bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification of Bacteria in Two Food Waste Black Soldier Fly Larvae Rearing Residues
Authors: Gold Moritz , von Allmen Fabienne , Zurbrügg Christian , Zhang Jibin , Mathys Alexander
Published: December 2020

Significant economic, environmental, and social impacts are associated with the avoidable disposal of foods worldwide. Mass-rearing of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae using organic wastes and food- and agro-industry side products is promising for recycling resources within the food system. One current challenge of this approach is ensuring a reliable and high conversion performance of larvae with inherently variable substrates. Research has been devoted to increasing rearing performance by optimizing substrate nutrient contents and ratios, while the potential of the substrate and larval gut microbiota to increase rearing performance remains untapped. Since previous research has focused on gut microbiota, here, we describe bacterial dynamics in the residue (i.e., the mixture of frass and substrate) of black soldier fly larvae reared on two food wastes (i.e., canteen and household waste). To identify members of the substrate and residue microbiota, potentially associated with rearing performance, bacterial dynamics were also studied in the canteen waste without larvae, and after inactivation by irradiation of the initial microbiota in canteen waste. The food waste substrates had similar microbiota; both were dominated by common lactic acid bacteria. Inactivation of the canteen waste microbiota, which was dominated byLeuconostoc,Bacillus, andStaphylococcus, decreased the levels of all rearing performance indicators by 31–46% relative to canteen waste with the native microbiota. In both food waste substrates, larval rearing decreased the bacterial richness and changed the physicochemical residue properties and composition over the rearing period of 12 days, and typical members of the larval intestinal microbiota (i.e.,Providencia,Dysgonomonas,Morganella, andProteus)became more abundant, suggesting their transfer into the residue through excretions. Future studies should isolate members of these taxa and elucidate their true potential to influence black soldier fly mass-rearing performance.
Enhanced Acquisition and Retention of Conditioned Eyeblink Responses in Veterans Expressing PTSD Symptoms: Modulation by Lifetime History of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Handy Justin D. , Wright W. Geoffrey , Haskell Amanda , Servatius Labeeby , Servatius Richard J.
Published: December 2020

Enhanced acquisition of eyeblink conditioning is observed in active duty military and veterans expressing PTSD symptoms (PTSD+) and those expressing temperamental vulnerabilities to develop PTSD after traumatic experiences, such as behaviorally inhibited temperament. There is a growing literature showing persistent cerebellar abnormalities in those experiencing mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI+) as well as linkages between mTBI and PTSD. With the dependency of eyeblink conditioning on cerebellar processes, the impact of mTBI on eyeblink conditioning in veterans expressing PTSD is unknown. The present study assessed eyeblink conditioning in veterans during two sessions separated by 1 week. With a focus on the accelerated learning of veterans expressing PTSD, training utilized a protocol which degrades learning through interspersing conditioned stimulus (CS) exposures amongst delay-type trials of CS and unconditional stimulus (US) co-terminating trials. Faster acquisition of the eyeblink conditioned responses (CR) was observed in PTSD during Week 1. The Week 2 assessment revealed an interaction of mTBI and PTSD, such that asymptotic performance of PTSD+ was greater than PTSD− among mTBI− veterans, whereas these groups did not differ in mTBI+ veterans. To further examine the relationship between enhanced sensitivity to acquire eyeblink conditioning and PTSD, cluster analysis was performed based on performance across training sessions. Those with enhanced sensitivity to acquire eyeblink conditioned responses expressed more PTSD symptoms, which were specific to Cluster C symptoms of avoidance, in addition to greater behavioral inhibition. These results support the continued investigation of the conditioned eyeblink response as a behavioral indicator of stress-related psychopathology.
Patterns of Infarction on MRI in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke and Cardio-Embolism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Sharobeam Angelos , Churilov Leonid , Parsons Mark , Donnan Geoffrey A. , Davis Stephen M. , Yan Bernard
Published: December 2020

Background: Cardioembolic strokes are common however atrial fibrillation, the most common cause, is often asymptomatic and difficult to detect. There is evidence that infarct topography and volume on magnetic resonance imaging may be associated with specific stroke etiologies.

Aim: A systematic review and meta-analysis were undertaken to summarize the available evidence on the association between stroke etiology, infarct topography, and volume.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted using Medline (OVID), Embase (OVID), and PubMed databases. Hand searches of the gray literature and of reference lists in relevant articles were also performed. A quality assessment was undertaken, based on the STROBE checklist. For each study, the number of patients with and without a CE source of stroke and infarct topography was collected and outcomes presented as odds ratios (OR) with 95% CI and p-values.

Results: Four thousand eight hundred and seventy-three patients with ischemic stroke were included, of whom 1,559 were determined to have a CE source. Bilateral infarcts (OR 3.41; 95% CI 2.20–5.29; p < 0.0001) and multiple territory infarcts (OR 1.57; 95% CI 1.12–2.21; p = 0.009) were more common in patients with a CE source of stroke, than patients without a CE source. Lacunar infarcts (OR 0.49; 95% CI 0.31–0.80; p = 0.004) were more likely to occur in patients without a CE source. No significant difference between the frequency of multiple infarcts (OR 0.96; 95% CI 0.57–1.61; p = 0.87) anterior circulation (OR 1.45; 95% CI 0.83–2.53; p = 0.19) or posterior circulation infarcts (OR 1.06; 95% CI 0.72–1.57; p = 0.75), between the two groups were identified. Three out of four studies examining volume, found a significant association between increased infarct volume and CE source of stroke. A sensitivity analysis with cryptogenic and undetermined stroke sources assumed to be cardioembolic, did not alter the associations observed.

