bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial peptide moricin induces ROS mediated caspase-dependent apoptosis in human triple-negative breast cancer via suppression of notch pathway
Authors: Ahmad Imran , Pal Saurabh , Singh Ranjana , Ahmad Khursheed , Dey Nilanjan , Srivastava Aditi , Ahmad Rumana , Suliman Muath , Alshahrani Mohammad Y. , Barkat Md. Abul , Siddiqui Sahabjada
Published: June 2023

Background

Breast cancer is the world’s most prevalent cancer among women. Microorganisms have been the richest source of antibiotics as well as anticancer drugs. Moricin peptides have shown antibacterial properties; however, the anticancer potential and mechanistic insights into moricin peptide-induced cancer cell death have not yet been explored.

Methods

An investigation through in silico analysis, analytical methods (Reverse Phase-High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC), mass spectroscopy (MS), circular dichroism (CD), and in vitro studies, has been carried out to delineate the mechanism(s) of moricin-induced cancer cell death. An in-silico analysis was performed to predict the anticancer potential of moricin in cancer cells using Anti CP and ACP servers based on a support vector machine (SVM). Molecular docking was performed to predict the binding interaction between moricin and peptide-related cancer signaling pathway(s) through the HawkDOCK web server. Further, in vitro anticancer activity of moricin was performed against MDA-MB-231 cells.

Results

In silico observation revealed that moricin is a potential anticancer peptide, and protein–protein docking showed a strong binding interaction between moricin and signaling proteins. CD showed a predominant helical structure of moricin, and the MS result determined the observed molecular weight of moricin is 4544 Da. An in vitro study showed that moricin exposure to MDA-MB-231 cells caused dose dependent inhibition of cell viability with a high generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Molecular study revealed that moricin exposure caused downregulation in the expression of Notch-1, NF-ƙB and Bcl2 proteins while upregulating p53, Bax, caspase 3, and caspase 9, which results in caspase-dependent cell death in MDA-MB-231 cells.

Conclusions

In conclusion, this study reveals the anticancer potential and underlying mechanism of moricin peptide-induced cell death in triple negative cancer cells, which could be used in the development of an anticancer drug.
Non-synonymous SNPs variants of PRKCG and its association with oncogenes predispose to hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Abid Fizzah , Khan Khushbukhat , Badshah Yasmin , Ashraf Naeem Mahmood , Shabbir Maria , Hamid Arslan , Afsar Tayyaba , Almajwal Ali , Razak Suhail
Published: June 2023

Background

PRKCG encodes PKC γ, which is categorized under the classical protein kinase C family. No studies have specifically established the relationship between PRKCG nsSNPs with structural and functional variations in PKC γ in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The present study aims to uncover this link through in-silico and experimental studies.

Methods

The 3D structure of PKC γ was predicted. Molecular Dynamic (MD) Simulations were run and estimates were made for interactions, stability, conservation and post-translational alterations between wild and mutant structures. The association of PRKCG levels with HCC survival rate was determined. Genotyping analyses were conducted to investigate the deleterious PRKCG nsSNP association with HCC. mRNA expression of PKC γ, HIF-1 alpha, AKT, SOCS3 and VEGF in the blood of controls and HCC patients was analyzed and a genetic cascade was constructed depicting these interactions.

Results

The expression level of studied oncogenes was compared to tumour suppressor genes. Through Alphafold, the 3D structure of PKC γ was explored. Fifteen SNPs were narrowed down for in-silico analyses that were identified in exons 5, 10 and 18 and the regulatory and kinase domain of PKC γ. Root mean square deviation and fluctuation along with the radius of gyration unveiled potential changes between the wild and mutated variant structures. Mutant genotype AA (homozygous) corresponding to nsSNP, rs386134171 had more frequency in patients with OR (2.446), RR (1.564) and P-values (< 0.0029) that highlights its significant association with HCC compared to controls in which the wild genotype GG was found more prevalent.

Conclusion

nsSNP rs386134171 can be a genetic marker for HCC diagnosis and therapeutic studies. This study has laid down a road map for future studies to be conducted on HCC.
A practical illustration of spatial smoothing methods for disconnected regions with INLA: spatial survey on overweight and obesity in Malaysia
Authors: Mohamad Maria Safura , Abdul Maulud Khairul Nizam , Faes Christel
Published: June 2023

Background

National prevalence could mask subnational heterogeneity in disease occurrence, and disease mapping is an important tool to illustrate the spatial pattern of disease. However, there is limited information on techniques for the specification of conditional autoregressive models in disease mapping involving disconnected regions. This study explores available techniques for producing district-level prevalence estimates for disconnected regions, using as an example childhood overweight in Malaysia, which consists of the Peninsular and Borneo regions separated by the South China Sea. We used data from Malaysia National Health and Morbidity Survey conducted in 2015. We adopted Bayesian hierarchical modelling using the integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA) program in R-software to model the spatial distribution of overweight among 6301 children aged 5–17 years across 144 districts located in two disconnected regions. We illustrate different types of spatial models for prevalence mapping across disconnected regions, taking into account the survey design and adjusting for district-level demographic and socioeconomic covariates.

