Article
Infectious Diseases
Hassanain Al-Talib, Marwa Hasan Abdulwahab, Khairiyah Murad, Nur Deanna Amiruddin, Normi Ngah Mohamed
Summary: Synthetic peptides, including tetraspanin CD9 peptides, are being studied as a potential treatment for underarm odour caused by bacteria. This study investigated the antibacterial effect of CD9 peptides against the skin microbiota that cause malodour in the underarms.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jia-Cheng Zhou, Yi-Fei Wang, Dong Zhu, Yong-Guan Zhu
Summary: The reliance of modern society on indoor environments has increased, making them important sites for human exposure to microbes. This study examined the distribution of microbes at different locations within a single home and identified potential pathogens and microbial functions using PacBio Sequel full-length amplicon sequencing. The results showed significant differences in microbial communities among indoor sampling sites, with potential pathogens significantly enriched on door handles. The study also highlighted the role of microbial interactions in the development of a healthy immune system.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Vitor de Paula Castro, Danilo Yamamoto Thomaz, Kayro de Lima Vieira, Leonardo Guedes Lopes, Flavia Rossi, Gilda M. B. Del Negro, Gil Benard, Regina Helena Pires
Summary: The emergence of disinfectant-resistant microorganisms is a major threat to public health. In hospital settings, these resilient pathogens can survive despite routine disinfection practices, leading to persistent infections and potential outbreaks. This study investigated the impact of various commercial sanitizers on biofilms consisting of two pathogens, Candida parapsilosis and Staphylococcus aureus. Effective sanitizers were identified, and it was found that the formation of mixed biofilms in healthcare settings can enhance the survival of pathogens, highlighting the importance of effective sanitization practices.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Annika Kiel, Ines Creutz, Christian Rueckert, Bernhard Peter Kaltschmidt, Andreas Huetten, Karsten Niehaus, Tobias Busche, Barbara Kaltschmidt, Christian Kaltschmidt
Summary: Opportunistic pathogens like Pseudomonas aeruginosa exist in household washing machines, and four novel strains of P. aeruginosa isolated from different parts of household appliances showed varying biofilm formation. Whole genome sequencing revealed a correlation between biofilm phenotypes and gene compositions, suggesting the involvement of certain genes and prophages in biofilm formation. These findings enhance our understanding of the adaptability and pathogenicity of clinically relevant pathogens in household appliances.
Review
Plant Sciences
Leonardo De La Fuente, Marcus Merfa, Paul A. Cobine, Jeffrey J. Coleman
Summary: Aggressive pathogens have evolved to colonize the xylem of plants, and once established, they modulate the xylem environment to enhance their growth and virulence. The adaptation to xylem lifestyle leads to genome reduction, but the basis of this adaptation is still not completely understood.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Xiangmin Xie, Daolian Chen
Summary: This paper proposes a data-driven dynamic harmonic coupled admittance matrix model (HCAMM) based on measured voltage and current data, which accurately characterizes the harmonics of modern household appliances. The proposed model can be used for power quality analysis, improvement, and energy saving.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Evdokia K. Oikonomou, Camille Grandisson, Konstantin Golemanov, Ritu Ahuja, Jean-Francois Berret
Summary: Fabric softeners are commonly used to make clothes soft with a nice smell. A novel industrial formulation combining surfactant vesicles and silicone oil is proposed in this study, which shows promising results in maintaining stability while incorporating silicone oil into the fabric softener formula.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS
(2021)
Article
Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine
Nora Alomeir, Yan Zeng, Ahmed Fadaak, Tong Tong Wu, Hans Malmstrom, Jin Xiao
Summary: This study assessed the effect of Nystatin on duo-species biofilms of Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans using an in vitro cariogenic biofilm model. The results showed that Nystatin eliminated C. albicans at 44 hours and reduced the abundance of S. mutans in the biofilms. Nystatin also altered the structure of the biofilms and down-regulated the expression of S. mutans genes. Therefore, developing clinical regimens for dental caries prevention or treatment from an anti-fungal perspective is necessary.
