bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Who is providing HIV testing Services? The profile of lay counsellors providing HIV testing services in South Africa in the treat-all era
Authors: Mokhele Idah , Sineke Tembeka , Vujovic Marnie , Ruiter Robert A.C. , Onoya Dorina
Published: May 2023

Background
Lay counsellors are critical in sustaining access to HIV testing services (HTS) and psychosocial support for persons living with HIV (PLHIV). We aimed to describe the professional and psychosocial profiles of lay counsellors in primary healthcare (PHC) clinics in South Africa under the universal-test-and-treat (UTT) policy context.
Methods
We conducted a descriptive analysis of a cross-sectional survey among adult (≥ 18 years) lay counsellors from 20 PHC facilities (2-3/ clinic) in Johannesburg, South Africa. Consenting counsellors were interviewed between June 2018 and March 2019. We report on counsellors' demographic profiles, training, work experience, and mental and emotional well-being
Results
55 consenting adult (≥ 18 years) lay counsellors (92.7% female, median age 37 years, interquartile range [IQR]: 33-44, and 27.3% HIV diagnosed) were surveyed. Most (85.5%) were Department of Health lay counsellors receiving a volunteer stipend at the time. Overall, 56.4% had been working as counsellors for five years or longer. The majority (87%) had completed the National HIV Testing Services Policy Guidelines-recommended 10-day basic counselling training, but 45.2% had not completed refresher training within the guideline's required 24 months. Reported operational barriers include lack of designated space for counselling (56.4%), inadequate professional supervision and support (40.7%) and insufficient emotional support (over 56.4%), and 60% were overwhelmed by their workload. A total of 18.2% had major depressive symptoms, and the same proportion scored low for psychological well-being. While most (87.3%) reported moderate job satisfaction, 50.91% actively sought alternative employment.
Conclusion:
Despite lay counsellors' significant role in delivering HIV care in South Africa, there has been minimal investment in their skills development, emotional support, and integration into the formal health workforce. Counsellors' persisting unmet psychosocial, training, and professional needs could impact their efficacy in the UTT era.
Remote training for strengthening capacity in sexual and reproductive health and rights research: A Systematic Review
Authors: Perrotta Carla , Downey Vicky , Elabbasy Darin , Ingram Carolyn , Lo Chungwan , Naseer Amara , Thorson Anna , Brizuela Vanessa
Published: May 2023

Background: Training has been used to develop research skills among sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) researchers. Remote education may accelerate transfer of skills and reduce barriers to strengthening research capacity. This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of remote training on SRHR research and describe enablers and barriers of effective remote training.
Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Scielo were searched up to December 2022 for studies that evaluated in any language online research training programmes either on a SRHR topic or tailored for professionals working in SRHR published since 1990. Characteristics of included studies, the programmes they evaluated, the programme’s effectiveness, and reported barriers and enablers to remote learning were extracted. Three researchers synthesized and described findings on effectiveness, impact and outcomes mapping them against the Kirkpatrick model. Additionally, thematic analysis from qualitative data was conducted to identify themes relating to the barriers and enablers of remote learning.
Results: Of 1,510 articles retrieved, six studies that included 2,058 remote learners met the inclusion criteria. Five out of six studies described empirical improvements in participant research knowledge/skills and three studies reported improvements in attitudes/self-efficacy towards research. Follow-up surveys from four studies revealed frequent application of new research skills and improved opportunities for career advancement and publication following online trainings. Cited barriers to effective online SRHR research training included time management challenges and participants’ competing professional obligations; limited opportunities for interaction; and lack of support from home institutions. Cited enablers included well-structured and clear courses, learning objectives and expectations with participants; ensuring a manageable workload; facilitating interactions with mentors and hands-on experience; and selecting programme topics relevant to participants’ jobs.
Conclusion: Remote SRHR training can lead to improvements in research knowledge, skills, and attitudes, particularly when course learning objectives, structure, and expectations are outlined clearly, and ongoing mentorship is provided.
Structural characterization, bandgap energy, and mechanic deformation studies of polyacrylamide (PAAm) nanocomposite hydrogels with homogeneously-distributed multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)
Authors: Öztürk Mert Can , Aktaş Demet Kaya
Published: May 2023

Hydrogels doped with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely used in many areas due to the superior properties of both hydrogels and CNTs. The synthesis of homogeneously-distributed CNTs-hydrogel nanocomposites is an important research topic because the quality of the dispersion in the structure affects all observed and measured properties. In the literature, high electrical and mechanical properties of CNTs can only be transferred to the elastic hydrogels if their homogeneous distribution in the composite networks is achieved by adding functional groups. In this work, we synthesized polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogels doped with homogeneously-distributed multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by free-radical crosslinking copolymerization in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution without any functional groups. The contents of MWCNTs varied from 0.1 to 2.5 vol% with no aggregation in the PAAm hydrogel networks. The agglomeration of MWCNTs in PAAm hydrogels was prevented by rapid polymerization with catalyzer, tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) effect. The homogeneous distributions of MWCNTs were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). UV-Vis spectroscopy was used to investigate optical properties, bandgap energies, dispersibility, refractive index, resonance and non-resonance ratios for hydrogels doped with various MWCNTs contents. Here bandgap energies of composite hydrogels were calculated by Tauc’s relation. The results showed that bandgap energies of hydrogel composite decreased as MWCNTs contents increased. The mechanic deformation tests of the composites were also performed and it was observed that when MWCNTs increased, the elastic modulus of hydrogel composites increased. These well-dispersed composites are a potential candidate in different areas due to the higher electrical and mechanical properties of MWCNTs.
A Dynamic Nomogram Predicting symptomatic pneumonia in Patients With Lung Cancer Receiving Thoracic Radiation
Authors: Zha Yawen , Zhang Jingjing , Yan Xinyu , Yang Chen , Li Minying
Published: May 2023

