bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Incorporation of Silver-Doped Graphene Oxide Quantum Dots in Polyvinylidene Fluoride Membrane for Verapamil Removal
Authors: Tay Wan Yee , Ng Law Yong , Ng Ching Yin , Mahmoudi Ebrahim , Lim Ying Pei , Sim Lan Ching
Published: November 2022

Verapamil hydrochloride, a calcium channel-blocking agent, is detectable in receiving water bodies and affects the well-being of aquatic organisms. Membrane filtration could be effective in removing such pharmaceutical contaminants. However, limited studies have employed commercial membranes, such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), in removing verapamil from water sources, owing to their low solution fluxes, poor antibacterial properties, and high surface hydrophobicity. Efforts are needed to create the PVDF membrane suitable for removing verapamil from water sources. In this study, PVDF composite membranes incorporated with from 0 to 0.10 wt% silver-doped graphene oxide quantum dots (Ag−GOQD) were evaluated in terms of their morphological structures, elemental composition, surface roughness, hydrophilicity, verapamil rejection capability, anti-fouling, and antibacterial capabilities. The pure PVDF membrane showed the lowest verapamil rejection (73.66 ± 2.45%), highest surface roughness (mean surface roughness, Sa = 123.80 nm), and least hydrophilic membrane surface (contact angle = 79.06 ± 4.53°) when compared to other membranes incorporated with nanocomposites. However, the membrane incorporated with 0.10 wt% Ag−GOQD showed the smoothest and the most hydrophilic membrane surface (Sa = 13.10 nm and contact angle = 53.60 ± 4.75°, respectively), associated with the highest verapamil rejection (96.04 ± 1.82%). A clear inhibition zone was spotted in the agar plate containing the membrane incorporated with Ag−GOQD, showing the antibacterial capability of the membrane. The overall improvement in morphological structures, surface smoothness, surface hydrophilicities, permeabilities, verapamil rejection abilities, and anti-fouling and antibacterial capabilities indicated a great potential to incorporate Ag−GOQD in PVDF membrane fabrication.
Research on the Impact of BMI on Enterprise Performance Based on the Antecedence of Risk Perception
Authors: Jingwen Yan , Rahman Azmawani Abd , Tong Tong
Published: November 2022

Despite research showing that business model innovation (BMI) can enhance performance and create competitive advantages for small- and medium-sized businesses, these firms often do not achieve the expected outcomes. A business model can undergo irreversible fundamental changes due to Business Model Innovation (BMI), resulting in high levels of risk, uncertainty, and ambiguity. An analysis of 350 Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was conducted to determine the impact of innovating a business model on firm performance. Based on BMI calculations, this study investigates whether organizational capabilities and growth strategies impact business performance. Even though BMI is not directly correlated with firm performance, growth in efficiency and novelty, organizational capacities, and revenue are all fully mediated by growth in those factors. Revenue growth, organizational capacity, and efficiency affect a firm’s performance. The model is proven to be valid by this study. In addition to providing guidelines on implementing BMI based on a company’s strategy, this study contributes to the existing literature on BMI efforts for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Development of a Neighborhood Mobility Index for Assessing Mobility Disparities in Developing Countries with Application to the Greater Cairo Area, Egypt
Authors: ElDessouki Wael M.
Published: November 2022

Most urban planners emphasize sustainability’s environmental and economic aspects and overlook the social equity dimension. Assessment of the current mobility situation is a prerequisite for developing socially sustainable urban mobility plans. However, current metrics for mobility assessment are data intensive and sometimes require the development of a detailed transportation model for the urban area, which is difficult to achieve in developing nations. In this study, we have created an index for assessing mobility for neighborhoods in a metropolitan area that requires minimal land-use information and utilizes online third-party travel-time data. The proposed index merges the fundamental principles of the traditional transportation planning process and congestion metrics to assess the mobility status of different neighborhoods in an urban area for a single mode of transportation. The developed neighborhood mobility index (NMI) was evaluated in the Greater Cairo Area (GCA), and the results were validated by conducting a one-dimensional ANOVA. The validation results showed that the results obtained using the developed NMI were reliable with a good degree of confidence. The case study demonstrated the capabilities of the NMI in detecting disparities between neighborhoods in a city and showed how planners and decision-makers could use it in preparing sustainable mobility plans.
Determination of Importance of Key Decision Points in the Technology Commercialization Process: Attitude of the US and German Experts
Authors: Zemlickienė Vaida , Turskis Zenonas
Published: November 2022

