bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The latent category of resilience and its relationship with the mental health and coping styles of medical students
Authors: Song Jiang-Yan , Gao Ya-Qin , Li Hui-Ping , Gao Jie , Li Jia-Xin , Bi Qing-quan , Li Shu-Mei , Ye Yun
Published: May 2023

Background

Medical students suffer more pressure due to various reasons and their mental health problems get more attention. Resilience is a positive psychological perspective to explore the medical students’ mental health and coping style problems. This study focuses on the medical students in school and uses the method of latent category analysis (LCA) to analyze the classification characteristics of their resilience. Therefore, the study aims to help psychological educators in medical colleges to develop positive mental health education strategies for medical students.

Objective

To explore the potential categories of resilience of medical students and the relationship between these categories and mental health and coping style.

Methods

A total of 1,457 medical students from four medical colleges in Anhui Province were selected as the research subjects by a convenience sampling method. A general information questionnaire, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Kessler 10 and the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ) were used to investigate; SPSS 25.0 and Mplus 7 software were used for basic analysis and latent category exploration.

Expected results

The medical students were divided into three potential categories of mental resilience: the low resilience group, moderate resilience self-improvement group and high resilience tough group. The optimism dimension level of the three categories was low. There were statistically significant differences in the distribution of resilience among medical students, such as gender, source of students, and paternal and maternal education level. There were significant differences in the mental health, positive coping style and negative coping style scores among the three categories. Female medical students with low parental education levels have a lower level of resilience. Logistic regression analysis showed that a lower maternal education level was a risk factor for resilience level, and a high positive coping style score and gender were protective factors for resilience level.

Discussion

There are group differences in the resilience of medical students, which suggests that school health workers should formulate targeted intervention programs for different types of students to improve their resilience and mental health, and further more, this study reminds mental health workers in colleges and universities to pay more attention to the mental health status of female medical students whose parents are less educated.
Investigating undergraduate students’ engagement in systems thinking and modeling using causal maps
Authors: Sabel Jaime L. , Zangori Laura , Parsley Kathryn M. , Sous Sedra , Koontz Jason
Published: May 2023

Introduction

To develop a foundation of scientific understanding, undergraduate biology students need to integrate ideas about individual concepts into thinking about complex biological systems.

Methods

To investigate the extent to which undergraduate students engage in systems thinking, we conducted a pre-post study with students in a required undergraduate botany course at a small liberal arts college in the Midwest. All students in the study completed a causal map at the beginning and end of the course. Casual maps are similar to concept maps but demonstrate cause and effect relationships rather than other connections included in a concept map.

Results

Analysis showed that the majority of students did see some connections within the system but did not reach a high level of systems thinking.

Discussion

This work highlights the difficulties undergraduate students have with engaging in systems thinking but provides important insight into the particular areas in which students do engage in more complex thinking and areas in which we can specifically target with instruction and intervention.
Association of serum water-soluble vitamin exposures with the risk of metabolic syndrome: results from NHANES 2003-2006
Authors: Pei Xun , Yao Junjie , Ran Simiao , Lu Haifei , Yang Shuo , Zhang Yini , Wang Miyuan , Shi Heyuan , Tan Aihua
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Existing evidence suggests an association between certain vitamins and metabolic syndrome (MetS), but few epidemiological studies have focused on the effects of multivitamin co-exposure on MetS. This study aims to investigate the associations of the individual or multiple water-soluble vitamins (i.e., vitamin C (VC), vitamin B9 (VB9), and vitamin B12 (VB12)) with co-exposure to MetS, as well as the dose-response relationships among them.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted by employing the National Health and Examination Surveys (NHANESs) 2003-2006. Multivariate-adjusted logistic regression models were used to explore the association between individual serum water-soluble vitamins and the risk of MetS and its components, including waist circumference, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, blood pressure, and fasting plasma glucose. Restricted cubic splines were performed to explore the dose-response relationships among them. The quantile g-computation method was adopted to explore the associations of multiple water-soluble vitamins co-exposure with MetS risk and MetS components.

Results

A total of 8983 subjects were involved in the study, of whom 1443 were diagnosed with MetS. The MetS groups had a higher proportion of participants with age ≥60 years, BMI ≥30 kg/m2, and insufficient physical activity. Compared with the lowest quartile, the third (OR=0.67, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.94) and highest quartiles (OR=0.52, 95%CI: 0.35, 0.76) of VC were associated with lower MetS risk. Restricted cubic splines showed negative dose-response relationships among VC, VB9 and VB12, and MetS. Regarding MetS components, higher VC quartiles were associated with lower waist circumference, triglyceride, blood pressure, and fasting plasma glucose, while higher VC and VB9 quartiles were associated with higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Co-exposure to VC, VB9, and VB12 was significantly inversely associated with MetS, with ORs (95% CI) of 0.81 (0.74, 0.89) and 0.84 (0.78, 0.90) in the conditional and marginal structural models, respectively. Furthermore, we found that VC, VB9, and VB12 co-exposure were negatively associated with waist circumference and blood pressure, while VC, VB9, and VB12 co-exposure were positively associated with HDL.

