bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Abnormal Interhemispheric Functional Connectivity in Neurologically Asymptomatic Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease
Authors: Xue Yan , Wu Zhuanzhuan , Li Shuyan , Li Bo , Sun Gang , Liu Kai , Jia Fengyu
Published: February 2021

Objective: This study aims to investigate the alterations in interhemispheric functional connectivity in neurologically asymptomatic patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (HD) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) with voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) algorithm. Methods: The rs-fMRI data were acquired from 40 neurologically asymptomatic patients with ESRD and 34 matched healthy control (HC) subjects. All subjects underwent neuropsychological tests, and patients with ESRD underwent laboratory tests. Intergroup VMHC differences in the voxel manner were analyzed. Correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationships between VMHC values and clinical variables in patients with ESRD. We further performed a receptive operation characteristic (ROC) analysis to confirm the sensitivity and specificity of our results.Results: Compared with HCs, patients with ESRD exhibited significantly decreased VMHC values in the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), superior temporal gyrus (STG), insula, precentral gyrus (PreCG), middle occipital gyrus (MOG), and calcarine/lingual/cuneus. Patients with ESRD did not exhibit increased VMHC values in any brain regions compared with HCs. Furthermore, the VMHC value of MOG was positively correlated with hemoglobin levels in patients with ESRD.Conclusions: The results revealed that the impairment of interhemispheric coordination in patients with ESRD, which provided preliminary evidence of VMHC as a potential biomarker of patients with ESRD.
Identification of Molecular and Immune Prognostic Classifiers of Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Authors: Zhou Fang , Chen Baoan
Published: February 2021

Background

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous hematological malignancy and relapse is the main reason for the poor therapeutic effect and low survival rate. Bioinformatic technology could screen out relative genes that promote the recurrence of AML, providing a theoretical basis for further improving the precision stratification treatment of AML.
Methods

In this study, gene expression profiles of Dataset Acute Myeloid Leukemia (OHSU, Nature 2018) and GSE134589 were downloaded from cbioportal and GEO, respectively. R software and limma packages were used to identify the DEGs and then run GO enrichment, KEGG pathway, and PPI network. CIBERSORTx was used to enumerate tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Prognosis-related genes were selected by Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses and the expression of them were verified by GEPIA. Kaplan–Meier curve analysis could compare the survival time. ROC curve analysis was performed to predict the value of the selected genes.
Results

Functional analysis showed that the up-regulated DEGs were strikingly enriched in Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and positive regulation of cytokine production, and the down-regulated DEGs in the regulation of cell-cell adhesion, TNF signaling pathway. CIBERSORTx analysis revealed that the immune response of AML acted as an intricate network and proceeded in a tightly regulated way. Cox analysis showed that ALDH1L2, KLK1, and LRRN2 were correlated with AML prognosis.
Conclusions

ALDH1L2, KLK1, and LRRN2 are prognosis-related genes in AML, which may together with some immune pathways, induce poor prognosis, and can be used as potential biomarkers in AML treatment.
Trace Metals Content in Annually-Banded Scleractinian Coral ‘Porites Lobata’ Across the Northern Persian Gulf
Authors: Kourandeh Mehdi Bolouki , Nabavi Seyed Mohammad Bagher , Shokri Mohammad Reza , Ghanemi Kamal , Feng Yuexing
Published: February 2021

Concentration of trace metals in skeleton growth bands of dominant scleractinian coral ‘Porites lobata’ were investigated in Kharg and Hebourabi islands across the northern Persian Gulf. The highest average concentration of elements were as Sr> Mg> Zn> Ba> Cu> U> Ni> Mn> Cr> Co> Pb> V> Cd in Kharg Island respectively and as Sr> Mg> Ba> Cu> U> Ni> Zn> Mn> Cr> Co> V> Pb> Cd in Hendourabi Island. Except for Cr, the concentrations of other trace metals in Kharg Island were higher than those of Hendourabi Island. The coefficient of variation percentage (CV%) for Cr, Mn, Zn, Ba and Pb in Kharg Island and for Cu and Ba in Hendourabi Island was more than 50%. Results of PCA analyses revealed that the trace metals Kharg Island was defined by three principal components including the first component (Mn, V, Pb, Zn, Ni and half of Mg, Cr and Co) corresponding to the past regional military conflicts and oil pollution, second component (Sr, U and Mg) corresponding to SST changes, and the third component (Cr and Co) corresponding to other factors. Results of PCA analyses revealed that trace metals in Hendourabi Island was defined by two principal components including first component (Co, Ni, Cr, Mn and half of Ba) corresponding to annual precipitation changes and the second component (U, Zn and Ba) corresponding to coastal constructions.
Bismuth Trioxide Doped Polyamide 6.6 Nanocomposites for Electrically Insulating Materials
Authors: Aygün Hayriye Hale Solak , ALMA Mehmet Hakkı
Published: February 2021