Purpose
The most common and potentially fatal side effect of thoracic radiation therapy is radiation pneumonitis (RP). Due to the lack of effective treatments, predicting radiation pneumonitis is crucial. This study aimed to develop a dynamic nomogram to accurately predict symptomatic pneumonitis (RP ≥ 2) following thoracic radiotherapy for lung cancer patients.
Methods
Data from patients with pathologically diagnosed lung cancer at our hospital between January 2017 and June 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Risk factors for radiation pneumonitis were identified through multivariate logistic regression analysis and utilized to construct a dynamic nomogram. The predictive performance of the nomogram was validated using a bootstrapped concordance index and calibration plots.
Results
Age, smoking index, chemotherapy, and whole lung V5/V10/MLD were identified as significant factors contributing to the accurate prediction of symptomatic pneumonitis. A dynamic nomogram for symptomatic pneumonitis was developed using these risk factors. The area under the curve was 0.920 (95% confidence interval 0.90–0.94). The nomogram demonstrated a bootstrapped concordance index of 0.892 (95% confidence interval 0.83–0.95) and was well calibrated. Furthermore, the threshold values for high risk and low risk were determined to be 150 using the receiver operating curve.
Conclusions
The developed dynamic nomogram offers an accurate and convenient tool for clinical application in predicting the risk of symptomatic pneumonitis in patients with lung cancer undergoing thoracic radiation.
Extended Left Hepatectomy With Concomitant Excision of the Right Hepatic Vein In A Patient With Extensive Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma And Replaced Right Hepatic Artery: A Case Report on Surgical Technique.
Authors: Pantelis Athanasios , Pagkratis Spyridon , Tzimas Georgios
Published: May 2023

Background
Hepatic vasculature is highly variant and hepatobiliary surgeons should be aware of the details of each patient’s anatomy. This may render hepatectomy challenging but may also act in the aid of the surgeon.
Case presentation
We present a 73-year-old female patient with locally advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma infiltrating all three hepatic veins. The patient had two concomitant vascular variations: accessory inferior right hepatic vein and replaced left hepatic artery originating from the left gastric artery. The patient underwent extended left hepatectomy with oncologically adequate margins (R0 excision) without intraoperative or postoperative complications.
Conclusion
Despite the extensive tumor burden, the anatomical variations of the patient allowed for extended left hepatectomy. This yielded an oncologically legitimate excision of the tumor with preservation of hepatic function.
Study on Interbedded Groundwater Contamination in Mining Areas Coupled with the Failure Process of Grouting Composite
Authors: Ding Jia , Dong Donglin , Hu Zhiqiang , Wei Zhonglin , Zhang Longqiang
Published: May 2023

The paper presents the phenomenon of groundwater contamination in the mine area during the failure of the coupled grouting composite. Indoor immersion experiments were conducted on standard grouting composite specimens to understand its failure laws. The experimental results showed that with the increase of the experimental time, the mass of the grouting composite decreased linearly. When the experiment was carried out for 180 days, the mass loss of the grouting composite was 19.834g, and the permeability coefficient gradually increased, which all verified the fact that the grouting composite gradually fails. The main groundwater contamination factors and contamination patterns in the study area were analyzed based on the hydrogeological data of the area. A groundwater contaminant transport model was established for the failure process of the coupled grouting composite, and the contamination potential of the 3222-workface goaf water in the shallow aquifer during the failure of the grouting composite was evaluated. The simulation results of groundwater pollutant transport showed that within 9 years after the grouting engineering was completed, the grouting composite could still maintain a certain degree of impermeability, and no characteristic pollutant ions appeared in the fourth aquifer. When the model ran for 10 years, ferrous ions appeared in the fourth aquifer, but the concentration was only 0.0009 mg/L. After 30 years of model operation, the highest concentration of ferrous ions in the fourth aquifer had reached 0.1609 mg/L. It can be seen that with the passage of time, the strength of the grouting composite in the study area is indeed gradually decreasing. After the strength decreases to a certain extent, it loses its original impermeability and becomes a channel for pollutant transport, with the potential to pollute the shallow aquifer.
Ghana's Health Workforce Policy Evolution from 1996 to 2020: A document analysis
Authors: Ismaila Hamza , Heymans Yolande , Nabyonga-Orem Juliet , Christmals Christmal Dela
Published: May 2023

Background

Ghana has, over the past decades, undergone distinct health workforce policy evolutions, as part of reforms of its public health sector organisation and procedures, to improve the quality of health services, increase access to care, and achieve better health outcomes.
Despite the age-old implementation of the health workforce policies arising from the policy evolutions, there is paucity of evidence on the interaction between the policies, their intended strategic objectives, and health workforce indices to aid the understanding of past policy failures and successes and to plan for future health workforce policy implementation.