Conclusion

This study revealed negative associations of VC, VB9, and VB12 with MetS, while the high water-soluble vitamin co-exposure was associated with a lower MetS risk.
Saltwater intrusion ecophysiological effects on Pseudophoenix sargentii, Roystonea regia, Sabal palmetto “Lisa,” and Thrinax radiata in South Florida
Authors: Khoddamzadeh Amir Ali , Flores Jason , Griffith M. Patrick , Souza Costa Bárbara Nogueira
Published: May 2023

Climate change will alter natural areas on a global scale within the next century, especially in low-lying coastal areas where sea-level rise is predicted to severely degrade or destroy many ecosystems. As sea-level rise continues, it is expected that salinity due to saltwater intrusion will impact soil health and agricultural production, this is of even greater importance in areas such as South Florida where the surface and groundwater resources are hydrologically connected due to the shallow and highly permeable limestone soils. The chlorophyll concentrations in leaf tissue were chosen as the primary health indicator to assess whether this is a valuable factor to consider for plant health risk assessment and whether optical sensor technology such as the SPAD and NDVI, are valuable tools when understanding the impact seawater encroachment has on plant nitrogen uptake. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of salt concentrations on plant growth and health of four palm species. The treatments were from pure reverse osmosis water, Fresh water, brackish water, seawater and hypersaline water (0, 0.5, 5, 10, 15, 25, and 50 ppt). Control treatment that received reverse osmosis filtrated water with a salinity concentration of 0 ppt had the highest health-indicator averages compared to treatment 50 ppt. As the salinity increased, all health indicators gradually declined or remained rather constant and declined as they approached the greater salinity concentrations. The growth parameters and chlorophyll content were reduced over time, particularly at higher salt concentrations for all palm species studied. The chlorophyll content by SPAD and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) can be used as health indicators of the palm species studied, as it was observed in this study a decline in the chlorophyll content as there was an increase in salt concentrations. It is important to emphasize that leaf chlorosis and subsequent decline of palm species were observed in the treatment with higher salt concentration, thus highlighting the importance of chlorophyll content as an indicator of plant health. The species Roystonea regia was very susceptible to salinity, and the palm Sabal palmetto is more susceptible to salinity than the Thrinax radiata and Pseudophoenix sargentii palms.
Kairomone-induced changes in foraging activity of the larval ectoparasitoid Holepyris sylvanidis are linked with an increased number of male parasitoid offspring
Authors: Awater-Salendo Sarah , Hilker Monika , Fürstenau Benjamin
Published: May 2023

Interactions between stored product pest insects and their parasitoids are well known to be mediated by infochemicals. However, little knowledge is available about the extent to which parasitoid responses to host kairomones improve host search and parasitization success. Here, we tested whether the release of host-specific kairomones of the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum, improves host finding of the larval ectoparasitoid Holepyris sylvanidis. Previous studies revealed that volatiles from host larval feces [i.e., (E)-2-nonenal and 1-pentadecene] attract the parasitoid. To determine the most attractive concentration of these two key components, we conduced Y-tube olfactometer bioassays. Most female parasitoids were attracted to a mixture of (E)-2-nonenal and 1-pentadecene at the lowest concentration, while the highest concentration was repellent. Volatiles from host adults (methyl-p-benzoquinone and 4,8-dimethyldecanal) did not attract the parasitoid females at any of the concentrations tested. In flight cage experiments, we analyzed the host finding success of H. sylvanidis by offering host larvae in a Petri dish for 3 days (i) with additionally applied host larval kairomones in the most attractive concentration (test) or (ii) without additional kairomones (control). In test cages, the parasitoids removed a significantly higher number of paralyzed host larvae from the initial population within 48 h than in control cages. After 72 h, significantly more host larvae were parasitized in test cages than in the control. The offspring of parasitoids in test cages differed from the one in control cages by total numbers and especially the number of males. Significantly more parasitoids emerged from the parasitized host larvae in test cages, with enhanced male offspring. Our study demonstrates that the parasitoid’s response to host-associated volatiles can improve parasitization success but also affects the number of males in the parasitoids’ progeny.
Multi-line ssGBLUP evaluation using preselected markers from whole-genome sequence data in pigs
Authors: Jang Sungbong , Ros-Freixedes Roger , Hickey John M. , Chen Ching-Yi , Herring William O. , Holl Justin , Misztal Ignacy , Lourenco Daniela
Published: May 2023

