bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Role of serum periostin in severe obstructive sleep apnea with albuminuria: an observational study
Authors: Sunadome Hironobu , Matsumoto Hisako , Tachikawa Ryo , Matsumoto Takeshi , Tanizawa Kiminobu , Oga Toru , Ono Junya , Ohta Shoichiro , Izuhara Kenji , Hirai Toyohiro , Chin Kazuo
Published: June 2020

Background

Periostin is a matricellular protein and is a useful marker in respiratory diseases. However, the roles of periostin in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) remain unclear. Several in vitro studies have suggested that mechanical stress, hypoxia, impaired metabolism, and kidney injury, which often accompany OSA, may upregulate the expression of periostin. Meanwhile, serum periostin level has been negatively associated with body mass index (BMI) in the general population. In this study, we hypothesized that a high level of serum periostin despite being overweight/obese may discriminate severe OSA or OSA with comorbidities from mild OSA with obesity alone. We aimed to clarify the roles of periostin in patients with OSA to assist in elucidating the heterogeneity of OSA with comorbidities.

Methods

Among patients diagnosed as OSA, we examined the associations between serum periostin levels and clinical indices, including the severity of OSA, BMI, and comorbidities, using a multifaceted approach. The serum periostin levels and clinical indices were assessed after 3 months of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment.

Results

In 96 patients with OSA, serum periostin level was negatively correlated with BMI, albeit marginally, and tended to be higher in severe OSA than in others when adjusted for BMI. Cluster analysis identified four clusters, including two severe OSA clusters, one of which was characterized by high serum periostin levels and the presence of comorbidities, including albuminuria. In a comparative analysis of severe OSA cases (n = 53), the level of serum-free fatty acids and the frequency of albuminuria were higher in patients with high serum periostin level of ≥87 ng/mL, which was the highest quintile among all participants, than in those with low serum periostin levels (< 87 ng/mL, n = 41). In patients with severe OSA and high serum periostin levels, the levels of serum periostin and urinary albumin significantly decreased after 3 months of CPAP treatment.

Conclusions

Elevated serum periostin in patients with OSA despite being overweight/obese may be an indicator of severe OSA with comorbidities, particularly albuminuria.
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is associated with Bartonella henselae infection in a patient with multiple susceptibility genes
Authors: Yang Tianjun , Mei Qing , Zhang Lei , Chen Zhendong , Zhu Chunyan , Fang Xiaowei , Geng Shike , Pan Aijun
Published: June 2020

Background

Adult-onset hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare and life-threatening condition, which is often triggered by certain types of infection, cancer and numerous autoimmune diseases; however, of the numerous infectious triggers associated with HLH, the consequences of Bartonella henselae infection have been rarely reported.

Case presentation

A 48-year-old female presented with a 20-day history of intermittent fever accompanied by systemic rash, fatigue, anorexia and weight loss later she developed shock and unconsciousness. Blood tests showed a reduction of leukocyte, anemia and thrombocytopenia, and pathological results of a bone marrow biopsy confirmed hemophagocytic activity. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) analysis of the lymph node detected the presence of B. henselae. Whole exome sequencing revealed two gene variants, STXBP2 and IRF5, in this adult patient with secondary HLH. Then, she received minocycline and rifampin combination anti-infective therapy. Intravenous immunoglobulin for 5 days followed by a high dose of methylprednisolone were also administered. The patient was successfully discharged from the intensive care unit and remained in good condition after 2 months of follow-up.

Conclusions

mNGS served crucial roles in obtaining an etiological diagnosis, which suggested that screening for B. henselae should be considered in patients with HLH, especially those with a cat at home. In addition, the genetic defects were discovered to not only be present in primary HLH, but also in secondary HLH, even in the elderly.
TGF-β and WNT signaling pathways in cardiac fibrosis: non-coding RNAs come into focus
Authors: Yousefi Fatemeh , Shabaninejad Zahra , Vakili Sina , Derakhshan Maryam , Movahedpour Ahmad , Dabiri Hamed , Ghasemi Younes , Mahjoubin-Tehran Maryam , Nikoozadeh Azin , Savardashtaki Amir , Mirzaei Hamed , Hamblin Michael R.
Published: June 2020

Cardiac fibrosis describes the inappropriate proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), leading to accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in the cardiac muscle, which is found in many pathophysiological heart conditions. A range of molecular components and cellular pathways, have been implicated in its pathogenesis. In this review, we focus on the TGF-β and WNT signaling pathways, and their mutual interaction, which have emerged as important factors involved in cardiac pathophysiology. The molecular and cellular processes involved in the initiation and progression of cardiac fibrosis are summarized. We focus on TGF-β and WNT signaling in cardiac fibrosis, ECM production, and myofibroblast transformation. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are one of the main players in the regulation of multiple pathways and cellular processes. MicroRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular long non-coding RNAs can all interact with the TGF-β/WNT signaling axis to affect cardiac fibrosis. A better understanding of these processes may lead to new approaches for diagnosis and treatment of many cardiac conditions.
Autophagy in cancers including brain tumors: role of MicroRNAs
Authors: Pourhanifeh Mohammad Hossein , Mahjoubin-Tehran Maryam , Karimzadeh Mohammad Reza , Mirzaei Hamid Reza , Razavi Zahra Sadat , Sahebkar Amirhossein , Hosseini Nayyerehsadat , Mirzaei Hamed , Hamblin Michael R.
Published: June 2020

