bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research on Formation Mechanism and Evolution Pattern of Bed Separation Zone during Repeated Mining in Multiple Coal Seams
Authors: Ji Jianshuai , Li Zhihua , Yang Ke , Zhou Guanghua , Ma Guojun , Liu Cheng , Zhou Peng
Published: April 2022

Mastering the formation mechanism and dynamic evolution pattern of bed separation zone during repeated mining is the key to the success or failure of separation grouting injection technology. Taking a mine in Ningdong as the engineering background, using the research methods of theoretical analysis, numerical simulated, and field measurement, four overburden structure models of single or multiple key strata with repeated mining and single or multiple key strata without repeated mining were constructed. The evolution pattern of bed separation zone was studied from four aspects: bed separation zone development mechanism, formation position, development form, and change of clearance. The results showed that when a single key stratum of repeated mining exists between coal seams, it is difficult to form a large separation area because there is no key stratum during the upper coal mining, and a separation area will be formed below the key stratum when mining the lower coal. When the key stratum exists above all coal seams, a large separation zone will be formed under the key stratum when the upper coal is mined. When mining the lower coal, when the coal seam spacing is less than 4 times of the mining height of the lower coal, the crack will penetrate the upper coal floor. If the key stratum is not completely broken, secondary separation may occur. When multiple key strata are all located above all coal seams, there will be bed separation zone under the high-level key stratum. When multiple key strata and coal seams are distributed at intervals, the separation below the high-level key stratum during upper coal mining and the separation below the low-level key stratum during lower coal mining are formed. Because the high-level key stratum bends and sinks after being affected by the mining of coal 1, the clearance of bed separation during mining coal 2 is slightly less than that during mining coal 1, which is contrary to the pattern that the greater the bed separation clearance increases with the increase of mining height.
Effects of Dietary Aflatoxin B1 on Hybrid Striped Bass (Morone chrysops × M. saxatilis) and Assessment of Supplemental Arginine as a Potential Aflatoxicosis Alleviator
Authors: Zhang Yufan , Rossi Waldemar , Yamamoto Fernando Y. , Velasquez Alejandro M. , Wang Anli , Gatlin Delbert M.
Published: April 2022

Aflatoxin contamination of feeds poses a significant threat to aquaculture. This six-week study was conducted to evaluate the impact of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in diets with and without supplemental arginine (Arg) on the production performance, somatic indices, body composition, and immune responses of hybrid striped bass (HSB). Six experimental diets were formulated to contain different levels of AFB1 (0, 1, or 2 mg/kg) and supplemental Arg (0 or 2%) following a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement. Triplicate groups of HSB (~5.44 g/fish) stocked in 18 glass aquaria were randomly assigned each diet and fed at a rate approaching apparent satiation twice daily. At the conclusion of the feeding trial, no interactions among dietary AFB1 and Arg were found. However, both medium (~1 mg/kg) and high (~2 mg/kg) levels of dietary AFB1 caused severe toxic effects on HSB directly affecting performance. Relative to control groups without AFB1 supplementation, steep reductions in weight gain (from 553% to 120% of initial weight), feed efficiency ratio (from 0.96 to 0.36), and protein retention (from 43% to 12%) were found in fish fed diets containing medium AFB1, and further reductions were observed in groups exposed to high AFB1. Dietary AFB1 also negatively affected condition factor and somatic indices and reduced whole-body protein and lipid contents relative to control groups. Significantly lower plasma hemolytic and lysozyme activities were found in fish exposed to dietary AFB1. Despite no significant protective effect of supplemental Arg being observed for most response parameters, reduced levels of Arg in plasma and muscle of AFB1-fed HSB indicated increased catabolism under nutritional stress. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that exposure to dietary AFB1 concentrations of ~1 and 2 mg/kg severely affected HSB and that supplemental Arg above requirement levels may be ineffective in alleviating aflatoxicosis.
Application of PCA and SVM in Fault Detection and Diagnosis of Bearings with Varying Speed
Authors: Pule Mushabi , Matsebe Oduetse , Samikannu Ravi
Published: April 2022

Vibration analysis is widely used as an efficient condition monitoring (CM) tool for rotating machines in various industries. Fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) models play an important role in the development of any CM system. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has since gained recognition in the development of fault detection and diagnosis systems. In this paper, a combination of principal component analysis (PCA) which is used for reducing the data dimensionality, and support vector machine (SVM) which is adopted for classification to carry out fault detection and diagnosis of faults in bearings using vibrations. The diagnostic feature design and machine learning toolbox in MATLAB are used to develop features and train the models, respectively. Real data from the Mendeley data depository is used to test and evaluate the models. Model training is carried out using data with varying speeds representing different conditions of bearing making it different from similar approaches involving SVM. The choice of data used proves that SVM can be able to classify faults with consideration of the varying operating speeds. Results have shown that the combination of PCA and SVM is effective in fault diagnosis of bearing faults under varying speeds such that a 97.4% classification accuracy was achieved. The result implies that PCA and SVM can be implemented in various industrial setups where variable speeds can occur both intentionally or nonintentionally. Furthermore, the method was able to differentiate between compounding faults and faults that occur at different times. The confusion matrix further proves the quality and accuracy of the trained model. Future work will focus on the development of models that can carry out the prognosis of faults in bearings as well as to model for other faults other than bearing faults.
Evaluation Algorithm for the Effectiveness of Stroke Rehabilitation Treatment Using Cross-Modal Deep Learning
Authors: Wang Lei , Zhang Rongxing , Yu Qinming
Published: April 2022