Genomic evaluations in pigs could benefit from using multi-line data along with whole-genome sequencing (WGS) if the data are large enough to represent the variability across populations. The objective of this study was to investigate strategies to combine large-scale data from different terminal pig lines in a multi-line genomic evaluation (MLE) through single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP) models while including variants preselected from whole-genome sequence (WGS) data. We investigated single-line and multi-line evaluations for five traits recorded in three terminal lines. The number of sequenced animals in each line ranged from 731 to 1,865, with 60k to 104k imputed to WGS. Unknown parent groups (UPG) and metafounders (MF) were explored to account for genetic differences among the lines and improve the compatibility between pedigree and genomic relationships in the MLE. Sequence variants were preselected based on multi-line genome-wide association studies (GWAS) or linkage disequilibrium (LD) pruning. These preselected variant sets were used for ssGBLUP predictions without and with weights from BayesR, and the performances were compared to that of a commercial porcine single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) chip. Using UPG and MF in MLE showed small to no gain in prediction accuracy (up to 0.02), depending on the lines and traits, compared to the single-line genomic evaluation (SLE). Likewise, adding selected variants from the GWAS to the commercial SNP chip resulted in a maximum increase of 0.02 in the prediction accuracy, only for average daily feed intake in the most numerous lines. In addition, no benefits were observed when using preselected sequence variants in multi-line genomic predictions. Weights from BayesR did not help improve the performance of ssGBLUP. This study revealed limited benefits of using preselected whole-genome sequence variants for multi-line genomic predictions, even when tens of thousands of animals had imputed sequence data. Correctly accounting for line differences with UPG or MF in MLE is essential to obtain predictions similar to SLE; however, the only observed benefit of an MLE is to have comparable predictions across lines. Further investigation into the amount of data and novel methods to preselect whole-genome causative variants in combined populations would be of significant interest.
Genome-wide identification, evolution and expression profiles analysis of bHLH gene family in Castanea mollissima
Authors: Yu Liyang , Fei Cao , Wang Dongsheng , Huang Ruimin , Xuan Wang , Guo Chunlei , Jing Liu , Meng Wang , Yi Lu , Zhang Haie , Zhang Jingzheng
Published: May 2023

The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors (TFs) gene family is an important gene family in plants, and participates in regulation of plant apical meristem growth, metabolic regulation and stress resistance. However, its characteristics and potential functions have not been studied in chestnut (Castanea mollissima), an important nut with high ecological and economic value. In the present study, 94 CmbHLHs were identified in chestnut genome, of which 88 were unevenly distributed on chromosomes, and other six were located on five unanchored scaffolds. Almost all CmbHLH proteins were predicted in the nucleus, and subcellular localization demonstrated the correctness of the above predictions. Based on the phylogenetic analysis, all of the CmbHLH genes were divided into 19 subgroups with distinct features. Abundant cis-acting regulatory elements related to endosperm expression, meristem expression, and responses to gibberellin (GA) and auxin were identified in the upstream sequences of CmbHLH genes. This indicates that these genes may have potential functions in the morphogenesis of chestnut. Comparative genome analysis showed that dispersed duplication was the main driving force for the expansion of the CmbHLH gene family inferred to have evolved through purifying selection. Transcriptome analysis and qRT-PCR experiments showed that the expression patterns of CmbHLHs were different in different chestnut tissues, and revealed some members may have potential functions in chestnut buds, nuts, fertile/abortive ovules development. The results from this study will be helpful to understand the characteristics and potential functions of the bHLH gene family in chestnut.
Coastal wave-energy attenuation by artificial wooden fences deployed for mangrove restoration: an experimental study
Authors: Shu Anping , Zhu Jiapin , Cui Baoshan , Wang Le , Zhang Ziru , Pi Chengling
Published: May 2023

By offering natural protection along offshore wetlands, mangroves play a crucial role in providing great ecological and economic benefits to local communities. However, mangroves are currently facing an increasing threat of decline worldwide due to widespread human activities and climate change. Recently, eco-friendly wooden fences have been deployed along eroded coasts for mangrove restoration projects, and these fences have the capability to attenuate incoming waves and strengthen sediment deposition in new habitats for mangrove colonization and persistence. However, the design and performance of the fences used can differ substantially among different projects; therefore, it is necessary to study the major factors affecting the wave dissipation performance of these fences and find out a more effective structural design. Thus, we focus on two distinct types of fences with and without porous infill to study the function of infill porosity and frame density, and physical experiments of waves transmission through the fences were carried out in a wave flume, in which nine wooden fences with varied infill porosities (0.60–0.90) and frame densities (0.40 and 0.70) were predetermined to measure the wave transmission, reflection, and wave dissipation. In total, 180 experimental runs were conducted under 18 wave conditions with different wave steepness. The results showed that the fence with a lower infill porosity appears to increase wave transmission coefficient that comes at a cost of a higher reflection coefficient and less wave-energy dissipation inside the fence, and the fence with the highest porosity infills (90%) is nearly equivalent to the fence without any infills but a dense frame in terms of wave damping performance. Moreover, the wave transmission through both fences with and without infill can be remarkably affected by incoming wave steepness. The outcome of the research is not only indicating the importance of the appropriate infill porosity in attenuating incoming waves but also guiding the design of mangrove restoration project in offshore wetlands.
Effects of brimonidine tartrate 0.2 and 0.15% ophthalmic solution on the static and dynamic pupil characteristics
Authors: Yang Jing , Zhang Xiaodi , Zhong Mei , Bai Yanhui , Liu Wentao , Hu Jinge , Wang Weiqun
Published: May 2023

Aims

To investigate the differences between 0.2 and 0.15% brimonidine tartrate eye drops for anti-mydriatic effects and the optical quality under different light conditions.

