bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dj1 deficiency protects against atherosclerosis with anti-inflammatory response in macrophages
Authors: Sivasubramaniyam Tharini , Yang Jiaqi , Cheng Henry S. , Zyla Alexandra , Li Angela , Besla Rickvinder , Dotan Idit , Revelo Xavier S. , Shi Sally Yu , Le Helen , Schroer Stephanie A. , Dodington David W. , Park Yoo Jin , Kim Min Jeong , Febbraro Daniella , Ruel Isabelle , Genest Jacques , Kim Raymond H. , Mak Tak W. , Winer Daniel A. , Robbins Clinton S. , Woo Minna
Published: February 2021

Inflammation is a key contributor to atherosclerosis with macrophages playing a pivotal role through the induction of oxidative stress and cytokine/chemokine secretion. DJ1, an anti-oxidant protein, has shown to paradoxically protect against chronic and acute inflammation. However, the role of DJ1 in atherosclerosis remains elusive. To assess the role ofDj1in atherogenesis, we generated whole-bodyDj1-deficient atherosclerosis-proneApoenull mice (Dj1−/−Apoe−/−). After 21 weeks of atherogenic diet,Dj1−/−Apoe−/−mice were protected against atherosclerosis with significantly reduced plaque macrophage content. To assess whether haematopoietic or parenchymalDj1contributed to atheroprotection inDj1-deficient mice, we performed bone-marrow (BM) transplantation and show thatDj1-deficient BM contributed to their attenuation in atherosclerosis. To assess cell-autonomous role of macrophageDj1in atheroprotection, BM-derived macrophages fromDj1-deficient mice andDj1-silenced macrophages were assessed in response to oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL). In both cases, there was an enhanced anti-inflammatory response which may have contributed to atheroprotection inDj1-deficient mice. There was also an increased trend of plasma DJ-1 levels from individuals with ischemic heart disease compared to those without. Our findings indicate an atheropromoting role ofDj1and suggests that targetingDj1may provide a novel therapeutic avenue for atherosclerosis treatment or prevention.
Novel combined single dose anti-hepatitis C therapy: a pilot study
Authors: Shiha Gamal , Soliman Reham , Elbasiony Mohamed , Darwish Noureldien H. E. , Mousa Shaker A.
Published: February 2021

The new anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) molecules improve treatment regimens and outcomes, but there are drawbacks. New combinations should target the HCV infectious cycle and be effective against all HCV genotypes. We developed the novel formulation Catvira, composed of epigallocatechingallate (EGCG) + sofosbuvir + ribavirin. Here, we compared Catvira to sofosbuvir + ribavirin tablets in patients with CHC genotype 4 in a randomized open-label efficacy and safety study. Treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced patients (n = 80) were randomly assigned to receive a single daily fixed dose of Catvira or sofosbuvir + ribavirin for 12 or 24 weeks. Both Catvira and sofosbuvir + ribavirin yielded similar outcomes of viral load (p < 0.001). Patients receiving Catvira had a significantly more rapid rate of viral load decline with sustained virologic response (SVR12) achieved by 90% of patients receiving 12 weeks of treatment. Catvira did not impact hemoglobin levels while sofosbuvir + ribavirin showed significant decline in hemoglobin levels after 24 weeks (p < 0.05). In this clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT02483156), we found that Catvira administered daily for 12 or 24 weeks is safe, effective, and well-tolerated in both naïve and treatment-experienced patients with HCV genotype 4.
Characterization of mitochondrial health from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells to cerebral organoids derived from induced pluripotent stem cells
Authors: Duong Angela , Evstratova Alesya , Sivitilli Adam , Hernandez J. Javier , Gosio Jessica , Wahedi Azizia , Sondheimer Neal , Wrana Jeff L. , Beaulieu Jean-Martin , Attisano Liliana , Andreazza Ana C.
Published: February 2021

Mitochondrial health plays a crucial role in human brain development and diseases. However, the evaluation of mitochondrial health in the brain is not incorporated into clinical practice due to ethical and logistical concerns. As a result, the development of targeted mitochondrial therapeutics remains a significant challenge due to the lack of appropriate patient-derived brain tissues. To address these unmet needs, we developed cerebral organoids (COs) from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and monitored mitochondrial health from the primary, reprogrammed and differentiated stages. Our results show preserved mitochondrial genetics, function and treatment responses across PBMCs to iPSCs to COs, and measurable neuronal activity in the COs. We expect our approach will serve as a model for more widespread evaluation of mitochondrial health relevant to a wide range of human diseases using readily accessible patient peripheral (PBMCs) and stem-cell derived brain tissue samples.
Experimental and numerical perspective on the fire performance of MXene/Chitosan/Phytic acid coated flexible polyurethane foam
Authors: Lin Bo , Yuen Anthony Chun Yin , Chen Timothy Bo Yuan , Yu Bin , Yang Wei , Zhang Jin , Yao Yin , Wu Shuying , Wang Chun Hui , Yeoh Guan Heng
Published: February 2021

Recent discoveries of two-dimensional transitional metal based materials have emerged as an excellent candidate for fabricating nanostructured flame-retardants. Herein, we report an eco-friendly flame-retardant for flexible polyurethane foam (PUF), which is synthesised by hybridising MXene (Ti$$_3\hbox {C}_2$$

3

C
2

) with biomass materials including phytic acid (PA), casein, pectin, and chitosan (CH). Results show that coating PUFs with 3 layers of CH/PA/Ti$$_3\hbox {C}_2$$