Results

The spatial model with split random effects and a common intercept has the lowest Deviance and Watanabe Information Criteria. There was evidence of a spatial pattern in the prevalence of childhood overweight across districts. An increasing trend in smoothed prevalence of overweight was observed when moving from the east to the west of the Peninsular and Borneo regions. The proportion of Bumiputera ethnicity in the district had a significant negative association with childhood overweight: the higher the proportion of Bumiputera ethnicity in the district, the lower the prevalence of childhood overweight.

Conclusion

This study illustrates different available techniques for mapping prevalence across districts in disconnected regions using survey data. These techniques can be utilized to produce reliable subnational estimates for any areas that comprise of disconnected regions. Through the example, we learned that the best-fit model was the one that considered the separate variations of the individual regions. We discovered that the occurrence of childhood overweight in Malaysia followed a spatial pattern with an east–west gradient trend, and we identified districts with high prevalence of overweight. This information could help policy makers in making informed decisions for targeted public health interventions in high-risk areas.
Does joint-sparing tumor resection jeopardize oncologic and functional outcomes in non-metastatic high-grade osteosarcoma around the knee?
Authors: Huang Mengquan , Ma Ziyang , Yu Jie , Lu Yajie , Chen Guojing , Fan Jian , Li Minghui , Ji Chuanlei , Xiao Xin , Li Jing
Published: June 2023

Background

We previously reported joint-sparing tumor resection for osteosarcoma with epiphyseal involvement in which transepiphyseal osteotomy went through the in situ ablated epiphysis. However, we do not know whether this is a safe approach when compared with joint-sacrificed tumor resection. Our objective was to compare oncologic and functional outcomes between patients who underwent joint preservation (JP) and joint replacement (JR) tumor resection. Furthermore, we identified the risk factors of local recurrence, metastasis and survival.

Methods

Eighty-nine patients with non-metastatic high-grade osteosarcoma around the knee were treated with limb-salvage surgery (JP in 47 and JR in 42). Age, gender, tumor location, pathologic fracture, plain radiographic pattern, limb diameter change, perivascular space alteration, surgical margin, local recurrence, metastasis, death, and the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS)-93 scores were extracted from the records. Univariate analysis was performed to compare oncologic and functional outcomes. Binary logistic and cox regression models were used to identify predicted factors for local recurrence, metastasis, and survival.

Results

Local recurrence, metastasis and overall survival were similar in the JP and JR group (p = 0.3; p = 0.211; p = 0.143). Major complications and limb survival were also similar in the JR and JP group (p = 0.14; p = 0.181). The MSTS score of 27.06 ± 1.77 in the JP group was higher than that of 25.88 ± 1.79 in the JR group (p = 0.005). The marginal margin of soft tissue compared with a wide margin was the only independent predictor of local recurrence (p = 0.006). Limb diameter increase and perivascular fat plane disappearance during neoadjuvant chemotherapy were independent predictors for metastasis (p = 0.002; p = 0.000) and worse survival (p = 0.000; p = 0.001).

Conclusions

Joint-sparing tumor resection with the ablative bone margin offers advantage of native joint preservation with favorable functional outcomes while not jeopardizing oncologic outcomes compared with joint-sacrificed tumor resection. Surgeon should strive to obtain adequate soft tissue surgical margin decreasing risk of local recurrence. Novel drug regimens might be reasonable options for patients with obvious limb diameter increase and perivascular fat disappearance during chemotherapy.
Novel models by machine learning to predict prognosis of breast cancer brain metastases
Authors: Li Chaofan , Liu Mengjie , Zhang Yinbin , Wang Yusheng , Li Jia , Sun Shiyu , Liu Xuanyu , Wu Huizi , Feng Cong , Yao Peizhuo , Jia Yiwei , Zhang Yu , Wei Xinyu , Wu Fei , Du Chong , Zhao Xixi , Zhang Shuqun , Qu Jingkun
Published: June 2023

Background

Breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM) are the most fatal, with limited survival in all breast cancer distant metastases. These patients are deemed to be incurable. Thus, survival time is their foremost concern. However, there is a lack of accurate prediction models in the clinic. What’s more, primary surgery for BCBM patients is still controversial.

Methods

The data used for analysis in this study was obtained from the SEER database (2010–2019). We made a COX regression analysis to identify prognostic factors of BCBM patients. Through cross-validation, we constructed XGBoost models to predict survival in patients with BCBM. Meanwhile, a BCBM cohort from our hospital was used to validate our models. We also investigated the prognosis of patients treated with surgery or not, using propensity score matching and K–M survival analysis. Our results were further validated by subgroup COX analysis in patients with different molecular subtypes.

Results

The XGBoost models we created had high precision and correctness, and they were the most accurate models to predict the survival of BCBM patients (6-month AUC = 0.824, 1-year AUC = 0.813, 2-year AUC = 0.800 and 3-year survival AUC = 0.803). Moreover, the models still exhibited good performance in an externally independent dataset (6-month: AUC = 0.820; 1-year: AUC = 0.732; 2-year: AUC = 0.795; 3-year: AUC = 0.936). Then we used Shiny-Web tool to make our models be easily used from website. Interestingly, we found that the BCBM patients with an annual income of over USD$70,000 had better BCSS (HR = 0.523, 95%CI 0.273–0.999, P < 0.05) than those with less than USD$40,000. The results showed that in all distant metastasis sites, only lung metastasis was an independent poor prognostic factor for patients with BCBM (OS: HR = 1.606, 95%CI 1.157–2.230, P < 0.01; BCSS: HR = 1.698, 95%CI 1.219–2.365, P < 0.01), while bone, liver, distant lymph nodes and other metastases were not. We also found that surgical treatment significantly improved both OS and BCSS in BCBM patients with the HER2 + molecular subtypes and was beneficial to OS of the HR−/HER2− subtype. In contrast, surgery could not help BCBM patients with HR + /HER2− subtype improve their prognosis (OS: HR = 0.887, 95%CI 0.608–1.293, P = 0.510; BCSS: HR = 0.909, 95%CI 0.604–1.368, P = 0.630).

