bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improving productivity of Sesbania pea in saline soils by enhancing antioxidant capacity with optimum application of nitrogen and phosphate combination
Authors: Zhu Guanglong , Xu Yunming , Xu Zhenran , Ahmad Irshad , Nimir Nimir Eltyb Ahmed , Zhou Guisheng
Published: November 2022

Salinity stress is one of the major constraints to plant growth and crop production. Optimum fertilizer management is essential for promoting crop growth and productivity in saline soils. A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of nitrogen and phosphate combination on sesbania pea (Sesbania cannabina (Retz.) Poir.) growth and associated physiology in saline soils. Three N rates (N1: 240 kg·ha-1, N2: 360 kg·ha-1, N3: 480 kg·ha-1) and two P rates (P1: 120 kg·ha-1, P2:180 kg·ha-1) were arranged in this study using a RCBD with 3 replicates. The application of N and P fertilizers significantly improved plant growth and associated physiological traits of sesbania pea. Plant height (P=0.0001), fresh biomass weight (P=0.0006), dry biomass weight (P=0.0006), relative growth rate (RGR) (P=0.005), chlorophyll (P=0.002), peroxidase (POD) (P=0.0003), catalase (CAT) (P=0.0001), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (P=0.0001) and soluble protein (P=0.0053) were significantly increased, and the maximum values were consistently produced under N2P2 combination at each growth stage. On the contrary, malondialdehyde (MDA) was prominently decreased by N and P fertilizer application (P=0.0029), and the lowest values were all produced under N2P2 combination. The highest values of plant height, fresh biomass weight and dry biomass weight were recorded on the 163rd day after seeding (DAS). The highest RGR and MDA content were determined on the 141st DAS. The highest chlorophyll content, CAT and SOD activity, and soluble protein content were recorded on the 110th DAS, and the highest POD activity was at 47 DAS. This study suggested that the optimum N and P fertilizer combination was N2P2 (360 kg·hm-2 N + 180 kg·hm-2 P), which was superior in promoting growth and biomass yield with enhanced antioxidant capacity of sesbania pea in saline soils.
Identification and investigation of a novel NADP+-dependent secoisolariciresinol dehydrogenase from Isatis indigotica
Authors: Shi Xiaoyi , Geng Jiaran , Feng Jingxian , Yang Yingbo , Ma Xueqi , Chen Wansheng , Xiao Ying
Published: November 2022

Cofactors are crucial for the biosynthesis of natural compounds, and cofactor engineering is a useful strategy for enzyme optimization due to its potential to enhance enzyme efficiency. Secoisolariciresinol dehydrogenase (SIRD) was reported to convert secoisolariciresinol into matairesinol in an NAD+-dependent reaction. Here, a SIRD designated as IiSIRD2 identified from Isatis indigotica was found to utilize NADP+ as the cofactor. To explore the structural basis for this unique cofactor preference, model-based structural analysis was carried out, and it was postulated that a variation at the GXGGXG glycine-rich motif of IiSIRD2 alters its cofactor preference. This study paves way for future investigations on SIRD cofactor specificity and cofactor engineering to improve SIRD’s catalytic efficiency.
Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of MIKCC genes in rose provide insight into their effects on flower development
Authors: Wang Yi , Yang Tuo , Li Yuqi , Hou Jialin , He Junna , Ma Nan , Zhou Xiaofeng
Published: November 2022

The MIKCC-type gene family plays important roles in plant growth, development, and tolerance of biotic and abiotic stress, especially during floral organ differentiation. However, there have been no studies of MIKCC-type genes in rose, and functional differentiation of family members has not been explored. In this study, we identified 42 MIKCC-type genes in rose, classified the genes into 12 subfamilies, and constructed a phylogenetic tree. We performed expression analysis of these genes, and found that expression patterns correlated with the predicted subfamily, indicating that the features of MIKCC-type genes were broadly conserved during evolution. Collinear analysis of MIKCC genes among Rosaceae species confirmed the occurrence of whole genome duplications (WGD) and revealed some species-specific MIKCC genes. Transcriptome analysis showed that the expression of some MIKCC-type genes responded to low temperatures (4°C, 24 h) during flower organ differentiation. These conserved, duplicated, and novel expression patterns of MIKCC-type genes may have facilitated the adaptation of rose to various internal and external environmental changes. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for future functional analysis of the MIKCC genes in rose and investigation of the evolutionary pattern of the MIKCC gene family in the Rosaceae genome.
Injury mortality and morbidity changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
Authors: He Jieyi , Ning Peishan , Schwebel David C. , Yang Yang , Li Li , Cheng Peixia , Rao Zhenzhen , Hu Guoqing
Published: November 2022

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed society. We aimed to examine the systematic impact of the COVID-19 on injury burden in the United States.

Methods

We extracted mortality and morbidity data from CDC WONDER and WISQARS. We estimated age-standardized injury mortality rate ratio and morbidity rate ratio (MtRR and MbRR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for all injuries, all unintentional injuries, homicide/assault by all methods, suicide/self-harm by all methods, as well as other 11 specific unintentional or intentional injury categories. Injury rate ratios were compared for 2020 vs. 2019 to those of 2019 vs. 2018 to demonstrate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on fatal and nonfatal injury burden. The ratio of MtRRs (RMtRR) and the ratio of MbRRs (RMbRR) with 95% CI between 2020 vs. 2019 and 2019 vs. 2018 were calculated separately.