3

C
2

via layer-by-layer approach reduces the peak heat release and total smoke release by 51.1% and 84.8%, respectively. These exceptional improvements exceed those achieved by a CH/Ti$$_3\hbox {C}_2$$

3

C
2

coating. To further understand the fundamental flame and smoke reduction phenomena, a pyrolysis model with surface regression was developed to simulate the flame propagation and char layer. A genetic algorithm was utilised to determine optimum parameters describing the thermal degradation rate. The superior flame-retardancy of CH/PA/Ti$$_3\hbox {C}_2$$

3

C
2

was originated from the shielding and charring effects of the hybrid MXene with biomass materials containing aromatic rings, phenolic and phosphorous compounds.
Optimal piezoelectric shunt dampers for non-deterministic substructure vibration control: estimation and parametric investigation
Authors: Muthalif Asan G. A. , Wahid Azni N.
Published: February 2021

Piezoelectric (PZT) shunt damping is an effective method to dissipate energy from a vibrating structure; however, most of the applications focus on targeting specific modes for structures vibrating at low-frequency range, i.e. deterministic substructure (DS). To optimally attenuate structures vibrating at high-frequency range, i.e. non-deterministic substructure (Non-DS) using a PZT shunt damper, it is found that the impedance of the PZT patch’s terminal needs to be the complex conjugate of its inherent capacitance paralleled with the impedance ‘faced’ by its non-deterministic host structure underline moment actuation. The latter was derived in terms of estimation of the effective line moment mobility of a PZT patch on a Non-DS plate by integrating the expression of driving point moment mobility of an infinite thin plate. This paper conducts a parametric investigation to study the effect of changing the size, quantity and configuration of the PZT patch to the performance of the optimal PZT shunt dampers in dissipating the energy of its non-deterministic host structure. Results are shown in terms of energy reduction ratio of the thin plate when attached with optimal PZT shunt damper(s).
Mitochondrial function and oxidative stress markers in higher-frequency episodic migraine
Authors: Gross Elena C. , Putananickal Niveditha , Orsini Anna-Lena , Vogt Deborah R. , Sandor Peter S. , Schoenen Jean , Fischer Dirk
Published: February 2021

Increasing evidence points towards the role of mitochondrial functioning, energy metabolism, and oxidative stress in migraine. However not all previous research has been conclusive and some mitochondrial function/oxidative stress markers have not yet been examined. To this end, alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), total thiols, total plasma antioxidant capacity (TAC), lipid peroxide (PerOx), oxidised LDL (oxLDL), HbA1c and lactate were determined in the serum of 32 higher frequency episodic migraineurs (5–14 migraine days/ months, 19 with aura, 28 females) in this cross-sectional study. The majority of patients had abnormally low ALA and lactate levels (87.5% and 78.1%, respectively). 46.9% of the patients had abnormally high PerOx values, while for thiols and TAC over one third of patients had abnormally low values (31.2% and 37.5%, respectively). 21.9% of patients had abnormally low HbA1c and none had an HbA1c level above 5.6%. oxLDL was normal in all but one patient. This study provides further evidence for a role of oxidative stress and altered metabolism in migraine pathophysiology, which might represent a suitable therapeutic target. ALA, being too low in almost 90% of patients, might represent a potential biomarker for migraine. Further research is needed to replicate these results, in particular a comparison with a control group.

This study is part of the trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03132233, registered on 27.04.2017, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03132233.
Clinical difference between fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 subclass, type IIIb and type IIIc, in gastric cancer
Authors: Yashiro Masakazu , Kuroda Kenji , Masuda Go , Okuno Tomohisa , Miki Yuichiro , Yamamoto Yurie , Sera Tomohiro , Sugimoto Atsushi , Kushiyama Shuhei , Nishimura Sadaaki , Togano Shingo , Ohira Masaichi
Published: February 2021

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) has two isoforms: IIIb type and IIIc type. Clinicopathologic significance of these two FGFR2 subtypes in gastric cancer remains to be known. This study aimed to clarify the clinicopathologic difference of FGFR2IIIb and/or FGFR2IIIc overexpression. A total of 562 patients who underwent gastrectomy was enrolled. The expressions of FGFR2IIIb and FGFR2IIIc were retrospectively examined by immunohistochemistry or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using the 562 gastric tumors. We evaluated the correlation between clinicopathologic features and FGFR2IIIb overexpression and/or FGFR2IIIc overexpression in gastric cancer. FGFR2IIIb overexpression was observed in 28 cases (4.9%), and FGFR2IIIc overexpression was observed in four cases (0.7%). All four FGFR2IIIc cases were also positive for FGFR2IIIb, but not in the same cancer cells. FGFR2IIIb and/or FGFR2IIIc overexpression was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis and clinical stage. Both FGFR2IIIb and FGFR2IIIc were significantly associated with poor overall survival. A multivariate analysis showed that FGFR2IIIc expression was significantly correlated with overall survival. FISH analysis indicated thatFGFR2amplification was correlated with FGFR2IIIb and/or FGFR2IIIc overexpression. These findings suggested that gastric tumor overexpressed FGFR2IIIc and/or FGFR2IIIb at the frequency of 4.9%. FGFR2IIIc overexpression might be independent prognostic factor for patients with gastric cancer.
Choriocapillaris microvasculature dysfunction in systemic hypertension
Authors: Chua Jacqueline , Le Thu-Thao , Tan Bingyao , Ke Mengyuan , Li Chi , Wong Damon Wing Kee , Tan Anna C. S. , Lamoureux Ecosse , Wong Tien Yin , Chin Calvin Woon Loong , Schmetterer Leopold
Published: February 2021

