bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of percutaneous nephrolithotomy and flexible ureterorenoscopy in the treatment of single upper ureteral calculi larger than 10 mm:a retrospective study
Authors: Wu Eran , Luo Raoshan , Yu Lizhi , Liang Weiming
Published: May 2023

Purpose: To compare the efficacy and safety of micropercutaneous nephrolithotomy (MPCNL) and flexible ureteroscopy (FURS) in the treatment of single upper ureteral calculi larger than 10 mm.
Methods: This is a retrospective study that incorporates medical record review with an outcomes management database.163 patients who underwent MPCNL and 137 patients who underwent FURS were identiﬁed from January 2017 to December 2021. Demographic data,operation time,hospitalization time,stone free rate and complication rate were collected and analyzed.
Results: Preoperative general data of sex, age, BMI,serum creatinine, time of stone existence,stone hardness,stone diameter preoperative hydronephrosis and preoperative infection of the MPCNL group have no statistically significant difference with that of the FURS group.All of the MPCNL or FURS surgeries in two groups were successfully completed, with no one returned to opening or other surgery.Patients treated by MPCNL had significantly shorter operation time (49.6 vs 72.4 minutes;P＜0.001) but longer hospitalization time (9.1 vs 3.9days;P＜0.001) than those treated by FURS.Stone free rate in the MPCNL group was better than that of the FURS group(90.8% vs 71.5%;P＜0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in complication rate between two groups(13.5% vs 15.3%;P＝0.741).
Conclusion: Both MPCNL and FURS are effective and safe surgical options for patients with single upper ureteral calculi larger than 10 mm. FURS had shorter hospitalization time than MPCNL,but with a relatively lower stone free rate and longer operation time.There was no significant differences between two groups in complication rate.
Trial registration: No.
In search of environmental risk factors for obsessive-compulsive disorder: Study protocol for the OCDTWIN project
Authors: Mataix-Cols David , Cruz Lorena Fernández de la , de Schipper Elles , Kuja-Halkola Ralf , Bulik Cynthia M. , Crowley James J , Neufeld Janina , Rück Christian , Tammimies Kristiina , Lichtenstein Paul , Bölte Sven , Beucke Jan C.
Published: May 2023

Background The causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) remain unknown. Gene-searching efforts are well underway, but the identification of environmental risk factors is at least as important and should be a priority because some of them may be amenable to prevention or early intervention strategies. Genetically informative studies, particularly those employing the discordant monozygotic (MZ) twin design, are ideally suited to study environmental risk factors. This protocol paper describes the study rationale, aims, and methods of OCDTWIN, an open cohort of MZ twin pairs who are discordant for the diagnosis of OCD.Methods OCDTWIN has two broad aims. In Aim 1, we are recruiting MZ twin pairs from across Sweden, conducting thorough clinical assessments, and building a biobank of biological specimens, including blood, saliva, urine, stool, hair, nails, and multimodal brain imaging. A wealth of early life exposures (e.g., perinatal variables, health-related information, psychosocial stressors) are available through linkage with the nationwide registers and the Swedish Twin Registry. Blood spots stored in the Swedish phenylketonuria (PKU) biobank will be available to extract DNA, proteins, and metabolites, providing an invaluable source of biomaterial taken at birth. In Aim 2, we will perform within-pair comparisons of discordant MZ twins, which will allow us to isolate unique environmental risk factors that are in the causal pathway to OCD, while strictly controlling for genetic and early shared environmental influences. To date (May 2023), 43 pairs of twins (21 discordant for OCD) have been recruited.Discussion OCDTWIN hopes to generate unique insights into environmental risk factors that are in the causal pathway to OCD, some of which have the potential of being actionable targets.
Composites Based on Nanosilica Filled EPDM/NBR Rubber Blends with better mechanical and swelling resistance properties
Authors: Dhanasekar S , Baskar S , Vishvanathperumal S
Published: May 2023

The main inorganic component of rice husk is silica. Washing the rice husk, followed by combustion and chemical treatment, produced high-surface area amorphous extracted nanosilica (NS) and modified extracted nanosilica (mNS). It was established to reinforce a blend of ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) and acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) using different amounts of mNS, specifically 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 phr. The cure properties, mechanical, physical, and swelling resistance examinations of the sulphur-cured nanocomposites were studied. The results showed that while the torques were prolonged with increasing mNS concentration, the optimum cure time (t90) and scorch time (ts2) decreased. The homogeneous distribution of nanosilica particles throughout the rubber matrices was confirmed by the FESEM micrographs. The outcomes guaranteed a discernible improvement in the nanocomposites' examined qualities.
Determination of Essential and Non-Essential Elements in Medicinal Herbs from Brazil Using ICP OES techniques
Authors: Junior João B. Pereira , Carvalho Vanessa S. , Ferreira William Q. , Araujo Rennan G. O. , Ferreira Sérgio L.C.
Published: May 2023