With the help of commercialization, inventions become marketable commodities that find new ways of solving problems. Turning technology into reality requires an excellent understanding of the development process from idea to market of the technology. The primary purpose of this article was to examine the commercialization process of inventions and divide the commercialization process into stages that culminate in decision points. Opinions of different authors and representatives of R&D organizations were compared concerning the content of technology commercialization, which is understood and named differently in the scientific and practical literature. Later, with the help of two groups of experts from the US and Germany, the importance of key decision points was determined. The research results were summarized using the MCDM method: the integrated Fuzzy Delphic–Eckenrode Likert-type Scale-based Rating Technique (FDELSRT). The results of this study can be applied in practice to making strategic decisions related to the allocation of efforts, limited time, and financial resources based on the determined importance of key decision points. Research in different countries and the comparison of results will identify areas and opportunities for further mutual learning and more intensive, mutually beneficial international cooperation in technology development.
A Framework for a Generic Retail Charter: A Guide towards Sustainability and Stakeholder Support
Authors: Venter Petrus , Duffett Rodney
Published: November 2022

This paper develops a framework for a generic retail stakeholder charter that addresses expectations of relevant retail business stakeholders to achieve success and sustainability. Hevner’s design science research model was used for the development of this framework. Relevant literature on retail business management, stakeholder theory, and existing charters was reviewed and used for the design of a draft generic retail charter framework. The draft framework was submitted to expert practitioners and academics for verification in terms of correctness, completeness, and relevance to develop the final retail charter framework. The framework addresses stakeholder expectations regarding relevant categories, and the structure of the retail charter addresses the identity, elements, and the management of the retail charter. The elements in the generic retail charter are structured to achieve stakeholder support by ensuring compliance, satisfaction, and excitement. This generic retail charter framework creates research opportunities for the development of detailed retail charters for every stakeholder category, and customized retail charters for individual retail businesses. The framework provides further research opportunities for retail businesses operating in a particular industry, ecommerce, various Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, and other countries.
Perturbed Mixed Variational-like Inequalities and Auxiliary Principle Pertaining to a Fuzzy Environment
Authors: Khan Muhammad Bilal , Santos-García Gustavo , Treanțǎ Savin , Noor Muhammad Aslam , Soliman Mohamed S.
Published: November 2022

Convex and non-convex fuzzy mappings are well known to be important in the research of fuzzy optimization. Symmetry and the idea of convexity are closely related. Therefore, the concept of symmetry and convexity is important in the discussion of inequalities because of how its definition behaves. This study aims to consider new class of generalized fuzzy variational-like inequality for fuzzy mapping which is known as perturbed fuzzy mixed variational-like inequality. We also introduce strongly fuzzy mixed variational inequality, as a particular case of perturbed fuzzy mixed variational-like inequality which is also a new one. Furthermore, by using the generalized auxiliary principle technique and some new analytic techniques, some existence results and efficient numerical techniques of perturbed fuzzy mixed variational-like inequality are established. As exceptional cases, some known and new results are obtained. Results obtained in this paper can be viewed as refinement and improvement of previously known results.
Fully Heavy Tetraquark Spectroscopy in the Relativistic Quark Model
Authors: Faustov Rudolf , Galkin Vladimir , Savchenko Elena
Published: November 2022

Masses of the ground and excited (1P, 2S, 1D, 2P, 3S) states of the fully heavy tetraquarks, composed of charm (c) and bottom (b) quarks and antiquarks, are calculated in the diquark–antidiquark picture within the relativistic quark model based on the quasipotential approach and quantum chromodynamics. The quasipotentials of the quark–quark and diquark–antidiquark interactions are constructed similarly to the previous consideration of mesons and baryons. Relativistic effects are consistently taken into account. A tetraquark is considered a bound state of a diquark and an antidiquark. The finite size of the diquark is taken into account, using the form factors of the diquark–gluon interaction. It is shown that most of the investigated states of tetraquarks lie above the decay thresholds into a meson pair; as a result, they can be observed only as broad resonances. The narrow state X(6900) recently discovered in the di-J/ψ production spectrum by the LHCb, CMS and ATLAS Collaborations corresponds to an excited state of the fully charmed tetraquark. Other recently discovered exotic heavy resonances, X(6200), X(6400), X(6600), X(7200), and X(7300), can also be interpreted as the different excitations of the fully charmed tetraquark.
Automatic Identification and Intelligent Optimization of Tunnel-Free Curve Reconfiguration
Authors: Wang Zihan , Shi Peixin , Xu Xunqian , Xu Xiangyang , Xie Feng , Yang Hao
Published: November 2022

Extracting complete cross-sectional geometric features from the large amount of point cloud data acquired by laser scanners plays an important part in the detection of deformations in tunnel inspection projects. Tunnel cross-sections have symmetrical geometric features, and information is traditionally collected manually. The traditional manual extraction of point clouds is inefficient and limited by the subjectivity of the operators when addressing the problems. This paper proposes a new algorithm for the automatic identification of tunnel lining section curves, the rapid separation of common interference targets, and the optimization of curve geometry features. The innovation of this approach lies in the combination of B-spline and Euclidean clustering methods and the comprehensive evaluation of the denoising results in terms of precision, recall, F-score, and rand index (RI). In this way, the automatically extracted health point cloud data are refitted to optimize the tunnel profile model.
Surface Characterization of Modified Electrodes Based on 4-(Azulen-1-yl)-2,6-bis((E)-2-(thiophen-2-yl)vinyl)pyridine
Authors: Chilibon Irinela , Păun Adina-Maria , Vasiliu Cristina , Diacu Elena , Isopescu Raluca , Ungureanu Eleonora-Mihaela
Published: November 2022