We examined the choriocapillaris microvasculature using a non-invasive swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) in 41 healthy controls and 71 hypertensive patients and determined possible correlations with BP and renal parameters. BP levels, serum creatinine and urine microalbumin/creatinine ratio (MCR) specimens were collected. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated based on CKD-EPI Creatinine Equation. The main outcome was choriocapillaris flow deficits (CFD) metrics (density, size and numbers). The CFD occupied a larger area and were fewer in number in the hypertensive patients with poor BP control (407 ± 10 µm2; 3260 ± 61) compared to the hypertensives with good BP control (369 ± 5 µm2; 3551 ± 41) and healthy controls (365 ± 11 µm2; 3581 ± 84). Higher systolic BP (β = 9.90, 95% CI, 2.86–16.93), lower eGFR (β =  − 0.85; 95% CI, − 1.58 to − 0.13) and higher urine MCR (β = 1.53, 95% CI, 0.32–2.78) were associated with larger areas of CFD. Similar significant associations with systolic BP, eGFR and urine MCR were found with number of CFD. These findings highlight the potential role of choriocapillaris imaging using SS-OCTA as an indicator of systemic microvascular abnormalities secondary to hypertensive disease.
Transcriptomic analysis of granulosa cell populations proximal and distal to the germinal disc of chicken preovulatory follicles
Authors: Zhu Guoqiang , Fang Chao , Mo Chunheng , Wang Yajun , Huang Yan , Li Juan
Published: February 2021

Within the oocytes of chicken preovulatory follicles, the engulfed yolk constitutes 99% of the oocyte content, while the small germinal disc (GD) (which contains the nucleus and 99% ooplasm) occupies only less than 1%. Relative to the position of the GD, the single granulosa cell layer surrounding the oocyte can be sub-divided into two sub-populations: granulosa cells proximal (named Gp cells) and distal (Gd cells) to the GD. It was reported that Gp cells and Gd cells differ in their morphology, proliferative rate and steroidogenic capacity, however, the underlying mechanism controlling granulosa cell heterogeneity remains unclear. Here we analyzed the transcriptomes of Gd and Gp cells of preovulatory (F5 and F1) follicles in chicken ovaries. We found that: (1) genes associated with cell cycle and DNA replication (CDK1, CCNB3 etc.) have comparatively higher expression levels in Gp cells than in Gd cells, while genes associated with steroidogenesis (CYP51A1, DHCR24) are highly expressed in Gd cells, indicating that Gp cells are likely more mitotic and less steroidogenic than Gd cells; (2) genes associated with extracellular matrix remodeling, cell adhesion and sperm binding (ZP3, ZP2) are differentially expressed in Gp and Gd cells; (3) Furthermore, signaling molecules (WNT4/IHH) and receptors for NGF (NGFR), epidermal growth factor (EGFR), gonadotropins (FSHR/LHR) and prostaglandin (PTGER3) are abundantly but differentially expressed in Gp and Gd cells. Taken together, our data strongly supports the notion that Gp and Gd cells of preovulatory follicles differ in their proliferation rate, steroidogenic activity, ECM organization and sperm binding capacity, which are likely controlled by gonadotropins and local ovarian factors, such as GD-derived factors.
Identification of pathogenic genes in Campylobacter jejuni isolated from broiler carcasses and broiler slaughterhouses
Authors: Sierra-Arguello Yuli Melisa , Perdoncini Gustavo , Rodrigues Laura Beatriz , Ruschel dos Santos Luciana , Apellanis Borges Karen , Quedi Furian Thales , Pippi Salle Carlos Tadeu , de Souza Moraes Hamilton Luiz , Pereira Gomes Marcos José , Pinheiro do Nascimento Vladimir
Published: February 2021

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common causes of foodborne diseases worldwide. There are few reports on Campylobacter strains isolated from Latin-American countries. Here, 140 C. jejuni strains isolated from cloacal and transport boxes swabs, water from chiller tanks, and broiler carcasses of five poultry companies in Southern Brazil were identified using phenotypic and genotypic methods. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to analyze eight C. jejuni virulence markers: flaA, cadF, and invasion-associated (iam) genes, cdtABC operon (associated with the cytolethal distending toxin), and plasmidial virB11 and wlaN genes were present in 78.5%, 77.8%, 0%, 74.2%, 22.1%, and 10.7% of samples, respectively. There were 25 different virulence profiles: 1 (cdtA, cdtB, cdtC, flaA, and cadF), 2 (cdtA, cdtB, cdtC, flaA, cadF, and virB11), and 3 (cdtA, cdtB, cdtC, flaA, cadF, and wlaN) were the most common (> 60% of strains). We provide insight into factors related to the occurrence of this pathogen and their epidemiology.
Slowly repeated evoked pain (SREP) as a central sensitization marker in episodic migraine patients
Authors: de la Coba Pablo , Bruehl Stephen , del Paso Gustavo A. Reyes
Published: February 2021

