bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Advantage of patient-controlled epidural analgesia in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for pancreatic cancer: evidence from a retrospective study
Authors: Zhang Xiang , Pan Congxia , Xu Qianyun , Zhang Jun
Published: April 2023

Background
Patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) has been recognized to provide better postoperative analgesia than patient-controlled intravascular analgesia (PCIA) for patients undergoing many types of surgery. However, there is no comparison of the two analgesic methods in patients undergoing pancreatic cancer resection, especially laparoscopic radical resection of pancreatic cancer (LARP). In this study, the effectiveness and side effects of PCEA and PCIA after LARP were compared.
Methods:Patients (n=296) who underwent laparoscopic surgery for pancreatic cancer from September 2021 to June 2022 at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Centre (FUSCC) were included. The patients were divided into PCEA group and PCIA group according to the analgesia protocols after surgery. Propensity score matching was used to minimize bias. The efficacy of analgesia, side effects after surgery, inflammatory levels in perioperative period, and postoperative satisfaction of patients were compared between two groups.
Results: Two hundred eighty-five patients were screened by propensity score matching and 66 patients in each group were included in final analysis. The patients in PCEA group had lower pain scores at rest on the first postoperative day (P=0.025). Compared to PCIA group, the time to first passage of flatus after surgery was shorter in the PCEA group (P<0.001). The length of hospital stay had no significant differences between two groups. In term of the complications after surgery, we found that PCEA group had the higher incidence of itching and hypotension (P=0.029 and P=0.016, respectively). Additionally, PCEA group had the lower-level inflammation after surgery and less opioid consumption. Patients in PCEA group were more satisfied with our anesthesia process (P=0.042).
Conclusion: PCEA showed better postoperative analgesia, lower inflammatory response and higher patient satisfaction than PCIA after LARP, which supports thtat PCEA is the more suitable analgesic method than PICA.
Increasing Cluster Stability in VANET by Candidate Cluster Head Nomination Algorithm
Authors: Chiang Mao-Lun , Hsieh Hui-Ching , Tsai Wen-Chung , Lin Tzu-Ling , Lin Yi-Hsin
Published: April 2023

A vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) is an extended subtype of a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). VANET has applied the principles of MANET, such as intelligent transport systems (ITS) and road security. However, the vehicles in a VANET must transmit considerable information within a limited time while their mobility is rapid, which causes the instability of VANET. Using clustering methods proposed in many kinds of research can be used to improve routing efficiency and reliability in VANETs, as it enables the grouping of vehicles based on some predefined metrics such as density, velocity, and geographical locations of the vehicles, resulting in a distributed structure of hierarchical network structures. Most of the algorithms explore the selection index, cluster formation, and cluster maintenance of the Cluster Head (CH) in the process of clustering. Therefore, considering the parameter index between nodes and selecting the optimal cluster head to stabilize a VANET environment, improving the routing efficiency of this environment, and reducing message overhead are the key challenges for this research. To help vehicles receive and send road information more quickly and efficiently under the high-speed mobile environment, this study proposes a four-step candidate cluster head nomination algorithm (CCHNA) that enables the formation of fewer clusters and reduces the amount of data transmitted between clusters and among the members within a cluster. The basic idea is to group the vehicles according to some parameter, and then select a proper cluster head to help communicate with other groups. The algorithm also proposed The CH Pruning Stage to reduce the number of CH generated in The CH Nomination Stage by comparing the parameters. The results revealed that the proposed CCHNA can on average, it can reduce 1–3 cluster heads more than other algorithms. During the Cluster Maintenance stage, reducing the message overhead during cluster reorganization, and the number of message exchanges can be reduced by up to 6 times. Therefore, the CCHNA can obtain fewer clusters and considerably reduce communication costs among messages involved in cluster formation.
Comparison of the Gut Microbiome Composition Between Men with Peyronie’s Disease and A Matched Cohort: A Pilot Study
Authors: Osman Mohamad , Hammad Muhammed A. , Barham David , Toma Ryan , el-Khatib Farouk , Dianatnejad Sharmin , Nguyen Jeanie , Towe Maxwell , Choi Edward , Wu Qiaqia , Banavar Guruduth , Cai Ying , Moura Pedro , Shen Nan , Vuyisich Momchilo , Yafi Natalie , Yafi Faysal
Published: April 2023

Objective:To investigate the potential association of the gut microbiome with Peyronie’s disease, as there has been no research to date that has studied these topics together. The goal of our study is to better characterize any potential relationships and to discuss possible mechanisms in which they would be related.Methods:Stool samples were collected from 12 participants with Peyronie’s disease and 12 age-matched controls. Metatranscriptome sequencing was used to analyze the samples.Results:No significant differences were found in the gut microbiome characteristics, including Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes richness (p=0.541), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes diversity (p=0.134), species richness (p=0.933), and species diversity (p=0.597), between the Peyronie’s disease and control group.Conclusions:The results of this study do not support a significant change in the gut microbiome of men with Peyronie’s disease compared to age-matched controls. Further research is needed to fully understand the impact of the gut microbiome on Peyronie’s disease.Trial Registration Number:IRB 2017-3746
Prevalence and Types of Bacterial Contaminants in a Tertiary Hospital in Kenya
Authors: Chester Kolek , Okalebo Faith , Singa Benson , Briton Kavulavu , Masheti Mary , Omuom Ian , Odhoch Ochieng , Oduol Chris , Musyimi Robert , Tigoi Caroline , Tickell Kirkby D
Published: April 2023

