Weakly Supervised Building Semantic Segmentation Based on Spot-Seeds and Refinement Process

Automatic building semantic segmentation is the most critical and relevant task in several geospatial applications. Methods based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are mainly used in current building segmentation. The requirement of huge pixel-level labels is a significant obstacle to achieve the semantic segmentation of building by CNNs. In this paper, we propose a novel weakly supervised framework for building segmentation, which generates high-quality pixel-level annotations and optimizes the segmentation network. A superpixel segmentation algorithm can predict a boundary map for training images. Then, Superpixels-CRF built on the superpixel regions is guided by spot seeds to propagate information from spot seeds to unlabeled regions, resulting in high-quality pixel-level annotations. Using these high-quality pixel-level annotations, we can train a more robust segmentation network and predict segmentation maps. To iteratively optimize the segmentation network, the predicted segmentation maps are refined, and the segmentation network are retrained. Comparative experiments demonstrate that the proposed segmentation framework achieves a marked improvement in the building’s segmentation quality while reducing human labeling efforts.     

Nanoemulsions of Jasminum humile L. and Jasminum grandiflorum L. Essential Oils: An Approach to Enhance Their Cytotoxic and Antiviral Effects

Unprecedented nanoemulsion formulations (NE) of Jasminum humile and Jasminum grandiflorum essential oils (EO) were prepared, and examined for their cytotoxic and antiviral activities. NE characterization and stability examination tests were performed to ensure formula stability. The antiviral activity was determined against hepatitis A (HAV) and herpes simplex type-1 (HSV-1) viruses using MTT assay, while the cytotoxic potential was determined against liver (HepG-2), breast (MCF-7), leukemia (THP-1) cancer cell lines and normal Vero cells. Statistical significance was determined in comparison with doxorubicin as cytotoxic and acyclovir as antiviral standard drugs. GC-MS analysis indicated twenty four compounds in the EO of J. humile and seventeen compounds in the EO of J. grandiflorum. Biological investigations of pure EOs revealed weak cytotoxic and antiviral effects. Nevertheless, their NE formulations exhibited high biological value as cytotoxic and antiviral agents. NE formulations also showed feasible selectivity index for the viral-infected and cancer cells (especially HepG-2) than normal Vero cells. Both nanoemulsions showed lower IC₅₀ than standard doxorubicin against HepG-2 (26.65 and 22.58 vs. 33.96 μg/mL) and MCF-7 (36.09 and 36.19 vs. 52.73 μg/mL), respectively. The study results showed the dramatic effect of nanoemulsion preparation on the biological activity of EOs and other liposoluble phytopharmaceuticals.     

New Quinoxaline-Based Derivatives as PARP-1 Inhibitors: Design,Synthesis, Antiproliferative,and Computational Studies

Herein, 2,3-dioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxaline was used as a bio-isosteric scaffold to the phthalazinone motif of the standard drug Olaparib to design and synthesize new derivatives of potential PARP-1 inhibitory activity using the 6-sulfonohydrazide analog 3 as the key intermediate. Although the new compounds represented the PARP-1 suppression impact of IC₅₀ values in the nanomolar range, compounds 8a, 5 were the most promising suppressors, producing IC₅₀ values of 2.31 and 3.05 nM compared to Olaparib with IC₅₀ of 4.40 nM. Compounds 4, 10b, and 11b showed a mild decrease in the potency of the IC₅₀ range of 6.35–8.73 nM. Furthermore, compounds 4, 5, 8a, 10b, and 11b were evaluated as in vitro antiproliferative agents against the mutant BRCA1 (MDA-MB-436, breast cancer) compared to Olaparib as a positive control. Compound 5 exhibited the most significant potency of IC₅₀; 2.57 µM, whereas the IC₅₀ value of Olaparib was 8.90 µM. In addition, the examined derivatives displayed a promising safety profile against the normal WI-38 cell line. Cell cycle, apoptosis, and autophagy analyses were carried out in the MDA-MB-436 cell line for compound 5, which exhibited cell growth arrest at the G2/M phase, in addition to induction of programmed apoptosis and an increase in the autophagic process. Molecular docking of the compounds 4, 5, 8a, 10b, and 11b into the active site of PARP-1 was carried out to determine their modes of interaction. In addition, an in silico ADMET study was performed. The results evidenced that compound 5 could serve as a new framework for discovering new potent anticancer agents targeting the PARP-1 enzyme.     