Conclusion: The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis are broadly consistent with previous literature and provide more robust evidence on the association between infarct topography, volume and stroke etiology. Our findings may assist with refining cardiac investigations for patients with cryptogenic stroke, based on infarct topography.
Hybrid EEG-fNIRS BCI Fusion Using Multi-Resolution Singular Value Decomposition (MSVD)
Authors: Khan Muhammad Umer , Hasan Mustafa A. H.
Published: December 2020

Brain-computer interface (BCI) multi-modal fusion has the potential to generate multiple commands in a highly reliable manner by alleviating the drawbacks associated with single modality. In the present work, a hybrid EEG-fNIRS BCI system—achieved through a fusion of concurrently recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals—is used to overcome the limitations of uni-modality and to achieve higher tasks classification. Although the hybrid approach enhances the performance of the system, the improvements are still modest due to the lack of availability of computational approaches to fuse the two modalities. To overcome this, a novel approach is proposed using Multi-resolution singular value decomposition (MSVD) to achieve system- and feature-based fusion. The two approaches based up different features set are compared using the KNN and Tree classifiers. The results obtained through multiple datasets show that the proposed approach can effectively fuse both modalities with improvement in the classification accuracy.
Functional Segregation of Human Brain Networks Across the Lifespan: An Exploratory Analysis of Static and Dynamic Resting-State Functional Connectivity
Authors: Rosenberg Benjamin M. , Mennigen Eva , Monti Martin M. , Kaiser Roselinde H.
Published: December 2020

Prior research has shown that during development, there is increased segregation between, and increased integration within, prototypical resting-state functional brain networks. Functional networks are typically defined by static functional connectivity over extended periods of rest. However, little is known about how time-varying properties of functional networks change with age. Likewise, a comparison of standard approaches to functional connectivity may provide a nuanced view of how network integration and segregation are reflected across the lifespan. Therefore, this exploratory study evaluated common approaches to static and dynamic functional network connectivity in a publicly available dataset of subjects ranging from 8 to 75 years of age. Analyses evaluated relationships between age and static resting-state functional connectivity, variability (standard deviation) of connectivity, and mean dwell time of functional network states defined by recurring patterns of whole-brain connectivity. Results showed that older age was associated with decreased static connectivity between nodes of different canonical networks, particularly between the visual system and nodes in other networks. Age was not significantly related to variability of connectivity. Mean dwell time of a network state reflecting high connectivity between visual regions decreased with age, but older age was also associated with increased mean dwell time of a network state reflecting high connectivity within and between canonical sensorimotor and visual networks. Results support a model of increased network segregation over the lifespan and also highlight potential pathways of top-down regulation among networks.
DeepVesselNet: Vessel Segmentation, Centerline Prediction, and Bifurcation Detection in 3-D Angiographic Volumes
Authors: Tetteh Giles , Efremov Velizar , Forkert Nils D. , Schneider Matthias , Kirschke Jan , Weber Bruno , Zimmer Claus , Piraud Marie , Menze Björn H.
Published: December 2020

We present DeepVesselNet, an architecture tailored to the challenges faced when extracting vessel trees and networks and corresponding features in 3-D angiographic volumes using deep learning. We discuss the problems of low execution speed and high memory requirements associated with full 3-D networks, high-class imbalance arising from the low percentage (<3%) of vessel voxels, and unavailability of accurately annotated 3-D training data—and offer solutions as the building blocks of DeepVesselNet. First, we formulate 2-D orthogonal cross-hair filters which make use of 3-D context information at a reduced computational burden. Second, we introduce a class balancing cross-entropy loss function with false-positive rate correction to handle the high-class imbalance and high false positive rate problems associated with existing loss functions. Finally, we generate a synthetic dataset using a computational angiogenesis model capable of simulating vascular tree growth under physiological constraints on local network structure and topology and use these data for transfer learning. We demonstrate the performance on a range of angiographic volumes at different spatial scales including clinical MRA data of the human brain, as well as CTA microscopy scans of the rat brain. Our results show that cross-hair filters achieve over 23% improvement in speed, lower memory footprint, lower network complexity which prevents overfitting and comparable accuracy that does not differ from full 3-D filters. Our class balancing metric is crucial for training the network, and transfer learning with synthetic data is an efficient, robust, and very generalizable approach leading to a network that excels in a variety of angiography segmentation tasks. We observe that sub-sampling and max pooling layers may lead to a drop in performance in tasks that involve voxel-sized structures. To this end, the DeepVesselNet architecture does not use any form of sub-sampling layer and works well for vessel segmentation, centerline prediction, and bifurcation detection. We make our synthetic training data publicly available, fostering future research, and serving as one of the first public datasets for brain vessel tree segmentation and analysis.
Ketone Monoester Supplementation Does Not Expedite the Recovery of Indices of Muscle Damage After Eccentric Exercise
Authors: Martin-Arrowsmith Patrick W. , Lov Jamie , Dai Jiaying , Morais José A. , Churchward-Venne Tyler A.
Published: December 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a ketone monoester supplement on indices of muscle damage during recovery after eccentric exercise.

