bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PERAN PEMERINTAH DALAM PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT NELAYAN DI DESA CIPARAGEJAYA KABUPATEN KARAWANG
Authors: Ramdayanti Elvira , Argenti Gilli , Marsingga Prilla
Published: January 2022

Penelitian ini di latarbelakangi oleh masih banyaknya nelayan yang hidupnya di ambang batas kemiskinan maka perlu diadakannya pemberdayaan. Pemberdayaan masyarakat nelayan ini dilakukan untuk meningkatkan kesejahteraan dan perekonomian masyarakat nelayan melalui peran pemerintah. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah Untuk mengetahui bagaimana peran pemerintah daerah sebagai Regulator, Dinamisator, Fasilitator, dan Katalisator dalam pemberdayaan masyarakat nelayan di Desa Ciparagejaya Kabupaten Karawang Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Data dianalisis melalui Teknik wawancara dan observasi langsung ke lapangan. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah peran pemerintah bagi para nelayan sudah bisa dikatakan baik dengan adanya program pembinaan, pelatihan, asuransi dan memberikan fasilitas sarana dan prasarana kepada nelayan desa Ciparagejaya.
EVALUASI KEBIJAKSANAAN APLIKASI CITIZEN RELATION MANAGEMENT (CRM) DALAM MENYUKSESKAN JAKARTA SMART CITY
Authors: Handayani Ria
Published: January 2022

Kemampuan birokrasi dalam pemerintahan dituntut  untuk konsisten dan up to date dalam memberikan kinerjanya ditengah perkembangan masyarakat, lingkungan, dan kompetisi global. Salah satu bentuk konkret dari implementasi Kota Jakarta sebagai smart city adalah dengan menginisiasi sistem Citizen Relation Management (CRM). Namun dalam penerapannya ditemukan informasi bahwa persentase laporan CRM yang belum terselesaikan masih tinggi, selain dari pada itu penurunan kualitas penanganan pengaduan pada tahun 2019 dan tahun 2020. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis evaluasi kebijaksanaan aplikasi Citizen Relation Management  (CRM) serta upaya yang dapat dilakukan demi menyukseskan Jakarta Smart City. Desain penelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif, dan pembahasannya dilakukan dengan memadukan antara analisis teoritis serta analisis ASOCA. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa terdapat SDM yang tidak kompeten dan tidak adanya kontrol pihak ke tiga terhadap hasil penyelesaian pengaduan masyarakat. Sedangkan hasil analisis ASOCA ialah mengoptimalkan serta memfokuskan kemampuan SDM Pemerintah Provinsi Jakarta dalam memfasilitasi partisipasi masyarakat pada pelaksanaan aplikasi Citizen Relation Management  (CRM).

Kata Kunci: Citizen Relation Management, Evaluasi, Kebijaksanaan
GOOD GOVERNANCE PADA PELAYANAN PUBLIK: SEBUAH USULAN MODEL PENGEMBANGAN BERBASIS PERILAKU
Authors: Saputra Nopriadi , Nugroho Riant
Published: January 2022

ABSTRAK

Masyarakat dewasa ini membutuhkan pelayanan publik yang dapat membantu menyelesaikan permasalahan mereka. Penerapan praktek good governance pada pelayanan publik penting diterapkan dengan didukung model pengembangan yang relevan. Artikel ini mengusulkan model pengembangan pelayanan publik dengan pendekatan positive reinforcement theory. Sebuah pendekatan yang berbasis perilaku yang memetakan faktor-faktor apa saja yang berpengaruh baik pada level individu, kelompok, maupun organisasi terhadap perilaku transfaransi, akuntabilitas, responsible, integritas, dan fair dari petugas pelayanan. Perilaku tersebut yang didukung oleh budaya pelayanan, manajemen kinerja, ketangkasan belajar, serta kepemimpinan berbasis transformational, otentik, dan melayani.

Kata Kunci : pelayanan publik, tata kelola yang baik, positive reinforcement theory

 

ABSTRACT

Today's society needs public services that can help solve their problems. The application of good governance practices in public services is important to be implemented with the support of relevant development models. This article proposes a public service development model with a positive reinforcement theory approach. A behavior-based approach that maps out the factors that influence the level of individuals, groups, and organizations on the behavior of transparency, accountability, responsibility, integrity, and fairness of service personnel. These behaviors are supported by a service culture, performance management, learning agility, and transformational-authentic-servant leadership.

Keywords: public service, bureaucratic reform, positive reinforcement theory
POLITISASI BIROKRASI: Analisis Dampak Inkonsistensi Interpretasi Makna Pasal Dalam Undang-Undang Aparatur Sipil Negara
Authors: Hidayat Fauzan
Published: January 2022