Methods

Using the READ approach of document analysis, we explored the health workforce policy environment of the public health sector of Ghana to gauge the impact major health workforce policies have had in determining the production of and demand for essential health workforce.

Findings

Ghana was found to have undergone three distinct phases of health workforce policy evolutions, following its health sectors reforms in the 1990s – an expansionary production and recruitment policy drive between the late 1990s and 2011, a seeming policy vacuum between 2012 and 2018, and a phase of policy streamlining from 2020 where fiscal realities began shaping issues of health workforce production and demand.

Conclusion

The distinct phases of the health workforce policy evolution had differing impacts on the production of and demand for essential health workforce, with instances of misalignment between policy objectives and implementation.
Probing benzothiadiazine-1,1-dioxide ethylene glycol derivatives against Leishmania: synthesis and in vitro efficacy evaluation
Authors: Henning Nadine , Kannigadu Christina , Aucamp Janine , Rensburg Helena D Janse van , N'Da David D.
Published: May 2023

Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne, parasitic disease affecting millions of people and animals worldwide. Current therapeutic options have proven to be ineffective in both treating the disease and preventing its spread. As a result, new drugs must be developed to effectively combat this disease. In this study, a series of 14 benzothiadiazine-1,1-dioxide derivatives were synthesised to investigate their antileishmanial potential and cytotoxicity. Derivative 9, 2-(2-phenoxyethyl)-2H-benzo[e][1,2,4]thiadiazine-1,1-dioxide, was identified as the most inhibitory compound as it was observed to moderately inhibit the growth of L. major (IC50 103 µM) and L. donovani (IC50 153 µM) promastigotes. However, in general, the series presented with low biological activity, which may be attributed to reduced target affinity and/or undesired cell culture protein binding.
Controlled pulsed illumination technique for the efficient UV-LED/Persulfate Advanced Oxidation Processes
Authors: Hajimiri Ismael , Rasoulifard Mohammad Hossein , Dorraji Mir Saeed Seyed , Eskandarian Mohammad Reza
Published: May 2023

The present investigation aims to shed light on the efficiency of the irradiation-based advanced oxidation processes (AOP) using the controlled pulsed illumination (CPI). A more in-depth emphasis on this route has been applied considering the ultraviolet-light emitting diodes (UV-LED)/persulfate system as a study model. Furthermore, the improved efficiency of the system was examined and explained by Parrando’s paradox concept. To investigate the ability of the CPI technique, continuous illumination has been compared to the CPI system, using a batch UV-LED/Ammonium persulfate (APS) reactor equipped with a microcontroller driver. Three textile dyes, including methyl orange (MO), methylene blue (MB), and rhodamine B (RhB), were used as model pollutants. In this study, the initial concentration of APS (50 mM), dyes (20 mg/L), and the time of reaction (40 min), have been considered constant values. Outcomes illustrated that the parameters such as duty cycle and pulse period were a crucial impact on the pulsed system efficiencies in the values of 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 90%, and 99% for cycles from 1ms to a few hundred ms, respectively. The electrical energy consumption (EE0) was calculated and compared with continuous illumination for all trials, as well. According to the results, duty cycles and pulse periods of (10%, 800 ms), (10%, 1ms), and (10%, 800 ms), with the EE0 amounts of 58.29, 120.65, and 29.62 kWh per order showed the best performance for MO, MB, and RhB destruction, respect to continuous irradiation and other CPI experiments in terms of saving energy, respectively. In addition, the results showed that the best duty cycle and pulse period for the removal of dyes in terms of saving energy depends on the nature of the dye. Besides, the game theory and the collision hypothesis were scrutinized to justify the achieved results.
The role of bodily self-consciousness in episodic memory of naturalistic events: An immersive virtual reality study
Authors: Penaud Sylvain , Yeh Delphine , Gaston-Bellegarde Alexandre , Piolino Pascale
Published: May 2023

Recent studies suggest that the human body plays a critical role in encoding and retrieving episodic memories of past events, yet the precise relationship between bodily self-consciousness and memory formation, especially in real-life contexts, remains a topic of ongoing research. The present study investigated the relationship between bodily self-consciousness and episodic memory using immersive virtual reality (VR) technology. Participants were exposed to a naturalistic environment with ecological events while their visuomotor feedback was manipulated in three conditions: synchronous, asynchronous, and no-body. The results revealed that synchronous visuomotor feedback led to a higher sense of presence and better memory performance, a higher sense of remembering, and better associative memory compared to asynchronous or no-body feedback. These findings are significant because it links sense of bodily-self in space and episodic memory encoding and support the role of bodily-self-consciousness as a fundamental component of episodic remembering and highlight its implication in all dimensions of episodic memory. The study sheds light on the complex interplay between the body and memory processes and highlights the potential of embodiment and VR technology in studying and enhancing human cognition.
Structural and stereochemical determinants for hGAT3 inhibition: development of novel conformationally constrained and substituted analogs of (S)-isoserine.
Authors: Bavo Francesco , Kickinger Steffanie , Lie Maria E.K. , avgerinos Christos , Xu Yue , Wilhelmsen Kristine Sloth , Wellendorph Petrine , Frølund Bente
Published: May 2023