Methods: In a randomized, double-blind, independent group design, 20 moderately active healthy young adults consumed 360 mg per kg−1 bodyweight of a ketone monoester (KET) or energy-matched carbohydrate (CON) supplement twice daily following eccentric exercise (drop jumps). Maximal isometric voluntary contraction (MIVC) torque, counter-movement jump (CMJ) height, and muscle soreness were measured before (PRE), and immediately (POST), 24 h and 48 h post-exercise. Blood samples were collected for analysis of β-hydroxybutyrate (β-OHB), creatine kinase (CK), and select pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines.

Results: Peak blood β-OHB concentration after supplement intake was greater (P < 0.001) in KET (4.4 ± 0.8 mM) vs. CON (0.4 ± 0.3 mM). Exercise increased CK concentration at 24 h and 48 h vs. PRE (time: P < 0.001) with no difference between KET and CON. Exercise reduced MIVC (KET: −19.9 ± 14.6; CON: −22.6 ± 11.1%) and CMJ (KET: −11.0 ± 7.5; CON: −13.0 ± 8.7%) at POST relative PRE; however, there was no difference between KET and CON on the recovery of MIVC at 24 h (KET: −15.4 ± 20.4; CON: −18.7 ± 20.1%) or 48 h (KET: −7.2 ± 21.2; CON: −11.8 ± 20.2%), or CMJ at 24 h (KET: −9.2 ± 11.5; CON: −13.4 ± 10.8) or 48 h (KET: −12.5 ± 12.4; CON: −9.1 ± 11.7). Muscle soreness was increased during post-exercise recovery (time: P < 0.001) with no differences between KET and CON. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 was greater (group: P = 0.007) in CON (236 ± 11 pg/mL) vs. KET (187 ± 11 pg/mL).

Conclusion: In conclusion, twice daily ingestion of a ketone monoester supplement that acutely elevates blood β-OHB concentration does not enhance the recovery of muscle performance or reduce muscle soreness following eccentric exercise in moderately active, healthy young adults.
Analysis of Immune Microenvironment by Multiplex Immunohistochemistry Staining in Different Oral Diseases and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Qiao Bin , Huang Junwen , Mei Zi , Lam Alfred King-yin , Zhao Junfang , Ying Le
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The aim is to investigate the impacts of using multiplex immunochemistry (mIHC) staining to analyses the co-expression of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) [CD8+ T cells and Forkhead Box Protein 3 (FOXP3)+ regulatory T cells (Tregs)] in different oral diseases, and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Methods

Formalin fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections from different oral diseases were stained with PD-L1 and TILs (CD8+ T cells and FOXP3+ Tregs) by mIHC staining simultaneously. The whole slide was scanned digitally to observe the cell phenotypes stained in the microenvironment. The contents of each slice were read using a computer-aided method to analyze and the cell densities were calculated using statistical software.

Results

We were able to characterize the tumor microenvironment (TME) of different oral diseases including oral leukoplakia (OLK), inflammatory gingiva (IG), oral lichen planus (OLP), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), with accurate visualization of various immune cells harboring complex immune phenotypes by mIHC staining. The results showed that PD-L1 was up-regulated in SCC tissues at different pathological stages, while CD8 and FOXP3 had no significant changes. The ratio of PD-L1/CD8 was also significantly up-regulated in SCC tissues compared with that of other oral diseases. In advanced stages of OSCC, the FOXP3/CD8 ratio increased, and immunosuppressive TME was more pronounced. In addition, we also found different immune phenotypes: the inflamed phenotype, immune-excluded phenotypes, and immune-desert phenotypes. By locating tumor epithelial cells, we found that PD-L1 expression is in both tumor cells and stromal cells.

Conclusions

mIHC is useful for the visualization and evaluation of tumor microenvironment in immuno-oncology research. It allows single-cell imaging in situ and could effectively and quickly determine the immune phenotype of different oral diseases.
Combination of Serum Amyloid A and C-Reactive Protein Exhibit Synergistic Effect in Angiogenesis by Inducing Inflammation and Vascular Network
Authors: Liu Dan , Chen Yonghe , Wang Yunxiu , Lei Mangjuan , Chen Lin , Liang Rongliang , Cheng Zhaomin , Shi Wen , Wang Huimin , Lin Li , Wang Lina , Lin Fujia , Lin Haibiao , Liu Wanli
Published: December 2020