Politisasi birokrasi merupakan polemik yang menjadi benalu dalam penyelenggaraan pemerintahan yang hingga kini belum tuntas diatasi. Hal ini berdampak sangat buruk terhadap integritas ASN dan kualitas pelayanan publik yang diberikan kepada masyarakat. Sikap pejabat politik yang memanfaatkan birokrat demi kepentingan pribadi dan golongannya sangat menciderai profesionalisme para penyelenggara pemerintahan di bidang teknis tersebut. Permasalahan ini timbul karena biasnya makna ketentuan Pasal 1 Ayat (14) Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 2015 tentang Aparatur Sipil Negara bahwa Pejabat Pembina Kepegawaian (PPK) adalah pejabat yang mempunyai kewenangan menetapkan pengangkatan, pemindahan, dan pemberhentian pegawai ASN dan pembinaan manajemen ASN di instansi pemerintah. Untuk itu diperlukan. Untuk itu perlu dilakukan (1) Identifkasi permasalahan politisasi birokrasi dalam menetapkan pengangkatan, pemindahan, dan pemberhentian pegawai ASN oleh kepala daerah; dan (2) Analisa Alternatif kebijakan terbaik untuk mengatasi permasalahan tersebut. Penulis menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif karena mengkaji pola hubungan antara politik dan birokrasi dengan teori Interdependence between policy, poitic and administration dan Konsep dikotomi pejabat politik dan pejabat birokrasi kemudian melakukan analisa terhadap dampak regulasi ASN melalui metode Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) .
Dampak Rendahnya Tingkat Pendidikan Pegawai Terhadap Efektifitas Pelayanan Publik di Masa Pandemi Covid-19
Authors: Anggariyani Ni Luh Mira , Pangerapan Stenly Ferdinand
Published: January 2022

Pelayanan publik adalah kegiatan atau rangkaian kegiatan dalam rangka pemenuhan kebutuhan pelayanan sesuai dengan peraturan Perundang-undangan bagi setiap warga negara dan penduduk atas barang, jasa dan/atau pelayanan administratif yang disediakan oleh penyelenggara pelayanan publik. Seluruh warga negara dan penduduk berharap mendapatkan pelayanan yang baik oleh setiap public service yang ada di setiap instansi atau unit yang berperan dalam memberikan pelayanan tersebut. Badan Kepegawaian dan Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia (BKPSDM) adalah salah satu badan yang menangani kepegawaian ditingkat kabupaten/kota. Badan Kepegawaian dan Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia Kabupaten Karangasem, Provinsi Bali di bidang tingkat Pendidikan pegawai yang merupakan objek penelitian penulis, penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dan pendekatan kuantitatif. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah jumlah pegawai di Badan Kepegawaian dan Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia Kabupaten Karangasem tingkat pendidikannya masih rendah, dan masih enggan pegawai dengan Pendidikan tinggi untuk ditempatkan di Kabupaten Karangasem karena beberapa faktor sehingga pegawai dengan Pendidikan tinggi memilih untuk mengabdikan jasanya di Provinsi ataupun di Pusat. Dapat disimpulkan tingkat Pendidikan yang rendah pada pegawai menyebabkan ketidakefektifan terhadap pelayanan publik, sehingga pemerintah kabupaten Karangasem harus membuat inovasi dan visi untuk menarik perhatian pegawai dengan tingkat Pendidikan yang tinggi atau sesuai dengan yang dibutuhkan.
Sosialisasi Penerapan Protokol Kesehatan dalam Masa Pandemi Covid-19 kepada Masyarakat di Kecamatan Purwakarta
Authors: Tan Chendy Franklin , Worabai Luis Hendrik , Rahman Shalsa Anugra
Published: January 2022

Sosisalisai protokol kesehatan di Kecamatan Purwakarta masih menemui banyak permasalahan baik yang bersifat internal maupun eksternal. Penulisan ini bertujuan untuk menunjukan kegiatan sosialisasi penerapan protokol kesehatan selama masa pandemi Covid-19 di Kecamatan Purwakarta. Metode yang digunakan dalam kajian ilmiah ini adalah kualitatif deskriptif menggunakan pendekatan studi kepustakaan yaitu dalam mengumpulkan informasi dan data melakukan penelaan terhadap buku literatur dan informasi dari berbagai website internet. Hasil yang di dapatkan menunjukkan Kecamatan Purwakarta Kabupaten Purwakarta mempunyai kasus yang terkonfirmasi posistif corona terbanyak se kabupaten yang mencapai 162 orang, ini menunjukkan kurangnya masyarakat yang mematuhi protokol Kesehatan. Seharusnya masyarakat dapat lebih mematuhi lagi protokol Kesehatan secara baik.
Efektifitas Pengelolaan Aset Daerah pada Badan Keuangan Daerah Kabupaten Tanah Datar
Authors: Aituarauw Ilham Faried Arrahman
Published: January 2022

Aset merupakan Suatu unsur yang bisa dikelola dengan baik agar dapat menghasilkan informasi yang bisa di pertanggung jawabkan pada laporan keuangan suatu daerah.obyek dari penelitian adalah di Badan Keuangan Daerah kabupaten Tanah Datar. Penelitian ini bertujuan agar mengetahui Sistem Pengelolaan Aset Daerah yang sudah berjalan menurut aturan dan telah terlaksanakan secara efektif serta efisiensi. teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui metode studi Pustaka dan studi dokumen. Berdasarkan penelitian yang dilakukan, bisa diperoleh output bahwa Efektifitas Pengelolaan Aset Daerah pada Badan Keuangan Daerah Tanah Datar sudah berjalan semestinya, sesuai menggunakan Peraturan Pemerintah Dalam Negeri Nomor 19 Tahun 2016. Dapat ditinjau menurut praktek pengelolaan yang Belum mengikuti ruang lingkup yang masih ada dalam peraturan tersebut.
Assessment of Social Competencies, Coping Strategies, and Academic Achievement of First Year Students
Authors: Kimo Kassim , Ayele Kabtamu
Published: January 2022