The GABA transporter 3 (GAT3) is a member of the GABA transporter (GAT) family proposed to have a role in regulating tonic inhibition. The GAT3-preferring substrate (S)-isoserine has shown beneficial effects in a mouse model of stroke accompanied by an increased GAT3 expression, indicating a molecular mechanism mediated by GAT3. However, (S)-isoserine is not ideally suited for in vivo studies due to a lack of selectivity and brain permeability. To elucidate the structural determinants of (S)-isoserine for GAT3 inhibition, and to optimize and inform further ligand development, we here present the design, synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of a series of conformationally constrained isoserine analogues with defined stereochemistry. Using [3H]GABA uptake assays at recombinant human GAT3, we identified the azetidine and pyrrolidine analogs ((S,S)-6a and (S,S)-7a) as the most potent inhibitors. To further elaborate on the selectivity profile both compounds were tested at all GATs, the taurine transporter (TauT) and GABAA receptors. Although (S,S)-6a and (S,S)-7a are comparable to (S)-isoserine with respect to potency, the selectivity versus the taurine transporter was significantly improved (at least 6 and 53 times more activity at hGAT3, respectively). A subsequent comprehensive structure-activity study showed that different connectivity approaches, stereochemical variations, simple or larger α- and N- substituents, and even minor size enlargement of the alicyclic ring all abrogated GAT3 inhibition, indicating very strict stereochemical and size requirements. The observed structure activity relationships may guide future ligand optimization and the novel ligands ((S,S)-6a and (S,S)-7a) can serve as valuable tools to validate the proposed GAT3-mediated effect of (S)-isoserine such as in functional recovery after stroke and thus help corroborate the relevance of targeting GAT3 and tonic inhibition in relevant brain pathologies.
Getting Closer or Keeping Distance? The Role of Prefrontal Cortex and Temporoparietal Junction in Interpersonal Comfort and Emotional Approach
Authors: Nejati Vahid , Mardanpour Aylin , Zabihzadeh Abbas , Estaji Reza , Shahidi Shahriar
Published: May 2023

Our perception of physical distance to individuals and stimuli is influenced by our mental distance and relatedness. The present study aimed to investigate the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) in interpersonal comfortable distance and approach behaviors towards emotional stimuli. Twenty healthy volunteers received brain stimulation in four separate sessions with a one-week interval, including anodal left dlPFC, anodal right vmPFC, anodal rTPJ, and sham condition, with an extracranial return electrode. Our results revealed an increase in interpersonal distance during anodal rTPJ stimulation and a decrease in distance to positive pictures during anodal vmPFC stimulation. These findings suggest that the rTPJ plays a role in the perceptual component of self-other distancing, while the vmPFC is involved in approaching positive emotions.
TRPA1 promotes cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury by regulating the endoplasmic reticulum stress-mitochondrial damage
Authors: Deng Fei , Zhang Heping , Zhou Wei , Ma Shijie , Kang Yuwei , Yang Wei , Zhao Liangbin , Qin Wei
Published: May 2023

Background Cisplatin (DDP) is a widely used and effective chemotherapeutic agent against cancer. However, nephrotoxicity is one of the most common side effects of DDP, and it can proceed to acute kidney injury (AKI). The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of TRPA1 in promoting DDP-induced AKI through modulation of the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-mitochondrial damage. Methods A DDP-induced HK-2 cell model in vitro and mouse model in vivo were established and treated with the TRPA1 antagonist (HC-030031). We also used TRPA1 agonists, and treated with ERS inhibitors or GRP75 inhibitors. Renal function, histopathological changes, apoptosis, ERS and mitochondria-related proteins expression, mitochondrial changes, calcium ion concentration, cell proliferative activity, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), ATP, and ROS levels were also evaluated. Result DDP increased Scr and BUN levels, caused renal tissue injury and cell apoptosis, decreased ERS-related proteins GRP78, CHOP, and GRP75. The mitochondrial fusion-related proteins OPA1, MFN1, and MFN2, and mitochondrial division-related proteins p-DRP1 and MFF were elevated, DDP lead to mitochondrial dysfunction, and increased calcium ion concentration. In addition, DDP inhibited cell proliferation activity, decreased MMP and ATP levels, and increased ROS levels. In contrast, HC-030031 had protective effects against DDP-induced ERS and mitochondrial dysfunctionin vivoandin vitro. Futhermore, TRPA1 agonists promoted mitochondrial dysfunction via mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membrane. ERS inhibitors and GRP75 inhibitors increased cell proliferation activity, reduced cell apoptosis, and modulated ERS-mitochondrial damage and calcium overload to improve cell injury. Conclusion TRPA1 promotes DDP-induced AKI by regulating the ERS-mitochondrial damage.
The impact of changing exposure to PM 2.5 on mortality for US diplomats with multiple international relocations: A modelling study
Authors: Edwards Leslie , Milner James , Wilkinson Paul , Milojevic Ai
Published: May 2023