Autophagy has a crucial role in many cancers, including brain tumors. Several types of endogenous molecules (e.g. microRNAs, AKT, PTEN, p53, EGFR, and NF1) can modulate the process of autophagy. Recently miRNAs (small non-coding RNAs) have been found to play a vital role in the regulation of different cellular and molecular processes, such as autophagy. Deregulation of these molecules is associated with the development and progression of different pathological conditions, including brain tumors. It was found that miRNAs are epigenetic regulators, which influence the level of proteins coded by the targeted mRNAs with any modification of the genetic sequences. It has been revealed that various miRNAs (e.g., miR-7-1-3p, miR-340, miR-17, miR-30a, miR-224-3p, and miR-93), as epigenetic regulators, can modulate autophagy pathways within brain tumors. A deeper understanding of the underlying molecular targets of miRNAs, and their function in autophagy pathways could contribute to the development of new treatment methods for patients with brain tumors. In this review, we summarize the various miRNAs, which are involved in regulating autophagy in brain tumors. Moreover, we highlight the role of miRNAs in autophagy-related pathways in different cancers.
Urban environments and objectively-assessed physical activity and sedentary time in older Belgian and Chinese community dwellers: potential pathways of influence and the moderating role of physical function
Authors: Cerin Ester , Van Dyck Delfien , Zhang Casper J. P. , Van Cauwenberg Jelle , Lai Poh-chin , Barnett Anthony
Published: June 2020

Background

Many studies have examined neighbourhood environmental correlates of older adults’ physical activity (PA) but only a few focused on sedentary time (ST). Only a small proportion of these studies used objective measures of PA/ST, such as accelerometer-assessed PA/ST, and only a couple employed accelerometer cut-points appropriate for older adults. Furthermore, although older adults experience declines in physical function as they age, there is a dearth of information on the impact of the neighbourhood environment on PA/ST in individuals with different levels of physical function.

Methods

We used data from two extant cross-sectional studies conducted in Hong Kong (China) and Ghent (Belgium) (N = 829). Participants were recruited from pre-selected administrative units stratified by socio-economic status and walkability. Moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and ST were assessed for 7 days using accelerometers and cut-points developed for older adults. Objective neighbourhood environmental attributes within 400 m and 1 km buffers surrounding participants’ homes were quantified using Geographic Information Systems data. Lower extremity physical function was objectively assessed. Socio-demographic information was collected via interviews. Total, direct and indirect (mediated) effects of environmental attributes on MVPA and ST were estimated using generalised additive mixed models and the joint-significant test.

Results

Commercial/civic destination density and number of parks within 1 km from home showed positive total and direct effects on MVPA, and public transport density showed negative total and direct effects on ST, which were consistent across cities and physical function levels. The total and direct effects of residential density on MVPA depended on physical function, and those of residential density on ST differed by city. A complex network of potential inconsistent pathways linking all environmental attributes to MVPA and ST in the whole sample or in subgroups of participants was revealed.

Discussion

Access to parks and commercial/civic destinations appear to support older adults’ MVPA in different geographical and cultural contexts and irrespective of their physical function level. By supporting MVPA, these characteristics also contribute to a reduction in ST. The potential effects of public transport, recreational facilities and residential density are less straightforward and point at inconsistent effects that may depend on the geographical context and level of physical function.
Generation and immunogenicity assessment of ELPylated virus-like particles of porcine circovirus type 2
Authors: Li Yangyang , Wang Yajie , Cheng Jian , Zhou Xiaohui , Lu Huipeng , Zhang Xinyu , Xia Xiaoli , Sun Huaichang
Published: June 2020

Background

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is an economically important pathogen affecting swine industry worldwide. The production of current PCV2 vaccines is time-consuming and expensive. Elastin-like polypeptides (ELP) undergo temperature-dependent inverse phase transition and ELPylated proteins can be purified simply by inverse transition cycling (ITC).

Methods

The Cap protein of PCV2b, together with the virus neutralizing (VN) epitopes of PCV2a, PCV2d and PCV2e, was expressed in E. coli as an ELPylated protein, and purified by ITC in the presence of mild detergents. For the control purpose, the Cap protein was also expressed as a His-tagged protein and purified by nickel affinity chromatography. The formation of ELPylated VLP (ELP-VLP) and His-tagged VLP (VLP) was revealed by transmission electron microscopy. Mice were immunized two times with the two forms of VLP and the antigen-specific IgG antibody, VN antibody, cytokine responses and immunoprotection against PCV2 challenge were compared.

Results

ELPylated Cap protein was expressed as a soluble protein and purified to 94.3% purity by ITC in the presence of 1% Triton X-100 and 0.5 M urea. His-tagged Cap fusion protein was expressed as insoluble inclusion bodies and purified to 90% purity under denatured conditions. The two purified fusion proteins assembled into VLP with similar morphology. Compared to immunization with VLP, immunization with ELP-VLP induced significantly (p < 0.01) stronger VN antibody response and slightly (p < 0.05) stronger Cap-specific IgG antibody response, cytokine production and immunoprotection against PCV2 challenge.