This work aims to present a simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly digestion method with diluted HNO3and H2O2for simultaneous determination of As, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Pb, Sr and Zn in medicinal herbs employed inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). A fractional factorial design uses a multivariate strategy to optimize the experimental parameters of the sample preparation. The application of a multi-response function established the best experimental conditions. After optimized digestion conditions with a final volume of 8.0 mL and 0.1 g of medical herb sample mass in the reaction flask system was of 4.0 mol L-1HNO3concentration, 6.0% (m m-1) H2O2concentration, the temperature of 180°C and digestion time, 120 min, employing a closed block digester. The optimized procedure resulted in low residual carbon content and residual acid acidity concentration, showing good chemical analysis conditions introduced by ICP OES. Accuracy was confirmed through the certified reference materials analysis of tomato leaves (CRM-Agro C1003a), sugar cane leaves (CRM-Agro C1005a), and tea (NCS DC 73351), where agreement ranged from 83 (Sr) to 116% (As), for all analytes. Values obtained of the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) ranged from 0.06 (Cd) to 1.9 (P) mg kg-1and from 0.2 (Cd) to 6.3(P) mg kg-1, respectively. Finally, twenty-seven medicinal herbs samples were used to assess the applicability of the developed procedure. It was obtained from the markets of Salvador (State of Bahia) and Belém (State of Pará), both cities Brazilian. The analyte concentrations in the samples comprised a range of As (< 0.5–2.74 mg kg-1), Ca (0.44–2.96%), Cu (< 2.2–20.3 mg kg-1), Fe (103.7–976 mg kg-1), K (0.102-4.0%), Mg (0.029-0.80%), Mn (8.9–2020 mg kg-1), Na (< 2.0-3.4%), P (< 6.3–0.31%), Sr (19.5–692 mg kg-1), and Zn (3.19–75.7 mg kg-1). Cadmium, Cr, and Pb showed values of concentration below LOQ for the analytical method proposed. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to inorganic constituent concentrations data in an attempt to classify the medicinal herbs, being an excellent tool for classifying samples.
Lysergic acid diethylamide stimulates cardiac human H 2 histamine receptors
Authors: Gergs Ulrich , Jacob Hannes , Braekow Pauline , Hofmann Britt , Pockes Steffen , Humphrys Laura J. , Kirchhefer Uwe , Fehse Charlotte , Neumann Joachim
Published: May 2023

Introduction: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is an artificial hallucinogenic drug. Thus, we hypothesized that LSD might act 5-HT4 serotonin receptors and/or H2 histamine receptors.
Methods: We studied isolated electrically stimulated left atrial preparations, spontaneously beating right atrial preparations, and spontaneously beating Langendorff-perfused hearts from transgenic mice with cardiomyocyte-specific overexpression of the human 5-HT4 receptor (5-HT4-TG) or of the H2-histamine receptor (H2-TG). For comparison, we used wild type littermate mice (WT). Finally, we measured isometric force of contraction in isolated electrically stimulated muscle strips from the human right atrium obtained from patients during bypass surgery.
Results: LSD (up to 10 µM) concentration dependently increased force of contraction and beating rate in left or right atrial preparations from 5-HT4-TG (n=6, p<0.05) as a partial agonist in 5-HT4-TG atrial preparations. The inotropic and chronotropic effects of LSD were antagonized by 10 µM tropisetron in 5-HT4-TG. In contrast, LSD (10 µM) increased force of contraction and beating rate in left or right atrial preparations, from H2-TG as a full agonist. After pre-stimulation with cilostamide (1 µM), LSD (10 µM) increased force of contraction in human atrial preparations (n = 6, p < 0.05). The contractile effects of LSD in human atrial preparations could be antagonized by by 10 µM cimetidine.
Conclusion: LSD leads to H2-histamine receptor mediated cardiac effects in humans.
Significance: LSD is undergoing a revival in clinical studies. New indications for LSD especially in psychiatric patients are being found. Hence, there is a clinical need to understand its cardiac effects and possibly cardiac side effects better. The present work uses a translational approach to address this research need.
Automatic P-phase picking based on machine learning and AIC algorithm and its application in engineering geological hazards warning
Authors: Zhang Yongshu , Li Lianchong , Mu Wenqiang , Wei Tingshuang , Dang Baoquan , Guofeng Yu
Published: May 2023

Accurate P-phase first arrival time is a premise for improving accuracy of seismic source localizations and achieving hazard warning. Traditional algorithms failed to meet the requirements of high precision and accuracy for microseismic (MS) monitoring in deep geological engineering. In this study, a multi-step method: convolutional neural network combined with K-means and AIC (CNN-KA) for picking up arrival time of P-phases is proposed. Firstly, convolutional neural network (CNN) technique is used to recognize waveforms of rock fractures instead of manual. Secondly, maximum overlapping discrete wavelet transform and multi-resolution analysis are combined to denoise. Finally, a new picker was developed by introducing K-means clustering algorithm, which was used to extract the target time window where the P-phase was located. It compensates for inherent shortcomings of AIC when applied to field data itself. Experiments and engineering applications show that the average absolute error of the proposed method (CNN-KA) is 0.0915s at frequency of 200Hz, which is 86.65% lower than STA/LTA algorithm. Automatic location error of rock fracture MS events is reduced from 37.33m to 10.89m. CNN-KA was able to warn a potential geological hazard in a coal mine of Anhui Province, China. The in-situ mine pressure data validated the validity of CNN-KA. The proposed workflow greatly improves accuracy of P-phases and identification of rock fracturing events in geo-engineering. The computed results can be used further for calculating precise parameters of MS sources and early warning of engineering geohazards.
The geochemical compatibility and discrimination elements of magnetite in the western and eastern beaches of Taiwan
Authors: Mitwally Eslam , Yu Bing-Sheng
Published: May 2023

