bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tumor-infiltrating immune cell status predicts successful response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Kazama Akira , Bilim Vladimir , Tasaki Masayuki , Anraku Tsutomu , Kuroki Hiroo , Shirono Yuko , Murata Masaki , Hiruma Kaede , Tomita Yoshihiko
Published: May 2022

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have dramatically changed the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Although many studies have reported biomarkers as predicting the efficacy of ICI in mRCC, they remain controversial and have challenges to apply in real-world practice. We evaluated prognostic significance of multiple molecules associated with tumor immunity in patients treated with ICI. The molecules were detected in tumor tissues by immunohistochemical staining. We identified CD8 positive T cells and CD68 positive macrophages infiltrating into the tumor tissue as a significant favorable prognostic factors for ICI treatment. Conversely, high expression of CD4-positive T cells was associated with poor response to ICI. Furthermore, we demonstrated that scoring for the expression status of these three molecules provides a remarkably accurate biomarker in patients with mRCC. Even the classical approach of immunohistochemistry could predict the outcome of ICI treatment by assessing the combined status of tumor-infiltrating immune cells.
Construction of Remote Patient Perceived Value Satisfaction Model with Online Medical Service for Specialties Based on ACSIM and TAM
Authors: Zhemin Zhang , Alturas Bráulio
Published: May 2022

With the development of medical treatment partnership and “internet + medical service” in China, this study proposes a remote patient perceived value satisfaction model (RPPVSM) with online medical service for specialties from the perspective of patient perceived value. Taking Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital Specialist Alliance (SPHSA) as the research subject, RPPVSM was constructed based on ACSI and TAM. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was modified to have a better degree of fitness and validation outcomes of the hypothesis as follows: Perceived ease of use has a significantly positive impact on perceived value with coefficient being 0.248; perceived usefulness has a significantly positive impact on the satisfaction with coefficient being 0.577; perceived value has a significantly positive impact on satisfaction with coefficient being 0.163. Perceived synergy has a significantly positive impact on perceived value with coefficient of 0.547; perceived ease of use will have a significantly positive impact on satisfaction through the perceived value variable with coefficient of mediation being 0.094; perceived synergy has a significant impact on satisfaction through perceived value with mediation coefficient being 0.196. The results suggest that the inclusion of the patient’s perception value index in the medical information platform is conducive to the construction of RPPVSM. Note: This study is not a clinical trial.
Contributions and synaptic basis of diverse cortical neuron responses to task performance
Authors: Froemke Robert , Insanally Michele , Albanna Badr , Toth Jack , DePasquale Brian , Fadaei Saba , Gupta Trisha , Kuchibhotla Kishore , Rajan Kanaka
Published: May 2022

Neuronal responses during behavior are diverse, ranging from highly reliable ‘classical’ responses to irregular or seemingly-random ‘non-classically responsive’ firing. While a continuum of response properties is frequently observed across neural systems, little is known about the synaptic origins and contributions of diverse response profiles to network function, perception, and behavior. Here we use a task-performing, spiking recurrent neural network model incorporating spike-timing-dependent plasticity that captures heterogeneous responses measured from auditory cortex of behaving rodents. Classically responsive and non-classically responsive model units contributed to task performance via output and recurrent connections, respectively. Excitatory and inhibitory plasticity independently shaped spiking responses and task performance. Local patterns of synaptic inputs predicted spiking response properties of network units as well as the responses of auditory cortical neurons from in vivo whole-cell recordings during behavior. Thus a diversity of neural response profiles emerges from synaptic plasticity rules with distinctly important functions for network performance.
Leaf wounding and jasmonic acid act synergistically to enable efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation of Persea americana
Authors: Salazar-González Jorge , Castro-Medina Manuela , Martínez-Terrazas Eduardo , Casson Stuart Anthony , Urrea-Lopez Rafael
Published: May 2022

Avocado, Persea americana Mill, is one of the most traded tropical fruits in the international market. Here, we report transient transformation of avocado leaves via agroinfiltration with the LBA4404 strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and constructs encoding the synthetic betalain gene biosynthesis cassette, RUBY, or GFP. The efficiency of transformation was dependent on leaf age, whilst microwounding and jasmonic acid treatments significantly enhanced transformation, acting synergistically to improve avocado transformation. This is the first report on Agrobacterium-mediated transient transformation on avocado leaves. It provides a useful tool in plant molecular and cellular biology research and has the potential to facilitate new capabilities to the genomics research community of this ancestral angiosperm.
Determination of 20 neonicotinoid insecticides and their metabolites in infant foods by a modified QuEChERS method combined with HPLC-MS/MS
Authors: Guo Liqiang , Li Kai , Zhang Jinling , Tian Guoning , Ke Wang , Li Yajing
Published: May 2022