Methods

This prospective study involved 80 consecutive high myopia patients undergoing implantation of a V4c ICL. The patients were randomly instilled with brimonidine 0.2 and 0.15% 2 weeks postoperatively. Visual quality, pupil center, pupil size, and refraction under different light conditions were measured before and 0.5 h after brimonidine administration. A symptom questionnaire was also evaluated.

Results

There was no statistical difference in the static and dynamic pupil diameters and velocity after LS between the two groups (p > 0.05). The 0.2% group had significant changes in pupil center before and after treatment, while there was no obvious movement of the 0.15% group under all illumination condition (p > 0.05). The OSI after treatment of the 0.15% group was lower than that of 0.2% group (p = 0.012). The PVA9% and PVA100% of the 0.15% group was higher than that of 0.2% group in the dark (p = 0.009, p = 0.012). The HOA RMS of the 0.15% group was lower than that of 0.2% group (p = 0.016). The QIRC score in the 0.15% group was significantly higher than that in the 0.2% group (p = 0.043).

Conclusion

0.15 and 0.2% brimonidine tartrate eye drops had similar anti-mydriatic ability, while 0.15% group had better visual quality than 0.2% concentration, and hardly introduced pupil shift. 0.15% brimonidine tartrate eye drops may be more suitable for patients with nocturnal glare symptoms in the early postoperative period after ICL implantation.
Shift from flooding to drying enhances the respiration of soil aggregates by changing microbial community composition and keystone taxa
Authors: Zhu Kai , Jia Weitao , Mei Yu , Wu Shengjun , Huang Ping
Published: May 2023

Changes in the water regime are among the crucial factors controlling soil carbon dynamics. However, at the aggregate scale, the microbial mechanisms that regulate soil respiration under flooding and drying conditions are obscure. In this research, we investigated how the shift from flooding to drying changes the microbial respiration of soil aggregates by affecting microbial community composition and their co-occurrence patterns. Soils collected from a riparian zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China, were subjected to a wet-and-dry incubation experiment. Our data illustrated that the shift from flooding to drying substantially enhanced soil respiration for all sizes of aggregate fractions. Moreover, soil respiration declined with aggregate size in both flooding and drying treatments. The keystone taxa in bacterial networks were found to beAcidobacteriales,Gemmatimonadales,Anaerolineales, andCytophagalesduring the flooding treatment, andRhizobiales,Gemmatimonadales,Sphingomonadales, andSolirubrobacteralesduring the drying treatment. For fungal networks,HypocrealesandAgaricalesinwere the keystone taxa in the flooding and drying treatments, respectively. Furthermore, the shift from flooding to drying enhanced the microbial respiration of soil aggregates by changing keystone taxa. Notably, fungal community composition and network properties dominated the changes in the microbial respiration of soil aggregates during the shift from flooding to drying. Thus, our study highlighted that the shift from flooding to drying changes keystone taxa, hence increasing aggregate-scale soil respiration.
Probiotic characteristics and whole-genome sequence analysis of Pediococcus acidilactici isolated from the feces of adult beagles
Authors: Zhao Mengdi , Liu Keyuan , Zhang Yuanyuan , Li Yueyao , Zhou Ning , Li Guangyu
Published: May 2023

The beneficial effects of lactic acid bacteria are well known and recognized as functional foods that are health benefits for companion animals. This study, for the first time, reports the probiotic properties, safety, and whole-genome sequence of Pediococcus acidilactici GLP06 isolated from feces of beagles. In this study, candidate probiotic bacteria P. acidilactici GLP02 and GLP06 were morphologically characterized and tested for their antimicrobial capacity, tolerance to different conditions (low pH, bile salts, an artificial gastrointestinal model, and high temperature), antibiotic sensitivity, hemolytic activity, cell surface hydrophobicity, autoaggregation activity, and adhesion to Caco-2 cells. P. acidilactici GLP06 showed better probiotic potential. Therefore, P. acidilactici GLP06 was evaluated for in vivo safety in mice and whole-genome sequencing. The results showed, that the supplemented MG06 group (1010 cfu/mL), GLP06 was not only nontoxic to mice, but also promoted the development of the immune system, improved resistance to oxidative stress, and increased the diversity of intestinal microorganisms and the abundance of Lactobacillus. Whole-genome sequencing showed that P. acidilactici GLP06 was 2,014,515 bp and contained 1,976 coding sequences, accounting for 86.12% of the genome, with no drug resistance genes and eight CRISPR sequences. In conclusion, the newly isolated canine-derived P. acidilactici GLP06 had good probiotic potential, was nontoxic to mice and promoted the development of immune organs, improved the biodiversity of the intestinal flora, and had no risk of drug-resistant gene transfer, indicating that P. acidilactici GLP06 can be used as a potential probiotic for the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases in companion animals.
mTOR/α-ketoglutarate signaling: impact on brain cell homeostasis under ischemic conditions
Authors: Lushnikova Iryna , Kostiuchenko Olha , Kowalczyk Magdalena , Skibo Galyna
Published: May 2023