Background: Hospitals pose a risk of bacterial infections to patients, the environment, and staff. To design Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programs, facilities need to know the patterns and types of contaminants in various parts of a hospital. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and types of contaminants on hospital surfaces, equipment and healthcare providers’ palms with the aim of informing development and implementation of IPC guidelines at the hospital level.
Method: This cross-sectional study was done in Migori County Referral Hospital. A total of 62 swabs were collected from selected surfaces, equipment, and health workers palms in April, 2020. They were cultured and bacterial contaminants were identified using standard microbiological procedures.
Results: Of the 62 swabs assessed, 61.3% yielded bacterial growth, from which 46 pathogenic bacteria were identified. The most prevalent isolates in all wards were Acinetobacter species at 41.3% (n=19 of 46 isolates) followed by Enterobacter at 13.0% (n=6/46) and Staphylococcus species at 13.0 %(n=6/46).
Conclusion: Contamination of surfaces, equipment, and staff’s hands was high, hence pointing to an elevated risk of Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs). Thus, there is a need to leverage IPC guidelines to limit contamination and curtail the spread of HAIs.
Modeling Variations in Area and Terminus of Mountain Glaciers using Generalized Additive Models
Authors: Robbins Edmund , Hlaing Thu Thu , Webb Jonathan , Kachouie Nezamoddin N.
Published: April 2023

Glaciers are important indictors of climate change as changes in glaciers physical features such as their area is in response to measurable evidence of fluctuating climate factors such as temperature, precipitation, and CO2. The remote nature of glaciers renders direct measurement impractical on anything other than a local scale. This project uses satellite imagery, taken by Landsat at regular intervals. The goal of this project is to quantify changes in the terminal point and area of Franz Josef and Gorner glaciers in response to climate factors. Multiple Regression and generalized additive models (GAM) are employed to identify significant climate factors that can explain and predict variations in the terminal point and area of the glaciers. Local temperature, CO2, and precipitation are identified as significant factors for predicting changes in the area of the Franz Josef glacier and movements in the terminal point of both, Franz Josef and Gorner glaciers. Area fluctuations in the Gorner glacier were best predicted by a generalized additive model including local and global temperature, CO2, and precipitation.
Genetic variation, population structure, and marker-trait association of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars using morphological characteristics and molecular markers
Authors: Fatamatuzzohora Mst , Hossain Md. Shahadat , Kang Sang Gu , Matin Mohammad Nurul
Published: April 2023

Indigenous germplasms are the excellent sources of diversity, however, they are prone to genetic erosion, therefore exploration of genetic variability in indigenous germplasm is an essential step for future breeding programs. Discovery of genetic mechanisms of the characters in landraces that could cope adverse situations is important for maintaining world-food supply. Here rice landraces were assessed for their genetic diversity and relatedness using morpho-physiological data and SSR markers and found significant variation among yield attributing features. Phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variability were higher for filled grains, whereas high heritability was found for plant height. Panicle number and 100-grain weight displayed significant relationships with yield. Phylogenetic clustering of the agro-morphological traits divided the germplasms into 8 clusters, whereas SSR marker yielded 10 clusters. Markers produced 138 alleles varying from 2 to 9 with 77.53% polymorphic allele having 3.69 alleles per locus (average). The polymorphic information content indices and observed number of alleles varied among markers with 0.649 (average), exhibiting RM336, RM316, and RM287 have the greatest potentiality in exploring genetic diversity among genotypes. The genotypes Dolkochu, Jolduba, BRRI Dhan-32, and Mokbul were present in a single cluster and showed wider variability, indicating their potentiality to be parents in hybridization programs in crop breeding. Population structure study demonstrated that the genotypes were structurally diverse that grouped the accessions into two sub-populations (K = 2). Twenty-one marker-trait associations (p < 0.05) for 8 characteristics were identified. These diverse germplasms and polymorphic trait-linked markers might be suitable for molecular breeding.
Integrated analysis from multicentre studies identities RNA methylation- related lncRNA risk stratification systems for glioma
Authors: Huang Fanxuan , Wang Xinyu , Zhong Junzhe , Chen Hao , Song Dan , Xu Tianye , Tian Kaifu , Sun Penggang , Sun Nan , Ma Wenbin , Liu Yuxiang , Yu Daohan , Meng Xiangqi , Jiang Chuanlu , Xuan Hanwen , Qian Da , Cai Jinquan
Published: April 2023