Our primary purposes are to determine the genesis and essential source rocks that supply the magnetite on beaches and the compatible and discriminate chemical elements of the rocks and beach sands magnetite using the multivariate diagram and Principle component analysis (PCA) technique. The magnetite formation environments in this study are magmatic and hydrothermal genesis. Regularly, the concentration of magnetite on the western side is decreasing from north to south, where the higher concentration at Crescent Beach, which is considered as the river mouth of the Touqian river which is passing across through some of the andesite rocks, that is regarded as the source of the magnetite at this region. On the eastern side, the higher concentration of magnetite at Dagangkou, Chenggong (Sanxiantai), Donghe beaches and Taitung Creek Estuary in Taitung city, and Nan-an and Heping beaches in Yilan city. A higher concentration of the magnetite at Dagangkou, Chenggong (Sanxiantai), Donghe beaches and Taitung Creek Estuary may be due to these sites considered the river mouths of the Beinan, Wamuku and Xiuguluan rivers, these rivers passing across through Lichi mélange, which leads to the higher concentration due to the presence of these igneous and hydrothermal facies. Generally, the surrounding rocks are considered the main supplies of magnetite on the western and eastern beaches. Iron, Mg, Al, Ti, V, Mn, Co, Sc, Ni, Ga, Zr, Nb, and Sn are not suitable variables to differentiate between the magmatic and hydrothermal magnetites of western and eastern sides, but Zn, P, Ca, Cr, Cu, Na and K are suitable differentiate variables. Iron, Al, Ca, Cu, Sn, Ga, Mn, Mg, Ti, Zn, Co, V, Ni, and Cr in the hydrothermal magnetite, and Fe, Al, Ca, Na, K, Sc, Nb, Cu, Sn, Zr, Ga, Mn, Ti, Zn, Co, V, Ni, and Cr in the magmatic magnetite are the compatible elements into the magnetite crystal structure. The high discriminate variables are Fe, Ti, Al, Mg, Mn, V, Zn, and P. Moderate discriminate variables are Co, Cr, Cu, Ga, Ni, K, and Na. Low discriminate variables are Zr, Sn, Sc, and Nb. PCA technique is useful tool to arrange the discriminate variables on the chemical composition of each studied samples separately. This arrangement can detect the provenance magnetite rock.
Adsorptive capture of Congo red and Erythromycin pollutants from water by Functionalized ecofriendly chitosan and nanobiochar with silica gel
Authors: Mahmoud Mohamed E. , El-Ghanam Abdel Moneim , Saad Shaimaa R.
Published: May 2023

Both chitosan and biochar are known as biodegradable and ecofriendly materials with different functional groups that enable strong binding with various pollutants. Dyes and pharmaceuticals in wastewater are categorized as serious hazardous pollutants due to their nonbiodegradability and therefore, must be removed before discharge in water resources. In this work, a novel nanobiosorbent was designed and fabricated from three constituents based on the pyrolysis of banana peels to produce nanobiochar (BPNB) as a sustainable material. This was then modified with nanosilica gel via microwave heating to yield (BPNB-SiO2). Chitosan hydrogel (Chit Hgel) as a biodegradable polymer was further crosslinked with BPNB-SiO2 to produce the aimed BPNB-SiO2-Chit Hgel nanobiosorbent with particle size in the range of 22.48–26.23 nm. The effects of initial nanobiosorbent dosage (1–50 mg), initial adsorbate pH (pH 2–12), shaking time (1–45 min), initial pollutant concentration (5–100 mg L− 1), temperature (288–333 K), and interfering salts on the adsorption process of Erythromycin antibiotic (ERM) and Congo red dye (CRD) pollutants were investigated and optimized. The pseudo-second-order model revealed the perfect fit in kinetic investigations of ERM and CRD by BPNB-SiO2-Chit Hgel. The Langmuir model achieved (R2 = 0.997 for ERM and R2 = 0.992 for CRD) as the highest correlation coefficients. Moreover, the adsorption reactions of ERM and CRD onto BPNB-SiO2-Chit Hgel were classified as spontaneous and endothermic. The removal of ERM (92.80–96.50%) and CRD (92.80–95.0%) from tap, sea, and wastewater was successfully established to confirm the capability of the investigated BPNB-SiO2-Chit Hgel nanobiosorbent in removal of these two pollutants from polluted samples.
Molecular mechanisms and prognostic value of the selenoprotein gene family in lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Tian Tianjie , Qi Chuang , Luo Xianqing , Tu Qimin , Tong Guoyong , Zhang Zixiong
Published: May 2023