Results

The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in injury mortality (RMtRR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.13) but injury morbidity decreased (RMbRR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.88, 0.89) when the changes of these rates from 2019 to 2020 were compared to those from 2018 to 2019. Mortality disparities between the two time periods were primarily driven by greater mortality during the COVID-influenced 2020 vs. 2019 from road traffic crashes (particularly motorcyclist mortality), drug poisoning, and homicide by firearm. Similar patterns were not present from 2019 vs. 2018. There were morbidity reductions from road traffic crashes (particularly occupant and pedestrian morbidity from motor vehicle crashes), unintentional falls, and self-harm by suffocation from 2019 to 2020 compared to the previous period. Change patterns in sexes and age groups were generally similar, but exceptions were observed for some injury types.

Conclusions

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed specific injury burden in the United States. Some discrepancies also existed across sex and age groups, meriting attention of injury researchers and policymakers to tailor injury prevention strategies to particular populations and the environmental contexts citizens face.
Social network and HIV/AIDS: A bibliometric analysis of global literature
Authors: Doan Linh Phuong , Nguyen Long Hoang , Auquier Pascal , Boyer Laurent , Fond Guillaume , Nguyen Hien Thu , Latkin Carl A. , Vu Giang Thu , Hall Brian J. , Ho Cyrus S. H. , Ho Roger C. M.
Published: November 2022

Social networks (SN) shape HIV risk behaviors and transmission. This study was performed to quantify research development, patterns, and trends in the use of SN in the field of HIV/AIDS, and used Global publications extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Networks of countries, research disciplines, and most frequently used terms were visualized. The Latent Dirichlet Allocation method was used for topic modeling. A linear regression model was utilized to identify the trend of research development. During the period 1991–2019, in a total of 5,698 publications, topics with the highest volume of publications consisted of (1) mental disorders (16.1%); (2) HIV/sexually transmitted infections prevalence in key populations (9.9%); and (3) HIV-related stigma (9.3%). Discrepancies in the geographical distribution of publications were also observed. This study highlighted (1) the rapid growth of publications on a wide range of topics regarding SN in the field of HIV/AIDS, and (2) the importance of SN in HIV prevention, treatment, and care. The findings of this study suggest the need for interventions using SN and the improvement of research capacityviaregional collaborations to reduce the HIV burden in low- and middle-income countries.
Parental preference for Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccination in Zhejiang Province, China: A discrete choice experiment
Authors: Wang Xianglin , Feng Yi , Zhang Qian , Ye Lihong , Cao Man , Liu Ping , Liu Shimeng , Li Shunping , Zhang Juan
Published: November 2022

Background

China is the only country in the world that has not included the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine in its National Immunization Program, making it more difficult to eliminate Hib-related diseases through Hib vaccination. It is necessary to study parental preferences for Hib vaccination to optimize vaccine promotion strategies in China.

Objective

This study aimed to investigate Chinese parental preference for five attributes of Hib vaccination, i.e., the place of origin, effectiveness, adverse event, doctors' recommendation, and the price of full vaccination when making a decision to vaccinate their children under 2 years old.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in two cities in Zhejiang Province from November to December in 2020 using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). A mixed logit model was used to estimate participating parents' preference for Hib vaccination attributes included in the DCE. Subgroup analysis and probability analysis were also conducted to capture the heterogeneity and trade-off of parental preference for Hib vaccination.

Results

Data from 6,168 observations were included in the analyses. Parents of children are, on average, more likely to voice a positive preference for Hib vaccination. Such attributes of Hib vaccination as effectiveness and doctor's recommendation have a significant positive influence on parents' preference for Hib vaccination, while imported vaccines, adverse events, and the price of full vaccination have a significant negative influence on parents' preference. Parents with different demographic characteristics also existed heterogeneities in preference for Hib vaccination. Parents will make a trade-off on price if the Hib vaccine has a good performance on effectiveness and safety.

Conclusion

The study found that, regardless of the place of origin of the Hib vaccine, parents with children under 2 years old prefer to compromise on price if the vaccine has a better effectiveness and safety profile. A proactive recommendation from doctors would strengthen their willingness for Hib vaccination. These findings help aid the development of communication strategies with parents for Hib vaccination in China.
“People are more afraid of a dementia diagnosis than of death”: The challenges of supporting advance care planning for persons with dementia in community settings
Authors: Sussman Tamara , Tétrault Bianca
Published: November 2022