Background Current evidence linking fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure and mortality is primarily based on long-term exposure for persons that live in the same residence, city and/or country throughout the study, with few residential moves or relocations. We propose a novel method to quantify the health impacts of PM2.5 for United States (US) diplomats who regularly relocate to international cities with different PM2.5 levels.Methods Life table methods were applied at an individual-level to US mortality statistics using the World Health Organization’s database of city-specific PM2.5 annual mean concentrations. Global Burden of Disease concentration-response (C-R) functions were used to estimate cause-specific mortality and days of life lost (DLL) for a range of illustrative 20-year diplomatic assignments for three age groups. Time lags between exposure and exposure-related mortality risks were applied. Sensitivity analysis of baseline mortality, exposure level, C-R functions and lags was conducted. The effect of mitigation measures, including the addition of air purifiers, was examined.Results DLL due to PM2.5 exposure for a standard 20-year assignment ranged from 0.3 days for diplomats’ children to 84.1 days for older diplomats. DLL decreased when assignments in high PM2.5 cities were followed by assignments in low PM2.5 cities: 162.5 DLL when spending 20 years in high PM2.5 cities compared to 62.6 DLL when spending one of every four years (5 years total) in a high PM2.5 city for older male diplomats. Use of air purifiers and improved home tightness in polluted cities may halve DLL due to PM2.5 exposure. The results were highly sensitive to lag assumptions: DLL increased by 68% without inception lags and decreased by 59% without cessation lags for older male diplomats.Conclusion We developed a model to quantify health impacts of changing PM2.5 exposure for a population with frequent relocations. Our model suggests that alternating assignments in high and low PM2.5 cities may help reduce PM2.5-related mortality burdens. Adding exposure mitigation at home may help reduce PM2.5 related mortality. Further research on outcome-specific lag structures is needed to improve the model.
Circulating biomarkers at diagnosis correlate with distant metastases of early luminal-like breast cancer
Authors: Lambrechts Yentl , Garg Abhishek , Floris Giuseppe , Punie Kevin , Neven Patrick , Nevelsteen Ines , Govaerts Jannes , Richard François , Laenen Annouschka , Desmedt Christine , Wildiers Hans , Hatse Sigrid
Published: May 2023

There is an urgent need for new and better biomarker modalities to estimate the risk of recurrence within the luminal-like breast cancer (BC) population. Molecular diagnostic tests used in the clinic lack accuracy in identifying patients with early luminal BC who are likely to develop metastases. This study provides proof-of-concept that various liquid biopsy read-outs could serve as valuable candidates to build a multi-modal biomarker model distinguishing, already at diagnosis, between early metastasizing and non-metastasizing patients. All these blood biomarkers (chemokines, microRNAs, leukemia-inhibitory factor, osteopontin, and serum-induced functional myeloid signaling responses) can be measured in baseline plasma/serum samples and could be added to the existing prognostic factors to improve risk stratification and more patient-tailored treatment in early luminal BC.
Half-cost array-based genotyping of SNPs in bread wheat from pooled experiments and imputation
Authors: Clouard Camille , Nettelblad Carl
Published: May 2023

The plant breeding industry has shown growing interest in using the genotype data of relevant markers for performing selection of new competitive varieties. The selection usually benefits from large amounts of marker data and it is therefore crucial to dispose of data collection methods that are both cost-effective and reliable.Computational methods such as genotype imputation have been proposed earlier in several plant science studies for addressing the cost challenge.Genotype imputation methods have though been used more frequently and investigated more extensively in human genetics research.The various algorithms that exist have shown lower accuracy at inferring the genotype of genetic variants occurring at low frequency, while these rare variants can have great significance and impact in the genetic studies that underlie selection.In contrast, pooling is a technique that can efficiently identify low-frequency items in a population and it has been successfully used for detecting the samples that carry rare variants in a population.In this study, we propose to combine pooling and imputation with microarray data for genotyping a population of recombinant inbred lines in a cost-effective and accurate manner, even for rare variants.We show that with an adequate imputation model, it is feasible to accurately predict the individual genotypes at half the cost of sample-wise genotyping and time-effectively. Moreover, we provide code resources for reproducing the results presented in this study in the form of a containerized workflow.
Genetic Diversity of bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl.] genotypes of Eastern India through agro-morphological traits and ISSR markers: Implication for future breeding
Authors: Kumar Rajesh , Kumar Randhir , Prasad Bishun Deo , Kumar Jitesh , Bamaniya Bahadur Singh
Published: May 2023