It is important to study the evaluation algorithm for the stroke rehabilitation treatment effect to make accurate evaluation and optimize the stroke disease treatment plan according to the evaluation results. To address the problems of poor restoration effect of positron emission tomography (PET) image and recognition restoration effect of evaluation data and so on. In the paper, we propose a stroke rehabilitation treatment effect evaluation algorithm based on cross-modal deep learning. Magnetic resonance images (MRI) and PET of stroke patients were collected as evaluation data to construct a multimodal evaluation dataset, and the data were divided into positive samples and negative samples. According to the mapping relationship between MRI and PET, three-dimensional cyclic adversarial is used to generate the neural network model to recover the missing PET data. Using the cross-modal depth learning network model, the RGB image, depth image, gray image, and normal images of MRI and PET are taken as the feature images and the multifeature fusion method is used to fuse the feature images, output the recognition results of MRI and PET, and evaluate the effect of stroke rehabilitation treatment according to the recognition results. The results show that the proposed algorithm can accurately restore PET images, the evaluation data recognition effect is good, and the evaluation data recognition accuracy is higher than 95%. The evaluation accuracy of stroke rehabilitation treatment effect is high, the evaluation time varies between 0.56 s and 0.91 s, and the practical application effect is good.
The Impact of Corporate Capital Structure on Financial Performance Based on Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Luo Yiheng , Jiang Chenxi
Published: April 2022

Capital structure is an important indicator to measure the source, composition, and proportion of a company’s equity and debit capital. It is not only related to the internal operating environment of listed companies but also related to the rights and obligations of shareholders and is closely related to the company’s future development direction, decision-making bodies, and changes in governance structure. This study aims to study the impact of corporate capital structure on financial performance based on convolutional neural network. Based on the relevant theories of capital structure, by constructing a convolutional neural network model, taking a listed company as the research object, this study analyzes the company’s capital structure, liabilities, and other financial conditions. Finally, it is concluded that short-term liabilities can meet the company’s sustainable development and enhance the competitiveness of the industry, thereby increasing the company’s operating income. However, a poor capital structure can negatively impact a company’s finances. By improving the corporate governance structure of listed companies, strengthening the adjustment of the financing structure of listed companies, and strengthening the management of listed company’s operating risks, the company’s capital structure can be improved so that the company’s financial situation can be sustainable and healthy.
Unveiling Genetic Diversity, Characterization, and Selection of Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) Genotypes Reflecting Yield and Yield Components in Tropical Malaysia
Authors: Khan Md Mahmudul Hasan , Rafii Mohd Y. , Ramlee Shairul Izan , Jusoh Mashitah , Oladosu Yusuff , Al Mamun Md , Khaliqi Atiqullah
Published: April 2022

Addressing genetic diversity and application of appropriate breeding strategies are imperative for Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L.) improvement as a newly introduced legume in Malaysia. It has become a “miracle lucrative” legume for Asia and Africa because of its drought resilience, excellent nutritional profiles, and versatile uses. This crop’s progress has been limited owing to a lack of extensive research, marginalization, inadequate knowledge, and a lack of accessible funds, among other concerns. The expansion of this crop is reliant on the assessment and selection of unique and reliable breeding lines in various circumstances. Consequently, the goal of this work is to determine genetic diversity and the relationship between yield‐contributing components in 44 Bambara groundnut accessions sourced from the Genebank of Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Food Security (ITAFoS) at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Three replications were used in the experiment, which was done using a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The data were subjected to ANOVA, PCA, correlation, and heat map cluster analysis; also, genetic parameters and broad‐sense heritability estimation were carried out on recorded phenotypic descriptors. All of the investigated variables had a significant variance (p ≤ 0.05 or 0.01) according to the ANOVA results. Yield per hectare showed a positively strong to perfect significant correlation (0.75 ≤ r ≤ 1.00; p ≤ 0.01) with the yield components viz. fresh pod weight, hundred seed weight, dry pod weight, and dry seed weight. Interestingly, these traits had heritability ≥ 60% and genetic gain ≥ 20%, which can be beneficial for direct selection to this crop improvement. The UPGMA clustering revealed five distinct clusters in which genotypes under cluster I, cluster II, and cluster IV produce a greater yield of 5.96%, 7.12%, and 15.05%, respectively, than the grand mean yield of 1927.01 kg/ha. The PCA biplot estimated that PC1 (32.9%) and PC2 (12.9%) would cover 45.8% of the total variance. We discovered 30 promising lines that provide yields per hectare more than 1.8 ton/ha and might be used as parental lines in future breeding operations aimed at improving the grain yield in tropical areas or comparable agroecological zones.
Graphene Oxide Nanoadsorbent for the Removal of Fluoride Ion from Groundwater: Adsorbent Performance and Adsorption Mechanism
Authors: Chufa Bayisa Meka , Gonfa Bedasa Abdisa , Anshebo Teketel Yohannes
Published: April 2022