Polymer-based insulators have attracted much attention amongst researchers due to their various advantages such as light weightness, lower cost and ease of production. In this study, it is aimed to manufacture lightweight and thin insulator by electrospun composite fibers and to observe the effect of bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) on insulating property of polymer-based composite structure. For that purpose, polyamide 6.6 polymer (PA6.6) with high dielectric constant was doped with bismuth trioxide micro particles and it was used for coating polyester spunbonds by electrospinning technique. Morphological properties, thermal behaviours and electrical resistance of coated spunbonds were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) showed that Bi2O3 was succesfully adapted into fiber structure and nano-scale PA6.6/Bi2O3 composite fibers were obtained. Thermal behaviours of coated samples were developed by increasing Bi2O3 loading according to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetic analysis (TGA) results. Addition of Bi2O3 caused remarkable increase on electrical resistance of PA6.6 electrospun surfaces. Bi2O3/PA6.6. nanocomposite fibers are promising and good candidates for thin electrically insulating polymer-based structures for micro- or nanodimensional devices.
Hybridization effect on Electrical Conductivity and Thermal Behavior of Epoxy/Carbon Nanotubes and Biosynthesized Silver Nanoparticles Composites
Authors: Sunday Aigbodion Victor , Madu Solomon Chijioke , Ogbuefi Uche Chinweoke , Nwoji C.U
Published: February 2021

An attempt was made in this work to decorated carbon nanotubes(CNTs) in a polymer matrix using biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (GAgNPs) using Cashew leaves as a reduction agent. The new hybrid epoxy-CNTs+ GAgNPs composites were produced by modified solution-stir-cast method. The microstructure, thermal properties, strength, and electrical conductivity of the produced composites were determined. The electrical conductivity of the epoxy polymer has been enhanced from 5.6x10-13S/cm to 4.80x10-3S/cm for epoxy-0.5%CNTs and 9.1x10-3S/cm epoxy-0.5%CNTs-0.5%GAgNPs. GAgNPs was effective used to improve the strength of conducting epoxy-CNTs for electronic devices. The addition of CNTs and GAgNPs to epoxy increases the glass transition temperature. It was established that GAgNPs can be promising materials to enhanced thermal conductivity, strength, electrical conductivity of epoxy-CNTs and recover the potential reduction for electronic devices application.
Graft Copolymerization Of Acrylic Acid Onto Fatty Chitosan: Synthesis, Characterization and Waste Water Treatment
Authors: Hamza shimaa fawzy , El-Sawy Maha mohammed , Alian noha abdelfattah , shaker nihal omar
Published: February 2021

Enviroment is worsening day by day due to industrial pollution, with hazardous chemicals contributing to the accumulation of heavy metal contaminants in waste water. Waste water polluted by these effluents disrupts the usual use of water for irrigation and marine life. The purity and efficiency of water is a paramount concern of mankind. These effluents must also be treated. Natural biopolymers are industrially desirable because of their ability to remove metal ions found in waste water. Among the many other low-cost absorbents listed, chitosan has the highest sorption potential for several metal ions (1) . In specific, we were trying to extract chitosan from shrimp, by N-deacetylation of chitin. The chemical structure of chitosan was characterised by the spectroscopy of Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR). The degree of N-deacetylation (DDA) was also calculated from FT-IR data. The use of biosorbent chitosan-fatty acid derivatives makes it possible to extract both heavy metals and organic compounds. In this analysis, the grafting copolymer of fatty chitosan derivatives with acrylic acid polymer was synthesised using ceric ammonium nitrate, the redox nitric acid method under UV irradiation. Synthesized copolymers have been subjected to various analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTA) to confirm the formation of copolymers and to research their thermal stability. The findings show the formation and strong chemical interaction between fatty chitosan derivatives and acrylic acid. Fatty Chitosan derivatives and prepared grafting copolymers have been treated with copper and chromium-containing metal solutions and the results have shown that fatty chitosan derivatives and prepared copolymers are excellent in the removal of heavy metals such as copper and chromium. Prepared compounds could therefore open the way for industrial waste water treatment.
Study on Tribological Behavior Based on 2D Zn-MOFs Interface Enrichment of Oil-In-Water Emulsion
Authors: Wang Fei-Fei , Ding Haiyang , Tan Guang , Liu Zan , cheng zhilin
Published: February 2021

For the first time, we attempt to use two-dimensional Zn-based metal organic framework (2D Zn-MOFs) nanosheets as emulsifiers and additives in oil-in-water emulsions, including 2D Zn(Bim)(OAc) (1) nanosheets, 2D Zn(Bim)(OAc) (2) nanosheets and 2D ZnBDC nanosheets. The emulsification results showed that the prepared emulsion was uniform and stable, and 2D Zn(Bim)(OAc) (1) emulsion has the most significant performance in terms of anti-friction and anti-wear performance and improvement of extreme pressure performance. Compared with the base emulsion, the friction coefficient and wear volume were reduced by 22% and 53.6%, respectively, while the last non-seizure load (PB) was increased by 15.5%. Finally, the friction mechanism was discussed and proposed.
Efficacy of A Loading Dose of IV Salbutamol in Children With Severe Acute Asthma Admitted to A PICU: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Boeschoten Shelley A , Buysse Corinne M. , Winter Brenda C. de , Rosmalen Joost van , Jongste Johan C. de , Jonge Rogier C. de , Heisterkamp Sabien G. , Woensel Job B. van , Kneyber Martin C. , Zwol Annelies van , Boehmer Annemie L. , Hoog Matthijs de , (SKIC) Dutch collaborative PICU research network
Published: February 2021