The purpose of this research was to assess first year students’ social competency and coping strategies against their overall first semester academic achievement (GPA) at Arsi University. A sample (N = 360) of first year students was selected for the study. Slightly adapted versions of Social Competency Scale (Silvera, Martinussen, & Dahl, 2001) and Coping Strategy Scales (Carver, 1999) were used to assess these aspects. The results revealed that the majority students were good and some of them were identified as average on social competency dimensions. On the other hand, it was noted that majority of the students use avoidance coping strategies. Social competency has strong positive connection with student’s GPA but coping strategy has nonsignificant negative correlation with GPA. Both social competency and coping strategy slightly contributed to the variations in first semester GPA among first year students. Only college had a mediating role with partial mediation effect between social competency total and GPA. A significant difference was observed between male and female students in their GPA and social competency. Gender and religion had no mediation role between social competency, coping strategy, and first semester GPA of the students. In conclusion, it was implied that university students’ personnel should work on first year students’ adaptive coping strategies and social competencies.
Adaptation and Validation of Short Test of Music Preference Scale for Students With Music and Non-Music Majors
Authors: Faran Muhammad , Malik Farah
Published: January 2022

Music is a universal phenomenon however, despite its unified properties, the taste and preference of music may still vary as a function of ethnicity and culture. So, the present study aimed to adapt and validate the short test of music preference scale for music and non-music Pakistani students. In Phase I, the cultural adaption of the scale was carried out while the content validity index (Lawshe, 1975) was also established. However, in phase II, the Short test of Music Scale (STOMP) was validated, yielding confirmatory factor analysis. For the empirical evaluation, a sample of 561 students, including both 286 music and 275 non-music students of undergraduate level with the age range of 18-26 years were recruited. The psychometric evolution of STOMP turned into excellent validity and reliability estimates for first-order constructs. Moreover, strict measurement invariance was established for STOMP across music and non-music students. The validation of this scale would be a little effort to pave the way for music psychology to make research available to measure the construct indigenously.
Treatment of Acute Kidney Injury Using a Dual Enzyme Embedded Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks Cascade That Catalyzes In Vivo Reactive Oxygen Species Scavenging
Authors: Hou Xinyue , Shi Jianxiang , Zhang Jie , Wang Zhigang , Zhang Sen , Li Ruifeng , Jiang Wei , Huang Tingting , Guo Jiancheng , Shang Wenjun
Published: January 2022

Significant advances have been made in recent years for the utilization of natural enzymes with antioxidant properties to treat acute kidney injury (AKI). However, these enzymes have been of limited clinical utility because of their limited cellular uptake, poor pharmacokinetic properties, and suboptimal stability. We employed a novel biomimetic mineralization approach to encapsulate catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in a zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8). Next, this SOD@CAT@ZIF-8 complex was anchored with MPEG2000-COOH to yield an MPEG2000-SOD@CAT@ZIF-8 (PSCZ) composite. The composite was then used as a stable tool with antioxidant properties for the integrated cascade-based treatment of AKI, remarkably improved intracellular enzyme delivery. This dual-enzyme-embedded metal-organic framework could effectively scavenge reactive oxygen species. In conclusion, the ZIF-8-based “armor plating” represents an effective means of shielding enzymes with improved therapeutic utility to guide the precision medicine-based treatment of AKI.
Specific Human ATR and ATM Inhibitors Modulate Single Strand DNA Formation in Leishmania major Exposed to Oxidative Agent
Authors: da Silva Raíssa Bernardes , Bertoldo Willian dos Reis , Naves Lucila Langoni , de Vito Fernanda Bernadelli , Damasceno Jeziel Dener , Tosi Luiz Ricardo Orsini , Machado Carlos Renato , Pedrosa André Luiz
Published: January 2022

Leishmania parasites are the causative agents of a group of neglected tropical diseases known as leishmaniasis. The molecular mechanisms employed by these parasites to adapt to the adverse conditions found in their hosts are not yet completely understood. DNA repair pathways can be used by Leishmania to enable survival in the interior of macrophages, where the parasite is constantly exposed to oxygen reactive species. In higher eukaryotes, DNA repair pathways are coordinated by the central protein kinases ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR). The enzyme Exonuclease-1 (EXO1) plays important roles in DNA replication, repair, and recombination, and it can be regulated by ATM- and ATR-mediated signaling pathways. In this study, the DNA damage response pathways in promastigote forms of L. major were investigated using bioinformatics tools, exposure of lineages to oxidizing agents and radiation damage, treatment of cells with ATM and ATR inhibitors, and flow cytometry analysis. We demonstrated high structural and important residue conservation for the catalytic activity of the putative LmjEXO1. The overexpression of putative LmjEXO1 made L. major cells more susceptible to genotoxic damage, most likely due to the nuclease activity of this enzyme and the occurrence of hyper-resection of DNA strands. These cells could be rescued by the addition of caffeine or a selective ATM inhibitor. In contrast, ATR-specific inhibition made the control cells more susceptible to oxidative damage in an LmjEXO1 overexpression-like manner. We demonstrated that ATR-specific inhibition results in the formation of extended single-stranded DNA, most likely due to EXO1 nucleasic activity. Antagonistically, ATM inhibition prevented single-strand DNA formation, which could explain the survival phenotype of lineages overexpressing LmjEXO1. These results suggest that an ATM homolog in Leishmania could act to promote end resection by putative LmjEXO1, and an ATR homologue could prevent hyper-resection, ensuring adequate repair of the parasite DNA.
Cruzipain Sulfotopes-Specific Antibodies Generate Cardiac Tissue Abnormalities and Favor Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in the BALB/c Mice Model of Experimental Chagas Disease
Authors: Soprano Luciana L. , Ferrero Maximiliano R. , Landoni Malena , García Gabriela A. , Esteva Mónica I. , Couto Alicia S. , Duschak Vilma G.
Published: January 2022