A rapid, effective, and reliable method for the simultaneous detection of 20 neonicotinoids and their metabolites in infant foods has been developed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). To improve the accuracy and precision of the method, different extraction solvents, extraction methods, and adsorbents were evaluated to achieve a better recovery and clean-up effect. Under optimized conditions, the samples were extracted with acetic acid acidified acetonitrile/ethyl acetate by ultrasonication, and then were cleaned with reduced graphene oxide@Fe3O4 (rGO@Fe3O4) and primary and secondary amine (PSA) through a QuEChERS step. A matrix-matched calibration method was applied for quantification. In three different food matrixes (vegetable & fruit cookies, grain rice cereals, and vegetable purees), all the target compounds showed good linearity, both with values of r2 > 0.99. The average recovery of all neonicotinoids ranges from 68.0%~106.5% (vegetable & fruit cookies), 70.4%~105.4% (grain rice cereals), and 71.9%~107.4% (vegetable purees). Relative standard deviations were all < 15% for intraday and interday precision. The values of limit of detection and limit of quantification were, respectively, ranging from 0.02–0.35 µg kg− 1 and 0.1-1.0 µg kg− 1. The presented method was applied to the analysis of real samples.
Dietary tryptophan catabolite released by intratumoral Lactobacillus reuteri facilitates αPD-L1 therapy
Authors: Bender Mackenzie , McPherson Alex , Phelps Catherine , Rana Mohit , Pandey Surya , Shapira Jake , Gocher Angela , Mullett Steven , Wendell Stacy , Davar Diwakar , Hinterleitner Reinhard , Vignali Dario , Joglekar Alok , Zarour Hassane , Meisel Marlies
Published: May 2022

The gut microbiome has been identified as a critical factor influencing cancer patient responses to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy; however, the underlying mechanisms of how gut microbes modulate ICI therapy efficacy remain enigmatic. Here, we show that gut-commensal Lactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri) translocates to melanoma tumors where it mediates antitumor interferon-γ-producing CD8 T cell (Tc1 cell) immunity and facilitates ICI therapy via its released aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligand, indole-3-aldehyde (I3A). This dietary tryptophan (Trp) catabolite is necessary and sufficient for antitumor immunity, and AhR signaling within CD8 T cells is required for L. reuteri to suppress melanoma growth. Further, a Trp-enriched diet potentiated L. reuteri- and ICI-induced antitumor immunity. Finally, we uncovered a role of I3A in promoting ICI therapy responses and survival in advanced melanoma patients. Collectively, our findings elucidate a novel crosstalk within the tumor microenvironment between the microbial metabolite I3A and CD8 T cells that facilitates ICI therapy efficacy, paving the way for dietary- and probiotic-based cancer therapeutics.
Effect of the addition of sweet red pepper (Capsicum annuum) oleoresin and yellow tree tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.) juice on quality parameters and shelf life of margarines
Authors: Martínez-Girón Jader
Published: May 2022

The objective of this study was to evaluate different quality parameters and the oxidative stability of a vegetable margarine made with different concentrations of sweet red pepper (Capsicum annuum) oleoresin and yellow tree tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.) juice using ultrasound technology. Oleoresin was added as an enriching agent in the fat phase at different concentrations: 100, 200 and 300 ppm, and tree tomato juice was added as an enriching agent in the aqueous phase at 5, 10 and 15%. Physicochemical, microbiological, sensory and oxidative stability tests were carried out. The results showed that sweet red pepper oleoresin is a significant source of total carotenoids 1473 ± 10.24 mg/100 g, total phenolic compounds 1158 ± 8.65 mg GAE/100 g, flavonoids 814 ± 7.63 mg CE/100 g and ASTA color 765 ± 3.51, additionally tree tomato juice is a source of vitamin C 22.34 ± 1.51 mg AA/100 g. The addition of these two natural extracts improved notably the antioxidant activity, peroxides index and p-anisidine during storage of the developed margarine formulations. The results of the physicochemical and microbiological tests showed that the vegetable margarine developed met the quality standards established for a commercial margarine. The qualification of the sensory analysis indicated that the evaluated attributes were acceptable in all the formulations, being the margarine elaborated with the addition of 200 ppm of sweet red pepper oleoresin and 10% of tree tomato juice, the one that presented the best sensory qualification.
Global Research Trends on Surgery in Uterine Cervical Neoplasms: A Bibliometric Analysis via CiteSpace
Authors: Haibier Kadierguli , Xu Jinbin , Sun Ciming , Dai Fuyang , Liang Kangni , Zhu Qin , Haibier Kailibinuer , Wubuli Reziwanguli
Published: May 2022

Objectives: To identify the cooperation of authors, countries, institutions and explore the hot topics’ prospects regarding research of surgical procedure in uterine cervical neoplasms.Methods: Publications on research of surgical treatment of uterine cervical neoplasms were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Bibliometric analysis were performed by CiteSpace software. Visualized network maps were performed to evaluate the collaborations between different authors, countries, institutions, and keywords.Results: A total of 1381 articles related to study were identified. An increasing number of publications were observed from 2006 to 2022, and the number of publications were over 100 in 2020 and 2021. Gynecologic Oncology (715 times) was the most co-cited journal. Active collaborations among the top authors were observed. Scambia G(17 papers) was the top most productive authors and Ramirez PT with the largest numbers of citations (155 co-citations) in this field during the past decades. The USA was the leading contributor in this field with 342papers. Active cooperation between countries and between institutions was observed. The main hot topics in the last three years included matters related to uterine cervical neoplasms, quality of life (QoL), guideline, and gynecologic surgical procedure.Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive overview of surgery in uterine cervical neoplasms, allowing relevant authors and research teams to recognize the current research status in this field and provide a reference for formulating future research directions as well.
Down-regulation of circular RNA C3 in hepatocellular carcinoma and its potential clinical implication
Authors: Zuhua Li , Min Luo , Yidou Shi , Keqin Qing , Hongxia Li , Weiyang He
Published: May 2022