Sensitive electrodes based on complexing azulene polymer films were prepared by electrochemical deposition on glassy carbon electrodes. The characterization of 4-(azulen-1-yl)-2,6-bis((E)-2-(thiophen-2-yl)vinyl)pyridine (M) and its polymerization were performed by voltammetric methods on glassy carbon disk working electrodes in millimolar solutions of acetonitrile in the presence of 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP). The films containing complexing (thiophen-2-yl)vinyl symmetrically substituted pyridine fragments were deposited either by scanning or by controlled potential electrolysis (CPE). Investigation and morphological characterization of samples by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier Transform IR Spectroscopy (FTIR), and fluorescence showed particular features of the CMEs obtained at variable potentials and charges and suggested the conservation the complexing units in the films. The characterization methods for chemically modified electrodes (CMEs) were chosen depending on the desired uses of this monomer for heavy metal sensors or optical applications, respectively.
Solution Set of the Yang-Baxter-like Matrix Equation for an Idempotent Matrix
Authors: Xu Xiaoling , Lu Linzhang , Liu Qilong
Published: November 2022

Given a complex idempotent matrix A, we derive simple, sufficient and necessary conditions for a matrix X being a nontrivial solution of the Yang-Baxter-like matrix equation AXA = XAX, discriminating commuting solutions from non-commuting ones. On this basis, we construct all the commuting solutions of the nonlinear matrix equation.
Maladaptive One-Leg Balance Control in Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Chevrier Eric , Moro Elena , Pelissier Pierre , Castrioto Anna , Krack Paul , Fraix Valérie , Debû Bettina
Published: November 2022

Balance disorders are very frequent in Parkinson’s disease (PD). One-leg stance performance is a predictor of fall risk. We investigated one-leg stance strategies in people with PD. We hypothesized that patients would choose, and better perform on, the leg on the least affected body side. Fifty participants with 2 to 19 years of PD duration stood on one leg while ON medication. The leg spontaneously chosen was recorded. Performance was compared between the spontaneously chosen vs. contralateral, and most vs. least stable legs. Influence of disease duration, severity, age, cognition, and motor fluctuations was analyzed. Twenty-eight patients spontaneously stood on the leg of the least affected body side, which was not always the most stable one. The chosen standing leg was influenced by disease duration with a switch between the least vs. most affected body side after seven years of disease duration. Fourteen patients (28%) spontaneously stood on their least stable leg. Thus, some patients with PD choose the least stable leg when asked to perform one-leg stance. It is important to identify these patients since they may be at greater risk of falls and/or gait difficulties. Specific rehabilitation may help prevent such maladaptive strategy.
Outlier Based Skimpy Regularization Fuzzy Clustering Algorithm for Diabetic Retinopathy Image Segmentation
Authors: Hemamalini Selvamani , Kumar Visvam Devadoss Ambeth
Published: November 2022

Blood vessels are harmed in diabetic retinopathy (DR), a condition that impairs vision. Using modern healthcare research and technology, artificial intelligence and processing units are used to aid in the diagnosis of this syndrome and the study of diagnostic procedures. The correct assessment of DR severity requires the segmentation of lesions from fundus pictures. The manual grading method becomes highly difficult and time-consuming due to the wide range of the morphologies, number, and sizes of lesions. For image segmentation, traditional fuzzy clustering techniques have two major drawbacks. First, fuzzy memberships based clustering are more susceptible to outliers. Second, because of the lack of local spatial information, these techniques often result in oversegmentation of images. In order to address these issues, this research study proposes an outlier-based skimpy regularization fuzzy clustering technique (OSR-FCA) for image segmentation. Clustering methods that use fuzzy membership with sparseness can be improved by incorporating a Gaussian metric regularisation into the objective function. The proposed study used the symmetry information contained in the image data to conduct the image segmentation using the fuzzy clustering technique while avoiding over segmenting relevant data. This resulted in a reduced proportion of noisy data and better clustering results. The classification was carried out by a deep learning technique called convolutional neural network (CNN). Two publicly available datasets were used for the validation process by using different metrics. The experimental results showed that the proposed segmentation technique achieved 97.16% and classification technique achieved 97.26% of accuracy on the MESSIDOR dataset.
Comparison of the Predictive Performance of Medical Coding Diagnosis Classification Systems
Authors: Zikos Dimitrios , DeLellis Nailya
Published: November 2022