The role of angiogenesis in tumor progression has been recognized as one of the hallmarks of cancer, but the mechanism of its action remains unclear. Inflammatory markers serum amyloid A (SAA) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are proposed to play causal roles in the development of various disorders, including malignancies. Previously, we identified the complex of CRP and SAA (CRP-SAA) with diagnostic and prognostic value better than either one of them in the serum of lung cancer patients. In this study, we further explored the stimulation function of CRP-SAA on angiogenesis and inflammation. To explore possible mechanisms, microarray datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and multi-bioinformatics analysis revealed that THP-1 and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) responded to SAA stimulation with upregulation of two pro-angiogenic cytokines in common, i.e., C-X-C motif ligand 6 (CXCL6) and CXCL8, which were validated by subsequent experiments in vitro. CRP had weak effects as a single stimulus, but it can efficiently potentiate the SAA induction of cytokines, which was stronger than the sum of the both (P < 0.001). The synergistical effect of the combination of CRP and SAA enhanced HUVECs transwell and constricted morphology by upregulating the pro-angiogenic genes. These results indicated that the binding of CRP and SAA acted synergistically in pro-angiogenesis by increasing inflammation and inducing vascular network.
Radiomics Feature Activation Maps as a New Tool for Signature Interpretability
Authors: Vuong Diem , Tanadini-Lang Stephanie , Wu Ze , Marks Robert , Unkelbach Jan , Hillinger Sven , Eboulet Eric Innocents , Thierstein Sandra , Peters Solange , Pless Miklos , Guckenberger Matthias , Bogowicz Marta
Published: December 2020

Introduction

In the field of personalized medicine, radiomics has shown its potential to support treatment decisions. However, the limited feature interpretability hampers its introduction into the clinics. Here, we propose a new methodology to create radiomics feature activation maps, which allows to identify the spatial-anatomical locations responsible for signature activation based on local radiomics. The feasibility of this technique will be studied for histological subtype differentiation (adenocarcinoma versus squamous cell carcinoma) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using computed tomography (CT) radiomics.

Materials and Methods

Pre-treatment CT scans were collected from a multi-centric Swiss trial (training, n=73, IIIA/N2 NSCLC, SAKK 16/00) and an independent cohort (validation, n=32, IIIA/N2/IIIB NSCLC). Based on the gross tumor volume (GTV), four peritumoral region of interests (ROI) were defined: lung_exterior (expansion into the lung), iso_exterior (expansion into lung and soft tissue), gradient (GTV border region), GTV+Rim (GTV and iso_exterior). For each ROI, 154 radiomic features were extracted using an in-house developed software implementation (Z-Rad, Python v2.7.14). Features robust against delineation variability served as an input for a multivariate logistic regression analysis. Model performance was quantified using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and verified using five-fold cross validation and internal validation. Local radiomic features were extracted from the GTV+Rim ROI using non-overlapping 3x3x3 voxel patches previously marked as GTV or rim. A binary activation map was created for each patient using the median global feature value from the training. The ratios of activated/non-activated patches of GTV and rim regions were compared between histological subtypes (Wilcoxon test).

Results

Iso_exterior, gradient, GTV+Rim showed good performances for histological subtype prediction (AUCtraining=0.68–0.72 and AUCvalidation=0.73–0.74) whereas GTV and lung_exterior models failed validation. GTV+Rim model feature activation maps showed that local texture feature distribution differed significantly between histological subtypes in the rim (p=0.0481) but not in the GTV (p=0.461).

Conclusion

In this exploratory study, radiomics-based prediction of NSCLC histological subtypes was predominantly based on the peritumoral region indicating that radiomics activation maps can be useful for tracing back the spatial location of regions responsible for signature activation.
Metabolic Constants and Plasticity of Cancer Cells in a Limiting Glucose and Glutamine Microenvironment—A Pyruvate Perspective
Authors: Otto Angela M.
Published: December 2020

The metabolism of cancer cells is an issue of dealing with fluctuating and limiting levels of nutrients in a precarious microenvironment to ensure their vitality and propagation. Glucose and glutamine are central metabolites for catabolic and anabolic metabolism, which is in the limelight of numerous diagnostic methods and therapeutic targeting. Understanding tumor metabolism in conditions of nutrient depletion is important for such applications and for interpreting the readouts. To exemplify the metabolic network of tumor cells in a model system, the fate 13C6-glucose was tracked in a breast cancer cell line growing in variable low glucose/low glutamine conditions. 13C-glucose-derived metabolites allowed to deduce the engagement of metabolic pathways, namely glycolysis, the TCA-cycle including glutamine and pyruvate anaplerosis, amino acid synthesis (serine, glycine, aspartate, glutamate), gluconeogenesis, and pyruvate replenishment. While the metabolic program did not change, limiting glucose and glutamine supply reduced cellular metabolite levels and enhanced pyruvate recycling as well as pyruvate carboxylation for entry into the TCA-cycle. Otherwise, the same metabolic pathways, including gluconeogenesis, were similarly engaged with physiologically saturating as with limiting glucose and glutamine. Therefore, the metabolic plasticity in precarious nutritional microenvironment does not require metabolic reprogramming, but is based on dynamic changes in metabolite quantity, reaction rates, and directions of the existing metabolic network.
Nonmuscle Myosin Heavy Chain ⅡA-Mediated Exosome Release via Regulation of the Rho-Associated Kinase 1/Myosin Light Chains/Actin Pathway
Authors: Lv Yanni , Chen Jin , Hu Jinfang , Qian Yisong , Kong Ying , Fu Longsheng
Published: December 2020