Improving early uptake of advance care planning (ACP) for persons with dementia and their families requires that staff in community-based settings feel armed and equipped to encourage and support this process. Yet few studies have explored whether staff within non-medical environments feel prepared to support early ACP engagement for persons with early-stage dementia and their families. Our qualitative interpretivist study aimed to fill this gap by facilitating, transcribing and thematically analyzing deliberations from three focus groups with 17 community-based staff. Our findings revealed four key barriers to ACP activation in community settings: (1) the stigma associated with the condition; (2) lack of knowledge about end-of-life concerns for persons with dementia; (3) uncertainties about managing complex family dynamics and (4) worries that opening up conversations about future care may lead to the expression of wishes that could not be actualized (e.g., dying at home). Our findings further revealed that ACP engagement was facilitated when staff expressed confidence in their capacities to gauge readiness, viewed themselves as guides rather than experts and had access to resources to supplement their knowledge. Reflexive training opportunities and access to materials and resources around end-of-life care for persons with dementia, could equip staff in these non-medical settings with the skills to engage in ongoing dialogue about future care issues with persons living with dementia and their families.
Patient-reported outcome measures as an outcome variable in sports medicine research
Authors: Snyder Valier Alison R. , Huxel Bliven Kellie C. , Lam Kenneth C. , Valovich McLeod Tamara C.
Published: November 2022

Injury prevention and rehabilitation research often address variables that would be considered clinician-oriented outcomes, such as strength, range of motion, laxity, and return-to-sport. While clinician-oriented variables are helpful in describing the physiological recovery from injury, they neglect the patient perspective and aspects of patient-centered care. Variables that capture patient perspective are essential when considering the impact of injury and recovery on the lives of patients. The inclusion of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) as dependent variables in sports medicine research, including injury prevention and rehabilitation research, provides a unique perspective regarding the patient's perception of their health status, the effectiveness of treatments, and other information that the patient deems important to their care. Over the last 20 years, there has been a significant increase in the use of PROMs in sports medicine research. The growing body of work gives opportunity to reflect on what has been done and to provide some ideas of how to strengthen the evidence moving forward. This mini-review will discuss ideas for the inclusion of PROMs in sports medicine research, with a focus on critical factors, gaps, and future directions in this area of research. Important elements of research with PROMs, including instrument selection, administration, and interpretation, will be discussed and areas for improvement, consideration, and standardization will be provided.
Primary gastric choriocarcinoma: A case report
Authors: Xusheng Zhang , Yuke Yan , Yun Meng , Huijun Guo , Jiangshan Peng , Xueqin Du , Xiaojun Yang
Published: November 2022

Background

Choriocarcinoma is a malignant tumour of trophoblastic origin. Most are gestational choriocarcinomas, which usually occur in women with an epithelial origin of the placental chorionic villi and are associated with pregnancy. It mainly originates in the gonads such as the ovaries and testes. However, it rarely occurs in the stomach and is known as primary choriocarcinoma (PGC).

Case presentation

A 69-year-old man complained of abdominal distention for 3 years, which worsened 1 week later. Gastroscopy showed chronic atrophic gastritis C1 (C1: indicates atrophic gastritis involving the sinus region); the pathology report of the gastroscopic specimen showed high-grade epithelial tumours in the mucosal glands. We diagnosed an occupying lesion in the stomach and performed a laparoscopically assisted distal gastrectomy and Billroth type 1 anastomosis. Postoperative pathology showed “gastric choriocarcinoma with cancerous tissue invading the entire gastric wall”. The patient was discharged on the 11th postoperative day as there were no postoperative complications. The patient was followed up until June 2022 with a good recovery and no recurrence.

Conclusion

We encountered a case of Primary Gastric Choriocarcinoma, where the cancerous tissue invades the full thickness of the gastric wall.
Risk factors for coexisting deep endometriosis for patients with recurrent ovarian endometrioma
Authors: Du Yongjiang , Hu Changchang , Ye Chaoshuang , Wu Ruijin
Published: November 2022

Aim

The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors for coexisting deep endometriosis (DE) in patients with recurrent ovarian endometrioma (OE).

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 151 recurrent OE patients who had been diagnosed of OE but not DE at the time of their first surgery and then received a second surgery for recurrent endometriosis with or without DE. Their clinical characteristics at the time of the first and second surgeries were collected. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify potential risk factors for coexisting DE in patients with recurrent OE.

Results

Among the 151 recurrent OE patients, 46 were diagnosed of DE during the recurrent surgery and included in the DE group, while the remaining 105 patients were included in the non-DE group. In univariate analysis, there were significant differences in terms of uterine retroversion during the primary surgery and the follow-up time after the primary surgery between the DE and non-DE groups. The multivariate analysis also showed that both uterine retroversion and the follow-up time (≥5 years) were associated with the coexistence of DE during the recurrent surgery. The odds ratio (OR) for uterine retroversion was 3.72 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.62–8.53], and the OR for follow-up time (≥5 years) was 5.03 (95% CI 2.29–11.02).