Health analytics frequently involve tasks to predict outcomes of care. A foundational predictor of clinical outcomes is the medical diagnosis (Dx). The most used expression of medical Dx is the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10-CM). Since ICD-10-CM includes >70,000 codes, it is computationally expensive and slow to train models with. Alternative lower-dimensionality alternatives include clinical classification software (CCS) and diagnosis-related groups (MS-DRGs). This study compared the predictive power of these alternatives against ICD-10-CM for two outcomes of hospital care: inpatient mortality and length of stay (LOS). Naïve Bayes (NB) and Random Forests models were created for each Dx system to examine their predictive performance for inpatient mortality, and Multiple Linear Regression models for the continuous LOS variable. The MS-DRGs performed highest for both outcomes, even outperforming ICD-10-CM. The admitting ICD-10-CM codes were, surprisingly, not underperformed by the primary ICD-10-CM Dxs. The CCS system, although having a much lower dimensionality than ICD-10-CM, has only slightly lower performance while the refined version of CCS only slightly outperformed the old CCS. Random Forests outperformed NB for MS-DRG, and ICD-10-CM, by a large margin. Results can provide insights to understand the compromise from using lower-dimensionality representations in clinical outcome studies.
Dietary Catalase Supplementation Alleviates Deoxynivalenol-Induced Oxidative Stress and Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Broiler Chickens
Authors: Wang Weiwei , Zhu Jingqiang , Cao Qingyun , Zhang Changming , Dong Zemin , Feng Dingyuan , Ye Hui , Zuo Jianjun
Published: November 2022

Catalase (CAT) can eliminate oxygen radicals, but it is unclear whether exogenous CAT can protect chickens against deoxynivalenol (DON)-induced oxidative stress. This study aimed to investigate the effects of supplemental CAT on antioxidant property and gut microbiota in DON-exposed broilers. A total of 144 one-day-old Lingnan yellow-feathered male broilers were randomly divided into three groups (six replicates/group): control, DON group, and DON + CAT (DONC) group. The control and DON group received a diet without and with DON contamination, respectively, while the DONC group received a DON-contaminated diet with 200 U/kg CAT added. Parameter analysis was performed on d 21. The results showed that DON-induced liver enlargement (p < 0.05) was blocked by CAT addition, which also normalized the increases (p < 0.05) in hepatic oxidative metabolites contents and caspase-9 expression. Additionally, CAT addition increased (p < 0.05) the jejunal CAT and GSH-Px activities coupled with T-AOC in DON-exposed broilers, as well as the normalized DON-induced reductions (p < 0.05) of jejunal villus height (VH) and its ratio for crypt depth. There was a difference (p < 0.05) in gut microbiota among groups. The DON group was enriched (p < 0.05) with some harmful bacteria (e.g., Proteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Enterobacteriales, Enterobacteriaceae, and Escherichia/Shigella) that elicited negative correlations (p < 0.05) with jejunal CAT activity, and VH. DONC group was differentially enriched (p < 0.05) with certain beneficial bacteria (e.g., Acidobacteriota, Anaerofustis, and Anaerotruncus) that could benefit intestinal antioxidation and morphology. In conclusion, supplemental CAT alleviates DON-induced oxidative stress and intestinal damage in broilers, which can be associated with its ability to improve gut microbiota, aside from its direct oxygen radical-scavenging activity.
Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Infection
Authors: Hu Tengyue , Wang Jiayi , Li Weixiu , Liu Miao , Han Ning , Yuan Man , Du Lingyao , Tang Hong
Published: November 2022

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, a type of cellular stress, always occurs when unfolded or misfolded proteins accumulating in the ER exceed the protein folding capacity. Because of the demand for rapid viral protein synthesis after viral infection, viral infections become a risk factor for ER stress. The hepatocyte is a cell with large and well-developed ER, and hepatitis virus infection is widespread in the population, indicating the interaction between hepatitis viruses and ER stress may have significance for managing liver diseases. In this paper, we review the process that is initiated by the hepatocyte through ER stress against HBV and HCV infection and explain how this information can be helpful in the treatment of HBV/HCV-related diseases.
Non-Lethal Detection of Frog Virus 3-Like (RUK13) and Common Midwife Toad Virus-Like (PDE18) Ranaviruses in Two UK-Native Amphibian Species
Authors: Ford Charlotte E. , Brookes Lola M. , Skelly Emily , Sergeant Chris , Jordine Tresai , Balloux Francois , Nichols Richard A. , Garner Trenton W. J.
Published: November 2022

Ranaviruses have been involved in amphibian mass mortality events worldwide. Effective screening to control this pathogen is essential; however, current sampling methods are unsuitable for the detection of subclinical infections. Non-lethal screening is needed to prevent both further spread of ranavirus and losses of at-risk species. To assess non-lethal sampling methods, we conducted two experiments: bath exposing common frogs to RUK13 ranavirus at three concentrations, and exposing common toads to RUK13 or PDE18. Non-lethal sampling included buccal, digit, body and tank swabs, along with toe clips and stool taken across three time-points post-exposure. The presence/load of ranavirus was examined using quantitative PCR in 11 different tissues obtained from the same euthanised animals (incl. liver, gastro-intestinal tract and kidney). Buccal swab screening had the highest virus detection rate in both species (62% frogs; 71% toads) and produced consistently high virus levels compared to other non-lethal assays. The buccal swab was effective across multiple stages of infection and differing infection intensities, though low levels of infection were more difficult to detect. Buccal swab assays competed with, and even outperformed, lethal sampling in frogs and toads, respectively. Successful virus detection in the absence of clinical signs was observed (33% frogs; 50% toads); we found no difference in detectability for RUK13 and PDE18. Our results suggest that buccal swabbing could replace lethal sampling for screening and be introduced as standard practice for ranavirus surveillance.
Reaching the Final Endgame for Constant Waves of COVID-19
Authors: Ratcliffe Norman Arthur , Castro Helena Carla , Gonzalez Marcelo Salabert , Mello Cicero Brasileiro , Dyson Paul
Published: November 2022