Background
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common primary malignant tumor with an increasing incidence worldwide. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been demonstrated in playing significant roles in the processes of physiology and pathology. However, the expression patterns and function of circRNAs in HCC remain unclear.
Methods
The expression of circular RNA C3 (circC3) in HCC tissues, para-cancer tissues and normal liver tissues was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and their associations with clinicopathological features and prognosis were analyzed. Using in vitro models, the role of circC3 in HCC proliferation, apoptosis and glycolysis was evaluated.
Results
Compared with para-carcinoma tissues and normal tissues, CircC3 expression was significantly reduced in HCC tissues. The downregulation of CircC3 levels in HCC was significantly correlated with tumor number (p < 0.001), tumor size (p < 0.001), tumor invasion (p = 0.026) and TNM stage (p = 0.024). Cell experiments revealed that overexpression of circC3 resulted in inhibited proliferation, increased apoptosis and downregulated the expression of GLUT1 and LDHA. Lower expression of circC3 was significantly associated with poor prognosis. ROC curves showed that the circC3 and circSOX5 serve as a biomarker to distinguish HCC from para-carcinoma tissues.
Conclusions
Our study revealed that circC3 could inhibit HCC progress by promoting apoptosis, inhibiting proliferation and glycolysis. CircC3 may serve as a potential diagnosis and prediction biomarker for HCC.
A Novel Tensor Decomposition Networks for Recommender Systems via Adaptive Moment Estimation Method
Authors: Xia Xunpeng , Zhang Rongfu , Yao Xufeng , Huang Gang , Tang Tiequn
Published: May 2022

The tag, text, and other multiple auxiliary information are acquired in the social networks. The multi-source auxiliary information is heterogeneous information. A large amount of heterogeneous information would result in extremely difficult to analyze. This paper proposes a deep learning network for multi-heterogeneous information processing. The main idea of the our deep learning network is threefold: (1) using tensor decomposition algorithms to process standard encoded data; (2) mining potential factor from heterogeneous data using multi-layer learning networks. Symmetric non-negative potential factor optimization algorithm can effectively predict the missing values of high dimensional sparse data; (3) adaptive moment estimation optimization algorithm is used to replace the traditional first-order optimization algorithm for stochastic gradient descent(SGD) process. The aggregation of heterogeneous data is essentially a minimization problem of multiple parameters. The rate of the model convergence can be improved by adaptive moment estimation in the training $ Fully documented templates are available in the elsarticle package on CTAN. stage. Simultaneously, it can solve the problem of parameter optimization of large-scale data and processing of non-stationary targets. Finally, experimental results on public vaildation datasets are given to verigy the effectiveness of our proposed blend network.
The outcome of more than 3 decades of orphan drug development in alpha-1-antitypsin deficiency – a cross sectional analysis of the FDA Orphan Drug Product designation database
Authors: Trudzinski Franziska C , Presotto Maria Ada , Buck Emanuel , Herth Felix J. , Ries Markus
Published: May 2022

Introduction Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD, OMIM #613490) is a rare metabolic disorder affecting lungs and liver. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the US orphan drug act on AATD by providing a quantitative clinical-regulatory insight into the status of FDA orphan drug approvals and designations for compounds intended to treat AATD.Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of the FDA database for orphan drug designations. Primary endpoint: orphan drug approvals. Secondary endpoint: orphan drug designations by the FDA. Close of database: 16 July 2021. STROBE criteria were respected.Results Primary: one compound, alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor (human) was approved as an orphan drug in 1987 with market exclusivity until 1994.Secondary: sixteen compounds received FDA orphan drug designation including protein, anti-inflammatory, mucolytic, gene, or cell therapy.Conclusion: Drug development activities in the field were comparable to other rare conditions and led to the FDA-approval of one compound, based on a relatively simple technological platform. The current unmet medical need is to fill the gap of missing agents for therapy of extrapulmonary manifestations of AATD. Orphan drug development is actually focusing on (1) diversified recombinant AAT production platforms, and (2) innovative gene therapies, which may, encompass a more holistic therapeutic approach.
Machine Learning approach for Numerical technique for classifying Cysts and Malignant Tumors in Breast
Authors: Makrariya Akshara , Musheer Rabia
Published: May 2022

