsBased on the dataset, 22 participants were continuously monitored over a 24-hour period to collect cardiac and locomotor data. Variables such as heart rate, R-R intervals, and step-related metrics were recorded. Subsequently, machine learning techniques—including K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), and Support Vector Machines (SVM) were employed to classify anxiety levels, and the performance of these models was evaluated using cross-validation methods. ResultsIn the Fine Tree and Boosted Tree methods, the area under the curve (AUC) outputs were 76% and 80%, respectively, while the other algorithms demonstrated significantly lower accuracy. DiscussionThe findings of this study demonstrated an association between cardio-spatiotemporal features and anxiety states. Furthermore, the application of machine learning techniques provided a robust, balanced approach to classifying anxiety. ConclusionThis study used machine learning to classify and diagnose anxiety by analyzing both muscle and heart characteristics together. Results showed that both traits indicate anxiety behaviors, with certain models achieving up to 76% accuracy. Future research should check anxiety levels beforehand and improve data collection to distinguish normal heart rate changes from those related to anxiety.
IntroductionWith the proliferation of communication applications, security has become a critical concern for the transmission and storage of files. Encryption is required to protect data communication in computer networks. Asymmetric encryption has the disadvantage of high computational complexity, making it unsuitable for resource-constrained communication applications. The main advantage of symmetric encryption is its lower computational cost compared with asymmetric encryption. However, existing symmetric algorithms vary significantly in efficiency and security, necessitating comparative analysis to determine their practical applicability. MethodsTherefore, it is necessary to evaluate the performance of common symmetric encryption algorithms to establish their suitability for various efficiency and security requirements. This study assessed the performance of three symmetric encryption techniques: Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Data Encryption Standard (DES), and Blowfish for the security of plaintext files, and the simulation program was implemented using the Python programming language. ResultsThe avalanche effect, execution time, and throughput performance of AES, DES, and Blowfish were evaluated based on 0.5MB, 1MB, 2MB, 5MB, 10MB, and 20MB of text files. A key novelty of this study lies in the systematic comparison of these algorithms under uniform conditions across file sizes to evaluate their real-world suitability. DiscussionThe novelty of this research lies in its systematic, file-size-based comparative evaluation of symmetric encryption algorithms using uniform testing conditions. By employing consistent implementation methods and benchmarking metrics, this study offers practical insights into how these algorithms perform under real-world data loads, providing developers and system designers with a valuable tool for selecting the most appropriate encryption algorithm for their specific use cases. ConclusionAES performed better than DES and Blowfish algorithms for security performance, while Blowfish performed better for both time and throughput.
BackgroundFluorescent imaging of nanoparticles (NPs) in organs and tumors is an important part of diagnosing and treating cancers. Our study investigated the differences in imaging depending on the accumulation of NaYF4 upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) in rat organs (heart, lung, liver, spleen, kidneys) and tumor (liver cancer model), based on their shell type, such as human serum albumin (HSA), HSA with folic acid (HSA+FA), or HSA, FA, and the cyanine dye Cy3 (HSA+FA+Cy3). MethodsWe performed simultaneous rapid imaging of NPs using a standard microscope with field-excited luminescence excitation. Histological sections were then prepared according to standard methods, followed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. ResultsIt was found that the NPs accumulated more in tumors. When using UCNPs-HSA and UCNPs-HSA+FA, similar changes were detected in rat organs. There were differences in the kidneys depending on the type of particle that was used. When UCNPs-HSA+FA+Cy3 particles were injected into the internal organs, signs of circulatory disorders and minor morphological signs of kidney damage were observed. DiscussionVisualizing the accumulation boundaries of NPs was achieved through image processing. This type of particle may be promising for future clinical trials and photodynamic therapy (PDT), as it demonstrates a correlation between particle accumulation and tumor necrosis. ConclusionThe data obtained will enable us to enhance the method of PDT using NPs and a photosensitizer (PS) with additional visualization capabilities.
Atherosclerosis is a risk factor for ischemic heart disease, and its progression has been associated with wall shear stress (WSS). While pulse waveform analysis has garnered increasing attention as a diagnostic indicator for atherosclerosis, the influence of the mechanical properties of arterial walls and the frequency of pulse waves on the pulse waveform and wall shear stress distribution has not been completely elucidated. In this study, three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction analysis was used to simulate the pulse wave propagation phenomena in the aorta. The effects of the mechanical properties of the arterial wall and the frequency of the pulse waves on the wall shear stress distribution and pulse wave dynamics were investigated. In the investigation of wall shear stress distribution, under conditions of low Young’s modulus or high frequency, the time-averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS) was low and the oscillatory shear index (OSI) became high. In contrast, under conditions of high Young’s modulus or low frequency, TAWSS was high and OSI became low. In the pulse waveform analysis, the influence of viscous friction incorporated in the three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction analysis confirmed that the pulse waveform attenuated and diffused during propagation. A causal relationship between the TAWSS values and the attenuation or diffusion of the pulse waveform was not observed. These results suggest that changes in arterial wall properties and differences in pulse wave frequency significantly influence WSS distribution. Furthermore, viscous friction in the three-dimensional FSI simulation led to attenuation and diffusion of the waveforms. However, the accuracy of waveform separation was insufficient, highlighting the need for improved methods that consider three-dimensional effects.