The multifunctional molecules mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) and α-ketoglutarate (αKG) are crucial players in the regulatory mechanisms that maintain cell homeostasis in an ever-changing environment. Cerebral ischemia is associated primarily with oxygen-glucose deficiency (OGD) due to circulatory disorders. Upon exceeding a threshold of resistance to OGD, essential pathways of cellular metabolism can be disrupted, leading to damage of brain cells up to the loss of function and death. This mini-review focuses on the role of mTOR and αKG signaling in the metabolic homeostasis of brain cells under OGD conditions. Integral mechanisms concerning the relative cell resistance to OGD and the molecular basis of αKG-mediated neuroprotection are discussed. The study of molecular events associated with cerebral ischemia and endogenous neuroprotection is relevant for improving the effectiveness of therapeutic strategies.
Thirty years of research on traumatic brain injury rehabilitation: a bibliometric study
Authors: Liu Yang , Yao Xiaomeng , Qian Jinghua
Published: May 2023

Background

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health concern with far-reaching consequences on individuals’ lives. Despite the abundance of works published on TBI rehabilitation, few studies have bibliometrically analyzed the published TBI rehabilitation research. This study aims to characterize current international trends and global productivity by analyzing articles on TBI rehabilitation using bibliometric approaches and visualization methods.

Methods

We conducted a bibliometric analysis of data retrieved and extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection database to examine the evolution and thematic trends in TBI rehabilitation research up until December 31, 2022. The specific characteristics of the research articles on TBI rehabilitation were evaluated, such as publication year, countries/regions, institutions, authors, journals, research fields, references, and keywords.

Results

Our analysis identified 5,541 research articles on TBI rehabilitation and observed a progressive increase in publications and citations over the years. The United States (US, 2,833, 51.13%), Australia (727, 13.12%), and Canada (525, 9.47%) were the most prolific countries/regions. The University of Washington (226, 4.08%) and Hammond FM (114, 2.06%) were the most productive institution and author, respectively. The top three productive journals were Brain Injury (862; 15.56%), Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (630; 11.37%), and Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (405, 7.31%). The most frequent research fields were Rehabilitation, Neurosciences, and Clinical Neurology. Co-citation references primarily addressed “outcome assessment,” “community integration” and “TBI management,” and “injury chronicity” and “sequelae” have gained more attention in recent years. “Mild TBI,” “outcome,” “stroke” and “children” were the commonly used keywords. Additionally, the analysis unveiled emerging research frontiers, including “return to work,” “disorder of consciousness,” “veterans,” “mild TBI,” “pediatric,” “executive function” and “acquired brain injury.”

Conclusion

This study provides valuable insights into the current state of TBI rehabilitation research, which has experienced a rapid increase in attention and exponential growth in publications and citations in the last three decades. TBI rehabilitation research is characterized by its multi-disciplinary approach, involving fields such as Rehabilitation, Neurosciences, and Clinical Neurology. The analysis revealed emerging research subjects that could inform future research directions.
Speech rehabilitation in children with cochlear implants using a multisensory (French Cued Speech) or a hearing-focused (Auditory Verbal Therapy) approach
Authors: Van Bogaert Lucie , Machart Laura , Gerber Silvain , Lœvenbruck Hélène , Vilain Anne ,   Consortium EULALIES
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Early exposure to a rich linguistic environment is essential as soon as the diagnosis of deafness is made. Cochlear implantation (CI) allows children to have access to speech perception in their early years. However, it provides only partial acoustic information, which can lead to difficulties in perceiving some phonetic contrasts. This study investigates the contribution of two spoken speech and language rehabilitation approaches to speech perception in children with CI using a lexicality judgment task from the EULALIES battery. Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) is an early intervention program that relies on auditory learning to enhance hearing skills in deaf children with CI. French Cued Speech, also called Cued French (CF), is a multisensory communication tool that disambiguates lip reading by adding a manual gesture.

Methods

In this study, 124 children aged from 60 to 140 months were included: 90 children with typical hearing skills (TH), 9 deaf children with CI who had participated in an AVT program (AVT), 6 deaf children with CI with high Cued French reading skills (CF+), and 19 deaf children with CI with low Cued French reading skills (CF-). Speech perception was assessed using sensitivity (d’) using both the hit and false alarm rates, as defined in signal-detection theory.

Results

The results show that children with cochlear implants from the CF- and CF+ groups have significantly lower performance compared to children with typical hearing (TH) (p < 0.001 and p = 0.033, respectively). Additionally, children in the AVT group also tended to have lower scores compared to TH children (p = 0.07). However, exposition to AVT and CF seems to improve speech perception. The scores of the children in the AVT and CF+ groups are closer to typical scores than those of children in the CF- group, as evidenced by a distance measure.