The optimal dose regimen to start intravenous (IV) treatment in children with severe acute asthma (SAA), is still matter of debate. We assessed the efficacy of an additional salbutamol loading dose in children with SAA admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). This multicenter, placebo-controlled randomized trial in the PICUs of four tertiary care children’s hospitals included children (2-18 years) with SAA admitted between 2017-2019. Children were randomized to receive either a loading dose IV salbutamol (15 mcg/kg, max.750 mcg) or normal saline while on continuous salbutamol infusion. The primary outcome was asthma score (Qureshi) 1 hour after the intervention. Analysis of covariance models were used to evaluate sensitivity to change in asthma scores. Serum concentrations of salbutamol were obtained. Fifty-eight children were included (29 in the intervention group). Median baseline asthma score was 12 (IQR 10-13) in the intervention and 11 (9-12) in the control group (p=0.032). The asthma score 1 hour after the intervention did not differ significantly between both groups (p=0.508, β-coefficient=0.283). The median increase in salbutamol plasma levels 10 minutes after the intervention was 13μg/L (5-24) in the intervention and 4μg/L (0-7) in the control group (p=0.001). Mixed model analyses showed a significant association between heart rate and asthma score, adjusted for salbutamol plasma levels. Conclusion: We found no clinical benefit of a loading dose IV salbutamol, compared to normal saline in children with SAA admitted to the PICU. Clinicians should be less reluctant to increase the dose of salbutamol infusion, solely based on tachycardia.
Indicators of Natural and Anthropogenic Emission Source Impact
Authors: Cecinato Angelo , Bacaloni Alessandro , Romagnoli Paola , Perilli Mattia , Balducci Catia
Published: February 2021

The composition of organic fraction released in emissions varies with its nature and contour conditions; hence, the chemical signature of atmospheric particulate matter and dusts are investigated to identify the pollution sources and assess the respective aftermaths on environment and health. For this purpose, three complementary tools are usually adopted, i.e. specific source markers, concentration ratios of pairs of congeners, and percent distribution profiles of homologues (including derived “carbon preference indexes”). This paper provides an overview of investigations dealing with chemical signature of emission sources, applied to non-polar aliphatic (alkanes), aromatic (PAHs, Nitro-PAHs) and polar (fatty acids, organic halides, polysaccharides) organics affecting atmospheric particulate matter and deposition dust. Despite a rich literature is nowadays available, further investigations seem necessary to clarify the nature, sources and behaviors of mid-volatile, non-polar organic contaminants. More sophisticated investigations have gained importance recently (principal component analysis, source factorization modelling), nevertheless molecular fingerprints remain suitable to draw primary insights about the nature and impact of sources of environmental pollution.
How does energy technology innovation affect total factor ecological efficiency: Evidence from China.
Authors: Li Tuochen , Shi Ziyi , Han Dongri
Published: February 2021

Recently, with the dual constraints of resources and environment, to accelerate the transformation of low-carbon energy driven by energy technology innovation has become a global development trend. On account of the provincial data during the period of 2000 to 2017, we creatively incorporate the ecological footprint into the measurement of total factor ecological efficiency so as to infer the coordinated development level of 3E system more precisely. In this paper, the dynamic spatial impact of energy technological innovation on regional total factor eco-efficiency is explored through the spatial Durbin model, and the complex nonlinear relationship between the two is further probed by constructing the panel threshold model. The following conclusions are obtained ultimately. First of all, both China's provincial ecological efficiency and energy technology innovation activities possess significant spatial positive correlation, which manifests as the spatial geographical distribution agglomerated by the similar characteristics; Secondly, the regional energy technology innovation has a remarkable spatial effect on ecological efficiency, which displays a U-shaped trend. And compared with the direct effect, the spatial spillover effect is more intense, along with more stronger long-term influence; Finally, taking the level of regional economic development as the moderating variable, the impact of energy technology innovation on eco-efficiency emerges a conspicuous threshold effect with two threshold values. Only when the level of economic development crosses the double threshold, can energy technology innovation activities significantly improve the regional total factor ecological efficiency. After the robustness test and discussion of the empirical model, relevant policy suggestions are put forward based on the conclusions of the paper.
Transglutaminase Effect on the Gelatin-Films Properties
Authors: Baggio Elizete , Scopel Bianca Santinon , Rosseto Marieli , Dettmer Aline , Baldasso Camila
Published: February 2021

BACKGROUND: The development of biodegradable materials, especially those from renewable sources, is important to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment. On the other hand, protein-based films have high solubility in water, in addition to limited mechanical properties, which makes their application in high humidity environments a challenge. The enzyme transglutaminase (TGase) can reduce the interaction of gelatin films with water, improving these properties, while improving the mechanical properties. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the best condition for using the TGase enzyme, through variations in the gelatin and enzyme mass, in addition to the time that the enzyme acts on the gelatin, evaluating the properties tensile strength, elongation, and solubility in water. In a second set of experiments gelatin amount was kept fixed at 4%, and other proportions of an enzyme (1% and 5% w/w gelatin) were studied, evaluating beyond these properties the degradation in simulated soil through thermogravimetry analysis and Fourrier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR).RESULTS: It was concluded that the higher concentration of TGase (5%) promoted a greater reduction in the solubility of the films, making the films more resistant to biodegradation, facilitating their application due to the increase in their useful life.CONCLUSION: At the end of the degradation test, it was noticed that the films were degraded, presenting the potential for substitution of polymers of fossil origin, which could be an alternative to the problem of polymeric residues in the environment.
Attitudes of University Members toward Accepting Students with Intellectual Disabilities: a systematic review study
Authors: Alanazi Adel , Gadelmawla Ahmed
Published: February 2021