Despite intramuscular vaccines saving millions of lives, constant devastating waves of SARS-CoV-2 infections continue. The elimination of COVID-19 is challenging, but necessary in order to avoid millions more people who would suffer from long COVID if we fail. Our paper describes rapidly advancing and innovative therapeutic strategies for the early stage of infection with COVID-19 so that tolerating continuing cycles of infection should be unnecessary in the future. These therapies include new vaccines with broader specificities, nasal therapies and antiviral drugs some targeting COVID-19 at the first stage of infection and preventing the virus entering the body in the first place. Our article describes the advantages and disadvantages of each of these therapeutic options which in various combinations could eventually prevent renewed waves of infection. Finally, important consideration is given to political, social and economic barriers that since 2020 hindered vaccine application and are likely to interfere again with any COVID-19 endgame.
Acquired Hip Dysplasia in Children with Congenital Zika Virus Infection in the First Four Years of Life
Authors: Pone Marcos Vinicius da Silva , Gomes da Silva Tallita Oliveira , Ribeiro Carla Trevisan Martins , Aguiar Elisa Barroso de , Mendes Pedro Henrique Barros , Gomes Junior Saint Clair dos Santos , Hamanaka Tatiana , Zin Andrea Araujo , Pereira Junior José Paulo , Moreira Maria Elisabeth Lopes , Nielsen-Saines Karin , Pone Sheila Moura
Published: November 2022

Acquired hip dysplasia has been described in children with cerebral palsy (CP); periodic surveillance is recommended in this population to prevent hip displacement and dislocation. Children with congenital zika syndrome (CZS) may present a spectrum of neurological impairments with changes in tonus, posture, and movement similar to children with CP. However, the relationship between CZS and hip dysplasia has not been characterized. In this prospective cohort study, we aimed to describe the occurrence of hip dysplasia in patients with CZS. Sixty-four children with CZS from 6 to 48 months of age were included and followed at a tertiary referral center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with periodic radiologic and clinical hip assessments. Twenty-six (41%) patients were diagnosed with hip dysplasia during follow-up; mean age at diagnosis was 23 months. According to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), 58 (91%) patients had severe impairment (GMFCS IV and V) at the first evaluation. All patients with progression to hip dysplasia had microcephaly and were classified as GMFCS IV or V. Pain and functional limitation were reported by 22 (84%) caregivers of children with hip dysplasia. All patients were referred to specialized orthopedic care; eight (31%) underwent surgical treatment during follow-up. Our findings highlight the importance of implementing a hip surveillance program and improving access to orthopedic treatment for children with CZS in order to decrease the chances of dysplasia-related complications and improve quality of life.
High APOBEC3B mRNA Expression Is Associated with Human Papillomavirus Type 18 Infection in Cervical Cancer
Authors: de Oliveira Gisele R. , Carvalho Pedro S. , Vieira Valdimara C. , Curty Gislaine , Basto Diogo L. , Moreira Miguel Ângelo M. , Soares Marcelo A.
Published: November 2022

The APOBEC3 (A3) proteins are cytidine deaminases that exhibit the ability to insert mutations in DNA and/or RNA sequences. APOBEC3B (A3B) has been evidenced as a DNA mutagen with consistent high expression in several cancer types. Data concerning the A3B influence on HPV infection and cervical cancer are limited and controversial. We investigated the role of A3B expression levels in cervical cancer in affected women positive for infection by different HPV types. Tumor biopsies from cancerous uterine cervix were collected from 216 women registered at Hospital do Câncer II of Instituto Nacional de Câncer, and infecting HPV was typed. A3B expression levels were quantified from RNA samples extracted from cervical biopsies using real-time quantitative PCR. Median A3B expression levels were higher among HPV18+ samples when compared to HPV16+ counterparts and were also increased compared to samples positive for other HPV types. In squamous cell carcinoma, HPV18+ samples also showed increased median A3B expression when compared to HPV Alpha-9 species or only to HPV16+ samples. Our findings suggest that A3B expression is differentially upregulated in cervical cancer samples infected with HPV18. A3B could be potentially used as a biomarker for HPV infection and as a prognostic tool for clinical outcomes in the context of cervical cancer.
Inhibitory Potential of Chromene Derivatives on Structural and Non-Structural Proteins of Dengue Virus
Authors: Dharmapalan Babitha Thekkiniyedath , Biswas Raja , Sankaran Sathianarayanan , Venkidasamy Baskar , Thiruvengadam Muthu , George Ginson , Rebezov Maksim , Zengin Gokhan , Gallo Monica , Montesano Domenico , Naviglio Daniele , Shariati Mohammad Ali
Published: November 2022