Discussion

Overall, the findings of this study provide evidence for the effectiveness of these two speech and language rehabilitation approaches, and highlight the importance of using a specific approach in addition to a cochlear implant to improve speech perception in children with cochlear implants.
Capturing the power of seizures: an empirical mode decomposition analysis of epileptic activity in the mouse hippocampus
Authors: Molnár László , Ferando Isabella , Liu Benjamin , Mokhtar Parsa , Domokos József , Mody Istvan
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Various methods have been used to determine the frequency components of seizures in scalp electroencephalography (EEG) and in intracortical recordings. Most of these methods rely on subjective or trial-and-error criteria for choosing the appropriate bandwidth for filtering the EEG or local field potential (LFP) signals to establish the frequency components that contribute most to the initiation and maintenance of seizure activity. The empirical mode decomposition (EMD) with the Hilbert-Huang transform is an unbiased method to decompose a time and frequency variant signal into its component non-stationary frequencies. The resulting components, i.e., the intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) objectively reflect the various non-stationary frequencies making up the original signal.

Materials and methods

We employed the EMD method to analyze the frequency components and relative power of spontaneous electrographic seizures recorded in the dentate gyri of mice during the epileptogenic period. Epilepsy was induced in mice following status epilepticus induced by suprahippocampal injection of kainic acid. The seizures were recorded as local field potentials (LFP) with electrodes implanted in the dentate gyrus. We analyzed recording segments that included a seizure (mean duration 28 s) and an equivalent time period both before and after the seizure. Each segment was divided into non-overlapping 1 s long epochs which were then analyzed to obtain their IMFs (usually 8–10), the center frequencies of the respective IMF and their spectral root-mean-squared (RMS) power.

Results

Our analysis yielded unbiased identification of the spectral components of seizures, and the relative power of these components during this pathological brain activity. During seizures, the power of the mid frequency components increased while the center frequency of the first IMF (with the highest frequency) dramatically decreased, providing mechanistic insights into how local seizures are generated.

Discussion

We expect this type of analysis to provide further insights into the mechanisms of seizure generation and potentially better seizure detection.
Maternal high-fat diet increases the susceptibility of offspring to colorectal cancer via the activation of intestinal inflammation
Authors: Zheng Shimin , Yin Jianbin , Yue Hui , Li Lifu
Published: May 2023

A high-fat diet plays a key role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer, and this effect on the gut can also occur in the offspring of mothers with a high-fat diet. In this review, we discuss the role of a high-fat diet in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer and summarize the effects of a maternal high-fat diet on the activation of inflammation and development of colorectal cancer in offspring. Studies have found that a maternal high-fat diet primarily induces an inflammatory response in the colorectal tissue of both the mother herself and the offspring during pregnancy. This leads to the accumulation of inflammatory cells in the colorectal tissue and the release of inflammatory cytokines, which further activate the NF-κb and related inflammatory signaling pathways. Research suggests that high levels of lipids and inflammatory factors from mothers with a high-fat diet are passed to the offspring through the transplacental route, which induces colorectal inflammation, impairs the intestinal microecological structure and the intestinal barrier, and interferes with intestinal development in the offspring. This in turn activates the NF-κb and related signaling pathways, which further aggravates intestinal inflammation. This process of continuous inflammatory stimulation and repair may promote the uncontrolled proliferation of colorectal mucosal cells in the offspring, thus increasing their susceptibility to colorectal cancer.
Prognostic implications of systemic immune-inflammation index in patients with bone metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma treated with radiotherapy
Authors: Chen Jingyao , Huang Wenhan , Xu Xiaohong , Fan Shaonan , Zhang Qi , Li Xuan , Zeng Zhaochong , He Jian
Published: May 2023

Background

Previous studies have shown that systemic inflammation indicators could predict the survival outcomes of patients with malignant tumors receiving various treatments. Radiotherapy, as a crucial treatment modality, effectively alleviates discomfort in patients with bone metastasis (BM) and greatly improves the quality of life for them. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of systemic inflammation index in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with BM treated with radiotherapy.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed clinical data collected from HCC patients with BM who received radiotherapy in our institution between January 2017 and December 2021. The pre-treatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) were derived to determine their relationship with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), using the Kaplan-Meier survival curves. The optimal cut-off value of the systemic inflammation indicators for predicting prognosis was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to ultimately evaluate the factors associated with survival.