Tumor is an abnormal tissue which can be appeared at any part of the body. It can be classified to either benign or malignant. One of the most common women's tumors that infest the breast. Various benign disorders like development of cysts in woman’s breast occur due to hormonal changes and are at the risk of becoming malignant. A number of thermal models are reported to differentiate between normal and malignant tissues of breast. But no thermal model is reported in study the effect of benign disorders on the literature to distinguish between benign and malignant disorders in woman’s breast. An attempt has been made in this paper to study the thermal disturbances caused by cysts and malignant tumors in the fat tissues of woman’s breast. The model is developed for a two-dimensional steady state case using penne’s bio heat equation and incorporating parameters like thermal conductivity, blood mass flow rate and self-controlled metabolic heat generation. The appropriate adiabatic boundary conditions have been framed for various environmental conditions. The finite element method has been employed to obtain the solution. The results have been obtained for different sizes of spherical shaped cysts and different depth of tissues in hemispherical shaped woman’s breast. The relation of size and position of the cysts have been studied with the thermal distribution in various tissues layers of the woman’s breast. The comparison of thermal profiles for cysts and malignant tumors in woman’s breast has been performed. A contrast in thermal behavior of cyst and malignant tumor in woman’s breast is observed which can be useful to distinguish between the malignant tumor and cyst in woman’s breast to prevent false positive test for malignant tumor. Accordingly, this study found that there are various factors that could affect the cancer classification and prediction. Therefore in this study, Breast cancer data classification have been done using three classification techniques which are Artifical Neural Network (ANN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Random Forest (RF) in order to improve the performance of the model trained the model with selected features according to the analysis done.
Deletion of PLD2 Alleviates LPS Induced Acute Lung Injury by Inhibiting STAT3 Phosphorylation and Regulating Endothelial Tight Junctions
Authors: Qian Tiantian , Qi Boyang , Fei Yuxin , Li Jun , Luo Liqing , Song Yutong , Sheng Shurui , Lv Bingjie , Huang Xiao , Wang Xiaozhi
Published: May 2022

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the leading cause of acute respiratory failure. Endothelial cell damage and increased permeability are critical in developing acute lung injury (ALI). Phospholipase D2 (PLD2) and its metabolite phosphatidic acid (PA) regulate many physiological activities in cells, such as intracellular vesicle transport and cytoskeletal protein recombination, disrupting cell barrier integrity. However, the exact mechanism remains unexplored. Therefore, we elucidated the role and action mechanism of PLD2 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endothelial cell integrity.Methods: We used wild-type (WT) and PLD2 knockout (PLD2-/-) mouse models of LPS-induced ALI. Altered pulmonary endothelial permeability were assessed using histopathological analysis and measuring the lung wet/dry weight ratio. The relative permeability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), a pulmonary vascular endothelial cell culture model, was assessed using transwell chamber assays for FITC-dextran and TEER transcellular resistance. The PA content, a downstream product of PLD2, was detected using ELISA, and the mRNA expression of tight junction proteins was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Changes in tight junction protein levels and STAT3 pathway phosphorylation, a critical endothelial barrier component, were assessed using immunofluorescence and western blotting analyses in vivo and in vitro.Results: PLD2-/- could significantly improve the histopathological changes, lung wet-dry ratio, and endothelial cell permeability in LPS-induced ALI mice. Simultaneously, PLD2-/- could reduce PA-induced STAT3 phosphorylation, resulting in reduced endothelial tight junction degradation.Conclusion: Loss or inhibition of PLD2 significantly inhibits tight junction injury and alleviates lung injury. LPS-induced PA production leads to STAT3 pathway phosphorylation and tight junction protein targeting, resulting in increased barrier permeability. Collectively, PA is crucial in ARDS pathogenesis.
Polymeric microneedle-based platform enables simultaneous delivery of cancer immunomodulatory drugs and detection of biomarkers in the skin
Authors: Dosta Pere , Puigmal Núria , Cryer Alexander M. , Rodríguez Alma Lorena , Scott Ella , Weissleder Ralph , Miller Miles A. , Artzi Natalie
Published: May 2022

Background
Intratumorally injected immune-modulating therapies have advanced to clinical trials over the last few years. Despite some reports on efficacy of different approaches, there remains a need for improved delivery strategies and non-invasive monitoring of anti-tumor effects.
Methods
This work reports a microneedle (MN) platform capable of simultaneous delivery of immune activators and collection of sample fluids to monitor therapeutic responses. While either approach has shown promise, the combination of the two into one theranostic platform has been previously untested. MNs were synthesized out of hyaluronic acid (HA) and loaded with a model immunomodulatory drug, CpG nanoparticles (TLR9 agonist), for cancer therapy. The therapeutic response was monitored by temporal analysis of entrapped immune cells in the MNs following their retrieval and digestion.
Results
Transdermal delivery of CpG-NPs induced anti-tumor immune responses in multiple syngeneic mouse cancer models. CpG-loaded MN stimulated innate immune cells and reduced tumor growth. Intravital microscopy showed spatiotemporal co-localization and sustained deposition of CpG-NPs delivered with MN in tumors. Analysis of sampled cells within the MNs revealed similar immune signature to that seen in the bulk tumor homogenate. In addition, immune surveillance using MNs showed an increase in the infiltrates of effector T cells after treatment.
Conclusions
We validated the theranostic potential of our hydrogel-based MNs in dually supporting transdermal drug delivery and temporal monitoring of tumor immune composition in a minimally invasive manner. This platform has the potential to deliver a range of combination therapies while detecting biomarkers.
More diverse reserve solutions for protecting biodiversity: an explicit difference criterion for producing a presentation set with exact optimisation methods
Authors: Brunel Adrien , Omer Jérémy , Lanco-Betrand Sophie
Published: May 2022