This aim of this article is to examine the attitudes of university members towards accepting students with intellectual disabilities (ID). To gather relevant data, 12 articles were selected from a wide range of online databases using a three-step search strategy. First, the search strategy and keywords were used to shortlist 31 articles. Second, inclusion–exclusion criteria were applied from which 23 articles were shortlisted. Finally, 12 articles were selected for the article based on the criteria for quality assessment. The examination of these selected articles revealed significant findings regarding the positive attitude of the university members towards students with ID. In 7 of the 12 articles, common findings included the positive attitude of teachers and university members towards accepting students with ID. Further, it can be concluded from the findings that universities have been adopting some key measures to improve the acceptance of students with ID. These measures include teacher training, the use of technology, effective lesson planning, curriculum design, and help to enhance student skills. However, substantial challenges remain in accepting students with ID and fulfilling their personal and educational requirements.
Structure-antioxidant Activity (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) Relationships of Phenolic Compounds
Authors: Sakurai Shuhei , Kawakami Yuta , Kuroki Manabu , Gotoh Hiroaki
Published: February 2021

Antioxidant capacity is the extent to which a compound can eliminate reactive oxygen species, and in vitro methods for its chemical evaluation have been proposed. Among these methods, the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay comes close to the oxidation reaction in the living body because it generates radical species that mimic the lipid peroxyl radical involved in the peroxidation reaction of biological components and react in a phosphate buffer. In this study, PM7, a semi-empirical molecular orbital method, was used to calculate the thermodynamic properties (bond dissociation enthalpy, ionisation potential, and proton affinity) associated with ORAC. We also applied the clusterwise linear regression analysis as a statistical method for grouping the antioxidants by structure. By analysing the data for antioxidants, the trend in the hydrophilic ORAC values was determined using the calculated structures and bond dissociation enthalpies of the groups classified according to the presence or absence of oxygen functional groups in the ortho position of phenol. Further studies of indicators other than bond dissociation enthalpy are needed to predict the ORAC of other antioxidants such as flavonoids and indoles.
Identification of Candidate Genes for Clubroot-Resistance in Brassica oleracea using QTL-Seq
Authors: Ce Fuquan , Mei Jiaqin , He Haiyan , Zhao Yu , Hu Wenhui , Yu Fengqun , Li Qinfei , Ren Xuesong , Si Jun , Song Hongyuan , Qian Wei
Published: February 2021

Clubroot caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae is a devastating disease of cabbage (Brassica oleracea). To identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for clubroot resistance (CR) in B. oleracea, genomic resequencing was carried out in two sets of extreme pools that constructed from 184 F2 cloned-lines derived from cross between clubroot-resistant cabbage ‘GZ87’ (against race 4) and susceptible cabbage ‘263’. QTL-seq analyses identified one CR QTL from group I on chromosome C07 and four QTLs from group II on C04 and C07, among which three QTLs of C07 that found from group II were located within the one detected from group I. RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR were conducted in the extreme pools of group II before and after inoculation identified two potential candidate genes (Bol037115 and Bol042270) from the three QTLs interval on C07, which exhibiting up-regulation after inoculation in the resistant pool but down-regulation in the susceptible pool. A functional marker ‘SWU-OA’ was developed from one QTL on C07, exhibiting ~95% accuracy in identifying CR in 56 F2 lines. Our study will provide valuable information on digging resistance genes against P. brassicae and may accelerate breeding process of B. oleracea with CR.Key Message ﻿QTLs and potential candidate genes for clubroot resistance were identified in Brassica oleracea
In-Situ Synthesis of Flexible Nanocellulose/Carbon Nanotube/Polypyrrole Hydrogels for High-Performance Solid-State Supercapacitors
Authors: Zhan Yang , Hu Yang , Chen Yu , Yang Quanling , Shi Zhuqun , Xiong Chuanxi
Published: February 2021

Nanocellulose has become one of the most attractive matrix materials for flexible supercapacitors, owing to the high surface area, good mechanical properties and environmental friendliness. Herein, we developed electrode materials with high capacitance and mechanical flexibility through the in-situ synthesis of polypyrrole (PPy) in TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibril (TOCN)/sulfonated carbon nanotubes (SCNT) composite hydrogels. The TOCN/SCNT/PPy composite hydrogels were thus obtained via a bifunctional Fe3+ in-situ oxidation, showing high speciﬁc capacitance of 5299 mF/cm2 at a current density of 1 mA/cm2. Furthermore, the assembled symmetric TOCN-40SCNT-PPy solid-state supercapacitor exhibited outstanding capacitance of 375 mF/cm2 and electrochemical stability with 163.2% capacitance retention at a current density of 1 mA/cm2 for 2500 cycles. These nanocellulose/carbon nanotube/polypyrrole hydrogels are thus promising in the fields of flexible solid-state supercapacitor with superior electrochemical performance.
Mechano-Chemically Activated Fly-Ash and Sisal Fiber Reinforced PP Hybrid Composite With Enhanced Mechanical Properties
Authors: Maurya Atul Kumar , Gogoi Rupam , Manik Gaurav
Published: February 2021