ARCHIVES OF ORAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Food Science & Technology
Lu Chen, Yong Zhao, Weiliang Wu, Qiaohui Zeng, Jing Jing Wang
Summary: This review provides a comprehensive overview of the bactericidal ability of photodynamic inactivation (PDI) mediated by endogenous and exogenous photosensitizers against planktonic bacteria, biofilms, and fungi. Efforts to strengthen PDI potency in the food system, including physical and chemical modification of photosensitizers, combination with adjuvants, and improving targeting ability are discussed. The mechanisms of PDI on eradicating biofilms and preserving foods, as well as the concept of PDI-mediated antimicrobial packaging film are also summarized.
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
H. El-Sayed, S. Mowafi, A. S. Basuoni
Summary: A reactive nonionic softener based on fatty acid and 2-amino-2-methyl propane diol was proposed to improve the smoothness, wettability, and resistance to felting shrinkage of crossbred wool fabric. Treatment with the softener significantly increased the fabric surface smoothness and resistance to felting shrinkage.
Article
Microbiology
Ya-Hui Wang, Wei-Liang Kong, Mei-Ling Zhu, Yun Dai, Xiao-Qin Wu
Summary: It was found that inoculation of Hymenochaete sp. Rl significantly increased the biomass of B. pumilus HR10 in the rhizosphere. However, extracts of Hymenochaete sp. Rl and P. thunbergii did not affect the biomass or spore formation of HR10, but did impact its biofilm formation, extracellular polysaccharide and extracellular protein production, and flagellar motility.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Julie M. Croft, Krusha Patel, Taichi Inui, Avika Ruparell, Ruth Staunton, Lucy J. Holcombe
Summary: This study found that the use of oral care chews, specifically chew B, can significantly reduce oral malodour levels and the number of bacteria producing volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) in dogs. These findings suggest that oral care chews with specific textural properties are highly effective in managing oral malodour in dogs.
BMC VETERINARY RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Marco Castangia, Riccardo Sappa, Awet Abraha Girmay, Christian Camarda, Enrico Macii, Edoardo Patti
Summary: This paper introduces a novel anomaly detection method based on unsupervised deep learning techniques for detecting electrical faults in household appliances. By training a variational autoencoder to analyze the power signatures of appliances, the method shows higher classification accuracy compared to traditional algorithms, allowing for better characterization of normal cycles and more precise alerts.
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY GRIDS & NETWORKS
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rafael T. Aroso, Fabio A. Schaberle, Luis G. Arnaut, Mariette M. Pereira
Summary: Photodynamic therapy is gaining attention as a response to the shortage of new antibiotics and the increase in drug resistant infections, with a focus on the efficacy of photosensitizers and affordability of light sources to expand applications in managing infectious diseases. Success in the management of infectious diseases using photodynamic therapy will depend on the effectiveness of photosensitizers and availability of efficient treatments.
PHOTOCHEMICAL & PHOTOBIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Textiles
Aleksandra Ivanovska, Jelena Ladarevic, Koviljka Asanovic, Leposava Pavun, Mirjana Kostic, Biljana Mangovska
Summary: This paper presents a simple method for recycling differently softened cotton and cotton/elastane knitted fabric waste from the textile industry, using them as adsorbents for Congo Red dye with up to 96% removal efficiency. The adsorption process onto cationic and silicone softened fabrics follows Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, respectively. The adsorption kinetics fit the pseudo-second-order model, and equilibrium is reached after 90 minutes. This study also suggests a circular economy solution for fabric waste disposal with adsorbed Congo Red, generating additional revenues and providing antistatic protection.