Background:N6-methyladenosine (m6A), 5-methylcytosine (m5C) and N1-methyladenosine (m5C) are the main RNA methylation modifications involved in the progression of cancer. However, it is still unclear whether RNA methylation-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) affect the prognosis of glioma.
Methods:We summarized 32 m6A/m5C/m1A-related genes, downloaded RNA-seq data and clinical information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differential expression analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to identify associated with differential expression (DE-) RNA methylation-related lncRNAs to construct a prognostic signature of glioma and their correlation with immune function, immune therapy and drug sensitivity analyzed. In vitro and in vivo assays were performed to elucidate the effects of RNA methylation-related lncRNAs on glioma.
Results:A total of ten RNA methylation-related lncRNAs were used to construct a survival and prognosis model, which had good independent prediction ability for patients. It was found that the high-risk group has worse overall survival (OS) than the low-risk group with all cohort. In addition, the risk group inform immune function, immunotherapy response and drug sensitivity of patients with glioma in different subgroups. Knockdown of RP11-98I9.4 and RP11-752G15.8 induced a more invasive phenotype, accelerated cell growth and apparent resistance to temozolomide (TMZ) both in vitro and in vivo. We identified significantly elevated global RNA m5C and m6A levels in glioma cells.
Conclusion: Our study determined the prognostic implication of the RNA methylation-related lncRNAs in gliomas, established the RNA methylation-related lncRNAs prognostic model, and elucidated that RP11-98I9.4 and RP11-752G15.8 could suppressglioma proliferation, migration and TMZ-resistant. In the future, these RNA methylation-related lncRNA may become a new choice for immunotherapy of glioma.
A Novel Controller Strategy for Damping LCL Oscillations in Reduced DC Voltage fed Single Phase D-STATCOM
Authors: Satpathy Guddy , De Dipankar
Published: April 2023

This work focuses on a new topology-control basedD-STATCOM solution with reduced DC bus voltage requirementand with an excellent grid side performances. The proposedconcept consists of a main shunt converter and a series converterwith a transformer to achieve the desired DC bus reduction.The active damping based on capacitor current feedback andassociated additional capacitor current sensor requirement areeliminated by using a proposed double controller structure for seriesand shunt converters with only series current as a controlledvariable. Moreover, the stability related issues based on converterinductor selection is studied extensively for the above controllerand superiority of the proposed concept is demonstrated. Theproposed solution is verified through simulation studies andthrough a scaled-down experimental prototype.
Delaying browning of fresh cut taro root via carbohydrate metabolism and AsA-GSH cycle under high voltage electrostatic field treatment
Authors: Cai Yue , Zhu Jie , Wang Mengjun , Nian Linyu , Cheng Shujie , Cao Chongjiang
Published: April 2023

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) root is regarded as an important food crop in China, which can provide starch and vitamins and other nutrients. Taro root industry has brought good economic value to China. However, fresh cut taro root is easy to brown in a short time, resulting in lower acceptance and shorter shelf life, which greatly reduce the economic benefits of taro industry. This research was aimed to study the antioxidant effects of High voltage electrostatic field (HVEF) on taro root through carbohydrate metabolism and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging system. The results showed that HVEF could retain starch and sucrose contents, enhanced activities of sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), neutral invertase (NI), hexokinase (HK), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), and inhibited activities of α-amylase and sucrose synthase (SS) to maintain nutrients. Moreover, HVEF enhanced ascorbic acid (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) contents, promoted the activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT) and glutathione reductases (GR) to resist browning and prolong shelf life. Overall results indicate that HVEF is an effectively physical preservation method delaying browning via carbohydrate metabolism and ROS scavenging system for fresh cut taro root.
Stand structure dynamics and effect evaluation after thinning
Authors: Wang Zichun , Li Yaoxiang , Williams Roger A. , Zhang Zheyu , Xie Guangqiang
Published: April 2023

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Modeling and Evaluation of Effective Factors on thermal islands with an approach based on fuzzy systems: A case study of Tehran
Authors: Arandin Navid , Arabi Mahdi , Jahdi Roghayeh
Published: April 2023

Urban heat islands are areas where the development of urbanization and human activities have significantly increased the temperature of the area compared to the surrounding areas. The main goal of this research was to provide a simple, developable and appropriate analytical model so that it can contribute to the better management of urban services by predicting the areas with the highest probability of heat islands and accurate analytical estimation of its factors. In this study, a fuzzy logic method has been used to determine the location of heat islands in Tehran. First, all the factors are identified, and then Their analysis was assigned to each of the weighted data, finally by writing the law of fuzzy comparison, the comparison between the layers, and the extracted layers are done. According to the modeling results, the presence of urban heat islands causes warming of 1.3°C in summer and 1.4°C in winter. Due to the presence and development of cities and urban heat islands, the average O3 pollutants have increased by about 0.5 ppb, the average NO2 pollutants by about 2 ppb, and CO by about 40 ppb. Finally, by considering the coefficient of these factors and comparing the data of the model, an accuracy of 78.6% was obtained. The final results showed that in regions 9, 10, 11, 17, and 18 and parts of region 21 of Tehran, the possibility of heat islands is very high.
Position of the mandibular foramen in relation to the occlusal plane in children with skeletal class malocclusion
Authors: Keskin Arif , Çiçekcibaşı Aynur Emine , Açar Gülay , Mağat Güldane
Published: April 2023