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease that has become a serious health issue across the globe. It is caused by a virus of the Flaviviridae family, and it comprises five different serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-5). As there is no specific medicine or effective vaccine for controlling dengue fever, there is an urgent need to develop potential inhibitors against it. Traditionally, various natural products have been used to manage dengue fever and its co-morbid conditions. A detailed analysis of these plants revealed the presence of various chromene derivatives as the major phytochemicals. Inspired by these observations, authors have critically analyzed the anti-dengue virus potential of various 4H chromene derivatives. Further, in silico, in vitro, and in vivo reports of these scaffolds against the dengue virus are detailed in the present manuscript. These analogues exerted their activity by interfering with various stages of viral entry, assembly, and replications. Moreover, these analogues mainly target envelope protein, NS2B-NS3 protease, and NS5 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, etc. Overall, chromene-containing analogues exerted a potent activity against the dengue virus and the present review will be helpful for the further exploration of these scaffolds for the development of novel antiviral drug candidates.
Determinants of Anti-S Immune Response at 9 Months after COVID-19 Vaccination in a Multicentric European Cohort of Healthcare Workers—ORCHESTRA Project
Authors: Collatuzzo Giulia , Lodi Vittorio , Feola Daniela , De Palma Giuseppe , Sansone Emanuele , Sala Emma , Janke Christian , Castelletti Noemi , Porru Stefano , Spiteri Gianluca , Monaco Maria Grazia Lourdes , Larese Filon Francesca , Negro Corrado , Cegolon Luca , Beresova Jana , Fabianova Eleonora , Carrasco-Ribelles Lucia A. , Toràn-Monserrat Pere , Rodriguez-Suarez Marta Maria , Fernandez-Tardon Guillermo , Asafo Shuffield S. , Ditano Giorgia , Abedini Mahsa , Boffetta Paolo
Published: November 2022

Background: The persistence of antibody levels after COVID-19 vaccination has public health relevance. We analyzed the determinants of quantitative serology at 9 months after vaccination in a multicenter cohort. Methods: We analyzed data on anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibody levels at 9 months from the first dose of vaccinated HCW from eight centers in Italy, Germany, Spain, Romania and Slovakia. Serological levels were log-transformed to account for the skewness of the distribution and normalized by dividing them by center-specific standard errors. We fitted center-specific multivariate regression models to estimate the cohort-specific relative risks (RR) of an increase of one standard deviation of log antibody level and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), and combined them in random-effects meta-analyses. Finally, we conducted a trend analysis of 1 to 7 months’ serology within one cohort. Results: We included 20,216 HCW with up to two vaccine doses and showed that high antibody levels were associated with female sex (p = 0.01), age (RR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.86–0.88 per 10-year increase), 10-day increase in time since last vaccine (RR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.97–0.98), previous infection (3.03, 95% CI = 2.92–3.13), two vaccine doses (RR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.09–1.36), use of Spikevax (OR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.39–1.64), Vaxzevria (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.44–0.73) or heterologous vaccination (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.12–1.57), compared to Comirnaty. The trend in the Bologna cohort, based on 3979 measurements, showed a decrease in mean standardized antibody level from 8.17 to 7.06 (1–7 months, p for trend 0.005). Conclusions: Our findings corroborate current knowledge on the determinants of COVID-19 vaccine-induced immunity and declining trend with time.
Rabies Virus Populations in Humans and Mice Show Minor Inter-Host Variability within Various Central Nervous System Regions and Peripheral Tissues
Authors: Embregts Carmen W. E. , Farag Elmoubashar A. B. A. , Bansal Devendra , Boter Marjan , van der Linden Anne , Vaes Vincent P. , van Middelkoop-van den Berg Ingeborg , IJpelaar Jeroen. , Ziglam Hisham , Coyle Peter V. , Ibrahim Imad , Mohran Khaled A. , Alrajhi Muneera Mohammed Saleh , Islam Md. Mazharul , Abdeen Randa , Al-Zeyara Abdul Aziz , Younis Nidal Mahmoud , Al-Romaihi Hamad Eid , AlThani Mohammad Hamad J. , Sikkema Reina S. , Koopmans Marion P. G. , Oude Munnink Bas B. , GeurtsvanKessel Corine H.
Published: November 2022

