bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Toxicity prediction and analysis of flavonoid apigenin as a histone deacetylase inhibitor: An in silico approach
Authors: N Divya Rajaselvi , Jida  , Nair Devu B , B Varsha , R Nisha A.
Published: July 2023

Occurrence of cancer is driving up on a global scale that exerts greater implications on the physical, psychological and economic stability of the human population. In the present context, numerous research studies are being conducted to explore and discover the drug molecule as an anticancer agent. Diverse scales of flavonoids entail the human diet, and they displayed prospective curative effects against an array of ailments. Among various categories of flavonoids, apigenin a trihydroxy flavone has been proven to have various pharmacological effects. Molecular docking is a key tool in structural molecular biology and computer assisted drug design. In this study, HDAC inhibitory action of apigenin and its probable toxicity was assessed by docking study using Auto dock platform. Toxicity predictions were evaluated by using tools such as CarcinoPred for carcinogenicity study, pkCSM for ADMET analysis, ProTox-II for rodent oral toxicity, lazar for estimating mutagenicity, BOILED Egg plot analysis for examining the gastrointestinal absorption and blood brain permeability, PASS prediction to identify the various biological functions and DruLiTo program to compute the drug likeness property.
Effect of Jute Nanofibre on the Properties of Waste Polypropylene/Polystyrene /Natural Rubber (wPP/PS/NR) Ter- Polymer Blend
Authors: Adamu Yusuf , Bello Tajjudeen Kolawole , Shehu Umar , Bello Abdullahi , Tanimu Gazali , Isa Muhammed Tijani
Published: July 2023

In this work, the effect of jute nanofibre on ter-blend of waste polypropylene (wPP), polystyrene (PS), and natural rubber (NR) nanocomposite was studied. The nanofibre was produced from jute fibre via a ball milling process after freezing with liquid nitrogen. The produced nanofibre was analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). The ter-blend was modified with the nanofibre at different weight percentages (2–10 wt%) at 2wt% intervals. The modified polymer blends were characterized for mechanical, thermal, physical and morphological properties. FTIR revealed the removal of hemicellulose, lignin and other impurities from the jute fibre, due to the change in wave numbers observed. The DLS analysis showed that an average of 85.54 nm size distribution by the intensity and Polydispersity Index (PDI) of 0.353 was achieved. Also, the thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) showed that jute nanofibres proved to be thermally stable up to 282 oC. Polymer blends modified with 2 wt% nanofibres had the highest average impact and tensile strengths. While, the percentage water absorption (%WA), showed that sp10% absorbed the highest amount of water after 24 hrs. The weight losses of the modified blend at various temperatures were found to increase with the addition of nanofibre. The Scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed cracks, voids and blend-separation as the amount of jute nanofibre was increased. While, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) revealed that the Tg of the modified blend was improved, while the loss-factor improved greatly by 43%, but the storage and loss-moduli remained unchanged.
Comparing efficacy and safety of Maintenance Therapy for Platinum-Sensitive Recurrent Ovarian Cancer: A Bayesian network meta-regression analyses
Authors: Hao Li , Xing Xuejiao , Liu Chengjiang , Chen Xi , Yang Bin , Wei Tianshu
Published: July 2023

Background Despite surgical and medical efforts in the upfront treatment, about 70% of OC patients have a disease relapse within 2–3 years after diagnosis. ROC is still an incurable condition; targeted agents as maintenance therapies have been shown to improve survival, but the most appropriate maintenance regimens are still controversial and opaque.Objective This Bayesian network meta-regression analysis provides a head-to-head comparison of maintenance therapy PARP-Inhibitors and Angiogenesis Inhibitors for Platinum-Sensitive Recurrent Ovarian Cancer(PSROC) using the BRCA genes status as a covariate.Methods To identify relevant studies, the databases of Pubmed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched until January 31, 2023. Comparing progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of different interventions at the same time node by NMA. NMR was performed on the hazard ratios (HR) associated with PFS and OS as the primary endpoints, with the BRCA genes status as the covariate. The ability of each treatment was ranked using the surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) curve.Results Eventually,16 studies with 5696 patients and 8 maintenance therapy were enrolled.From a horizontal perspective,bevacizumab(HR = 1.83, 95%CI: 1.47 to 2.33), niraparib(HR = 2.9, 95%CI: 2.15 to 3.95), olaparib (HR = 2.74, 95%CI: 2.05 to 3.6) ,rucaparib (HR = 2.61, 95%CI: 1.81 to 3.57) and fuzuloparib (HR = 3.99, 95%CI: 2.41 to 6.6) were significantly superior to the placebo on PFS of AC.Niraparib(HR = 4.08, 95%CI: 1.49 to 11.33), olaparib (HR = 4.29, 95%CI: 1.9 to 9.75) ,rucaparib (HR = 4.16, 95%CI: 1.04 to 16.49) and fuzuloparib(HR = 7.16, 95%CI: 1.63 to 30.82) were significantly superior to the placebo on PFS of BRCAm.Niraparib(HR = 2.33, 95%CI: 1.17 to 4.7) was significantly superior to the placebo on PFS of BRCAwt.From a longitudinal perspective, the results for PFS are similar to the above; Olaparib significantly increased OS rates from the 3rd to the 36th month(HR from4.43 to26.55). Meta-regression analyses support the above conclusions.Conclusions Considering the efficacy, durability, safety, and compliance, one of the standard maintenance therapy, Olaparib, should be recommended as the best choice for PSROC. For BRCAm and BRCAwt patients,Olaparib and niraparib may be the first choice for improving PFS.Furthermore, more head-to-head trials are needed to confirm those findings.
Moderate Levels of Human Disturbance Impact Persecuted Mammals in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest
Authors: Zwicker Samantha , Gardner Beth
Published: July 2023