Purpose Inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) is frequently used in the procedures desired to be performed on the teeth in the mandible and the surrounding tissues. The aim of this study was to reveal the position of the mandibular foramen (MF) according to the malocclusion types on panoramic radiographs (PR) of children aged 9–18 years living with malocclusion in Turkey.Methods Panoramic and cephalometric radiographs of total 330 patients between 9–18 years old were retrospectively analyzed. The skeletal malocclusion types were grouped as Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 according on lateral cephalometric radiographs. The location of MF in malocclusion types was evaluated according to age and gender.Results It was observed that the distances to the occlusal plane, posterior edge and gonion point increased with increasing age, while the distance to the anterior edge decreased. A significant difference was found according to age and gender in all malocclusion types (p < 0.05)Conclusion It was observed that the MF was positioned upward parallel to the increase in age and approached the midpoint of the mandibular ramus from the posterior. The fact that FM is positioned higher than occlusal plane in Class 3 malocclusions compared to other types and differs by gender will guide clinicians in providing effective and safe IANB in pediatric malocclusions.
Exosome-sheathed ROS-responsive nanogel as a novel drug carrier for targeted therapy of perimenopausal depression
Authors: Hu Yue , Zhao Min , Wang Hui , Guo Yang , Cheng Xiaolan , Zhao Tong , Zhang Yafeng , Ma Yong , Tao Weiwei
Published: April 2023

The development of natural membranes as coatings for nanoparticles to traverse the blood-brain barrier (BBB) presents an effective approach for treating central nervous system (CNS) disorders. In this study, we have designed a nanogel loaded with PACAP and estrogen (E2), sheathed with exosomes and responsive to reactive oxygen species (ROS), denoted as HA NGs@exosomes. The objective of this novel design is to serve as a potent drug carrier for the targeted treatment of perimenopausal depression. The efficient cellular uptake and BBB penetration of HA NGs@exosomes has been demonstrated in vitro and in vivo. Following intranasal intervention with HA NGs@exosomes, ovariectomized mice under chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) have shown improved behavioral performance, indicating that HA NGs@exosomes produced a rapid-onset antidepressant effect. Moreover, HA NGs@exosomes exhibit notable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and may regulate the expression of pivotal proteins in the PACAP/PAC1 pathway to promote synaptic plasticity. Our results serve as a proof-of-concept for the utility of exosome-sheathed ROS-responsive nanogel as a promising drug carrier for the treatment of perimenopausal depression.
The importance of early-stage blood pressure control in thyroid cancer patients treated with lenvatinib from the perspective of dose intensity
Authors: Masaki Chie , Shioya Junko , Sugino Kiminori , Terasawa Yukiko , Yokotsuka Satoshi , Nakata Misako , Kitagawa Wataru , Ito Koichi
Published: April 2023

Purpose:Lenvatinib (LEN) is a multikinase inhibitor that strongly inhibits tyrosine kinase receptors, especially VEGFR-2, which can cause hypertension, as well as strong tumor shrinkage. Though control of any side effects (SEs) is important for maintaining dose intensity (DI), hypertension is particularly important, because blood pressure (BP) can change quickly and respond to LEN administration and withdrawal, and can be controlled with antihypertensive medications. Focusing on the early phase of treatment, the effect of BP 8 weeks after LEN initiation (BP8w) on DI at 8 weeks (DI8w) was investigated.Methods:The subjects were 85 thyroid cancer patients who started LEN at 24 mg/day and continued for ≥8 weeks. The BP at the start of LEN (BPbase), BP8wgrade, and DI8wwere examined.Results:Median (range) systolic BP changed significantly from BPbaseof 117 (84-167) mmHg to BP8wof 134 (103-168) mmHg (p<0.001). Antihypertensive treatment at baseline, systolic BPbase, and male sex were related to higher DI8won multivariate analysis. The median DI8wof the 23 patients who required dose modification due to hypertension was 20.2 mg/day (n=6) in grade 1, 15.8 mg/day (n=13) in grade 2, and 14.5 mg/day (n=4) in grade 3, showing a trend toward lower DI8was the grade level increased.Conclusion:LEN can increase BP by 20 mmHg at 8 weeks even with intensive antihypertensive management. Baseline antihypertensive treatment and BPbasecan affect DI8w. A higher DI8wmay be achieved by aiming for a low 8-week BP with more intensive antihypertensive care after LEN initiation.
Algorithm for Constructing Ergodic Location Networks using Discrete Markov Chains
Authors: Mizuno Shinya , Ohba Haruka , Sadakuni Shingo , Matsuda Takashi
Published: April 2023