Migraine headache is a pain condition characterized by severe and recurrent unilateral head pain. Among other mechanisms, central pain sensitization processes seem to be involved in the disorder. An experimental protocol based on slowly repeated evoked pain (SREP) has been shown to indicate pain sensitization in fibromyalgia patients and differentiate these patients from healthy individuals and rheumatoid arthritis patients. This study examined SREP sensitization in migraine patients and explored its potential usefulness as a central sensitization marker. The SREP protocol was administered to 40 episodic migraine (EM) patients not currently experiencing a headache and 40 healthy controls. SREP consisted of a series of 9 suprathreshold painful pressure stimuli of 5 s duration and a 30 s interstimulus interval. SREP sensitization was indexed by the increase in pain ratings across the stimuli. Pain threshold, pain tolerance and temporal summation of pain were also assessed. SREP sensitization was observed in EM, but not in healthy individuals (p < .001). SREP differentiated between EM and healthy individuals with up to 75% diagnostic accuracy. Pain threshold, pain tolerance and temporal summation of pain did not show significant discriminative ability. An SREP index value of 0.5 was the most sensitive cut-off for detecting central pain sensitization when prioritizing diagnostic sensitivity (0.88). Results provide evidence for SREP as a possible central sensitization marker with potential clinical utility in migraine patients. Inclusion of SREP in Quantitative Sensory Testing protocols may enhance the assessment of altered pain modulation in different pain conditions.
Growth stimulation of Bifidobacterium from human colon using daikenchuto in an in vitro model of human intestinal microbiota
Authors: Sasaki Kengo , Sasaki Daisuke , Sasaki Katsunori , Nishidono Yuto , Yamamori Akihiro , Tanaka Ken , Kondo Akihiko
Published: February 2021

Daikenchuto (DKT) is a Japanese traditional herbal (Kampo) medicine containing ginseng, processed ginger, and Japanese or Chinese pepper. We aimed to determine how DKT affects human colonic microbiota. An in vitro microbiota model was established using fecal inocula collected from nine healthy volunteers, and each model was found to retain operational taxonomic units similar to the ones in the original human fecal samples. DKT was added to the in vitro microbiota model culture at a concentration of 0.5% by weight. Next-generation sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA gene revealed a significant increase in the relative abundance of bacteria related to the Bifidobacterium genus in the model after incubation with DKT. In pure cultures, DKT significantly promoted the growth of Bifidobacterium adolescentis, but not that of Fusobacterium nucleatum or Escherichia coli. Additionally, in pure cultures, B. adolescentis transformed ginsenoside Rc to Rd, which was then probably utilized for its growth. Our study reveals the in vitro bifidogenic effect of DKT that likely contributes to its beneficial effects on the human colon.
A synthetic peptide rescues rat cortical neurons from anesthetic-induced cell death, perturbation of growth and synaptic assembly
Authors: Iqbal Fahad , Pehar Marcus , Thompson Andrew J. , Azeem Urva , Jahanbakhsh Kiana , Jimenez-Tellez Nerea , Sabouny Rasha , Batool Shadab , Syeda Atika , Chow Jennifer , Machiraju Pranav , Shutt Timothy , Yusuf Kamran , Shearer Jane , Rice Tiffany , Syed Naweed I.
Published: February 2021

Anesthetics are deemed necessary for all major surgical procedures. However, they have also been found to exert neurotoxic effects when tested on various experimental models, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Earlier studies have implicated mitochondrial fragmentation as a potential target of anesthetic-induced toxicity, although clinical strategies to protect their structure and function remain sparse. Here, we sought to determine if preserving mitochondrial networks with a non-toxic, short-life synthetic peptide—P110, would protect cortical neurons against both inhalational and intravenous anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity. This study provides the first direct and comparative account of three key anesthetics (desflurane, propofol, and ketamine) when used under identical conditions, and demonstrates their impact on neonatal, rat cortical neuronal viability, neurite outgrowth and synaptic assembly. Furthermore, we discovered that inhibiting Fis1-mediated mitochondrial fission reverses anesthetic-induced aberrations in an agent-specific manner. This study underscores the importance of designing mitigation strategies invoking mitochondria-mediated protection from anesthetic-induced toxicity in both animals and humans.
On the ridge of instability in ferrofluidic Couette flow via alternating magnetic field
Authors: Altmeyer Sebastian
Published: February 2021

There is a huge number of natural and industrial flows, which are subjected to time-dependent boundary conditions. The flow of a magnetic fluid under the influence of temporal modulations is such an example. Here, we perform numerical simulations of ferrofluidic Couette flow subject to time-periodic modulation (with frequency$$\Omega _H$$ΩH) in a spatially homogeneous magnetic field and report how such a modulation can lead to a significant Reynolds numberReenhancement. Consider a modified Niklas approximation we explain the relation between modulation amplitude, driving frequency and stabilization effect. From this, we describe the system response around the primary instability to be sensitive/critical by an alternating field. We detected that such an alternating field provides aneasyand in particularaccuratecontrollable key parameter to trigger the system to change from subcritical to supercritical and vice versa. Our findings provide a framework to study other types of magnetic flows driven by time-dependent forcing.
Low-level alcohol consumption and cancer mortality
Authors: Ko Hyeonyoung , Chang Yoosoo , Kim Han-Na , Kang Jae-Heon , Shin Hocheol , Sung Eunju , Ryu Seungho
Published: February 2021