Protected areas are at the heart of current global policies against the erosion of biodiversity. For instance, to meet the pressing challenge of covering 30% of the surface of the sea under jurisdiction with a network of marine protected areas by 2030, reserve site selection models are increasingly mobilised. These models address the optimisation problem that seeks to cover biodiversity features at a minimum cost on human activities. A presentation set, i.e. a pool of alternative solutions, is often needed to increase the chances of satisfying unmodeled objectives that may be non-negligible in a conservation problem composed of various interests. The widely used Marxan repeats a metaheuristic algorithm based on random processes to produce diversity in the presentation set. Several works already demonstrated how exact optimisation methods outperform meta-heuristics both in computation time and optimality. However, the generation of multiple solutions is still raised as a key feature of metaheuristics. In this work, we proposed two algorithms to generate a presentation set with exact optimisation methods using recursive procedures based on an explicit difference criterion. The resulting alternative solutions were generated by controlling the optimality gap but also the difference with the optimal solution. This work showed that the presentation set offered by metaheuristics can be outstripped by an explicit, transparent and replicable presentation set built by exact optimisation methods. Allowing to understand precisely why and how the result was arrived at, the framework presented here should contribute to a more equitable negotiation among stakeholders engaged in conservation planning processes.
Data augmentation for imbalanced blood cell image classification
Authors: Rana Priyanka , Sowmya Arcot , Meijering Erik , Song Yang
Published: May 2022

Due to progression in cell-cycle or duration of storage, classification of morphological changes in human blood cells is important for correct and effective clinical decisions. Automated classification systems help avoid subjective outcomes and are more efficient. Deep learning and more specifically Convolutional Neural Networks have achieved state-of-the-art performance on various biomedical image classification problems. However, real-world data often suffers from the data imbalance problem, owing to which the trained classifier is biased towards the majority classes and does not perform well on the minority classes. This study presents an imbalanced blood cells classification method that utilises Wasserstein divergence GAN, mixup and novel nonlinear mixup for data augmentation to achieve oversampling of the minority classes. We also present a minority class focussed sampling strategy, which allows effective representation of minority class samples produced by all three data augmentation techniques and contributes to the classification performance. The method was evaluated on two publicly available datasets of immortalised human T-lymphocyte cells and Red Blood Cells. Classification performance evaluated using F1-score shows that our proposed approach outperforms existing methods on the same datasets.
Factors associated with poor social support in schizophrenia patients who are on follow up in public hospital, Tigray, Ethiopia: unmatched case-control study
Authors: Andualem Fantahun , Derbie Tesfaye , Seid Jemal , Fasil Lidiya
Published: May 2022

Background: Schizophrenia is a syndrome, which is characterized by affecting of thinking, perception, emotions, language, sense of self, and behavior of an individual. Schizophrenic people are faced more difficulty than the rest in the community at the areas of their social interaction. This study aimed to identify factors associated with poor social support in schizophrenia patients who were on follow up in public health hospital in mekelle city. Methods: Data were collected using interviewer administered questionnaire. Double population proportion was used to calculate sample size, and we used Oslo‐3 Social Support Scale (OSS‐3) to assess social support. Systematic sampling technique was employed to collect the data. Data was entered in the computer using Epidata manager 4.4.2.1 version and analyzed by using SPSS 25 version. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the associated factors. The p-value less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.Results: divorced/window (AOR=3.93, 95%CI: 1.07, 14.43), and had no religious practice (AOR=6.6, 95%CI: 1.44, 30.29) were significantly associated with poor social support in schizophrenia patients. But, age, educational level and substance use were not significantly associated.Conclusion: This study identified important associated factors with poor social support in schizophrenia patients in the study area. Among the studied factors, divorced/window, and had no religious practice were found to be associated with poor social support of schizophrenia patients.
Cutting carbon emissions from China’s food system by supply-demand coordination and optimizing spatial allocation of production
Authors: Qi Xinxian , Huang Xianjin , Feng Kuishuang , Yang Hong , Zhong Taiyang , Thompson Julian , Scott Steffanie
Published: May 2022