Conclusion

We analyzed the clinical features of BCBM patients and constructed 4 machine-learning prognostic models to predict their survival. Our validation results indicate that these models should be highly reproducible in patients with BCBM. We also identified potential prognostic factors for BCBM patients and suggested that primary surgery might improve the survival of BCBM patients with HER2 + and triple-negative subtypes.
Interactions between MFAP5 + fibroblasts and tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells shape the malignant microenvironment of colorectal cancer
Authors: Peng Zhiwei , Ren Zihao , Tong Zhiwei , Zhu Yinan , Zhu Yansong , Hu Kongwang
Published: June 2023

Background

The therapeutic targeting of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in colorectal cancer (CRC) has not yet been fully developed and utilized because of the complexity of the cell–cell interactions within the TME. The further exploration of these interactions among tumor-specific clusters would provide more detailed information about these communication networks with potential curative value.

Methods

Single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and bulk RNA sequencing datasets were integrated in this study to explore the biological properties of MFAP5 + fibroblasts and their interactions with tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells in colorectal cancer. Immunohistochemistry and multiplex immunohistochemistry were performed to confirm the results of these analyses.

Results

We profiled heterogeneous single-cell landscapes across 27,414 cells obtained from tumors and adjacent tissues. We mainly focused on the pro-tumorigenic functions of the identified MFAP5 + fibroblasts. We demonstrated that tumor-resident MFAP5 + fibroblasts and myeloid cells (particularly C1QC + macrophages) were positively correlated in both spatial transcriptomics and bulk RNA-seq public cohorts. These cells and their interactions might shape the malignant behavior of CRC. Intercellular interaction analysis suggested that MFAP5 + fibroblasts could reciprocally communicate with C1QC + macrophages and other myeloid cells to remodel unfavorable conditions via MIF/CD74, IL34/CSF1R, and other tumor-promoting signaling pathways.

Conclusion

Our study has elucidated the underlying pro-tumor mechanisms of tumor-resident MFAP5 + fibroblasts and provided valuable targets for the disruption of their properties.
Perception, practices, and understanding related to teenage pregnancy among the adolescent girls in India: a scoping review
Authors: Panda Arpita , Parida Jayashree , Jena Susangita , Pradhan Abinash , Pati Sanghamitra , Kaur Harpreet , Acharya Subhendu Kumar
Published: June 2023

Background

Teenage pregnancy is a concerning public health problem in India. Misperception and misunderstanding about pregnancy and its preventive methods lead to pregnancy when adolescents are involved in unsafe sexual intercourse. This scoping review aims to discuss the evidence on the perception, practices, and understanding related to teenage pregnancy among adolescent girls in the Indian context.

Method

The Arksey and O'Malley scoping review framework and Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’ Manual were used for the scoping review. The Population, Concept, and Context strategy (PCC) ensured the review questions, eligibility criteria, and search strategy. The Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) was used. A literature search was done using electronic databases by specific keywords such as “teenage”, “adolescences”, “pregnancy”, “perception”, “knowledge”, “awareness”, etc. Relevant grey literature was identified through further searching. The review included studies that fulfil inclusion criteria having female adolescent groups aged from 10 to 19 years in the Indian context between the years 2000 and 2021.

Results

We found 40 eligible studies; more than half of these were from southern (35%) and northern (27.5%) regions, and studies from the rest of India were very sporadically distributed. Most studies (72.5%) were published in the last 10 years. The relevant extracted data from individual studies were synthesized and presented in the two major sections, perception, practices, and the second one, understanding and experiences among teenage girls. The understanding of pregnancy and teenage pregnancy-related preventive methods was detailed analysis in about 72% of papers whereas other aspects, such as perception (22.5%), practices (25%), and experiences (7.5%) were discussed in the remaining papers related to pregnancy among adolescent girls.

Conclusion

Evidence in the selected studies shows that understanding and practices are the major areas that were primarily explored, where perception, practices and experiences are the topics that are relatively less investigated. Literature synthesis derives misconception, lack of understanding, and practices without knowing the consequences are the key factors responsible for early pregnancies. Future interventions like increasing awareness, providing comprehensive reproductive knowledge, convenient health care aids, and proper counselling are adequate measures for minimalising the problem. The present analysis showed that studies are limited in their scope concerning various aspects of teenage pregnancy in India, so this scoping review gives essential perspectives on future research and implementation plans and policies in this field.
The interaction between adhesion protein 33 (TvAP33) and BNIP3 mediates the adhesion and pathogenicity of Trichomonas vaginalis to host cells
Authors: Zhang Zhenchao , Deng Yangyang , Sheng Wanxin , Song Xiaoxiao , Li Yuhua , Li Fakun , Pan Ying , Tian Xiaowei , Yang Zhenke , Wang Shuai , Wang Mingyong , Mei Xuefang
Published: June 2023

Background

Trichomonas vaginalis is a widespread and important sexually transmitted pathogen. Adherence to the surface of the host cell is the precondition for the parasitism and pathogenicity of this parasite. Trichomonas vaginalis adhesion protein 33 (TvAP33) plays a key role in the process of adhesion, but how this protein mediates the adhesion and pathogenicity of T. vaginalis to host cells is unclear.