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and has the highest morbidity among all cancers. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 85% of all lung cancer cases and its most common subtypes are lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Although the selenium protein gene plays a key role in the initiation, development, and progression of many cancers, the panoramic picture of the involvement of selenoprotein gene family in LUAD and LUSC is unclear. Therefore, the expression and prognostic value of the selenoprotein family genes, as well as their potential mechanisms in LUAD and LUSC, were systematically examined in this study. First, differential expression and survival analyses revealed that a high expression of glutathione peroxidase 2 (GPX2) and low expression of both GPX3 and selenoprotein P (SELENOP) in tumors correlated with poor overall survival in patients with LUAD, while a high expression of iodothyronine deiodinase 2 (DIO2) in tumors correlated with better overall survival, and a low expression of GPX3 correlated with poor overall survival in patients with LUSC. Next, we developed a nomogram based on the Cox regression model to visualize survival and confirmed its predictive capability. Methylation, gene mutation, and immune infiltration analyses of selenoprotein genes indicated that they all participated in the progression of LUAD and LUSC. Enrichment analysis and protein–protein interaction networks showed that the common differentially expressed genes mainly participated in selenocompound metabolism, glutathione metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and thyroid hormone synthesis. In addition, we constructed transcription factor (TF)-mRNA, mRNA-RNA-binding protein (RBP), and mRNA-drug regulatory networks. Our research shows that selenoprotein family members have potential as novel biomarkers for prognostic assessment and as therapeutic targets for LUAD and LUSC.
Do Crohn's disease patients benefit from an optimized adalimumab therapy?
Authors: Peng Xiang , Xu Zhao-yuan , Yao Jia-Yin , Zhang Min , Zhi Min
Published: May 2023

Background Adalimumab induction and maintenance therapy have been applied to patients with Crohn's disease (CD). This study aimed to analyze the efficacy and safety of an optimized dose versus a standard dose of adalimumab in the treatment of CD.Methods It was a retrospective study involving 192 CD patients treated with adalimumab. According to the maintenance therapy following an induction therapy, CD patients were assigned to receive a standard dose (subcutaneously injected with 40mg of adalimumab every other week) and an optimized dose (subcutaneously injected with 80mg of adalimumab every other week). The clinical remission rate, inflammatory and nutritional indicators, mucosal healing rate, endoscopic response rate at 12th week, risk of treatment failure and safety were compared between groups.Results There were 139 patients in the standard dose group and 53 in the optimized dose group. At 12 weeks, no significant difference was detected in the clinical remission rate (79.1% vs. 81.1%; RR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.81–1.24; P = 0.842). In infliximab-exposed CD patients, the optimized dose of adalimumab provided a significantly higher clinical remission rate (76.9% vs. 44.4%; RR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.37–0.88; P = 0.018) and lower risk of treatment failure (HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.14–0.97; P = 0.042), but not in infliximab-naïve CD patients. The incidence of adverse events was comparable between groups (32.1% vs. 30.9%, P = 0.864).Conclusions An optimized adalimumab dose does not provide additionally clinical benefits to infliximab-naïve CD patients, compared with a standard dose, but can increase the clinical remission rate and lower the risk of treatment failure in infliximab-exposed CD patients at 12 weeks, without increasing the incidence of adverse events.
CNBA: Coregulatory Network Builder and Analyzer
Authors: Banerjee Ayushman Kumar , Mal Chittabrata
Published: May 2023

Knowledge gained from coregulatory relationship studies can be used to develop drugs, modify treatment strategies, discover biomarkers, and so on. Proteins, RNAs, DNAs, transcription factors, and small molecules are commonly used to reveal the mechanisms of cellular systems in various contexts. Building and analyzing biomolecular networks helps in understanding complex biological systems. Although there are numerous tools for studying biological networks, tools for studying synergistic or coregulatory networks are limited. Therefore, we developed Coregulatory Network Builder and Analyzer (CNBA), a novel tool that uses network transformation (degree-preserving randomization) procedures based on prior bipartite relationship data among biomolecules to identify any correspondence between pairs of molecules under study. The tool identifies coregulatory or synergistic pairs and assigns each pair a coregulatory coefficient score. It performs an overrepresentation analysis on the pairs that have been identified as associated in order to add more biological context to the associated pairs identified. We have demonstrated the activities of the tool by a case study and described the advantages and limitations of it. CNBA's utility extends beyond computational biology, as it can be used in a variety of network analysis-based fields ranging from ecological research to social network analysis.
World Cafés as a participatory approach to understanding research agendas in primary care with underserved communities: reflections, challenges and lessons learned
Authors: McGrath Carmel , Kennedy Mari-Rose , Gibson Andy , Musse Samira , Kosar Zahra , Dawson Shoba
Published: May 2023