The deterioration of the quality of groundwater by fluoride is the cause of shortage of drinking water supply in the rift valley region. Most people living in the rural areas are using groundwater as the source of their potable water; however, it is contaminated with high concentrations of fluoride ion above the permissible level. Hence, this study was designed to investigate the adsorption of fluoride from groundwater by graphene oxide (GO) under specific conditions, such as: agitation rate of 120 rpm, contact time of 90 minutes, adsorbent dosage of 0.42 mg/L, initial fluoride concentration of 10 mg/L, and pH of 6.8. The result obtained showed 99.3% fluoride removal from the NaF prepared solution and 91.6% fluoride removal from the real sample. The retained properties of GO after adsorption observed on UV–Vis analysis confirmed that the adsorbent can be recyclable. The result obtained also showed that the adsorption kinetics with the coefficient of determination (R2) for pseudo-second order (SSO) and pseudo-first order (SFO) were 0.99 and 0.96, respectively. Based on these results, the adsorption of fluoride onto GO is a pseudo-second-order kinetics type. According to the result, the Freundlich isotherm model showed a good fit to the experiment with R2 (0.99). The adsorption capacity of the adsorbent was found to be 301.43 mg/g. Hence, this study showed that GO is the preferred adsorbent for the removal of fluoride from groundwater.
A Review on the Failure Modes of Rock and Soil Mass under Compression and the Exploration about Constitutive Equations of Rock and Soil Mass
Authors: Tang Liansheng , Wang Yuxi , Sun Yinlei , Chen Yang , Zhao Zhanlun
Published: April 2022

The constitutive equation of rock and soil has always been the core problem in rock and soil mechanics. Up to now, the nature of nonlinear shear strength of rock and soil has not been revealed. In many engineering practices, it is still considered that the failure mode of rock and soil is always shear failure, and Coulomb linear constitutive equation is adopted, or Mohr envelope is fitted by data. However, the constitutive equation of rock mass is nonlinear, and its failure mode is not only shear failure. A large number of single triaxial tests show that there is not only shear stress, but also tensile stress in the failure process of rock and soil. Theoretical and experimental research on failure mode of rock mass under pressure are one of the important means to improve and develop soil mechanics. It is important to understand the nonlinear nature of rock and soil constitutive equation to explore the energy variation and the distribution of tensile stress and shear stress in different failure modes of rock and soil.
Exploring the Clinical Point Selection Rules of Acupuncture and Moxibustion in the Treatment of Infantile Enuresis Based on Data Mining Technology
Authors: Ma Cuicui , Li Nan , Zhang Xu
Published: April 2022

In order to explore the clinical point selection rules of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of infantile enuresis based on data mining technology, first, it introduces the principle of data mining technology, the global optimization strategy of information extraction + genetic search. In China Biomedical Literature Database, CNKI, Weipu, Wanfang. Use “enuresis,” “enuresis,” “leathering,” “urinary discharge,” “drowning,” “bedwetting,” “nocturia,” “drowning,” “moxibustion,” “moxibustion,” and “moxibustion” as search terms, take (enuresis + enuresis + urination + urination + addiction + bedwetting), (moxibustion + moxibustion + moxibustion)” as the retrieval style. The analysis of the use of moxibustion, the law of acupoint selection by different moxibustion methods, and the frequency analysis of meridian use show that most of the moxibustion methods are used (62 articles, of which 3 articles use 2 moxibustion methods), including non-suppurative moxibustion, ginger moxibustion, medicinal cake moxibustion, salt moxibustion, mild moxibustion, warm acupuncture moxibustion, bird pecking moxibustion, circling moxibustion, and warm moxibustion; among them, mild moxibustion has the highest frequency of use 24 and non-suppurative moxibustion and salt-separated moxibustion have the lowest frequency of use1; there are 4 non-moxibustion methods, which are medicated thread moxibustion methods. Different moxibustion methods for acupoint selection have their own emphasis. The 63 included literatures included 63 prescriptions for moxibustion, 11 prescriptions for acupoints. Analyzing the frequency of acupoint selection, a total of 18 ear acupoints are involved, and the total frequency of auricular acupoints is 54 times; 44 points are involved (including 1 odd point outside the meridian), the total frequency of acupoints is 300 times, and the total frequency of meridian points is 298, and the total frequency of Jingwaiqi acupoints (Sishencong) is 2. The results can provide great help for the clinical selection of acupuncture points for the treatment of infantile enuresis.
The Impact of lncRNA on Diabetic Kidney Disease: Systematic Review and In Silico Analyses
Authors: Zhao Yunyun , Yan Guanchi , Mi Jia , Wang Guoqiang , Yu Miao , Jin Di , Tong Xiaolin , Wang Xiuge
Published: April 2022