Conclusion

A novel ELPylation platform for easy preparation of PCV2 VLP was established and the prepared ELP-VLP was more immunogenic than VLP. The ELPylation technology could be used for other VLP preparation and the prepared ELP-VLP could be developed as a novel PCV2 subunit vaccine.
Right sleeve pneumonectomy for local recurrent lung cancer following right sleeve upper lobectomy with bronchoplasty: a case report
Authors: Hanaoka Jun , Kawaguchi Yo , Okamoto Keigo , Kaku Ryosuke , Ohshio Yasuhiko
Published: June 2020

Background

Salvage surgery has been frequently performed, increasing the opportunity to actively perform surgery for recurrence after a function-preserving operation. However, re-operation after airway reconstruction surgery on the proximal side and the effect of prior treatment, such as radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy, make the operation more difficult. In addition, cases of sleeve pneumonectomy after sleeve lobectomy with bronchoplasty are uncommon.

Case presentation

A 71-year-old lung cancer patient underwent right upper sleeve lobectomy with bronchoplasty combined with perioperative chemotherapy in 2007. A new undiagnosed right hilar mass that appeared 9 years post-operation showed a temporary response to radiotherapy but progressed thereafter. Sleeve pneumonectomy was completed 14 months after radiotherapy by the following procedures: dividing the right pulmonary artery at the proximal site under median sternotomy and then reconstructing the bronchus by telescoping the left main bronchus into the distal trachea after pneumonectomy under posterolateral thoracotomy.

Conclusions

Sleeve pneumonectomy for recurrent lung cancer could be safely performed under good vision using a two-stage approach as salvage surgery, even in high-risk patients who received various treatments and proximal airway reconstruction.
Evaluating a multicomponent program to improve hypertension control in Guatemala: study protocol for an effectiveness-implementation cluster randomized trial
Authors: Paniagua-Avila Alejandra , Fort Meredith P. , Glasgow Russell E. , Gulayin Pablo , Hernández-Galdamez Diego , Mansilla Kristyne , Palacios Eduardo , Peralta Ana Lucia , Roche Dina , Rubinstein Adolfo , He Jiang , Ramirez-Zea Manuel , Irazola Vilma
Published: June 2020

Background

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite advances in hypertension prevention and treatment, the proportion of patients who are aware, treated and controlled is low, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We will evaluate an adapted version of a multilevel and multicomponent hypertension control program in Guatemala, previously proven effective and feasible in Argentina. The program components are: protocol-based hypertension treatment using a standardized algorithm; team-based collaborative care; health provider education; health coaching sessions; home blood pressure monitoring; blood pressure audit; and feedback.

Methods

Using a hybrid type 2 effectiveness-implementation design, we will evaluate clinical and implementation outcomes of the multicomponent program in Guatemala over an 18-month period. Through a cluster randomized trial, we will randomly assign 18 health districts to the intervention arm and 18 to enhanced usual care across five departments, enrolling 44 participants per health district and 1584 participants in total. The clinical outcomes are (1) the difference in the proportion of patients with controlled hypertension (< 130/80 mmHg) between the intervention and control groups at 18 months and (2) the net change in systolic and diastolic blood pressure from baseline to 18 months. The context-enhanced Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM)/Practical Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model (PRISM) framework will guide the evaluation of the implementation at the level of the patient, provider, and health system. Using a mixed-methods approach, we will evaluate the following implementation outcomes: acceptability, adoption, feasibility, fidelity, adaptation, reach, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness.

Discussion

We will disseminate the study findings, and promote scale up and scale out of the program, if proven effective. This study will generate urgently needed data on effective, adoptable, and sustainable interventions and implementation strategies to improve hypertension control in Guatemala and other LMICs.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03504124. Registered on 20 April 2018.
Comparison of senescence-related changes between three- and two-dimensional cultured adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells
Authors: Yin Qiliang , Xu Na , Xu Dongsheng , Dong Mingxin , Shi Xiumin , Wang Yan , Hao Zhuo , Zhu Shuangshuang , Zhao Donghai , Jin Haofan , Liu Wensen
Published: June 2020

Background

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) have attracted widespread interest as cell-based tissue repair systems. To obtain adequate quantities of ADMSCs for therapeutic applications, extensive in vitro expansion is required. However, under current two-dimensional (2D) approaches, ADMSCs rapidly undergo replicative senescence, and cell growth is impeded and stem cell properties are eliminated by mechanisms that are poorly understood. These issues limit the extensive applications of ADMSCs. In this study, we investigated senescence-related changes in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from human adipose tissue in 2D and three-dimensional (3D) cultures.

Methods

We studied cell growth over a given period (21 days) to determine if modes of culture were associated with ADMSC senescence. ADMSCs were isolated from healthy females by liposuction surgery and then were grown in 2D and 3D cultures. The cell morphology was observed during cell culture. Every other time of culture, senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) expression, cell viability, proliferation, and differentiation potential of ADMSCs from 2D and 3D cultures were detected. Also, senescence- and stemness-related gene expression, telomere length, telomerase activity, and energy metabolism of ADMSCs for different culture times were evaluated.