Trypanosoma cruzi cruzipain (Cz) bears a C-terminal domain (C-T) that contains sulfated epitopes “sulfotopes” (GlcNAc6S) on its unique N-glycosylation site. The effects of in vivo exposure to GlcNAc6S on heart tissue ultrastructure, immune responses, and along the outcome of infection by T. cruzi, were evaluated in a murine experimental model, BALB/c, using three independent strategies. First, mice were pre-exposed to C-T by immunization. C-T-immunized mice (C-TIM) showed IgG2a/IgG1 <1, induced the production of cytokines from Th2, Th17, and Th1 profiles with respect to those of dC-TIM, which only induced IL-10 respect to the control mice. Surprisingly, after sublethal challenge, both C-TIM and dC-TIM showed significantly higher parasitemia and mortality than the control group. Second, mice exposed to BSA-GlcNAc6S as immunogen (BSA-GlcNAc6SIM) showed: severe ultrastructural cardiac alterations while BSA-GlcNAcIM conserved the regular tissue architecture with slight myofibril changes; a strong highly specific humoral-immune-response reproducing the IgG-isotype-profile obtained with C-TIM; and a significant memory-T-cell-response demonstrating sulfotope-immunodominance with respect to BSA-GlcNAcIM. After sublethal challenge, BSA-GlcNAc6SIM showed exacerbated parasitemias, despite elevated IFN-γ levels were registered. In both cases, the abrogation of ultrastructural alterations when using desulfated immunogens supported the direct involvement of sulfotopes and/or indirect effect through their specific antibodies, in the induction of tissue damage. Finally, a third strategy using a passive transference of sulfotope-specific antibodies (IgG-GlcNAc6S) showed the detrimental activity of IgG-GlcNAc6S on mice cardiac tissue, and mice treated with IgG-GlcNAc6S after a sublethal dose of T. cruzi, surprisingly reached higher parasitemias than control groups. These findings confirmed the indirect role of the sulfotopes, via their IgG-GlcNAc6S, both in the immunopathogenicity as well as favoring T. cruzi infection.
Guanxin V Acts as an Antioxidant in Ventricular Remodeling
Authors: Liang Bo , Li Rui , Liang Yi , Gu Ning
Published: January 2022

Background: Our previous studies have shown that Guanxin V (GXV) is safe and effective in the treatment of ventricular remodeling (VR), but its mechanism related to oxidative stress has not been studied deeply.

Methods: We applied integrating virtual screening and network pharmacology strategy to obtain the GXV-, VR-, and oxidative stress-related targets at first, and then highlighted the shared targets. We built the networks and conducted enrichment analysis. Finally, the main results were validated by molecular docking and solid experiments.

Results: We obtained 251, 11,425, and 9,727 GXV-, VR-, and oxidative stress-related targets, respectively. GXV-component-target-VR and protein–protein interaction networks showed the potential mechanism of GXV in the treatment of VR. The following enrichment analysis results gathered many biological processes and “two GXV pathways” of oxidative stress-related to VR. All our main results were validated by molecular docking and solid experiments.

Conclusion: GXV could be prescribed for VR through the mechanism, including complex interactions between related components and targets, as predicted by virtual screening and network pharmacology and validated by molecular docking and solid experiments. Our study promotes the explanation of the biological mechanism of GXV for VR.
Participatory Design and Process Testing to Optimize Utility, Usability, and Acceptability of a Mobile Game for Promoting Evidence-Driven Public Health Decision-Making in Resource-Constrained Settings
Authors: Sinnatwah James Douglas , Kenneh Hajah , Coker Alvan A. , Harmon-Gray Wahdae-Mai , Zankah Joelyn , Day Liam , Hubbell Emma , Murphy Michael J. , Izzo Mandy , Kong David , Sylwester Peter , Long Qinghua , Bertozzi Elena , Skrip Laura A.
Published: January 2022

Innovative game-based training methods that leverage the ubiquity of cellphones and familiarity with phone-based interfaces have the potential to transform the training of public health practitioners in low-income countries such as Liberia. This article describes the design, development, and testing of a prototype of theFigure It Outmobile game. The prototype game uses a disease outbreak scenario to promote evidence-based decision-making in determining the causative agent and prescribing intervention measures to minimize epidemiological and logistical burdens in resource-limited settings. An initial prototype of the game developed by the US team was playtested and evaluated by focus groups with 20 University of Liberia Masters of Public Health (UL MPH) students. Results demonstrate that the learning objectives—improving search skills for identifying scientific evidence and considering evidence before decision-making during a public health emergency—were considered relevant and important in a setting that has repeatedly and recently experienced severe threats to public health. However, some of the game mechanics that were thought to enhance engagement such as trial-and-error and choose-your-own-path gameplay, were perceived by the target audience as distracting or too time-consuming, particularly in the context of a realistic emergency scenario. Gameplay metrics that mimicked real-world situations around lives lost, money spent, and time constraints during public health outbreaks were identified as relatable and necessary considerations. Our findings reflect cultural differences between the game development team and end users that have emphasized the need for end users to have an integral part of the design team; this formative evaluation has critically informed next steps in the iterative development process. Our multidisciplinary, cross-cultural and cross-national design team will be guided by Liberia-based public health students and faculty, as well as community members who represent our end user population in terms of experience and needs. These stakeholders will make key decisions regarding game objectives and mechanics, to be vetted and implemented by game design experts, epidemiologists, and software developers.
Identifying Functional Flow Linkages Between Stream Alteration and Biological Stream Condition Indices Across California
Authors: Peek Ryan , Irving Katie , Yarnell Sarah M. , Lusardi Rob , Stein Eric D. , Mazor Raphael
Published: January 2022