Nonmuscle myosin ⅡA, a kind of ATP-dependent molecular motor, binds actin to form the molecular motors of the cell. We found that interfering with nonmuscle myosin heavy chain (NMMHC) ⅡA could affect the exosome release from microglial cells stimulated by LPS. LPS could enhance exosome release from microglial cells by increasing exosome concentration, elevating the rate of positively labeled CD9 and CD81 proteins and protein expression. The myosin inhibitor, blebbistatin, could decrease the concentration of released exosome and reduce CD9 and CD81 protein expression on the exosome surface compared with that in the LPS group. To further determine the exact subtype of myosin Ⅱ responsible for these effects, we transfected microglial cells with siRNA for MYH9, MYH10, and MYH14. The data showed that only the transfection of siRNA-MYH9, but not MYH10 or MYH14 could decrease the released exosome concentration and particle size compared with those in the LPS group. siRNA-MYH9 would also weaken the CD9 and CD81 protein positive rate and protein expression compared with that in the LPS group by the quantification of CD9 and CD81 fluorescence intensities and by western blotting. Western blots and immunofluorescence assays indicated that NMMHC ⅡA might trigger the ROCK1/MLC/actin signaling pathway of microglial cells upon stimulation by LPS, which might be the potential mechanism of exosome release. These observations demonstrated that NMMHC ⅡA might be the potential target required for exosome release.
Atractylenolide-I Suppresses Tumorigenesis of Breast Cancer by Inhibiting Toll-Like Receptor 4-Mediated Nuclear Factor-κB Signaling Pathway
Authors: Long Fangyi , Lin Hong , Zhang Xiqian , Zhang Jianhui , Xiao Hongtao , Wang Ting
Published: December 2020

Background: Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is an essential sensor related to tumorigenesis, and overexpression of TLR4 in human tumors often correlates with poor prognosis. Atractylenolide‐I (AT-I), a novel TLR4-antagonizing agent, is a major bioactive component from Rhizoma Atractylodes Macrocephalae. Emerging evidence suggests that AT-I exerts anti-tumor effects on various cancers such as colorectal cancer, bladder cancer and melanoma. Nevertheless, the effects of AT-I on mammary tumorigenesis remain unclear.

Methods: In order to ascertain the correlation of TLR4/NF-κB pathway with breast cancer, the expression of TLR4 and NF-κB in normal breast tissues and cancer tissues with different TNM-stages was detected by human tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry technology. The effects of AT-I on tumorigenesis were investigated by cell viability, colony formation, apoptosis, migration and invasion assays in two breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), and N-Nitroso-N-methylurea induced rat breast cancer models were developed to evaluate the anti-tumor effects of AT-I in vivo. The possible underlying mechanisms were further explored by western blot and ELISA assays after a series of LPS treatment and TLR4 knockdown experiments.

Results: We found that TLR4 and NF-κB were significantly up-regulated in breast cancer tissues, and was correlated with advanced TNM-stages. AT-I could inhibit TLR4 mediated NF-κB signaling pathway and decrease NF-κB-regulated cytokines in breast cancer cells, thus inhibiting cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and inducing apoptosis of breast cancer cells. Furthermore, AT-I could inhibit N-Nitroso-N-methylurea-induced rat mammary tumor progression through TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that TLR4 and NF-κB were over expressed in breast cancer, and AT-I could suppress tumorigenesis of breast cancer via inhibiting TLR4-mediated NF-κB signaling pathway.
The Role of Exosomal Non-Coding RNAs in Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Liu Jia , Wu Junduo , Li Longbo , Li Tianyi , Wang Junnan
Published: December 2020

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Atherosclerosis (AS) is a major cause of CVD. Oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation are key factors involved in the development and progression of AS. Exosomes are nano-sized vesicles secreted into the extracellular space by most types of cells, and are ideal substances for the transmission and integration of signals between cells. Cells can selectively encapsulate biologically active substances, such as lipids, proteins and RNA in exosomes and act through paracrine mechanisms. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are important for communication between cells. They can reach the recipient cells through exosomes, causing phenotypic changes and playing a molecular regulatory role in cell function. Elucidating their molecular mechanisms can help identify therapeutic targets or strategies for CVD. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most important disease in CVD. Here, we review the role and the regulatory mechanism of exosomal ncRNAs in the pathophysiology of CAD, as well as the potential contribution of exosomal ncRNA to diagnosis and treatment of CAD.
Olbertian Partition Function in Scalar Field Theory
Authors: Treumann R. A. , Baumjohann Wolfgang
Published: December 2020

The Olbertian partition function is reformulated in terms of continuous (Abelian) fields described by the Landau–Ginzburg action, respectively, Hamiltonian. In order to make some progress, the Gaussian approximation to the partition function is transformed into the Olbertian prior to adding the quartic Landau–Ginzburg term in the Hamiltonian. The final result is provided in the form of an expansion suitable for application of diagrammatic techniques once the nature of the field is given, that is, once the field equations are written down such that the interactions can be formulated.
Mucilage Polysaccharide Composition and Exudation in Maize From Contrasting Climatic Regions
Authors: Nazari Meisam , Riebeling Sophie , Banfield Callum C. , Akale Asegidew , Crosta Margherita , Mason-Jones Kyle , Dippold Michaela A. , Ahmed Mutez Ali
Published: December 2020