Human population growth and associated land conversion in tropical regions have led to habitat fragmentation, resource extraction, and increased hunting pressure, resulting in defaunation. To assess the impacts of human disturbances on 17 mammal species spanning both predator and prey guilds, we conducted an eight-year (2015–2022) camera trap study in the unprotected region of Madre de Dios, Peru. Analyzing 14,849 mammal captures across 293 sites with occupancy models, we assessed the influence of eight ecological and anthropogenic covariates on species occupancy and detection. We hypothesized that the most persecuted species would be most negatively affected by human disturbance. Our results supported this hypothesis; persecuted species including jaguars (Panthera onca), tapirs (Tapirus terrestris), brocket deer (Mazama spp.), collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu), and agoutis (Dasyprocta variegata) exhibited significant changes in occupancy probability in relation to distance from settlements, proximity to agriculture, and land use type. Contrary to our prediction, ocelot and white-lipped peccary occupancy probability did not change with human disturbance covariates; however, there were no detections of white-lipped peccaries in the first seven years of the study. We found that distance to the river was the most common ecological covariate where species occupancy was higher closer to the river. Given the importance of rivers as access points for humans, this emphasizes the significance of protecting riverine habitats in lowland Peruvian Amazonia. Our findings highlight the importance of considering species-specific responses and the need for targeted conservation measures to mitigate the negative effects of human activities on vulnerable and highly persecuted species.
Deep Learning to Detect and Classify Teeth, Dental Caries and Restorations: A Systematic Mapping
Authors: Carneiro José A. , Zancan Breno G. , Tirapelli Camila , Macedo Alessandra A.
Published: July 2023

Purpose: Oral health is an indicator of individuals' health and quality of life. Consequently, it is a concerning topic faced everyday by healthcare professionals. X-ray images are essential resources for detecting oral problems. Artificial Intelligence has gained attention in the detection of oral diseases and conditions. We carry out a systematic mapping in the literature regarding the application of deep learning in dental radiographs for detection, segmentation, and classification of teeth, caries, and restorations.
Methods: Through automated searches in the ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, PubMed, and Scopus, 394 primary articles were found, published between 2012-2023. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 69 articles were read and analyzed considering: consistency and adequacy of the used databases, implemented techniques, and results.
Results: 40.82% of the analyzed articles did not present clear information on the approval of ethics committees to carry out the research. Although the application of computational techniques in oral health is an interdisciplinary topic, 37.68% of the 69 surveys were conducted by teams composed only of professionals from one area. 66.67% of the articles explored only panoramic radiographs and the most used metrics were accuracy, recall, and precision. The U-Net and Mask R-CNN networks were the most applied.
Conclusion: Despite the increase in the number of investigations, some challenges, such as the low availability of public data sets, the lack of details in the developed methodologies, and the lack of standardization when presenting results, complicate a fair comparison between papers, which is an obstacle to be overcome.
The influence of scald and anoxia to the expression of Glycine receptor in rats’ myocardium and the co-localization study of Glycine receptor and endoplasmic reticulum
Authors: Wu Yue , Lu RuoNan , Zhang Li , Bai Mingming , Cai Hui , Zhou Junli
Published: July 2023