The effect of light-to-moderate alcohol consumption on cancer risk remains controversial. We examined the association between low-level alcohol consumption and cancer mortality. A cohort study included 331,984 Korean adults free of cancer at baseline who underwent a comprehensive health checkup examination. Participants were categorized into never drinkers, former drinkers, and current drinkers who were further divided into light, moderate, heavy, and very heavy drinkers. Vital status and cancer-related deaths were ascertained through links to national death records. During 1,633,906 person-years of follow-up (median 5.3 years interquartile range 3.8–6.2), 374 cancer-related deaths were identified (cancer-cause mortality rate of 23 per 105 person-years). When former and never drinkers were classified as non-drinkers, the light drinkers had a lowest risk of cancer mortality compared with non-drinkers and other current drinkers (J-shaped); however, with consideration of lifetime abstinence history, current drinking was positively associated with cancer mortality in a dose-dependent manner. When changes in alcohol drinking status and confounders during follow-up were updated as time-varying covariates and never drinkers were used as the reference, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence intervals, CIs) for cancer mortality among current light, moderate, heavy, and very heavy drinkers were 1.58 (1.03–2.43), 2.28 (1.41–3.70), 2.34 (1.42–3.85), and 2.97 (1.80–4.90), respectively, and the highest risk of cancer mortality was observed in former drinkers, who had an HR (95% CI) of 3.86 (2.38–6.28). Alcohol consumption was significantly and positively associated with an increased risk of cancer mortality in a dose-dependent manner, beginning with light drinkers.
Lipotoxic stress alters the membrane lipid profile of extracellular vesicles released by Huh-7 hepatocarcinoma cells
Authors: Buratta Sandra , Shimanaka Y. , Costanzi E. , Ni S. , Urbanelli L. , Kono N. , Morena F. , Sagini K. , Giovagnoli S. , Romani R. , Gargaro M. , Arai H. , Emiliani C.
Published: February 2021

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are well-known mediators in intercellular communication playing pivotal roles in promoting liver inflammation and fibrosis, events associated to hepatic lipotoxicity caused by saturated free fatty acid overloading. However, despite the importance of lipids in EV membrane architecture which, in turn, affects EV biophysical and biological properties, little is known about the lipid asset of EVs released under these conditions. Here, we analyzed phospholipid profile alterations of EVs released by hepatocarcinoma Huh-7 cells under increased membrane lipid saturation induced by supplementation with saturated fatty acid palmitate or Δ9 desaturase inhibition, using oleate, a nontoxic monounsaturated fatty acid, as control. As an increase of membrane lipid saturation induces endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, we also analyzed phospholipid rearrangements in EVs released by Huh-7 cells treated with thapsigargin, a conventional ER stress inducer. Results demonstrate that lipotoxic and/or ER stress conditions induced rearrangements not only into cell membrane phospholipids but also into the released EVs. Thus, cell membrane saturation level and/or ER stress are crucial to determine which lipids are discarded via EVs and EV lipid cargos might be useful to discriminate hepatic lipid overloading and ER stress.
Lifestyle is associated with atrial fibrillation development in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Park Chan Soon , Han Kyung-Do , Choi Eue-Keun , Kim Da Hye , Lee Hyun-Jung , Lee So-Ryoung , Oh Seil
Published: February 2021

We evaluated the impacts of lifestyle behaviors, namely smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity, on the development of new-onset AF in patients with DM. Using the Korean Nationwide database, we identified subjects diagnosed with type 2 DM and without previous history of AF between 2009 and 2012. Self-reported lifestyle behaviors were analyzed. Among 2,551,036 included subjects, AF was newly diagnosed in 73,988 patients (median follow-up 7.1 years). Both ex-smokers (hazard ratio [HR] 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02–1.07) and current smokers (HR 1.06, 95% CI 1.03–1.08) demonstrated a higher risk of AF than never smokers. Patients with moderate (15–29 g/day) (HR 1.12, 95% CI 1.09–1.15) and heavy (≥ 30 g/day) (HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.21–1.28) alcohol consumption exhibited an increased risk of AF, while subjects with mild alcohol consumption (< 15 g/day) (HR 1.01, 95% CI 0.99–1.03) had an AF risk similar to that of non-drinkers. Patients who engaged in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity showed a lower risk of AF (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.91–0.94) than those who did not. This study suggests that smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity are associated with new-onset AF in patients with DM, and lifestyle management might reduce the risk of AF in this population.
Ewe-lamb bond of experienced and inexperienced mothers undernourished during gestation
Authors: Freitas-de-Melo Aline , Pérez-Clariget Raquel , Terrazas Angélica , Ungerfeld Rodolfo
Published: February 2021

The aims were to compare ewe-lamb behaviours between primiparous (PRI) and multiparous (MUL) undernourished grazing ewes at birth and at 3 months of age, and to determine if mothers’ parity affects milk yield and composition, and lambs’ body weight (BW). Food availability restricted the nutritional requirements from day 30 to day 143 of gestation. The MUL ewes had greater BW than the PRI during gestation, and their lambs tended to vocalize less frequently until their first suckle. PRI ewes both displayed a lower frequency of acceptance behaviours and, a greater number of high-pitched bleats toward the alien lamb than toward that of their own, but MUL did not. PRI ewes produced less milk than the MUL ewes. The heart rate was greater in lambs reared by MUL ewes than by PRI. Although PRI ewes had a lower BW during gestation, this difference was stable throughout and did not affect the establishment of the ewe-lamb bond neither at birth nor at 3 months postpartum. At least under nutritionally restricted conditions during gestation, inexperienced mothers appeared to have had a shorter sensitivity period of maternal responsiveness than that of experienced mothers.
Hierarchical iron molybdate nanostructure array for efficient water oxidation through optimizing electron density
Authors: Zhang Jun-Jun , Yang Chun-Ming , Jin Chang-Qing , Bao Wei-Wei , Nan Rui-Hua , Hu Lin , Liu Ge , Zhang Nan-Nan
Published: February 2021

We report the tuning of the iron molybdate electron structure via a coupled interface between the catalytic centers and substrate. The developed FeMoO4 catalysts can provide a 50 mA cm−2 current density at 1.506 V vs. RHE with excellent stability.
New insights into the 1D carbon chain through the RPA
Authors: Ramberger Benjamin , Kresse Georg
Published: February 2021