Results

With long-term propagation, we observed significant changes in cell morphology, proliferation, differentiation abilities, and energy metabolism, which were associated with increases in SA-β-gal activity and decreases in telomere length and telomerase activity. Notably, when cultured in 3D, these changes were improved.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that 3D culture is able to ameliorate senescence-related changes in ADMSCs.
New refinements of Chebyshev–Pólya–Szegö-type inequalities via generalized fractional integral operators
Authors: Butt Saad Ihsan , Akdemir Ahmet Ocak , Bhatti Muhammad Yousaf , Nadeem Muhammad
Published: June 2020

Fractional analysis, as a rapidly developing area, is a tool to bring new derivatives and integrals into the literature with the effort put forward by many researchers in recent years. The theory of inequalities is a subject of many mathematicians’ work in the last century and has contributed to other areas with its applications. Especially in recent years, these two fields, fractional analysis and inequality theory, have shown a synchronous development. Inequality studies have been carried out by using new operators revealed in the fractional analysis. In this paper, by combining two important concepts of these two areas we obtain new inequalities of Chebyshev–Polya–Szegö type by means of generalized fractional integral operators. Our results are concerned with the integral of the product of two functions and the product of two integrals. They improve the results in the paper (J. Math. Inequal. 10(2):491–504, 2016).
Threshold dynamics of a stochastic SIVS model with saturated incidence and Lévy jumps
Authors: Ma Yuanlin , Yu Xingwang
Published: June 2020

In this paper, we propose and analyze a stochastic SIVS model with saturated incidence and Lévy jumps. We first prove the existence of a global positive solution of the model. Then, with the help of semimartingale convergence theorem, we obtain a stochastic threshold of the model that completely determines the extinction and persistence of the epidemic. At last, we further study the threshold dynamics of a stochastic SIRS model with saturated or bilinear incidence by a similar method and carry out some numerical simulations to demonstrate our theoretical results. Comparing with the method given by Zhou and Zhang (Physica A 446:204–216, 2016), we find that the method used in this paper is simple and effective.
New estimates considering the generalized proportional Hadamard fractional integral operators
Authors: Zhou Shuang-Shuang , Rashid Saima , Jarad Fahd , Kalsoom Humaira , Chu Yu-Ming
Published: June 2020

In the article, we describe the Grüss type inequality, provide some related inequalities by use of suitable fractional integral operators, address several variants by utilizing the generalized proportional Hadamard fractional (GPHF) integral operator. It is pointed out that our introduced new integral operators with nonlocal kernel have diversified applications. Our obtained results show the computed outcomes for an exceptional choice to the GPHF integral operator with parameter and the proportionality index. Additionally, we illustrate two examples that can numerically approximate these operators.
On the existence of solutions for fractional boundary value problems on the ethane graph
Authors: Etemad Sina , Rezapour Shahram
Published: June 2020

A few researchers have studied fractional differential equations on star graphs. They use star graphs because their method needs a common point which has edges with other nodes while other nodes have no edges between themselves. It is natural that we feel that this method is incomplete. Our aim is extending the method on more generalized graphs. In this work, we investigate the existence of solutions for some fractional boundary value problems on the ethane graph. In this way, we consider a graph with labeled vertices by 0 or 1, inspired by a graph representation of the chemical compound of ethane, and define fractional differential equations on each edge of this graph. Also, we provide an example to illustrate our last main result.
The second demographic transition, 1986–2020: sub-replacement fertility and rising cohabitation—a global update
Authors: Lesthaeghe Ron
Published: June 2020

The article considers the evolution of two “Second Demographic Tradition” (SDT) core characteristics: fertility postponement and the rise of cohabitation, with particular attention being given to the first two decades of the new century. It can be considered as the sequel to the concise overview of the SDT published earlier in the US Proceedings of the National Academy (PNAS) (Lesthaeghe, 2014).

In the first section, three optimistic views concerning the evolution of fertility are considered: (i) rises due to the end of postponement, (ii) rises connected with advancing human development and (iii) rises associated with advancing gender equality. The focus in this section is mainly but not exclusively on the European experience and its large degree of variation in fertility patterns. It is argued that these three optimistic predictions of sustained fertility rises are mainly based on observations prior to 2010, with too much weight being given to four Nordic countries and too little to other Western European countries with very similar fertility levels. However, these expectations have been thwarted during the second decade, even in the presence of advances in human development and/or gender equality. Hence, the original SDT prediction of 1986 of sustained sub-replacement fertility still holds after 35 years. We expect this to continue during the third decade as well. Furthermore, single-factor explanations are not likely to do justice to far more intricate situations that are responsive to varying structural and ideational influences.