Genetic characterization of plant genetic resources is a pre-requisite for a strategic breeding program. Bottle gourd is an important cucurbit grown throughout India for its tender fruits used for culinary purpose. For the present investigation twenty-four genotypes of bottle gourd were collected from Eastern India to examine the magnitude of genetic diversity based upon 16 quantitative traits and seven ISSR (Inter simple sequence repeats) markers. In morphological study genotypes performed significantly in all traits, however BRBG-65 (591.10 q/ha) was proved to be high yielder with other attributing traits in pooled analysis of two growing seasons than compare to the all three check varieties of the region. Almost all the traits under study showed high percentage of genotypic coefficient of variation, phenotypic coefficient of variation and heritability with genetic advancement. Quantitative traits like fruit weight, number of fruits per vine and yield of marketable fruits per vine shown strong character association with yield per hectare. Principal component analysis on quantitative traits depicted six principal components, accounted for 79.33% of the total variations. The first two components accounted for 44.92 cumulative percent of the total variation, which signifies a high degree of correlation between the analyzed traits. In the molecular study, average polymorphism percentage was obtained by ISSR marker pattern studied by seven primers. Total 48 reproducible amplicons were generated of an average around 6.85 amplicon per primer. The values of average polymorphic information content, major allele frequency and major gene diversity were obtained in wide range. Wide range of value regarding Jaccard’s similarity coefficient was also ensured through ISSR markers. Dendrogram and similarity matrix produced from ISSR data then compared and concluded the discrimination among genotypes within these clusters. Most genotypes studied in the present experiment differed with their geographic origin. The investigation highlights the potential utilization of these germplasm for further genetic analysis.
A Tolerance Evaluation and Genetic Relationship Analysis Among Some Economically Important Chestnut Cultivars in Turkey Using Drought Associated SSR and EST-SSR Markers
Authors: KARA Didem , ORHAN Emine
Published: May 2023

In this study, it was aimed to evaluate drought tolerance and genetic relationship analyzes among some important chestnut cultivars for Turkey by using drought related genomic SSR markers and genic EST-SSR markers. The values such as average and total number of alleles, number of polymorphic alleles, polymorphism ratio, heterozygosity, polymorphism information content, discriminating power and marker index for these primers were determined. All microsatellite markers used in this study showed 100% polymorphism among chestnut cultivars. In UPGMA dendograms obtained with both SSR and EST-SSR markers, Erfelek and Hacıömer chestnut cultivars were determined as the most similar cultivars. As a result of the use of EST SSR markers named GOT045, GOT021, GOT004, FIR094 and VIT033, some preliminary information was obtained for the determination of drought tolerance in 11 chestnut cultivars. Marigoule cultivar which is known to be drought resistant, was taken as a basis in evaluating the drought tolerance of other chestnut cultivars. As a result, high accuracy molecular analyzes were carried out for chestnut breeding. It has been revealed that drought related genomic and genic markers will be useful in marker assisted selection studies. Thus, early selection will be ensured and breeding studies will be carried out more effectively.
The Turkish Tsunami of 6 February 2023 in the Northeastern Mediterranean
Authors: Medvedeva Alisa , Vydrin Danil , Krylov Artem , Shiryborova Arina , Smirnova Daria , Tsukanova Elizaveta , Kânoğlu Utku , Medvedev Igor
Published: May 2023

Two powerful earthquakes struck southeastern Turkey on 6 February 2023 with the magnitudes of Mw = 7.8 and Mw = 7.5 in nine hours. In addition, a storm surge caused by the passage of a cyclone over the area coincided with the first earthquake. Field observations showed that the fault planes did not extend to the Mediterranean Sea; however, a weak tsunami was observed on several tide gauges in the northeastern Mediterranean. Historically, there were tsunamis in the Levantine Sea region caused by earthquakes on land within the East Anatolian Fault Zone and the Dead Sea, having a complex cause, i.e., earthquakes and associated landslides. Hence, we studied the origin of the generated waves. We separated and estimated various components of sea level oscillations from 1 to 8 February 2023, using spectral and f-t analyses and sets of narrow-band and high-frequency filters. The earthquake Mw = 7.8 on 6 February 2023 caused a weak tsunami with maximum amplitudes 15‒17 cm in Erdemli and Arsuz. We identified that the increase in sea level oscillations in Arsuz after 7 February was associated with the impact of the cyclone. The maximum amplitude of sea level oscillations, 22 cm, in Arsuz was observed on 7 February and is associated with infragravity waves caused by the influence of storm surge during the passage of the cyclone. In Erdemli, on the contrary, the influence of high-frequency waves of atmospheric origin is significantly lower, i.e., the amplitude of the sea level oscillations after 7 February was less than 10 cm.
Identification and Validation of Targets of Swertiamarin on Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Through Bioinformatics and Molecular Docking-based Approach
Authors: Chang Jun , Xu Subo , Zou Shaoqing , Xiao Yiwen , Zhu Du
Published: May 2023