Using correlated wave function based methods, the modeling of promising new materials is elevated to a new level. For the first time, a realistic phonon dispersion relation is predicted for the infinite linear carbon chain.
The dietary supplementRhodiola crenulataextract alleviates dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice through anti-inflammation, mediating gut barrier integrity and reshaping the gut microbiome
Authors: Wang Yi , Tao Hongxun , Huang Huimin , Xiao Yaqin , Wu Xiaoxiao , Li Mingxing , Shen Jing , Xiao Zhangang , Zhao Yueshui , Du Fukan , Ji Huijiao , Chen Yu , Cho Chi Hin , Wang Yitao , Wang Shengpeng , Wu Xu
Published: February 2021

Rhodiola crenulataextract alleviates DSS-induced colitis in mice through anti-inflammation, mediating gut barrier integrity and reshaping the gut microbiome.
Mucuna prurienstreatment shows anti-obesity and intestinal health effects in obese rats
Authors: Tavares Renata Leite , de Araújo Vasconcelos Maria Helena , Dorand Victor Augusto Mathias , Torres Junior Emanuel Ubaldino , Tavares Toscano Lydiane de Lima , de Queiroz Rubens Teixeira , Alves Adriano Francisco , Magnani Marciane , Guzman-Quevedo Omar , Aquino Jailane
Published: February 2021

MP treatment improved body composition, biochemical profile, and intestinal health of obese rats.
Development of a colorlessCentella asiatica(L.) Urb. extract using a natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) optimized by response surface methodology
Authors: Phaisan Suppalak , Makkliang Fonthip , Putalun Waraporn , Sakamoto Seiichi , Yusakul Gorawit
Published: February 2021

This study outlines a green process forCentella asiatica(L.) Urb. (CA) extraction.
Efficient photocatalytic degradation of dyes using photo-deposited Ag nanoparticles on ZnO structures: simple morphological control of ZnO
Authors: Lim Hyeonhan , Yusuf Mohammad , Song Sehwan , Park Sungkyun , Park Kang Hyun
Published: February 2021

Morphology control of ZnO structures were fabricated by hydrothermal method with simple adjustments of NaOH concentration and Ag–ZnO composite showed superior photoactivity and recyclability for the degradation of MO and RhB.
Monitoring molecular vibronic coherences in a bichromophoric molecule by ultrafast X-ray spectroscopy
Authors: Keefer Daniel , Freixas Victor M. , Song Huajing , Tretiak Sergei , Fernandez-Alberti Sebastian , Mukamel Shaul
Published: February 2021

Coherences during the non-adiabatic dynamics of a bichromophoric molecules are probed via stimulated X-ray Raman signals. They survive for several hundred femtoseconds, despite highly heterogeneous contributions across the molecular sampling space.
Single cell imaging reveals cisplatin regulating interactions between transcription (co)factors and DNA
Authors: Lin Yu , Wu Kui , Jia Feifei , Chen Ling , Wang Zhaoying , Zhang Yanyan , Luo Qun , Liu Suyan , Qi Luyu , Li Nan , Dong Pu , Gao Fei , Zheng Wei , Fang Xiaohong , Zhao Yao , Wang Fuyi
Published: February 2021

A dual-modal microscopy imaging strategy was developed to investigate in situ the interactions between transcription (co)factors with cisplatin damaged DNA in single cells, showing that cisplatin lesions disrupted the interactions of Smad3 with DNA.
Electronic properties of phases in the quasi-binary Bi2Se3–Bi2S3 system
Authors: Benher Zipporah Rini , Gardonio Sandra , Fanetti Mattia , Moras Paolo , Kundu Asish K. , Bigi Chiara , Valant Matjaz
Published: February 2021

We investigated the quasi-binary Bi2Se3–Bi2S3 system and experimentally demonstrated the compositional range of existence of the topological surface states.
Protein flexibility reduces solvent-mediated friction barriers of ligand binding to a hydrophobic surface patch
Authors: Päslack Christopher , Schäfer Lars V. , Heyden Matthias
Published: February 2021

Collective protein-water motion modulates friction for ligands approaching a binding interface.
AIE-nanoparticle assisted ultra-deep three-photon microscopy in thein vivomouse brain under 1300 nm excitation
Authors: Li Dongyu , Zhang Hequn , Streich Lina L. , Wang Yalun , Lu Ping , Wang Ling , Prevedel Robert , Qian Jun
Published: February 2021

Here we present organic AIE nanoparticles that feature high absorption cross-section under NIR-IIa three-photon excitation, which enables ultra-deep three-photon fluorescence imaging in thein vivomouse brain.
Asymmetric synthesis of the two enantiomers of β-phosphorus-containing α-amino acids via hydrophosphinylation and hydrophosphonylation of chiral Ni(ii)-complexes
Authors: Tokairin Yoshinori , Konno Hiroyuki , Noireau Angéline , West Caroline , Moriwaki Hiroki , Soloshonok Vadim A. , Nicolas Cyril , Gillaizeau Isabelle
Published: February 2021

A new approach for the synthesis of the two enantiomers of β-phosphorus-containing α-amino acids was developed via Michael addition of secondary phosphine oxides and dialkyl phosphites to chiral Ni(ii)-complexes of a dehydroalanine-Schiff base.
In silico and in vitro design of cordycepin encapsulation in liposomes for colon cancer treatment
Authors: Khuntawee Wasinee , Amornloetwattana Rawiporn , Vongsangnak Wanwipa , Namdee Katawut , Yata Teerapong , Karttunen Mikko , Wong-ekkabut Jirasak
Published: February 2021