Methods

The expression of TvAP33 in trophozoites was knocked down by small interfering RNA. VK2/E6E7 cells and mice infected with T. vaginalis were used to evaluate the pathogenicity of T. vaginalis. We constructed a complementary DNA library of VK2/E6E7 cells and screened the protein molecules interacting with TvAP33 by the yeast two-hybrid system. The interaction between TvAP33 and BNIP3 (Bcl-2 interacting protein 3) was analyzed by co-immunoprecipitation and colocalization.

Results

Following knockdown of TvAP33 expression, the number of T. vaginalis trophozoites adhering to VK2/E6E7 cells decreased significantly, and the inhibition of VK2/E6E7 cell proliferation and VK2/E6E7 cell apoptosis and death induced by T. vaginalis were reduced. Animal challenge experiments showed that the pathogenicity of trophozoites decreased following passive immunization with TvAP33 antiserum or blocking of the TvAP33 protein. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that TvAP33 could bind to VK2/E6E7 cells. Eighteen protein molecules interacting with TvAP33 were identified by the yeast two-hybrid system. The interaction between TvAP33 and BNIP3 was further confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation and colocalization. When the expression of both TvAP33 and BNIP3 in trophozoites was knocked down by small RNA interference, the number of T. vaginalis adhering to VK2/E6E7 cells and the inhibition of VK2/E6E7 cell proliferation were significantly lower compared to trophozoites with only knockdown of TvAP33 or only BNIP3. Therefore, the interaction of TvAP33 and BNIP3 in the pathogenesis of T. vaginalis infecting host cells is not unique and involves other molecules.

Conclusions

Our study showed that the interaction between TvAP33 and BNIP3 mediated the adhesion and pathogenicity of T. vaginalis to host cells, providing a basis for searching for drug targets for T. vaginalis as well as new ideas for the prevention and treatment of trichomoniasis.

Graphical Abstract
Temporal bone manifestation of primary extranodal Rosai–Dorfman disease: a case report
Authors: Koonar E. , Ramazani F. , Hyrcza M. , Chau J.
Published: June 2023

Background

Rosai–Dorfman disease is a rare benign histiocytic disorder characterized in most cases by painless cervical adenopathy. Less than 10% of extranodal cases involve bony lesions. Primary bone Rosai–Dorfman disease in the absence of nodal disease is extremely rare.

Case presentation

A 48 year-old Caucasian male presented with progressive right-sided otalgia, tinnitus, vertigo, and hearing loss. A right temporal bone lytic lesion was detected on diagnostic imaging. Resection of the lesion and histopathological examination revealed Rosai–Dorfman disease.

Conclusions

Rosai–Dorfman disease primary bone lesions are an atypical presentation of a rare disease. This is the second reported case of Rosai–Dorfman disease arising within the temporal bone. This case study reveals that Rosai–Dorfman disease should be considered for patients presenting with inflammatory/lytic lesions of the temporal bone, in cases where infection and malignancy have been excluded.
Approximate Kalman filtering by both M-robustified dynamic stochastic approximation and statistical linearization methods
Authors: Pavlović Miloš , Banjac Zoran , Kovačević Branko
Published: June 2023

The problem of designing a robustified Kalman filtering technique, insensitive to spiky observations, or outliers, contaminating the Gaussian observations has been presented in the paper. Firstly, a class of M-robustified dynamic stochastic approximation algorithms is derived by minimizing at each stage a specific time-varying M-robust performance index, that is, general for a family of algorithms to be considered. The gain matrix of a particular algorithm is calculated at each stage by minimizing an additional criterion of the approximate minimum variance type, with the aid of the statistical linearization method. By combining the proposed M-robust estimator with the one-stage optimal prediction, in the minimum mean-square error sense, a new statistically linearized M-robustified Kalman filtering technique has been derived. Two simple practical versions of the proposed M-robustified state estimator are derived by approximating the mean-square optimal statistical linearization coefficient with the fixed and the time-varying factors. The feasibility of the approaches has been analysed by the simulations, using a manoeuvring target radar tracking example, and the real data, related to an object video tracking using short-wave infrared camera.
A PAM4 transceiver design scheme with threshold adaptive and tap adaptive
Authors: Liu Xuena , Li Zhensong , Wen Hao , Miao Min , Wang Yuduo , Wang Zhuwei
Published: June 2023