FIBERS AND POLYMERS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Yang Jiao, Saso Dzeroski, Ales Jurca
Summary: This study investigates the variation in toe shape, as measured by the hallux valgus angle, and finds that it has a normal distribution in the general population. Females have larger angles compared to males, and people from Asia have larger angles compared to those from North America and Europe.
Article
Environmental Sciences
M. Cogliati, S. Arikan-Akdagli, A. Barac, A. C. Bostanaru, S. Brito, N. Cerikcioglu, M. A. Efstratiou, C. Ergin, M. C. Esposto, M. Frenkel, J. P. Gungneux, A. Gitto, C. I. Goncalves, H. Guegan, N. Gunde-Cimerman, M. Guran, E. Jonikaite, M. Katarzyte, L. Klingspor, M. Mares, W. G. Meijer, W. J. G. Melchers, J. Meletiadis, V. Nastasa, M. Novak Babic, D. Ogunc, B. Ozhak, A. Prigitano, S. Ranque, L. Romano, R. O. Rusu, R. Sabino, A. Sampaio, S. Silva, J. H. Stephens, M. Tehupeiory-Kooreman, A. Velegraki, C. Verissimo, E. Segal, J. Brandao
Summary: The study used data from the Mycosands survey to investigate the factors affecting the distribution of yeasts and molds along European shores. Environmental factors such as climate, soil properties, and water conditions were analyzed using species distribution modelling. The results showed that yeasts and molds have different distributions along European shores, with yeasts being more tolerant of low temperatures and molds showing affinity with specific soil compositions and water conditions.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marjan Stoimchev, Dragi Kocev, Saso Dzeroski
Summary: Images are now being generated at an unprecedented rate, and remote sensing images have attracted considerable research attention in image classification. Recently, the task of assigning multiple semantic categories to an image, known as multi-label classification, has become increasingly complex. This work explores different strategies for model training using pre-trained convolutional neural network architectures and traditional tree ensemble methods for multi-label classification, and conducts extensive experimental analysis on publicly available remote sensing image datasets.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Csaba Voros, David Bauer, Ede Migh, Istvan Grexa, Attila Gergely Vegh, Balazs Szalontai, Gastone Castellani, Tivadar Danka, Saso Dzeroski, Krisztian Koos, Filippo Piccinini, Peter Horvath
Summary: Nowadays, morphology and molecular analyses at the single-cell level have a fundamental role in understanding biology better. These methods are utilized for cell phenotyping and in-depth studies of cellular processes, such as mitosis. Fluorescence microscopy and Raman microscopy techniques provide detailed morphological information and spatial distribution of molecular fingerprints, respectively, enabling the study of cellular stages at the single-cell level. Artificial intelligence can characterize the molecular backgrounds of phenotypes and biological processes by analyzing spectral maps, making it a valuable solution for interpreting complex subcellular spectral maps.
Article
Biology
Nina Omejc, Manca Peskar, Aleksandar Miladinovic, Voyko Kavcic, Saso Dzeroski, Uros Marusic
Summary: The use of non-invasive EEG as an input sensor in brain-computer interfaces is common, but the collected EEG data face challenges, such as age-related variability of ERPs. To assess the effects of aging, a study was conducted with young and older individuals using EEG. Two types of EEG datasets were created for classifier training, and linear classifiers performed best. It was found that classification performance differs between dataset types, and using temporal features resulted in higher and more consistent performance scores. The effect of aging on classification performance depends on the classifier and its feature ranking, highlighting the importance of careful feature extraction and selection to avoid age-related performance degradation in practice.
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Jure Brence, Saso Dzeroski, Ljupco Todorovski
Summary: This paper proposes using attribute grammars to ensure the dimensional consistency of the induced equations, which can combine cross-domain knowledge and domain-specific knowledge effectively. The study also demonstrates that attribute grammars can be transformed into probabilistic context-free grammars for equation discovery efficiently. Furthermore, empirical evidence shows that attribute grammars ensuring dimensional consistency of equations can significantly improve the performance of equation discovery on the standard set of a hundred Feynman benchmarks.