In the second section, the evolution of cohabitation is traced in Europe, the USA and Canada, the Latin American countries, three East Asian populations and selected sub-Saharan cases. At the onset, cohabitation can start either from a SDT basis among the better educated or among the poorer classes following a pattern of disadvantage (POD). It is argued that the feature of cohabitation spreads rapidly among all social classes and across all education groups and that in the process of increasing cohabitation, the POD versus SDT argument loses its significance. On a global scale, the rise in cohabitation is contingent on two dimensions: (i) contrasting historical patterns of kinship organisation, including the position of women, and (ii) further advances of the “ethics revolution”, indicating the growing dominance of individual autonomy over traditional societal norms. As a result, no breakthroughs in the near future are expected in countries with a Muslim or Hindu tradition in which no such major cultural shifts have occurred so far.
MicroRNA and mRNA profiling in the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
Authors: Parkes Joanna E. , Thoma Anastasia , Lightfoot Adam P. , Day Philip J. , Chinoy Hector , Lamb Janine A.
Published: June 2020

Background

The idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are heterogeneous autoimmune conditions of skeletal muscle inflammation and weakness. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNA which regulate gene expression of target mRNAs. The aim of this study was to profile miRNA and mRNA in IIM and identify miRNA-mRNA relationships which may be relevant to disease.

Methods

mRNA and miRNA in whole blood samples from 7 polymyositis (PM), 7 dermatomyositis (DM), 5 inclusion body myositis and 5 non-myositis controls was profiled using next generation RNA sequencing. Gene ontology and pathway analyses were performed using GOseq and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Dysregulation of miRNAs and opposite dysregulation of predicted target mRNAs in IIM subgroups was validated using RTqPCR and investigated by transfecting human skeletal muscle cells with miRNA mimic.

Results

Analysis of differentially expressed genes showed that interferon signalling, and anti-viral response pathways were upregulated in PM and DM compared to controls. An anti-Jo1 autoantibody positive subset of PM and DM (n = 5) had more significant upregulation and predicted activation of interferon signalling and highlighted T-helper (Th1 and Th2) cell pathways. In miRNA profiling miR-96-5p was significantly upregulated in PM, DM and the anti-Jo1 positive subset. RTqPCR replicated miR-96-5p upregulation and predicted mRNA target (ADK, CD28 and SLC4A10) downregulation. Transfection of a human skeletal muscle cell line with miR-96-5p mimic resulted in significant downregulation of ADK.

Conclusion

MiRNA and mRNA profiling identified dysregulation of interferon signalling, anti-viral response and T-helper cell pathways, and indicates a possible role for miR-96-5p regulation of ADK in pathogenesis of IIM.
DNA profiling of saliva traces habitually deposited on various documents: a pilot study
Authors: Thakar Mukesh Kumar , Sahajpal Vivek , Bhambara Amandeep Kaur , Bhandari Deepika , Sharma Arun
Published: June 2020

Background

A study was conducted to determine whether the habitualness among individuals to apply saliva to their fingertips (for moistening) while shuffling through pages of a document can provide evidence in cases pertaining to handling of documents in forensic investigations. It involved 200 volunteers, 50% of which were male and 50% were female. The volunteers shuffled the pages of the three substrates (registers, books and magazines). An attempt was made to detect the transfer of saliva onto the substrate while shuffling and generation of DNA profiles from the transferred saliva. The presence of salivary stains was confirmed using iodine fuming test and starch iodine test. Afterwards, the DNA was recovered with substrate cutting method, extracted using QIAGEN® QIAmp DNA mini kit and amplified using the Power Plex® 21 System Kit.

Results

The results revealed that 83% of individuals applied saliva onto the documents and majority of females applied saliva. DNA could be successfully recovered from the stains detected on the three substrates, and complete STR profiles could be generated.

Main finding

A conclusion can be drawn out that majority of subjects under study were in habit of using saliva to turn pages, and this can be an important evidence to help criminal justice system as DNA profiles could be developed successfully from the substrates. This can be a very good evidence in respect of identifying the individual(s) who handled the document.
Karyotype variation and biochemical analysis of five Vicia species
Authors: Osman Samira A. , Ali Hoda B. , El-Ashry Zeinab M. , El-Khodary Soheir E.
Published: June 2020

Background

Fabaceae is considered as the third largest family, which includes more than 727 genera and 20,000 species. The genus Vicia has from 180 to 210 species. Vicia species have a great economical and agricultural importance. Karyotype study of chromosomes and SDS-PAGE for seed storage proteins (soluble and non-soluble proteins) were carried out on five Vicia species (Vicia macrocarpa, Vicia sativa, Vicia narbonensis, Vicia ervilia) collected from IPK, Germany, and Vicia faba from Agriculture Research Centre, Giza, Egypt, to find out the phylogenetic relationships among these species.

Result

From karyotype of studied Vicia species chromosomes, it was found that V. macrocarpa, V. sativa, and V. faba had six pairs of chromosome (2n = 12) while V. narbonensis and V. ervilia had seven pairs of chromosome (2n = 14). The most related species was found between V. ervilia and V. narbonensis (77.8%) depending on seed soluble protein similarity level, but between V. narbonensis and V. macrocarpa was 70.0% depending on seed non-soluble protein similarity level, while between V. ervilia and V. narbonensis, the most related species was 69.0% depending on collective data of both soluble and non-soluble seed storage protein.