Background
Certain communities are underserved by research, resulting in lower inclusion rates, under researched health issues and a lack of attention to how different communities respond to health interventions. Racial and ethnic minority groups are often underserved by research and services. They experience health inequalities and face significant barriers to accessing health services. It is recognised that new approaches are needed to reach underserved communities and make and make research more relevant. The purpose of this work was to utilise World Cafés, a participatory method, to explore research agendas with diverse communities.
Methods
Two World Cafés were conducted as research agenda setting activities with individuals from minoritised ethnic communities in Bristol, UK. World Café 1 explored Black and Asian women’s perspectives about supporting mental health, World Café 2 with men from the Somali community, focussed on prostate cancer. Community members co-developed the focus and questions of each World Café and were also instrumental in recruiting individuals to the sessions and facilitating discussions, including translation. Audio and written records were made of the discussions and from these key issues about each topic were identified, and a visual representation of the discussion was also generated. These were shared with participants to check for accuracy.
Results
Community members identified a range of issues that are important to them in relation to mental health and prostate cancer, including barriers to help seeking and accessing primary and secondary care, ideas for service improvements and a need for health information that is accessible and culturally relevant.
Conclusions
World Cafés are a flexible method that can be successfully adapted for research agenda setting with individuals from racial and minoritised ethnic communities. The role of community members in co-developing the focus of sessions, recruiting community members and co-facilitating sessions is crucial to this success. The discussions at both World Cafés provided a rich insight into the experiences of participants in relation to the topics mental health and prostate cancer and identified issues that are important to these communities that will be followed-up with communities, researchers and clinicians to co-develop research and service improvement strategies.
Computational prediction of phytochemical inhibitors against the cap-binding domain of Rift Valley fever virus
Authors: Muralitharan Ishwarya , Sahoo Ajaya Kumar , Augusthian Priya Dharshini , Samal Areejit
Published: May 2023

Rift Valley fever is a zoonotic disease that can spread through livestock and mosquitoes, and its symptoms include retinitis, photophobia, hemorrhagic fever and neurological effects. The World Health Organization has identified Rift Valley fever as one of the viral infections that has potential to cause a future epidemic. Hence, efforts are urgently needed toward development of therapeutics and vaccine against this infectious disease. Notably, the causative virus namely, the Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), utilizes the cap-snatching mechanism for viral transcription, rendering its cap-binding domain (CBD) as an effective antiviral target. To date, there are no published studies towards identification of potential small molecule inhibitors for the CBD of RVFV. Here, we employ a virtual screening workflow comprising of molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, to identify 5 potential phytochemical inhibitors of the CBD of RVFV. These 5 phytochemical inhibitors can be sourced from Indian medicinal plants, Ferula assa-foetida, Glycyrrhiza glabra and Leucas cephalotes, used in traditional medicine. In sum, the 5 phytochemical inhibitors of the CBD of RVFV identified by this purely computational study are promising drug lead molecules which can be considered for detailed experimental validation against RVFV infection.
Pharmacophore, atom-based 3D-QSAR modeling and binding mode analysis of QcrB inhibitors as potential tuberculosis agents
Authors: Sindhu Thangaraj , Rajamanikandan Sundarraj , Jeyakanthan Jeyaraman , Pal Debnath
Published: May 2023

QcrB is an essential subunit of cytochrome-bc1 complex and is anticipated as a therapeutic target for tuberculosis. In recent years, significant attempts have been made to develop different chemical classes of QcrB inhibitors. Among them, a series of 31 phenoxyalkylimidazoles (PABs) showed anti-tuberculosis activity with MIC90 values ranging from 0.10µM to 20µM were used to develop a pharmacophore and 3D-QSAR model. Five featured pharmacophore model, HHRRR, which consists of two hydrophobic regions (H) and three aromatic ring features (R), was chosen as the best-fitted model based on the highest survival score and molecular occupancy. The statistically significant 3D-QSAR model constructed using the HHRRR hypothesis possessed good predictive power with an excellent correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.9859) and cross-validation coefficient (Q2 = 0.8593). The contour map analysis provided crucial structural insights into the activity of active compounds. Furthermore, comparative binding mode analysis of a known clinical candidate, Q203, and the most active compound through induced fit docking approach revealed that these two compounds share a similar binding mode with the QP site of QcrB and form hydrogen bonds with the critical residue T313. Substitution of different chemical scaffolds at the R position of PABs would lead to developing potential QcrB inhibitors.
Exploring the Mechanism of Gentiana rigescens in the Treatment of Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) Based on Network Pharmacology
Authors: Hu Ming-xing , Song Yan-Qiu , Gao Peng-Fei , Li Hai-Feng , Liu Wei-Hong
Published: May 2023

Background Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a severe chronic interstitial lung disease with high mortality, and there is currently a lack of definite and effective treatment methods. Studies have found that gentiopicroside, a secoiridoid glycoside compound derived from plants of the Gentiana genus, can significantly improve pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis lesions in mice with pulmonary fibrosis. However, the mechanism of its anti-fibrotic effect is unclear. Therefore, in this study, we used the virtual computer technology of network pharmacology to theoretically explore the mechanism of Gentiana rigescens 's anti-pulmonary fibrosis effect, providing theoretical reference and direction for subsequent experiments.Results A total of 10 active compounds and 920 drug-target proteins were identified from the TCMSP database. The compound-target-pathway-disease network showed that G. rigescens could potentially treat PF by regulating the MDM2, ERBB2 and VEGFA, signaling pathways through its key targets, including AKT1, TNF, and MAPK1. The protein‒protein interaction network revealed that these targets had strong interactions with each other, indicating a potential synergistic effect of G. rigescens in treating PF. The GO and KEGG enrichment analyses further supported the potential anti-pulmonary fibrosis mechanisms of Gentiana rigescens, including regulating the inflammatory response, ECM-receptor interaction, and TGF-beta signaling pathways.Conclusion Our study provides a systematic analysis of the potential anti-pulmonary fibrosis mechanisms of G. rigescens based on network pharmacology. These findings could contribute to the development of novel treatments for PF and provide a basis for further experimental studies.
Integrated Effecient Approach to Botnet Detection using Supervised Machine Learning
Authors: Gwarzo Zahraddeen , Anyaiwe Destiny , Olawoyin Richard , Tawalbeh Loai , Zohdy Mohamed , Allaf Zirak
Published: May 2023