Purpose
the main purpose is to identify the potential targets of swertiamarin, a new anti-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis traditional Chinese medicine that was previously screened out with machine learning, on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Methods
GEO2R was used to analyze the differentially expressed genes of GSE10667, GSE110147, and GSE71351 datasets that were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, the differentially expressed genes were enriched with GO and KEGG analysis for their biological functions and annotated terms, then the protein-protein interaction network was constructed to screen the hub genes. The selected hub genes were predicted for their capabilities of binding swertiamarin with molecular docking and finally validated as the targets of swertiamarin on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with in vitro experiments.
Results
76 upregulated and 27 downregulated differentially expressed genes were screened out, and these genes were found to be enriched in tissue development and cancer signaling pathways. Three top hub genes, i.e., LOX, COL5A2, and CTGF were selected as the hub genes for experimental validation.
Conclusion
LOX, COL5A2, and CTGF were identified as the targets of swertiamarin on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Acidity reduction receiving long-term pig manure application in red soil
Authors: Luo Peisang , Sun Mei , Feng Qiufen , Zeng Xibai , Shi Lihong , Wang Hua , Luo Zunchang , Long Zedong , Sun Geng
Published: May 2023

While the application of manure to improve soil quality has attracted attention, the effect of pig manure application rates on soil fertility and acidity remains poorly understood. This study analyzed the changes in and correlations between soil acidity, pH buffer capacity (pHBC), soil chemical properties and crop yields after 8 years of pig manure application at different rates (i.e., 0, 7.5, 15, 30, and 45 t·ha-1) in red soil. Crop yield, soil nutrients, pH, pHBC, iron activation, and exchangeable base cations increased with increased pig manure application rates. Soil fertility and pHBC were significantly enhanced when the application rate was larger than 15 t·ha-1. At 30 and 45 t·ha-1, pH values increased significantly while exchangeable acid decreased (41.3% and 52.8%) compared to no pig manure input. Crop yields were positively related to soil pH, but negatively correlated with soil exchangeable hydrogen and exchangeable aluminum. Redundancy analysis revealed pH and pHBC to be positively correlated with exchangeable base cations, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, soil organic carbon, and amorphous iron oxide. In conclusion, crop yield could be improved by adjusting soil acidity characteristics, and the application of pig manure reduced soil acidity, with an optimal application rate of 15–30 t·ha-[1].
[1]Hunan Soil and Fertilizer Institute, Changsha, 410125, China. 2Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/ Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of P.R.China, 100081, Beijing, China. 3Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China. *email: longzd313@hunaas.cn; sungeng@hunaas.cn.
Machine learning for differentiation of lipid-poor adrenal adenoma and subclinical pheochromocytoma based on multiphase CT imaging radiomics
Authors: xiao dao-xiong , Peng Ji-dong , Fan Cun-geng , Wang Xiao-chun , Wen Xing-lin , Zhong Jian-ping , Liao Wei-wei , Wan Jun , Yin Xiao-feng
Published: May 2023

Objective The aim of this study was to use radiomics analysis of multiphase computed tomography (CT) imaging to develop and validate machine learning models that can accurately differentiate between lipid-poor adrenal adenoma (LPA) and subclinical pheochromocytoma (sPHEO) to improve the accuracy of preoperative diagnosis of the two.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 134 patients who underwent abdominal multiphase spiral CT scans in three local tertiary hospitals between March 2015 and November 2022. The analysis included 74 cases of LPA (52 at our hospital and 22 at other hospitals) and 60 cases of sPHEO (44 at our hospital and 16 at other hospitals), all of which were surgically and pathologically confirmed. Tumors were delineated using 3D Slicer and radiomics were extracted using PyRadiomics, a plug-in to the software. Cases from internal hospital were randomly split into training and test sets in a 7:3 ratio, while all cases from external hospitals were used as the validation set. The T-test and the minimum absolute contraction and selection operator (LASSO) were used to reduce the dimensionality of the data. Then six dichotomous models were developed, including k-nearest neighbor (KNN), logistic regression (LR), decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and multi-layer perceptron (MLP). The diagnostic performance of each model was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC). The ROC curves of the test and validation sets were compared using DeLong's method to determine the most effective model for distinguishing between LPA and sPHEO.Results A total of 902 rows and 112 columns of radiomic feature data were extracted from multiple phases and slice-thickness CT data. After dimensionality reduction processing, 13 - dimensional radiomic feature data was obtained. The six binary models demonstrated good diagnostic performance for each phase and slice thickness, as well as for the entire CT data, with AUC values ranging from 0.706 to 1. Among these models, RF, SVM, and MLP showed particularly good diagnostic performance. The ROC curves of RF, SVM, and MLP did not show a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) for different phase, slice-thicknesses, as well as the entire test and validation sets, except for the thick slice-thickness data sets. The AUC value of the MLP model for the non-contrast CT validation set was 0.979, which is quite high. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the ROC curves when compared to other phases and the entire validation sets (p < 0.05).Conclusions The CT radiomics-based machine learning model was able to differentiate between LPA and sPHEO well, even using non-contrast CT data alone to efficiently discriminate between the two.
Physical Activity Interventions for Cardiopulmonary Fitness in Obese Children and Adolescents:A Systematic Review
Authors: Wang Chaochao , Tian Zuguo , Hu Yuting , Luo Qiaoyou
Published: May 2023