Conclusion

The phylogenetic relationships between the studied species depending on collective data of protein markers and karyotype characteristic were as follows: V. ervilia is closely related to V. narbonensis, while V. narbonensis is related to V. macrocarpa and V. ervilia, but the degree of relation between V. narbonensis and V. macrocarpa is less than the relation between V. narbonensis and V. ervilia. Equally, while V. sativa is closely related to V. macrocarpa, but V. faba is distant from all other studied species.
Generation of viable blastocysts from discarded human cleavage embryos
Authors: Taheri Fatemeh , Khalili Mohammad Ali , Kalantar Seyed Mehdi , Fesahat Farzaneh , Montazeri Fatemeh , Palmerini Maria Grazia , Woodward Bryan
Published: June 2020

Background

While a relationship between embryo morphology, developmental ability, and genetic integrity exists, the selection of embryos with higher implantation potential remains a major challenge in assisted reproductive technology (ART). This study investigated blastocyst developmental competence and euploidy status in human embryos that had been classed as too poor quality to transfer (ET) or cryopreserve at the cleavage stage.

Embryos were divided into three groups. Group 1 (n= 41) included good quality embryos from candidates of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A). Groups II and III were the “rejected” supernumerary embryos, defined as suboptimal for ET or vitrification after morphological examination, with embryos randomly divided between the groups. Group II embryos (n= 31) were cultured up to the day 3 cleavage stage, when they were biopsied and fixed. Group III embryos (n= 27) were cultured up to the day 5 blastocyst stage, when they were evaluated for morphology and chromosomal status. Chromosomal status in all groups was assessed by multi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X, and Y.

Results

Euploidy rates in groups I, II, and III were 56.1%, 38.7%, and 55.5 %, respectively. Among the blastocysts that developed from “rejected” embryos, 59.3% were classed as good quality. The most frequent chromosomal aneuploidy was related to the sex chromosome (22.2%). The mosaicism rate was not significantly different between the group II and III embryos (25.8% vs. 37.0%,p= 0.28).

Conclusion

In conclusion, surplus poor-quality embryos rejected from clinical utilization at the cleavage stage may develop into viable blastocysts with normal chromosomal status for at least 5 chromosomes. Recovery of euploidy during poor-quality embryo transition from cleavage stage to blastocyst could provide an alternative choice for ET.
Cytotoxic activity of Moroccan Melissa officinalis leaf extracts and HPLC-ESI-MS analysis of its phytoconstituents
Authors: Khallouki Farid , Breuer Andrea , Akdad Mourad , Laassri Fatima Ezzahra , Attaleb Mohammed , Elmoualij Benaissa , Mzibri Mohammed , Benbacer Laila , Owen Robert W.
Published: June 2020

Background

Melissa officinalis L. is a medicinal and aromatic plant traditionally used in Morocco to treat a weave range of illness. The aim of our study was to evaluate cytotoxic activity of Moroccan Melissa officinalis leaf extracts against three human cancer cell lines, namely, MCF7, LNCAP and PC3 and to reevaluate its phytochemicals.

Results

The dichloromethane extract was found to be the most active cytotoxic extract, decreasing cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, especially against the breast MCF7 cell line. The IC50 values for the dichloromethane extract against MCF7, LNCAP, and PC3 cell lines were 30.90, 71.21, and 173.93 μg/mL respectively whereas the corresponding IC50 values for the ethanol extract were 35.52, 136.40, and 237.82 μg/mL. An update of the chemical profiles of these organic extracts was conducted by GC-MS, HPLC, and HPLC-ESI-MS, and the quantity of total polyphenolic compounds (on a dry weight basis) was 61.84 g/kg and 2.86 g/kg in the ethanol and dichloromethane extracts, respectively. The major polyphenolic compounds identified in the ethanol extract were 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl lactic acid (I), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (II), caffeic acid (III), luteolin-7-O-glucoside (IV), rosmarinic acid glucoside (V), methyl caffeate (VI), rosmarinic acid (VII), isolithospermic acid (VIII), methyl rosmarinate (IX), lithospermic acid (X), methyl isolithospermic acid (XI), and methyl lithospermic acid (XII). Of these, 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl lactic acid (I), isolithospermic acid along with its methyl ester derivative are reported in Melissa officinalis leaves extract for the first time. In addition, o-tyrosol (XIII), methyl hydroxyphenyl acetic acid (XIV), and cis-rosmarinic acid (XV) were also detected in the DCM extracts. In the n-hexane extracts LCFA (palmitic, linolenic, linoleic, and stearic acids), sterols (campesterol, β-sitosterol, and stigmasterol), and the vitamins (α- and β-tocopherol) were detected and identified.

Conclusion

These results indicated that Melissa officinalis L extracts possess a potent cytotoxic effect against human cancer cell lines and the richness of this herb in bioactive molecules justifying its use in traditional Moroccan pharmacopeia.
Biochemical, Histopathological, and Genetic Characterization of Posture-Responsive and Unresponsive APAs
Authors: Guo Zeng , Nanba Kazutaka , Udager Aaron , McWhinney Brett C , Ungerer Jacobus P J , Wolley Martin , Thuzar Moe , Gordon Richard D , Rainey William E , Stowasser Michael
Published: June 2020

Context and Objective

Posture-responsive and posture-unresponsive aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs) account for approximately 40% and 60% of APAs, respectively. Somatic gene mutations have been recently reported to exist in approximately 90% of APAs. This study was designed to characterize the biochemical, histopathologic, and genetic properties of these 2 types of APA.