Botnets are one of the most significant threats to cybersecurity. These are networks of compromised nodes of computers and other devices on the internet commonly used for a wide range of malicious activities across the globe. When deployed they can cause immense damage to computer systems by infecting them with malware in the likes of worms, trojans, viruses, rootkits, spyware, etc., stealing data, and launching large-scale attacks. As botnets are becoming increasingly sophisticated, traditional methods for detecting them are no longer effective. In this research paper, we propose a fully distributed collaborative botnet detection model using a binary classifier that decomposes the problem based on the expertise and experience of a distributed collaborative network, to efficiently detect a wide range of botnets. We measured the accuracy of collaborators’ responses ta o series of requests that we broadcast over a period of time accurately and efficiently detect botnets. We used 4 different classification algorithms to process the dataset. We evaluate our approach on a real-world dataset and each classifier outperforms existing methods for botnet detection and performed well with an average detection rate of 93.5%. Effective algorithms were also developed to improve the reputation and robustness of the detection system.
Health-Related Quality of Life Analyses in Nonfunctioning Pituitary Macroadenoma Patients Identifies At-Risk Populations
Authors: Wisdom Amy J. , Dyer M. Aiven , Horick Nora K. , Yeap Beow. Y. , Miller Karen K. , Swearingen Brooke , Loeffler Jay S. , Shih Helen A.
Published: May 2023

Purpose
The quality of life (QoL) impact of multidisciplinary treatment for patients with nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenomas (NFPMA) is unclear. We sought to investigate associations between patient factors, clinical data, and patient-reported QoL in patients with NFPMA.
Methods
Patients with treated NFPMA and > 1 year of follow up after transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) and with no evidence of progressive disease were evaluated utilizing the following patient-reported outcome measures: RAND-36-Item Health Survey, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire.
Results
229 eligible patients completed QoL questionnaires a median of 7.7 years after initial transsphenoidal surgery (TSS). 25% of participants received radiation therapy (RT) a median of 2.0 years (0.1–22.5) after initial TSS. Patients who received RT were younger (median age 46 v 58, p < 0.0001), had larger tumors (28 mm v 22 mm, p < 0.0001), were more likely to have visual symptoms (65% v 34%, p = 0.0002), and were more likely to have hypopituitarism (93% v 62%, p < 0.0001). Patients with hypopituitarism reported worse energy and fatigue and cognitive function (p < 0.03). Patients who received RT reported significantly worse general health, physical health, physical fatigue and cognitive functioning (p < 0.05). The largest QoL differences were in patients who experienced a financial stressor, independent of treatment type.
Conclusion
Hypopituitarism, radiation therapy after TSS, and financial stressors are associated with more impaired QoL in patients with NFPMA. Awareness of these factors can better guide use and timing of radiation therapy in addition to identifying patients who can benefit from multidisciplinary surveillance.
A machine learning-based model for predicting lymph node metastasis risk in vulvar cancer patients
Authors: Liao Huiming , Liu Tingyan , Xia Jianhong
Published: May 2023

Background As the accuracy of predictive models for vulval cancer patients is limited, this study aims to construct and compare the risk of lymph node metastasis of vulval cancer based on machine learning (ML) algorithms using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results public database of the National Cancer Institute .Methods Data from the SEER database were extracted for registrations between 2010 and 2015 and randomly divided into a training set and a validation set (7:3). Six machine learning (ML) technologies were used to develop predictive models for distant metastasis, including multi-layer perception models (MLP), support vector machines (SVM), naïve Bayes (NBC), decision trees (DT), random forests (RF), and k-nearest neighbors (KNN). Evaluation and comparison of different predictive models were performed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (AUC-ROC) and decision curve analysis (DCA).Results A total of 6,813 patients were involved and randomly divided into a training set (N = 4,768) and a validation set (N = 2,045). Based on the Boruta algorithm, 11 important factors were identified. In the training set, the RandomForest model performed best (AUC = 0.820), significantly better than the other five models. In the validation set, the RandomForest model also demonstrated better predictive ability than the other models (AUC = 0.799), according to DCA results. Feature importance analysis showed that the recursive feature elimination (RFE) algorithm was used to select key variables in the RandomForest model, and finally five important factors were determined, among which the T stage of the tumor was the most important variable.Conclusion The RandomForest model was proven to be an effective algorithm with better predictive ability. This model is intended to support future decisions regarding the risk of lymph node metastasis in vulval cancer
Computational Surgical Planning Simulation of Intracranial Aneurysms with AneuPlan TM - An exploratory study
Authors: Wang Ming , Zou Rong , Feng Lei , Leng Xiaochang , Wang Ning , Gao Yuhai , Chu Jifa , Wu Jiong , Fiehler Jens , Siddiqui Adnan H , Xiang Jianping , Wan Shu
Published: May 2023