Results

The study included 239 patients with a median 14-month follow-up. The median OS was 18 months (95% confidence interval [CI] = 12.0-24.0) and the median PFS was 8.5 months (95% CI = 6.5-9.5). The optimal cut-off values for the patients were determined by ROC curve analysis as follows: SII =395.05, NLR=5.43 and PLR = 108.23. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values for SII, NLR and PLR in disease control prediction were 0.750, 0.665 and 0.676, respectively. Elevated systemic immune-inflammation index (SII>395.05) and higher NLR (NLR>5.43) were independently associated with poor OS and PFS. In multivariate analysis, Child-Pugh class (P = 0.038), intrahepatic tumor controlled (P = 0.019), SII (P = 0.001) and NLR (P = 0.007) were independent prognostic factors of OS and Child-Pugh class (P = 0.042), SII (P < 0.001) and NLR (P = 0.002) were independently correlated with PFS.

Conclusion

NLR and SII were associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients with BM receiving radiotherapy and might be considered reliable and independent prognostic biomarkers for HCC patients with BM.
Acupuncture for cancer pain: a scoping review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Authors: Zhang Yanji , Zhang Yingrong , Liu Suzhen , Li Bocun , Song Zhe , Han Qi , Wang Chang , Wang Yiwei , Yu Yanxin , Xia Hongjie , Wang Chun , Li Jia
Published: May 2023

Background

Due to the effectiveness and safety, acupuncture, one of the traditional therapies of Chinese medicine, has been widely used in clinical practice globally. A few systematic review or meta-analyses have proved its effectiveness and safety towards patients with cancer pain, while there are no syntheses among those evidence. The aim of this scoping review is to summarize the evidence from systematic reviews of acupuncture for the treatment of cancer pain and evaluate the breadth and methodological quality of these evidence as well.

Methods

The scoping review process was guided by the methodology framework of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA ScR) and “Arkseyand O’Malley six-stage framework”. Electronic searches were carried out in several online databases from inception to Jan 2022. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses that involve any type of acupuncture for patients with cancer pain will be included. A pair of reviewers independently screened full texts. Moreover, review characteristics were extracted, and methodological quality was assessed using the AMSTAR 2 tool.

Results

Twenty-five systematic reviews and meta-analyses were included. Manual acupuncture is the most frequently included types of test group intervention (48%), followed by acupuncture + medicine (28%), and auricular acupuncture (12%). All the reviews have declared that acupuncture is an effective method for cancer pain treatment. Eleven reviews (44%) aiming at evaluating the safety also have confirmed that acupuncture is safe for treating cancer pain. However, most included studies were conducted in China. With certain geographical limitations, the findings were not representative within the region. The results of our review may owe to the synthesis of all kinds of cancer pain, and only 2 reviews described the type of cancer pain in detail.

Conclusions

This scoping review synthesizes and evaluates existing evidence of acupuncture for cancer pain. From this scoping review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, there are clear recommendations for future studies: expanding the region of research in the world and trying to conduct the study of different types of cancer pain in details as much as possible. Evidences of acupuncture for cancer pain can inform clinical decision-making.

Systematic review registration

https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2022-1-0073/, identifier INPLASY202210073.
Comparison of a 20 degree and 70 degree tilt test in adolescent myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients
Authors: van Campen C. (Linda) M. C. , Rowe Peter C. , Visser Frans C.
Published: May 2023

Introduction

During a standard 70-degree head-up tilt test, 90% of adults with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) develop an abnormal reduction in cerebral blood flow (CBF). A 70-degree test might not be tolerated by young ME/CFS patients because of the high incidence of syncopal spells. This study examined whether a test at 20 degrees would be sufficient to provoke important reductions in CBF in young ME/CFS patients.

Methods

We analyzed 83 studies of adolescent ME/CFS patients. We assessed CBF using extracranial Doppler measurements of the internal carotid and vertebral arteries supine and during the tilt. We studied 42 adolescents during a 20 degree and 41 during a 70 degree test.

Results

At 20 degrees, no patients developed postural orthostatic tachycardia (POTS), compared to 32% at 70 degrees (p = 0.0002). The CBF reduction during the 20 degree tilt of −27(6)% was slightly less than during the reduction during a 70 degree test [−31(7)%; p = 0.003]. Seventeen adolescents had CBF measurements at both 20 and 70 degrees. The CBF reduction in these patients with both a 20 and 70 degrees test was significantly larger at 70 degrees than at 20 degrees (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

A 20 degree tilt in young ME/CFS patients resulted in a CBF reduction comparable to that in adult patients during a 70 degree test. The lower tilt angle provoked less POTS, emphasizing the importance of using the 70 degree angle for that diagnosis. Further study is needed to explore whether CBF measurements during tilt provide an improved standard for classifying orthostatic intolerance.
A novel cell-based screen identifies chemical entities that reverse the immune-escape phenotype of metastatic tumours
Authors: Nohara Lilian L. , Ellis Samantha L. S. , Dreier Carola , Dada Sarah , Saranchova Iryna , Choi Kyong Bok , Munro Lonna , Pfeifer Cheryl G. , Al Haddad Eliana , Coyle Krysta M. , Morrice Jessica R. , Shim Daniel Joo Sung , Ahn Paul , De Voogd Nicole , Williams David E. , Cheng Ping , Garrovillas Emmanuel , Andersen Raymond J. , Jefferies Wilfred A.
Published: May 2023