Methods

Plasma levels of aldosterone and hybrid steroids (18-oxocortisol and 18-hydroxycortisol) were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Immunohistochemistry for CYP11B2 (aldosterone synthase) and CYP17A1 (17α-hydroxylase) and deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing (Sanger and next-generation sequencing) were performed on APA tissue collected from 23 posture-unresponsive and 17 posture-responsive APA patients.

Results

Patients with posture-unresponsive APA displayed higher (P < 0.01) levels of hybrid steroids, recumbent aldosterone and cortisol, larger (P < 0.01) zona fasciculata (ZF)-like tumors with higher (P < 0.01) expression of CYP17A1 (but not of CYP11B2) than patients with posture-responsive APA (most of which were not ZF-like). Of 40 studied APAs, 37 (92.5%) were found to harbor aldosterone-driving somatic mutations (KCNJ5 = 14 [35.0%], CACNA1D = 13 [32.5%], ATP1A1 = 8 [20.0%], and ATP2B3 = 2 [5.0%]), including 5 previously unreported mutations (3 in CACNA1D and 2 in ATP1A1). Notably, 64.7% (11/17) of posture-responsive APAs carried CACNA1D mutations, whereas 56.5% (13/23) of posture-unresponsive APAs harbored KCNJ5 mutations.

Conclusions

The elevated production of hybrid steroids by posture-unresponsive APAs may relate to their ZF-like tumor cell composition, resulting in expression of CYP17A1 (in addition to somatic gene mutation-driven CYP11B2 expression), thereby allowing production of cortisol, which acts as the substrate for CYP11B2-generated hybrid steroids.
“Fake Gays” In Queer Africa
Authors: Biruk Cal (Crystal)
Published: June 2020

Drawing on work with a Malawian LGBTI-rights nongovernmental organization (NGO), this article’s entry point is the “fake gay,” a person who, according to state political discourse and news media, allegedly fakes a marginalized sexual identity to gain access to foreign resources channeled through NGOs. For LGBTI-identified persons in the NGO’s orbit, meanwhile, fake gays—infiltrating inauthentic gays—breed fear and resentment amid circuits of scarce resource distribution and homophobia. This mythologized figure, rooted in racialized arbitrations of fake or real, sincere or cunning, reveals NGOs, dismissed in critical scholarship as “unqueer”—for spreading homonationalism, sapping radical agendas by institutionalizing liberal human rights frameworks, and smuggling in Euro-American logics of sexual modernity—to be unlikely sites of queer complexity. Reading NGO spaces as customary forms and drawing on discourse analysis and ethnographic vignettes, the author shows how ritualized practices associated with audit culture in aid economies (monitoring and evaluation, paperwork, counting) operate as queer sites of multiplying possibilities and emergences. Rather than expose faking as duplicity or insincerity, the author argues that faking and normalizing practices rooted in logics of standardization, quantification, and replicability are co-constitutive. In addition to proposing the fake gay as a mode of theory that draws attention to (queer) world-making practices within postcolonial aid geographies, this article broadens understandings of the (queer) customary beyond narrowly defined cultural practices such as customs, rituals, and traditions.
After Performativity, Beyond Custom
Authors: Fiereck Kirk
Published: June 2020

This article explores how Black LGBTQ-identified and other gender nonconforming South Africans juxtapose the queer with the customary as they constitute forms of biofinancial personhood that are paradigmatic of capitalisms globally. These hybrid forms of personhood inadvertently index the secret normativities of so-called antinormative theories of performativity within Euro-American queer theory. Everyday South Africans foreground practices of cross-context citation in the register of “unsuccessful” performatives. Their experiences underscore Jacques Derrida’s diagnosis of the performative’s structure as irreducibly contingent; its structural rule is the possibility of the failure of the performative, rather than its success. The cultural milieus of postapartheid South Africa are also spaces where financial instruments like derivatives, social theory, and pharmaceuticals actively produce queer connections and contestations through the circulation of ostensibly universal subjects, be they the risk-bearing patient, the scholar, or the (biological) human. In South Africa, citational sexualities are performative of both constitutional and customary cultural spheres when juxtaposing multiple gender and sexual identities within hybrid forms of queer personhood. Through an examination of the figure of the gay woman—not a lesbian or trans subject but, rather, a gay man who is also, alternately a woman—the author argues that sexualities that bridge the paradoxical impasse between constitutional and customary cultural life are, like all performatives, first and foremost citational. Such citational sexualities are considered in clinical contexts where many Black gay women were coded as men who have sex with men in global health HIV science. In this vein, new forms of global biofinancial connectivity expressed by biomedicalizing risk-hedging practices, personhood, and subjectivities—what the author terms derivative subjectivity—implicitly depend on the suppressed presence of cross-cultural citationality of sexuality and gender that are customarily queer.
The Fabulous Pan-Africanism of Binyavanga Wainaina
Authors: Edmondson Laura
Published: June 2020