Cordycepin-encapsulated liposomes could be a potent drug candidate for cancer therapy.
Insight into the origin of SARS-CoV-2 through structural analysis of receptor recognition: a molecular simulation study
Authors: Sun Jixue , Liu Meijiang , Yang Na
Published: February 2021

The origin of SARS-CoV-2 through structural analysis of receptor recognition was investigated by molecular dynamics simulations.
Enhanced skin adhesive property of electrospun α-cyclodextrin/nonanyl group-modified poly(vinyl alcohol) inclusion complex fiber sheet
Authors: Chen Xi , Taguchi Tetsushi
Published: February 2021

Inclusion complex fiber (ICFiber) sheets composed of α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) and nonanyl-group-modified poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) (C9–PVA) were developed for breathable skin adhesive.
PEI-assisted boronate affinity magnetic nanoparticle-based SELEX for efficient in vitro evolution of saponin-binding aptamers
Authors: Zhang Hui , Li Xue , Huang Ailan , Yan Zhifeng , Chen Yang , Bie Zijun
Published: February 2021

Branched polyethyleneimine assisted boronate affinity magnetic nanoparticle-based aptamer evolution platform.
Selective adsorptive separation of cyclohexane over benzene using thienothiophene cages
Authors: Ding Yanjun , Alimi Lukman O. , Moosa Basem , Maaliki Carine , Jacquemin Johan , Huang Feihe , Khashab Niveen M.
Published: February 2021

Selective adsorptive separation of cyclohexane was realized from an equimolar benzene and cyclohexane mixture via crystalline thienothiophene cages with a selectivity of 94%.
Semitransparent organic solar cells exhibiting 13.02% efficiency and 20.2% average visible transmittance
Authors: Hu Zhenghao , Wang Jian , Ma Xiaoling , Gao Jinhua , Xu Chunyu , Wang Xuelin , Zhang Xiaoli , Wang Zhi , Zhang Fujun
Published: February 2021

The PCEs of OSCs and AVTs of corresponding blend films can be continuously optimized by adjusting D18-Cl:Y6-1O ratios and introducing Y6 as the third component. 13.02% PCE and 20.2% AVT are achieved in the semitransparent ternary OSCs.
Wafer-sized 2D perovskite single crystal thin films for UV photodetectors
Authors: Wang Sheng , Chen Yuan , Yao Junjie , Zhao Guoxiang , Li Longzhi , Zou Guifu
Published: February 2021

A gas–liquid interface crystalline route to grow a BA2PbBr4 single crystal film (wafer sized (38 cm2) and thinness as little as 78 nm) for UV photodetectors.
Spatiotemporal Control of Articulation During Speech and Speechlike Tasks in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Authors: Rong Panying , Heidrick Lindsey
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This study examined the articulatory control of speech and speechlike tasks in individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and neurologically healthy individuals with the aim to identify the most useful set of articulatory features and tasks for assessing bulbar motor involvement in ALS.

Method

Tongue and jaw kinematics were recorded in 12 individuals with bulbar ALS and 10 healthy controls during a speech task and two speechlike tasks (i.e., alternating motion rate [AMR], sequential motion rate [SMR]). Eight articulatory features were derived for each participant per task, including the range, maximum speed, and acceleration time of tongue and jaw movements as well as the coupling and timing between tongue and jaw movements. The effects of task (i.e., AMR, SMR, speech) and group (i.e., ALS, control) on these articulatory features were evaluated. For each feature, the task that yielded the largest difference between the ALS and control groups was identified. The diagnostic efficacy of these task-specific features was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic analysis; the relation of these task-specific features to a well-established bulbar severity index—speaking rate—was determined using Spearman's rank correlation.

Results

Seven task-specific articulatory features were identified, including (a) tongue and jaw acceleration time during the AMR task, (b) tongue–jaw coupling during the SMR task, and (c) range of tongue movement, maximum tongue and jaw speed, and temporal lag between tongue and jaw movements during the speech task. Among these features, tongue and jaw acceleration time and their temporal lag showed relatively high accuracy (i.e., 0.83–0.95) in differentiating individuals with ALS from healthy controls. Range of tongue movement and maximum tongue and jaw speed showed significant correlations with speaking rate.

Conclusion

Findings provided preliminary evidence for the utility of task-specific articulatory measurements as a novel quantitative assessment to detect and predict bulbar motor involvement in ALS.
Massive OAM‐MIMO transmission scheme for 5G networks and beyond
Authors: Mao Fuchun , Ni Chunming , Zhang Zuoshan , Li Tinghua , Yang Chengfu , Zhang Jialin
Published: February 2021

The combination of orbital angular momentum (OAM) and massive multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) brings the possibility of almost infinite transmission capability, which may be applied in the coming 5th generation networks and beyond. In this study, a uniform line array (ULA)‐based massive OAM‐MIMO scheme in a multipath scene is presented. The cumulative phase of OAM carriers and multiple reference coordinate systems relative to each transmitting antenna are used to describe the OAM‐MIMO wireless channel model theoretically. The performance indices of interest including capacity, energy efficiency, and capacity gain are numerically investigated in detail. The results indicate that the presented ULA‐based massive OAM‐MIMO scheme performs better overall than a conventional MIMO scheme via enhancing the OAM multiplexing intensity, and multi‐fold capacity gain can be obtained especially in the low signal‐to‐noise rate communications.
Noise‐enhanced quantum annealing approach and its application in plug‐in hybrid electric vehicle charging optimization
Authors: Xin Gang , Wang Peng , Jiao Yuwei
Published: February 2021