Evaluation of the Effect of Elite Jojoba Lines on the Chemical Properties of their Seed Oil

Jojoba oil (JO) extracted from seeds has outstanding properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities, and can be stored forlong periodsof time. The unique properties of jojoba oil depend on its chemical composition; therefore, the effect of the jojoba genotype on the chemical properties and active components of the seed oil was evaluated in this study. Oil samples were collected from 15 elite Egyptian jojoba lines. The chemical composition, such as moisture, crude fiber, crude oil, ash, and crude protein of elite lines’ seeds was determined to investigate the variation among them based on the jojoba genotype. In addition, the iodine value was obtained to measure the degree of jojoba oil unsaturation, whereas the peroxide number was determined as an indicator of the damage level in jojoba oil. Fatty acid composition was studied to compare elite jojoba lines. Fatty acid profiles varied significantly depending on the jojoba genotype. Gadoleic acid exhibited the highest percentage value (67.85–75.50%) in the extracted jojoba oil, followed by erucic acid (12.60–14.81%) and oleic acid (7.86–10.99%). The iodine value, peroxide number, and fatty acid composition of the tested elite jojoba lines were compared withthose reported by the International Jojoba Export Council (IJEC). The results showed that the chemical properties of jojoba oils varied significantly, depending on the jojoba genotype.     

Multiple criteria sorting models and methods. Part II: theoretical results and general issues

4OR - Multiple criteria sorting methods assign objects into ordered categories while objects are characterized by a vector of n attributes values. Categories are ordered, and the assignment of the...     

Voltammetric Determination of Marbofloxacin at Carbon Paste Sensor Integrated with Copper Oxide Nanoparticles

The present work introduced copper oxide nanoparticles as an efficient electrode modifier for sensitive adsorptive differential pulse voltammetric assaying of marbofloxacin (MRB) in pharmaceutical formulations and surface water samples. In the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) at pH 4.0, the marbofloxacin molecule was irreversibly oxidized at the electrode surface showing an anodic oxidation peak at 0.954 V. The electrode reaction mechanism was assumed as adsorption-reaction controlled accompanied by the transferring of two electrons and proton exchange in agreement with the molecular orbital calculations performed on MRB molecule suggesting the oxidation of the amino group in the piperazinyl ring. At the optimized measuring conditions, the recorded peak heights were linearly correlated with the MRB concentration within the range from 6.67 to 360 ng mL⁻¹, and the estimated LOD value was 2.2 ng mL⁻¹. The integrated sensor showed a prolonged operational lifetime with good reproducibility of measurements. Based on the selectivity and sensitivity of the proposed method, MRB was successfully assayed in pharmaceutical formulations and surface water samples with mean average recoveries agreeable with the official method.     

Different Dimensionalities,Morphological Advancements and Engineering of g-C3N4-Based Nanomaterials for Energy Conversion and Storage

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has gained tremendous interest in the sector of power transformation and retention, because of its distinctive stacked composition, adjustable electronic structure, metal-free feature, superior thermodynamic durability, and simple availability. Furthermore, the restricted illumination and extensive recombination of photoexcitation electrons have inhibited the photocatalytic performance of pure g-C₃N₄. The dimensions of g-C₃N₄ may impact the field of electronics confinement; as a consequence, g-C₃N₄ with varying dimensions shows unique features, making it appropriate for a number of fascinating uses. Even if there are several evaluations emphasizing on the fabrication methods and deployments of g-C₃N₄, there is certainly an insufficiency of a full overview, that exhaustively depicts the synthesis and composition of diverse aspects of g-C₃N₄. Consequently, from the standpoint of numerical simulations and experimentation, several legitimate methodologies were employed to deliberately develop the photocatalyst and improve the optimal result, including elements loading, defects designing, morphological adjustment, and semiconductors interfacing. Herein, this evaluation initially discusses different dimensions, the physicochemical features, modifications and interfaces design development of g-C₃N₄. Emphasis is given to the practical design and development of g-C₃N₄ for the various power transformation and inventory applications, such as photocatalytic H₂ evolution, photoreduction of CO₂ source, electrocatalytic H₂ evolution, O₂ evolution, O₂ reduction, alkali-metal battery cells, lithium-ion batteries, lithium–sulfur batteries, and metal-air batteries. Ultimately, the current challenges and potential of g-C₃N₄ for fuel transformation and retention activities are explored.     

Fabrication and characterization of graphene/sulfonated polyether sulfone octyl sulfonamide hybrid film with improved proton conductivity performance

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In this study, graphene (G) was blended with sulfonated polyether sulfone octyl sulfonamide (SPESOS) in different ratios (1, 1.5, and 2 wt.%) to enhance...