PURPOSE The objectives of the current study were to demonstrate the influence of scald and anoxia to the expression of glycine receptor in rats’ myocardium and the co-localization of glycine receptor and endoplasmic reticulum.
METHOD (1) Effect of hypoxia on Gly Rα1 expression : Rat cardiomyocytes line H9C2 were cultured and divided into 3 groups randomly: the Glycine group, the Hypoxia group and the Glycine+Hypoxia group and incubated for 0 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h or 48 h. A total of 24 SD rats were divided into 4 groups: the Control group, the Glycine group, the Scald group and the Glycine+Scald group.The Western blot method detected the expression of Gly Rα1 in each group. (2) Effect of hypoxia on colocalization of GlyR and ER: We labeled ER with Rodamine (red), GlyRα1 (green) with FITC, DNA (blue) with DAPI, and finally, photographed cells with laser confocal microscopy . H9C2 were cultured and divided into 3 groups randomly (the Glycine group, the Hypoxia group and the Gly+Hyp group) and ncubated for 0 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h or 48 h. Mean density of Gly Rα1 in Each group of time phase was detected.
RESULT glycine obviously decreased the mortality rate of H9C2 cells under anoxic condition. Moreover, the expression level of GlyRα1was found to be increased in a time dependent manner under anoxic condition, and glycine could conspicuously reverse the increased expression of GlyRα1. Furthermore, we confirmed that GlyRα1 localized on ER in cardiomyocyte and the combination of glycine with GlyRα1 on ER caused cytoprotective effect by potential membrane changes. In vivostudies, the protective effects of glycine was also investigated on burned rat models.
CONCLUSION the present study confirmed glycine could protect myocardial cells from being injured through reducing the expression of GlyRα1 under anoxic condition both in vivo and in vitro assays, and combination of glycine with GlyRα1 happened on ER of myocardial cells.
The synthesis of spherical polymeric ionic liquid catalyst and its catalysis for CO2 to dimethyl carbonate by one-pot methods
Authors: Liu Wenqiang , Wang Yajuan , Li Jiangxin , Zhang Juan
Published: July 2023

Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is widely used and nontoxic and can replace more dangerous materials such as dimethyl sulfate or methyl chloride. Spherical particle catalysts (PILs-XSS) were synthesized by suspension polymerization, which was characterized by SEM-EDS, FT-IR, TG, and BET-BJH. The characterization results showed that PILs-XSS had a specific core structure, a certain pore size (14.3nm), and surface area size (71.5m2/g), and remained stable at 293.4°C. The catalyst performance was evaluated by a one-pot synthesis of dimethyl carbonate. The process conditions were optimized in detail. The optimal reaction conditions were as follows: the dosage of PILs-XSS was 2.5 wt %, the CO2 pressure was 1.5 MPa, the reaction temperature was 100°C, the reaction time was 4 h, the molar ratio of methanol to propylene oxide (PO)was 3: 1, and the dosage of cocatalyst Na2CO3 was 3 wt %. Under the optimum conditions, the conversion of PO was up to 98.8% and the yield of DMC reached 53.7%. In addition, the combined catalyst PILs-Na2CO3 was easily recovered by filtration in the reaction system. After five times of repeated use, the activity and the shape of the catalyst were almost unchanged, which meant that the catalyst had amazing mechanical strength. This study found that the transesterification catalyst Na2CO3 not only had good transesterification efficiency but also promoted the reaction of CO2.
Mapping Novel Glucose tolerance specific QTL in the Collaborative Cross mice
Authors: Abu-Toamih-Atamni Hanifa J. , Lone Iqbal M. , Binenbaum Ilona , Mott Richard , Pilalis Eleftherios , Chatziioannou Aristotelis , Iraqi Fuad
Published: July 2023

A chronic metabolic illness, type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a polygenic and multifactorial complicated disease. With an estimated 463 million persons aged 20 to 79 having diabetes, the number is expected to rise to 700 million by 2045, creating a significant worldwide health burden. Polygenic variants of diabetes are influenced by environmental variables. Diabetes polygenic variants frequently run in families. T2D is regarded as a silent illness that can advance for years before being diagnosed. Numerous metabolic issues are noticed once T2D is diagnosed, either as comorbidities or as side effects. Finding genetic markers for T2D and metabolic syndrome in groups with similar environmental exposure is therefore essential to understanding the mechanism of such complex characteristic illnesses. So herein, we demonstrated the exclusive use of the collaborative cross (CC) mouse reference population to identify novel quantitative trait loci (QTL) and, subsequently, suggested genes associated with host glucose tolerance in response to a high-fat diet. In the current study, we used 539 mice from 60 different CC lines. The diabetogenic effect in response to high-fat dietary challenge was measured by the intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) after 12 weeks of dietary challenge. Data analysis was performed using a statistical software package IBM SPSS Statistic 23. Using the mouse genome informatics (MGI) database resource enabled us to examine the reported QTL in detail for genetic features related to glucose metabolism. Afterward, the total area under the curve (AUC0-180) of the glucose clearance was computed and utilized as a marker for the presence and severity of diabetes. The observed AUC0-180 averages for males and females were 51267.5 and 36537.5 mg/dL, respectively, representing a 1.4-fold difference in favor of females with lower AUC0-180 indicating adequate glucose clearance. The AUC0-180 mean differences between the sexes within each specific CC line varied widely within the CC population. A total of 46 new QTL, designated as T2DSL and its number, for Type 2 Diabetes Specific Locus and its number, were identified during our study, among which 19 QTL are novel. The interval locations of these novel QTL have not been found in any other previously identified QTL. The remaining 27 QTL observed during our study have been fine mapped. As far as the genome-wide significance is concerned, three sets of QTL were identified during our entire study. The first group is the one which had a 50% of genome-wide significance, the second group is of 90%, and the third group had a 95% of genome-wide significance. Further, our study showed a complex pattern of haplotype effects of the founders, with the wild-derived strains (mainly PWK) playing a significant role in the increase of AUC values.
Characterization and expression analysis of two mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase genes from Antarctic moss Pohlia nutans
Authors: Li Chaochao , Liu Shenghao , Kong Qin , Zhang Pengying
Published: July 2023

Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling plays essential roles in plant growth, development and responses to environmental stresses. However, only limited information is available on the MAPK signaling genes in the bryophytes. Two full-length of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase genes (designated as PnMEKK1 and PnMEKK2) were identified from Antarctic moss Pohlia nutans. The full length cDNA of PnMEKK1 and PnMEKK2 were 3012 bp and 3096 bp, encoding the receptor-like kinases of 804 and 576 amino acids, respectively. Multiple sequence alignment showed that PnMEKK1 and PnMEKK2 possessed the conserved STKc_MAP3K-like domains, but they had relatively low identities with other protein kinases. Phylogenetic analysis showed that they clustered together with the protein kinases of ferns and mosses but not higher plants. In addition, the subcellular localization analysis by observing the transient expression of PnMEKK-green fluorescence protein in Arabidopsis mesophyll protoplasts revealed that PnMEKK1 and PnMEKK2 were cytoplasm-localized protein kinases. Meanwhile, the mRNA expression profile of PnMEKK1 and PnMEKK2 were quantified by quantitative RT-PCR. Results showed that cold, salinity, drought and UV-B radiation could motivate the up-regulation of PnMEKK1 and PnMEKK2 mRNA expression. In addition, the application of plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) also could up-regulate the mRNA expression level. Taken together, we purposed that these two isolated PnMEKKs might involve in Antarctic mosses Pohlia nutans adapting to the polar extreme environments.
Developing new solar radiation estimation models with machine learning techniques and testing their efficiency in various places
Authors: Kaplan Yusuf Alper , Tolun Gülizar Gizem , Batur Emre
Published: July 2023

Renewable energy sources have become a popular topic all over the world in terms of cost, efficiency, and environmental pollution. Solar energy is one of the most important renewable energy sources. As the use of solar energy sources increases, modeling the solar radiation (SR) intensity, which is costly and difficult to measure, has become an essential issue. The main aim of this study is to determine the Angstrom coefficients for SR estimation using machine learning (ML) techniques. The linear regression and support vector machine (SVM) regression approaches were used in the MATLAB program to determine the Angstrom coefficients. To examine how the performance of this new approach varies by region, four different regions were identified. To evaluate the performance of the developed models, four different statistical tests were applied. According to these test results, it has been concluded that the developed models with the ML approach in SR estimation are highly successful in general. The SVM and linear regression methods used in the ML algorithm have estimation results very close to the real values in all selected regions. When the results were evaluated in general, it was seen that method SVM regression performed better than method linear regression in all selected regions.
WITHDRAWN: Metformin and exercise reduce miR-133a expression in skeletal muscles of diabetic rats
Authors: Alivaisi Elahe , Amini Sabrieh , Haghani Karimeh , Laher Ismail , Ghaneialvar Hori , Keshavarzi Fatemeh
Published: July 2023

Background
Exercise training regulates the expression of miRs in diabetes. We investigated the effects of metformin alone or in combination with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate continuous training (MCT) on miR-133a expression in skeletal muscles of diabetic rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into nine groups (n = 10 per group): control group (CG), control group + MCT group (CMTG), control group + HIIT group (CHTG), diabetic control group (CDG), diabetic + metformin group (DMG), diabetic + HIIT group (DHTG), diabetic + MCT group (DMTG), diabetic + metformin and MCT group (DMMTG), diabetic + metformin and HIIT group (DMHTG). Type 2 diabetes mellitus was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats and exercise protocols were performed for eight weeks. MiR-133a was extracted from skeletal muscles and their expression profile was determined by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Results
The expression of miR-133a was increased in skeletal muscles of sedentary diabetic rats (CDG) in comparison to treated (CMTG,CHTG,DMG, DMTG) and healthy controls (CG). Treatment with either HIIT and MCT reduced miR-133a expression, but the combination of HIIT and MCT caused to a further reduction of miR-133a expression in diabetic rats.
Conclusion
The increased expression of MiR-133a in skeletal muscles of rats can be attenuated by metformin and / or HIIT and MCT. This presents an intervention target that could be used in preventing, treating, and/or delaying diabetes.
Water-soluble intracellular extract of Desmodesmus sp.YT enhanced the antioxidant capacity of human skin fibroblast to protect the skin from UV damage
Authors: Ying Ming , Zeng Zuye , Li Qin , Chen Xianglan , Xiong Ying , Wu Bo , Peng Liang , Zhang Qian , Wang Li , Dai Zhongming , Li Shuangfei , Chen Huirong , Yang Xuewei
Published: July 2023