Food systems, including supply chains, account for approximately one-third of global anthropogenic GHGs emissions. We construct a bottom-up GHG inventory of China’s food system from farm to fork for the period 1990–2018. The decomposition method is used to assess regional differentiated drivers. GHG emissions reduced by 6.8% between 1990 and 2000 due to energy structure changes in East, Central and Southwest China. They then increased by 2.3% (2001–2010) because of rapid economic growth. Further large increases of 13.1% (2011–2018) were driven by growing consumption expenditure and GHG-intensive food consumption. In 2018 total emissions from China’s food system, including supply chains, was 1.55 Gt CO2e yr-1 (95%CI 1.07-2.03 Gt CO2e yr−1). Scenario simulation shows that demand- and supply-side synergies can offset emissions increases from high-quality protein food demands. Results demonstrate the importance of supply-side production spatial optimization and green source food importation for mitigating GHGs emissions.
One-stone-for-two-birds strategy to attain >25% perovskite solar cells with marvelous stability
Authors: Yang Tinghuan , Gao Lili , Lu Jing , Ma Chuang , Du Yachao , Wang Peijun , Ding Zicheng , Wang Shiqiang , Liu Dongle , Li Haojin , Chang Xiaoming , Fang Junjie , Yang Yingguo , Zhao Kui , Liu Shengzhong (Frank)
Published: May 2022

Even though the perovskite solar cell (PSC) has been so popular for its skyrocketing power conversion efficiency (PCE), its further development is still roadblocked by its overall performance, in particular long-term stability, large-area fabrication and stable module efficiency. In essence, the soft component and ionic–electronic nature of metal halide perovskites usually chaperonage large number of anion vacancy defects that act as recombination centers to decrease both the photovoltaic efficiency and operational stability. Herein, we report a one-stone-for-many-birds strategy in which both anion-fixation and associated undercoordinated-Pb passivation are achieved by using a single amidino-based ligand, namely 3-amidinopyridine (3AP), for metal-halide perovskite to overcome above challenges. The resultant devices attain a power conversion efficiency as high as 25.3% (certified at 24.8%) with substantially improved stability. Moreover, the device without encapsulation retained 92% of its initial efficiency after 5000 h exposure in ambient and 90% of its initial efficiency after 200 h of operation at the maximum power point under simulated AM1.5G illumination. It is expected this one-stone-for-many-birds strategy will benefit large-area fabrication that desires for simplicity.
Rapid evolutionary change in trait correlations of a single protein
Authors: Dasmeh Pouria , Zheng Jia , Wagner Andreas
Published: May 2022

Many organismal traits are genetically determined and covary in evolving populations. The resulting trait correlations can either help or hinder evolvability – the ability to bring forth new and adaptive phenotypes. The evolution of evolvability requires that trait correlations themselves must be able to evolve, but we know little about this ability. To learn more about it, we here study one of the simplest evolvable systems, a gene encoding a single protein, and two traits of this protein, namely the ability to emit yellow and green light. We show that correlations between these two traits can evolve rapidly through both mutation and selection on short evolutionary time scales. In addition, we show that these correlations are driven by a protein’s ability to fold, because single mutations that alter foldability can dramatically change trait correlations. Since foldability is important for most proteins and their traits, mutations affecting protein folding may alter trait correlations mediated by many other proteins. Thus, mutations that affect protein foldability may also help shape the correlations of complex traits that are affected by hundreds of proteins.
How to Conserve the Hotspot Areas for Herpetofauna Species in South Korea?
Authors: Do Min Seock , Son Seok-Jun , Choi Green , Yoo Nakyung , Kim Dae-in , Koo Kyo-Soung , Nam Hyung-Kyu
Published: May 2022

Understanding the geographic distribution of species is crucial for establishing protected areas. This study aimed to identify the preferred habitat environment of South Korean herpetofauna using distribution point information, providing the information necessary to protect their habitat by establishing a species distribution model. We found that climate variables in the region where 19 amphibians and 20 reptiles were distributed showed a correlation with altitude, suggesting altitude had a major influence on their distribution. The species distribution modeling indicated that 10–12 amphibian species and 13–16 reptile species inhabit the Gangwon-do region, forming hotspot areas in the eastern and western regions around the Taebaek Mountains. Some of these hotspot areas occurred in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and national parks, which are government managed ecological conservation areas. However, some hotspot areas are vulnerable to habitat destruction due to development and deforestation as they are not designated conservation areas. Therefore, it is necessary to establish new conservation areas with a focus on herpetofauna, after confirming the actual inhabitation of species through precise monitoring in predicted hotspot areas, and designate them as protected areas. These results can serve as important basic data for establishing protection measures and designating protected areas for herpetofauna species.
Time trends in the use of field-substitution in the Belgian health interview survey
Authors: Demarest Stefaan , Molenberghs Geert , Berete Finaba , Charafeddine Rana , Oyen Herman Van , Hal Guido Van
Published: May 2022