Background. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is involved in the occurrence and development of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). It is necessary to identify the expression of lncRNA from DKD patients through systematic reviews, and then carry out silico analyses to recognize the dysregulated lncRNA and their associated pathways. Methods. The study searched Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, WanFang, VIP, CNKI, and CBM to find lncRNA studies on DKD published before March 1, 2021. Systematic review of the literature on this topic was conducted to determine the expression of lncRNA in DKD and non-DKD controls. For the dysregulated lncRNA in DKD patients, silico analysis was performed, and lncRNA2Target v2.0 and starBase were used to search for potential target genes of lncRNA. The Encyclopedia of Genomics (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis was performed to better identify dysregulated lncRNAs in DKD and determine the associated signal pathways. Results. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 28 publications meeting the eligibility criteria were included in the systematic evaluation. A total of 3,394 patients were enrolled in this study, including 1,238 patients in DKD group, and 1,223 diabetic patients, and 933 healthy adults in control group. Compared with the control, there were eight lncRNA disorders in DKD patients (MALAT1, GAS5, MIAT, CASC2, NEAT1, NR_033515, ARAP1-AS2, and ARAP1-AS1). In addition, five lncRNAs (MALAT1, GAS5, MIAT, CASC2, and NEAT1) participated in disease-related signal pathways, indicating their role in DKD. Discussion. This study showed that there were eight lncRNAs in DKD that were persistently dysregulated, especially five lncRNAs which were closely related to the disease. Although systematic review included 28 studies that analyzed the expression of lncRNA in DKD-related tissues, the potential of these dysregulated lncRNAs as biomarkers or therapeutic targets for DKD remains to be further explored. Trial registration. PROSPERO (CRD42021248634).
Composition and Evaluation on Road Performance of SBS/PTW High-Viscosity-Modified Asphalt and Its Mixtures for Ultrathin Overlays
Authors: Wang Mingwei , Wei Jingyu , Xie Xiangbing , Li Guanghui , Zhang Haiwei , Bao Meng , Zhu Xianglei
Published: April 2022

As a highway pavement maintenance technology, the road performance of the ultra-thin overlay depends heavily on the performance of asphalt cement. For the preparation of high-performance-modified asphalt suitable for ultrathin overlay, the reactive blending technology was used based on SBS modified asphalt and combined with a penetration test, softening point test, ductility test, dynamic viscosity test, and viscous toughness test to study the optimal blending ratio of high-viscosity modified asphalt. Further, the rolling thin-film oven test (RTFOT), dynamic shear rheological (DSR) test, and Brookfield viscosity test are used to evaluate the technical properties of SBS/PTW modified asphalt under the best mixing ratio. Finally, the SMA-13 asphalt mixture was prepared with SBS/PTW high-viscosity modified asphalt and evaluated through a rutting test, low-temperature bending test, immersion Marshall test, freeze-thaw splitting test, structural depth test (TD), and British pendulum number (BPN) test. These results showed that the best blending mass ratio of high-viscosity modified asphalt is 6% SBS + 4% solubilizer + 0.2% PTW + 0.2% nano-ZnO. All technical property indexes of the prepared SBS/PTW high-viscosity modified asphalt meet the requirements of an ultra-thin overlay binder. The dynamic viscosity at 60°C reaches 64204 Pa·s, and the viscosity and toughness are 25.4 N·m and 20.9 N·m, respectively. SBS/PTW high-viscosity modified asphalt under dynamic shear rheology (DSR) test is classified as PG88 at high temperature. The rutting factor changes the smallest before and after aging, and it has excellent anti-aging performance. Furthermore, the asphalt mixture prepared by SBS/PTW high-viscosity modified asphalt has excellent high and low-temperature performance, water stability, and skid resistance performance. All properties meet the requirements of the ultra-thin overlay. This study demonstrated that the SBS/PTW high-viscosity modified asphalt possessed high viscosity properties, which can be used in the ultra-thin overlay and other highly demanding working environments.
Research on Seepage Field and Slope Stability Considering Heterogeneous Characteristics of Waste Piles: A Less Costly Way to Reduce High Leachate Levels and Avoid Accidents
Authors: Mendomo Meye Serges , Li Guowei , Shen Zhenzhong , Gan Lei , Xu Liqun
Published: April 2022

Due to the characteristics of high heap and large volume, the complex layers of waste, high‐water level of leachate, environmental pollution, and slope instability are easily produced. Although many researchers have studied landfill two‐dimensional leachate migration law, three‐dimensional seepage and stability of landfill sites have been rarely studied. This paper focuses on the heterogeneous characteristics of the landfill piles and analyzes the seepage field and slope stability of the landfill using statistical and numerical analysis methods. The calculated results are compared with the field measurement and literature research data to verify the reliability of the model, which may provide the basis for the design and safe and eco‐friendly operation of the landfill. Taking an actual landfill as the research object, the saturated–unsaturated transient model of heterogeneous waste is applied to practical engineering. Considering the landfill process and heterogeneous permeability, the calculated maximum water level is higher. Compared with the homogeneous material, the difference in the water level of each waste layer is about 0.08∼1.88 m, which is not good for the stability of the landfill. Combined with the engineering characteristic distribution of a landfill, the heterogeneous stability model is applied to the actual project to study the influence of different unit weight and shear strength distribution on landfill stability. The established model is suitable for the study of two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional slope stability of landfill sites. Through the slope stability analysis of the three‐dimensional landfill site, it is found that the bank slope of the reservoir is steep and prone to instability failure. In most studies, only the instability of the landfill is of concern, but the bank failure is ignored. In the process of landfill operation and management, while considering the capacity of the landfill, the stability of the bank slope should also be paid attention to, and if necessary, bank slope reinforcement or slope ratio improvement should be carried out.
FECTS: A Facial Emotion Cognition and Training System for Chinese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Wan Guobin , Deng Fuhao , Jiang Zijian , Song Sifan , Hu Di , Chen Lifu , Wang Haibo , Li Miaochun , Chen Gong , Yan Ting , Su Jionglong , Zhang Jiaming
Published: April 2022