Large state or regional environmental flow programs, such as the one based on the California Environmental Flows Framework, rely on broadly applicable relationships between flow and ecology to inform management decisions. California, despite having high flow and bioassessment data density, has not established relationships between specific elements of the annual hydrograph and biological stream condition. To address this, we spatially and temporally linked USGS gage stations and biological assessment sites in California to identify suitable paired sites for comparisons of streamflow alteration with biological condition at a statewide scale. Flows were assessed using a set of functional flow metrics that provide a comprehensive way to compare alteration and seasonal variation in streamflow across different locations. Biological response was evaluated using the California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) and Algal Stream Condition Index (ASCI), which quantify biological conditions by translating benthic invertebrate or algal resources and watershed-scale environmental data into an overall measure of stream health. These indices provide a consistent statewide standard for interpreting bioassessment data, and thus, a means of quantitatively comparing stream conditions throughout the state. The results indicate that indices of biological stream condition were most closely associated with flow alteration in seasonality and timing metrics, such as fall pulse timing, dry-season timing, and wet season timing. Magnitude metrics such as dry-season baseflow, wet season baseflow, and the fall pulse magnitude were also important in influencing biological stream conditions. Development of ecological flow needs in large-scale environmental programs should consider that alteration to any of the seasonal flow components (e.g., dry-season baseflow, fall pulse flow, wet-season baseflow, spring recession flow) may be important in restructuring biological communities.
Spatial Distribution and Regional Difference of Environmental Efficiency Based on Carbon Reduction Goals: Evidence From China
Authors: Pan Wenyan , Gulzar Muhammad Awais , Wang Zongjun , Guo Chensi
Published: January 2022

China will strive to achieve carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutralization by 2060 cooperating with the system dominated by carbon intensity control and supplemented by total carbon emission control. This paper analyzes the environmental efficiency index of China; the empirical results show that the average growth rate is 4.5% from 2006 to 2017. A further decomposition of changes on scale efficiency and pure technical efficiency indicates that the pure technical efficiency maintains a long-term growth, and scale efficiency shows a fluctuant tendency. The abovementioned changes show that various methods in China such as industrial structure adjustment and promotion of the development of high and new technologies have obtained a certain effect. From the perspectives of regional differences, the average changes of environmental efficiency in eastern, central, and western regions as well as most of provinces and cities are all on the increase. On the space layout, a trend has been presented that the average changes in central regions exceed those in eastern regions, while the average changes in western regions are comparatively lower than those in eastern regions.
Eliciting Plant Defenses Through Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles’ Exposure in Sweet Peppers
Authors: Riahi Chaymaa , González-Rodríguez Jhonn , Alonso-Valiente Miquel , Urbaneja Alberto , Pérez-Hedo Meritxell
Published: January 2022

Insect herbivory activates plant defense mechanisms and releases a blend of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs). These volatile compounds may be involved in plant-plant communication and induce defense response in undamaged plants. In this work, we investigated whether the exposure of sweet pepper plants to HIPVs [(Z)-3-hexenol, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (Z)-3-hexenyl propanoate, (Z)-3-hexenyl butanoate, hexyl butanoate, methyl salicylate and methyl jasmonate] activates the sweet pepper immune defense system. For this, healthy sweet pepper plants were individually exposed to the each of the above mentioned HIPVs over 48 h. The expression of jasmonic acid and salicylic acid related genes was quantified. Here, we show that all the tested volatiles induced plant defenses by upregulating the jasmonic acid and salicylic acid signaling pathway. Additionally, the response of Frankliniella occidentalis, a key sweet pepper pest, and Orius laevigatus, the main natural enemy of F. occidentalis, to HIPV-exposed sweet pepper plants were studied in a Y-tube olfactometer. Only plants exposed to (Z)-3-hexenyl propanoate and methyl salicylate repelled F. occidentalis whereas O. laevigatus showed a strong preference to plants exposed to (Z)-3-hexenol, (Z)-3-hexenyl propanoate, (Z)-3-hexenyl butanoate, methyl salicylate and methyl jasmonate. Our results show that HIPVs act as elicitors to sweet pepper plant defenses by enhancing defensive signaling pathways. We anticipate our results to be a starting point for integrating HIPVs-based approaches in sweet pepper pest management systems which may provide a sustainable strategy to manage insect pests in horticultural plants.
Production, Optimization, Characterization and Drought Stress Resistance by β-Glucan-Rich Heteropolysaccharide From an Endophytic Fungi Colletotrichum alatae LCS1 Isolated From Clubmoss (Lycopodium clavatum)
Authors: Santra Hiran Kanti , Banerjee Debdulal
Published: January 2022