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation-induced oxidative stress damage is a significant catalyst for skin aging and can even contribute to the development of skin cancer. In this study, the mechanism of how water-soluble intracellular extract (WIE) of Desmodesmus sp.YT (YT) prevent human skin fibroblast (HSF) against the oxidative damage caused by UV radiation were explored. Results showed that YT-WIE exhibited great antioxidant activity. The potent scavenging ability activity was observed in DPPH (IC50 = 0.55 mg mL-1), ABTS (IC50 = 3.11 mg mL-1), ·OH (IC50 = 2.21 mg mL-1) and O2•-(IC50 = 0.98 mg mL-1). Additionally, the findings indicated that when compared to the control group, YT-WIE group exhibited an 89.30% enhancement in the viability of HSF and a 44.63% increase in the survival rate following UV irradiation. To investigate the underlying mechanism, comprehensive analysis of gene transcription and translation was conducted using RT-qPCR and Western blot. The results demonstrated a significant upregulation of antioxidant genes (GCLC, GCLM, TXNRD1, HMOX1, NQO1) by YT-WIE treatment at a concentration of 400 µg mL-1, with fold increases ranging from 1.13 to 5.85 times. Therefore, YT-WIE exhibited a great potential to serve as antioxidants that can protect human cells from excessive oxidative stress caused by outer stimulus, such as UV.
Complex symmetry of H-Toeplitz operators on the Bergman space
Authors: Gupta Anuradha , Singh Deepika
Published: July 2023

In this paper, we have studied complex symmetry of H-Toeplitz operators Bϕ on the Bergman space A2(D). An H-Toeplitz operator is a generalization of a Toeplitz operator as well as that of a Hankel operator but it itself is neither Hankel nor Toeplitz. We have characterized complex symmetry of Bϕ with respect to the conjugations C and Cμ,γ, where μ, γ ∈ C. It is also proved that a non-trivial H-Toeplitz operator Bϕ can either be an isometry (co-isometry) or Cμ,γ-symmetric but not both.
Mathematics Subject Classification (2010). Class: 47Bxx, Subclass: 47B32, 47B38.
Natural Killer Cell-Associated Radiogenomics Subtyping of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Based on CD2 Expression and Enhanced CT-Derived Radiomics Signatures
Authors: Chen Yan-zhu , Meng Zhi-shang , Xiang Zuo-lin
Published: July 2023

Background
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-natural killer (NK) cell therapy has shown variable efficacy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The present study sought to identify NK cell-related prognostic biomarkers, and to develop a non-invasive radiomics signature in patients with HCC.
Methods
Transcriptomic data from five independent cohorts, consisting of 734 HCC patients, in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases were analyzed using the Microenvironment Cell Populations-counter (MCP-counter) algorithm. NK cell-related prognostic biomarkers were identified using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-Cox regression analyses. Radiomics models related to NK cell-related prognostic biomarkers were established using radiomics feature extraction and screening of preoperative enhanced CT images of 168 patients in two datasets from The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) database. HCC radiogenomics subtypes were proposed based on genetic biomarkers and radiomics models.
Results
CD2 expression was an independent NK cell-associated prognostic biomarker in HCC patients, being associated with improved overall, progression-free, and recurrence-free survival, and correlating with NK cell-associated pathways and biological processes in HCC. A reliable non-invasive prognostic radiomics model for HCC was established using enhanced CT images. The combination of CD2 expression and radioscore identified potential HCC radiogenomics subtypes, thus explaining the prognostic differences caused by heterogeneity based on genomics and NK cell-associated biological processes.
Conclusions
HCC can be classified into radiogenomic subtypes, explaining in part the complex heterogeneity of HCC. These findings may facilitate the development of personalized treatment strategies using CAR-NK cells in patients with HCC.
Diagnostic Accuracy of Biomarkers in CNS-originating Extracellular Vesicles for Parkinsonian Disorders: A meta-analysis
Authors: Taha Hash Brown , Bogoniewski Aleks
Published: July 2023

Parkinsonian disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal syndrome (CBS), exhibit overlapping early-stage symptoms, complicating definitive diagnosis despite heterogeneous cellular and regional pathophysiology. Additionally, the progression and eventual conversion of prodromal conditions such as REM behavior disorder (RBD) to PD, MSA or DLB remains difficult to predict. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small, membrane-enclosed structures released by cells, playing a vital role in communicating cell-state-specific messages. Due to their ability to cross the blood-brain-barrier into the peripheral circulation, the measurement of biomarkers in blood-isolated putative CNS-originating EVs has become a popular diagnostic approach. However, replication and independent validation remain challenges in this field. We conducted a PRISMA-guided systematic review and meta-analysis, covering 15 studies with a total of 1,455 patients with PD, 206 MSA, 21 DLB, 172 PSP, 152 CBS, 189 RBD and 1,045 healthy controls (HCs), employing either hierarchical bivariate models or univariate models based on study size. Diagnostic accuracy was moderate for differentiating patients with PD from HCs, but revealed high heterogeneity and significant publication bias, suggesting an inflation of the perceived diagnostic effectiveness. The bias observed indicates that studies with non-significant or lower effect sizes were less likely to be published. Although results for differentiating patients with PD from MSA or PSP and CBS appeared promising, their validity is limited due to the small number of involved studies coming from the same research group. Despite initial reports, our analyses suggest that using CNS-originating EV biomarkers may not reliably differentiate patients with MSA from HCs or patients with RBD from HCs, due to their lesser accuracy and substantial variability among the studies, further complicated by potential publication bias. Our findings underscore the moderate yet unreliable diagnostic accuracy of putative CNS-originating EV biomarkers in differentiating Parkinsonian disorders, highlighting the presence of substantial heterogeneity and significant publication bias. These observations reinforce the need for larger, more standardized, and unbiased studies to validate and enhance the utility of EV biomarkers in the differential diagnosis of these conditions.
The USA medical insurance as a stimulating factor to increase labour efficiency
Authors: Koibichuk Vitaliia , Khan Bhola , Drozd Serhii
Published: July 2023