Mucilage, a gelatinous substance comprising mostly polysaccharides, is exuded by maize nodal and underground root tips. Although mucilage provides several benefits for rhizosphere functions, studies on the variation in mucilage amounts and its polysaccharide composition between genotypes are still lacking. In this study, eight maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes from different globally distributed agroecological zones were grown under identical abiotic conditions in a randomized field experiment. Mucilage exudation amount, neutral sugars and uronic acids were quantified. Galactose (∼39–42%), fucose (∼22–30%), mannose (∼11–14%), and arabinose (∼8–11%) were the major neutral sugars in nodal root mucilage. Xylose (∼1–4%), and glucose (∼1–4%) occurred only in minor proportions. Glucuronic acid (∼3–5%) was the only uronic acid detected. The polysaccharide composition differed significantly between maize genotypes. Mucilage exudation was 135 and 125% higher in the Indian (900 M Gold) and Kenyan (DH 02) genotypes than in the central European genotypes, respectively. Mucilage exudation was positively associated with the vapor pressure deficit of the genotypes’ agroecological zone. The results indicate that selection for environments with high vapor pressure deficit may favor higher mucilage exudation, possibly because mucilage can delay the onset of hydraulic failure during periods of high vapor pressure deficit. Genotypes from semi-arid climates might offer sources of genetic material for beneficial mucilage traits.
Variation Between Three Eragrostis tef Accessions in Defense Responses to Rhopalosiphum padi Aphid Infestation
Authors: Gyan Nathan M. , Yaakov Beery , Weinblum Nati , Singh Anuradha , Cna’ani Alon , Ben-Zeev Shiran , Saranga Yehoshua , Tzin Vered
Published: December 2020

Tef (Eragrostis tef), a staple crop that originated in the Horn of Africa, has been introduced to multiple countries over the last several decades. Crop cultivation in new geographic regions raises questions regarding the molecular basis for biotic stress responses. In this study, we aimed to classify the insect abundance on tef crop in Israel, and to elucidate its chemical and physical defense mechanisms in response to insect feeding. To discover the main pests of tef in the Mediterranean climate, we conducted an insect field survey on three selected accessions named RTC-144, RTC-405, and RTC-406, and discovered that the most abundant insect order is Hemiptera. We compared the differences inRhopalosiphum padi(Hemiptera; Aphididae) aphid performance, preference, and feeding behavior between the three accessions. While the number of aphid progeny was lower on RTC-406 than on the other two, the aphid olfactory assay indicated that the aphids tended to be repelled from the RTC-144 accession. To highlight the variation in defense responses, we investigated the physical and chemical mechanisms. As a physical barrier, the density of non-granular trichomes was evaluated, in which a higher number of trichomes on the RTC-406 than on the other accessions was observed. This was negatively correlated with aphid performance. To determine chemical responses, the volatile and central metabolite profiles were measured upon aphid attack for 4 days. The volatile analysis exposed a rich and dynamic metabolic profile, and the central metabolism profile indicated that tef plants adjust their sugars and organic and amino acid levels. Overall, we found that the tef plants possess similar defense responses as other Poaceae family species, while the non-volatile deterrent compounds are yet to be characterized. A transcriptomic time-series analysis of a selected accession RTC-144 infested with aphids revealed a massive alteration of genes related to specialized metabolism that potentially synthesize non-volatile toxic compounds. This is the first report to reveal the variation in the defense mechanisms of tef plants. These findings can facilitate the discovery of insect-resistance genes leading to enhanced yield in tef and other cereal crops.
Breaking Bad News: Dynamic Molecular Mechanisms of Wound Response in Plants
Authors: Vega-Muñoz Isaac , Duran-Flores Dalia , Fernández-Fernández Álvaro Daniel , Heyman Jefri , Ritter Andrés , Stael Simon
Published: December 2020

Recognition and repair of damaged tissue are an integral part of life. The failure of cells and tissues to appropriately respond to damage can lead to severe dysfunction and disease. Therefore, it is essential that we understand the molecular pathways of wound recognition and response. In this review, we aim to provide a broad overview of the molecular mechanisms underlying the fate of damaged cells and damage recognition in plants. Damaged cells release the so-called damage associated molecular patterns to warn the surrounding tissue. Local signaling through calcium (Ca2+), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and hormones, such as jasmonic acid, activates defense gene expression and local reinforcement of cell walls to seal off the wound and prevent evaporation and pathogen colonization. Depending on the severity of damage, Ca2+, ROS, and electrical signals can also spread throughout the plant to elicit a systemic defense response. Special emphasis is placed on the spatiotemporal dimension in order to obtain a mechanistic understanding of wound signaling in plants.
Mental Health Outcomes Among Healthcare Workers and the General Population During the COVID-19 in Italy
Authors: Rossi Rodolfo , Socci Valentina , Pacitti Francesca , Mensi Sonia , Di Marco Antinisca , Siracusano Alberto , Di Lorenzo Giorgio
Published: December 2020

Introduction

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers in Italy have been exposed to an unprecedented pressure and traumatic events. However, no direct comparison with the general population is available so far. The aim of this study is to detail mental health outcomes in healthcare workers compared to the general population.