Conclusions

Our study suggested that for recurrent OE patients, uterine retroversion during the first surgery and a follow-up time of at least 5 years are risk factors for the coexistence of DE in recurrent surgery, early prevention and full preparation before the recurrent surgery should be emphasized in these conditions.
Complete mitogenomes and phylogenetic relationships of Haemaphysalis nepalensis and Haemaphysalis yeni
Authors: Lu Xin-yan , Zhang Quan-fu , Jiang Dan-dan , Liu Ya-fang , Chen Bin , Yang Shuang-ping , Shao Zong-ti , Jiang Hang , Wang Jian , Fang Yi-hao , Du Chun-hong , Yang Xing
Published: November 2022

The mitochondrial genome may include crucial data for understanding phylogenetic and molecular evolution. We sequenced the complete mitogenome of Haemaphysalis nepalensis and Haemaphysalis yeni for the first time. H. nepalensis and H. yeni's complete mitogenomes were 14,720 and 14,895 bp in size, respectively, and both contained two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and 13 protein-coding genes (PCG). Haemaphysalis nepalensis have one control region (D-loop). The adenine + thymine concentration of the genomes of H. nepalensis and H. yeni was 77.75 and 78.41%, respectively. The codon use pattern and amino acid content of proteins were both observed to be affected by the AT bias. Genes in the mitogenome were organized and located in a comparable manner to previously known genes from Haemaphysalis ticks. Mitochondrial PCGs were used to perform phylogenetic relationships based on the Minimum Evolution (ME) approach using MEGA 7.0 software, the results reveal that H. nepalensis has tight links with H. tibetensis, H. yeni and H. kolonini share a sister group relationship, and that H. nepalensis and H. yeni belong to Haemaphysalis. The results of this study include the following: (i) discovered and supplied new tick records (H. nepalensis) for China, (ii) provided the first complete mitochondrial genome for H. nepalensis and H. yeni and revealed their phylogenetic relationships, and (iii) the features of the mitochondrial genome of H. nepalensis and H. yeni provided more genetic reference for Phylogeography, systematics, and population genetics of the Haemaphysalis species.
“King of the forage”—Alfalfa supplementation improves growth, reproductive performance, health condition and meat quality of pigs
Authors: Ma Jixiang , Huangfu Weikang , Yang Xu , Xu Junying , Zhang Yan , Wang Zhichang , Zhu Xiaoyan , Wang Chengzhang , Shi Yinghua , Cui Yalei
Published: November 2022

As one kind of high-quality feed with rich nutrients, including high quality protein and amino acids, dietary fiber, enriched vitamins and mineral elements and bioactive molecules, alfalfa has been widely used in the production of ruminant livestock. As the understanding of alfalfa becomes more and more comprehensive, it is found that the high-quality nutrients in alfalfa could have positive effects on pigs. An increasing number of researches have shown that supplementing dietary alfalfa to the diet of gestating sows reduced constipation, alleviated abnormal behavior, improved satiety and reproductive performance; supplementing dietary alfalfa to the diet of piglets improved growth performance and intestinal barrier function, reduced intestinal inflammatory response and diarrhea; supplementing dietary alfalfa to the diet of growing-fattening pigs improved production performance and pork quality. Moreover, the mechanisms by which various nutrients of alfalfa exert their beneficial effects on pigs mainly including dietary fiber stimulating intestinal peristalsis, enhancing the activity of digestive enzymes, and promoting the colonization of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract through fermentation in the intestine, producing short-chain fatty acids and thus improving intestinal health; high quality protein and amino acids are beneficial to improve animal health condition; rich vitamins and mineral elements play an important role in various physiological functions and growth and development of the body; and bioactive molecules can improve the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory level. Therefore, alfalfa could be used as pig feed ingredient to alleviate various problems in the pig industry and to improve pig production performance. In this review, we detail the current application of alfalfa in pigs and discuss the potential mechanisms involved in how alfalfa improves growth and reproductive performance, pork quality, and intestinal health of the animals, thus laying the foundation for the increased application of high-quality forage in pig production.
Molecular characteristics of glutathione transferase gene family in a neglect medical Spirometra tapeworm
Authors: Chen Wen Qing , Liu Sha Sha , Cheng Chi , Cui Jing , Wang Zhong Quan , Zhang Xi
Published: November 2022

The Spirometra mansoni is a neglect medical tapeworm, its plerocercoid larvae can parasitize in humans and animals, causing sparganosis. In this study, 17 new members of the glutathione transferase (GST) family were sequenced and characterized in S. mansoni. Clustering analysis displayed the categorization of SmGSTs into two main clades. RT-qPCR illustrated that 7 GST genes were highly expressed in the plerocercoid stage while 8 GSTs were highly expressed in the adult. rSmGST has the typical C- and N-terminal double domains of glutathione transferase. Immunolocalization revealed that natural SmGST is mainly located in the epidermis and parenchyma of plerocercoid, and in the epidermis, parenchyma, uterus and egg shell of adult worm. The optimum activity for rSmGST was found to be pH 6.5 and 25°C. The evolutionary tree showed a high level of diversity of cestodes GSTs. SmGSTs contained both conserved family members and members in the process of further diversification. The findings in this study will lay a foundation to better explore the underlying mechanisms of GSTs involved in Spirometra tapeworms.
Identification of body size characteristic points based on the Mask R-CNN and correlation with body weight in Ujumqin sheep
Authors: Qin Qing , Dai Dongliang , Zhang Chongyan , Zhao Cun , Liu Zhichen , Xu Xiaolong , Lan Mingxi , Wang Zhixin , Zhang Yanjun , Su Rui , Wang Ruijun , Wang Zhiying , Zhao Yanhong , Li Jinquan , Liu Zhihong
Published: November 2022