For a region's tourism strategy, connecting famous locations to the surrounding locations can activate the entire area. Connections between locations can be obtained by calculating the central locations of the area and creating routes to other locations from there. This study proposes an algorithm to obtain ergodicity in discrete Markov chains using network centrality relations. The number of calculations to obtain ergodicity was compared using several definitions of network centrality, making it possible to select a type of network centrality for the target network. The proposed method clarifies the network’s central locations and how transition probabilities between locations can be adjusted to achieve an ergodic network. If the location network holds ergodicity, a stationary distribution of the Markov chain exists and optimization applications are expected. Numerical calculations were used to demonstrate the method’s applicability to various networks. Furthermore, using a Wi-Fi log, we observed that the proposed method can reconstruct a network with ergodicity for networks that use access points as locations, indicating the social applicability of the proposed method. The proposed method can be used to analyze various networks in modern society, such as facility operations and tourism stimulation. This method applies to human traffic management and stay analysis in facility operations. To promote tourism, by considering tourist sites as network locations, the method clarifies which routes should be prioritized to construct an uninterrupted tourist network, making the construction and operation of an extensive tourist network possible.
Facial expression detection using Viola-Jones algorithm in the learning environment
Authors: Aouani Hadhami , Ayed Yassine Ben
Published: April 2023

Emotion recognition using facial expression is an active research topic in the field of computer vision. In this paper, our system is based on a three-step approach, namely face detection, feature extraction and classification. Face detection takes photos/videos for information and finds face areas in these images. Facial extraction finds important highlights positions (eyes, mouth, nose and ocular temples) within a distinguished face using the Viola-Jones algorithm. In order to extract the faces, we have built a database of face images. We propose two systems: our first facial emotion recognition system supports the classification of the raw face inputs, the second extracts the Histogram of Oriented Gradient (HOG) from the face image. We use Support Vector Machines (SVM) for the classification phase. The experiments are conducted at the Ryerson Multimedia Laboratory (RML) dataset.The results of our experiments showed good accuracy compared to previous studies.
Effects of Environmental Regulation on Corporates Tax Evasion
Authors: Ya'u Abba , Miraz Mahadi Hasan , Umar Muhammad Abdullahi , Aigbogun Osaro , Saad Natrah , Rengasamy Dhanuskodi
Published: April 2023

The extent of corporate tax evasion and underreporting globally is increasing and taking new dimensions. Multinational corporations are taking advantage of the certain tax system to evade tax across countries. Governments lose huge amounts of revenue from large corporation tax evasion behavior, it was estimated that countries lose about 4-10 percent of global corporate income tax revenues to corporate tax evasion, which could have been used for health care delivery, education, and infrastructural development. The objective of this study is to determine the corporate tax evasion variables. The quantitative research approach was employed, a survey was used to collect the data from 312 oil and gas companies, SPSS and PLS-SEM were used to analyze the data. By expanding the economic deterrence theory with the economic theory of regulation, the results show that tax rate, detection probability, and penalty have a positive and significant relationship with corporate tax evasion. The result further revealed that environmental regulation has a positive and significant relationship with corporate tax evasion. The result of this study implied that tax rate, detection probability, penalty, and environmental regulation are the determinants of corporate tax evasion. This paper extends economic deterrence theory with economic theory of regulation, through environmental regulation as a predictor variable. The finding provides novel knowledge in taxation domain by integrating the two theories from different disciplines. Fundamentally, the effect of environmental regulation on corporate tax evasion is new in the literature, hence, it will serve as the foundation and basis for reference in future research. Therefore, policymakers globally, should design appropriate tax penalty systems, establish robust detection mechanisms, restructure the tax rate, and formulate friendly environmental regulations to reduce the level of corporate tax evasion among large and multinational companies across the globe.
JEL E6; E7; E70; E71
Nucleon electromagnetic form factors at large momentum transfer from lattice QCD
Authors: Syritsyn Sergey , Engelhardt Michael , Green Jeremy , Pochinsky Andrew , Negele John , Meinel Stefan , Krieg Stefan
Published: April 2023

Nucleon form factors at large momentum transfer are important for understanding the transition from nonperturbative to perturbative QCD and have been the focus of experiment and phenomenology. We calculate proton and neutron electromagnetic form factors GE,M (Q2) from first principles using nonperturbative methods of lattice QCD. We have accumulated large Monte Carlo statistics to study form factors up to momentum transfer Q2 ≲ 8 GeV2 with a range of lattice spacings as well as quark masses that approach the physical point. In this paper, results of initial analyses are presented and compared to experiment, and potential sources of systematic uncertainty are discussed.
Design and construction of shuttle expression vectors for non- conventional yeasts and bacteria
Authors: Ji Liyun , Xu Shuo , Zhang Yue , Bilal Muhammad , Cheng Hairong
Published: April 2023