Background It is still a challenge to choose the most appropriate endovascular treatment strategy for intracranial aneurysms. In this study, we aimed to investigate the application of AneuPlan™, based on computational fluid dynamics analysis, in the surgical planning of intracranial aneurysms.Methods: 9 patients with intracranial aneurysm were enrolled, whose surgical planning was made according to the Surgical Planning Program analysis, before endovascular treatment. Clinical characteristics, procedural details, stimulated hemodynamics analysis after surgery, site effect and 6-month follow-up were recorded. A descriptive analysis was performed.Results: Among the 9 patients, 5 patients received flow diverter implantation, 3 patients received stent-assisted coiling and 1 patient received simple coiling. The velocity of blood flow into the aneurysm and wall shear stress of the aneurysm were obviously reduced. No hemorrhagic or ischemic complication occurred in all patients. No recurrence of the aneurysm at 6-month follow-up.Conclusions: The good clinical prognosis obtained according to the Surgical Planning Program shows its potential for the optimization of the endovascular treatment for intracranial aneurysms.
Wagner’s Theory and Good Governance: A Comparative Analysis of Nigeria’s Second and Fourth Republic Regimes
Authors: UZOMBA Peter Chika
Published: May 2023

Traditionally, the essence of a republican state is to uphold civic virtue, serve the interests of the entire citizens and guarantee social welfare through the precepts of good governance. This by implication suggests that, unarguably, good governance gives effects to the law of increasing state activities for the purposes of ensuring short term benefit (economic growth) and long term benefit (economic development). However, the Nigerian state is very far from reaping any of the benefits; especially, the latter one. This therefore raises concerns on the inherent efficacy of Wagner’s theory in offering opportunities that guarantee and improve on the general welfare of the Nigerian society. Consequently, this study sets out to compare the exactitude of Wagner’s theory and good governance in the Nigeria’s second republic (1979–1983) and the first five years of fourth republic (1999–2003). In specific terms, it seeks to empirically establish how increase in government capital and recurrent has exacted impacts on and related with the effective and efficient quality of good governance, proxied by eight development indicators, GDP per capita, literacy rate (secondary school enrolment), national poverty, life expectancy at birth, and exchange rate. For analytical purposes, descriptive statistical tools, correction, coefficient of variation and econometric method of ordinary least squares are employed. Comparatively, Wagner’s theory did not have exact impact on good governance indices as measured in this study. It is recommended that government should settle in programmes and policies used in the second republic.
JEL Classification: D63, E24, H11, H51, H52, I11, I21, I31
Topographic Distribution of Inflammation Factors in a Healing Aneurysm
Authors: Grüter Basil E. , Canzanella Gwendoline , Hägler Joshua , Rey Jeannine , Wanderer Stefan , von Gunten Michael , Galvan José A. , Grobholz Rainer , Widmer Hans-Rudolf , Remonda Luca , Andereggen Lukas , Marbacher Serge
Published: May 2023

Background Healing of intracranial aneurysms following endovascular treatment relies on the organization of early thrombus into mature scar tissue and neointima formation. Activation and deactivation of the inflammation cascade plays an important role in this process. In addition to timely evolution, its topographic distribution is hypothesized to be crucial for successful aneurysm healing.Methods Decellularized saccular sidewall aneurysms were created in Lewis rats and coiled. At follow-up, (after 3 days (n = 16); 7 days (n = 19); 21 days (n = 8)) aneurysms were harvested and assessed for healing status. In-situ hybridization was performed for soluble inflammatory markers (IL6, MMP2, MMP9, TNF-α, FGF23, VEGF), and immunohistochemical analysis to visualize inflammatory cells (CD45, CD3, CD20, CD31, CD163, HLA-DR). These markers were specifically documented for five regions of interest: aneurysm neck, dome, neointima, thrombus, and adjacent vessel wall.Results Coiled aneurysms showed enhanced patterns of thrombus organization and neointima formation, whereas those without treatment demonstrated heterogeneous patterns of thrombosis, thrombus recanalization, and aneurysm growth (p = 0.02). In coiled aneurysms, inflammation markers tended to accumulate inside the thrombus and in the neointima (p < 0.001). Endothelial cells accumulated directly in the neointima (p < 0.0001), and their presence was associated with complete aneurysm healing.Conclusion The presence of proinflammatory cells plays a crucial role in aneurysm remodeling after coiling. Whereas thrombus organization is hallmarked by a pronounced intra-thrombotic inflammatory reaction, neointima maturation is characterized by direct invasion of endothelial cells. Knowledge concerning topographic distribution of regenerative inflammatory processes may pave the way for future treatment modalities which enhance aneurysm healing after endovascular therapy.
Stabilized Platform Attitude Control Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning Using Disturbance Observer-Based
Authors: Huo Aiqing , Jiang Xue , Zhang Shuhan
Published: May 2023