INFORMATION SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vanja Kokol, Monika Kos, Vera Vivod, Nina Gunde-Cimerman
Summary: This study investigated the potential of microfiltration membranes made from viscose fibre slivers infused with ultrafine quaternised and amino-hydrophobised cellulose nanofibrils for capturing and deactivating bacteria during water filtration. The multi-layer structured membranes retained bacteria effectively, while the amino-hydrophobised membranes showed improved antibacterial efficacy.
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Bozhidar Stevanoski, Dragi Kocev, Aljaz Osojnik, Ivica Dimitrovski, Saso Dzeroski
Summary: The Mars Express spacecraft, operated by the European Space Agency, has provided unprecedented scientific data about Mars but also needs accurate power modeling due to degradation. This pilot study predicts the thermal power consumption of the spacecraft using telemetry data, employing multi-target regression and considering both local and global approaches.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Monika Novak Babic, Nina Gunde-Cimerman
Summary: Currently, there is no specific regulation on fungi in water by the European Union. However, Sweden has set a maximum limit of 100 CFU per 100 mL for fungi in drinking water. A study compared the culturable mycobiota in Swedish drinking water, which has specific requirements, with Slovenian drinking water, which does not. The results showed differences in fungal isolates between the two countries, likely due to geographical location, raw water sources, and water treatment methods.
JOURNAL OF WATER AND HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Liyanage D. Fernando, Yordanis Perez-Llano, Malitha C. Dickwella Widanage, Anand Jacob, Liliana Martinez-Avila, Andrew S. Lipton, Nina Gunde-Cimerman, Jean-Paul Latge, Ramon Alberto Batista-Garcia, Tuo Wang
Summary: Halophilic fungi adapt to survive in hypersaline environments by altering their cell wall structures, which provide a mechanism to withstand external stress. These molecular principles can be utilized to optimize the use of halophilic strains in biotechnology applications.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ziga Kokalj, Saso Dzeroski, Ivan Sprajc, Jasmina Stajdohar, Andrej Draksler, Maja Somrak
Summary: This study aims to collect a multimodal annotated dataset suitable for deep learning in remote sensing of Maya archaeology. The dataset covers the area around Chactun, one of the largest ancient Maya urban centres in the central Yucatan Peninsula. It includes raster visualisations and canopy height models from airborne laser scanning, satellite data from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2, as well as manual data annotations representing different types of ancient Maya structures.
Article
Microbiology
Monika Novak Babic, Gregor Marolt, Jernej Imperl, Martin Breskvar, Saso Dzeroski, Nina Gunde-Cimerman
Summary: The presence and abundance of fungi in water are influenced by the source of water, water cleaning methods, and the materials in contact with water. Chlorination reduces fungal numbers, but its effect diminishes with longer water networks. Different fungi are observed on different materials, with plastic materials being more susceptible to colonization by basidiomycetous fungi.
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Ana Nikolikj, Saso Dzeroski, Mario Andres Munoz, Carola Doerr, Peter Korosec, Tome Eftimov
Summary: In black-box optimization, understanding the behavior of an algorithm instance is crucial. We propose a methodology that formulates an algorithm instance footprint by identifying easy and difficult problem instances. This methodology uses meta-representations to link algorithm performance and landscape properties, and clustering to detect regions of poor and good algorithm performance.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 2023 GENETIC AND EVOLUTIONARY COMPUTATION CONFERENCE, GECCO 2023
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Viktor Andonovikj, Pavle Boskoski, Saso Dzeroski, Biljana Mileva Boshkoska
Summary: This study addresses the problem of estimating the time-to-employment of a jobseeker using survival analysis and oblique predictive clustering tree. The approach treats censored data as missing data and shows its effectiveness on jobseekers' personal and professional characteristics.
EXPERT SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATIONS
(2024)