Traditional training methods such as card teaching, assistive technologies (e.g., augmented reality/virtual reality games and smartphone apps), DVDs, human-computer interactions, and human-robot interactions are widely applied in autistic rehabilitation training in recent years. In this article, we propose a novel framework for human-computer/robot interaction and introduce a preliminary intervention study for improving the emotion recognition of Chinese children with an autism spectrum disorder. The core of the framework is the Facial Emotion Cognition and Training System (FECTS, including six tasks to train children with ASD to match, infer, and imitate the facial expressions of happiness, sadness, fear, and anger) based on Simon Baron-Cohen’s E-S (empathizing-systemizing) theory. Our system may be implemented on PCs, smartphones, mobile devices such as PADs, and robots. The training record (e.g., a tracked record of emotion imitation) of the Chinese autistic children interacting with the device implemented using our FECTS will be uploaded and stored in the database of a cloud-based evaluation system. Therapists and parents can access the analysis of the emotion learning progress of these autistic children using the cloud-based evaluation system. Deep-learning algorithms of facial expressions recognition and attention analysis will be deployed in the back end (e.g., devices such as a PC, a robotic system, or a cloud system) implementing our FECTS, which can perform real-time tracking of the imitation quality and attention of the autistic children during the expression imitation phase. In this preliminary clinical study, a total of 10 Chinese autistic children aged 3–8 are recruited, and each of them received a single 20-minute training session every day for four consecutive days. Our preliminary results validated the feasibility of the developed FECTS and the effectiveness of our algorithms based on Chinese children with an autism spectrum disorder. To verify that our FECTS can be further adapted to children from other countries, children with different cultural/sociological/linguistic contexts should be recruited in future studies.
Effectiveness of Antiepidemic Measures Aimed to Reduce Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in the Hospital Environment
Authors: Pawlak Maria , Lewtak Katarzyna , Nitsch-Osuch Aneta
Published: April 2022

Purpose. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of hospital-based antiepidemic measures aimed at limiting the spread of symptomatic infections and colonization with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), mainly NDM-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, with particular emphasis on microbiological screening tests. Methods. This retrospective study was based on data from 168 hospitals under the supervision of the Provincial Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Warsaw, Poland, in 2016–2017. Analysis of the effectiveness of antiepidemic procedures focused on the type of implemented antiepidemic procedures, the number of microbiological screening tests per year, the geographic location of the hospitals (inside or outside Warsaw), the timing of the screening tests (on admission to hospital or 48 hours later), and the results of the screening tests. Results. Rates of proper isolation of patients infected or colonized with an alarm pathogen including NDM-producing K. pneumoniae increased from 38.0% in 2016 to 49.5% in 2017 (

p
>
0.05

). The number of screening tests performed increased by 88% from 68319 in 2016 to 128373 in 2017. The number of epidemic outbreaks of symptomatic infections caused by NDM-producing K. pneumoniae decreased from 11 in 2016 to 7 in 2017 in hospitals in Warsaw, where microbiological screening tests were performed. The number of outbreaks in hospitals outside Warsaw, where the screening tests were not performed or were limited, increased from 8 in 2016 to 24 in 2017. Conclusion. Screening tests increase the chance of detecting colonization by CPE. The implementation of microbiological screening decreased the risk of epidemic outbreaks of symptomatic infections caused by CPE.
Tumor Necrosis Factor-α-Induced Protein 8-Like 2 Ameliorates Cardiac Hypertrophy by Targeting TLR4 in Macrophages
Authors: Yao Rui , Kong Lingyao , Yang Chunlei , Du Jiaqi , Zhao Guojun , Li Yapeng
Published: April 2022