Endophytic entities are ubiquitous in nature with all-square bioactivity ranging from therapeutic effects toward animals to growth promoting attributes and stress tolerance activities in case of green plants. In the present study, the club moss Lycopodium clavatum for the first time has been subjected for the isolation of endophytic fungi. An exopolysaccharide (EPS) extracted from Colletotrichum alatae LCS1, an endophytic fungi isolated from L. clavatum Linn., was characterized as a β-glucan heteropolymer (composed of mannose, rhamnose, arabinose, glucose, galactose, and fucose) which plays a pivotal role in obliterating the drought stress in rice seedlings (Oryza sativa) when applied at an amount of 20, 50, and 100 ppm. The fresh weight contents of rice tissue (39%), total chlorophyll (33%), proline (41%), soluble sugar content (26%) along with antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, peroxidase, and super-oxide dismutase increased (in comparison to control of non-EPS treated seedlings) while malondialdehyde content had reduced markedly after 30 days of regular treatment. The drought resistance of rice seedling was observed at peak when applied at 50 ppm dosage. Vital parameters for EPS production like fermentation duration (5 days), medium pH (6), nutrient (carbon (glucose-7 g%/l), nitrogen (yeast extract-0.4 g%/l), and mineral (NaCl-0.10 g%/l) sources, oxygen requirements (O2 vector or liquid alkane-n-hexane, n-heptane, n-hexadecane), and headspace volume (250 ml Erlenmeyer flask- 50 ml medium, 200 ml-headspace volume) were optimized to obtain an enhanced EPS yield of 17.38 g/L−59% higher than the preoptimized one. The present study, for the first time, reported the β-glucan rich heteropolysaccharide from Colletotrichum origin which is unique in structure and potent in its function of drought stress tolerance and could enhance the sustainable yield of rice cultivation in areas facing severe drought stress.
Multi-Omics Profiling Identifies Pathways Associated With CD8+ T-Cell Activation in Severe Aplastic Anemia
Authors: You Xing , Yang Qiong , Yan Kai , Wang Song-Rong , Huang Rong-Rong , Wang Shun-Qing , Gao Cai-Yue , Li Liang , Lian Zhe-Xiong
Published: January 2022

Severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by immune-mediated destruction of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Autoreactive CD8+ T cells have been reported as the effector cells; however, the mechanisms regulating their cell activation in SAA remain largely unknown. Here, we performed proteomics and metabolomics analyses of plasma and bone marrow supernatant, together with transcriptional analysis of CD8+ T cells from SAA patients and healthy donors, to find key pathways that are involved in pathogenic CD8+ T-cell activation. We identified 21 differential proteins and 50 differential metabolites in SAA patients that were mainly involved in energy metabolism, complement and coagulation cascades, and HIF-1α signaling pathways. Interestingly, we found that these pathways are also enriched in T cells from SAA patients by analyzing available single-cell RNA sequencing data. Moreover, CD8+ T cells from SAA patients contain a highly activated CD38+ subset, which was increased in the bone marrow of SAA patients and a murine model of SAA. This subset presented enriched genes associated with the glycolysis or gluconeogenesis pathway, HIF-1α signaling pathway, and complement associated pathways, all of which were of importance in T-cell activation. In conclusion, our study reveals new pathways that may regulate CD8+ T-cell activation in SAA patients and provides potential therapeutic targets for SAA treatment.
Recognition of Metal Ion Ligand-Binding Residues by Adding Correlation Features and Propensity Factors
Authors: Xu Shuang , Hu Xiuzhen , Feng Zhenxing , Pang Jing , Sun Kai , You Xiaoxiao , Wang Ziyang
Published: January 2022

The realization of many protein functions is inseparable from the interaction with ligands; in particular, the combination of protein and metal ion ligands performs an important biological function. Currently, it is a challenging work to identify the metal ion ligand-binding residues accurately by computational approaches. In this study, we proposed an improved method to predict the binding residues of 10 metal ion ligands (Zn2+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Co2+, Mn2+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+). Based on the basic feature parameters of amino acids, and physicochemical and predicted structural information, we added another two features of amino acid correlation information and binding residue propensity factors. With the optimized parameters, we used the GBM algorithm to predict metal ion ligand-binding residues. In the obtained results, the Sn and MCC values were over 10.17% and 0.297, respectively. Besides, the Sn and MCC values of transition metals were higher than 34.46% and 0.564, respectively. In order to test the validity of our model, another method (Random Forest) was also used in comparison. The better results of this work indicated that the proposed method would be a valuable tool to predict metal ion ligand-binding residues.
Prediction of lncRNA–Disease Associations via Closest Node Weight Graphs of the Spatial Neighborhood Based on the Edge Attention Graph Convolutional Network
Authors: Li Jianwei , Kong Mengfan , Wang Duanyang , Yang Zhenwu , Hao Xiaoke
Published: January 2022