The measurements of body size data not only reflect the physical fitness, carcass structure, excellent growth condition, and developmental relationship among tissues and organs of animals but are also critical indicators to measure the growth and development of sheep. Computer vision-based body size identification is a non-contact and stress-free method. In this study, we analyzed different body size traits (height at wither, body slanting length, chest depth, chest circumference, shank circumference, hip height, shoulder width, and rump width) and the body weight of 332 Ujumqin sheep and significant correlations (P < 0.05) were obtained among all traits in Ujumqin sheep. Except for shoulder width, rump width, and shank circumference, all were positively correlated, and the effect of sex on Ujumqin sheep was highly significant. The main body size indexes affecting the body weight of rams and ewes were obtained through stepwise regression analysis of body size on body weight, in order of chest circumference, body slanting length, rump width, hip height, height at wither, and shoulder width for rams and body slanting length, chest circumference, rump width, hip height, height at wither and shoulder width for ewes. The body slanting length, chest circumference, and hip height of ewes were used to construct prediction equations for the body weight of Ujumqin sheep of different sexes. The model's prediction accuracy was 83.9% for the rams and 79.4% for ewes. Combined with a Mask R-CNN and machine vision methods, recognition models of important body size parameters of Ujumqin sheep were constructed. The prediction errors of body slanting length, height at wither, hip height, and chest circumference were ~5%, chest depth error was 9.63%, and shoulder width, rump width, and shank circumference errors were 14.95, 12.05, and 19.71%, respectively. The results show that the proposed method is effective and has great potential in precision management.
Influence of Graft Ureter Length, a Donor-Related Factor, on Urinary Tract Infections After Living-Donor Kidney Transplantation: A Single-Center Analysis of 211 Cases
Authors: Koga Shoma , Yamanaga Shigeyoshi , Hidaka Yuji , Tanaka Kosuke , Kaba Akari , Toyoda Mariko , Ochiai Shintaro , Takano Yuichi , Yamamoto Yasuhiro , Inadome Akito , Yokomizo Hiroshi
Published: November 2022

Urinary tract infection (UTI) occurs in 25% of recipients of living-donor kidney transplantation (LDKT). Female sex, age, and anatomical abnormalities have been reported as recipient-related risk factors for UTI after LDKT; few studies have reported donor-related factors. We retrospectively examined UTI occurrence within 5 years of transplantation in recipients (n = 211) who underwent LDKT at our hospital between April 2011 and April 2021. All nephrectomies were performed using a retroperitoneal pure laparoscopic approach. The ureter was dissected at the lower level of the common iliac artery and trimmed to the shortest length, enough to reach the bladder using extra vesicular ureterocystoneostomy with a 3 cm submucosal tunnel. Twenty-nine recipients (13.7%) developed UTI within 5 years, and the median time to onset was 40.0 days. After adjusting for the well-known factors, including recipient sex, graft ureter length was an independent factor for UTI occurrence (HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.02∼1.53, p = 0.028) in the multivariate Cox regression analysis. The long ureter is usually trimmed, and the widest part is used for anastomosis, which may increase the possibility of reflux from the bladder to the ureter in the standard technique. The ureter length may be associated with the incidence of UTI after LDKT.
Outcomes After Liver Transplantation With Incidental Cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Safdar Nawaz Z. , Hakeem Abdul R. , Faulkes Rosemary , James Fiona , Mason Lisa , Masson Steven , Powell James , Rowe Ian , Shetty Shishir , Jones Rebecca , Spiers Harry V. M. , Halliday Neil , Baker Jack , Thorburn Douglas , Prasad Raj , Parker Richard
Published: November 2022

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is currently a contraindication to liver transplantation (LT) in the United Kingdom (UK). Incidental CCA occurs rarely in some patients undergoing LT. We report on retrospective outcomes of patients with incidental CCA from six UK LT centres. Cases were identified from pathology records. Data regarding tumour characteristics and post-transplant survival were collected. CCA was classified by TNM staging and anatomical location. 95 patients who underwent LT between 1988–2020 were identified. Median follow-up after LT was 2.1 years (14 days-18.6 years). Most patients were male (68.4%), median age at LT was 53 (IQR 46-62), and the majority had underlying PSC (61%). Overall median survival after LT was 4.4 years. Survival differed by tumour site: 1-, 3-, and 5-year estimated survival was 82.1%, 68.7%, and 57.1%, respectively, in intrahepatic CCA (n = 40) and 58.5%, 42.6%, and 30.2% in perihilar CCA (n = 42; p = 0.06). 1-, 3-, and 5-year estimated survival was 95.8%, 86.5%, and 80.6%, respectively, in pT1 tumours (28.2% of cohort), and 65.8%, 44.7%, and 31.1%, respectively, in pT2-4 (p = 0.018). Survival after LT for recipients with incidental CCA is inferior compared to usual outcomes for LT in the United Kingdom. LT for earlier stage CCA has similar survival to LT for hepatocellular cancer, and intrahepatic CCAs have better survival compared to perihilar CCAs. These observations may support LT for CCA in selected cases.
Golgi Phosphoprotein 3 Mediates Radiation-Induced Bystander Effect via ERK/EGR1/TNF-α Signal Axis
Authors: Qin Feng , Chen Guodong , Yu Kwan Ngok , Yang Miaomiao , Cao Wei , Kong Peizhong , Peng Shengjie , Sun Mingyu , Nie Lili , Han Wei
Published: November 2022