Background
Matched field-substitution has been applied in the Belgian Health Interview Survey (BHIS) since the first wave. During data-collection, non-participating households are replaced by substitute households, if needed up to seven times. In this manuscript, the use of field-substitution in the six rounds of BHIS (1997–2018) is assessed. We investigated to what extent field-substitution contributes to obtaining the requested net-sample size and whether this has evolved throughout the successive BHIS’s.
Methods
Harmonized para-data gathered throughout de data-collection phases are used to define the final participation status of all households that could be contacted for participation to the survey. The share of the substituted households was calculated and possible trends in the use of field-substitution throughout the successive surveys was assessed using logistic regression. Finally, it was examined whether the application of field-substitution changed in terms of the position of the participating household in the clusters, using the ESTIMATE statement in the SAS procedure NLMIXED.
Results
Overall, four in ten participating households are substitute households. This proportion remains rather similar over the surveys. The probability of participating according to the position of the household within the cluster is evidently much higher in households at the first position of initial selected clusters. Over the survey-years, the share of participating household derived from substitute clusters in the total number of participating households has slightly increased.
Conclusion
Field-substitution in BHIS plays a very substantial role in obtaining the requested net sample both in size and composition. Field-substitution, as applied in BHIS might inspire scientists to consider it when developing their surveys.
New Constraints on Cenozoic Subduction between India and Tibet
Authors: Liu Liang , Liu Lijun , Morgan Jason , Xu Yigang , Peng Diandian
Published: May 2022

The nature of the lost lithosphere that subducted between India and Tibet since the Paleocene remains controversial, with existing propositions including it being either entirely continental, oceanic, or a mixture of the two. As the subduction history of this lost lithosphere strongly controlled Tibetan intraplate tectonism, we attempt to further constrain its nature (density structure) by reproducing the histories of magmatism and crustal thickening and present-day plateau properties with numerical models. By matching time-evolving geological patterns, we find that the Tibetan tectonism away from the Himalayan syntaxis is most consistent with the initial subduction of a cratonic terrane at 55±5 Ma followed by a buoyant tectonic plate with a thin crust (e.g., a broad Indian continental margin), with limited or no oceanic crust. We propose that the subduction of this “Himalandia” was analogous to what would happen if modern Zealandia+ Australia were to undergo subcontinental collision and subduction.
Determinants of quality of Life in Children and Adolescents with Type-I Diabetes Mellitus: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Bekele Bisrat Tamene , Demie Takele Gezahegn , Worku Frehiwot
Published: May 2022

Background: Living with type-I diabetes mellitus (T1DM) presents children and adolescents with various daily challenges associated with disease management, including significant lifestyle changes due to intensive therapeutic exogenous insulin regimes, the need for dietary restrictions, regular exercise, and frequent biochemical marker monitoring. This study aimed at determining diabetes related quality of life (DRQoL) and factors influencing quality of life in Indian children and adolescents with T1DM.Methods: Three hundred seventy-nine randomly selected children and adolescents with T1DM were assessed using Pediatric quality of life inventory 3.2 diabetes module. Mean scores of DRQoL according to sociodemographic factors, and clinical variables were assessed by an independent sample t test, or ANOVA according to the characteristics of analyzed variables. Paired sample t-test was used to compare children’s and adolescents’ self-report with caregivers’ report. Multivariable linear regression was used to identify the significant predictors of DRQoL.Result: The total score of the PedsQL Diabetes Module self-report were found to be 83.77±11.11 for the 5 -12 years old and 80.27±13.52 for the 13-18 years old. Patients who attended education (β = -0.134, p= 0.013) and mothers of the patients being educated (β=0.300, p<0.001), and having insulin injection by primary care givers (β = 0.136, p=0.050) were positive determinants of DRQoL; while not attending diabetic education (β = -0.129, p=0.014) and an increase in the mean fasting blood sugar (FBS) (β = -0.130, p=0.016) were found to be negative determinants that explain 20.3% of the variability of total DRQoL scores of children and adolescents (R2=0.203, F(20,312)= 5.225, p<0.001).Conclusions: the quality-of-life score for children and adolescents with T1DM in Ethiopia was not sufficiently good. The educational status of patients, mothers’ educational status, fathers’ occupation, type of individual administering insulin medication, attending diabetes health education and mean fasting blood sugar were found to be determinants of DRQoL.
A comparison of chromic catgut, polyglactin 910, and Vicryil rapide sutures for episiotomy repair: a randomized clinical trial
Authors: Shahgheibi Shole , Zandvakili Farnaz , Rasouli Mohammad Aziz , Naqshbandi Mobin , Limouei Chnour
Published: May 2022

Background: Episiotomy is one of the common surgical procedures in maternity wards. A large number of women who undergo episiotomy suffer from short-term postpartum complications, which are associated with a type of applied suture. Chromic catgut, polyglactin 910 (Coated Vicryl) and Vicryil rapide are the most common suture materials for the perineal repair. The aim of this study is to compare three suture materials on perineal pain, infection, and inflammation at the site of perineal repair of episiotomy. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 114 patients referred to the labor ward of Besat Hospital, Sanandaj City, Iran in 2017-2018. Random allocation was conducted using envelopes containing a number from one to three for the three suture materials. Each envelope was opened by the gynecology resident and each group was treated by a specific suture material. The severity of perineal pain, infection, incidence rate of inflammation, and residual materials were evaluated at the 48th hours, 7th day, and 42nd day and in the case of pain during sexual intercourse at the 6th week after episiotomy.Results: The severity of perineal pain was significantly different between the three groups at 48th hour, 7th day, and 42nd day after episiotomy (P<0.001). Moreover, 15.4% of the patients (n=6) who used Vicryil rapide suture reported no pain (P<0.001). Moreover, the severity of the moderate and severe pains at the 7th day and 42nd day were significantly lower in Vicryil rapide group in comparison with the chromic catgut and polyglactin 910 groups. The inflammation at the site of perineum repair was also significantly lower in the Vicryil rapide group in comparison with other two other groups at the 48th hour and 7th day after episiotomy (P<0.001). Furthermore, the pain severity during sexual intercourse was significantly lower in the Vicryil rapide group (P<0.001). Conclusions: According to the results, using Vicryil rapide suture for episiotomy repair was associated with earlier pain and inflammation reduction at the site of perineum repair.Trial registration: IRCT20141208020249N5 (http://en.irct.ir/trial/34194)Date trial registration: 02 February 2019 (The trial was retrospectively registered)
Characteristics of antibiotic resistance genes and microbial communities in marine sediments in seas of China
Authors: Chen Hui , Zheng Minggang , Liu Weijian , Kuang Shaoping , Tian Minge , Zhang Shuai , Liu Shuai
Published: May 2022