Methods

24050 respondents completed an on-line questionnaire during the contagion peak, 21342 general population, 1295 second-line healthcare workers, and 1411 front-line healthcare workers. Depressive, anxious, post-traumatic symptoms and insomnia were assessed. Specific COVID-19 related potential risk factors were also considered in healthcare workers.

Results

Depressive symptoms were more frequent in the general population (28.12%) and front-line healthcare workers (28.35%) compared to the second-line healthcare workers (19.98%) groups. Anxiety symptoms showed a prevalence of 21.25% in the general population, 18.05% for second-line healthcare workers, and 20.55% for front-line healthcare workers. Insomnia showed a prevalence of 7.82, 6.58, and 9.92% for the general population, second-line healthcare workers, and front-line healthcare workers, respectively. Compared to the general population, front-line healthcare workers had higher odds of endorsing total trauma-related symptoms. Both second-line healthcare workers and front-line healthcare workers had higher odds of endorsing core post-traumatic symptoms compared to the general population, while second-line healthcare workers had lower odds of endorsing negative affect and dissociative symptoms. Higher total traumatic symptom score was associated with being a front-line healthcare worker, having a colleague infected, hospitalized, or deceased, being a nurse, female gender, and younger age.

Conclusion

This study suggests a significant psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Italian general population and healthcare workers. Front-line healthcare workers represent a specific at-risk population for post-traumatic symptoms. These findings underline the importance of monitoring and intervention strategies.
How Your Blood Knows Your Brain Is Sick
Authors: Loudjani Sabrina , Narayanan Sridar , Haqqani Arsalan S. , Badhwar AmanPreet
Published: December 2020

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex disease that attacks the brain that mostly affects people 65 years and older. AD affects more and more people each year. A major problem with AD is that it is diagnosed too late. A big goal is to find ways to help doctors identify the disease early, so they can better help AD patients. Biomarkers are something that can tell you if a part of the body is feeling healthy or is being attacked by a disease. This article will describe one exciting new category of biomarkers that carry information from the brain into the blood. These biomarkers can be used to see how healthy the brain is feeling or if it is getting hurt by a disease like AD.
“Whatever Did Ever Happen to the Likely Lads”? Social Change, Mobility, Class, and Identity in the UK 1969–2019.
Authors: Warren Jon
Published: December 2020

This paper reflects upon issues of class and identity in the UK over the last 50 years. 1969 is a useful starting point, economically and technologically it can be regarded as the high tide of the vision of a Britain remade in what the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson had termed “the white heat of technology.” That technology had produced Concord the world's first supersonic airliner which made its debut that year. This successful Anglo French collaboration also showed how Britain was rapidly moving into a different relationship with Europe a process that culminated in the UK's entry into the EEC or the “common market” as it was more usually referred to on January 1st 1973. Sociologically, it marked the publication of Goldthorpe et al. Affluent worker studies, which examined the idea that increasing affluence was breaking down established class structures, roles and attitudes. This debate about whether the changing nature of work brought with it a fundamental change in class structure and identity has been going on ever since. It has subtly changed and this is to be expected, 50 years is a long time. However, it is generally accepted that the change to economic and social policy that had followed the second world, social mobility was increasingly evident by the late sixties and continued into the seventies. Over the years issues of not only social class but de-industrialization, social mobility, regional decline, globalization, and its impact on policy have been added to the mix. Furthermore, “Brexit” is part of this debate and partly a product of it, however this paper doesn't have the space required to examine this. The title of this paper relates to Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais sitcom “Whatever happened to the Likely Lads” (WHTTLL) which was first broadcast by the BBC in 1973. It focusses on the relationship between 2 young men in their late 20's Bob and Terry. They come from the same place, have similar backgrounds and have been friends since childhood. But their lives are now at a crossroads. Whilst Bob is attempting to grasp new opportunities, Terry is skeptical and to some degree baffled by the change going on around him. The future of class in an era of social mobility also raised questions about aspiration and identity. These are questions which are now less prominent within discourse on class. The debate around class today is arguably less concerned with the mainstream and has become focussed on extremes looking at either poverty, criminality, dispossession or sometimes the lifestyles of a superrich elite. In summary then this paper will look at the changing ideas, and narratives that have surrounded social class and social mobility over the past half century within the context of the UK, it will do that by reflecting on my own personal biography and the themes raised in “Whatever happened to the Likely Lads” (WHTTLL).
Magnetic Field Turbulence in the Solar Wind at Sub‐ion Scales: In Situ Observations and Numerical Simulations
Authors: Matteini L. , Franci L. , Alexandrova O. , Lacombe C. , Landi S. , Hellinger P. , Papini E. , Verdini A.
Published: December 2020