This study explores the hybridizing effect of mechano-chemical activated fly-ash (FA) in sisal fiber reinforced polymer composites. Activation and resistance against agglomeration of FA has been achieved by modifying it with 2, 4, and 6 wt.% of the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (C‑tab). FA activation with C-tab and particle size reduction to nano-level (<1µm) have been appropriately achieved with a planetary ball milling and the same has been confirmed from the dynamic light scattering technique. The hybrid composite containing 25 wt.% of sisal fiber and 5 wt.% of (6 wt.% C-tab) treated FA shows much improved tensile (40.12 MPa), flexural (53.27 MPa), and impact strengths (0.75 kJ/m2) than that of neat PP and composite reinforced with only 30 wt.% of sisal fiber. This increase in tensile and flexural strength was 30.54% and 48% higher than neat PP. Maximum notched impact strength of 0.80 kJ/m2 have been reported by hybrid composite containing FA treated with 2 wt.% of the C-tab. Micromechanical modelling using a combination of rule of mixture and inverse rule of mixture separately with Halpin-Tsai predicted a value close to the experimental Young’s modulus. DSC studies showed an increment in the composite's crystallinity upon fiber addition. Morphological analysis of the hybrid composite revealed good wettability of reinforcing fiber and FA within the matrix, whereas TGA showed an improved thermal stability of the composites.
Identifying Risk Factors and Incidence Rates for Recurrent Cesarean Scar Pregnancy: A Nested Case-Control Study
Authors: He Sili , Zeng Fei , Fan Zhiwen , Tian Qi , Jiang Jianfa , Pan Qiong , Yi Shuijing
Published: February 2021

Background: Cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) is a rare and dangerous ectopic pregnancy. CSP is a late severe complication of cesarean section. In recent years, with the introduction of the comprehensive second birth policy in China, the incidence of CSP and recurrent CSP has increased. However, there are no clear data available regarding the risk factors related to recurrent CSP in the literature. To identify risk factors and incidence rates for recurrent CSP. Methods: A total of 1000 CSP patients were followed up for 66 ± 19.5 months. Among them, 86 developed recurrent CSP during the follow-up period (group 1), and the remaining without recurrence were group 2. The clinical data of these cases were reviewed in this retrospective study. Results: The incidence rate of recurrent CSP is 8.6%, and the risk factors were a history of ectopic pregnancy and prior abortions. The incidence of RCSP in patients >-35-years-old was significantly lower than that in patients <35-years-old (P=0.031).Conclusions: Previous ectopic pregnancy is an independent risk factor for RCSP. Additionally, the higher the number of induced abortions, the higher the incidence of RCSP.
Combinatorial Effects of Organophosphate (Temephos), Glyphosate (Roundup) and Sodium Dodecil Sulfate (Sds) on Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Gills: A Morphometric and Histological Study
Authors: Santos-Silva Thamyris , Ribeiro Rosy I. M. A. , Memoriam) Stênio N. Alves (In , Thomé Ralph G. , Santos Hélio
Published: February 2021

Pesticides, as Temephos and Roundup, and surfactants, like Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS), when dicharged into the environment, are harmful to non-target wildlife, especially fish. To evaluate the effects of those chemicals alone and their binary combinations, we assessed the histological alterations in Danio rerio gills after 15 days of exposure to Temephos (1ppm), Roundup (10ppm), SDS (2ppm), SDS plus Temephos (2ppm+1ppm), SDS plus Roundup (2ppm+10ppm) and Temephos plus Roundup (1ppm+10ppm). Hyperplasia, a regressive change, was significant in all exposed groups. The progressive change, complete fusion of lamellae, was significantly intensive in Roundup plus Temephos group. Regarding to circulatory disturbances, vascular congestion was significant intensive in SDS group, while severe aneurysm was observed in Roundup group. Although xenobiotics in the blend are biologically complex, mainly for long periods, combinatorial exposure incremented only complete lamellar fusion. Our results reinforce the rationalization of indiscriminate use of those compounds alone or in combination.
Characteristics of Disease Progression and Genetic Correlation in Ambulatory Iranian Boys With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Authors: Zamani Gholamreza , Hosseinpour Sareh , Ashrafi Mahmoud Reza , Mohammadi Mahmoud , Badv Reza Shervin , Tavasoli Alireza , Akbari Masood Ghahvechi , Bereshneh Ali Hosseini , Malamiri Reza Azizi , Heidari Morteza
Published: February 2021

Introduction:

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common muscular dystrophy in the pediatric population. The manifestations are progressive muscle weakness, impairment in walking and motor function leading to loss of ambulation by age of 13 years. Molecular studies are standard tests for diagnosis. This article describes the status of disease progression and genetic pattern in the Iranian affected boys and furthermore, concerns to find a correlation between the genotype and motor function phenotype of them.
Methods

This study was performed on 152 DMD patients. Clinical history including disease phenotype, steroid therapy data and the NorthStar Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) score were all collected. Molecular diagnoses were confirmed by multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification and Next Generation Sequencing tests.
Results