To meet the demand of low bit error rate and high bandwidth for high-speed links, a reliable 112 Gb/s four-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) transceiver design scheme with adaptive threshold voltage and adaptive decision feedback equalizer is proposed in this paper. In this scheme, three continuous time linear equalizers (CTLEs) at the front end of receiver are used to compensate the high-frequency, mid-frequency and low-frequency signals, respectively, and the variable gain amplifier (VGA) and saturation amplifier (SatAmp) are used to scale the signal amplitude. In addition to the three data samplers, four auxiliary samplers are also used for threshold adaptation. The sign-sign least mean squares algorithm uses the offset between the data sampler and the auxiliary sampler at the receiver side to drive the auxiliary reference voltage to converge to the signal constellation level, thus ensuring that the eye diagram of the PAM4 received signal has equal spacing and a constant signal–noise ratio for the three eyes in the vertical direction. In addition, the adaptive DFE for PAM4 signaling allows the transceiver to better adapt to the channel and thus achieve better equalizer performance. The simulation results show that the PAM4 transceiver design can compensate up to 25 dB of channel loss with an average eye height of 59.6 mv and an average eye width of 0.27 UI at a bit error rate of 10−12 under the condition of 3-tap feedforward equalizer (FFE) transmitter.
A novel joint multi-target detection and tracking approach based on Bayes joint decision and estimation
Authors: Cao Wen , Li Qiwei
Published: June 2023

This paper proposes a novel joint decision and estimation (JDE) solution for the multi-target detection and tracking (MDT) problem. MDT aims to jointly detect the number of targets and estimate their states, which is essentially a JDE problem since detection and tracking are highly coupled. Thus, a joint solution which can utilize the coupling is preferable. However, the existing JDE approach has either poor performance or excessive design parameters without considering the MDT problem realities, i.e., the losses that different decisions may lead to. Therefore, we propose a compact conditional JDE (CCJDE)-based MDT method with less design parameters but superior performance. Specifically, we propose a CCJDE-based MDT risk which unifies the detection and tracking risks in a compact way. Then, we derive the joint detection and tracking solution accounting for their couplings, where the joint probabilistic data association filter is adopted due to its advantageous performance and the adaptability to the JDE framework. Then, an efficient CCJDE-MDT algorithm is developed. Besides, some parameter designing guidelines are presented by considering the MDT realities. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed CCJDE-MDT method, which outperforms the traditional decision-then-estimation in joint performance and also beats the existing recursive joint decision and estimation(RJDE) method in many cases.
An elliptic problem of the Prandtl–Batchelor type with a singularity
Authors: Choudhuri Debajyoti , Repovš Dušan D.
Published: June 2023

We establish the existence of at least two solutions of the Prandtl–Batchelor like elliptic problem driven by a power nonlinearity and a singular term. The associated energy functional is nondifferentiable, and hence the usual variational techniques do not work. We shall use a novel approach in tackling the associated energy functional by a sequence of $C^{1}$

C
1

functionals and a cutoff function. Our main tools are fundamental elliptic regularity theory and the mountain pass theorem.
Development of a cloud-assisted classification technique for the preservation of secure data storage in smart cities
Authors: Kumar Ankit , Khan Surbhi Bhatia , Pandey Saroj Kumar , Shankar Achyut , Maple Carsten , Mashat Arwa , Malibari Areej A.
Published: June 2023

Cloud computing is the most recent smart city advancement, made possible by the increasing volume of heterogeneous data produced by apps. More storage capacity and processing power are required to process this volume of data. Data analytics is used to examine various datasets, both structured and unstructured. Nonetheless, as the complexity of data in the healthcare and biomedical communities grows, obtaining more precise results from analyses of medical datasets presents a number of challenges. In the cloud environment, big data is abundant, necessitating proper classification that can be effectively divided using machine language. Machine learning is used to investigate algorithms for learning and data prediction. The Cleveland database is frequently used by machine learning researchers. Among the performance metrics used to compare the proposed and existing methodologies are execution time, defect detection rate, and accuracy. In this study, two supervised learning-based classifiers, SVM and Novel KNN, were proposed and used to analyses data from a benchmark database obtained from the UCI repository. Initially, intrusions were detected using the SVM classification method. The proposed study demonstrated how the novel KNN used for distance capacity outperformed previous studies. The accuracy of the results of both approaches is evaluated. The results show that the intrusion detection system (IDS) with a 98.98% accuracy rate produces the best results when using the suggested system.
Complementary feeding practices and their determinants among children aged 6–23 months in rural Bangladesh: evidence from Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) 2018–2019 evaluated against WHO/UNICEF guideline -2021
Authors: Jubayer Ahmed , Nowar Abira , Islam Saiful , Islam Md. Hafizul , Nayan Md. Moniruzzaman
Published: June 2023

Background

Appropriate Complementary feeding (CF) practices play a crucial role in determining child nutrition, growth, and development. This study seeks to examine CF practices and their predictors among children aged 6 to 23 months in rural Bangladesh according to the most recently updated WHO/UNICEF guidelines for CF.

Methods

A total of 665 children aged 6 to 23 months from the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) 2018–2019 dataset were analyzed. The WHO/UNICEF guidelines for CF were followed to evaluate each of the nine CF practice indicators. We also examined the effect of the child, maternal, household, and community-level factors on different CF components using multiple logistic regression analyses.

Results

Approximately two-thirds of the children initiated complementary feeding on time (63.5%) but had zero vegetable or fruit consumption (63.2%). More than half (52.4%) and the majority (86.5%) of children had minimum meal frequency and minimum milk feeding frequency, respectively. On the other hand, the proportion of minimum dietary diversity was quite low (18.3%), as reflected in the alarming prevalence (16.3%) of minimum acceptable diet. Egg and/or flesh food, sweet beverage, and unhealthy food consumption were 23.3%, 2.5%, and 12.2%, respectively. Child age, mothers’ education level, antenatal care visit, household food security, monthly household income, and place of residence were found to be associated with CF practices.