Synthetic biology seeks to engineer microbial cells for sustainable efficient production of value-added biofuels and bioproducts from low-cost renewable feedstocks. In order to resolve the conflicts of carbon flux between cell growth and bioproducts synthesis, the dynamic up-regulation on the bioproduct synthesis pathways and down-regulation on the competitive pathways simultaneously could be adjusted by promoter sets with diverse strengths. The development of broad-spectrum promoter libraries comprising promoters of varying strengths for different hosts without tedious reconstruction processes are attractive for biosynthetic engineers. In this study, we observed that five K. marxianus promoters (km.PDC1, km.FBA1, km.TEF1, km.TDH3, km.ENO1) can all express genes in Y. lipolytica and that five Y. lipolytica promoters (yl.hp4d, yl.FBA1in, yl.TEF1, yl.TDH1, yl.EXP1) can all express genes in K. marxianus with variable expression strengths. Interestingly, we also found two yeast promoters could shuttle express reporter genes in P. pastoris, E. coli and C. glutamicum. The yl.TEF1 promoter can also strongly express amylase and RFP in yeast P. pastoris and the eukaryotic promoter km.TEF1 can constitutively strong express RFP in bacterium E. coli and C. glutamicum. The RFP expression strength of the promoter km.TEF1 reached ∼20% to that of the T7 promoter in E. coli and was much stronger (more than 10 times) than in K. marxianus. Our work will expand the future development of broad host acceptable dynamic regulated systems with these broad-spectrum promoters for dynamically orchestrate the carbon flux to maximize target bioproduct synthesis.
Prevalence of CCR5Δ32 genetic variant in the Turkmen population of Golestan province, northeast of Iran
Authors: Norasi Elmira , Rastegar Mostafa , Hosseini Seyyede Delafruz , Aghcheli Bahman , Tahamtan Alireza
Published: April 2023

The 32 bp deletion in the chemokine receptor (C-C motif) 5 gene (CCR5Δ32) is a natural loss of function polymorphism that prevents the protein from locating on the cell surface. This genetic variation acts as a double edge sword in the pathogenesis/defense mechanism of different health conditions, such as viral infections, autoimmune diseases, and cancers. Here, we evaluated the prevalence of CCR5Δ32 polymorphism in the Turkmen population of Golestan province, northeast of Iran. Blood samples were collected from 400 randomly selected Turkmen populations (199 women and 201 men), and genomic DNA was extracted. Characterization of CCR5Δ32 genotypes was performed by PCR using primers flanking the 32-nucleotide deletion in the CCR5 gene. The amplified DNA fragments were visualized on 2% agarose gel electrophoresis with cyber green staining under UV light. All individuals were of Turkmen ethnicity and lived in the Golestan province northeast of Iran. The mean age of all participants was 35.46 years, with a 20–45 years range. All the studied subjects were healthy without severe conditions such as autoimmune disease and viral infections. All individuals had no history of HIV infection. The PCR product visualization showed that all the samples were at the 330 bp size, suggesting the absence of the CCR5Δ32 allele in the study population. The presence of the CCR5Δ32 allele among Turkmens may be attributed to the admixture with European descent people. We conclude that the CCR5Δ32 polymorphism may be absent in the Iranian Turkmen population and further studies with large populations are needed.
Block Chain Based Secure Fanet System Networks
Authors: SRI S , RAJESHKUMAR G , SATHESHKUMAR K , NISHADEVI K
Published: April 2023

Ad-hoc networks have lots of challenges than traditional networks. It has challenges like infrastuctureless and self organizing networks. They don’t have any fixed infrastructure. In Fanets there will be no centralized authority to manage the network. Nodes have to rely on other nodes to keep the network connected. As the ad-hoc network is dynamic and every transmission in these networks become vulnerable to many number of attacks and security becomes a major issue. Recent advancements in drone technology are opening new opportunities and applications in various fields of life especially in the form of small drones. However, these advancements are also causing new challenges in terms of security, adaptability, and consistency. This research discusses the drone technology, area of usages, citizen multi-objective uses, drones’ security, protection, and secrecy apprehensions, drone current intimidations and susceptibilities, existing approaches for drone cyber-security methods, security threats to drones and data sources for current literature review. Small drones are proving to be a new opportunity for the civil and military industries. The small drones are suffering from architectural issues and the definition of security and safety issues. The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) opens new dimensions for drone technology but posing new threats as well. The tiny flying intelligent devices are challenging for the security and privacy of data. The design of these small drones is yet not matured to fulfil the domain requirements. The basic design issues also need security mechanisms, privacy mechanisms and data transformations.
Evaluation of the antifungal activity of some Azospirillum strains for their possible role as biocontrol agents
Authors: Mehanni Magda M. , El-Katatny Momein H.
Published: April 2023