We studied a total of 152 Iranian DMD patients. The mean age at disease onset was 4.04 ± 2.00 year and the mean age at diagnosis was 5.05 ± 2.08 year. The mean age of loss of ambulatory was 10.9 year. Contracture was seen in 38.9 %. The overall mean of NSAA total score versus age of the patients peaked at 4 year with mean NSAA score of 24. We assessed the yearly changes in the NSAA linear score for all cases based on mutation type and exon site. We found deletion mutation in 79.1%, duplication in 6.8%, nonsense in 12.8%, and splice site in 1.4%. The most common single exon was deletion exon 44 in our patients (5.3%) and the most common multiexon deletion was 45–50 and 45–52 exon equally with 4.6%. This study did not show any correlation between age at disease onset, loss of ambulation age and wheelchair dependency with mutation type but a correlation between contracture with mutation type was found. A significant deference in NSAA score were seen between deletion and nonsense groups at the age of 3 year (P = 0.036) and 3.5 years (p = 0.04). We couldn’t find any correlation among phenotype and Exon site. 91.1% had a history of corticosteroid taking and 54.1% of patient had compliance with rehabilitation.
Conclusion

This study has demonstrated the phenotype and mutational features of DMD boys and provide information of the disease natural motor history, disease progression and disease diagnosis with the management status of DMD in Iran. Achieved data will encourage the development of clinical trials and advance future molecular therapies in Iran.
The Self-targeting Ability of Cancer-derived Exosomes to their Parental Cells in a Time and Concentration-Dependent Manner
Authors: Ghavami Mahlegha , Moghadam Mehdi Forouzandeh , Gomari Hosna
Published: February 2021

Background/Aim: Exosomes have recently attracted research interest as exploitable nano-carriers. However, cell specificity of exosomes toward their targets still needs to be addressed. This study, for the first time, deals with the natural tropism of cancer-derived exosomes towards HER2 positive cells compared to targeted and untargeted HEK-derived exosomes.Methods and Results: Isolated targeted HEK293 and TUBO exosomes were successfully characterized. TUBO cells were treated with various concentrations of fluorescent labeled exosomes at different time points. The tropism of TUBO exosomes was assessed toward other HER2 positive breast cancer cells as well. TUBO-derived exosomes showed 40% uptake, whereas targeted HEK 293 exosomes had lower affinity. By increasing the incubation time, TUBO cells had more time to recognize TUBO exosomes. Fluorimetry analysis revealed that by increasing the dosage of exosomes on HER-2 positive cells, the prominent factor in the attachment was nonspecific physical absorption.Conclusion: Cancer-derived exosomes might be a promising alternative to targeted exosomes as the delivery agent in targeting cancer cells.
Spatial Spillover Effect of Green Water Use Efficiency and its Influence Factor: New Evidence from Yellow River Economic Belt, China
Authors: Zhong Shen , Li Jian , Wen Hongmei , Wang Hongli
Published: February 2021

The shortage of fresh water resources is an important factor restriction the sustainable development of the Yellow River Economic Belt (YREB). Increasing Green Water-Use Efficiency (GWUE) is a necessary way to ensure the sustainable development of water resources. Therefore, it is of theoretical significance and practical value to measure GWUE and investigate its influencing factors. Based on the panel data of 98 cities in YREB from 2005–2018, this paper first measures GWUE by global Malmqusit approach which contains unexpected output, and decomposes the comprehensive efficiency into Technological Change (TC), Pure Technical Efficiency Change (PEC) and Scale Efficiency Change (SEC). Furthermore, the spatial correlation of GWUE and decompositon indexs are analyzed by using the spatial Durbin model, and the influence of other interpretations on GWUE is analyzed. The empirical results show that: (1) The average annual growth rate of WGUE is 7.86% during 2005–2018, and the average annual growth rate of TC, PEC, SEC is 2.57%, 3.87% and 1.84% respectively, which all contribute to the improvement of WGUE. (2) GMLPI, TC, PEC, SEC all show the agglomeration characteristics of "high-high" or "low-low", and the GWUE of the local city will be affected by the same direction of the surrounding cities. Every 1% increase in GMLPI, TC, PEC and SEC of surrounding cities will lead to the corresponding index growth of about 0.321%, 0.393%, 0.244% and 0.358% respectively. (3) Industrial structure and foreign direct investment have a negative total effect on GWUE. The expenditure on science and technology, education and population density have significatly promoted technological progress both the local city and surrounding cities. Infrastructure has a significant positive effect on the pure technical efficiency of the city. This paper hodls that the government should strengthen cooperation and technical innovation, optimize foreign capital structure and industrial structure.
Synthesis and Characterization of Chitosan/Agar/SiO2 Nano Hydrogels For Removal of Amoxicillin and of Naproxen From Pharmaceutical Contaminants
Authors: Moradi Omid , Mhdavi Samira , Sedaghat Sajjad
Published: February 2021