A noise‐enhanced quantum annealing algorithm is proposed for an efficient annealing process to obtain the optimal solution. Simultaneous multiple noises are introduced as the kinetic energy term into the Schrödinger equation, which effectively reduces the probability of the algorithm falling into a local optimum by the parallel annealing process. The experimental results on the numerical optimisation problem and a real‐world plug‐in hybrid electric vehicles charging problem show that the proposed scheme is very competitive.
Novel segmentation algorithm for jacquard patterns based on multi‐view image fusion
Authors: Wang Wenzhen , Deng Na , Xin Binjie , Wang Yiliang , Lu Shuaigang
Published: February 2021

Pattern regeneration is one of the applications of reverse engineering technology in the textile field, which realises the process of textile‐pattern regeneration‐textile, and fundamentally provides an intelligent design means of textile. At present, the method of pattern regeneration in the jacquard fabric is to use the image segmentation algorithm to segment the image digitalised by unidirectional imaging, and then the segmented pattern could be identified to regeneration for the design of new fabrics. However, due to the concave and convex pattern textures on the surface of jacquard fabric, the traditional unidirectional imaging method cannot be used for the full characterisation of its structural information, resulting in unsatisfactory pattern segmentation effect. To solve this problem, a novel segmentation algorithm for jacquard patterns based on multi‐view image fusion was proposed in this study. Based on multi‐view image acquisition and fusion, the pattern image of jacquard fabric could be cluster‐segmented by extracting the complete texture information of the fused image and the actual colour information of the calibrated image. Compared with the traditional unidirectional imaging method, the experimental results show that the enhanced texture information of the fused image is more workable for the pattern segmentation, it validates the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Intelligent monitoring method of water quality based on image processing and RVFL‐GMDH model
Authors: Chen Junde , Zhang Defu , Yang Shuangyuan , Nanehkaran Yaser Ahangari
Published: February 2021

The water quality, contaminant migration characteristics, and emissions quantity of pollutants in the basin would have a great impact on aquatic creatures, agricultural irrigation, human life, and so on. In the aquaculture industry, because water colour can reflect the species and number of phytoplankton in the water, the water quality type can be obtained by analysing the colour of the aquaculture water using image processing techniques. Therefore, this study proposes an intelligent monitoring approach for water quality. The critical features of water colour images are extracted, and then using the machine learning methods, an intelligent system for water quality monitoring is established based on the fused random vector functional link network (RVFL) and group method of data handling (GMDH) model. The proposed approach presents a superior performance relative to other state‐of‐the‐art methods, and it achieves an average predicting accuracy of 96.19% on the feature dataset. Experimental findings demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach, and it is accomplished efficiently for the monitoring of water quality.
Social bat optimisation dependent deep stacked auto‐encoder for skin cancer detection
Authors: Majji Ramachandro , Om Prakash Ponnusamy Gnanaprakasam , Cristin Rajan , Parthasarathy Govindaswamy
Published: February 2021

Nowadays, skin cancer is one of the most dangerous forms of cancer found in humans. There are various types of skin cancer, like basal, melanoma, carcinoma, and the squamous cell from which the melanoma is unpredictable. Thus, skin cancer detection in the early stage is very useful to treat it successfully. Hence, this study introduces a new algorithm called social bat optimisation algorithm for skin cancer detection. Initially, the pre‐processing is done for the input image to eliminate the noise and artefacts present in the image. Then, the pre‐processed image is fed to the feature extraction step where the features are extracted based on convolutional neural network features, and the local pixel pattern‐based texture feature (local PPBTF). Here, the PPBTF is the combination of texture features and pixel pattern‐based features in which the equation of PPBTF is modified based on the local binary pattern. Subsequently, the classification is done based on the extracted features using a deep stacked auto‐encoder, which is trained by the proposed social bat optimisation. The performance of skin cancer detection based on the proposed model is evaluated based on accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. The proposed model achieves the maximal accuracy of 93.38%, maximal sensitivity of 95%, and the maximal specificity of 96% for K‐fold.
Human behaviour recognition with mid‐level representations for crowd understanding and analysis
Authors: Sun Bangyong , Yuan Nianzeng , Li Shuying , Wu Siyuan , Wang Nan
Published: February 2021

Crowd understanding and analysis have received increasing attention for couples of decades, and development of human behaviour recognition strongly supports the application of crowd understanding and analysis. Human behaviour recognition usually seeks to automatically analyse ongoing movements and actions in different camera views by using various machine learning methodologies in unknown video clips or image sequences. Compared to other data modalities such as documents and images, processing video data demands much higher computational and storage resources. The idea of using middle level semantic concepts to represent human actions from videos is explored and it is argued that these semantic attributes enable the construction of more descriptive methods for human action recognition. The mid‐level attributes, initialized by a cluster processing, are built upon low level features and fully utilize the discrepancies in different action classes, which can capture the importance of each attribute for each action class. In this way, the representation is constructed to be semantically rich and capable of highly discriminative performance even paired with simple linear classifiers. The method is verified on three challenging datasets (KTH, UCF50 and HMDB51), and the experimental results demonstrate that our method achieves better results than the baseline methods on human action recognition.
A note on parallel-machine scheduling with controllable processing times and job-dependent learning effects
Authors: Lin Shan-Shan
Published: February 2021

This note studies a unrelated parallel-machine scheduling problem with controllable processing times and job-dependent learning effects, where the objective function is to minimize the weighted sum of total completion time, total load, and total compression cost. We show that the problem can be solved in O(nm+2) time, where m and n are the numbers of machines and jobs. We also show how to apply the technique to several single-machine scheduling problems with total criteria.