Background. Tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein 8-like 2 (TIPE2), a novel immunoregulatory protein, has been reported to regulate inflammation and apoptosis. The role of TIPE2 in cardiovascular disease, especially cardiac hypertrophy, has not been elucidated. Thus, the aim of the present study was to explore the role of TIPE2 in cardiac hypertrophy. Methods. Mice were subjected to aortic banding (AB) to induce an adverse hypertrophic model. To overexpress TIPE2, mice were injected with a lentiviral vector expressing TIPE2. Echocardiographic and hemodynamic analyses were used to evaluate cardiac function. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) and mouse peritoneal macrophages (MPMs) were isolated and stimulated with angiotensin II. NRCMs and MPM were also cocultured and stimulated with angiotensin II. Cells were transfected with Lenti-TIPE2 to overexpress TIPE2. Results. TIPE2 expression levels were downregulated in hypertrophic mouse hearts and in macrophages in heart tissue. TIPE2 overexpression attenuated pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and cardiac dysfunction. Moreover, we found that TIPE2 overexpression in neonatal cardiomyocytes did not relieve the angiotensin II-induced hypertrophic response in vitro. Furthermore, TIPE2 overexpression downregulated TLR4 and NF-κB signaling in macrophages but not in cardiomyocytes, which led to diminished inflammation in macrophages and consequently reduced the activation of hypertrophic Akt signaling in cardiomyocytes. TLR4 inhibition by TAK-242 did not enhance the antihypertrophic effect of TIPE2 overexpression. Conclusions. The present study indicated that TIPE2 represses macrophage activation by targeting TLR4, subsequently inhibiting cardiac hypertrophy.
Baicalin Attenuated Aβ1-42‐Induced Apoptosis in SH‐SY5Y Cells by Inhibiting the Ras‐ERK Signaling Pathway
Authors: Song Zhenyan , He Chunxiang , Yu Wenjing , Yang Miao , Li Ze , Li Ping , Zhu Xu , Xiao Chen , Cheng Shaowu
Published: April 2022

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a serious neurodegenerative disease. It is widely believed that the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) in neurons around neurofibrillary plaques is the main pathological characteristic of AD; however, the molecular mechanism underlying these pathological changes is not clear. Baicalin is a flavonoid extracted from the dry root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. Studies have shown that baicalin exerts excellent anti‐inflammatory and neuroprotective effects. In this study, an AD cell model was established by exposing SH‐SY5Y cells to Aβ1-42 and treating them with baicalin. Cell survival, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis were measured by MTT, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescence assays, respectively. The expression levels of Ras, ERK/ERK phosphorylation (p‐ERK), and cyclin D1 were measured by Western blotting. In addition, whether the MEK activator could reverse the regulatory effect of baicalin on Ras‐ERK signaling was investigated using Western blotting. We found that baicalin improved the survival, promoted the proliferation, and inhibited the apoptosis of SH‐SY5Y cells after Aβ1-42 treatment. Baicalin also ameliorated Aβ1-42‐induced cell cycle arrest at the S phase and induced apoptosis. Furthermore, baicalin inhibited the levels of Ras, p‐ERK, and cyclin D1 induced by Aβ, and this effect could be reversed by the MEK activator. Therefore, we suggest that baicalin may regulate neuronal cell cycle progression and apoptosis in Aβ1-42‐treated SH‐SY5Y cells by inhibiting the Ras‐ERK signaling pathway. This study suggested that baicalin might be a useful therapeutic agent for senile dementia, especially AD.
Correlation of Renal Scarring to Urinary Tract Infections and Vesicoureteral Reflux in Children
Authors: Aboutaleb Hamdy , Abouelgreed Tamer A. , El-Hagrasi Hala , Bakry Eldib Diaa , Abdelaal Mohamed A. , El Gohary Mohamed Amin
Published: April 2022

Objective. To study the association of the grade of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and urinary tract infections (UTI) with renal scarring at the first clinical presentation of patients who underwent antireflux surgery. Materials and methods. Between 2015 and 2020, 150 patients (194 units) who underwent antireflux surgery had dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) renal scans preoperatively. Patients were classified into the nonscar and scar groups according to DMSA scan results. Moreover, cases were classified into afebrile UTI, febrile UTI, and antenatal hydronephrosis (ANH) according to the mode of presentation. We correlated the mode of presentation and the grade of VUR to the presence/absence of renal scars in both groups. Results. The mean follow-up was 45 months preoperatively. The mode of presentation was afebrile, febrile UTIs, and antenatal hydronephrosis in (50, 14), (20, 46), and (10, 10) patients in the nonscar and scar groups, respectively. Of the 20 patients who presented ANH, 10 (50%) had scars. Clinical presentation was correlated to the presence of renal scarring and its degree. The scar group had significantly higher grades of VUR than the nonscar group (grades I–II (50 units versus 10 units), grade III (28 units versus 40 units), and grade IV–V (22 units versus 44 units) for the nonscar versus scar groups, respectively (

p

value <0.001). Conclusion. Renal scarring is associated with higher grades of reflux and urinary tract infections. We advocate further research investigating infants who had UTIs with or without fever for early detection of reflux.
A Quality Improvement Process to Increase and Sustain a Peritoneal Dialysis Programme in the United Kingdom
Authors: Shah Nihit , Cole Ann , McCarthy Kate , Baharani Jyoti
Published: April 2022