Today, environmental pollutants pose a threat to human societies and all living organisms, which is why they have attracted the attention of environmental researchers. In this study, in order to remove pharmaceutical contaminants Naproxen and Amoxicillin from aqueous media with SiO2 nanoparticles based on Agar and Chitosan was investigated. The study of structural properties, physical and chemical characterization of synthesized nanocomposite was investigated by FTIR, XRD, TEM, FE-SEM, DLS and EDX analyzes. In addition, the role of parameters affecting the removal of pharmaceutical contaminants such as solution pH, contact time, contaminant concentration and temperature were studied. Nanocomposites prepared from Agar and Chitosan showed good performance in absorbing naproxen and amoxicillin. According to the studies performed to remove naproxen, the max adsorption efficiency was obtained at a concentration of 20 mg/l with an absorbent dose of 0.05 g and a pH of 8 and at an optimum temperature of 25 °C and 99% in 15 min. Also, for amoxicillin with nanocomposite prepared with an initial concentration of 20 mg/l and an adsorbent dose of 0.05 g, a time of 10 min, a temperature of 25 °C and a pH of 8, the max removal efficiency of 91.15% was obtained.
Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of Hsf and Hsp Gene Families in Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus L.)
Authors: Chen Xueqian , Wang Zhiyuan , Tang Rui , Wang Lina , Chen Chunhua , Ren Zhonghai
Published: February 2021

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are molecular chaperones that participate in plants' response to environmental stresses, including heat stress, and also play an essential role in plant growth and development. Hsps expression is monitored and regulated by specific types of transcription factors known as heat shock factors (Hsfs). Although the role of Hsfs and Hsps in stress response has been investigated in some plants, their role is still poorly understood in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). To reveal the mechanisms of cucumber Hsf and Hsp coping with various stresses, the analyses of cucumber Hsf and Hsp gene families were conducted using bioinformatics-based methods. A total of 23 Hsfs and 72 Hsps were identified in the cucumber genome (v3.0), and the gene structure and motif composition are relatively conserved in each subfamily. At least 23 pairs of heat shock genes underwent gene duplication in cucumber. A cis-element analysis is implicit that CsHsfs and CsHsps possessed at least one hormone or stress response cis-element, suggesting that CsHsf and CsHsp genes could respond to different stress conditions. Heatmaps of the CsHsf and CsHsp gene families indicated that most heat shock genes were expressed in different tissues and organs. RNA-seq showed that most of the cucumber Hsf and Hsp genes are differentially expressed upon exposure to biotic and abiotic stresses. These results provide valuable information to clarify the evolutionary relationship between the CsHsf and CsHsp family and to facilitate the functional characterization of the CsHsf and CsHsp genes in future studies.
Intramuscular Neural Distribution of the Serratus Anterior Muscle: Guidelines to the Injective Method for Treating Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Authors: Yi Kyu-Ho , Lee Ji-Hyun , Seo Kyle K , Kim Hee-Jin
Published: February 2021

The serratus anterior muscle is commonly involved in myofascial pain syndrome and is treated with many different injective methods. Currently, there is no definite injection point for the muscle. This study provides an ideal injection point for the serratus anterior muscle considering the intramuscular neural distribution using the whole mount staining method. A modified Sihler method was applied to the serratus anterior muscles (15 specimens). The intramuscular arborization areas were identified in terms of the anterior (100%), middle (50%), posterior axillary line (0%), and from the first to the ninth ribs. The intramuscular neural distribution for the serratus anterior muscle had the largest arborization patterns in the 5th to 9th rib portion between 50% and 70%, and the 1st to 4th rib portion had between 20% and 40%. Clinicians can administer safe and effective treatments with botulinum neurotoxin injections and other types of injections, following the methods in our study. We propose optimal injection sites in relation to the external anatomical line for the frequently injected facial muscles to facilitate the efficiency of botulinum neurotoxin injections. Lastly, these guidelines would assist practice more accurately without the harmful side effects of trigger point injections and botulinum neurotoxin injections.
The Relationship of Coffee Consumption and CVD Risk Factors in Elderly Patients with T2DM
Authors: ghavami Hossein sayed , Khoshtinat Mehran , Sadeghi-Farah Sepehr , Kalimani Arman Bayati , Ferrie Suzie , Faraji Hossein
Published: February 2021

Objective: clinical studies suggest increasing prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and diabetes among the elderly. Meanwhile, coffee as a food compound can cause adverse effects on these risk factors. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between coffee consumption and CVD risk factors in the elderly with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods: this cross-sectional study was performed during 2017 on 300 elderly people above 60 years of age with T2DM in Isfahan, Iran. Dietary assessment was performed using a food frequency questionnaire. Coffee consumption was classified into three groups including <1, 1-3, and >3 cups/day. Partial correlation test was used to investigate the relationship between CVD risk factors and usual coffee consumption.Results: the mean age and body mass index of participants in this study were 70.04±4.87 years and 24.74±3.34 kg/m2 respectively. Coffee consumption had a significant inverse relationship with FBG and DBP in the elderly with T2DM (r: - 0.117, 0.134; p: 0.046, 0.022). TG and HDL-C had a significant positive relationship with coffee consumption levels (r: 0.636, 0.128; p: 0.028, 0.029). These results were obtained after controlling for potential confounders. Conclusion: increasing coffee consumption was linked to improved status of some CVD risk factors including FBG, HDL-C, and DBP in the elderly with T2DM. Nevertheless, increasing coffee consumption was also associated with higher TG level and had no significant effect on other risk factors. Further studies are required to confirm these results.
Comparative Investigation of Different Configurations of Graphene-Based Superficial Microwave Hyperthermia
Authors: Singla alka , Marwaha Anupma , Marwaha Sanjay , Chavali Murthy
Published: February 2021