Accumulated evidence of biological clinical trials has shown that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are closely related to the occurrence and development of various complex human diseases. Research works on lncRNA–disease relations will benefit to further understand the pathogenesis of human complex diseases at the molecular level, but only a small proportion of lncRNA–disease associations has been confirmed. Considering the high cost of biological experiments, exploring potential lncRNA–disease associations with computational approaches has become very urgent. In this study, a model based on closest node weight graph of the spatial neighborhood (CNWGSN) and edge attention graph convolutional network (EAGCN), LDA-EAGCN, was developed to uncover potential lncRNA–disease associations by integrating disease semantic similarity, lncRNA functional similarity, and known lncRNA–disease associations. Inspired by the great success of the EAGCN method on the chemical molecule property recognition problem, the prediction of lncRNA–disease associations could be regarded as a component recognition problem of lncRNA–disease characteristic graphs. The CNWGSN features of lncRNA–disease associations combined with known lncRNA–disease associations were introduced to train EAGCN, and correlation scores of input data were predicted with EAGCN for judging whether the input lncRNAs would be associated with the input diseases. LDA-EAGCN achieved a reliable AUC value of 0.9853 in the ten-fold cross-over experiments, which was the highest among five state-of-the-art models. Furthermore, case studies of renal cancer, laryngeal carcinoma, and liver cancer were implemented, and most of the top-ranking lncRNA–disease associations have been proven by recently published experimental literature works. It can be seen that LDA-EAGCN is an effective model for predicting potential lncRNA–disease associations. Its source code and experimental data are available at https://github.com/HGDKMF/LDA-EAGCN.
Isolation in COVID, and COVID in Isolation—Exacerbated Shortfalls in Provision for Women's Health and Well-Being Among Marginalized Urban Communities in India
Authors: Josyula Lakshmi K. , Murthy Shrutika , Karampudi Himabindu , Garimella Surekha
Published: January 2022

This paper describes the lived experiences of health seeking, health care recourse, and well-being of women waste pickers, a highly marginalized sub-population in urban areas in India, highlighting the intersectionality of gender, socioeconomic and cultural contexts, and occupational hazards that they face, as studied by a research team engaged in participatory action research with waste workers in urban India. We note the impact of the superimposition of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the restrictions on movement and access to livelihoods, social support, and health care, and policies made and enforced in a fragmented manner, on the already deprived conditions of the waste pickers. We reflect on the women waste pickers' practices of health seeking, their access to health care, the provisions made for them and made use of by them, and the support they could tap in protecting and restoring their health. A range of these experiences is illustrated through three case studies. Finally, recommendations are made for better provision for women's health and well-being, and improved preparedness for emergency situations.
Prognostic Landscape of Tumor-Infiltrating T and B Cells in Human Cancer
Authors: Zheng Ming , Li Yi-Ming , Liu Zhen-Yu , Zhang Xin , Zhou Yinghui , Jiang Jian-Li , Zhu Ping , Yang Xiang-Min , Tang Juan , Chen Zhi-Nan
Published: January 2022

Recently, immunotherapy targeting tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) has emerged as a critical and promising treatment in several types of cancer. However, not all cancer types have been tested in immunotherapeutic trials, and different patients and cancer types may have unpredictable clinical outcomes. This situation has created a particular exigency for analyzing the prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating T cells (TIL-T) and B cells (TIL-B) across different cancer types. To address the critical role of TILs, the abundances of TIL-T and TIL-B cells, as determined by the protein levels of LCK and CD20, were analyzed across heterogeneous human malignancies. TIL-T and TIL-B cells showed varying prognostic significances across heterogeneous cancer types. Additionally, distinct distributions of TIL-T and TIL-B cells were observed in different cancer and tumor microenvironment (TME) subtypes. Next, we analyzed the cellular context for the TME communication network involving the well-acknowledgeable chemokine receptors of TIL-T and TIL-B cells, implying the functional interactions with TME. Additionally, these chemokine receptors, expressed by TIL-T and TIL-B cells, were remarkably correlated with the levels of TIL-T or TIL-B cell infiltrations across nearly all the cancer types, indicating these chemokine receptors as universal targets for up- and down-regulating the TIL-T and TIL-B cells. Lastly, we provide the prognostic landscape of TIL-T and TIL-B cells across 30 cancer types and the subgroups defined by gender, histopathology, histological grade, therapeutic approach, drug, and TME subtype, which are intended to be a resource to fuel the investigations of TILs, with important implications for cancer immunotherapy.
Recent Advances of Acute Kidney Injury in Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
Authors: Miyata Masahiro , Ichikawa Kazunobu , Matsuki Eri , Watanabe Masafumi , Peltier Daniel , Toubai Tomomi
Published: January 2022

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) and is associated with non-relapse mortality (NRM) and quality of life (QOL). Multiple factors may contribute to AKI during allo-HCT and are often present at the same time making it difficult to determine the cause of AKI in each patient. Nephrotoxic drugs, infections, thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), and sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) are well described causes of AKI during allo-HCT. Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is a major complication of allo-HCT that mainly targets the intestines, liver, and skin. However, recent studies suggest aGVHD may also attack the kidney and contribute to AKI following allo-HCT. For example, severe aGVHD is associated with AKI, suggesting a link between the two. In addition, animal models have shown donor immune cell infiltration and increased expression of inflammatory cytokines in recipient kidneys after allo-HCT. Therefore, aGVHD may also target the kidney and contribute to AKI following allo-HCT. Herein, we describe the etiology, diagnosis, risk factors, pathophysiology, prevention, and treatment of renal injury after allo-HCT. In addition, we highlight emerging evidence that aGVHD may contribute to the development of AKI after allo-HCT.
Pulmonary Immune Dysregulation and Viral Persistence During HIV Infection
Authors: Alexandrova Yulia , Costiniuk Cecilia T. , Jenabian Mohammad-Ali
Published: January 2022