Medical insurance is critical for state labour efficiency. In many countries (including in the United States of America), it is tightly connected to labour, which makes workers have valid insurance policies for free and constant access to medical aid. That strongly secures workers’ health and their high performance. In state-supporting insurance cases, citizens have a common access to medical services (regardless of their employment type). Here, people can be provided with medical aid without worrying about any prices, which keeps their strong health and high productivity skills. Within employment-related medical insurance, it is employers who are fully responsible for their employees’ insurance. As a tangible financial business burden, it may keep workers close to their employment place itself: if resigned, they can lose good medical insurance at all. The medical insurance system is a key and decisive factor to raise labour efficiency. To achieve and secure it, governments should permanently develop affordable and reliable insurance systems. In our research, we chose the following indexes: coverage of state and private insurances, labour efficiency levels, national employment levels, life expectancy, healthcare costs (% of gross domestic product), healthcare costs by volume. We conducted the given study via data normalisation and regression modelling (backward data selection). We applied Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) as a regression-based method to describe non-linear variable relations. Among our engaged methods, there were also bibliography analysis, data processing, systematisation, comparison and logical generalisation. The current research results are relevant for politics and business. Politicians may use them in developing social-economic principles to improve medical insurance and labour efficiency. Enterprises can involve such information to define medical insurance payments for the health and labour efficiency increase among all types of employees in any countries.
Analysis of accidental transmission impacts in the chain «waste management system – public health»
Authors: Ziabina Yevheniia , Khomenko Liliia , Osei Owusu Evelyn Kumah
Published: July 2023

The article summarises arguments and counter-arguments within the scientific debate on the generated waste impact on public health. The main goal of the conducted research is analysis of accidental transmission effects in the chain «waste management system – public health». The systematisation of sources and approaches to solving the problem of waste management system for the population health proved that over 900 publications on the researched topic were cited by in the Web of Science database. At the same time, there are the TOP-5 leading countries in which the problem of the generated waste impact on public health is actively studied: the USA (198 publications), India (107 publications), China (103 publications), England (86 publications), Italy (49 publications). The urgency of solving this scientific problem lies in the fact that in the process of urbanisation and constant industry development, the world waste level is increasing. It provokes a negative impact on the population health. In the article, the analysis of accidental transmission effects in the chain «waste management system – public health» is carried out in the following logical sequence: bibliometric analysis of publications on the researched topic; multiple correlation-regression analysis; check of the built model adequacy using the average approximation error. The conducted research tools were: VOSviewer (an application for producing and visualising bibliometric networks) and MS Excel. The study period was 2000-2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. Dynamic indicators of the waste volume and disposal, number of the first-time registered disease cases in Ukraine were chosen as the study object. These indicators provide an opportunity to describe significance of the waste management system impact on the population morbidity level. The article presents results of the multiple correlation-regression analysis. It confirmed that with an increase in the waste volume by 1%, the number of the first-time registered disease cases will rise by 0.73%. The study empirically confirms the constructed model adequacy regarding influence of the generated and disposed waste volume and the population health level. The research results can be useful for further scientific activity on this topic.
Virtual Learning as an Impetus for Business Education Programme in the Midst of COVID-19 in Nigeria
Authors: Ogunleye Joshua Kehinde , Afolabi Chukwudi Segun , Ajayi Samuel Oluwaseun , Omotayo Vincent Adewale
Published: July 2023