For treating superficial tumours patch antennas present a more compact structure and are easy to design. Graphene-based antenna applicators can further provide an effective solution for the non-invasive procedure by selecting different configurations of the patch for producing homogeneous energy deposition. Graphene patch facilitates the reduction of surface waves among the healthy tissues. Four different antenna shapes of graphene-based antenna applicators are designed at operating frequency of 915 MHz in ISM band and comparison is performed in terms of SAR and temperature distribution. Among all the applicators triangular patch applicator outperforms in terms of more localized heating and attains the highest value of temperature at 324°K and SAR of 186 W/Kg at insertion depth of 6 mm. The double slot applicator also provides localized SAR and uniform heating but results in the lower temperature of 315°K and much reduced SAR of 41 W/Kg at same insertion depth. Further, the effect of distance between the source and tissue model has also been investigated. It has been found that SAR decreases with increased distance from the radiating source. At the optimized distance of 3 mm, SAR values obtained for rectangular, circular, triangular and double slot patch applicator are 60 W/Kg, 54.7 W/Kg, 134.1 W/Kg and 54.2 W/Kg respectively.
Bracketless Invisible Orthosis in the Treatment of Children With Malocclusion : A Protocol of Systematic Review
Authors: Liu Shi-chen , Li Xiao-guang , Xi Yu-li , Zhao Wei
Published: February 2021

BackgroundMalocclusion is a common oral disorder. Childhood is a critical period for the development of malocclusion. This protocol will explore the clinical efficacy and safety of bracketless invisible orthosis (BIO) in the treatment of children with malocclusion.MethodsThis study will search MEDLINE, PUBMED, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, WANGFANG, VIP, CNKI, and CBM from inception to the present. We will not apply any limitations to the language and publication status. All potential randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the efficacy of BIO for the treatment of children with malocclusion will be considered for inclusion. Two authors will independently carry out study identification, data extraction, and study quality assessment in each study. Any disagreement will be resolved through discussion with a third author. When a number of included studies are sufficient, we will conduct meta-analysis, as well as subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis. The certainty of evidence will be appraised using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Outcome of interest will be presented in summary of findings tables, and statistical analysis will be performed utilizing RevMan 5.4 software. DiscussionThis systematic study will summarize all available studies to investigate the clinical efficacy of BIO in treating children with malocclusion. Findings of this study will highlight efficacy and safety of BIO for the treatment of children with malocclusion for both clinical practice and future strategies. Study registrationOSF (https://osf.io/avpmx).
Single-Cell Analysis of Alternative Splicing and Gene Regulatory Network Reveals Remarkable Expression and Regulation Dynamics During Early Embryonic Development
Authors: Chen Jiwei , Li Yunjin , Chen Geng , Shi Tieliu
Published: February 2021

BackgroundSingle-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) technologies greatly revolutionized our understanding of cell-to-cell variability of gene expression. Although several studies investigated the expression profile of early embryos, they mainly focused on the expression changes at gene level. Here we systematically explored the gene expression dynamics of human early embryonic development from expression level, alternative splicing, isoform switching and expression regulatory network. ResultsWe found that the genes involved in significant changes of these three aspects are all gradually decreased along embryonic development from E3 to E7 stage. Moreover, these three types of variations are complementary for profiling expression dynamics and they vary greatly across embryonic development as well as between different sexes. Strikingly, only a small number of genes exhibited prominent expression level changes between male and female embryos in E3 stage, whereas many more genes showed variations in alternative splicing and major isoform switching. Additionally, we identified functionally important specific gene regulatory modules for each stage and revealed dynamic usage of transcription factor binding motifs (TFBMs). Conclusions﻿Collectively, our study gain insights into the expression dynamics of early embryonic development from expression level, alternative splicing, isoform switching and gene regulatory networks, which could benefit the understanding of underlying mechanism of embryonic development.
The prognosis and clinicopathological features of different distant metastases pattern in renal cell carcinoma: analysis based on SEER database
Authors: Wei Haibin , Miao Jia , Cui Jianxin , Zheng Wei , Chen Xinpeng , Zhang Qi , Liu Feng , Mao Zujie , Qiu Songlin , Zhang Dahong
Published: February 2021

Background: Existing data on the prognosis and clinicopathological features of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) are limited. This study aims to investigate the prognostic value and clinicopathological features of different metastatic sites in patients with mRCC. Methods: A dataset from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 18 Registries (1973–2015) was selected for a retrospective mRCC cohort study. There was information on metastatic sites in lung, bone, liver, and brain. Kaplan-Meier analysis were applied to compare the survival distribution. Univariate and multivariate cox regression models were used to analyze survival outcomes. Results: From the SEER database, a total of 10410 patients with primary mRCC from 2010 to 2015 were enrolled in this cohort study. 54.9%, 37.7%, 19.5%, and 10.4 % of patients were found to have lung, bone, liver, and brain metastasis, respectively. Sarcomatoid RCC had significantly higher risk to develop liver metastasis than clear cell RCC. The median survival for patients with lung, bone, liver, and brain metastasis was 7 months, 7 months, 4 months and 5 months, respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, different metastatic sites possess various clinicopathological features and prognostic values. Understanding these differences may contribute to designing targeted pre-treatment assessment of primary mRCC and creating a personalized curative intervention.