Two strains of the N2 fixing, plant growth promoting bacterium Azospirillum were isolated as endophytes from roots of wheat seedlings grown in the spermosphere model that was inoculated with aliquots of two rhizosphere soil samples. Azospirillum isolate 3Re was recovered after inoculation with Sisamum irio rhizosphere soil and the other isolate (12Re) was recovered after inoculation with Triticum aesativum rhizosphere soil, both were brought from Dalja village, . Some physiological and biochemical characteristics of Azospirillum strains were determined. One of the physiological studies on these Azospirillum strains exhibited that they have a chitinolytic activity. This study aims to evaluate the antagonistic activity of these isolates against the phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium. The investigation exhibited a positive effect for the in vitro control of Fusarium growth through the production of the fungal cell wall degrading enzymes (chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase) in addition to the production of volatile and non volatile antifungal compounds. The microscopic examination of the lysed fungal hyphae was recorded as a result of Azospirillum's fungal cell wall degrading enzymes produced. Moreover, in pot experiment Azospirillum overcame pathogenicity of Fusarium on wheat seedlings' growth and showed 100% of seedlings growth compared with 30% growth of control infested seedlings only. These results suggest that Azospirillum has an excellent potential to be used as biocontrol agents against phytopathogenic fungi.
Research Trends in Oil and Gas Research on Google Scholar Database
Authors: BADARU AMINA
Published: April 2023

The study aims at knowing the research trend of oil and gas research in Nigeria on the Google scholar database.it is guided by three research questions and three objectives.Findings of the study reveal that there are 19 review articles from 2000-2023 and these 19 review articles have 40 keywords to their abstracts,there are on 15 universities who partook in oil and gas research so far.It was also recommended that a qualitative study be undertaken to know the reason for a very low level of participation of univerities in oil and gas research in Nigeria.
Research on Carbon Emission Quota Allocation Scheme under “Double Carbon” Target: A Case Study of Industrial Sector in Henan Province
Authors: Shi Peizhe , Li Ling , Wu Yuping , Zhang Yun , Lu Zhaohan
Published: April 2023

To achieve China’s “Double Carbon” target, each region needs a fair, effective, and economically viable quota allocation scheme. Therefore, this paper takes the industrial sector of Henan Province as an example and explores the allocation scheme of peak carbon emissions among its 40 subsectors. The results show that: (1) The predicted total quotas for the industrial sector in Henan Province at carbon peak is 163.74 Mt. (2) The reallocation scheme proposed in this paper takes into account fairness, efficiency, and economy principles, and is the most feasible scheme. (3) Transferring quotas to subsectors with lower carbon intensity and higher marginal abatement costs can help improve the overall efficiency of the allocation scheme. We innovatively propose a scenario prediction method for the total quotas and systematically quantitatively evaluates the fairness and economy of the scheme. Policy suggestions are also made for implementing the scheme. The purpose of this paper is to solve how to formulate a fair and effective quota allocation scheme and clarify its feasibility. By quantitatively determining a quota allocation scheme that meets the actual development needs of the industrial sector in Henan Province, this paper also provides a reference for other regions to achieve fair and effective quota allocation.
Antecedents, Sequence, and Consequences of Social Media Brand Crisis in China: The Case of Canada Goose 2021
Authors: Jhaveri Sanjay
Published: April 2023

Social media brand crisis of a foreign brand in China suggests the sudden occurrence of many, mainly negative social media utterances against the brand. Understanding how such a crisis unfolds and what are related consumer sentiments on social media deserves managerial attention. This paper examines the case of a global Canadian brand, Canada Goose, when it experienced a social media crisis over its refund-policy and alleged use of double standards against Chinese consumers. By using case-study methodology, the findings of this research uncover the discernible stages along which the crisis proceeds and reveals the role of Chinese grassroots nationalism in fulling the social media crisis.
New Historicism: Text and Context
Authors: M. Vesić Violeta
Published: April 2023

During most of the twentieth century history was seen as a phenomenon outside of literature that guaranteed the veracity of literary interpretation. History was unique and it functioned as a basis for reading literary works. During the seventies of the twentieth century there occurred a change of attitude towards history in American literary theory, and there appeared a new theoretical approach which soon became known as New Historicism. Since its inception, New Historicism has been identified with the study of Renaissance and Romanticism, but nowadays it has been increasingly involved in other literary trends. Although there are great differences in the arguments and practices at various representatives of this school, New Historicism has clearly recognizable features and many new historicists will agree with the statement of Walter Cohen that New Historicism, when it appeared in the eighties, represented something quite new in reference to the studies of theory, criticism and history (Cohen 1987, 33). Theoretical connection with Bakhtin, Foucault and Marx is clear, as well as a kind of uneasy tie with deconstruction and the work of Paul de Man. At the center of this approach is a renewed interest in the study of literary works in the light of historical and political circumstances in which they were created. Foucault encouraged readers to begin to move literary texts and to link them with discourses and representations that are not literary, as well as to examine the sociological aspects of the texts in order to take part in the social struggles of today.