The radiation-induced bystander effect (RIBE), an important non-targeted effect of radiation, has been proposed to be associated with irradiation-caused secondary cancers and reproductive damage beyond the irradiation-treated area after radiotherapy. However, the mechanisms for RIBE signal(s) regulation and transduction are not well understood. In the present work, we found that a Golgi protein, GOLPH3, was involved in RIBE transduction. Knocking down GOLPH3 in irradiated cells blocked the generation of the RIBE, whereas re-expression of GOLPH3 in knockdown cells rescued the RIBE. Furthermore, TNF-α was identified as an important intercellular signal molecule in the GOLPH3-mediated RIBE. A novel signal axis, GOLPH3/ERK/EGR1, was discovered to modulate the transcription of TNF-α and determine the level of released TNF-α. Our findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of the RIBE and a potential target for RIBE modulation.
Sliding Mode Path following and Control Allocation of a Tilt-Rotor Quadcopter
Authors: Yih Chih-Chen , Wu Shih-Jeh
Published: November 2022

A tilt-rotor quadcopter (TRQ) equipped with four tilt-rotors is more agile than its under-actuated counterpart and can fly at any path while maintaining the desired attitude. To take advantage of this additional control capability and enhance the quadrotor system’s robustness and capability, we designed two sliding mode controls (SMCs): the typical SMC exploits the properties of the rotational dynamics, and the modified SMC avoids undesired chattering. Our simulation studies show that the proposed SMC scheme can follow the planned flight path and keep the desired attitude in the presence of variable deviations and external perturbations. We demonstrate from the Lyapunov stability theorem that the proposed control scheme can guarantee the asymptotic stability of the TRQ in terms of position and attitude following via control allocation.
Association between Air Quality and Children’s Restorative Experience: A Systematic Review
Authors: Wang Ling , Yang Qiuyi , Sun Qingqing
Published: November 2022

Prior studies conducted within the realm of environmental psychology and public health have shown that air pollution exposure exerts significant effects on both physical and psychological well-being, especially for children. The roles of air pollution exposure are being increasingly recognized as essential factors influencing children’s restoration. This systematic review provides an overview of existing knowledge of the impact of air pollution on children’s mental health and restorative experience in both outdoor and indoor environments. A list of keywords for paper selection was derived from a systematic investigation of the literature on children’s restorative environments. A total of 228 studies were initially identified, 18 of which met the eligibility criteria. This systematic review summarizes distinctive categories of air pollutants and discusses the assessments for both air pollution exposure and children’s restorative outcomes. Additionally, 16 barriers in air pollution exposure to children’s restorative experience were identified. The findings of this systematic review were concluded in an integrated framework, which have important implications for developing evidence-based and cross-disciplinary research on the air quality and children’s restoration.
On Photoeffect in the Few-Electron Atomic Systems
Authors: Frolov Alexei M.
Published: November 2022

Closed analytical formulas are derived for the differential and total cross sections of the non-relativistic photoelectric effect in the three main classes of few-electron atomic systems: (a) neutral atoms and positively charged atomic ions which contain more than one bound electron, (b) negatively charged atomic ions, and (c) one-electron atoms and ions. Our procedure developed in this study is a combination of QED methods and results of the density functional theory obtained for atoms and ions. In all these systems the photoelectric effect is considered as photodetachment of the outer-most electron and our analysis is based on the results of density functional theory obtained for the electron density (radial) distribution in these atomic systems. Analytical formulas (similar to ours) for the differential and total cross sections of photoelectric effect for atomic systems from classes (a) and (b) contribute to our understanding of these systems and have not appeared in the literature, to the best of our knowledge.
Utilization of Nanotechnology to Improve Bone Health in Osteoporosis Exploiting Nigella sativa and Its Active Constituent Thymoquinone
Authors: Ahmad Javed , Albarqi Hassan A. , Ahmad Mohammad Zaki , Orabi Mohamed A. A. , Md Shadab , Bandopadhyay Ritam , Ahmed Faraha , Khan Mohammad Ahmed , Ahamad Javed , Mishra Awanish
Published: November 2022

Osteoporosis, a chronic bone disorder, is one of the leading causes of fracture and morbidity risk. Numerous medicinally important herbs have been evaluated for their efficacy in improving bone mass density in exhaustive preclinical and limited clinical studies. Nigella sativa L. has been used as local folk medicine, and traditional healers have used it to manage various ailments. Its reported beneficial effects include controlling bone and joint diseases. The present manuscript aimed to provide a sound discussion on the pharmacological evidence of N. sativa and its active constituent, thymoquinone, for its utility in the effective management of osteoporosis. N. sativa is reported to possess anti-IL-1 and anti-TNF-α-mediated anti-inflammatory effects, leading to positive effects on bone turnover markers, such as alkaline phosphatase and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase. It is reported to stimulate bone regeneration by prompting osteoblast proliferation, ossification, and decreasing osteoclast cells. Thymoquinone from N. sativa has exhibited an antioxidant effect on bone tissue by reducing the FeNTA-induced oxidative stress. The present manuscript highlights phytochemistry, pharmacological effect, and the important mechanistic perspective of N. sativa and its active constituents for the management of osteoporosis. Further, it also provides sound discussion on the utilization of a nanotechnology-mediated drug delivery approach as a promising strategy to improve the therapeutic performance of N. sativa and its active constituent, thymoquinone, in the effective management of osteoporosis.
PHF3 Technique: A Pyramid Hybrid Feature Fusion Framework for Severity Classification of Ulcerative Colitis Using Endoscopic Images
Authors: Qi Jing , Ruan Guangcong , Liu Jia , Yang Yi , Cao Qian , Wei Yanling , Nian Yongjian
Published: November 2022