Introduction: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) remains underutilised in the West. The proportion of patients in the UK starting renal replacement therapy (RRT) with PD fell from 7.2% in 2011 to 6.0% in 2016. At our centre, 8.4% of dialysis patients received PD in April 2014. Evidence suggests that home dialysis improves patient clinical outcomes; therefore, a target was agreed to achieve 25% of dialysis patients receiving PD by 2018. Methods: A rapid improvement process was introduced, as a quality improvement tool, to increase and sustain the PD programme. With multidisciplinary team support for PD growth, a nephrologist was trained to insert PD catheters. Nurses were trained to provide patients with balanced pre-dialysis information and discuss alternative dialysis modalities with haemodialysis (HD) patients. The “Acceptance, Choice and Empowerment” project raised awareness of home therapy choices, using a peer educator model specifically for ethnic minority patients. Lean methodologies were used to ensure continuous quality improvement. Results: PD uptake increased from 37 to 84 patients, giving a PD penetration increase from 8.4% to 19.1% between April 2014 and March 2018. Catheter insertions increased from 94 at the end of QI Period 1 to 185 at the end of QI Period 2, representing a 97% increase, with the medical/surgical split remaining stable. Peritonitis rates remained stable, and PD drop off to HD reduced from 52% to 41% during the same period. Conclusions: By implementing a rapid improvement process and embedding a quality improvement programme, the number of incidents and prevalent PD patients increased and was sustained.
Association of Exposure to Abuse, Nurture, and Household Organization in Childhood With 4 Cardiovascular Disease Risks Factors Among Participants in the CARDIA Study
Authors: Aguayo Liliana , Chirinos Diana A. , Heard‐Garris Nia , Wong Mandy , Davis Matthew M. , Merkin Sharon Stein , Seeman Teresa , Kershaw Kiarri N.
Published: April 2022

Background

We investigated associations of childhood abuse with 4 cardiovascular disease risk factors in adulthood, and whether exposure to nurturing and household organization in childhood mitigated these associations.

Methods and Results

The CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study (baseline examination, 1985–1986) was used to examine associations of childhood exposures (measured retrospectively at the year 15 examination) with incident obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia (assessed from baseline to year 30). Race‐ and sex‐stratified Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine associations of exposure to childhood abuse with incident cardiovascular disease risk factors. Interaction terms between exposure to abuse and exposure to nurturing relationship and household organization were included to test for effect modifications. Exposure to occasional/frequent abuse (versus no abuse) was associated with incident type 2 diabetes among White men (hazard ratio [HR], 1.81; 95% CI, 1.06–3.08). Exposure to low versus no abuse was associated with incident hyperlipidemia among White men (HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.09–1.67) and White women (HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.01–1.56). Risks of incident hyperlipidemia were higher for White women who experienced abuse and lived in dysfunctional households (HR, 3.61; 95% CI, 1.62–8.05) or households with low levels of organization (HR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.25–3.36) compared with White women who experienced abuse but lived in well‐organized households (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.41–1.06). Similar patterns were seen for Black men who lived in dysfunctional households (HR, 3.62; 95% CI, 1.29–10.12) or households with low organization (HR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.08–3.72).

Conclusions

We identified race‐ and sex‐specific associations of childhood exposures with incident cardiovascular disease risk factors. The associations of household organization and dysfunction with cardiovascular disease risks merits further investigation.
Enabling Canonical Analysis Workflows Documented Data Harmonization on Global Air Quality Data
Authors: Schröder Sabine , Epp Eleonora , Mozaffari Amirpasha , Romberg Mathilde , Selke Niklas , Schultz Martin G.
Published: April 2022

Data harmonization and documentation of the data processing are essential prerequisites for enabling Canonical Analysis Workflows. The recently revised Terabyte-scale air quality database system, which the Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR) created, contains one of the world's largest collections of near-surface air quality measurements and considers FAIR data principles as an integral part. A special feature of our data service is the on-demand processing and product generation of several air quality metrics directly from the underlying database. In this paper, we show that the necessary data harmonization for establishing such online analysis services goes much deeper than the obvious issues of common data formats, variable names, and measurement units, and we explore how the generation of FAIR Digital Objects (FDO) in combination with automatically generated documentation may support Canonical Analysis Workflows for air quality and related data.
Ruellia umbrosa (Ruellieae, Acanthaceae) a new and critically endagered species from Lowlands of the Goiás state, Brazil
Authors: SILVA MARCOS JOSÉ DA
Published: April 2022

Ruellia umbrosa, a new species from the riparian forest in the lowlands of the Goiás state, is described and illustrated. It is similar to the South American species R. erythropus and R. epallocaulos by the decumbent stems rooting at nodes, solitary flowers in the axils of the upper leaves, and capsules with eight or more seeds, but differs in having white or slightly mauve corollas, absence of bractlets, corolla with tube and throat similar in size, calyx with 5 lobes equal or slightly subequal with dense trichomes, and larger number and size of the seeds by capsules, among other characters. It grows in an environment under strong anthropogenic pressure in a small area and, therefore, was classified as Critically Endangered.
New species of Coelinius Nees (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Alysiinae) from Brazil
Authors: DE OLIVEIRA FRANCIÉLLE DIAS , PENTEADO-DIAS ANGÉLICA MARIA
Published: April 2022