The modern virtual learning is the complex process of using electronic technology and resources to have better access to teaching and learning with or without any physical classrooms. Today, virtual learning has become a valuable way of teaching, learning and research in education, with the terrible emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic in the world. This study critically examined the modern virtual learning as an impetus for the business education programme in the midst of COVID-19 in Nigeria. It vividly considered the concept of business education; virtual learning and business education; obvious benefits of virtual learning in the business education programme; certain challenges facing virtual learning in realising the goals of business education amidst COVID-19. It further presented various virtual learning tools that can be used in delivery of business education lessons. Finally, the paper concluded that despite numerous benefits attributable to the adoption of virtual learning in the business education programme, there are currently many relevant issues that still need to be resolved and put in place to achieve its benefits and as well correct the negative perception and slow use of virtual learning among students and teachers. Also, the modern virtual learning would have been the best alternative teaching method for business education amidst COVID-19 provided majority of Nigerian learners have access to Internet facilities. It was also recommended among other things that government and different stakeholders in the education sector should endeavour to make provision for good Internet facilities, stable electricity and good working computers at all levels of education (especially in business education). Modern teachers and students should also be provided with necessary training techniques regarding virtual learning. That is done for active teaching of business education programmes so as to enhance and sustain teaching and learning through virtual learning delivery at all levels of education.
DEVELOPMENT OF LEARNING VIDEO MATERIAL ON THE PLURALITY OF INDONESIAN SOCIETY CLASS VIII LEVEL SMP / MTS (Research Study of MTsN 5 Tulungagung, MTsN 3 Kediri, and SMPN 1 Papar)
Authors: Asih Nadia Setya , Setiawan Bagus
Published: July 2023

Abstract: The lack of use of learning media in teaching and learning activities in schools causes students to not understand the material being taught. The development of media in this study takes the material of the plurality of Indonesian society in the even semester of class VIII at the SMP / MTs level. The development model used is the Borg and Gall method, which consists of ten steps in its stages. This study involved students from three schools, namely MTsN 5 Tulungagung with a total of 30 students and a yield of 85% and a reliability test of 0.897, MTsN 3 Kediri with 34 students and a percentage of 85% and a reliability test of 0.881, and SMPN 1 Exposure with 34 students and the percentage results are 91% and the reliability test is 0.930. Data collection techniques used were observation and questionnaires, while data analysis used descriptive qualitative and descriptive statistics. The results of the expert validation test show that video media for learning the plurality of Indonesian society has a valid category, namely 81.6% by media experts and 83.6% by material experts. Therefore, it can be concluded that this learning video media has an impact on students' understanding which increases at the SMP/MTs Class VIII level in three schools.
Land degradation and livelihood strategies in rural Zimbabwe: the case of two A1 farms in Shurugwi District
Authors:   , Nciizah Tendai
Published: July 2023

Land degradation is a global phenomenon which is having serious negative consequences for rural livelihoods, which depend quite fundamentally on land and its resources. At the same time, one of the key conditions contributing to land degradation relates to rural livelihood practices, insofar as these practices fail to protect the land. Hence, there sometimes exists a mutually-reinforcing process of decline, in relation to both land vitality and livelihoods vitality over time. This thesis seeks to investigate and understand this complex land-livelihoods process through a case study of two fast track farms in the Shurugwi District of contemporary Zimbabwe. In the year 2000, the Zimbabwean government introduced the fast track land reform programme which fundamentally reconfigured the rural landscape. In particular, it led to the formation of A1 farms (containing small-scale farming units called A1 plots), onto which people were resettled for purposes of enhancing their livelihoods. The case study focuses on two A1 farms in the district, namely, Selukwe Peak and Adare farms. Through a longitudinal study of land and livelihoods on these A1 farms, this study seeks to identify the multi-faceted character of land degradation on the farms, the multi-layered conditions (or causes) facilitating land degradation (specifically, the farm-based livelihood practices) and the effects of this land degradation on these very livelihood practices. This includes a focus on farmers’ understandings of land degradation and how these understandings may or may not condition livelihood practices on the two farms. Of particular importance is the presence of not only agricultural practices, but also high levels of illegal and legal mining on the farms and in the surrounding areas. In pursuing this study, the thesis draws upon the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach alongside Margaret Archer’s morphogenetic sociological perspective. Combined, they provide an intricate understanding of the relevance of both structure and agency to the analysis. A qualitative methodology was used, and this involved a questionnaire survey, in- depth interviews, life histories, focus group discussions and transect walks. The study concludes that the livelihood strategies undertaken by the villagers of Selukwe Peak and Adare farms are key causes of land degradation, as are the land-degrading activities of illegal and legal miners. The A1 villagers are aware that their activities are causing land degradation but they continue these activities because they are pushed by circumstances beyond their control. Hence, both proximate and underlying causes are of some significance in understanding land degradation and livelihoods on the two farms, and their interrelationships.
CO2 emissions, industrial output, and economic growth nexus: Evidence from Nepalese economy
Authors: Kumar Dahal Arjun , Bhattarai Ganesh , Bahadur Budhathoki Prem
Published: July 2023

This study aims to investigate the relationship between Nepal’s industrial sector output, economic expansion, and CO2 emissions. The analysis uses secondary data from various World Bank reports and covers the period from 1990 to 2022. It is founded on an exploratory and analytical research design. The relationship and effect of Nepal’s GDP and manufacturing output on CO2 emissions are investigated using various statistical and econometric tools, including descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, unit root testing, Granger causality test, Johansen co-integration test, and autoregressive regression model. The results show that the production of the industrial sector and CO2 emissions are highly positively correlated, as is GDP. The GDP granger causes CO2 emissions, but manufacturing output does not. Johansen’s co-integration test shows a long-term relationship between predictor and response variables. The previous value of CO2 emission is also responsible for the present level of carbon emissions: a one percent increase in GDP leads to a 0.314 percent increase in CO2 emissions in Nepal. The impact of industrial sector output is statistically insignificant. The condition of GDP and CO2 emissions shows the initial phase of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). The study recommends adopting an environment-friendly production technique to overcome the problem of carbon emissions in Nepal.
Most prevalent spinal disease of in dogs
Authors: WADOWSKA IZA , ŁUSZCZEWSKA-SIERAKOWSKA IWONA , DZIERZĘCKA MAŁGORZATA
Published: July 2023