Evaluating the severity of ulcerative colitis (UC) through the Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES) is crucial for understanding patient conditions and providing effective treatment. However, UC lesions present different characteristics in endoscopic images, exacerbating interclass similarities and intraclass differences in MES classification. In addition, inexperience and review fatigue in endoscopists introduces nontrivial challenges to the reliability and repeatability of MES evaluations. In this paper, we propose a pyramid hybrid feature fusion framework (PHF3) as an auxiliary diagnostic tool for clinical UC severity classification. Specifically, the PHF3 model has a dual-branch hybrid architecture with ResNet50 and a pyramid vision Transformer (PvT), where the local features extracted by ResNet50 represent the relationship between the intestinal wall at the near-shot point and its depth, and the global representations modeled by the PvT capture similar information in the cross-section of the intestinal cavity. Furthermore, a feature fusion module (FFM) is designed to combine local features with global representations, while second-order pooling (SOP) is applied to enhance discriminative information in the classification process. The experimental results show that, compared with existing methods, the proposed PHF3 model has competitive performance. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of MES 0, MES 1, MES 2, and MES 3 reached 0.996, 0.972, 0.967, and 0.990, respectively, and the overall accuracy reached 88.91%. Thus, our proposed method is valuable for developing an auxiliary assessment system for UC severity.
Feature–Classifier Pairing Compatibility for sEMG Signals in Hand Gesture Recognition under Joint Effects of Processing Procedures
Authors: Asfour Mohammed , Menon Carlo , Jiang Xianta
Published: November 2022

Gesture recognition using surface electromyography (sEMG) serves many applications, from human–machine interfaces to prosthesis control. Many features have been adopted to enhance recognition accuracy. However, studies mostly compare features under a prechosen feature window size or a classifier, biased to a specific application. The bias is evident in the reported accuracy drop, around 10%, from offline gesture recognition in experiment settings to real-time clinical environment studies. This paper explores the feature–classifier pairing compatibility for sEMG. We demonstrate that it is the primary determinant of gesture recognition accuracy under various window sizes and normalization ranges, thus removing application bias. The proposed pairing ranking provides a guideline for choosing the proper feature or classifier in future research. For instance, random forest (RF) performed best, with a mean accuracy of around 74.0%; however, it was optimal with the mean absolute value feature (MAV), giving 86.8% accuracy. Additionally, our ranking showed that the proper pairing enables low-computational models to surpass complex ones. The Histogram feature with linear discriminant analysis classifier (HIST-LDA) was the top pair with 88.6% accuracy. We also concluded that a 1250 ms window and a (−1, 1) signal normalization were the optimal procedures for gesture recognition on the used dataset.
The Impact of Fibre Oxidation on the Preparation of Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNC)
Authors: Ahvazi Behzad , Danumah Christophe , Ngo Tri-Dung , Zhu Zhengxiang , Lorenz Heather
Published: November 2022

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of fibre oxidation on the extent of substituted sulfate on cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). In this investigation, fully bleached softwood (SW) and hardwood (HW) pulps from an Alberta pulp mill were oxidized under low (4%), medium (10%), and the higher-end of medium (14%) oxygen consistencies. The oxidized pulp samples were hydrolyzed with concentrated sulfuric acid under conventional procedures to produce CNC. The CNC materials were then characterized by different qualitative and quantitative techniques to evaluate the effect of oxidations on the number of substituted sulfates and the overall sulfate charge of isolated CNC to develop novel high-value applications. The experimental data show that fibre oxidation helped improve the overall CNC yield, with lower half-ester sulfate contents compared to the controls. The half-ester sulfate contents and the viscosity for SW CNC were found to be higher than their HW CNC counterparts. However, the thermal stability of CNC was found to be better for HW than SW pulps. The emerging data help to prepare and engineer CNC tailored to specific applications.
Gender Comparisons and Associations between Lower Limb Muscle Activation Strategies and Resultant Knee Biomechanics during Single Leg Drop Landings
Authors: Xu Xiaohan , Hu Guojiong , Williams Genevieve K. R. , Ma Fenghao
Published: November 2022