Conclusion

When compared to results obtained using the previous guideline, the new one has resulted in a lower prevalence of Introduction of solid, semi-solid, or soft foods (ISSF), Minimum dietary diversity (MDD), Minimum meal frequency (MMF), and Minimum acceptable diet (MAD). It is crucial to convey the new knowledge for better child feeding and nutrition as the country prepares to apply the new guideline.
Fecal microbiota transplantation improves chicken growth performance by balancing jejunal Th17/Treg cells
Authors: Ma Ziyu , Akhtar Muhammad , Pan Hong , Liu Qiyao , Chen Yan , Zhou Xinxin , You Yingting , Shi Deshi , Liu Huazhen
Published: June 2023

Background

Intestinal inflammation has become a threatening concern in chicken production worldwide and is closely associated with Th17/Treg cell imbalance. Several studies described that gut microbiota is significantly implicated in chicken growth by modulating intestinal immune homeostasis and immune cell differentiation. Whether reshaping gut microbiota by fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) could improve chicken growth by balancing Th17/Treg cells is an interesting question.

Results

Here, the chickens with significantly different body weight from three different breeds (Turpan cockfighting × White Leghorn chickens, white feather chickens, and yellow feather chickens) were used to compare Th17 and Treg cells. qPCR and IHC staining results indicated that Th17 cell-associated transcriptional factors Stat3 and rorγt and cytokines IL-6, IL-17A, and IL-21 were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the jejunum of low body weight chickens, while Treg cell-associated transcriptional factor foxp3 and cytokines TGF-β and IL-10 were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in the jejunum of low body weight chickens, indicating imbalanced Th17/Treg cells were closely related to chicken growth performance. Transferring fecal microbiota from the healthy donor with better growth performance and abundant Lactobacillus in feces to 1-day-old chicks markedly increased growth performance (P < 0.001), significantly decreased Th17 cell-associated transcriptional factors and cytokines, and increased Treg cell-associated transcriptional factors and cytokines in the jejunum (P < 0.05). Furthermore, FMT increased the abundance of Lactobacillus (FMT vs Con; 84.98% vs 66.94%). Besides, the metabolites of tryptophan including serotonin, indole, and 5-methoxyindoleacetate were increased as well, which activated their receptor aryl-hydrocarbon-receptor (AhR) and expressed more CYP1A2 and IL-22 to maintain Th17/Treg cell balance and immune homeostasis.

Conclusion

These findings suggested that imbalanced Th17/Treg cells decreased chicken growth performance, while FMT-reshaped gut microbiota, i.e., higher Lactobacilli, increased chicken growth performance by balancing Th17/Treg cells.
Alcohol-induced damage to the fimbria/fornix reduces hippocampal-prefrontal cortex connection during early abstinence
Authors: Pérez-Cervera Laura , De Santis Silvia , Marcos Encarni , Ghorbanzad-Ghaziany Zahra , Trouvé-Carpena Alejandro , Selim Mohamed Kotb , Pérez-Ramírez Úrsula , Pfarr Simone , Bach Patrick , Halli Patrick , Kiefer Falk , Moratal David , Kirsch Peter , Sommer Wolfgang H. , Canals Santiago
Published: June 2023

Introduction

Alcohol dependence is characterized by a gradual reduction in cognitive control and inflexibility to contingency changes. The neuroadaptations underlying this aberrant behavior are poorly understood. Using an animal model of alcohol use disorders (AUD) and complementing diffusion-weighted (dw)-MRI with quantitative immunohistochemistry and electrophysiological recordings, we provide causal evidence that chronic intermittent alcohol exposure affects the microstructural integrity of the fimbria/fornix, decreasing myelin basic protein content, and reducing the effective communication from the hippocampus (HC) to the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Using a simple quantitative neural network model, we show how disturbed HC-PFC communication may impede the extinction of maladaptive memories, decreasing flexibility. Finally, combining dw-MRI and psychometric data in AUD patients, we discovered an association between the magnitude of microstructural alteration in the fimbria/fornix and the reduction in cognitive flexibility. Overall, these findings highlight the vulnerability of the fimbria/fornix microstructure in AUD and its potential contribution to alcohol pathophysiology.

Fimbria vulnerability to alcohol underlies hippocampal-prefrontal cortex dysfunction and correlates with cognitive impairment.
Novel mathematical model for the classification of music and rhythmic genre using deep neural network
Authors: Patil Swati A. , Pradeepini G. , Komati Thirupathi Rao
Published: June 2023

Music Genre Classification (MGC) is a crucial undertaking that categorizes Music Genre (MG) based on auditory information. MGC is commonly employed in the retrieval of music information. The three main stages of the proposed system are data readiness, feature mining, and categorization. To categorize MG, a new neural network was deployed. The proposed system uses features from spectrographs derived from short clips of songs as inputs to a projected scheme building to categorize songs into an appropriate MG. Extensive experiment on the GTZAN dataset, Indian Music Genre(IMG) dataset, Hindustan Music Rhythm (HMR) and Tabala Dataset show that the proposed strategy is more effective than existing methods. Indian rhythms were used to test the proposed system design. The proposed system design was compared with other existing algorithms based on time and space complexity.
Self-Reported Pre-Pandemic Physical Activity and Likelihood of COVID-19 Infection: Data from the First Wave of the CoCo-Fakt Survey
Authors: Schmidt Nikola , Gehlhar Andreas , Grüne Barbara , Kossow Annelene , Kraus Thomas , Nießen Johannes , Wessely Stefanie , Joisten Christine
Published: June 2023

Objectives

To investigate the potential protective role of exercise on the odds of COVID-19 infection in unvaccinated contact persons (CPs) who were at higher risk of infection due to confirmed contact with infected persons.