In the burgeoning field of queer African studies, theatricality receives short shrift. Instead, anthropological studies of LGBTQ identities and practices in Africa emphasize theoretical frameworks of sexual discretion, elusiveness, and ambiguity. This essay explores the coarticulation of discretion and theatricality in Binyavanga Wainaina’s 2011 play Shine Your Eye, which features a queer Ogoni hacker in Lagos. The play borrows from Afrofuturism to articulate a queer African identity that is both enigmatic and spectacular. I then shift focus to Wainaina’s viral “coming out” essay “I Am a Homosexual, Mum” (2014), not to construct a progressive narrative from closeted discretion to theatrical outness but to explore the dialectics of theatricality across genre. Although the title enacts a clear declaration of sexual identity, the essay itself shares the play’s investment in African technologies of queerness that emphasize interdependency and elusiveness. As queer Kenya becomes increasingly out, loud, and sexy, Wainaina’s work serves as a powerful reminder that ambiguity can be theatrical too.
Staging of bladder cancer with multiparametric MRI
Authors: Juri Hiroshi , Narumi Yoshifumi , Panebianco Valeria. , Osuga Keigo
Published: June 2020

The distinction of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer and muscle-invasive bladder cancer is important for the selection of the optimal treatment. Multiparametric MRI (mp-MRI) has been an useful modality for the T staging of bladder cancer, and a systematic evaluation of mp-MRI is needed. The Vesical Imaging Reporting and Data System was designed to standardize the scanning and reporting criteria based on mp-MRI for clinical and research applications. This review briefly describes the method, interpretation, and timing of mp-MRI examinations in the clinical settings. Validation studies of Vesical Imaging Reporting and Data System and future perspectives are also considered.
Notified dengue deaths in Myanmar (2017-18): profile and diagnosis delays
Authors: Linn Nwe Ni , Kyaw Khine Wut Yee , Shewade Hemant Deepak , Kyaw Aye Mon Mon , Tun Myat Min , Khine San Kyawt , Linn Nay Yi Yi , Thi Aung , Lin Zaw
Published: June 2020

Background: Complications in dengue usually occur between day four and day six after fever onset. Hence, early diagnosis and haematological monitoring are vital. Among all hospital reported dengue deaths in Myanmar in 2017-18, we assessed the i) patient profile, ii) proportion of patients who arrived with a dengue diagnosis at admission and iii) delays in diagnosis after fever onset.

Methods: This was a descriptive study involving secondary data. For all the notified deaths, death investigation forms were not available in prescribed format and therefore, data were extracted from hospital case records.

 Results: Of 304 deaths, 184 (60.5%) were female and 233 (76.6%) were less than 10 years old. Township level hospitals or below reported 36 deaths (11.8%) and the remaining deaths were from higher level facilities. Dengue was diagnosed before admission in 26 (8.5%) people and 169 (55.6%) were in shock at admission. Of 208 with date of fever onset recorded, the median diagnosis delay was four (interquartile range-IQR: 3, 5) days. Patient level delay (median three days) was a major contributor to the diagnosis delay.

Conclusions: Most of the patients who died did not have a diagnosis of dengue before admission. This calls for an urgent review of health system preparedness in peripheral health facilities to suspect, diagnose, monitor, refer and treat dengue in children and patient level factors for better understanding of the reasons of delay. Timely filling of death investigation forms in a prescribed format and quarterly death reviews based on these is recommended.
A simple ATAC-seq protocol for population epigenetics
Authors: Augusto Ronaldo de Carvalho , Minoda Aki , Grunau Christoph
Published: June 2020

We describe here a protocol for the generation of sequence-ready libraries for population epigenomics studies. The protocol is a streamlined version of the Assay for transposase accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq) that provides a positive display of accessible, presumably euchromatic regions. The protocol is straightforward and can be used with small individuals such as daphnia and schistosome worms, and probably many other biological samples of comparable size, and it requires little molecular biology handling expertise.
A competitive procurement. Methodology and regulation
Authors: Kazancev Dmitriy
Published: June 2020

The monograph is devoted to the competitive procurement, as an integral object of research and the system of professional relations, United by a common purpose. This system identifies the key elements such as the stage of the procurement work and procurement side of the interaction, as well as the basic tools of procurement practice in the XXI century. Current practice of procurement in Russia and abroad is given in the book as illustrations of the universality of the basic approaches to building procurement relationships.
For a wide range of readers interested in the subject of competitive procurement.
Do Noisy Stock Prices Impede Real Efficiency?
Authors: Xiao Steven Chong
Published: June 2020

Using volatile and correlated liquidity shocks to investors as a source of noise trading, I show that noise in stock prices impedes real efficiency. A one-standard-deviation increase in mutual fund flow-driven volatility pressure leads to a 2.6%–4.0% decline in return on assets and a $22.6 million loss in cash flow in the subsequent two years. Noise in stock prices does not affect product market demand, but it reduces firms’ total factor productivity, profit margin, and performance in research and development and acquisitions. Further evidence suggests that noise in stock prices impedes real efficiency through three plausible channels: distorting firms’ investment decisions through misleading price signals, increasing the cost of capital, and reducing the efficacy of equity-based incentive contracts.

This paper was accepted by Gustavo Manso, finance.