(1) Background: We aimed to compare gender differences in knee biomechanics and neuromuscular characteristics, and to determine the relationships between lower limb muscle pre-activations and knee biomechanics during a single leg drop landing, in order to identify riskier landing patterns to prevent injury and intervene properly. (2) Methods: Descriptive laboratory cross-sectional study on 38 healthy untrained subjects with low to moderate physical activity status. (3) Results: During the initial-contact phase of landing, females demonstrated greater peak vertical ground reaction force (GRF) normalized to body weight (49.12 ± 7.53 vs. 39.88 ± 5.69 N/kg; p < 0.001; Hedge’s g = 1.37), peak knee anterior reaction force normalized to body weight (0.23 ± 0.04 vs. 0.17 ± 0.05 N/kg; p < 0.001; Hedge’s g = 1.33), and decreased pre-activation of the semitendinosus (45.10 ± 20.05% vs. 34.03 ± 12.05%; p = 0.04; Hedge’s g = 0.67). The final regression equation was peak knee anterior reaction force = 0.024 + 0.025 (peak knee flexion moment) − 0.02 (semitendinosus-to-vastus lateralis pre-activation ratio) + 0.003 (peak vertical GRF) (R2 = 0.576, p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: Overall, the data provided in this study support that a reduced semitendinosus-to-vastus lateralis pre-activation ratio predicted an increase in knee anterior reaction force and potentially an increase in ACL forces. Female non-athletes had gender-specific landing characteristics that may contribute to ACL injury. Future studies are warranted to consider more possible predictors of non-contact ACL injury.
Effects of Dentin Phosphophoryn-Derived RGD Peptides on the Differentiation and Mineralization of Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells In Vitro
Authors: Hassan Tubayesha , Qiu Youjing , Hasan Md Riasat , Saito Takashi
Published: November 2022

The purposes of this study were to investigate the in vitro effects of arginine-glycine-aspertic acid (RGD) peptides derived from human dentin phosphophoryn (DPP) on human dental pulp stem cell-proliferation, differentiation and mineralization, and to explore the mechanism of the peptides’ function. The 1 M concentration of soluble DPP-derived RGD peptides, RGD-1, RGD-2 and RGD-3 were coated onto non-tissue-culture polystyrene plates, and human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) were cultured on them to examine the effects of the peptides on hDPSCs. In addition, 1 M arginine-alanine-aspertic acid (RAD) peptides were used as the control. Cell proliferation of hDPSCs was promoted by all three RGD peptides. All three RGD peptides had significantly higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity compared to the control. RGD-3 induced the highest ALP activity compared to the control. RGD-3 also significantly promoted the mRNA expression of the following genes: 1.69-fold in dentine matrix protein-1 (DMP-1), 1.99-fold in dentine sialophosphoprotein (DSPP), 1.51-fold in ALP, and 2.31-fold in bone sialoprotein (BSP), as compared to the control group. Mineralization of hDPSCs was accelerated by all three RGD peptides, RGD-3 in particular. The MAPK p38 inhibitor SB202190 inhibited the effect of RGD-3 to a level comparable to the control, observed in both ALP activity assay and Arizarin red S (ARS) staining. It suggests that the p38 pathway may be responsible for eliciting the differentiation and mineralization effects of DPP-derived RGD peptides in the hDPSCs. The mRNA expression levels of the integrins ITGA1-5, ITGA7, ITGB1 and ITGB3 were significantly upregulated. Among them, expression of ITGA5 was promoted 1.9-fold, ITGA7 1.58-fold, ITGB1 1.75-fold and ITGB3 1.9-fold compared to the control. It suggests the possible involvement of these integrin channels in different subunit combinations facilitating signal transduction for differentiation of hDPSCs into odontoblasts. As conclusions, human DPP-derived RGD peptides RGD-1, RGD-2 and RGD-3 promoted the proliferation, differentiation and mineralization of hDPSCs in vitro. Among the three peptides, RGD-3 had the most significant effects. It is also suggested that RGD-3 binds to integrin receptors on the surface of hDPSCs and regulates the odontogenic gene expression and differentiation via activation of p38 of MAPK pathway. DPP-derived RGD-3 may be a promising choice in the formulation of a novel material for vital pulp therapy to induce dental pulp stem cells into odontoblasts and form reparative dentin on the exposed pulp tissue.
Microfluidic Devices for HIV Diagnosis and Monitoring at Point-of-Care (POC) Settings
Authors: Tharakan Shebin , Faqah Omair , Asghar Waseem , Ilyas Azhar
Published: November 2022

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a global epidemic; however, many individuals are able to obtain treatment and manage their condition. Progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) occurs during late-stage HIV infection, which compromises the immune system, making it susceptible to infections. While there is no cure, antiretroviral therapy can be used provided that detection occurs, preferably during the early phase. However, the detection of HIV is expensive and resource-intensive when tested with conventional methods, such as flow cytometry, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Improving disease detection in resource-constrained areas requires equipment that is affordable, portable, and can deliver rapid results. Microfluidic devices have transformed many benchtop techniques to on-chip detection for portable and rapid point-of-care (POC) testing. These devices are cost-effective, sensitive, and rapid and can be used in areas lacking resources. Moreover, their functionality can rival their benchtop counterparts, making them efficient for disease detection. In this review, we discuss the limitations of currently used conventional HIV diagnostic assays and provide an overview of potential microfluidic technologies that can improve HIV testing in POC settings.