Genetic and epigenetic events have been implicated in the downregulation of the cellular antigen processing and presentation machinery (APM), which in turn, has been associated with cancer evasion of the immune system. When these essential components are lacking, cancers develop the ability to subvert host immune surveillance allowing cancer cells to become invisible to the immune system and, in turn, promote cancer metastasis. Here we describe and validate the first high-throughput cell-based screening assay to identify chemical extracts and unique chemical entities that reverse the downregulation of APM components in cell lines derived from metastatic tumours. Through the screening of a library of 480 marine invertebrate extracts followed by bioassay-guided fractionation, curcuphenol, a common sesquiterpene phenol derived from turmeric, was identified as the active compound of one of the extracts. We demonstrate that curcuphenol induces the expression of the APM components, TAP-1 and MHC-I molecules, in cell lines derived from both metastatic prostate and lung carcinomas. Turmeric and curcumins that contain curcuphenol have long been utilized not only as a spice in the preparation of food, but also in traditional medicines for treating cancers. The remarkable discovery that a common component of spices can increase the expression of APM components in metastatic tumour cells and, therefore reverse immune-escape mechanisms, provides a rationale for the development of foods and advanced nutraceuticals as therapeutic candidates for harnessing the power of the immune system to recognize and destroy metastatic cancers.
Associations between physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness with vascular health phenotypes in older adults: a cross-sectional study
Authors: de Sousa Maria Karolina Ferreira , Silva Raíssa de Melo , Freire Yuri Alberto , Souto Gabriel Costa , Câmara Marcyo , Cabral Ludmila Lucena Pereira , Macêdo Geovani Araújo Dantas , Costa Eduardo Caldas , Oliveira Ricardo Santos
Published: May 2023

Objective: We investigated the associations between physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) with vascular health phenotypes in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 82 participants (66.8 ± 5.2 years; 81% females). Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was assessed using accelerometers, and CRF was measured using the distance covered in the 6-min walk test (6MWT). The vascular health markers were as follows: i) arterial function measured as aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) estimated using an automatic blood pressure device; and ii) arterial structure measured as the common carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). Using a combination of normal cIMT and aPWV values, four groups of vascular health phenotypes were created: normal aPWV and cIMT, abnormal aPWV only, abnormal cIMT only, and abnormal aPWV and cIMT. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the beta coefficients (β) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) adjusting for BMI, and medication for diabetes, lipid, and hypertension, sex, age, and blood pressure.

Results: Participants with abnormal aPWV and normal cIMT (β = −53.76; 95% CI = −97.73—−9.78 m; p = 0.017), and participants with both abnormal aPWV and cIMT (β = −71.89; 95% CI = −125.46—−18.31 m; p = 0.009) covered less distance in the 6MWT, although adjusting for age, sex and blood pressure decreased the strength of the association with only groups of abnormal aPWV and cIMT covering a lower 6MWT distance compared to participants with both normal aPWV and cIMT (β = −55.68 95% CI = −111.95–0.59; p = 0.052). No associations were observed between MVPA and the vascular health phenotypes.

Conslusion: In summary, poor CRF, but not MVPA, is associated with the unhealthiest vascular health phenotype (abnormal aPWV/cIMT) in older adults.
Impact of water stress on the demographic traits and population projection of Colorado potato beetle
Authors: Liu Xia , Yang Hangxin , Niu Fushuai , Sun Hanhan , Li Chao
Published: May 2023

Introduction: The Colorado potato beetle is one of the famous quarantine pests in China which is extremely destructive to Solanaceae crops and causes serious losses to the potato industry.

Methods: In this experiment, the host plant potato was subjected to different degrees of water stress to observe the oviposition selection, growth and development, survival, reproduction and population growth of Colorado potato beetles.

Results: The results showed that adult Colorado potato beetles laid more eggs on potato plants suitable for water treatment, but fewer eggs on potato plants treated with water stress. The developmental duration of Colorado potato beetles in light drought treatment was shorter than that in control treatment, and the survival rate was higher than that in control treatment. With the aggravation of water stress, the developmental duration was prolonged, survival rate was decreased, and the number of eggs was decreased. Under different water stress levels, the intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ), net reproductive rate (R0), and mean generation time (T) of the Colorado potato beetle population were significantly lower than those of control treatment, but there was no significant difference between light drought and control treatment. The TIMING-MS Chart program was used to predict the population dynamics of Colorado potato beetle for 110 days, which showed the fastest population growth in CK treatments and the slowest in HD treatments. The reduced water content of the leaves also reduces the survival rate of adult Colorado potato beetles. The growth, development, survival, and reproduction of Colorado potato beetles are affected by water stress of host plants. Moderate and heavy droughts have negative effects on the development and reproduction of Colorado potato beetles.

Discussion: This information can be used to clarify the impact of water stress on the growth, development and population dynamics of Colorado potato beetle, to provide a theoretical basis for the control of this pest.