We investigate the transition of the solar wind turbulent cascade from MHD to sub‐ion range by means of a detailed comparison between in situ observations and hybrid numerical simulations. In particular, we focus on the properties of the magnetic field and its component anisotropy in Cluster measurements and hybrid 2D simulations. First, we address the angular distribution of wave vector in the kinetic range between ion and electron scales by studying the variance anisotropy of the magnetic field components. When taking into account a single-direction sampling, like that performed by spacecraft in the solar wind, the main properties of the fluctuations observed in situ are also recovered in our numerical description. This result confirms that solar wind turbulence in the sub‐ion range is characterized by a quasi-2D gyrotropic distribution of k-vectors around the mean field. We then consider the magnetic compressibility associated with the turbulent cascade and its evolution from large-MHD to sub‐ion scales. The ratio of field aligned to perpendicular fluctuations, typically low in the MHD inertial range, increases significantly when crossing ion scales and its value in the sub‐ion range is a function of the total plasma beta only, as expected from theoretical predictions, with higher magnetic compressibility for higher beta. Moreover, we observe that this increase has a gradual trend from low to high beta values in the in situ data; this behavior is well captured by the numerical simulations. The level of magnetic field compressibility that is observed in situ and in the simulations is in fairly good agreement with theoretical predictions, especially at high beta, suggesting that, in the kinetic range explored, the turbulence is supported by low-frequency and highly oblique fluctuations in pressure balance, like kinetic Alfvén waves or other slowly evolving coherent structures. The resulting scaling properties as a function of the plasma beta and the main differences between numerical and theoretical expectations and in situ observations are also discussed.
Prophylactic Use of Meloxicam and Paracetamol in Peripartal Sows Suffering From Postpartum Dysgalactia Syndrome
Authors: Schoos Alexandra , Chantziaras Ilias , Vandenabeele Jordy , Biebaut Evelien , Meyer Evelyne , Cools An , Devreese Mathias , Maes Dominiek
Published: December 2020

Postpartum dysgalactia syndrome (PPDS) is a major economic problem in modern sow farms. General treatment of PPDS consists of the use of oxytocin to promote milk ejection and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to alleviate inflammatory processes. So far, studies investigated the use of a single administration of NSAIDs after parturition in healthy and non-healthy sows. The current study investigated whether administration of meloxicam or paracetamol in sows prior to parturition improves sow and piglet health as well as performance in a farm with PPDS problems in sows. Sixty sows and 978 piglets from a Belgian farrow-to-finish farm were enrolled. Sows were randomly divided into three groups: a non-treated control group, a meloxicam-treated group and a paracetamol-treated group. Treatment was administered orally for 7 days from gestation day 113 onwards. Performance and health parameters investigated in sows were gestation length, farrowing duration, litter characteristics, colostrum yield and quality (Immunoglobulin G), litter weight gain, weaning-to-estrus interval, pregnancy rate, rectal temperature, acute phase proteins and inflammatory markers serum amyloid A, haptoglobin, interferon γ, interleukin 1β and 6 backfat, constipation and feed refusal. Performance and health parameters in piglets were birthweight, average daily weight gain, colostrum intake and mortality. Paracetamol-treated sows showed a significantly (P= 0.04) lower rectal temperature (mean ± SD: 38.09 ± 0.18°C) than the meloxicam-treated sows (38.24 ± 0.18°C), but not than the control group (38.22 ± 0.18°C). Sows of the paracetamol-treated group had a significantly (P= 0.001) longer gestation length (116.3 ± 0.9 days) than sows of the control group (115.3 ± 0.6 days), but not than meloxicam-treated sows (115.9 ± 0.9 days). No significant differences between the three groups were found for all the other parameters. In conclusion, the prophylactic oral administration of either meloxicam or paracetamol for 7 days starting 2 days prior to farrowing did not show beneficial effects on both health and performance parameters of sows and piglets.
Genetic Operator-Based Particle Filter Combined with Markov Chain Monte Carlo for Data Assimilation in a Crop Growth Model
Authors: Jamal Alaa , Linker Raphael
Published: December 2020

Particle filter has received increasing attention in data assimilation for estimating model states and parameters in cases of non-linear and non-Gaussian dynamic processes. Various modifications of the original particle filter have been suggested in the literature, including integrating particle filter with Markov Chain Monte Carlo (PF-MCMC) and, later, using genetic algorithm evolutionary operators as part of the state updating process. In this work, a modified genetic-based PF-MCMC approach for estimating the states and parameters simultaneously and without assuming Gaussian distribution for priors is presented. The method was tested on two simulation examples on the basis of the crop model AquaCrop-OS. In the first example, the method was compared to a PF-MCMC method in which states and parameters are updated sequentially and genetic operators are used only for state adjustments. The influence of ensemble size, measurement noise, and mutation and crossover parameters were also investigated. Accurate and stable estimations of the model states were obtained in all cases. Parameter estimation was more challenging than state estimation and not all parameters converged to their true value, especially when the parameter value had little influence on the measured variables. Overall, the proposed method showed more accurate and consistent parameter estimation than the PF-MCMC with sequential estimation, which showed highly conservative behavior. The superiority of the proposed method was more pronounced when the ensemble included a large number of particles and the measurement noise was low.