Rabies virus (RABV) has a broad host range and infects multiple cell types throughout the infection cycle. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and minor variant analysis are powerful tools for studying virus populations within specific hosts and tissues, leading to novel insights into the mechanisms of host-switching and key factors for infecting specific cell types. In this study we investigated RABV populations and minor variants in both original (non-passaged) samples and in vitro-passaged isolates of various CNS regions (hippocampus, medulla oblongata and spinal cord) of a fatal human rabies case, and of multiple CNS and non-CNS tissues of experimentally infected mice. No differences in virus populations were detected between the human CNS regions, and only one non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was detected in the fifth in vitro passage of virus isolated from the spinal cord. However, the appearance of this SNP shows the importance of sequencing newly passaged virus stocks before further use. Similarly, we did not detect apparent differences in virus populations isolated from different CNS and non-CNS tissues of experimentally infected mice. Sequencing of viruses obtained from pharyngeal swab and salivary gland proved difficult, and we propose methods for improving sampling.
Lebanese Cannabis: Agronomic and Essential Oil Characteristics as Affected by Sowing Date and Irrigation Practice
Authors: Sleiman Rhend , Abi Saab Marie Therese , Gerard Jocelyne Adjizian , Fahed Salim , Chehade Ali , Elhajj Abdel Kader , Jammoul Adla , Mansour Georges , Sellami Mohamed Houssemeddine , Todorovic Mladen , Albrizio Rossella
Published: November 2022

A field experiment was carried out in Lebanon to assess the agronomic and essential oil characteristics of cannabis as affected by sowing date and irrigation practice. The experiment consisted of a split-plot design with the water regime being the main factor (Iopt-irrigated when the readily available soil water is depleted; I50- receiving 50% of the irrigation amounts in Iopt treatments) and sowing date as the sub-plot factor (mid-April; end of April; mid-May). Biometric and seed quality parameters of the cannabis crop were determined. The essential oils (EO) of the inflorescence were subjected to a multivariate analysis such as principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The obtained results revealed that the aboveground fresh biomass, the dry matter, and the plant height were 55.08%, 59.62%, and 43.11% higher in Iopt than in I50, respectively. However, the EO content was neither statistically affected by the irrigation regime nor by the sowing date. Under early sowing, both the water-use efficiency (WUE) for biomass and the EO production reached their highest values. All treatments presented a similar seed composition except that the crude fat and crude protein content were more elevated in Iopt than in I50 treatments. The main extracted essential oils in cannabis inflorescence corresponded to twenty-six identified compounds representing 79.34% of the monoterpenes and 81.25% of the sesquiterpenes. The monoterpenes were highly correlated with the irrigation treatment and early-April sowing while the sesquiterpenes were better enhanced under I50 and end of April to mid-May sowing. The study reveals that agronomic practices lead to differential responses of pharmacologically useful plant compounds for improved health benefits. Further research is required to clarify the potential for cannabis cultivation in Lebanon.
Sedimentation and Erosion Patterns of the Lena River Anabranching Channel
Authors: Chalov Sergey , Prokopeva Kristina
Published: November 2022

Lena River is one of the largest “pristine” undammed river systems in the World. In the middle and low (including delta) 1500 km course of the Lena main stem river forms complex anabranching patterns which are affected by continuous permafrost, degradation of the frozen ground and changes in vegetation (taiga and tundra). This study provides a high-resolution assessment of sediment behavior along this reach. Comprehensive hydrological field studies along the anabranching channel located in the middle, low and delta courses of the Lena River were performed from 2016 to 2022 including acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) discharge measurements and sediment transport estimates by gravimetric analyses of sediment concentration data and surrogate measurements (optical by turbidity meters and acoustic by ADCP techniques). These data were used to construct regional relationships between suspended sediment concentrations (SSC, mg/L), turbidity (T, NTU) and backscatter intensity (BI, dB) values applicable for the conditions of the Lena River. Further, field data sets were used to calibrate the seasonal relationships between Landsat reflectance intensities and field surface sediment concentration data. Robust empirical models were derived between the field surface sediment concentration and surface reflectance data for various hydrological seasons. Based on the integration of in situ monitoring and remote sensing data we revealed significant discrepancies in the spatial and seasonal patterns of the suspended sediment transport between various anabranching reaches of the river system. In the middle course of the Lena River, due to inundation of vegetated banks and islands, a downward decrease in sediment concentrations is observed along the anabranching channel during peak flows. Bed and lateral scour during low water seasons effects average increase in sediment load along the anabranching channels, even though a significant (up to 30%) decline in SSC occurs within the particular reaches of the main channel. Deposition patterns are typical for the secondary channels. The anabranching channel that was influenced by the largest tributaries (Aldan and Viluy) is characterized by the sediment plumes which dominate the spatial and temporal sediment distribution. Finally, in the distributary system of the Lena delta, sediment transport is mostly increased downwards, predominantly under higher discharges and along main distributary channels due to permafrost-dominated bank degradation.
Responses of Terrestrial Evapotranspiration to Extreme Drought: A Review
Authors: He Qiu-Lan , Xiao Jun-Lan , Shi Wei-Yu
Published: November 2022

Terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET) is crucial to the exchange of global carbon, water, and energy cycles and links the hydrological and ecological processes. The frequency and intensity of extreme droughts are expected to increase due to ongoing climate change, strongly impacting terrestrial ET with implications for ecosystems, societies, and climate systems. However, the response of terrestrial ET to extreme drought and the underlying mechanism of terrestrial ET change during droughts are still unclear. Here, we review previous studies on terrestrial ET’s responses to extreme drought and investigate the control factors of ET change in response to extreme drought under different situations. The response of terrestrial ET to extreme drought is affected by various factors including the duration and intensity of the drought, the original climate conditions, as well as the plant species. Terrestrial ET change during droughts is controlled by complex biological and physical processes that can be divided into four parts including supply, energy, demand, and vegetation activities. The response of terrestrial ET to elevate CO2 may offset the effects of drought because CO2 fertilization tends to increase water use efficiency through stomatal regulation. We found that large uncertainties remain in the terrestrial ET response to drought due to the discrepancies among different ET products and simulations. This work highlights the requirement for accurate estimates of ET changes in ET products and models. This review provides a systematic investigation of the terrestrial ET response to extreme drought and the underlying mechanism of terrestrial ET changes during droughts and will significantly improve the development of water management strategies under climate change.
Variability of Annual and Monthly Streamflow Droughts over the Southeastern United States
Authors: Raczynski Krzysztof , Dyer Jamie
Published: November 2022

Understanding the patterns of streamflow drought frequency and intensity is critical in defining potential environmental and societal impacts on processes associated with surface water resources; however, analysis of these processes is often limited to the availability of data. The objective of this study is to quantify the annual and monthly variability of low flow river conditions over the Southeastern United States (US) using National Water Model (NWM) retrospective simulations (v2.1), which provide streamflow estimates at a high spatial density. The data were used to calculate sums of outflow deficit volumes at annual and monthly scales, from which the autocorrelation functions (ACF), partial autocorrelation functions (PACF) and the Hurst exponent (H) were calculated to quantify low flow patterns. The ACF/PACF approach is used for examining the seasonal and multiannual variation of extreme events, while the Hurst exponent in turn allows for classification of “process memory”, distinguishing multi-seasonal processes from white noise processes. The results showed diverse spatial and temporal patterns of low flow occurrence across the Southeast US study area, with some locations indicating a strong seasonal dependence. These locations are characterized by a longer temporal cycle, whereby low flows were arranged in series of several to dozens of years, after which they did not occur for a period of similar length. In these rivers, H was in the range 0.8 (+/−0.15), which implies a stronger relation with groundwater during dry periods. In other river segments within the study region the probability of low flows appeared random, determined by H oscillating around the values for white noise (0.5 +/−0.15). The initial assessment of spatial clusters of the low flow parameters suggests no strict relationships, although a link to geologic characteristics and aquifer depth was noticed. At monthly scales, low flow occurrence followed precipitation patterns, with streamflow droughts first occurring in the Carolinas and along the Gulf Coast around May and then progressing upstream, reaching maxima around October for central parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. The relations for both annual and monthly scales are better represented with PACF, for which statistically significant lags were found in around 75% of stream nodes, while ACF explains on average only 20% of cases, indicating that streamflow droughts in the region occur in regular patterns (e.g., seasonal). This repeatability is of greater importance to defining patterns of extreme hydrologic events than the occurrence of high magnitude random events. The results of the research provide useful information about the spatial and temporal patterns of low flow occurrence across the Southeast US, and verify that the NWM retrospective data are able to differentiate the time processes for the occurrence of low flows.
Water Quality Predictions Based on Grey Relation Analysis Enhanced LSTM Algorithms
Authors: Tian Xiaoqing , Wang Zhenlin , Taalab Elias , Zhang Baofeng , Li Xiaodong , Wang Jiyong , Ong Muk Chen , Zhu Zefei
Published: November 2022

With the growth of industrialization in recent years, the quality of drinking water has been a great concern due to increasing water pollution from industries and industrial farming. Many monitoring stations are constructed near drinking water sources for the purpose of fast reactions to water pollution. Due to the relatively low sampling frequencies in practice, mathematic prediction models are clearly needed for such monitoring stations to reduce the delay between the time points of pollution occurrences and water quality assessments. In this work, 2190 sets of monitoring data from automatic water quality monitoring stations in the Qiandao Lake, China from 2019 to 2020 were collected, and served as training samples for prediction models. A grey relation analysis-enhanced long short-term memory (GRA-LSTM) algorithm was used to predict the key parameters of drinking water quality. In comparison with conventional LSTM models, the mean absolute errors (MAEs) to predict the four parameters of water quality, i.e., dissolved oxygen (DO), permanganate index (COD), total phosphorus (TP), and potential of hydrogen (pH), were reduced by 23.03%, 10.71%, 7.54%, and 43.06%, respectively, using our GRA-LSTM algorithm, while the corresponding root mean square errors (RMSEs) were reduced by 24.47%, 5.28%, 6.92%, and 35.89%, respectively. Such an algorithm applies to predictions of events with small amounts of data, but with high parametric dimensions. The GRA-LSTM algorithm offers data support for subsequent water quality monitoring and early warnings of polluting water sources, making significant contributions to real-time water management in basins.