In order to address the difficulties of attitude control for stabilized platform in rotary steerable drilling, including instability, difficult to control, and severe friction, we proposed a Disturbance Observer-Based Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG_DOB) control algorithm. The stabilized platform in rotary steering drilling was taken as a research object. On the basis of building a stabilized platform controlled object model and a LuGre friction model, DDPG algorithm is used to design a deep reinforcement learning controller. After the overall framework of the stabilized platform control system was given, appropriate state vectors were selected, a reward function satisfying the system requirement was designed, an Actor-Critic network structure was constructed and the network parameters was updated. Moreover considering the non-linear friction disturbance that causes steady-state errors, oscillations, and hysteresis phenomena in the stabilized platform control system, a DDPG algorithm based on the disturbance observer was proposed to eliminate the effects of friction disturbance so that to enhance robustness and anti-interference ability of the stabilized platform control system. Experimental results show that the DDPG_DOB control method had good set-point control performance and tracking effect. The tracking error of the tool face angle can be maintained within ± 8.7% and the DDPG_DOB control method can effectively suppress friction interference and improve the nonlinear hysteresis phenomenon when the system is affected by friction interference,enhancing the robustness of the system.
GPR68 inhibited nucleus or ER to exosome non-protein based circadian exercise based on Thalamus big data
Authors: Wang Lin , hong tao , Cui Wenbin , Jiang Minghu
Published: May 2023

G protein-coupled receptor (GPR68) is widely distributed in the human body and participates in various physiological and pathological processes. The main GPR68-inhibited and -activated molecular network was constructed in Thalamus from GDS2678 of NCBI by integrating SAM, SPSS Pearson and GRNInfer mutual positive verification based on richness. The main GPR68 inhibited molecular subnetwork composed of upstream ALG8, or MAF, feedback SMA4, and downstream GSTM3_1 with TYMS. GPR68 activated molecular subnetwork contained upstream RAD50, feedback SPAG9, and downstream RFK. The relationship of SMA4 inhibition to SPAG9 -> MAF -> RAD50 -> ALG8 was found in Thalamus for negative main molecular verification. The relationship of ALG8 activation to SMA4 -> GSTM3_1 -> TYMS -> MAF in Thalamus for positive main molecular verification. Our results show GPR68 inhibited SMA4-nucleoplasm RNA splicing coupling ALG8, or MAF-nucleus sequence specific DNA binding, or ER amino acid glycosylation to GSTM3_1 with TYMS-extracellular exosome small molecule-based circadian exercise, and GPR68 activated SPAG9-integral component of membrane kinesin binding coupling RAD50-membrane positive regulation of kinase activity to RFK-mitochondrion apoptotic process for mutual negative knowledge verification. We put forwards GPR68 inhibited nucleus or ER to exosome non-protein based circadian exercise based on Thalamus big data. Our model is positive verified by the other similar and common inhibited and/or activated knowledge in Thalamus. The role and mechanism of our GPR68 inhibited nucleus or ER to exosome non-protein based circadian exercise contributes to better detection, evaluation, intervention, tracking, and other health management of brain diseases.
Approximate Analytical Solutions for Nonlinear Reaction-Diffusion Equations at Conducting Polymer Modified Ultramicroelectordes via Taylor’s Series Method
Authors: Yokeswari G. , Jayasimman I. Paulraj , Lynons M. E. G. , Abukhaled Marwan , Rajendran L
Published: May 2023

The primary goal of this article is to present novel analytical solutions for the coupled nonlinear equation found in polymer-modified conducting ultramicroelectrodes. Taylor's series method is utilized to obtain approximate analytical solutions for the reaction-diffusion equations, allowing for the determination of the substrate and mediator concentrations as well as the current response in relation to the substrate concentration at the electrode's surface. The impact of different factors on concentration and current is also explored. Our analytical findings exhibit a satisfactory degree of correspondence when compared to both numerical results obtained via MATLAB and prior analytical outcomes.
Mathematics Subject Classification 34B60. 65L10. 82D60
The efficacy of hybrid neuroprostheses in the rehabilitation of upper limb impairment after stroke, a systematic review with a meta-analysis
Authors: Höhler Chiara , Trigili Emilio , Astarita Davide , Hermsdörfer Joachim , Jahn Klaus , Krewer Carmen
Published: May 2023

Background.
After stroke, paresis of the upper limb (UL) is the most frequent impairment. Hybrid neuroprostheses, i.e., the combination of robots and electrical stimulation, emerge as an option to treat these impairments.
Methods.
To give an overview on existing devices, their features and how they are linked to clinical metrics, four different databases were systematically searched for studies on hybrid neuroprostheses for the UL rehabilitation after stroke. The evidence on the efficacy of hybrid therapies was synthesized.
Results.
Seventy-three studies were identified, introducing 32 hybrid systems. Among the most recent devices (n = 20), most actively reinforce movement (3 passively) and are typical exoskeletons (3 end effectors). If classified according to the ICF, systems for proximal support are rather expected to affect body structures and functions, while the activity and participation level is targeted when applying FES distally plus the robotic component proximally. The meta-analysis reveals a significant positive effect on UL functions (p < .001), evident in a 7.8 point Mdiff between groups in the Fugl-Meyer assessment. This positive effect remains at 3-months follow-up (Mdiff=8.4, p < .001).
Conclusions.
Hybrid neuroprostheses have a positive effect on UL recovery after stroke, with effects persisting at least three months after the intervention. Non-significant studies were those with the shortest intervention periods and the oldest patients. Providentially, improvements in UL functions are not only present in the subacute phase after stroke, but also in long-term chronic stages. In addition to further technical development, more RCTs are needed to make assumptions about determinants of a successful therapy.