Marine sediments have been regarded as hotspots of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) due to the continuous release of antibiotics and ARGs into seas. A comprehensive study on the spatial distribution of ARGs in sediments from different seas is needed for a better understanding of ARGs pollution in China. Marine sediments were collected from the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea, and five prevalent ARGs (i.e., blaTEM, sul1, tetA, tetC, and vanA) and one class 1 integron-integrase gene (intI1) were targeted and determined. β-lactam resistance genes blaTEM were ubiquitous and predominant in all sea areas with higher relative abundances up to 2.7×10− 3, followed by sulfonamide (sul1) and tetracycline resistance genes (tetC). IntI1 genes were detected in all sediments except for one sampling site in the South China Sea, with relative abundances ranging from 3.6 × 10− 5 to 1.3 × 10− 3. Total ARGs were more abundant in the South China Sea, followed by the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the Bohai Sea. Microbial community analysis showed that the microbial community in sediments collected from different seas were clustered separately and appeared distinct spatial characteristics. Contents of nitrate, organic carbon, and total carbon are the major physicochemical properties that influence the distribution and variation of blaTEM and tetC in sediments with their p-value lower than 0.05. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were dominant potential host bacteria of blaTEM, tetC, sul1, and int1. This study provides new insight into the pollution status of ARGs in the seas of China, which contributes to the ARGs risk assessment and raises awareness of managing antibiotic resistance pollution.
The regulatory landscapes of human ovarian ageing
Authors: Suh Yousin , Jin Chen , Wang Xizhe , Hudgins Adam , Gamliel Amir , Pei Mingzhuo , Kim Seungsoo , Contreras Daniela , Hoeijmakers Jan , Campisi Judith , Lobo Rogerio , Williams Zev , Rosenfeld Michael
Published: May 2022

The ovary is the first organ to age in the human body, affecting both fertility and overall health in women1-8. However, the biological mechanisms underlying human ovarian ageing remain poorly understood. Here we performed single-cell multi-omics analysis of young and reproductively aged human ovaries to understand the molecular and cellular basis of ovarian ageing in humans. Our analysis reveals coordinated changes in transcriptomic output and chromatin accessibility across cell types during ageing, including elevated mTOR and MAPK signaling, decreased activity of the oxidative phosphorylation and DNA damage repair pathways, and an increased signature of cellular senescence. By constructing cell type-specific regulatory networks, we uncover enhanced activity of the transcription factor CEBPD across cell types in the aged ovary, with a corresponding significant loss of activity of most cell identity-associated transcription factors. Moreover, by performing integrative analyses of our single-nuclei multi-omics data with common genetic variants associated with age at natural menopause (ANM) from genome-wide association studies, we demonstrate a global impact of functional variants on changes in gene regulatory networks across ovarian cell types. Finally, we nominate about a dozen of functional non-coding variants, their target genes and cell types and regulatory mechanisms that underlie genetic association with ANM. This work provides a comprehensive multimodal landscape of human ovarian ageing and mechanistic insights into inherited variation of ANM.
Virologic and Immunologic Characterization of COVID-19 Recrudescence after Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir Treatment
Authors: Carlin Aaron F. , Clark Alex E. , Chaillon Antoine , Garretson Aaron F. , Bray William , Porrachi Magali , Santos AsherLev T. , Smith Davey M.
Published: May 2022

We isolated a SARS-CoV-2 BA.2 variant from a person with COVID-19 recrudescence after nirmatrelvir/ritonavir treatment. Antiviral sensitivity and neutralizing antibody testing was performed and compared with parental SARS-CoV-2 and multiple variants of concern. We found that neither NM resistance nor absence of neutralizing immunity were likely causes of the recrudescence.
Application of Factorial and Binomial identities in Cybersecurity
Authors: Annamalai Chinnaraji
Published: May 2022

This paper focuses on the application of factorial and binomial identities in cybersecurity in connection with the symmetric and asymmetric encryptions. We can use the binomial identities and theorem in factorials as an effective security algorithm to protect the computing systems, programs, and networks.