  The study of literary works using New Historicism is the study of politics, history, culture and circumstances in which these works were created. With regard to one of the main fact which is located in the center of the criticism, that history cannot be viewed objectively and that reality can only be understood through a cultural context that reveals the work, re-reading and interpretation of literature is not just re-reading of texts that are already well known, but reading in a completely new way.
Labor market performance in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina from a gender perspective
Authors: Radonjić Ognjen , Jarić Isidora
Published: April 2023

In this paper we analyze some aspects of the efficiency of labor markets in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina and compare resulting outcomes with the outcomes of labor markets efficiency in selected economies of the European Union. A particular focus of our analysis is on gender equality, due to the fact that not only gender inequality negatively affects the quality of life of individuals and society in general, but also can produce significant macroeconomic losses which negatively affect economic growth and development. When formulating policy that aims to increase the employability and income of the local population, our recommendation to governments, non-governmental and supranational institutions is to simultaneously take all necessary steps in order to provide women equal access to labor markets. This primarily refers to equality in access to newly created jobs, the uniformity of wages for a work with equal qualification, equal access to employment in formal economy, equal safety at work, equal access to social safety net etc.
The ways of construction of own space in South Slavic oral lyric
Authors: Vukmanović Ana
Published: April 2023

South Slavic oral lyric can form different spatial models. These models can be presented by house/castle, town or village as the enclosed spaces, but also by the open spaces, like a garden or vineyard. In both cases, it is important to note that they are organized and in that sense they are opposed to the open spaces. Notions of this world, especially the house, corespond with models of cosmic centre. In relation to them, the man positions himself in the space. The boundary is an important notion because it separates own world from the alien, open from the closed, organized from the unorganized. It is emphasized by ritual songs. Distinction of tame as an attribute of this world (in contrast with wild/alien) is relative when the mediating  position of the field – cultivated or uncultivated – is activated. It is even more complex in the motif of the house in the mountain, which merges domestic and alien, human and inhuman space. The place of isolation as a heterotopias forms specific position in opposition own/alien, marked by ritual layer of oral lyric songs. Lirical singing form complex and diverse constructs of own space and show that the binary system, on which the oral traditional culture is based, is dynamic and depends on perspectives and the context of singing.
The Myth of Huitzilopochtli: Diachronic and structural interpretation
Authors: Seke Igor
Published: April 2023

The paper investigates the myth about the birth of Huicilopochtli, the deity considered by the Spanish conquistadors to be the supreme god of the Aztecs. Aztec myths are even today usually interpreted diachronically, strictly following the sequence of events. Structural analysis, on the other hand, in attempting to uncover the message a myth holds, doesn’t deem the sequence of events in the story important, but rather, studies the interrelation of chains of essential units of myth – mythemes. These two kinds of analysis provide two different interpretations of the same myth: while formal analysis gives a cosmological interpretation, structural analysis points to the powerful social contradictions which this myth tries to reconcile.
Entrepreneurs in the eyes of society – on the causes of negative perception of entrepreneurs in transitional Serbia
Authors: Trifunović Vesna
Published: April 2023

The paper deals with the negative social perceptions of entrepreneurs often encountered during the second phase of post-socialist transformation in Serbia. The causes of these widespread social perceptions are investigated by contrasting the previous, decades long socialist system, which was hostile toward entrepreneurship as well as egalitarian ideology with the context of the occurrence and development of private enterprise and the relationship between entrepreneurs – employers and workers in this society.
The Vampire as a Model of Cultural Otherness in the Television Series “What We Do in the Shadows”
Authors: Žikić Bojan
Published: April 2023

Vampires in popular culture differ from vampires in Serbian traditional culture not only in that they feed on human blood, but also in the implications of otherness they represent. While the Serbian vampire is an example of ontological otherness – a revenant, a non-human as opposed to a human, but not of sociocultural otherness, being a member of the same community as those against whom its misdeeds are directed – the vampire in popular culture is an example of the way that sociocultural otherness derives from ontological otherness. Its non-human nature is clearly designated as the essential difference between it and man in the physical and psychological sense: besides being undead and being at the top of the food chain, its body possesses animal and protean characteristics, and uses various parapsychological powers. As such, it represents an alien in the human world generally, but also alienness with regard to the sociocultural environments in which different works of fiction and films, i.e. works of popular culture, situate it. This alienness is depicted in different ways, all of which can basically be traced to Bram Stoker's shaping of Dracula. In the US TV series What We Do in the Shadows, which is based on the eponymous New Zealand film and takes the form of the sitcom and mockumentary, we follow the lives of three bloodthirsty vampires from Europe and Asia who live together in Staten Island, New York City, in a house they share with a local energy vampire. Their appearance, behavior, habits, speech, etc. are an attribute of their alienness in the New World – and a source of constant misunderstandings with the environment into which they wish to integrate. Although their neighbors cannot know they are not human, they treat them as such, with all the courtesy of middle-class society and political correctness: the obstacle to the vampires' integration into contemporary US society is not their non-humanness, but rather their cultural incompetence. Hence it turns out that the contemporary cultural thought behind the cultural concepts of ontology and otherness is a form of Leachian perception of the manner of primary identification in the majority of traditional cultures in the world, in which "foreigners are in fact not counted among human beings".