Purpose:This study aims to systematically analyze the effects of physical activity on the cardiorespiratory health of children and adolescents who are obese. Additionally, it aims to review the factors that influence the effects of the intervention.
Methods: A systematic review of literature on physical activity interventions for improving cardiopulmonary fitness in obese adolescents from January 1, 2011 to March 1, 2023 was conducted. The search was performed on the Web of Science and PubMed databases, and the selected literature is first screened and then assessed for quality, and finally a systematic review is conducted.
Results:Twenty-three papers were eventually included, from 11 countries, containing 20 randomised controlled trials and 3 non-randomised controlled trials. 2737 study subjects, aged 5-18 years, were involved, with literature publication dates mainly between 2011 and 2022. The types of physical activity included mainly physical education classroom and extracurricular physical education activities, mainly of moderate to high intensity, with a single intervention of 40-60 min. physical activity was effective in improving maximal oxygen uptake, peak oxygen uptake, heart rate and resting heart rate. The measurement protocol is mainly is based on running and walking, with a modified protocol chosen according to the experiment.
Conclusions:Physical activity can improve the cardiorespiratory health of children and adolescents who are obese. The type of physical activity directly affects the interest of obese children and adolescents in participating, with moderate to high intensity physical activity having the most significant effect on intervention effectiveness, and high frequency, long-term interventions being more effective than short-term ones. The three pathways to improve cardiopulmonary fitness in obese children and adolescents are physical activity, improving cardiovascular fitness, reducing autoimmune inflammation, and enhancing fat metabolism. The effects of the intervention are mainly in terms of maximum and peak oxygen uptake, heart rate and resting heart rate, as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Other factors that can influence the cardiopulmonary fitness of obese children and adolescents include genetic predisposition, living environment, dietary patterns, and sleep.
A Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization reveals the association between the abundance of Gut Microbiota and multiple subtypes of Lung Cancer
Authors: Chen Zhe , Wang Xuanye , Gao Ning , Chen XiangMing , Zeng YaQi , Wang YuLin , Wang Shuhui , Guan Haitao , Wang Xiang
Published: May 2023

Background: Using Mendelian randomization research, several specialists are now curious to learn more about the association between gut bacteria and lung cancer and its subtypes. However, their GWAS summary statistics and statistical methodologies are outdated and constrained.
Methods: A two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization study was performed using the summary statistics of gut microbiota from the largest genome-wide meta-analysis conducted by the MiBioGen. The summary statistics of lung cancer were extracted from the largest lung cancer GWAS meta-analysis.Inverse variance weighted (multiplicative random effects), MR-Egger regression, weighted median, weighted model and MR-PRESSO were used to examine the causal relationship. Reverse MR analysis was also performed on the lung cancer and its subtypes and microbiota.
Result:Inverse variance weighted(IVW) estimates suggested that we identified 2 bacterial taxon that were causally associated with lung cancer, 1 bacterial taxon with Lung Adenocarcinoma (LUAD), 3 bacterial taxon with Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (SCLC),1 bacterial taxon with Lung cancer in never smokers (LCNS) and 3 bacterial taxon with Lung cancer in ever smokers (LCES).Also in the reverse MR analysis,we identified 1 bacterial taxon that were causally associated with lung cancer, 5 bacterial taxon with Squamous Cell Lung Carcinoma (LUSC), 1 bacterial taxon with LCNS and 5 bacterial taxon with LCES.
Conclusion: In summary, this two-sample MR study found that several gut microbiota taxon was causally associated with lung cancer and its subtypes. Further studies are needed to clarify the effect of gut microbiota on them, including their specific mechanism.
Spectroscopic, Structure, and Thermodynamic Properties of the Lithium Cation Emerged in the Small Neon Clusters Li+-Nen (n=1-20).
Authors: Mabrouk Nesrine , Dhiflaoui Jamila , Bejaoui Mohamed , Saidi Samah , Berriche Hamid
Published: May 2023

The geometric structures and the relative stability of the Li+−Nen clusters, with n = 1–20, have been computed using pairwise model potential and density functional theory (DFT) method. The potential energy surface employed in these calculations is based on the Li+-Ne, Ne-Ne and many body interactions V3B. A series of methods and basis sets have been tested by reproduce correctly the experimental Li+-Ne and Ne-Ne potential energies. In addition, both Li+-Ne and Ne-Ne numerical potentials have been fitted by several analytical expressions as Tang and Toennies (TT), Extended Lennard Jones (ELJ) and Lennard-Jones (LJ) formula. The most stable structures of Li+-Nen clusters up to n = 20 have been optimized at Basin Hopping Monte Carlo (BHMC) method. The accuracy of our pairwise potential model has been confirmed by re-optimization at the DFT level of theory. The relative stabilities of Li+-Nen clusters are discussed by calculating the energy per neon atom, the first derivative, the fragmentation energy and the second derivative as well as the Highest Occupied Molecular orbital (HOMO)–Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital(LUMO) energy gap with the size of the clusters. It was shown that n=6, 8, 12, 14, 16 and 17 correspond to the magic numbers. Finally, thermodynamic properties are calculated and showed that the formation process of Li+-Nen clusters is endothermic and non-spontaneous.