The lumbosacral region of the spine is most susceptible to pathology in large breed dogs. The most common pathologies of this segment include intervertebral disk discopathy, distortion of vertebral vertebrae, narrowing of the lumbosacral canal and congenital defects of the spine. This area is most commonly affected by physical trauma or aging-related conditions leading to a wide range of symptoms, such as pain and loss of mobility.
Cooling and purification effect of permeable pavements
Authors: Luo Hui , Yang Jing , Zhang Wenhao , Yang Mingyu , Chen Limin , He Bao-Jie
Published: July 2023

Permeable pavement is a widely used stormwater runoff blocking technology in sponge city construction. Its application to urban motorized/non-motorized roads is expected to reduce runoff and pollution loads. This study aimed to analyze the nutrient pollution, thermal pollution reduction efficiency and removal pathways of cement permeable bricks (CP-B-Cement), steel slag permeable bricks (SP-B), ceramic permeable bricks (CP-B-Ceramic) and permeable asphalt pavement (PAP) under different pollution loads and rainfall intensities by simulating the different stormwater runoffs. Results indicated that the effluent concentration of different permeable pavements increased with the extension of rainfall duration. Compared with impermeable pavements, the infiltration and water storage capacities of permeable pavements could effectively remove typical pollutants from stormwater runoff. However, the effluent concentrations of all pollutants did not reach the threshold of Class V according to the Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water except for TP and Zn. Meanwhile, the thermal pollution removal capacity of the permeable pavements ranking from the highest to the lowest was SP-B > CP-B-Cement > CP-B-Ceramic > PAP. The findings in this study provide references for the selection of stormwater source reduction facilities and the development of surface source pollution countermeasures.
Proposal of a new approach to perform advanced flow modeling for subsurface flow treatment wetlands
Authors: Santos Kesley Antonio , Coelho Lineker Max Goulart , Santos Hersilia Andrade
Published: July 2023

This study describes a new approach to model treatment wetlands (TW) by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) coupled with the discrete element method (DEM). This methodology is based on the adoption of open-source software to perform advanced hydraulic simulations that enable a detailed representation of water flow through CFD as well as solid phase consideration by using DEM. The main features of this approach are highlighted and details on how to perform CFD-DEM modeling of a horizontal flow treatment wetland (HFTW) are described. Validation of the CFD-DEM model was performed on two TW case studies. The results were compared to the Darcy-Forchheimer porous media model. Statistical and hydraulic performance indexes were used to evaluate the efficacy of models. Provided that no calibration was done, the results indicated that for these case studies the CFD-DEM approach outperformed the Darcy-Forchheimer model based on the aforementioned metrics and considering the similarity with experimental results. The application of CFD-DEM coupling for TW proved to be an interesting approach as it enables more complex analysis of the hydrodynamics of TWs, becoming a valuable tool for future research and system optimization.
Diverse Heterocyclic Molecules Targeting Oxidative Stress as Therapeutic Effects Against Various Neurological Diseases
Authors: Alghamdi Saad , Kabrah Ahmed , Khidir Elshiekh Babiker , Al-Moraya Issa Saad , Asif Mohammad
Published: July 2023

Heterocyclic compounds are the most common and diverse group of organic substances.
Heterocyclic compounds are rapidly increasing in number as a result of intensive synthetic research as
well as their value in other synthetic procedures. More than 90% of medications contain heterocyclic
rings, and a wide range of medicinal chemistry applications make use of these substances. There are
always unique characteristics of an efficient approach for creating newly discovered heterocyclic
compounds and their moieties. Due to their biological effects, including those that are anti-cancer,
anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-allergic, antibacterial, antiviral, and anticonvulsant, heterocyclic
compounds are crucial to medicinal chemistry. Today's world population is generally suffering from
various neurodegenerative diseases. Out of that, the most prevailing disease is Alzheimer's. There are
many causes of Alzheimer's disease-like acetylcholinesterase enzyme, tau protein, amyloid aggregation,
oxidative stress, phosphodiesterase, and others. In these cases, oxidative stress plays a very important
role in the progression of this disease. To combat this oxidative stress various antioxidantderived
drugs have been used but the problem is that Alzheimer's progression cannot be targeted with
a single target drug because of the other factors that are involved in its progression. So to overcome
that, a drug targeting multiple targets has been synthesized by using the antioxidant in previous reports.
These drugs are more potent and efficacious than single-target drugs. This review focused on
various multi-target ligands to target oxidative stress.