Methods

Before the onset of the vaccination campaign, the first wave of the CoCo-Fakt online survey was conducted with SARS-CoV-2-positive persons and their confirmed contacts who were isolated/quarantined between 1 March 2020 and 9 December 2020. Within this analysis, 5338 CPs were included and divided into those who subsequently tested positive (CP-P) and those who remained negative (CP-N). We assessed demographics as well as pre-pandemic lifestyle characteristics including physical activity (PA; type, frequency, time, intensity; duration clustered as ‘below PA guidelines’, ‘meeting PA guidelines’, and ‘above PA guidelines’; intensity clustered as ‘low intensity’ and ‘moderate-to-vigorous intensity’) and sedentary behaviour.

Results

A greater percentage of CP-Ns reported being active before the pandemic compared to CP-Ps (69% vs. 63%; p = .004). Moreover, CP-Ns reported higher PA duration (164.1 min/week vs. 143.2 min/week; p = .038) and higher PA intensities than CP-Ps (67% vs. 60% moderate-to-vigorous intensity, 33% vs. 40% low intensity; p = .003). Adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status, migration background, and pre-existing chronic diseases, the odds of infection were negatively associated with exercise (yes/no) (Nagelkerke R2 = 1.9%), PA levels above PA guidelines (Nagelkerke R2 = 2.0%), and PA intensity (Nagelkerke R2 = 1.8%).

Conclusion

Due to the beneficial effects of PA on the odds of infection, an active lifestyle should be promoted especially during possible subsequent pandemics (while taking into account necessary hygiene measures). Moreover, inactive and chronically ill persons should be especially encouraged to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Mutations in the acetolactate synthase (ALS) enzyme affect shattercane (Sorghum bicolor) response to ALS-inhibiting herbicides
Authors: Dweikat Ismail M. , Gelli Malleswari , Bernards Mark , Martin Alex , Jhala Amit
Published: June 2023

Background

Shattercane [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench ssp. Arundinaceum (Desv.)] is a competitive weed in North America's corn, soybean, sorghum, and other agronomic crops. Control of shattercane with POST herbicides in corn became possible with the introduction of acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides in the 1980s, and their extensive use resulted in the evolution of ALS-inhibitors resistant shattercane.

Results

Shattercane seeds were collected from 16 south-eastern and south-central Nebraska fields that were treated with primisulfuron for three consecutive years. Three resistant plants were found in greenhouse evaluations of more than 30,000 plants. Results from a greenhouse bioassay conducted to assess the response of each shattercane biotype to ALS-inhibiting herbicides showed a differential response to ALS inhibitors within and between chemical classes. Biotype P8-30 was resistant or partially resistant to all ALS-inhibiting herbicides applied and displayed a unique amino acid sequence substitution (Trp574 to Leu) relative to the other two resistant biotypes, P2-205 and P9-102. Whole plant dose–response studies confirmed a 4- to the 12-fold level of primisulfuron resistance in three shattercane biotypes compared with the known primisulfuron-susceptible shattercane biotype. The ALS gene was sequenced using primers designed from the corn ALS sequence to identify mutations in the ALS gene that confer resistance. A total of seven nucleotide substitutions were detected in the three herbicide-resistant biotypes P2-205, P8-30, and P9-102. These biotypes are being crossed to adapted sorghum lines (grain, sweet, and forage) to broaden germplasm with resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides.

Conclusion

The discovery of these mutants should accelerate the development of sorghum genotypes that tolerate ALS-based herbicides, which provide additional choices for sorghum farmers to control weeds, especially grasses, in their fields.
Drivers of railway container transports between China and Finland
Authors: Hilmola Olli-Pekka , Li Weidong
Published: June 2023

On the China–Europe route, the sea used to dominate entirely continental transports, but in the last decade the railways started to gain some ground. However, it took number of years that railway volumes grew as significant, and finally coronavirus era (2020–2021) promoted much higher usage. This was the case not only on the main route Poland–China, but also on the more northern and lower-volume routes, such as Finland–China. This research uses regression analysis of the latter route to reveal factors that have an effect on rail container volumes. It is shown that Baltic Dry Index (BDI) and coronavirus related variables have influenced most container volumes on the Finland–China route. Oil price development has also played some sort of role. Interestingly, sea port handling of Finland does not play any significance in the model, nor does foreign trade between countries. Findings could be explained with the low starting ground of service, and dominance of sea transportation.
Leveraging open dataset and transfer learning for accurate recognition of chronic pulmonary embolism from CT angiogram maximum intensity projection images
Authors: Vainio Tuomas , Mäkelä Teemu , Arkko Anssi , Savolainen Sauli , Kangasniemi Marko
Published: June 2023

Background

Early diagnosis of the potentially fatal but curable chronic pulmonary embolism (CPE) is challenging. We have developed and investigated a novel convolutional neural network (CNN) model to recognise CPE from CT pulmonary angiograms (CTPA) based on the general vascular morphology in two-dimensional (2D) maximum intensity projection images.