Despite the success of antiretroviral therapy (ART), people living with HIV continue to suffer from high burdens of respiratory infections, lung cancers and chronic lung disease at a higher rate than the general population. The lung mucosa, a previously neglected HIV reservoir site, is of particular importance in this phenomenon. Because ART does not eliminate the virus, residual levels of HIV that remain in deep tissues lead to chronic immune activation and pulmonary inflammatory pathologies. In turn, continuous pulmonary and systemic inflammation cause immune cell exhaustion and pulmonary immune dysregulation, creating a pro-inflammatory environment ideal for HIV reservoir persistence. Moreover, smoking, gut and lung dysbiosis and co-infections further fuel the vicious cycle of residual viral replication which, in turn, contributes to inflammation and immune cell proliferation, further maintaining the HIV reservoir. Herein, we discuss the recent evidence supporting the notion that the lungs serve as an HIV viral reservoir. We will explore how smoking, changes in the microbiome, and common co-infections seen in PLWH contribute to HIV persistence, pulmonary immune dysregulation, and high rates of infectious and non-infectious lung disease among these individuals.
Extracellular Vesicles as a New Promising Therapy in HIV Infection
Authors: Navarrete-Muñoz Maria A. , Llorens Carlos , Benito José M. , Rallón Norma
Published: January 2022

Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) effectively blocks HIV replication but cannot completely eliminate HIV from the body mainly due to establishment of a viral reservoir. To date, clinical strategies designed to replace cART for life and alternatively to eliminate the HIV reservoir have failed. The reduced expression of viral antigens in the latently infected cells is one of the main reasons behind the failure of the strategies to purge the HIV reservoir. This situation has forced the scientific community to search alternative therapeutic strategies to control HIV infection. In this regard, recent findings have pointed out extracellular vesicles as therapeutic agents with enormous potential to control HIV infection. This review focuses on their role as pro-viral and anti-viral factors, as well as their potential therapeutic applications.
The Salient Dynamics of Cross-Border Ocean Governance in a Regional Setting: An Evaluation of Ocean Governance Systems and Institutional Frameworks in the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem
Authors: Adewumi Ibukun J. , Suárez de Vivero Juan Luis , Iglesias-Campos Alejandro
Published: January 2022

This article contributes to a growing body of research on the Large Marine Ecosystems Concept. It particularly shines the light on the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME), a biodiverse maritime domain providing essential ecosystem services for the survival of a large population while at the same time under intense pressure from both anthropogenic and natural factors. With the need for coordination and cross-border ocean management and governance becoming imperative due to the magnitude of challenges and maritime domain, we examine the factors that underpin ocean governance and those key elements necessary for cross-border ocean governance cooperation in the region. The research draws on qualitative data collected from peer-reviewed literature and documents sourced from different official portals. Three countries in the region (Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon) are selected as the descriptive and comparative case studies to examine: (i) the factors that drive ocean governance (including geographical features, maritime jurisdictions, political framework, maritime activities, and associated pressures), and (ii) key enabling factors for cross-border ocean governance and cooperation in the GCLME (including marine and coastal related policy and legal framework convergence from international to national including, and shared experiences, common issues and joint solutions). We show that the biophysical maritime features, the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), otherwise known as the Law of the Sea (LOS), inherent political characteristics and the relics of colonization, and increasing ocean use and pressure on the ecosystem make ocean governance challenging in the region. Our analysis also reveals a varying level of convergence on international, regional and national legal, policy and institutional frameworks between the case studies on ocean-related aspects. Significant convergence is observed in maritime security, ocean research, and energy aspects, mostly from countries adopting international, regional and sub-regional frameworks. National level convergence is not well established as administrative and political arrangement differs from country to country in the region. These different levels of convergence help reveal procedural and operational shortcomings, strengths, weaknesses, and functional capability of countries within a cooperative ocean governance system in the region. However, experience from joint-implementation of projects, pre- and post-colonial relations between countries and the availability of transboundary organizations that have mainly emerged due to sectoral ocean challenges would play a crucial role in fostering cross-border ocean governance cooperation in the region.
Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase Level as a Prognostic Factor for COVID-19: A Retrospective Study Based on a Large Sample Size
Authors: Huang Yihui , Guo Liang , Chen Jiwei , Wu Meng , Zhang Chao , Liu Zeming , Li Jinpeng , Li Kun , Xiong Zhongwei , Wu Qian , Li Zhengwei , Luo Kuan , Yuan Weiwei , Wu Xiaohui
Published: January 2022

Background: In this study, we investigated the relationship between serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level and disease progression and prognosis of patients with COVID-19.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the information of 1,751 patients with COVID-19 from Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan, China. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses as well as Logistics regression analyses, and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to determine the association between LDH levels and the prognosis of COVID-19 patients.

Results: LDH was an independent risk factor for in-hospital death no matter it was taken as classified variable and continuous variable (all P = 0.001) but not for severe or critical illness status. The Kaplan-Meier curves for LDH level showed that an elevated level of LDH was associated with in-hospital death.

Conclusions: In patients with COVID-19, the increased LDH level is associated with a higher risk of negative clinical prognosis and higher mortality. This will provide a reference for clinicians and researchers to understand, diagnose, and treat patients with COVID-19. Further prospective studies with larger sample sizes are needed to verify these findings.