A new species of Alysiinae wasp, Coelinius longicephalus sp. nov., from Brazil is described. Additional information is also provided for other species of the genus known in Brazil, namely, C. canastra Souza-Gessner & Penteado-Dias, C. itamonte Souza-Gessner & Penteado-Dias, C. kali Souza-Gessner & Penteado-Dias, and C. lux Souza-Gessner & Penteado-Dias. A dichotomous identification key to the neotropical species of Coelinius is provided.
Description of six new species to Grammedessa Correia & Fernandes, 2016 (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Edessinae)
Authors: DA SILVA PAULO AUGUSTO LIMA , FERNANDES JOSÉ ANTÔNIO MARIN
Published: April 2022

Correia & Fernandes (2016) described the new genus Grammedessa comprising twelve species. Da Silva & Fernandes (2021) described the new genus Calcatedessa including four species and conducted its morphological cladistic analysis associated with all the species of the sister genus Grammedessa including six other new species not yet described. We describe in this paper these six new species: G. fundicava sp.n., G. graciligramma sp.n., G. acalyptoprocta sp.n., G. stichtocephala sp.n., G. nigricava sp.n. and G. longispina sp.n. Also, the female of G. brunneotarsata Correia & Fernandes, 2016 is described, and the redescription of G. hamata (Walker, 1868) (transferred from genus Edessa) is presented. The diagnosis, description, and identification key to the species of Grammedessa have been updated, and the distribution of Grammedessa has been extended to Suriname and two other Brazilian states: Maranhão and Rondônia.
Two new species of Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the rocky outcrops of the Deccan plateau, peninsular India
Authors: ADHIKARI OMKAR D. , ACHYUTHAN N. S. , KUMAR G. CHETHAN , KHOT RAHUL V. , SHREERAM M. V. , GANESH S.R.
Published: April 2022

The gekkonid diversity of the under-explored dry zones in Peninsular India is not yet completely inventoried, as evidenced by frequent new species descriptions. Here, we describe two new species of Hemidactylus from the dry rocky zones of Deccan Plateau viz. Hemidactylus mahonyi sp. nov. from Sandur Hills and Hemidactylus srikanthani sp. nov. from Devarayana Durga Hills, Karnataka State of Peninsular India. The new species belong to the morphologically cryptic H. murrayi Clade but differ from each other and the known congeners by a set of morphological characters and possess non-overlapping distribution ranges. Furthermore, the new species are also divergent (> 6.4% uncorrected p-distance) from their nearest related congeners, and from one another with respect to the ND2 mitochondrial gene. Recently, other new species of reptiles have been described from the two aforesaid type localities, indicating that further bio-inventories in the dry zones of peninsular India will yield more such novelties.
New record of a rarely collected caridean shrimp Bathypalaemonella pandaloides (Rathbun, 1906) (Decapoda: Bathypalaemonellidae) from the West Mariana Ridge, northwestern Pacific
Authors: KOMAI TOMOYUKI , TSUCHIDA SHINJI , FUJIWARA YOSHIHIRO
Published: April 2022

The deep-sea caridean shrimp Bathypalaemonella pandaloides (Rathbun, 1906) (Bathypalaemonellidae) was heretofore known only from Hawaii (type locality) and French Polynesia. In this article, we report this rarely collected species on the basis of a single male specimen from the Ritto Seamount on the West Mariana Ridge, northwestern Pacific, at a depth of 657 m, collected by means of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The specimen is intact, enabling us to describe the characteristic major pereopod 2 of the species for the first time. The closest relative is B. zimmeri Balss, 1914, known only from the western Indian Ocean; fewer accessory spiniform setae on the pereopods 3–5 dactyli and the less produced distal lamella of the antennal scaphocerite distinguish B. pandaloides from B. zimmeri. K2P divergences of the mitochondrial COI and 16S rRNA genes in taxa attributed to Bathypalaemonella Balss, 1914 are presented. The present specimen was collected from an anthipatharian octocoral colony, Leiopathes sp. (Cnidaria), suggesting a commensal relationship.
Hotspots of Monthly Land Precipitation Variations Affected by SST Anomalies
Authors: Li Xiaofan , Hu Zeng-Zhen , Gong Zhiqiang , Jha Bhaskar
Published: April 2022

Climate predictability at seasonal to interannual time scales is mainly associated with sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs). How to quantitatively assess the impact of SSTAs on climate variability and predictability is an unresolved topic. Using a novel metric [bulk connectivity (BC)], the integrated influences of global SSTAs on precipitation anomalies over land are examined in observations and compared with Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) simulations in 1957–2018. The hotspots of the land precipitation variation affected by global SSTA are identified, and the seasonality is evaluated. Such hotspots indicate the regions of land precipitation predictability caused by SSTAs. The hotspots are observed in the Sahel region in September–March, in the Indochina Peninsula in April and May, and in southwestern United States in December–March, which are mostly linked to the influence of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The overall impact of SSTAs on land precipitation is larger in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere. The spatial variations of BC and hotspots in the observations are partially reproduced in the AMIP simulations. However, an individual run in the AMIP simulations underestimates the integrated influence of global SSTA on land precipitation anomalies, while the ensemble mean amplifies the integrated influence, and both show a challenge in capturing the seasonality of the SST influence, particularly the time of the strongest impact. The results of the BC metric can serve as a benchmark to evaluate climate models and to identify the predictability sources.