Methods

A CNN model was trained on a curated subset of a public pulmonary embolism CT dataset (RSPECT) with 755 CTPA studies, including patient-level labels of CPE, acute pulmonary embolism (APE), or no pulmonary embolism. CPE patients with right-to-left-ventricular ratio (RV/LV) < 1 and APE patients with RV/LV ≥ 1 were excluded from the training. Additional CNN model selection and testing were done on local data with 78 patients without the RV/LV-based exclusion. We calculated area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) and balanced accuracies to evaluate the CNN performance.

Results

We achieved a very high CPE versus no-CPE classification AUC 0.94 and balanced accuracy 0.89 on the local dataset using an ensemble model and considering CPE to be present in either one or both lungs.

Conclusions

We propose a novel CNN model with excellent predictive accuracy to differentiate chronic pulmonary embolism with RV/LV ≥ 1 from acute pulmonary embolism and non-embolic cases from 2D maximum intensity projection reconstructions of CTPA.

Relevance statement

A DL CNN model identifies chronic pulmonary embolism from CTA with an excellent predictive accuracy.

Key points

• Automatic recognition of CPE from computed tomography pulmonary angiography was developed.

• Deep learning was applied on two-dimensional maximum intensity projection images.

• A large public dataset was used for training the deep learning model.

• The proposed model showed an excellent predictive accuracy.

Graphical Abstract
Fungal endophytes of crop plants: diversity, stress tolerance and biocontrol potential
Authors: Malarvizhi K. , Murali T. S. , Kumaresan V.
Published: June 2023

Background

There is a growing perception among the scientific community to utilize endophytes in improving crop productivity. The presence of these microorganisms offers benefits to host plants that include enhanced resistance to various insect pests, increased fitness and improved tolerance to abiotic stresses including heavy metal pollutants and higher salinity, albeit with no harm to the environment.

Main body

Since reports indicated that fungal endophytes afford protection to cereal crops from a wide variety of pathogenic microbes, in this short review, the diversity and potential of fungal endophytes of some major crop plants including rice, wheat, maize and sugarcane were discussed.

Conclusion

Considering the global challenges caused by food security, there is an immediate need to look at effective and environmental friendly solutions to increase crop productivity and endophytes present a solution due to their long-term symbiotic association with their hosts. However, it remains critical to understand their functional significance and overall role in improving the host fitness in natural environments.
Safety and efficacy of sodium oligomannate in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Nourelden Anas Zakarya , Kamal Ibrahim , Tawfik Abdelrahman G. , Hagrass Abdulrahman Ibrahim , Fathallah Ahmed Hashem , Zaazouee Mohamed Sayed
Published: June 2023

Background

We aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new marine oligosaccharide drug, sodium oligomannate (GV-971), developed in China to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Methods

We researched the following databases: Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane library, and Scopus until Sep 2022. We used the Cochrane risk of bias tool to assess the risk of bias and the GRADE scale to assess the quality of the evidence. The meta-analysis was performed using review manager 5.4.

Results

We included three randomized controlled trials with 1108 patients. Sodium oligomannate improved the AD assessment scale-cognitive subscale compared to the placebo at 12, 24, and 36 weeks (mean difference (MD) = − 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) [− 1.23 to − 0.14], p = 0.01), (MD = − 0.68, 95% CI [− 1.26 to − 0.10], P = 0.02), and (MD = − 3.84, 95% CI [− 6.40 to − 1.27], and P = 0.003), respectively. On the other hand, results showed no significance in terms of adverse events and other assessed scales (Clinician’s Interview-Based Impression of Change with caregiver input, AD Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living, and Neuropsychiatric Inventory) (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

Sodium oligomannate is a well-tolerated and promising drug for Alzheimer’s patients. However, to better evaluate sodium oligomannate’s efficacy in the clinical setting, we need more randomized controlled trials with larger samples and higher quality.
Regular Islamic prayers have different corpus callosum: a shape analysis study
Authors: Baykara Sema , Baykara Murat , Atmaca Murad
Published: June 2023

Background

Religious practices and experiences are thought to involve a variety of thoughts and behaviors, and various studies hypothesize the relationship between religion and changes in the brain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the corpus callosum (CC) of prayers by statistical shape analysis (SSA) and compare it with healthy ones who did not.

Methods

The study group consisted of 13 healthy people who pray regularly and the control group consisted of 14 healthy people who did not pray. Participants were scanned with a 1.5 T scanner and a high-resolution structural image of the entire brain was obtained with sagittal 3D spiral fast spin echo. In mid-sagittal images of each individual, the CC was marked using landmarks. The mean of 'Procrustes' points was calculated and shape deformations were evaluated using thin plate spline analysis.

Results

There was no significant difference between the CC area of prayers and controls. Maximum CC deformation was observed in the body and rostrum region markings during prayers. There was no significant difference in the other parameters of the individuals who performed regular prayers compared to the controls.

Conclusions

Corpus callosum analysis with SSA revealed differences between prayers and healthies. The study findings highlighted the abnormal distribution of white matter in the CC and the variable subregional nature of CC in prayers. The study findings showed that shape analysis could be a useful technique to show variations in the corpus callosum using MRI images.